This was the week I had been waiting for. The week I officially became a published author!

Star in the Shadows was published on Wednesday 30th October. Although the book itself is the culmination of about 18 month’s of writing, editing and promoting, the dream that was realised by its publication actually came into being many years before that.

When I was younger, I often thought about becoming an author. From 8 year old me who wrote a book about friends being sucked into a video game, to 14 year old me hopefully tapping out the opening lines of a crime thriller on her Amiga computer, it was an ambition that seemed entirely out of reach.

Fast forward 20 years and I am finally a published author.

People keep asking me how it feels. Part of me feels as though I should be weeping with joy at the culmination of this long-held dream. But it’s still all sinking in. Although I’ve known this day was coming for a while I still can’t quite believe it’s my name above the title of the book. I look at the Amazon page where you can buy it and it just feels unreal.

Overwhelmed is another word I would use. I’m overwhelmed by the support and kindness people have shown. I’m overwhelmed by the initial reactions from book bloggers during the blog blitz on the 31st October.

I confess I did a little happy dance and a fist pump every time one of the reviews was posted online. I couldn’t believe the positivity, the love, the affection that people had for my characters and the story I had created.

1 Nov was my little book launch party in Leighton Buzzard. About 20 people came out on a cold, dark night to celebrate with me and buy signed copies. Signing that first copy was nerve wracking – what should I write? Would I spell their name wrong? As more people bought books I relaxed into it and tried to savour the moment of someone thinking my book was worth their hard-earned cash.

Today is a day to process all of the flurry of activity from the week gone by. My feeling today is one akin to what you have the day after a big night out. You know you had a great time but the doubt creeps in – what did I do? What will people think of me today? People who bought my book are opening the pages today. I’m still terribly anxious that the reviewers somehow got it wrong and perhaps it’s not good after all, and people will regret spending their money on it. I hope they don’t.

I’ve got more activities lined up for next week. A BBC three counties radio interview and a market day signing. But today is a day to relax and celebrate! Star in the Shadows is out there and in the world and I, finally, am a published author.