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Last Good Friday, I found myself hunched over the computer, fiddling with styles and formatting while outside was bright sunshine. It was all in aid of getting my first collection of short stories published, Amber Stars.

The book started as a couple of stories and ideas I was playing around with in private. I wrote Welcome Home and The Underworld mostly for myself. It was an exercise in keeping my fingers busy. I often have quite a few writing projects on the go and these stories were just another one I was going to keep to myself. My tendency is to write lots and share little, which is probably the wrong way round.

Anyway, I started to write a few more stories. I imagined them to be set in the same town. Writing more, I thought they could possibly take place over the same night.

It was only really after the first draft that I decided to go all in and publish it as an ebook. Instead of something for my own amusement, it was now something that was going to be public. This came with significantly more pressure. Overall though, working on a project and knowing I would definitely release it to an audience meant I strived to improve it much more. I think being outside of my comfort zone was helpful in improving my writing as I agonised over every word. I revised all the stories multiple times, completing draft after draft

After all this work, it was strange to finally release the book into the wild. Actually producing the ebook was a lot easier than I imagined and it has been really gratifying to receive feedback from friends and family who have purchased it. I’m glad I’ve done it.

Now to start work on the next one.

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