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Dizzy Izzy and the Singer has winged its way to the publishers and the hard copy of the manuscript has been filed in its ring binder and put away in the cupboard. I will soon have to extend the cupboard if I keep writing at the rate I am doing. I must admit I am loving every minute of this new career. Well I maybe can't call it a career yet as it isn't providing me with a living wage but I am loving the challenges it is bringing.

I intended taking a week or two off before making a start on my new series but within a few days of sending off Dizzy Izzy to the publishers the story was clamoring to be committed to paper. Once I began the story and was about 5,000 words into it I realised that this book was going to be a very different one to my others that I had written and this was going to explore social issues from a much more adult perspective. It isn't actually a sad story but it certainly will pull at the heart strings and make people really think as they read it. It will be fine for young adults 14-18 years old and if they are very good readers maybe as young as 12 but certainly no younger. It will provide lots of issues for discussion as we explore the hidden world and pain caused by abandonment, abuse and the healing process that Little Bear has to go through. There is no sex, violence, drugs or gangs in the book so will not appeal to some readers but hopefully to a large slice of the population. It will be a much larger book than the others and I think the whole story will be told in 2 books. I will keep you posted on that as I work through it.

I think I may look into employing a literary agent to take on this new book as I think it needs a different approach to publishing, marketing and promoting than my other 2 series do. I would like to think Little Bear became a book that sparked discussions in schools, in book clubs and other public bodies as I feel it has a message to impart. My greatest dream would be if someone took it and made a sympathetic film from it but as yet I have no idea how to get it into the circles it would need to be in for this to happen but who knows what is round the next corner.

I have already hit 15,000 words and it is flowing well but emotionally draining to write. I think I may need a complete rest to recharge my batteries once it is finished. I will still continue to write my Scruffy series and the Dizzy Izzy series and will be publishing a new one of each of them in 2019. The next Scruffy book will be called Scruffy and Teddy and the next Dizzy Izzy book will be Dizzy Izzy and her Travels or something like that.

Just sent off the manuscript, front cover photo, acknowledgement page and the back page cover synopsis to the publishers and have received their reply that they are going to get on with it and get it typeset so that is book number 4 set off on its journey to become a book. This bit is always a bit scary but I am collecting a few orders for it so hopefully it will do well like all my other books are.

Having a day doing a bit of admin as I have 2 months bookkeeping to do and something called a metadata thing to do linked to my e books. Haven't really looked at it yet as been busy  finishing off this book but can't put it off any longer now. No excuse!

Tomorrow I will get the narrative down on paper for the little book I am doing for a friend who has sheep and spins and dyes her own fleece. She wants a little book to sell along with the wool at fairs and in her tearoom that tells the story of the fleece and then a few knitting patterns in the back. She has the photos so I am just doing the narrative and leaving her to slot the pictures in later.

Next week will be starting the new series 'Little Bear'. Will keep you updated as to how it is going

The party have visited the campsite and met the fairies and elves that have settled close to the fairy hotels. Yes there were fairy hotels in the forest as Danny suspected! The main hotel had a large ballroom that inspired Mimi and Mo with their lighting projects and Danny is now going to make a large ballroom/party space in Penny's Kingdom Hotel. They meet the country singer fairy who tells them about festivals that she performs at. Much to Izzy's delight she is not only going to the Summer National Fairy Ball but is also performing there so has offered to entertain at the Summer Ball at Penny's Kingdom before heading off to the National Ball and Izzy and her deputies will be joining her and the other fairies and elves on the journey. I think this will be another complete book maybe the next or the following book.

The party have met up with a new little fairy who has decided that she would like to join Danny on a permanent basis so she will float in and out of the Dizzy Izzy books a bit like the country singer does. They are presently exploring the beach and the seaside and then once everyone goes home they will be designing all the different fairy doors as they have all decided on their own design to denote their own interests. I then have to move soil to raise the holiday island, place containers around Penny's garden, play host to visiting birds from Danny's garden, visit the goats summer residence and allow Penny and Danny to meet the deer before testing and fitting the new 'goat door'. Think will turn out to be another busy day for everyone.

Next blog should be after the big editing and getting the manuscript off to the publishers. Going to be a couple of weeks later than I planned but still hopeful it will in the shops for Christmas