Doubled Up

This week my guest blogger is Adele Jones. Adele lives in Queensland, Australia. Her writing is inspired by a passion for family, faith, friends, music and science – and her broad ranging imagination.

A strong believer in embracing life’s journey, Adele delights in sharing that adventure with others, be that through the pages of a story or engaging in a social or professional context. Through her broad personal and professional interests, she has welcomed diverse engagement opportunities, including science based student experience sessions, conference presentations, literary readings and musical exploits.

With a long standing interest in historical fiction, Adele based her Master’s dissertation on this topic and is currently anticipating release of her first novel in this genre, A Devil’s Ransom (www.roseandcrownbooks.com). She has also had a variety of poems, short stories, inspirational meditations, devotions and magazine articles published. Her first YA novel, Integrate, was awarded the 2013 Caleb Prize for unpublished manuscript and is due to for release in September 2014.

 

Perez. Okay, it’s a little abstract, but that’s how I would best describe the publication journey of my first novel. Well, novels. Those who know the peculiar circumstances surrounding this Biblical account would remember the story of Judah and Tamar’s twins. The baby who seemed to be on the way first was pushed aside by the one expected to be born second.

You see, I’ve been expecting a book release for a while. A Devil’s Ransom, a historical maritime romance, was due sometime ago, but extraneous circumstances required the original release date be delayed. I understand this can happen in the publishing world, so while awaiting movement on that novel, I decided to write a science based young adult manuscript in a month. Midway through my goal, it was announced an unpublished manuscript prize was, that year, accepting children’s and YA fiction with a word limit of what I was aiming for.

Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

Madly I tapped out words around a hectic work schedule, edited in snippets of time the following month, and submitted Integrate for the award. It was so different from the methodical construction of A Devil’s Ransom. That work had developed from a dream over a period of fifteen years involving much research, writing, rewriting, more research, developing my writing skills through further study and of course, more rewriting and associated research. After a period in the writing wilderness of disappointment and releasing my dreams to the ultimate dream maker, I was offered a contract. Finally, my first novel would be published.

Then, just like Perez breaking through the expected birth order, Integrate was awarded the CALEB unpublished manuscript prize and a whirlwind dash towards publication ensued! Now its release is imminent with the novels already printed – before the official release of my first ‘baby’ A Devil’s Ransom.

In a way I feel Integrate’s journey is fitting, given the amazing, live-life-to-the-max young adults the story has been written for. I’m also a great believer in timing – a lesson I’ve had to learn over and again as a writer. My first novel twins are certainly at polar ends of the personality spectrum, but with their different strengths I’m convinced they will each bring their own unique message to their readers – in due time.