Cala De Mijas (I Love Mondays)

On Beth's actual 3rd birthday my sister, Beth and I flew from Dublin to Malaga. We then took a bus to a gorgeous small village called Cala De Mijas along the coast of southern Spain. It was eight nights spent in a fantastic 4* hotel situated right beside the beach. The room was lovely and spacious, the breakfasts were amazing (buffet style and lots of it) and the facilities were second to none. However, the staff, in particular the reception staff, were often rude and always unhelpful. In truth though, it did little to dull the week. 

The unfortunate element to the week was Beth's cold. She was often narky and tired. The photo above was taken five minutes before she dropped an orange juice all over herself. Thank God she had a swimsuit underneath. In the 30 degree heat the dress was dry before we finished our drinks. Poor pet just wanted to be home in her own bed but we did our best to keep her happy. So much so that now that we are back she is being really cheeky if she doesn't get her way! 

Roughly 1 minute before the juice incident :-)

Besides the little hiccups we managed to have a good time but I think I'll wait a few good years before taking Beth away again! And yes, both of us are still as pale as we were leaving rainy Ireland :-)

It's back to writing full steam today. I have a short story in my head bursting to get out. When I've a first draft I'll get back to the sequel of The Secret Beneath Bleeker Avenue. I'm hoping to have it finished by December and ready for self-publishing in the new year.

Have a lovely Monday! :-) 

Why Did I Self-Publish?

As some of you may know already I decided on Monday to self-publish my book The Secret Beneath Bleeker Avenue. There are many reasons why I decided to do it myself.

Firstly, I'm a very impatient person. Ask anyone who knows me personally and they will agree. If I go into a shop and there is a queue of more than three people I'm most likely to turn on my heel and walk back out. I don't like waiting for anything. Therefore, after only beginning to query agents and publishers on the 21st June, I'm already losing my patience with the lack of replies. Any authors out there will know it will take some people a long time to get back to me but, to be very honest, I can't wait. I know I need to relax a little more and if this was the only reason for self-publishing I probably would have waited it out.

Secondly, there is a lot of information out there on self-publishing. If it is done right a self-published author can make a living. It's not rocket science (well, maybe getting an ITIN is, but more on that another time) and, I believe, with a great deal of research, an author can self-publish and avoid the pitfalls of others.

Thirdly, I am in control. I control everything to do with my book, how it is published, how much royalties I will get, etc. This is a very important aspect for me.

Finally, I just had to get that lovely cover out there!

In other news, I turn 31 next week. I'm having people over for a BBQ this weekend (hopefully the weather is good) and can't wait to celebrate another year. Stay tuned for more on the party and what I've done since I turned the 'dreaded' 3-0!