Hello Everyone!

It's great to be back from holidays and getting back into the swing of things. 

I must admit, it did take me a good week to start turning my wheels but this week I am back on deck.

The most exciting news - we think we have a winning title! 

Leaving the Ladder                                                                                                                                                 An ex corporate girl's guide from the rat race to fulfilment

(We're still toying with taking the 'the' out of 'the rat race'. See how detail oriented this stuff can get?!)

The meaning is two fold, which it needed it to be. I left one ladder (the corporate kind) only to climb another (the personal development kind). It's about navigating and ultimately leaving both. So I feel the title fits and there's quite a nice onomatopoeia to it, don't you think? 

I hit a bit of a creative snag this week too. As many times as I'd sat down with the pages, I was drawing blanks on those last little bits that needed finessing. Fiddly things like making a couple of chapters more interesting and retitling book parts and chapter names.  And I so desperately wanted to make headway with it all. 

I ended up flying a white flag to my editor, Nick, who lovingly picked up on my exasperation and asked if I wanted him to take over a bit and knock this bad boy into shape. I was thrilled. I always thought this was the end job of an editor but I just wasn't sure when I was allowed that request. He said he was tentative in offering because many authors don't like their words being mucked around with. (I'm sure he's suffering some scars from previous authors! ;-)) 

As we've come so far, I don't think his edits will be breaking the book's frame, my style or in any way be drowning out my real voice. I am happy to be given that tiny reprieve as going over and over my 80,000 odd words has been taxing at times - both physically and emotionally.   

So. We'll see now. He has taken both the manuscript and some photos (for the cover) off my hands to work his magic.

Things will be different again in a couple of weeks! I will report back again then.

For now, with love

Lynda