It's a book! Announcing my exciting news ....

Hello! Wow, it's been a very, VERY long time since I posted here. So long, in fact, that I'm surprised Hot Cross Mum hasn't run off to join the circus. But, there is very good reason for my neglect and absence because I have been hiding away, writing novels and, as anyone who has followed my musings here will know, this is what I always, always dreamed of doing.

A lot of words have been typed since I started this writing adventure of mine four years ago – hundreds of thousands of words, in fact, and far too many to actually count, and it all started here, back in 2009 when I finally plucked up the courage to press 'Publish' on my first blog post. I've had such fun writing Hot Cross Mum and while my boys (now aged 7 and 5) may not exactly thank me for it in the future, I'm so glad I chronicled the trials and tribulations of family life as I struggled to adjust to life away from the boardroom and chased my kids around the garden while I chased my dream of being a writer.

And finally - FINALLY – I am able to write the five words which I have always wanted to write - 

I HAVE A PUBLISHING DEAL!!!!

While some of you may have already seen me blurting this out on my new blog, I had to come back here, to where it all started, to also share this news and close a chapter, so to speak. 

I am just SO ridiculously happy to say that I have a two-book deal with William Morrow (HarperCollins) who will republish ‘THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME’ next April and will also publish my second novel ‘DAUGHTERS OF THE FLOWERS’ sometime in early 2015.

There is so, so, SO much I want to say about what this means to me and I owe a million thanks to tonnes of people for supporting me, cheering me on and calmly dealing with my various writing dramas, and I will try and express all that on my Whims and Tonic blog over the next few months, as I blog about my path to publication.

For now (if anyone even reads this blog anymore!) I just want to say a very big thank you to everyone who read, commented and nodded in understanding at my posts here. It helped me realise that I wasn't losing all my marbles and that perhaps, if I stuck to this writing malarkey long enough, I might just get there in the end. It's been a bumpy old, twisty turny road, but then again, no journey is ever that interesting if it just goes in a straight line and although I wasn't always sure if I'd taken the right turn, I just had to hope that I was heading in the right direction. As it turns out, I was!

And because I don’t think I can express my joy any better than this brilliant image which I found recently, I will now leave Hot Cross Mum in peace, raise a large gin and tonic and give you this …

HIP, HIP, HOORAY!!!

Please continue to follow me on Twitter @HazelGaynor or over at my new blog http://whimsandtonic.wordpress.com/

It's a book! Announcing my exciting news ....