“Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.”  
– E.L. Doctorow

Writing is a funny old business. For months at a time, you live with your characters and wander through the landscape of your imagination. Blogs don’t get updated, friends neglected, and the world outside can be reduced to the view from your window. And then you get to the conclusion of the latest draft and it ends. I guess it must be a bit like how a hedgehog feels as it wakes from hibernation and emerges blinking back into the world.
Creating a novel of course doesn’t end with the writing process. It’s only part of bringing a story to the market place. At this particular stage of my fledging career, there are additional challenges ahead, most pressing of which is securing an agent. Hopefully, this will be quickly followed by a publishing deal, but even then there is probably another good eighteen months before my book hits the shelves… then the fun really starts for an introspective author. From the solitary existence of writing, one is suddenly thrust into PR circuit, an essential part of any book launch, to really raise awareness and market your work. Personally, I can’t wait. The idea of giving readings etc, although somewhat daunting, is also a very exciting prospect. 
Cloud Riders has now gone into the manuscript agency I work with. Hopefully, spring for this hedgehog author, is just around the corner.