A 352 page baby
A 352 page baby

One year ago today my debut novel Temptation was released by Entangled Publishing. I remember going for a walk that day, a long walk at Burnham Beeches in the freezing cold. I was a mess. For some reason, having a book “out there” in the wide world of Amazon and Nook and all the other public spaces made me feel naked, vulnerable, and frightened. What if everyone hates it? What if it gets poor reviews? And as luck would have it, I did get one spectacularly poor review: two stars, right before release day.

So when I took that walk, I was just trying to escape the nonsense going on in my head. It worked. I felt better when I got home, and then I found out another reviewer had reviewed Temptation, and she loved it!

A lot of work goes into a novel—painstaking plotting, editing, revising, editing again and again and then again—in fact, it’s a lot harder than having a baby, which it’s been compared to.

But seeing that book in print (yes, I have print copies, and no, they’re not yet available at Amazon—soon, though!) is worth every second of plotting hell. (For me, it’s always the plotting that’s the hardest, never the writing itself, or the editing.)

I’m not sure what the appropriate gift is for a first book-aversary—paper? Wood? Diamonds? But I do know what I intend to do to celebrate: Write all afternoon, and then pop a bottle of Champagne and hope for some inspiration in my Champagne-fueled dreams.

(And if you haven’t read Temptation, you can see a sneak peek here, or here.)

7 Comments on Book-aversary!

  1. Carolyn Nicander Mohr
    February 18, 2014 at 1:15 pm (10 years ago)

    Congratulations on your Book-a-versary, Kathryn! As an early reader of Temptation after its release, I can vouch for what a fantastic book it is. Even though I read it nearly a year ago I still think back to the characters and wonder how they’re doing now. You really made them come to life!

    Well done and I hope there are many more novels in your future. Even if writing a novel is more difficult than childbirth, at least we readers get to share in your fulfillment!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Barrett
      February 18, 2014 at 1:29 pm (10 years ago)

      Thanks, Carolyn! I appreciate your support! Yeah, books are better than babies. They don’t scream, wet their diapers, or demand 1 am feedings!

      Reply
  2. AshleyOlivia
    February 18, 2014 at 3:06 pm (10 years ago)

    Congratulations! I had no idea that Temptation only came out last year. By now, there are no dearth of glowing reviews on Amazon. It must be such a thrill to share your characters with the world! Criticism is always hard, though. I remember asking one of my professors how she manages to process negative criticism and she told me that she was the wrong person to ask, since her current coping medicine is to cry for three days and eat ice cream before feeling stable enough to return to the readers’ reviews and make the suggested changes. Without constructive criticism, I suppose we would never grow, but it still stings!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Barrett
      February 18, 2014 at 4:34 pm (10 years ago)

      Thanks! Absolutely, I recommend crying for 3 days while shoveling in ice cream. (Actually, it’s my character who’s constantly eating ice cream…hmmm.) 🙂

      Reply
      • AshleyOlivia
        February 20, 2014 at 9:50 pm (10 years ago)

        Alas, I do not have Laura’s garden to exercise off said ice cream (or hopes of assignations with a hunky Amish dreamboat to encourage me to spend time in that garden)… 😉

        Reply
  3. Sara Thorn
    February 18, 2014 at 5:09 pm (10 years ago)

    Congratulations, Kathryn! How about celebrating the “paper” anniversary with a custom-made bookmark to use in your shining print copies?

    And I advice chocolate of course, but that goes without saying. 🙂

    Reply
    • Kathryn Barrett
      February 18, 2014 at 6:45 pm (10 years ago)

      What a great idea, Sara! And chocolate…definitely gonna have some of that 🙂

      Reply

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