Wednesday 9th January 2008

Eek. With trembling fingers I undid the box, and there they were – my author copies of the UK first edition of Tim, Defender of the Earth.

 

TimUKFirstEd

This is the first version of the book that’s actually going to be available in shops. And no, while this may be my second go at this, but I’m not getting used to this feeling AT ALL.

First I tried to be cool about it: ‘Well,’ I thought, ‘there it is,’ and (once I’d got a copy out to look at) I stuck the box of books on top of the other boxes containing copies of Black Tat. ‘Another book done,’ I told myself. ‘Now get back to work.’ -But this, of course, was outright self-delusion and stupidity, and in due course (about twenty minutes) any calm I was pretending to possess duly evaporated.

Next, inevitably, came the panic: ‘OMFG, it’s going to be in shops where people can see it! What if everyone in the world thinks it’s rubbish? What if it sinks without a trace?‘ Much undignified poultry-style arm-flapping ensued, followed by a stern reminder to myself that… IT’S A BOOK: I’ve put my heart into it, and it might be important to me, sure, but it’s not exactly the most important thing in the world (sheesh). Then at last, helped in part by listening to some highlights from this UK abridged audio version…

TimUKAudio

…which, by the way, is awesome, I felt something else.

I’m DELIGHTED. Right now I feel this book has turned out exactly the way I wanted it, gleeful destruction and all (HEE HEE HEE!) As a writer you can’t say anything fairer about a project than that. And finally, and perhaps most important, as my wonderful girlfriend Laura gently pointed out as she talked me down from the ceiling …it’s too late to worry about it now. 😉

After something like two years of planning and hard work, at last it’s here in my hands. Feels good. So, to quote Dr. McKinsey…

‘Go on, you can do it! Go on, Tim! Get free!

--------------------------


Comments? Suggestions? Questions? Me and THE WEBSPHINX would love to hear from you! Drop us a line at the Tim, Defender of the Earth Guestbook for current or Tim stuff, or The Black Tattoo Guestbook for Black Tat stuff. First (or demon-!) names only, please. 😉