august! august! AUGUST!!

i had a meeting with my publisher yesterday. the publication date for my novel is not september or october as i thought it would be, but august! it seems that i was supposed to be sent a schedule, but wasn't - i should be getting one sometime soon - and they've got it all worked out. from what i can remember, it'll be back from the printers in june i think, pre-publicity in july, then release in august... which leaves me perfectly placed to be involved with the writers festival next year! oooh, exciting... i can't wait! it would be a dream come true to have some sort of involvement there. i've been told that late jan i can expect to get an edited copy of my manuscript - i can't wait to find out what they think of my final draft - and in feb, they should have some covers ready for me to look at. i've been told what angle they are going to go for with the cover, and i'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with, and how far they take it. i also shared my plans launch-party wise, and they seem pretty happy with me organising a huge do. i want to turn the thing into an 'event', with a friends and family launch of the book first, followed by a bollywood bash of biblical proportions, complete with dancing girls and curry dj's. maybe we can have a signature cocktail too... ooh, i will have to start planning the thing properly in january, i think - woohoo!

there was also talk of a second novel. i had one idea which i talked about (despite deciding before i got there that i wouldn't talk about it, as it's merely a concept)... but i've found that one other idea i'd had a while ago which had been lying dormant in my mind has jumped to the fore again. it's morphed into something a little different to what it originally was, and i think i can see it turning into a fully-blown story of its own. i think it might be time to start putting stuff down for that, and to put my other idea on the backburner for a bit. and maybe it's also time to re-ignite the old agent debate again... hmmm.