Last week I announced that my first book, A Hollade Christmas, will be published next month. In light of this forthcoming release, I’ve spent the last few days reminiscing about the book’s origins and the chance events that set me on the path to having a soon-to-be-published book. The book is about a life-changing adventure undertaken by a little girl called Hollade. It is classed as middle-grade fiction, a subgenre of children's books, but the thing is, I never set out to write a children's book.
Back in the autumn of 2021, my wife (then girlfriend), her sister and I were on a walk one evening, and we found ourselves talking about Christmas traditions, their origins and different interpretations around the world. The conversation took an interesting turn and we wondered what sort of traditions we would engage in if we had a family, but it didn’t go further than that. My wife was due to go out of town for a week, and that was the last time we would see each other until she got back, so talking about Christmas when we’d not even seen the back of Autumn didn't seem like a productive use of our time.
The thing is, even though our Christmas traditions natter lasted no more than a few minutes, it stayed with me, and while she was away, I found myself exploring scenarios. A little girl, her mum and dad, a reimagining of the origins of Christmas, and a sprinkling of tension. What would happen?
I spent the next few days fleshing it all out. I found myself writing, and writing, and writing. By the time she came back from her trip, I had a whole story. I shared it with her and a handful of our friends and family, and the reception I got encouraged me, and made me think that maybe there was something there. That was the first time I had the thought, that I could go on to become a published author.
I spent many more weeks and months working on it, writing draft after draft, learning the ins and outs of publishing, and figuring out what I needed to do to put the story out in the world. Two years on, and here we are. The book will be available in less than 3 weeks. What’s more, since writing A Hollade Christmas, I’ve gone on to write more books and stories, two of which are lined up for publication next year.
This is all to say that while it wasn't my intention to be a published author, at least not initially, I'm glad I've found myself on this path. I don't remember ever setting out to be an author. I just remember always writing, enjoying the process, engaging with the practice, and using it to make sense of the world. The books I've ended up writing have been a by-product of the process, and honestly, it's not even the foremost benefit or reward. That'll be the writing in itself, because as I've said more than once in my blogs, art is its own reward, it's the gift that keeps on giving.
You can pre-order A Hollade Christmas here, and if you would like to read and review it before it officially comes out on November 10, please reach out.