The title of this blog post was the title of an email I received about this time last year. Mandy and I had just arrived in Melbourne and were sitting in a café, Mandy logged onto my email and said
“Hap, there’s an email here saying ‘possible book.'”
To which I replied, “It’s probably one of my blog readers telling me I should write a book.”
Well, I was right. It was one of my blog readers. As I read through the email I started to have a bit of a “this must be spam” moment. This blog reader had seen my interview with Paul Henry on the Breakfast show and had started following my blog. It just so happened that she was the New Zealand commissioning editor for Allen and Unwin book publishers. After a quick google, I found that Allen and Unwin weren’t a Nigerian book publisher but rather Australasia’s largest independent book publisher. Publishing such authors as Jodi Picoult and one of my favourites, Paul Carter (author of “Don’t tell mum I work the rigs, she thinks I’m a piano player in a whore house”).
Fast forward one year after getting my head around book contracts, whether to use an agent, ebooks, international book markets etc, I have signed my book contract. You could say a dream come true. The best thing about this is when I’m filling out forms and it asks for occupation, I can now write something instead of leaving it blank.
This book has been the reason why some of my blog posts had started to be a bit less frequent as I have been busy tapping away at the keyboard.
The book will be hitting book shelves October/November 2012!
Thank you to you guys my blog readers for following my travels, putting up with grammar (lack of) and supporting me in this little journey. Thank you.
Jo
May 25, 2011 -
Can I just say I knew you had it in you…and a big good luck to one of the biggest challenges yet. I can’t wait to put it on my Xmas list for all and sundry. Congrats my friend
Barney
May 25, 2011 -
BOOM! Looking forward to the trilogy bro.
Hap
May 26, 2011 -
chur bro, hope all going well with the job hunt.
Fi
May 26, 2011 -
Yahoo!! Massive congrats! Fantastic to hear its all go. Very much looking forward to reading it.
All the best for this weekend, bet it’ll be an extravaganza of funness and success, will be thinking of you guys x
Hap
May 26, 2011 -
An extravaganza indeed Miss Cutler, pity you won’t be in the country.
Thanks for the support, hope you are well and smiling.
NBL Hap
Geoff
Jun 6, 2011 -
Hap bro
Great sneak preview of the book. Once you have addressed my ruthless editorial reccomendations it shouuld be a best seller!
cheerz
G
Jack
Jul 6, 2011 -
well done bro, moving up in the world i see…
Hap
Jul 10, 2011 -
Jacko!
Not really mate, being an author pays well less than minimum wage!
Hope you doing well mate, I was having a little laugh the other day thinking back to Woodie and Carawine gorge. good times they were.