While I generally mark my publishing anniversary as the 7th May 2012 - being the release date of my debit novel Keir with Lyrical Press - it's not strictly true. Another title should really take that title, a whole year earlier.
Self published on the 11th May 2011 on Smashwords, with a bought cover image imposed with my own text, my short story
The Bones of the Sea was technically my first publication. But it didn't feel official. My first short I'd written in decades, and my first attempt at self publishing,
Bones was an experiment, a trial run. So while it's my first publication, I didn't feel it was truly my debut author launch. It was simply something I put into an ebook because I felt it was too long to stick in a blog post.
While it may have eventually gone through professional edits and gained a new cover, both courtesy of my
Tadashi Dani Fine and even made it into print via the bonus material in my sci-fi novel
Gethyon, this often unregarded firstborn has always been somewhat neglected. And yet I am proud of this little short. It was, after all, my first. It was also the result of much frustration in myself at my inability to keep things brief. And it also gave me my first blog post at
Spacefreighters Lounge shortly before being invited to be a full-time crew member. So why is it treated like the poor relation of my now not insignificant collection of titles?
I guess I just have favourites. And let's face it, a full length novel taken up by a publisher is going to outshine a little self pubbed short in terms of significance. Keir was the maiden voyage into publication with a press rather than the dipping a tentative toe into self publication (at the time anyway). Keir was the book that made me think I had made it (insert self deprecating laughter here) and first met the editor who would change my publishing life (love her!).
So my authorly debut remains the 7th May, and 2021 marks it as nine years. Sorry
Bones!
