Tuesday 16 March 2010

Anyone for Cake?

Today, 16th March, is my birthday. More specifically, it's my official birthday.

Marshall Buckley's birth actually came as a surprise. No advanced warning, no expanding waist-line, no visits to ante-natal clinics. One day: nothing: the next: Hello World. It was not, in truth, a difficult birth. Surprising, yes; difficult, no.

Like many newborns, Marshall Buckley went for some weeks without a name. Of course, many were tried but they didn't seem to fit very well. Often, the comment was made that "there is no rush", but over time, the lack of a name began to prove problematic.

It wasn't until nearly 2 months later - 8th May to be precise - that the name was agreed upon and Marshall Buckley finally assumed his new identity.

Marshall Buckley is one year old today.

For those of you that are new to the story, that's not a mistake. I really did mean one year old.

Because (of course!) Marshall Buckley, the author, is really a combined entity. Two become one, if you like. My biography would probably read:
Marshall Buckley lives in the UK and Canada and is married (twice!) with five children, four dogs and three cats.

Is this any clearer yet?

It's been an interesting year. What started out as a very vague post on Facebook, something along the lines of "I have an idea for a book. Would anyone like to help me write it?" turned into a 115,000 words novel in 8 weeks. Just a few weeks later the offer of representation came, from Lora Fountain, and contracts were signed in September.

Meanwhile, the sequel was written (85,000 words) and sent to Lora. Both are currently under submission with a number of publishers both in the UK and abroad.

The third book in the series was started, and put on hold. A fourth book was started, and also put on hold, and a fifth book (the current WIP) currently stands at 40,000 words.

Of course, all that's missing is that elusive publishing contract. But hopes are high, and these things take time. You can be sure that any news will be shared here.

For now, please join me in my birthday celebrations. Here's to more, much more, of the same!

5 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Marshall Buckley (both of you)! I'm so glad we share the same day.

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  2. Happy Birthday Marshall Buckley!

    What a serendipitous series of events. I have no fear - you will be published! Keep at it!

    You get two birthday hugs - one for the year past (*hug) and one for the year to come (*hug). Good luck!

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  3. Happy birthday to such a precocious one-year-old! What a fortunate series of events; Am new to Facebook and happy to know that it can use its power for good.

    What kind of cake? Mmmmm.

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  4. Happy Birthday, Marshall. TweetCocktails later? Now give yourself a birthday treat and come on over to http://scribblecitycentral.blogspot.com/2010/03/ten-of-best-heroes-in-childrens-fiction.html and choose your 10 favourite children's book heroes. I know you love a bit of procrastination! :-) Lucy

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  5. Happy birthday :) You've got an agent so hopefully a publishing contract isn't too far away.

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