The nerves are kicking in - Tara Lyons
Earlier in the year I, foolishly some might say,
raised my hand to join an author event next month. Back then, mid-writing my
work in progress, July felt like a million miles away. Well, it wasn’t,
obviously, and the countdown is now against me.
What’s wrong with attending an author event, you might
ask? For me, loads. Especially when you’re fourth in line to stand up and read
a chapter from your book. Some writers relish in this time and it comes
naturally to them to read aloud the words they silently typed on their
keyboard. To share a moment with your readers, when they hear your voice and
are given the opportunity to ask you questions about the book, or your writing
journey. All of this fills me with dread.
It takes me back to my first year of university and a
creative writing module I was studying. Part of our final grade, I think twenty
or thirty per cent of it, was marked on each of us standing in front of the
class (no more than twenty people, I’d guess) and read aloud a piece of our
creative writing. It scared me, but I thought, I hardly knew anyone in the
class, I can be anyone I want to be; not that terrified girl of public speaking
pre-university. I let the nerves bubble away in the background, practiced reading
my piece of writing in the mirror and that fateful morning I walked into
campus. My fingers lingered over the door handle and my skin burnt with panic.
No one was around, everyone already being in the classroom, so I backed away. I
walked down the stairs and back to my halls of residence. I completely
understood I was throwing valuable marks away, but my feet were stubborn and
lead the way home without a second thought.
The fear of public speaking has stayed with me. So,
the idea of joining eleven other Bloodhound Books authors in a few weekends, to
read the prologue of one of my books, comes with mixed feelings. I’m much other
now and have faced a lot in life that my eighteen-year-old self wouldn’t understand.
I’m a mother and want to set a good example. I’m an author and people have not
only bought my book, but also the tickets to come to the event – they want to
hear me read. These are the positive thoughts I’m allowing to swim around my
head, while trying to push the teenager full of fear who’s trying to wade forward
with the nerves. I’m hoping the couple of alcoholic beverages I have before the
event will knock her back in her place.
So please, think of me on Saturday 1 July and keep your
fingers crossed that this time I do open the door and walk through.
Tara is a crime/psychological thriller author from London, UK. Turning 30 in 2015 propelled her to fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. In the Shadows is Tara's debut solo novel published in March 2016. She co-wrote The Caller and Web of Deceit: A DI Sally Parker novella with New York Times bestselling author, M.A Comley. In August 2016 Tara signed a two-book contract with Bloodhound Books. The second book in the DI Hamilton series, No Safe Home, was published in January 2017.
To find out more, visit her Amazon and Facebook pages by clicking the links below:
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