It’s turning out to be a very exciting time for me. Not only were my books featured as part of the fabulously successful Aria gang lit week last week but I’ve also just signed a contract with literary agent, Jo Bell of Bell Lomax Moreton. For me it fulfils a 20 year quest to find an agent and publisher.

I met Jo at the Aria author party a few weeks ago and mentioned to her that I was looking for an agent. Jo was lovely to talk to and came over as enthusiastic and professional. We agreed to chat further and the upshot is that I have signed up with Bell Lomax Moreton.

I see it as the next stage in my author journey and I’m hoping Jo can further my writing career. It’s encouraging that Jo has a strong background in publishing on the sales side of things and that the agency has some very successful authors on the books.

It’s also a joy to have finally found an agent. I first started approaching agencies around twenty years ago when I wrote the first three chapters and synopsis of the book that was later to become Slur. Sadly, I didn’t succeed and I eventually published the book independently until I was spotted by a publisher.

Last year, with six published novels to my name and a contract with a reputable publisher, I decided to have another try at finding an agent but after several attempts I again gave up. The whole process is time consuming and it’s disheartening when you don’t even get a reply so I decided to focus on my writing instead.

I foolishly thought that as a published author it would be easier to attract an agent but how wrong I was. The reason, I believe, is that agents are so inundated with manuscripts that they simply get consigned to the ‘slush’ pile. I think there’s a lot to be said for the personal approach where you get to meet agents face to face and both decide whether you want to work together.

I’m very enthusiastic about working with Jo as I’ve heard a lot of good things about her. It’s a comforting feeling knowing that I’ve got someone on board who can provide strong representation, support and advice. Here’s to the future: