Fifty Shades of Yay! by Guest Author Anya Allen

Finishing a novel is only the start of what needs to done when publishing your own book. Because then comes the rewriting, editing, proofreading, cover design, formatting and a hundred other things.

But when you do finish, there's an enormous sense of relief.

The finish seems a loooong way from where you started! A book is a journey that starts with an idea. My idea for Dollhouse came from a trip to Barrington Tops, which is a wilderness area in Australia (around four hours drive from Sydney). I stayed with a friend in a wood cabin by the river, and it was just magic. My thoughts ran away with me, and I began imagining ghosts and supernatural beings inhabiting the forests.

The photo is of me at a place named Ladies Well—which is mentioned in the book. It wasn't far from the cabin where we stayed.

Dollhouse was conceived as a short story, but then the story grew legs and ran away with itself. Characters began making decisions that placed them in greater danger than I wanted them to be in, and things began happening that I hadn't planned at the start! The supernatural elements had always been there, but now characters were off doing all kinds of things—getting lost, running from the police, and generally doing things they weren't supposed to do. The story twisted itself into a book—a book that was going to end up being around 200,000 words by the time it was finished!

There was only one thing to do, and that was to divide the book into a trilogy. The main story of the first book is wrapped up by the end, but there are unanswered threads that lead into the next books. I'm currently writing Book 2 of the Dollhouse trilogy and loving watching the characters develop further.

Thanks Jennifer, for giving me the chance to write this blog post for Waiting on Sunday to Drown :)

About the author: 

Anya Allyn lives near the beach an hour north of Sydney, Australia. She loves anywhere outdoors that is natural and wild. Or anywhere indoors where Black Forest Cake is on offer. She has four amazing boys and enjoys their energy and happy-go-lucky spirit, and wishes she could plug into some of that energy on days when her 'get up and go' has packed up and gone! She is a former Features' Editor/Community Manager for a media organisation in Australia. The idea for Doll House was born after a trip to the beautiful Barrington Tops region of Australia--sparked by places there such as Devils Hole, Ladies Well and Thunderbolt's Way.

http://dollhousetrilogy.com