How writing changed my life

There’s no doubt about it. Writing has changed my life. In June 2012 I was a wannabe writer, waiting to see whether a book I’d submitted to a publisher named Boroughs Publishing Group was going to go anywhere.

Well, we all know how that turned out. Luckily they saw the story beneath the inexperience of the first time writer and finally, in August 2012, my first book, ‘Cassandra by Starlight’ was published.  It was the start of a journey I was embarking on with absolutely no clue where it was going to lead.

Of course, having a published book meant I had to try and get people to read it. And honestly? I’d always been scathing about the uses and effects of social media, thinking that things like Facebook, Twitter and Google + were the scourge of the planet and only moody teenagers and perverts lurked in their depths. Boy did I have a lot to learn…I found myself doing crash courses on social networking, talking to kids far younger than I about how the hell it all worked. It was sobering to find out I knew absolutely nothing about the big, wide world out there and that in fact, social networking wasn’t really that bad.

So I learnt, I lurked, I queried, I pestered and tried to absorb what other people knew into my own brain. And this is where my first deep, dark confession comes to bear – I actually found I was starting to enjoy it. I liked making friends on Facebook, seeing what they were working on and hearing what they thought of the writing and publishing industry into which I’d been catapulted. I enjoyed seeing people follow me on Twitter, seeing the numbers grow and realising people liked what I was saying. I found a sense of satisfaction in writing guest posts for people’s blogs, answering questions in author interviews and being show cased by people who certainly were doyens of the industry.

It made me feel a part of something that I never thought I could be part of. I’d had dreams of becoming a published author since I was a child and won a competition with a story called ‘The Green Menace.’ When I got published my husband was over the moon for me as he knew just how much I’d dreamt of it. We’ve been together since we were in the final year of High School, (yes, a very long time!) so he knew of my hopes and aspirations in this regard. I developed my social networking skills to a point where I , me! was being asked for advice, and delivering courses and advice to writing circles and fellow authors. I became a ‘guru’, finding new ways to do things and promote myself.

It’s an incredible feeling, being able to indulge in a passion like writing and getting paid for it -finally. I made a decision early in 2013 to write in a specific genre, one I’d been introduced to while doing research for another book, and this turned out to be the best decision I could have made. My first M/M Romance, ‘Stripped Bare’ became a best seller, garnered some great reviews and made me feel I was part of a family that was in itself diverse, quirky and downright supportive.

I’ve met psychologists, fellow writers, struck up online friendships with some of my heroes like Josh Lanyon, been interviewed by local newspapers, appeared on a radio show, attended festivals and writing workshops, joined a fantastic writing circle, and been able to indulge my naughty passion for making men have sex with one another. How can a job like that ever be bad ?

~ Susan Mac Nicol

About the Book

Title: Saving Alexander

Author: Susan Mac Nicol

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

Bookseller: Boroughs Publishing Group

Punishing himself for a horrific past that is not his fault, bestselling author Alexander Montgomery seeks redemption and love—and perhaps he will find it.

Famous author though he may be, Alexander Montgomery is not someone you take home to meet Mother. Seriously flawed, damaged by a horrific past, he’s trying hard to claw his way back to normality. But how can anyone respect what he truly is? His therapy involves regular sessions at Study in Scarlet, an exclusive S&M club.

Then comes Sage. Tall, with black hair and blue eyes, an up-and-coming actor with impossible charm and boy-next-door good looks, he’s the perfect choice to play the leading man in a TV adaptation of Alex’s last best-seller. Even more, he is a man you introduce to your family. Which Alex would do—if he weren’t taken by another man who offers the punishments Alex prays will wipe away the past and make him the person he wants to be. Yet, perhaps there is another path to redemption. If only the solution would reach out and touch him.

Read Jen B.’s 5 STAR REVIEW for SAVING ALEXANDER

Tour Giveaway

Susan and her publisher, Boroughs Publishing Group, will be awarding a five-book subscription to their Lunchbox Romance line, plus a copy of Stripped Bare to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

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About Susan Mac Nicol

Susan Mac Nicol was born in Leeds, UK, and left for South Africa when she was eight. She returned to the UK thirty years later and now lives in Essex. Her debut novel Cassandra by Starlight, the first in a trilogy, was published earlier this year by Boroughs Publishing Group in the US. Sue’s latest story, Saving Alexander is her second m/m romance.

Sue has written since she was very young, and never thought she would see herself being a Romance writer, being a horror/psychological thriller reader all her life. But the Romance genre is now something very close to her heart and she intends continuing the trend.

Sue is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Romantic Novelists Association here in the UK.

To learn more, visit Susan on her website and blog on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and Pinterest.

Susan Mac Nicol is also author of The Magick of Christmas, Confounding Cupid, Cassandra by Starlight , Together in Starlight and the best-selling Stripped Bare.

TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEXT STOP OF THIS TOUR, CLICK THE BELOW LINK:

Saving Alexander – Blog Tour Schedule