What happens after you sign a three book contract

I've just signed a contract with Pelican / Watershed for a 3 book YA series called Spirit Walker. *Pinches arm* I keep checking just to make sure that the contract is real and not one of those so-real-you-can-smell-the-coffee dreams. Each time I look, there it is, all signed and beautiful. It is truly the stuff that I hardly dared dream of way back when I first had the crazy thought that I should try writing books.

So have you ever wondered what an author does after signing something like that? Exotic things involving corks and fine crystal? Nope. Painting the town red, hiding from the hordes of screaming fans? Uh, not quite. I went to my little girls room (that's her up there on the beach) and finished cleaning up dirty dishes and clothes. There you have it. Exciting stuff, hey? Hehe.

But the fact is, now the truly exciting bit starts. You see, a contract is a beautiful thing because it comes with a deadline. The beauty of a deadline is that it gives me permission to get lost in my head. It gives me permission to  hide away in my room and hunt words. It gives me permission to say no to some things because I seldom have the guts to do that all by myself.

How about you? What is your big dream and what's stopping you from going for it?

Dianne J. Wilson writes novels from her hometown in East London, South Africa, where she lives with her husband and three daughters. She has just signed a three book contract for a YA series, Spirit Walker, with Pelican / Watershed.

Finding Mia is available from Amazon, Pelican / Harbourlight, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

Shackles is available as a free ebook from Amazon & Smashwords.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter and her sporadic blog Doodles.