Lost Luggage Publication Day! Blog post – Never Too Late

Sam Tonge — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 15:05:06 +0000

Today sees the publication of Lost Luggage, my second story with Boldwood Books.

I’m really excited to share it – it’s 72 year old Dolly’s story, a story about life always being full of chances, it’s never too late to turn things around.

When I was heading for my late twenties, recovering from a mental health illness and, at times, stressful university experience, I remember the panic I felt, deep inside, that I’d missed all my chances. I’d never have a career. Never find a partner. My illness had caused me to turn down many opportunities. After graduating I stayed inside for several months, rarely going out unless it was with my parents. I didn’t want to see anyone else. Or, rather, I didn’t want anyone to see me.

That lonely, isolating time is what inspired the story of Lost Luggage, along with Covid and the lockdowns so many of us, around the world, endured, spending months, years in some cases, stuck indoors.

Seventy-two year old Dolly, in particular, has a sense that it is all too late, that she’s missed her chances and settled for a life that is far from the dreams she harboured as a young woman. Her life fell apart when she was let down badly in her twenties and her plans for the future evaporated. As a result she moved in with her older sister and lived with her for fifty years. But then Greta left too and Dolly’s life fell apart again.

As a woman in my mid-fifties, I still have mental health issues, however I no longer experience that depth of hopeless despair because I now have the gift of hindsight. I realise that every year, whatever age you are, brings the possibility of following your dreams, of things turning around and a trough becoming a peak.

Take my career. I didn’t get published until my mid forties and I know writers who’ve got their first deal a couple of decades after that. And then there are my drinking issues. For a long time I’d known I had a problem and it going full-blown was always *in the post* as addicts say. That post arrived big time when I got published and in 2016 I finally went into treatment. So it wasn’t too late for me, I got there eventually and now I’m almost six years sober.

The key to finally achieving your goals? It’s facing your fears. Forcing yourself to do the most difficult thing. And accepting help from people to do so. For me… in my twenties it was a matter of undergoing therapy and forcing myself out to meet friends, and getting a job. To get published, I had to brace myself and send out work, with support from fellow writers. I received over eighty rejections but kept going. And to get sober, with the support of my husband and children I faced the scary prospect of a treatment programme with other addicts. It was one of the hardest processes I’ve ever been through, but when you reach a point where your situation feels as if it can’t get any worse, what have you got to lose?

With the encouragement of her neighbours retired Leroy and eleven year old Flo, Dolly realises she, too, must push herself out of her comfort zone. When she bids on a piece of lost luggage and finds a notebook inside it, containing a Year of Firsts, the answer has landed in her lap.

Dolly must undertake these challenges herself – with a little help from her friends.

Ten Surprising Things About Being Published

Sam Tonge — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 10:39:25 +0000

Back in 2005, when I first started writing, I joined a wonderful online forum called WriteWords. There I learnt a lot, from published authors, about what it was like to have your dream come true – the good, the bad and the ugly. It prepared me, in part, for the journey I was about to go on. But there have still been many things that have taken me by surprise along the way and here are some of them… It’s been quite a publishing pinata…

One – my debut being published didn’t change my life to fit my fantasies. My book wasn’t turned into a movie. Brad Pitt didn’t star. I wasn’t invited onto Graham Norton’s sofa. I didn’t turn into a glamour puss or overnight become the owner of a Porsche.

The fulfilment came in different ways – a lovely review. Interest from family and friends. Support from the wonderful writing community. I soon realised it’s these immaterial things that mean so much.

Two – The release of each book (I’ve had ten published now) is just as terrifying and exhilarating as the last. Five years on and I realise that however well a novel does, you are only as good as your next book so that means you are always nervous about the publication of something new.

Three – it’s really hard work promoting a book. I never realised quite how much an author had to do, especially if they don’t have a PR person on hand to help. My first publisher gave me an information pack that gave guidelines and before I knew it I was tweeting, had a Facebook author page, was on Pinterest and Goodreads, I ran a blog…

I’m lucky. I enjoy social media greatly but even I find it challenging at times and whilst it wasn’t to blame, it didn’t help the mental health problems I faced in 2016 (I talk about those here).

Four – I discovered that special breed The Blogger! Bloggers are amazing. Generous. Efficient. Supportive. They offer up their time, for free, to help promote and review books. And they are the loveliest people.

Five – I thought that after releasing many books some of the inner excitement might have worn off but I still get the same, huge kick from seeing my sales rank rise on Amazon or reading a great review. I was beside myself with excitement when I saw the cover for my new women’s fiction story Forgive Me Not. Those things never cease to thrill me.

Six – I never predicted how being published would feed into the eating disorder issues I’d had for years. I guess, looking back, it’s obvious. It’s hard not to see yourself as a brand and with that comes expectations. I’m still striving to separate Sam the person from Samantha Tonge author. I try to see the ups and downs of my career as a professional journey that doesn’t reflect the worth or success of me. I blog about my tips for good authorly mental health here.

Seven – publishers are businesses. I don’t think that sank in before I got published. This means many things such as… they will have favourite authors and the chances are it may not be you! But that’s favourite in terms of who they think will sell. If an editor acquires you, have no doubt, it means they think your writing is the bees knees. They may just have other authors whose work is more commercial and hooky and will bring in more income.

Eight – It’s consolidated who I think I am in a way I didn’t expect. I know my destiny now – what it always was and where it’s going. I know. That sounds a little precious. But it’s true. I felt a degree of that before publication, but signing that deal and – more specifically – finally getting readers and their feedback has made me one hundred percent sure.

Nine – I still feel like giving up sometimes. I thought that would stop once I was published, but it doesn’t. Getting a book deal is fabulous but it does present you with a different set of problems. I’ve had ups and downs, successes and disappointments. I remember seeing an Olympian interviewed who’d won Gold the previous season and she was asked how fantastic that must have felt. Her response was fairly muted – yes, it was great, but winning brings expectations. And that’s how I feel but I try to remember that mostly those expectations are from me, my perfectionist side, and I need to keep them boxed up.

Ten – Whilst I do occasionally feel like giving up, I never forget how amazingly lucky I am to be doing a job I love and to leave a legacy behind, even if it is just a few thousand words! I still remember the pain of agent rejections and having to ditch yet another project and not forgetting this gives me perspective when a problem with my career rears its head.

There are worse problems to have

rejections – Samantha Tonge

Lost Luggage Publication Day! Blog post – Never Too Late

Ten Surprising Things About Being Published