In the Beginning
Yes. I do hope you have Magic Fountain stuck in your head for the rest of the day now.
Trying to introduce myself as an author to the internet is almost as hard and stressful as introducing my book in the form of a tiny 113 word synopsis on the back cover. I think a lot of different people see me in a lot of different lights. For example, I have two small people who see me as ‘Mum’, I have one wonderful man who sees me as ‘Wife’—it’s even my contact name in his phone—and I’m sure there are even a few people who, much to my regret, may still see me as ‘that bitch from high school’… (Sorry.) Therefore, I’m not about to limit myself to one title.
I guess there are more important points than how many kids I have or which wrong crowd I got caught up with in my younger years that a stranger may find useful when deciding whether or not to invest in my writing. Info that might steer them to read something I’ve written or to follow me on social platforms while I navigate my way through this daunting but fantastic new world of writing and self-publishing.
Firstly, I have absolutely zero professional or academic history with creative writing. (How am I doing with selling my book to you, so far?) I simply loved to read when I was in high school and—with the freedom that is not being an adult yet—could easily get through one novel every 24 hours or so. Mostly the bigger names from back then like Jodi Picoult, Stephen Chbosky and John Green… like, a lot of John Green. But I always struggled to understand the geographical mentions or cultural references, and in the beginning I was very confused when the characters were starting school towards the end of the calendar year. I vowed that I would write myself a story that was just as romantic and beautiful as the American authors’ I loved, but base it in my own country with its own traditions and own rites of passage (not to mention the higher amount of filthy profanity).
One day in Year 12 I somehow stumbled across a song called Your Graduation by Modern Baseball and could suddenly see the life and story of Logan Hamilton and Pia King flashing through my mind. I began creating the world of Woodston Bay—subliminally based in Australia—and got to work on this adorable and slightly angsty love story. I didn’t share it with anyone because it was only a hobby that I dipped into when I had the time.
A few years later, when I was well into wife-life and motherhood, I casually told Jarrod that I’d written a book when I was in school. He was super surprised that I’d never mentioned it to him and I had to explain that it was just a silly little story I’d pulled from my imagination and it wasn’t even a completed work yet. Jarrod asked if he could read it anyway, fell in love with it, and became very frustrated with me that I didn’t have more faith in my own writing talent. I gave it another go for a few months, but once again, life got in the way.
Once the second human I made was able to dress himself, I suddenly found myself with a little more time on my hands and started working towards finishing Firsts & Lasts. That was the round that Jarrod urged me to make it a book. A real one. A published one. One that other people would read! It was a scary thought to picture, letting strangers in on this little world I’d created from scratch, but I’d also fallen in love with the make-believe people and agreed that they deserved to be shared.
Eventually our small electrical business grew enough where I could finish working full-time and had enough hours in the day to get my story completed. I swallowed my fear and sent the first draft to a few friends and family. To my absolute relief, they fucking loved it. Even my parents, who would probably have never reached for a book like this if their own child didn’t produce it, said they really enjoyed the read. That was enough to tip the scales from my fear of failure and I soon decided to get in touch with Tellwell to assist with my self publication.
The final product is nothing like what I originally started with (so don’t be surprised if the plot barely relates to the lyrics of Your Graduation anymore), but I’m so ridiculously happy with the end result and have genuinely enjoyed reading it again and again throughout the editing and publishing process.
I hope my readers enjoy the story, characters and—especially the fellow Aussies—the nostalgia of their high school social life. At the end of the day, I just really hope it isn’t a flop because I already have a sequel practically ready to go which means just as much to me, despite being written in a much shorter time span.
All my love and thanks for your support!
Kit Hindmarsh x
