I am so very excited to report that my debut novel, “Known to Social
Services” will be ready for publication in February 2015. This is the moment I
have been waiting for and now it’s almost upon me, I am filled with many
emotions. Excitement is the overriding feeling, which dominates, though I must
admit that this is tinged with a healthy dose of apprehension. Will people like
the book? Is it too shocking? What if? What if? What will my fellow social
workers think about it? Will they feel it’s authentic? Will they dismiss it as
too fanciful?
So many thoughts racing through my head, and yet above it all, I feel a
sense of pure elation.
I have written a book, and that in itself really IS something to feel
good about. However, the moment of truth will soon be here and there will be
nowhere to hide once it is published and “out there”.
There are still things to do; there is the final reading of the edited
work to approve, a disclaimer to write, and so many people to make contact with
that it makes my head spin just thinking about it. However, I feel like a
racehorse trapped in the stalls waiting for the “off”. I can’t wait to run with
it, promote it, and most of all to own it and say, yes, this is my work and I
hope you like it. No, let’s be honest, I hope you love it and come back asking
for more.
The book is brutally honest and filled with the grim reality, which is
the world of the child protection social worker. It may well shock you and find
you exclaiming aloud. I recall a “true life” book I read many years ago, which
saw me actually throw the book across the room as I shouted, “NO” in horror,
hoping to somehow physically distance myself from this particular child’s trauma
by doing so. It’s a book to challenge us all to the realities of what real life
is like for thousands of children and their social workers across the
world.
It’s been a tremendous journey and one, which I know is really just
beginning. I sincerely hope that you will all come along for the ride with me; you are all so very welcome.
Freya