As I do each month, here comes an update on the travails of being a writer…sorry, an AUTHOR now!
So here’s a silly bit of trivia for you.
Till today, everything I’ve written on the blog and every newsletter you’ve had from me, has been from Berna Hudson: the ‘writer’. But this one’s different. Now that TOUCHED BY LIGHT is out and about (and hopefully on your bedside table, backpack, or desk) it’s from Berna Hudson: the AUTHOR. Once your book is published you rise from writer to author. And in my case, to publisher, marketer, and door-to door (or more accurately, con-to-con) sales-person. But yes, I can now call myself an author. Does it make a difference? Not really, but I’ve still changed my social media profiles to say ‘author’…
TOUCHED BY LIGHT IS OUT!
So yes, TOUCHED BY LIGHT is out now and you can order it online and from bookshops if you want to read on paper or you can read it on Kindle (for now). Eventually, it’ll come out on other electronic platforms, but at the moment it’s only Kindle.
On the 30th of this month, the hardback will be available online too, wherever you order books.
BUT in mid-May there’ll be a much prettier hardback on my website only (with blue pages and wolf endpapers). I’m really excited about that one. And for those who wonder, yes, the blue will be ‘Mehruvian blue’ so you can picture the tone accurately.
THE BEAUTY OF BEING HUMAN
The last couple of months have been a journey.
Those who’ve been with me from the start will have seen all the disasters: the availability dates got muddled (I didn’t know that Amazon, Ingram, and my English printers would each take forever issuing proofs), newsletters came twice (sometimes garbled, as I figured out the website), and a million other mistakes.
It’s what happens when I’m a human trying to figure things out on my own with no clear playbook. Nothing has gone as smoothly as planned and deadlines have had to get moved so I can fix my mess-ups, but I’ve got there in the end. Almost. Or, I’m getting there. And I’ve (hopefully) learnt enough logistics so that when RULE OF REASON comes out in the summer, it’ll be smooth sailing (I started laughing aloud derisively when I wrote that – Echo sat up, shocked!).
And yes, that’s my segue into that thorniest of current subjects: AI in the creative sphere. In my case, NONE. And each person and company I collaborate with in the making of my books (cartographers, designers, editors, formatters, and narrators) must confirm in writing that they will not use AI in their work with me.
I will use correct punctuation, em-dashes, semi-colons, and the best old English grammar, but only with the aid of my trusty Thesaurus and the assistance of a well-thumbed Dreyer’s English. And then my editor will come in with her red pen and makes snarky comments on the margins as any proper editor should.
AI hasn’t come close to, and will remain as far as possible from, my work. If you already have one of my books, you’ll see a little symbol on the back issued by the Society of Authors in the UK. It denotes Human Authored books. It’s a matter of trust, of course, but for those like me, who don’t want AI near their work, it’s a badge of honour.
Why, you ask, when so many in the world of books are embracing and pushing for it?
Because I rejoice in imagination and creativity and truly believe that it’s what makes us human. So I will carry on creating works of imperfection proudly.
SO, WHAT ELSE?
A lot.
Over Easter, I was up in Birmingham for Iridiscence Eastercon 2026 run by the British Science Fiction Association. There were science fiction and fantasy authors from all over the UK and beyond. It was memorable for a lot of reasons.
Not only did I meet fascinating and incredibly talented people, but I also participated in my first ever panel. AS A PANELIST. I was absolutely petrified. While I can talk my head off in a one-to-one, or write till doomsday, I don’t do that well in groups. And less when up on a stage. Even less when I end up on a panel that is not on a subject I know much about. BUT it was a panel nonetheless and good practice, so I prepared to death on the subject of Animals in Science Fiction and Fantasy. And now you’ll be wondering if I feature talking animals in my books. The answer is NO. Not now and not ever. I have nothing against them, but it’s just not my thing. But there are a lot animals in my books, some that you’d recognise and others that you wouldn’t. I use them to illustrate my world and show you that it’s slightly different to the one you know. In the end, I found plenty to say and the experience wasn’t as traumatic as I expected. So much so that I’ve already put my name down for a panel at Fantasycon in October, hopefully in a subject closer related to my stories.
Also at Eastercon, a fellow indie author offered to host my books at her table in the Dealer’s Room. Touched by Light wasn’t properly out yet and nobody really knows much about me (YET, YET, YET!), but I (optimistically) showed up with a stack of paperbacks that I forgot to sign. When I was about to do so, someone asked if I had a ‘special’ pen. It’s a ‘thing’ that I didn’t know: authors sign their books with ‘special’ pens.
I searched my backpack and found a very special pen: given to me by Luke Gygax after I died horribly in a DnD game he ran at the 20Books Conference in 2023. It’s more than special as it has a level, an inbuilt ruler, a screwdriver, and a dozen other tools, which are useless for signing but essential if I ever get lost in a dungeon, which is highly unlikely but never impossible as those who’ve read Dungeon Crawler Carl will know. So I signed my stack with Luke’s pen and hoped for the best. And for the curious, I sold five – not bad at all for someone nobody’s heard of!
THE BOOK JOURNEY
I did it in the most complicated way possible.
How come?
I wanted to cover all my bases. So, I published the electronic version first, then the international version (EU, Canada, Australia, and US), and finally the UK one that can be ordered through bookshops. Would you be surprised to know that the UK version is a different length and width? British bookshops like ‘B format’ paperbacks and ‘Royal’ hardbacks, while the rest of the world want a simple 5×8” and 6×3”. Sigh.
My cover designer was a trooper in figuring out the differences required for each and after much back and forth we got there. Kind of. The proof for the hardback came back with a wolf that’s not quite centred. Well, it’s centred to the cover itself, but ignores the spine, so seems off centre.
I’m toying with leaving it: imperfections denote the human. But I also wonder whether it’ll drive the perfectionist human in me batty knowing it’s not centred…
I’m also working on audio. That was a totally different learning curve.
I first had to choose the snippets of TOUCHED BY LIGHT for the auditions. That was difficult because I needed to see how the narrators would navigate different ages, cultures, and genders. Then, I had to choose the narrator. It was so very hard. The four who auditioned were fantastic, and all had voices that did different things. Those I consulted on them had so many opinions. I had more. In the end, I went for the guy who had most votes amongst those asked and who could commit to the books in the series that have a male POV. He was also the one whose voice was interesting enough but not so much that it distracted from the story. Audio will be out everywhere in June, hopefully.
THE ROAD TRIP
And amidst the figuring out all those intricacies, messing them up, and straightening them out again, I was packing up my house and cleaning out twenty years’ worth of STUFF. It’s surprising how much you can accumulate in 20 years. Of course, our impending houseworks were timed exactly for when the book was coming out. I was juggling many, many balls and dropping just as many. The builders assured us that if they had to work round Echo and me, the whole project would take more than a year, but if we left, less. So we decided to leave for Madrid.
It was utter madness, but I managed the deadline and at dawn (literally) on the 23rd of April, Echo and I climbed aboard a blue van that would bring us to Madrid with bags, boxes, and so many books. She was very not impressed with the mode of transport but finally settled on her bed behind me for the crossing through the tunnel to France.
We stopped every few hours at petrol stations. What can I say? French petrol stations are something else: spotless bathrooms, ample picnic areas with dog-walking greens, and excellent food. I was impressed if Echo was not. The hotel in France was not to her liking. By nightfall, she’d decided we were now van people so took exception to sleeping in a room. I, on the other hand, was very happy to exchange the car seat for a bed. As a roommate, I can tell you: she snores.
The next morning, she greeted the van like her long-lost home and jumped in with an agility surprising in an eight-year-old Dane. We finally arrived in Madrid to 28C weather. Danes hate the heat. I’ve not had the heart to tell her that it’ll only get worse towards summer. Like she refused to go out in the rain in London, she now avoids direct sunlight.
For Echo, becoming an urban dog hasn’t been that hard and she’s already a great favourite at the local ‘terrazas’. Rarely has such a big dog been seen in the area! And since this morning, she’s legal: registered with the police and the Comunidad de Madrid, with her own ID papers, passport, and tags, like any self-respecting and law-abiding Spanish dog!
For me, it’s very strange. I haven’t lived in Madrid since my 20s. Both the city and I were very different then. There’s an element of going back in time together with a sense of discovery. And my closest friends are here: the people who met me when I’d just landed from Chile, not sure who I was yet or who I’d become. I feel very lucky to be able to spend this time round them enjoying normal, day-to-day life— walking the dog, meeting for a glass of wine after a day of writing, or sharing a quick coffee. For many years our meetings have been all too short. So this is nice.
NEWS ON FREEBIES!
Last, but not least, I want to let you know that towards the end of May, I’ll be sending the free e-book linked to Touched by Light to all those who are signed up to my newsletter. FAREWELL TO THE HUNTER is Marie’s story as a young girl and explores the choices she makes that lead her to where you find her in TOUCHED BY LIGHT. It has the added bonus of allowing you to meet a teenage Peryst.
I’ve had a lot of fun writing the e-books for each of the five books in the series. I’ve explored side characters, ancient history, and given depth to events in the main books. I hope you’ll enjoy them as complements to the main story.
WHAT NEXT?
Next I’ll be going on the Milford Writer’s Retreat at the Gladstone Library. It’s a week of just writing. I’m not allowed to edit, do admin, or do marketing.
I’m not sure what I’ll be working on.
It may be another novella to include in a companion anthology of novellas linked to the HAND OF REASON series.
Or perhaps I’ll leave that alone for a bit and go and play in Meyan, with the early drafts of the CIRCLES OF MEYAN duology… Who knows?
So, on that note, I leave you.
Be safe, stay healthy, and KEEP READING!
Till next time, the AUTHOR signs off.