It’s a profound feeling to have the book is behind me, I’ve delivered it to the world. There’s an endless number of paths to steer it down, and I’ll be processing my way through them but in saying that the book has got to find its feet now. I have short stories already in the making, and what a liberty to leave the characters of Our Diligent Souls behind as committed as I am to them and as much as I love them.

The book release was memorable, friends that I haven’t heard from in years were checking in to say well done, forgotten workmates, friends who always knew I had it in me. I was astounded that people bought and read the book over the weekend, contacting me to say, ‘Emer, I’m in floods!’ I’m still smiling to myself, knowing that they’d not yet scratched the surface.

I went to a local writer’s night and was pitied for being at the start of the self-publication process. I’m not a complete optimist, I know the road is long but what was ever worthwhile that came easy. I have a serious piece of work to sell, and a brilliant end product in my hand. Above and beyond all of that, I can look back and say before I took up this adventure I was a person living to die, now I’m someone who looking to deepen the challenge, fully aware of what writing has given me back.