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Welcome!

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I’m Laura Hockley, children’s author/illustrator and self publisher. I live in the gorgeous Hunter Valley, am Mama to two incredible little humans, and have a passion for promoting literacy in all its forms. I write picture books, chapter books, short stories, and occasionally dabble in novel writing.

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My books include Evangeline’s Moon, my most recently published picture book, which was the first I also illustrated, and my most recent publication Tennyson Mouse, an illustrated chapter book. Tennyson Mouse will be the topic of my next post, as I take you through how he came to life on the page and became a book.

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I’m so excited that Jen has invited me to share my experiences with you all, as I get asked often how I go about the process of self publishing my work, and how others can do it too. In these posts I’ll be talking about the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of self-publishing, and how I go about creating my characters, my stories, and take you through my process of going from the seeds of ideas to a final published book or story.

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There are a lot of benefits to self publishing, such as maintaining creative control over your work, but there are also many trials – such as trying to source editors, illustrators, book designers, printers, distributors, etc etc, as well as finding ways to promote your work without the backing of another company behind you. In my blog posts I’ll be taking you through the journey that I’ve experienced, and also doing a little research and speaking to other authors who have self published, and finding out about their experiences, and how they’ve gone about getting their work out there.

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If you’re interested in learning more about my work you can find me on social media at http://www.facebook.com/laurahockleycreative,

as well as http://www.instagram.com/laurahockleycreative. My website is currently undergoing a complete revamp but I’ll be sure to get you all a link when it’s back up and running. You can also follow the adventures of my pal Tennyson Mouse by heading over to

https://laurakhockley.wixsite.com/tennysonmouse/.

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That’s all from me today on Etchings of Thought.

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In my next post I’ll be taking you through the process of how I took a pencil sketch from my sketchbook and was inspired to create a series of stories all about an adventurous mouse and the colourful characters he meets on his journeys through the Aruna Valley where he makes his home, and the wider world around him.

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Until next time

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Xo Laura

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