I am an aspiring fiction author writing my first novel and sharing my journey to self-publishing. I will share two types of content:

1) Content around my novel - This will include progress I've made, craft tips I've incorporated, and interesting research I've come across.

2) Content about self-publishing - Self-publishing is a business where you need to create and market a physical and digital product effectively to attract customers (i.e. readers). I will share everything I've learned on my journey.

Who am I?

Here's a bit about my past, present and future. Not in that order.

Present

Hi :)

I go by Bella Wade in this online space. I recently married the love of my life and we live in a cute little town in Yorkshire.

Here is a photo from our wedding. I didn't sleep a wink the night before the wedding and I wore an off-the-shoulder dress in January. I didn't feel the cold. I didn't feel tired. I didn't even feel hungry. It's incredible what dopamine does to us. That, and adrenaline and three shots of espresso first thing in the morning.

In my spare time, I enjoy making sourdough, reading books, gardening, taking walks in the fields near us, and spending quality time with my husband, friends and family.

I'm a freelance writer currently working for an incredible personal finance company with some lovely people. My 9 to 5 involves a lot of writing and research so it's sometimes tricky having the energy to delve into even more writing and research for my novel but I do my best and give myself lots of grace because I've always wanted to write fiction.

Past

I have been an avid reader since I was a little girl growing up in Bulgaria. I didn't speak a word of English before I moved abroad with my family when I was 10, but picked up the language quickly in part because I was an avid reader.

My mother joked that my reading habit would bankrupt them. When I was in Middle School, I could easily get through a book a day sometimes. The school librarian didn't always believe I read so quickly but I gave her verbal reviews of the books I read until she did.

I also always loved writing stories. I wrote these in old notebooks, often. But when I went to university, I stopped writing for fun or reading for fun. Instead, I read "serious books that mattered" and "classics that stood the test of time". And don't get me wrong, some of those books transformed me. But along the way, I forot what it's like to stay up all night reading because I couldn't put the book down until I found out what happened next. I forgot what it's like to get lost in a world I created myself. And that's a tragedy. Nobody should lose the spark that keeps their soul alive.

Future

I want to be a novelist and an avid reader. I want to build a community. I want to share my journey starting today. Please, join me on this journey as I rediscover the things in my life that brought me joy.