There’s a strange moment every writer hopes for, but never quite believes will happen.
You see your book sitting on a shelf.
Not as scribbled notes on your desk. Not on a screen. Not in draft. Not as a ream of printed paper covered in highlights and edits. Not as an email returned from beta readers or your editor.
No. On a shelf, among other stories, waiting to be picked up.
That moment came for me yesterday in Ambleside, at Fred’s Bookshop, right beside Lake Windermere. The same landscape that shaped The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier is now where the book quietly sits, part of the world that inspired it.
It’s easy to focus on the end result, but what stays with me more is everything that came before it.
The idea that wouldn’t leave you for years.
The research that kept expanding.
The rewrites.
The editing (cold shivers down the spine).
The doubt.
There were points where it felt like the story might never be finished, or worse, finished but never read.
And yet, here it is.
What I’ve learned through this process is simple. The gap between an idea and something real is persistence. Not inspiration. Not talent. Just continuing, even when the outcome is uncertain.
If you’re part of the WordPress community, you’re already creating something. A blog, a story, a portfolio, a body of work. It might not look like much now. It might feel unfinished, or unseen.
That doesn’t mean it stays that way.
Everything starts somewhere.
📖 The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier is now available in select Lake District bookshops, including Ambleside (Fred’s Bookshop) and Grasmere (Sam Read Bookseller), with more to follow.
If you’re nearby, you might just find it on a shelf.
On a personal note: If you’ve read The Mereland Chronicles, please consider leaving a review. Every review helps more readers discover the story. Thank you for your support.
– Scrib
Paul J. Scribbans - Author 