How Free Promotions Help Authors

Two weeks ago today my second novel, The Family Trap, came back to paid after being on free promotion for the bank holiday weekend. In this post I’ll be running through exactly what happened as a result of the free promotion: downloads, ranking position, the lot. There has been lots of talk lately about Amazon making changes to Free as a marketing tool, and I’ll also look at these changes and what they might mean. So, lets get down to the nitty gritty.

Free Results

On the 3rd to 5th May (Fri, Sat, Sun) The Family Trap was free and had 12,360 downloads, broken down as follows: UK – 5,142; US – 7,122; ROW – 96

For the purposes of this post I’ll be concentrating on the results in the UK Amazon store, so 5,142 is the figure to keep in mind. While The Family Trap did really well in the US for free downloads, the ranking position and follow-on sales weren’t as significant as those in the UK.

5,142 free downloads gained TFT a position in the free charts of #5 overall. It also got to #2 in Romance. This wasn’t a great weekend to choose, as there was a lot of competition! Tons of big name authors were doing promotions, hoping to catch bank holiday weekend readers – compare my results with those of my mum (who did her free promotion the weekend before, with spectacular post-free results): she had fewer downloads in the UK but gained a ranking position of #3 and far more post-free visibility.

Effect on other titles during the free promotion

TFT is a sequel, and one thing I noticed instantly was the effect the free downloads were having on the preceding title, Can’t Live Without. Here are the stats for CLW before, during and after TFT’s promotion:

Can’t Live Without

Rank & sales pre-promo: #5,499 selling an average of 7 copies a day

During the promo period (3 days), CLW sold 170 more copies – almost 150 more than it would have done ordinarily. This was an unexpected bonus, to be honest – naively I hadn’t considered how the TFT promo would affect this title. And the effects continued:

Rank post-promo: 1 week later – #771; 2 weeks later – #3,058

Currently, two weeks after TFT’s free promo ended, CLW is at 3,177 and is back to selling around 8 copies a day. I’ve played around with categories a bit (info for another post), and it is now at #6 in the Kindle category Humour: Parenting and Family Humour.

Post-promo results

OK, so this is the bit you’re really interested in – how did the free downloads affect ranking and sales figures for The Family Trap. I read a brilliant book by David Gaughran recently called Let’s Get Visible (wish I’d read it before the promotion), where David explains that ranking is affected only by sales. Not by reviews, likes or any other magic buttons – just sales. Interestingly, free downloads don’t count as sales, but borrows do. (Remember this as it will be interesting later when I talk about what I did wrong.) Free downloads do count as sales, however, for the positioning of your book in the Popularity charts. More on this later, but for a proper explanation of how all this works check out David’s book.

Before I talk about the promotion in detail, here are some stats:

Ranking & sales pre-promo: #1,939 overall; #76 in Kindle: Humour, selling an average of 16 copies a day.

TFT reverted to paid on Monday 6th May, with a ranking of around #40,000. This is common – remember that as far as Amazon’s algorithm is concerned this title hadn’t sold any books for 3 days! For the purposes of the Popularity chart – not the same as the Bestseller chart – Amazon does count free downloads, but it takes a few days after a free promotion for the algorithm to catch up. Yes, by Wednesday morning I was depressed and dejected, with TFT languishing further down the charts than it had since its launch in February and selling fewer than 9 a day.

Mid afternoon on Wednesday I clicked refresh on the i-pad and was amazed to see TFT at #850 in the Kindle chart. What had happened? When I clicked on the Kindle Store front page for contemporary romance, there was my lovely cover sitting right up in the top three most popular books. And now people could see the book (visibility, remember), they were downloading it – actually buying copies. Phew!

The Family Trap peaked at #191 overall on Kindle on 10th May – 5 days after the free promo ended. At this point it was selling around 100 copies a day. Sales and ranking began to drop off after this, as other books replaced TFT in the popularity chart. It stayed in the bestseller charts for Romance and Contemporary Romance for another week – these are big categories, and even at only #681 overall in the Kindle store, TFT wasn’t high enough to register in the top 100.

Before you get bored, time for some more figures:

Post-promo sales: 776!

This includes 700 from the UK and 76 from the US. TFT has now reverted to its pre-promo sales level of 16 per day, so I think it’s safe to say the uplift has finished. If I take away from this total the amount of sales I would have achieved anyway, including the sales I’d have had during the free promotion itself, the total of extra sales is 500. It’s not as many as I had for my first free promotion with Can’t Live Without, but it is similar to the second CLW promo. And if I factor in extra sales for CLW, the total additional sales for this promotion are 650. Not bad. Another unexpected result was seeing The Family Trap in the Movers & Shakers chart at #34

Thoughts on Free Promotions

Of course, there’s more to doing a promotion than sales figures alone! I reached over 12,000 new readers, and even if only a quarter of these actually get around to reading TFT, that’s still a worthwhile exercise. I learnt a lot about free promotions, helped by having another one – my mum’s – to compare it to. Her free promo had a far bigger impact than mine on sales and ranking, so let’s look at what was different:

• Timing: The bank holiday weekend was not a good time to do the promotion – there was too much competition for the top spot in free, and too many great books coming off free in the charts to allow TFT longer term, or more ‘sticky’, visibility. The weekend before was also a better time because my mum’s book (A Grave Inheritance) went back to paid just before the end of the month. This gave her title visibility in the Prime members’ borrow chart just at the point where they had their new borrow for that month coming up.
• Borrows: Stupidly, I allowed The Family Trap to fall out of KDP Select just at the point the promotion ended. I could kick myself for this – I missed out on crucial borrows while the title was high in the charts. Remember, Amazon count borrows as sales in terms of ranking. If I had achieved borrows, TFT would no doubt have gone higher in the rankings than #191, and may have stayed up there longer.
• Genre and Categories: My mum’s book is in two hugely popular and very ‘hot’ categories – Crime, Thrillers & Mystery/Historical, and Family Sagas. While Romance and Contemporary Romance are also popular, they are massive categories and it’s harder to hold on to a bestseller position within them. This is just too bad – there’s nothing you can do about the genre of your book, and if it’s not as ‘right now’ as other titles, you just have to suck it up I’m playing around with categories for both my titles at the moment, and will report on this in a later post.
• Cover: A Grave Inheritance has a stunning cover, right for the genre, fitting in perfectly but also standing out. While I love the cover for The Family Trap too, I think the ‘legs’ on Can’t Live Without made it more attractive to the eye and to chance purchasers, which is perhaps why my other title does better at Free. TFT’s cover may be a bit too specific. This is something I can learn from.

I’m proud of both of these free promotions (I organised and ran my mum’s promotion as well, and I chose the categories and keywords to help with sales). I feel that together they provide a really interesting picture of where Amazon is at with free in the UK at the moment. One thing that is different to the US is the way Amazon’s algorithm counts free downloads – in the US 10 downloads equals 1 sale, while in the UK they are still counted (for Popularity charts) as full sales. (Source: Let’s Get Visible, David Gaughran.) What’s also interesting is that Amazon have now ‘hidden’ the free charts in a tab behind the bestseller paid charts; prior to this they appeared side by side. It remains to be seen how much longer Free as a promotional tool works well for authors, and how many readers are still interested in Free, but I’m more than happy with my results.

Here are my 7 top tips for running a free promotion:

1. Make sure you are in the right categories for your title
2. Brush up on Keyword knowledge so your book is easily found by the right readers
3. Plan your promo ahead of time so you can get on the lists of the big free promoters, like Pixel of Ink etc.
4. Downloads do matter, so push your book like crazy while it’s free
5. Don’t panic if you don’t see an uplift straight away
6. If possible, be in KDP Select to capitalise on borrows after the promotion ends
7. Remember the promotion will have an effect on other titles too, so give these a polish with Keywords and Categories

I hope you’ve found lots of interest here! Comments and questions very welcome

A Call For Beta Readers

This weekend we’re very lucky to have my friend and fellow MA student, Ele-Beth Little on the blog. Ele is looking for beta readers for her debut novel – which you can read more about below. In our workshopping group last term we were all blown away by Ele’s creativity and talent, and I hope Ele has lots of interest – beta reading is both exciting and hugely rewarding. So, over to you, Ele …

Thank you Jo, for letting me thieve some of your web space to do a call out for beta readers. Fingers crossed.

I’m currently working on a novel called ‘The Fox’, which focuses on Terri, whose search for a sense of family after an unsettled upbringing leads her to an alternative music scene and the arms of a mysterious loner known as … you guessed it… the ‘fox’.

In a beta reader I’m generally looking for someone with experience of reading fiction with a gothic edge, or an openness to it. Also, if you have an interest in psychology, philosophy or alternative subcultures this may be well suited to you, as good portion of the novel is dedicated to exploring the pro’s and cons of non-monogamous relationships.

In saying that, I do want to keep the philosophising at bay as to not weigh down the plot. So if you’re considering reading this, it’s important to know that my main challenge is to ensure that my character remains pro-active.

Excerpt:

Terri put down the bag of shopping and perched on the bed, her knees tucked up and her toes digging in to the colourful crochet blanket that Steve had obviously found in a charity shop. The bus itself was lined inside with cedar wood, a burner built in to the kitchenette. Out of the window she could see the tall trees that encircled his field, which homed a few wild looking ponies and was littered with mounds of rusted car parts.

“Don’t knock it. I like my life being predictable. I’ve gotten used to it”. As he opened the door of the wood-burner he gave a self-satisfied smirk.

“Even going to town stresses me at the minute. Brew?” He was wearing all black. Black jeans, black fleece. And his hair now reached his shoulders, in loose brown curls.

“Please” The heat had surged out of the burner but Terri could still feel a chill from behind her. The wind rattled the bus windows, and it felt penetrable.

Steve had begun to decorate his new fragile nest of a home; she noticed he’d tacked up that worn postcard of TS Elliot he took everywhere. He’d been hooked on ‘The Wasteland’ as a teenager, but as far as she knew never read any other poetry. And there was also a large poster of an owl which looked down on them from a height in judgement. It was far neater here than the ramshackle room he’d rented before, the ‘filth den’ they’d nicknamed it, a crash pad for Steve and his drunk mates.

“Check this, you even tidied up your laundry. Expecting company?” She wanted him to know she’d noticed. There was no one else to notice. She heard him grunt to himself at the remark as he picked up the bag of shopping she’d brought him and rooted through it.

“Nope, there’s only you who’d be mad enough to come to this charming shit hole. Ahh Yorkshire tea, we’re going up in the world”

Her broken brother. He was good at surviving. She rubbed her cold hands and snuck her sleeves down over them, hoping he wouldn’t notice”.

***

Feel free to contact me on: wintermuse @ gmail (dot) com

Also I have a blog which documents my writing progress ie tantrums here: http://bloodberries.wordpress.com/ if you want to get a feel for my voice.

So what do you think, guys? Ele will be around all weekend for you to ask any questions, and do get in touch with her if you’d like to be part of the journey for an exciting new talent.

Happy 1st Birthday Can’t Live Without!

It’s exactly one year ago today that I pressed ‘publish’ on Amazon KDP and sent my debut novel out into the world, for better or worse. I remember how I felt as clearly as if it was yesterday (I nearly threw up), but in some ways it feels so much longer than just a year! I’ve documented my journey here on the blog from the day I first posted a couple of sample chapters of Can’t Live Without, and my goal has been to share the ups and downs of the process all the way. So today it’s all about CLW: I sent it out into the world without a clue to what might happen next, but this lovely book has done me proud. Here are the highlights:

May: Published on Kindle, sold 21 copies. Got my first reviews in on Amazon and – phew! – they were good.

June: Sales climbed to 116 this month, and I was amazed! Got a review from Chick Lit Central and was interviewed on BBC Three Counties radio (I was terrified).

July: A busy month! CLW went free and had 10,210 downloads. Got to #5 in Women’s Fiction bestsellers – below only the 50 Shades trilogy – and appeared at #2 on the Movers and Shakers list. Sold 1,800 copies in a week following the free promo! Reviewed by the lovely Kim the Bookworm, and released CLW in paperback. Total sales: 2,617. I’d gone into profit

August: Featured in the Chester Chronicle and had my second radio interview on Stafford FM. This time I was less terrified :) Sales quieted down to 656 – the post-promo slide well and truly in effect.

September: Appeared in Writing Magazine. Started to become inured to reviews on Amazon – the great ones as well as the not-so-great. Skin still thin as a wafer, but no more tears! Sales: 223

October: A quieter month, working hard on sequel. Sales settled at 127

November: Took copies of CLW to the Festival of Romance in Bedford, where I met some lovely fellow authors and a couple of readers too! And sold 5 books November sales: 136

The lovely Nicky Wells at the Festival of Romance

December: Ran another free promotion just before Christmas, hoping to catch new Kindle owners, and achieved a massive 23,000 downloads! While the post-free results weren’t as magnificent as last time, I had more borrows  – about 600. This month CLW had sales of 828, and at least 600 of these were directly after the promo ended.

Jan 2013: Post-promo sales continued and this month ended on a total of 538 sales. Fantastic!

Feb: Sales back to usual levels at 116. CLW’s sequel released (The Family Trap), which would boost sales in the following months.

March: As predicted, sales of Can’t Live Without more than doubled to 280. Now with over 100 4 & 5 star reviews across the UK and US Amazon sites, CLW was selling steadily from ‘also bought’ lists without too much promotion from me. Or, in fact, any promotion. Which is nice

April: 175 sales, boosted by the success of the sequel.

And so to May 2013 – and some wonderful news that landed in my inbox yesterday: Can’t Live Without has been selected to receive a B.R.A.G. Medallion – a special award from the Book Readers Appreciation Group. What a lovely way to say Happy Birthday to my first (and secretly my favourite) novel.

I hope you’ll join me in celebrating today, and if you haven’t read CLW yet, you’ll find buying links at the end of the post. Unfortunately I have a cold and won’t be going out celebrating, but I will treat myself to a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit.

Can’t Live Without: The Figures!

Total ebooks downloaded including free: 40,500

Total ebooks sold (UK & US): 7,000

Total paperbacks sold: 150

There’s just one final, very important thing to say. Thank you! Thank you to you, my blog readers, and all the people who have downloaded a copy of Can’t Live Without or bought a paperback copy. Thanks to everyone who has read it, talked about it, left a review, shared it or featured it on their blog. Thanks to the wonderful Beta Readers for CLW, who offered their comments for everyone to see on the blog in February, March and April last year. Without your support, I would not have had the courage to publish my debut novel, and this journey would never have begun. Thanks, guys. You are the best.

Jo x

Buy your copy!

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cant-Live-Without-ebook/dp/B0083SJB4M/

US: http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Live-Without-ebook/dp/B0083SJB4M/

Check out reviews: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0083SJB4M/

What Can Agents Offer Self Publishing Authors?

Last night I was lucky enough to be part of an online chat with two literary agents, Bryony Woods and Ella Kahn from Diamond Khan & Wood Agency. This Q&A session was offered as part of my creative writing MA, and I jumped at the chance to put my own questions to the agents.

When I knew this session was coming up, I asked my fellow Alli (Alliance of Independent Authors) members what kind of questions they’d ask. A very bold one was: What can agents offer to indie authors? Bold, but reasonable. With all the talk of ‘hybrid’ authors currently, I don’t think there’s any reason to perpetuate the them-and-us attitude towards agents, traditional publishing, and indies. Surely we can all open our eyes and see how well different professions and different approaches work in the market today?

We’ll come back to that. First, my report on what I learned from the very lovely Bryony and Ella – who typed so fast and tried so hard to answer questions from 32 students in a very short time their fingers must be sore today! Some of the submission guidelines may not be news to some of you, but for other readers who are considering submitting their novels (and DK&W seems like a great agency to submit to), I’m sure you’ll find something to interest you here:

Submission Guidelines

Bryony and Ella like to see submissions containing the first 3 chapters, or around 50 pages. You should also add a 1-2 page synopsis and - this is interesting – they like it if you add the synopsis at the end of the sample chapters within the same document. Both agents said they will read the cover letter (or email) first, and if it grabs them they’ll put the sample on their Kindle to read. They read the sample chapters first, and if they like them enough to get to the end, they will read the synopsis to see if the writer has fully developed the plot. Oh, and do include the ending in the synopsis. If I was submitting to an agent I might send the sample in mobi format too, just to make it easier for them to read. But this might come across as a bit desperate …

The covering letter was highlighted as being super-important. This is where they get an idea if you’re someone they could work with. In the letter you should include a short blurb to grab their interest, information about yourself, your writing history, qualifications if any, and why you wrote the book.

One of the nicest, and most refreshing thing about Bryony and Ella was their open attitude to submissions. Bryony loves ghost stories, gothic novels and fairy tales (are you reading this, Mum?), while Ella is looking for historical fiction of all types and ‘reading group fiction’ with a fast-paced plot. But both agreed they are open to most genres and that a strong concept and great writing are the most important factors. They really don’t like clunky dialogue and overuse of clichés.

Anyone looking for a historical novel with two time-lines and a ghost?

My personal thoughts after this part of the session? I would definitely submit to this agency in the future. Both are committed to working with their authors long-term and developing careers, and while many in the indie world argue against having an agent at all, I disagree. Self publishing is wonderful, empowering, and under-appreciated by many in the industry – and misunderstand by many more. But there is much a good agent can offer to new authors, or published authors with a new project to pitch.

So, what can they offer to indie authors?

Which brings me to the meaty part of my post: Did I ask the bold question? Here is the question I put to Bryony and Ella:

How do you view successful self-publishing (or indie) authors? Would you offer representation based on previous sales to an existing published title, say, or would you consider track record in an indie’s career when looking at a new, unpublished work? What do you feel agents can offer indies these days?

Ella answered most of the questions, and the first thing she said was that many mainstream publishers are willing to look at self-published authors, but sales figures have to be really high – in the tens of thousands. She was very honest and admitted that her heart sinks slightly when a submission states that they self-published to test the market – but she did go on to explain the reason is that unless a debut novel has sold hugely, many publishers will consider it a flop, which is unfair, but as Ella rightly points out, you can only be a debut novelist once.

Asked about rights for successful indie titles, Ella explained that she’d rather work on all rights for a project, which I think is fair enough, don’t you? Besides, why would a big publisher offer print-only rights to anyone except those already selling massively? It wouldn’t be a good business model to cut off a source of income like digital book revenue.

One of the other students asked an interesting question, which was about representing an author who was committed to indie publishing as the start to a career, perhaps nurturing them (and taking a cut, of course) until they did make the big publisher’s lists. The answer in a nutshell was that the best start to an author’s career was to be with a mainstream publisher. (I’m just the messenger, guys!)

There wasn’t really a definitive answer to the question of what agents can offer to indies, but that might be down to the hectic nature of the chat. I did get the impression that while Bryony and Ella are totally open-minded to any quality submission, they are not about to start jumping for joy if an indie contacts them and offers their existing ebook or POD title for representation. And after hearing their arguments, I don’t blame them frankly.

My Summary

Pre-existing opinions about self-publishing, and agents, and mainstream publishers go two ways. Indie authors have a lot to offer – at one point the conversation moved to marketing and promotion, and I was thinking how indie authors are way ahead of mainstream publishers in the most recent developments when it comes to reaching readers on a wider scale. Indie authors work SO HARD, they are committed to reaching the guys who matter – readers – and they are a determined bunch to boot!

Hard at work at the Festival of Romance!

But agents have a business model; they need to work within that and pay their bills. The two sides of publishing – if they are different sides – do meet, and often very successfully. But there still exists at best a mild suspicion of authors who’ve gone over to the dark side, and an unwillingness to match like for like. How do I know this? Because of the markers for success! Trad published authors are considered successful if they earn out their advance, and sometimes this means selling as few as 1000 books. They may have a marketing push behind them for a few months, and they may sell a few thousand ebooks as well, but this is an average run for many mid-list authors in the first year after publication of a title. But an indie author who sells ‘only’ a few thousand books? Not good enough. Indies have to sell tens of thousands to be considered as successful as their mid-list, trad pubbed counterparts. And if that’s not inequality, I don’t know what is.

Ending on a more positive note, both Bryony and Ella are looking for submissions, so those of you with polished novels ready to go should check out the guidelines on their website and go for it. They were lovely, and anyone who gets to work with them will be very lucky indeed.

Help With Titles Needed

You might have noticed that I’ve been a bit lax with my blog posts lately. The reason is, I’ve been using every available opportunity to write  – and the first in my new cosy mystery series about Flora Lively is coming on nicely.

But I’m not making any inroads into the sticky problem of a title. ‘Oh, come on, Jo,’ I hear you cry, ‘It’s not that difficult to think of a title!’ No, it isn’t. In fact, I’ve thought of loads of titles! The problem is, this is the first in a series in a new genre for me and I want to be sure of a couple of things:

1. The title has to let people know it’s a cosy mystery
2. The title has to be something that will lend itself to a series of similar or recognisable titles. For example, Edie Clare’s Never … series (Never Buried, Never Kissed Goodnight etc) is brilliant at this.

I’m toying with the idea of going with Flora Lively and the … for each book, like Agatha Raisin, for example, or Harry Potter. If I do this, the title of the book(s) has to be something which follows on from this smoothly. Or I may not use that, I might just have the title, then the subtitle of A Flora Lively Mystery: Book 1 etc.

Other points to consider (come on, stay with me – I’m relying on you):

• She’s not a private investigator, just someone who happens upon mysteries and deaths and puzzles, so I want the title to reflect that too.
• There will be humour in the books but it’s not a comedy as such.
• I’m not averse to obscure titles – catchy is good – but I want it to let the reader have an idea of what they’re getting.
• I don’t mind using words like mystery, murder, death, the case of etc, but don’t want it to go too dark.
• I don’t mind a motif – flowers, say, or something else – provided it has enough in it to run on to at least 10 titles

Here’s a very brief (and not very sophisticated) synopsis of Book 1:

Flora Lively’s surrogate grandmother Grace moved into the Maples Retirement Village (I’m not glued to the name The Maples) after the death of her husband six months ago. She was settled and happy until the arrival of the mysterious Mr Felix, who Grace swears is a boy she knew as a child when she was a member of The Joan of Arc club at boarding school. Flora knows there is something Grace isn’t telling her – why is she so afraid of this man? What on earth could she have done to him to believe he is hell-bent on revenge? When Grace’s pet terrier dies in odd circumstances, Grace is even more convinced she’s being terrorized, but Flora has other ideas. In fact, she’s not sure Mr Felix is anything other than a sweet old man with an unfortunate habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. One thing’s for sure – the residents of the Maples are scared of something, and it isn’t just being moved to the dreaded third floor for ‘extra care’. A couple of canine deaths do not a mystery make, but when a third floor resident falls to his death, Flora has good reason to be suspicious. Convinced the Captain’s death was no accident, she sets out to investigate.

Well, as a synopsis it’s pretty rubbish (it’s my first attempt), but you get the picture. The titles I’ve had so far are:

The Joan of Arc Club

Murder at the Maples

Death at the Maples

Flora Lively and the Maples Mystery (I like this but hate the name Maples in this context)

Flora Lively and the Mystery at the Maples

Over to you – what do you think? New ideas welcomed, comments on existing ideas welcomed – basically, anything welcomed! I’m struggling with this, and I find it hard to connect with a book until it has a definitive title.

Related articles

• Naming Your Cozy Mystery (janetboyer.typepad.com)
• The Next Big Thing (joannegphillips.wordpress.com)

Today’s Child – A Wonderful New Review for The Family Trap

On Tuesday I got a wonderful surprise in the post – a copy of North London parenting magazine Today’s Child.

Now, living out in the wilds of north Shropshire, I don’t have much to do with the jet-set lifestyle of London’s parents, but it still made an interesting read. Especially when I got to page 27 and the book reviews …

No, your eyes don’t deceive you – there in reviews of books all about parenting and families is none other than The Family Trap. And what a review!

I have the very lovely Debbie Young to thank for this. Debbie is the author of Sell Your Books! – a brilliant resource for writers, whether indie or traditionally published. You can find out more about her book at Off the Shelf Book Promotions here. But busy, mutil-tasking and multi-talented Debbie also works for charity Readathon, encouraging schools to get involved and build a love of reading in children. What an amazing and worthwhile task! Debbie landed herself the review column in new magazine, Today’s Child, as a result of her excelling marketing skills and Readathon work, and I am honoured that she chose to review my book for the magazine.

Even if it hadn’t been my book reviewed here, after reading the magazine from cover to cover I think it’s a nice touch to include some fiction that parents – especially busy mums - would enjoy. Parenting isn’t all about sleep issues and tantrums and how-to-give-them-the-best-start-in-life – although of course we all agonise about those things! It’s also about taking time out to chill and reflect, and there’s no better way of doing that than with a good book in your hands and a cup of tea (or wine) at your elbow.

And if a novel makes you think a little more deeply about what it means to be a parent, then all the better. But most of all I just hope that every parent who reads The Family Trap finds a little bit of escape – and has a good laugh too

Music Monday – My Favourite Cover Designer’s Musical Past

Well, I have a real treat for you today in the first of my Music Monday posts for a while. Regular readers will be familiar with the very talented Chris Howard, cover designer extraordinaire, but what you might not know is that Chris is also an accomplished guitarist, and back in the 1990s & 2000s played guitar on lots of studio tracks, as well as jamming live at dance clubs (where I could often be found, dancing on a stage right beside him – a story for another day, I think).

Here for your enjoyment on this lovely, sunny bank holiday Monday is one of my favourite covers of all time, with Chris Howard aka Blondeman on funky guitar.

 

I bet you couldn’t sit still listening to that! Fab, fun and funky – love it

The Family Trap is FREE!

If you haven’t already got your weekend reading sorted, here’s a great offer: for 3 days only The Family Trap is free. It’s got loads of 5 star reviews, it’s got sparring families, a will they/won’t they wedding, babies and an octogenarian romance – what more could you want? Download your copy (links below) and please, please, please help me to spread the word so The Family Trap reaches as many new readers as possible this weekend.

News just in: The Family Trap has been chosen as a featured book on Indie Book Bargains, which is totally fab! Check that out here.

Read on for the blurb, or click on the links to download now

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Family-Trap-ebook/dp/B00BBJVLSE/
US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Family-Trap-ebook/dp/B00BBJVLSE/

“There are moments in life that define you – moments from which entire futures are carved out, where you can practically see the universe split into two.”

Becoming a grandmother at thirty-eight may not be ideal, but Stella Hill can cope – just about – because in two weeks’ time she’s getting married to the love of her life. She’s waited over twenty years to finally get her man; Paul Smart is her destiny, her soul mate. But when Stella finds out she’s pregnant – a pregnancy that’s unplanned and unexpected, not to mention inconvenient – she takes it in her stride. Marriage, baby, new adventures on the horizon. It’s not a problem. At least, not for her.

Just how do you break the news of a baby on the eve of your wedding? And what can you do if your plans turn out to be wildly different from the plans of the one you love? As Stella’s dream wedding turns into a nightmare, she learns that sometimes the people we love don’t react the way we thought they would. And maybe sometimes love means letting go.

The Family Trap is the stand-alone sequel to Kindle bestseller Can’t Live Without.

A to Z Reflections

Today is the day when all the lovely people who participated in the A to Z Challenge 2013 give a great big collective sigh and say … thank you! Thank you to the wonderful organisers of the event – find out more about them here – and thank you most of all to everyone who commented on my blog – or just visited and didn’t comment – during April.

This isn’t just more navel-gazing – the point of the reflections post is to think about what I learned from the challenge, how it might have benefitted me and any aspects that bothered me. (You can read other reflections here.) Well, as I mentioned on Y, I learned that I could write every day, and that little 500 word sections add up to a whole body of work. I learned that there are more fantastic bloggers out there than I can count, and I’ve made some great new friends along the way. I also learned that I really do have something to say about everything The only thing that bothered me was that there were so many blogs to visit – it was impossible for me to see them all! I managed about 300 I think, and I didn’t comment on them all. But I feel privileged to be part of this enormous blogosphere, and I would definitely encourage anyone – especially new bloggers – to take part next year. I probably won’t be, as I have a punishing work schedule planned for next spring (but you never know …)

From Monday normal service will resume, with a very special Music Monday post. (What do my cover designer, Chris Howard, and Hawaii 5.0. have in common? You’ll have to come back Monday to find out.) Have a great weekend, bye for now x

Indie Tuesdays – Fantastic New Review for Can’t Live Without

I’ve been an avid follower of Chick Lit Reviews and News for ages, and their daily newsletter keeps me informed about great new reads and all things new in the Chick Lit world. It was my dream to be reviewed on the site, so when they opened their doors to indie authors last month I was overjoyed. I quickly sent an email, offering Can’t Live Without up for review. But then, when they accepted and gave me the date of Tuesday 30th April, I suddenly felt sick with nerves.

What if the reviewer hated it? What if I’d finally broken into this brilliant resource only to be savaged and lose all credibility? Chick Lit Reviews and News has a massive following – how embarrassing would it feel to be one of the first indie authors reviewed, only to find I’d totally let the side down?

Nervously I clicked on the site this morning. And – wonder of wonders – 5 stars! The reviewer, Kimberly Truesdale – who is now my favourite person in the whole world – loved it! Best of all, she ‘got’ it. You know when someone just completely understands what you were trying to do, what you were trying to say? Well, she did, and you can read her review here.

The newsletter goes out to subscribers later today, and I’m so excited to think that all those chick lit lovers will be reading about my little debut novel. And my huge thanks go out to Chick Lit Reviews and News for saying Yes to indie authors – I hope lots of other big-name book review sites follow soon.

After the release of The Family Trap, it’s so nice to see my first novel getting some well-deserved attention.