This should be the definitive word on self-publishing – well done Jan!
Time for a catch up! It’s been a long, hot summer, and I’ve been relaxing and getting used to living in town after moving house back in April. I have an absolutely jam-packed season coming up now – so much to share with you! – but first I thought we could go with a round-up of what I’ve been up to this summer. Here are the highlights:
Here I am recording my first ever Podcast! This will be broadcast on Monday 17th October over on Paul Teague’s Self-Publishing Journeys. We talked about all things publishing and writing, and I shared detailed info about my earnings these past few years, so don’t miss that!
I rarely talk about my family on the blog, but here is my daughter – Lulu – who is 8 years old. We decided to do a ‘design-a-dress’ project this summer. She made a drawing of her ideas and then we raided my fabric stash, ran it up on the sewing machine, and here is the result! Yes, it even has a zip that I’m very proud of.
What Lulu seemed to spend most of her time doing this summer, however, was playing Minecraft on her Kindle Fire! As you can see in this photo. Ah well, we did manage a little quality time.
And I managed to make myself lots of coffees with my shiny coffee machine. My secret (not-so-secret) pleasure.
And finally, here I am looking a little scary (!) at Chiquitos – notice how I co-ordinated my outfit to match the Mexican hat. This summer we ate out loads, went on lots of lovely long walks, had tons of fun … and I drank quite a few cocktails.
Now I’m back to work with a vengeance. But you know what? I’m kinda relieved. Enjoying yourself is much more tiring than work.
Regular blog readers will be familiar with ace novelist Anne Allen, author of the much-loved Guernsey novels, the fifth of which is out tomorrow.
If you haven’t discovered Anne’s books yet you’re in for a treat – and isn’t it awesome when you find a new author with a whole back-catalogue of books to catch up with? I just love it when that happens. The timing is perfect, as the first three books in the series are on offer for 99p/99c each from 12th-19th August.
What’s even more exciting is that Anne is giving away a paperback copy of her new book, Echoes of Time, to one lucky winner from my blog! All you have to do is share this post, on Facebook or Twitter, and leave a comment. (Paperback copy to UK entries, Kindle copy to rest of world.) The lucky winner will be picked at random in two week’s time.
Meanwhile, let’s find out more about the new book:
Betrayal, injustice and revenge echo down the years…
1940. Olive marries farmer Bill Falla. The Germans occupy Guernsey.All too soon Olive realises she’s made a mistake. Her life changes when she meets Wolfgang, a German officer- but there’s a price to pay. . .
Natalie Ogier returns to Guernsey to escape an abusive relationship – only to be plagued by odd happenings in her beautiful cottage on the site of a derelict and secluded farm. Disturbing dreams, disembodied voices and uncanny visions from the past. She becomes increasingly ill at ease as someone else’s past catches up with her own…
Her only immediate neighbour, Stuart, is the grandson of the original owners, Bill and Olive. Thrown together in a bid to find out what really happened to Olive, can they each survive the repercussions of the past and move on?
Echoes of Time is out tomorrow, but is available for pre-order right now by clicking here. Anne’s off on a tour of Guernsey to promote the new novel, and she’s promised to come back and tell us all about it soon, with photos! Good luck, Anne.
Awesome news today – the best kind! The superbly talented Wyl Menmuir has had his debut novel, The Many, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016.
Wyl and I were on the same Masters programme at MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University), and right from the first workshopping session I figured him for a genius. My husband reminded me tonight that I came away from one of our online sessions – this was three or four years ago – and told him about this one guy, Wyl, who was clearly the most talented writer on our course and was destined for great things. And I was right! (I love being right.)
This is a beautiful book, one that deserves to win the coveted Man Booker prize, and this year I’ve actually read three of the longlist already. The Many is haunting, it gets under your skin, and it’s like nothing else you’ve ever read before. I urge you to rush out and buy it! I hope the judges can see the genius that we all saw at MMU, and I hope Wyl gets the recognition and rewards his hard work, talent and dedication deserves.
Oh, and something else really cool – I’m mentioned in the acknowledgments! It’s the closest I’ll ever get to the Booker longlist, but it’s close enough for me. Congratulations, Wyl. You’re our winner already.
Joanne Phillips 