Roll on Real Book!

Believe me, life is pretty busy at present. There isn’t much time for contemplation, but it strikes me that real sales of real books feels important to me. Kindle’s a great enabler for writers, but the way the pages feel under your fingertips, the crack in the spine and pages with corner folds and creases (my paperbacks have to be tough if they are to survive); these can’t be emulated by a hand held device.

I like my written word to be tangible and present. If the ink embosses the paper, all the better. I’m talking texture and smell and solidness.

The Real Book will make the dream real. At the moment, it’s all very virtual.Oops. Someone just did a review of Autotherapy and was ‘gripped’ by it. *Heart in mouth*

Fresh Out

Waiting … Waiting … The Kindle version of Autotherapy is out already and it is only a matter of weeks before the paperback will be available but I’m in danger of already having saturated the media with my cries of ‘buy me, buy me’. I know there are subtler, longer term ways of infiltrating the public, but I’m making the most of the time that I have. Which isn’t a lot.

I’m crawling over the internet like a spider spinning a web, registering with everything and posting my website in appropriate places.  Basically hoping that getting out the word to the most people possible will be the best thing for the book sales. Add in there the parameter that they need to be people who already read (so more likely to read your book), and you’ve got handy sites like Goodreads.com and Amazon but what about all those potential converts out there? Why did I write a book that was supposed to be easy to read? How many people stick their heads in a book when they’ve got some free time? Who has free time?

*And breathe*

So, new resolution: don’t panic. I can use the promotion of the book to explore social media properly, in a non-timewasting way. I need to experientially learn how to utilise Twitter as it’s most likely to be the most far-reaching word of mouth-stylee communication. Get on.

In between these minor revelations, lambing time continues, particularly featuring four little pet lambs (now named Bunny Ears, Freckle Face, Baa Lamb and Fuzzy – Himself thinks I’m soft as butter) and two large ones (Big White Lamb and Smoky).Himself is, of course, the real farmer; I’m just the helper, to feed the lambs, take ‘creep’ feed to the hospital field (Number 5 and her twins, and the two big pets) and cook the dinner.

The geese have now laid around 60 eggs since February, and still doing so. We’ve got half in an incubator in Newbiggin and half in one in my dad’s garage, (with my mum turning them) and the last few are under a determined, very bad tempered goose in a trailer.

Life goes on, so we may as well enjoy it.

(Pictures to follow, promise).

 

Autotherapy – A Thriller

Set in provincial Cumbria, Autotherapy is a dark thriller with far reaching implications. Good ideas turn bad and Death is always ready to catch the careless.

Click on the image to go to Amazon (I am so proud of it).

Published by Rainstorm Press on 17 April, 2012.

Stormy Weather

Well, we’ve moved with an abrupt force, from balmy, clear, sunny (warmish) spring days, to what the media is terming ‘wintry’.  A survey taken from two people who had to climb over a wall and run across a field several times (the lives of two stranded lambs in the wrong field were at stake) in driving snowstones and galeforce winds, says that ‘wintry’ doesn’t @#*&%!~ cover it.

Wintry is to this evil, squally blizzard that a toothless Jack Russell is to a slavering werewolf. Wintry is Christmas Card, not Hell cooled down.