Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

May your Portals never dwindle!

Taff

Publishers, Prague, Portals & 'Pologies

Life is hectic but good att he moment. The bad thing is that despite having lots of ideas and plot line for book three I'm getting little time to sit and write :-(
That said I have sent copies of The Shimmering Gate to some of the leading publishers of fantasy novels so fingers crossed for some interest! If I could get a company to take on some of the marketing then I would have much more time to write :-)

Last week I used up some hard earned BA miles and invited a beautiful lady to come to Prague with me for a romantic interlude (don't worry I do mean my wife Bridget). What a fantastic city. Prague is just breathtaking. If you haven't been plan a trip, you won't be disappointed.

I have also been busy booing signings and sellings.
Here are some of the dates and places where you can find me leading up to Xmas.

3rd Nov Aylsham Norfolk, Craft Fair
10th & 11th Nov Ely Cambs, Craft Fair
18th Nov Huntingdon Cambs, Craft Fair
25th Nov MArket Deeping,Xmas Market
28th Nov Norwich, Xmas Fair
30th Nov Bookthrift Beccles, Signing
2nd Dec Bourne Lincs, Xmas Fair
7th Dec The Dovedale Gallery Ashbourne, Signing
8th Dec The Chesham Bookshop, Signing
10th Dec Buy the Book Oakham, Signing
13th Dec Buy the Book Grantham, Signing
15th & 16th Dec Wood Green Cambs, Xmas Fair
20th Dec Buy the Book Stamford, Signing

take care
Taff

Update from the Ridge

Hi All.
Gosh has it really been a month since I last updated my BLOG

Recently I went down to Newport, my home town, to talk about wqreiting and publishing. The two events were held on alternate Saturdays in the main library and Maindee area library.
My thanks to Newport Libraries for the hospitality.

I'd also like to extend my thanks to The Deepings School.
I had two very pleasant days with year 7 students and staff last week and enjoyed the workshops that we ran. The evnt proved fun and informative for me and hopefully the students too.

Book Three is in very early days. With the promoting evetns, teaching and running my IT business there has been slow progress so far. Lots of ideas and plot line but almost all in my head at the moment.

Tata for now
Taff

Busy busy busy!

Phew! I thought I left the corporate world for a quieter life LOL
Life has been manic of late. With promtoing Shimmering, starting up my one man IT support company LITES and taking on a handful of courses for adult tuition, time has been short.

It's all good though, having the freedom to move teach on one day, write on the next followed by promotioning and PC support work the rest of the week means it keeps me on my toes and the variety is refreshing.

Summer has seen to have flown by and I can't believe we are now in September.
Over the next couple of weeks my focus will be on proerparing handbooks and lesson plans for the tutoring side of my life but then it will be pen to the fore as I start to put together book three of Portals. Lots of ideas in my head but not much to report as yet.

Hope what is left of the summer will be a good one for you

taff

Up and Coming Shows and SIgnings

I am planning to attend all of the following events so hopefully you will be able to catch me somewhere:-

2nd Sep - Great Ponton (near grantham)
16th Sep - Rockingham Craft Fair
29th Sep - Newport (Gwent) Central Library
6th Oct - Newport (Gwent) Maindee Library
7th Oct - St Ives Craft Fair
20th Oct - Huntingdon Craft Fair
27th/28th Oct - Wood Green 2 day craft Fair (Godmanchester)
3rd Nov - Aylsham Craft FAir
25th Nov - Market Deeping Xmas Market
28th Nov - Norwich Xmas Fair (to be confirmed)
2nd Dec - Bourne Xmas Market
15th/16th Dec - Wood Green Xmas Fair 2 day

I will also be arranging further book store signings between now and the end of the year. More on this later.

Taff

Shimmering Gate UK Tour

I have just completed a mini UK tour for The Shimmering Gate in partnership with Bookthrift/Buy the Book. The tour was great fun and very successful with excellent sales and good promotion and some new found friends.

The book tour took me to Oakham, Stamford, Grantham, Hebden Bridge, Beccles, Chesham and Ashbourne and my thanks to everyone who supported me during this venture.

taff

Soggy Suffolk

I have just enjoyed a few days of camping under canvas in Suffolk with my family.
Despite the efforts of Mother Nature we braved the rain and winds and had a good time. She won in the end though as the forecast on Wednesday was for gale force winds and heavy rain.
Having already bailed out the tent earlier in the week we decided to call it a day.
Curiously the day after we got home the weather has turned. Typical LOL

We'll be taking a few day trips this week to make up for the shortened vacation but will be staying in gool ol' Blighty despite her temperamental weather system.

taff

Bourne Grammar Music Festival

Bourne held their second annual music festival today.
Although a wee bit breezy which made erecting the gazebo entertaining, the day was superb. Lots of blue skies and sun with a cooling wind.
Highlight for me was the school Soul band who possess some superb instrumentalist and a rocking vocalist.
Sales and signings were good and a fun day was had by all who attended. Another highlight was the spitfire fly past, the blue skies adding to the overall scene as he made four low level passes over the school. (luckily our German exchange sudent left last week so I didn't have to explain the significance!)
I'm heading over to Deepings Summer Market tomorrow so hopefully the weather will continue to be warm and dry as soggy books don't sell well!

taff

Smacked legs and apologies...

...as I've neglected my blog over the past few days.
Things have been fairly manic.
Shimmering is now out there and has already been selling fast and I have been busy signing and mailing copies to complete orders. Thanks to everyone for the support :-)
On top of this I have had a few school visits, attended the Peterborough Myths and Legends and had a few IT jobs to take care of.
The Myths and Legends was a little disappointing from a sales perspective and plans to read sections of the books had to be shelved as the main stage was damaged and the replacement stage was built right next to our marquee. I could have done a reading but it would have had to be for lip readers only. LOL
Still, it was a nice day, both from a festival viewpoint and weather wise and at least I got to buy a real German bratwurst (one of my favourite foods).
Today was spent with the teachers and students of John Mansfield Secondary School as one of the visiting authors for their literacy day. I did readings and discussed writing and publishing with six groups of year 7 students and both students and teachers made me feel welcome.
I have a day at home tomorrow so finally time to catch up on a stack of admin stuff that needs sorting and answering a few outstanding emails.
Thanks again to everyone for the support.

taff

Peterborough Myths and Legends

On Saturday July 7th I will be attending the Peterborough Myths and Legends festival (see http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/page-11099 ).

This looks like it will be a fun event for all the family and there should be a good turn out, especially if the weather improves from the current wet sog!

With the festival carrying the theme of Myths and Legends it fits in nicely with my own fantasy work so I am hoping for an interesting day chatting about fantasy, writing and publishing as well as signing and selling my books.

I'm particularly looking forward to trying out the Luminarium.
Not sure what this is? ... join the club (see the web site for pictures http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/page-11367 )

... and you may even catch me singing along to FABBA! ;-)


taff

Spalding Grammar School for Boys Thurs 5th July

I will be visiting the Spalding Grammar School for boys on Thursday and they will have the honour (maybe a dubious one) of being the first public location for sales of my new book, The Shimmering Gate.

I'm looking forward to the visit and I hope that the students will enjoy my readings and ramblings.

taff

THE SHIMMERING GATE OPENS!!

At last!

I collected my author's copy of The Shimmering Gate yesterday and have given it the thumbs up so it can now be ordered from both Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/203-8942018-3387935?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books-uk&field-author=Taff%20Lovesey.

As usual signed copies are available direct from me through the web site http://www.lovesey.net/

The last few months have dragged and I would like to thank you for bearing with me as I delayed things with the additional editing and proof reading activity and then had a few hurdles jump (or in my case to run through) in the formatting stages.

For those that have already pre-ordered and paid for their copy I should get my first print run copies at the end of next week so I will send these out to you as soon as I have them in my paws!

The official launch date is 1st August but you can get pre-launch copies from both Amazon and myself. No need to wait for the official launch.

I hope you enjoy Shimmering and will want to read on.
I have the basis of book three in my head and will start to pen the novel towards the end of August looking for a release date sometime during late summer 2008.

So, whether your curent reading portal takes you to Spider or Shimmering, enjoy and happy adventuring!

taff

Drowning'em in Uppingham

Yesterday afternoon was spent dodging rain drops at the Uppingham Feast in Rutland.
Depsite the rain there was a good turnout and althoug a few stalls pulled out, the event was still attended by a good mix.Highlight of the day - Hog Roast butties that took two hands to hold!

Fruitcake of the day? The self published author who wanted to do exchnages with my colleague John Nowell but when directed to John's daughter to sort out a 'swap' threw a wobbly about how eveil women are and stormed off with books tucked under his arm. Hmmm - I guess it takes all sorts but I can't help thinking you may damage your readership by excluding 50% of the planet!

I'm expecting the author copy of SHimmering this week. All being well (no reason why it shouldn't be) we will then be full steam ahead and I can order up some copies for those waiting and the book will be listed on the internet sites and with Nielsens for book store orders.

Taff

Covers and Signings

Another step closer as another task is ticked off the list.
The updated cover for Shimmering was sent to me yesterday and I have approved the modified version. The cover and main body PDFs now go for final print and an initial sample copy of Shimmering will be posted to me in the next week or so.
My expectation will be that all will be well and if so then it is just a case of giving my approval and the book will be released to Amazon and other online sources and I will also be able to arrange UK printing for my own stock.

I've spent the last few days trying to line up some signings and shows around East Midlands and East Anglia as well as a UK book launch tour and a handful of school visits. I'll add these dates later and hopefully will see you at one of the events :-)

I have also written to a few local radio stations to ask about interviews in line with the launch of Shimmering and I have offered to speak about my books and the processes of writing, self publishing and PoD (print on Demand)

To help supplement my earnings (writing doesn't yet pay the bills), I have also taken steps to start up my own IT support company, LITES PC, to help Home and Small Businesses with their PC problems as well as providing training and web site design services at an affordbale rate (see www.litespc.co.uk). Hopefully the combination of these two, coupled with my new role as an adult tutor for Lincs Lifelong Learning, will allow me to pay the bills and yet free up time for me to write and publish book three of the Chronicles.

More soon but Shimmering is finally popping it's head over the publishing horizon!

taff

Bythams Primary School Visit

My thanks to the Bythams Primary School, Lincolnshire where I met with students and answered questions about The Portal Chronicles, writing and publishing.
I was also privileged to hear Daniel A read his review of The Spider Gem and he did a great job. I have posted a copy of the review on my web site at www.lovesey.net

taff

Shimmering Needs Cover Re-Jigged

Ouch!
The digital copy came across on Friday (1st June) and all looked good except the cover.
The book should have matched The Spider Gem, with a black cover and white text but the publisher reversed this and gave it a white cover and black text.
It is being corrected but it means I will probably lose another week!

Thankfully this was the only issue and the main body of the book looked fine so we are not far away from publication.

taff

Fun at Deeping Show

In glorious sunshine myself and John Nowell (www.zodiacpublishing.co.uk), a fellow author, sweltered in the marquee at the Deeping Show. A successful and enjoyable two days where both of us enjoyed good sales and met some great people.
Thanks to the organisers and I'll be heading back again next year.

Slight delay In Shimmering due to re-formatting

I shall refrain from using any swear words!
Unknown to me the process for creating the print ready version of the book cannot handle MS Word tables so the first digital review failed. I have now removed the tables and re-submitted the document but this will delay the availability of The Shimmering Gate but a couple of weeks so we are now looking at the back end of June/early July.

That is a little disappointing and frustrating but a lesson learned for me not to use MS Word tables in future! (please note that if you are also looking at PoD publishing)

The offending table was used for a glossary at the back of the book which is even more annoying as I didn't really need to include this. Ah well - you live and learn.

So my apologies to those of you eagerly awaiting the book but we are nearly there now and I am just waiting for the first digital review copy to come through after formatting.

taff

Excellent days at Bourne Grammar School

I have just had two days talking and reading to the students at Bourne Grammar School.
This was a wonderful experience, the students were very attentive, interested and well behaved. Their questions were intelligent and well thought out and the examples of writing that they brought to me were of a high standard.
Add to this the high degree of courtesy offered to me by the staff and I have to say that this was two of the most enjoyable writing activity days to date.
Thanks you BGS!

taff

Bourne Grammar School Visit

On Tuesday 22nd and Thursday 24th May I will be at Bourne Grammar School in Lincolnshire talking to students about my books, writing and publishing.
School events are always enjoyable so I'm looking forward to this and hopefully will also gain some additional readers.

Taff

Lincoln Literary Festival Report

Saturday at Lincoln Book Fest proved to be a very enjoyable day.
Targetted at authors more than readers I had many discussions about publishing and writing and also enjoyed a few sales during the event.
The whole festival was well organised and the Lincoln Drill Hall is quite impressive.
A big well done to the organisers.

rgds
Taff

New Author Club Launched

Having lost one of my favourite forums at IA.co.uk I have created a new web site and invited a number of fellow authors to form an online club.
The site and forum can be found at www.authors2you.co.uk
It is a site for authors, run by authors and will provide a place for us to share ideas, support each other and where readers can find a host of new authors and their works.

Its in it's infancy at the moment but should be up and running with a forum within the next week or so.

taff

Cover FInalised for Shimmering Gate

I have received two review pieces and have taken snippets for the cover of Shimmering.
The graphic has been sent to the publisher and the back cover text entered.
All the elements are now there for the final print.
I have asked for an estimate of timescales but would thinkw e are just a couple of weeks away from availability with an official launch in late June.

taff

The Shimmering Gate Has Flown!

Well at long last The Shimmering Gate has gone to the publisher for formatting.
As soon as I have an agreed launch date I will post it here but I think that the launch will be June but that the first copies will be available prior to this for those eagerly waiting.

Feels good to have it so close at last! :-)

taff

Knebworth Country Show 6th/7th May

I hope to catch some of you at this year's Knebworth Country Show on the 6th and 7th May.
I have orghanised a table at the show in the Craft Village and will be there with a number of other authors answering questions and signing books.
If you are there come and say hi.

The Portal Chronicles Book Two Progress

Moving along nicely now and over half way through the proof reader changes and corrections.
All being well I should be done this week and then it will be over to Booksurge/Bookforce for formatting.
The re-writes are complete so the last few sections should be fairly quick with just typos to correct.

taff

Update on Shimmering

Well almost there.
I now have all of the proof back from the proof readers and I am going through making the changes and with a few small section re-writes. The manuscript should go off to the publisher for formatting within the week and then it is just a matter of waiting for the first copy off the press!
Apart from my writing I have been busy with a number of other things of late. Spring has arrived and it is more summer like at the moment so lots more gardening done. I have also been busy helping a few people design their web pages (which is fun) and have organised a couple of craft fairs/signings for myself and a large group attenance at the Knebworth Show in May.
Finally I have opened an eBay shop for independent authors and have been discussing an adult tuition job with Lincs CC plus in my 'spare time' (?!) I have also continued to coach the Peterborough Diamonds Girls u16 football team.
Phew! Busy times!

taff

Happy Easter!

Just a quickie to wish everyone a Happy Easter.
Looks like the weather is going to be kind to us so get out there and have some fun in the Spring.
... but remember to take a copy of The Spider Gem with you :-)

Taff

Early Proof Reader Feedback on Shimmering

I am delighted to say that the early feedback from my proof readers is that The Shimmering Gate is going down quite well. This is great news and hopefully as they progress re-writing will be kept to a minimum. There are the usual batch of typing errors and my continued tendency to gte the odd name mixed up (Stack instread of Stern, Gorlan instead of Toran, Meld instead of Molt etc;) but hopefully these are all being weeded out in the proof reading process.

Taff

Barnsdale Lodge March 21st 11am-7pm

Another charity event, this time at Barnsdale Lodge near Rutland Water.
I'm teaming up with John Nowell once more to answer questions and sell signed copies of The Spider Gem.

In addition to the stand costs 10% of all sales goes to charity so come along and support the cause.

Coventry Rotaract Craft Fair MARCH 17th

Just a reminder that I will be at the Coventry Rotaract fund raising craft fair on March 17th from 10am to 4pm. I will be answering questions on writing, publishing and on the Portal Chronicles as well as signing books and selling signed copies.

This is a charity event so please come and support the Rotaract Club and check out the fair.
It is being held in the Central Hall, Coventry CV1 2HA.

Hopefully see you there!
Taff

Bk 2 of the Portal Chronicles Shimmers Into Life

At last! I finally printed out and distributed the final first draft of The Shimmering Gate today.
A number of copies have been sent to proof readers and I hope that not too much work will be needed when they come back. I have asked the proof readers to get me feedback by the 7th April so realistically I think the launch will be early May (unless the PoD can move quickly).
I have mixed feelings now. I'm excited that it is out there in almost final form, relieved that the months of writing have resulted in the creation of book two and nervous to hear how readers will respond (typical writer response!).

Shimmering Moves Ever Closer

A good day today.
I not only finished the final chapters of Shimmering but I went through one set of proof reading feedback and adopted the changes. I hope to have the first draft completed by end of next week and then it is out to the second round of proof reading.
Still got my fingers corssed for a late April release but getting tight.
While it is being proof read I need to get a glossary done, produce a map and write a summary of book one for inclusion in book two.
Feels good top be so much closer to completion though.

Taff

Good Times at Bury St Edmunds

I took a run over to the Craft Fair in the wonderful old market town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk on Sunday. The Craft Fair was held in the splendour of the Atheneaum in the old centre of the town.
It was an enjoyable day with moderate sales but with lots of friendly and chatty customers.
Much better than gardening in the rain!! :-)

Indoor Market at the Atheneaum Sunday 4th March

I will be at the Atheneaum in Bury St Edmonds on Sunday 4th March from 10am - 4pm signing copies of The Spider Gem and answering questions on writing, publishing and life in general.
Hope to see you there.

Taff

Uffington Primary School World Book Day 1st March

I will be celebrating World Book Day with the students of Uffington Primary School on the 1st March. This should be a fun event and I will be talking to the children about writing, publishing and the Portal Chronicles themselves.
So don't forget - 1st March - World Book Day - go and do something to recognise it whether that be reading, writing or attending one of the many events in libraries around the UK.

Stamford Craft Market 11th March

I will be at the forthcoming Stamford Craft Market in South Lincs on Sunday 11th March and will be sharing a stand with a fellow author/photographer John Nowell (see John's work at http://www.zodiacpublishing.org/).
If you are anywhere nearby come and say hi.

Writing and Promoting Update

Well the sun was shining today and with bulbs peeping through all over the garden it was a day for sorting out the beds and looking online to check out Spring fairs and events.
As such I have requsted attendance at a handful of events over arch and April so fingers crossed for some good sessions and sales.
Shimmering is still coming along. I have had some feedback from the first proof readers and thee is a little more to do than I first though. It is funny how sometimes something can seem so obvious when you write/create it but when read by another things are not so clear to them. Nothin major so I'm still hoping for an April launch but it will probably be back end rather than earlier in the month.
February was a slow month from a sales view point but I have been busy with other things so not too bad considering.
Last week I grouped together a small band of independent authors and opened up an eBay shop as an expereiment. The listings have gone well but I am disappointed with the visibility when the cheaper listing option of 'shop stock' is used. We'll have to see how it works out. Go and check it out at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Lovesey-Independent-Books and why not invest in a first edition signed by author book while you are there.

Old Web Page Blog (Archive)

I have removed my old self managed web page Blog in favour of this new Blogger.
Just for archive's sake the old text from my diary/blog is included below.


12/2/07: sent Shimmering over to a couple of proof readers to get started. I have the last chapter to pen and a bit of a re-write ref Nexus and hopefully it will then be just about ready to go!
5/2/07: Yeuch! What a horrible 24hrs. After a couple of OK days at the Stamford Literary Festival I woke up on Sunday with a disgustingly virus that cleared my body of all liquids through any orifice it could find (enough detail I think!). Crawled out of bed but crashed out on the sofa but roused myself to watch Wales lose in the rugby to Ireland and Spurs lose 0-4 at home to Man Utd. So all in all probably one of the lowest days of my existence to date! Still struggling with the stomach bug but thankfully on the mend so hopefully I will be back in the Literary Festival tomorrow.No writing scheduled this week as I'm at the festival but proof reading of Shimmering is well under way and, too date, seems to have gone well. I still have the last few chapters to pen and will hopefully be done with these next week. In addition I need to rework to elements of the story. One minor and one somewhat larger involving Nexus and his story. I was not happy with this myself and it's no coincidence that both proof readers to date have picked this up as a section that requires work. Even so I hope that I am still on track to complete any required rework by end Feb ready to take the novel to formatting.
26/1/07: Sorry - have been slack again updating my blog but the good news is that this is because I have been busy with Simmering. Its moving along nicely and I'm still on target for getting the first draft complete in the next week or so ready for editing and proof reading.I have just had an article on author web pages published in Self Publishing Magazine from Troubador Publishing. No payment for the article but the more I have out there the more my name will become known so I'm really pleased they ran it. And of course there is always the buzz of seeing something that you have penned in print.Apart from scribing Shimmering I have also been approaching various parties on festivals and signings. Once I've finished up Shimmering I'll start to attend more promotional events and will also take advance orders for the second book as I'm out and about. Exciting times!8/1/07: Goodness me - I've been slacking a bit on my blog! Well after a great Xmas break its back to the 'grindstone'. Work is still rolling along on Shimmering. I have identified a few possible editors/proof readers and I am still hoping for an end Jan completion of the first draft.I have also decided to try to get the unit price right down and use some of the savings to buy in larger stock and hence increase the profit margin per copy. This is vital if I am to make any money out of this venture! I have no desire to put the price of the book over the £9.99 mark so it has to be increased print quantities.Sales through December stayed strong and the last eight weeks of the year were awesome and took sales well over the 320 mark for Spider. Hopefully I can continue this with Shimmering and have successful months ahead with both!
15/12/06: Visited Robert Manning College in Bourne this afternoon and had a very enjoyable hour with some of the students. We spoke about the book, writing and publishing and it was a real spirit lifter for me as they had such a good grasp of the story and knew many chapters inside out. Very humbling! I'm going to visit them again when Shimmering is launched and a few months after that after they have had a chance to read it. Thankfully the students seemed to enjoy the talk as much as I did.
14/12/06: well that's all the pre-Xmas book signings and fairs done and sales were excellent. I have just enough books to see me through the school visit tomorrow (Manning College - Bourne) but the good people over at Bookforce have fast tracked an order of fifty for me so that I can fulfil any last minute orders before Christmas.I'm still keeping up with the 1000 word a day average on Shimmering and have started to sound check for proof readers.
11/12/06: Shimmering continues to roll along. I changed tack slightly. I kept thinking about one of the big battles towards the end of the book so, to free up my mind for other plot elements I decided to jump forward ad write this section. It is the first time that I have written a chapter 'out of sync'. Seems OK though.Was supposed to be selling this evening at Oakham Xmas Craft fair. Unfortunately a stomach bug meant I had to postpone. I will be Ok for the signing in Oakham on Wednesday though. My apologies to anyone who may have been in Oakham this evening hoping to catch me for a signed copy.
6/12/06: Now this is better! The main PC is now virus free and cleaned up. The signings and Xmas fairs continue to bring a good stream of sales, so much so that I have had to order another fifty print run AND I am now moving forward again with Shimmering! I have set myself a target of 1000 words a day and will need to discipline myself to this if I want to achieve the first draft completion for February as planned. (so if you hear that I've been shirking this responsibility you have my permission to send me flame mail!)
29/11/06: Arrgghhh! After a good day writing yesterday I was all prepped for another good session today. Unfortunately my lad clicked on an attachment in MSN and dumped a virus on the computer so today is 'clean up' time as it was a new strain and not entirely trapped by my AV software. Rebuilding operating systems - my favourite pass time NOT!!!!
27/11/06: A great selling weekend - total for November is now up to 64 copies for Spider including three of the new format ebook that is up at Mobipocket.com.
23/11/06: Spider is selling very well this month. Also received excellent service from Bookforce who turned around an order for an additional 50 in two days. Just as well as my stock had been depleted and I was getting a little twitchy with all these fairs coming up.Haven't done much with Shimmering this week but hopefully will get a few chapters penned over the next few days.
18/11/06: Attended a book signing at Buy the Book Stamford yesterday and today. Torrential rain made the town very quiet yesterday but that was more than made up for today when I sold more books in one day than I have ever done since it went to press. I have also been invited to do another book signing at the Oakham branch of Buy the Book. A highly successful weekend and very very enjoyable :-)
14/11/06: Sales in November are averaging over a book a day! AWESOME - thanks all! I've ordered another print run or I won't have enough copies of Spider for the Christmas fairs I have coming up!
2/11/06: Have had a few days off writing Shimmering but going to get back to it tomorrow.Have booked into a handful of signings between now and Christmas so hopefully this will notch up a few more sales of Spider. Have tracked down a few review sites and posted a couple of copies off to them.
1/11/06: Have identified an issue with UK distribution. Someone changed UK dist records with Nielsens to Bookforce and they have provided a handful of books to fulfil orders. I am working to get this changed back to myself and Bookforce will 'pay' the royalties due by reducing my next print order costs.Sales continue to be steady and I am very pleased with the fact that Amazon are selling copies without any involvement on my own part, going to people who I do not know. Unfortunately the discussions with T.H.E. did not come to anything at this point as to sell in Morrisons would have made the basic cost of the paperback well below the level at which I could get it produced as a small press author. C'est la vie.
28/10/06: The S-Gate is coming along nicely. I have taken further advice from a number of sources and I will definitely avoid a Christmas release. This has added advantages of having almost a full year if I choose to enter the work for competitions and awards. With The Spider Gem, the original print date was December 2005 even though it was not available until 2006. This excluded me from any 2006 writing competitions and entries. I'm not making that mistake again.
29/9/06: Making good progress with Shimmering Gate. Have recently been advised that I may want to delay publication until post Christmas. Currently the first draft will be ready for end Autumn as planned, but I don't think that it will be print ready until December. The advice I was given was that Christmas is a bad time for self published authors to launch as this is a big time for the more mainstream publishers. As a result I'm contemplating delaying publication but, for those who want to get into the second book sooner, providing them with a PDF copy in advance of the book itself. Having fully decided if this is the best idea yet but will ponder for a while.With the continued good flow of book sales during September The Spider Gem has now been the top fiction novel in the independentauthors.co.uk book chart for two months running. This is really flattering and my thanks to everyone who has supported me :-)
7/9/06: Kick started again! :-) Slowly picking my way through the chapters that I have written to date and to get back into the swing of writing. Having reviewed the first few chapters of The Shimmering Gate I am actually quite pleased and although I'm no Tolkien I think my writing has improved. This is mainly due to feedback that I have received from readers, family and friends so thank you all. Even so I have done a fair bit of re-writing and also added a few sections to expand on some ideas that I had touched on so things are now moving forward again nicely. YAHOO!
5/9/06: Talking with T.H.E. with regards providing local Morrisons' with copies. Also a steady trickle of orders is still coming through which is satisfying and each one helps to cover costs so thank you!
30/8/06: OK - I admit it - I've been slacking! For the first time I am slightly behind. This has been due to a much busier summer than I expected and due to helping out some colleagues with some IT stuff as well as marketing The Spider Gem. Still on track for Autumn completion of the first draft but a little later in the season than I had hoped.
24/08/06: Although the Amazon BXGY marketing deal is very disappointing August has been good for sales so far with 18 copies sold in US and UK.
23/08/06: The first batch of the revised 2nd edition copies arrived from Bookforce UK. I am delighted with the quality which is as good as the copy from Booksurge.
16/8/06: Back from our summer vacation so time to get back to the keyboard.The one month banner ad with Booksurge was very disappointing as it did not bring in a single sale :-( Fingers crossed for the Amazon Buy X Get Y tie in during August.
19/7/06: It's full speed ahead again now. I'm writing daily again and should be back on target to complete first draft this summer.
10/7/06: The press release went out on the 29th June and I have had a couple of enquiries or review copies. Hoping a few more to come in yet. Also, The Spider Gem is now featured in a banner ad on Booksurge for one month.
27/6/06: Yahoo! - restarted writing. Have also set myself up a 'home office' desktop PC in the solitude of the spare bedroom. It's nice and quiet up there so will allow me to work when the kids are home during the summer. I expect to do a fair bit of writing for The Shimmering Gate over the next month or so. Have done two more interviews on radio - one for BBC Cambs and another for Lincs FM. I will get copies of the sessions and add them to the web page soon. Both went well. Lincs FM was a short piece but I had a pleasant and long (40minute) chat with Sue Dougan on BBC Cambs.Booksurge began the press release activity yesterday so my hope is that this will increase sales. It would be great to break the 250 mark this year but maybe for a PoD title that may be a little ambitious?
14/6/06: Buy The Book in Stamford will add the book to their shelves. Also, Radio Cambridgeshire have agreed to run an interview during June. More details to follow.
9/6/06: I'm a little behind where I wanted to be with The Shimmering Gate. This is mainly due to marketing activities, radio interviews and a few non-writing related issues. Still on track for release during late Autumn/early Winter though. Need to make sure I meet this or a few of my readers will be miffed with me!The 2nd edition with typo corrections is complete. The press release, my official launch, is scheduled for 26th June. Booksurge will carry a banner advertisement in July and the marketing push with Amazon is scheduled for August. I have chosen three titles to be 'paired' with on Amazon but awaiting confirmation that those titles are available. The Spider Gem will then be paired with these best selling titles for a month and readers will be presented with a Buy X get Y deal, offering 5% discount for purchasing the pair of books. I'm hoping that this will spread the word and help me grow my readership base.
25/5/06: Increasing requests coming in for the second book! Nice to receive these and shows that the first book was well received by those who have read it. Have a couple of 'plot' decisions to make. I'm not stuck but have a number of threads with multiple paths and trying to decide which way will work best for the flow.Looks like the reprint should be ready for mid June with the official launch with press release scheduled for w/c 26th June.
19/5/06: Looks like the Nielsen, British Books in Print update is complete. The Spider Gem should now be available through all UK bookshops. Also noted that WH Smith now carry it on their web page and it can be ordered in store.
16/5/06: Walkers Books, the famous book store in Stamford, now carry copies of The Spider Gem.
15/5/06: Although I have typed up very little in recent weeks I have the basis of the next few chapters on a digital voice recorder. With the corrections for The Spider Gem now entered I can return to working on the manuscript for book two. A little behind where I wanted to be for May but still on track for release this year.I have compiled the various pieces of feedback on typos from readers and entered them into the Booksurge correction system. As a result The Spider Gem will be offline for a few weeks for corrections but will be returned to online stores in its shiny 2nd edition during early June.In addition, a press release will take place at this point and a marketing push will happen with Amazon and Booksurge. Fingers crossed for increased sales as a result.I have also been invited to do an interview with Rutland Radio on June 5th (for airing June 6th) and BBC Radio Lincolnshire on May 30th (airing date TBA).
4/5/06: Have been busy with a number of things over the past couple of weeks so very little writing done. Getting back to Gate again now and still on schedule. Have scribbled down a few ideas that came to me so just need to type them up.
18/4/06: Interviewed by Stamford Mercury (see Review section).
14/4/06: Sales of Spider have now topped 125 copies not bad for word of mouth selling :-)
31/3/06: Made it into the Stamford Mercury pictured during the presentation at the college mentioned below.
15/3/06: Was invited to Casterton College in Stamford to present my book to the library and chat with students. Great fun and the book has been well received.
9/3/06: The general plot of Shimmering Gate is coming together and the book is about 30% towards first draft and on schedule for an Autumn 2006 release.Have gathered a few more orders from postcards that I posted in doors around the village. Continuing to get some good feedback from readers too.
28/2/06: Found some artwork for book two at my usual resource www.istockphoto.com .
12/2/06: Work is continuing on the second in the series. Early chapters have been completed and I am currently on track to have the first draft ready for the first proof reading in 2006. Sales of the Spider Gem are moving along steadily. I have not done any marketing yet but have been selling the book to friends and relatives and other acquaintances. Early feedback from readers has been very good which is refreshing and has encouraged me with progressing book two.

Shimmering Gate pulsing brightly

I have just completed a first pass across the Shimmering Gate. As is stands today I have a couple more chapters to pen and a slight change to one element. These should be complete by end of next week. It will then be out for editing and proof reading for a few weeks and finally back for edits.
As it stands now I think I am still on track for an April launch which will be superb.

Stamford Literary Festival

From 2nd - 9th February I attended the Stamford Literary Festival.
It was great fun meeting new readers and making new contacts and while very quiet at times, I did make new sales and enjoyed a successful week.