This morning I randomly had one of those author moments where I thought to myself, ‘I’ve actually had nine books published’. Five novels, three poetry collections and one short story collection, to be precise. Woohoo!
I’ve been a published author since 2009, and even though it was 15 years ago (wow, now I feel old…) I can still remember the excitement of when my very first short story appeared in an online magazine in the US called Blood Moon Rising. The Woman and the Stiff has since been republished in Diabolical Dreamscapes, but that initial excitement at appearing in a literary magazine will never fade.
Ostara greetings! As of 3.06am on 20th March, the spring equinox is finally here. Hurray! I for one hope that the good weather will follow. We deserve some sun after all the dreary rain and endless grey in Northern Ireland.
Today is World Poetry Day. I don’t have too many poems that are spring themed, but this one will have to suffice. Called ‘Sunshine’, it was published just over a decade ago in English magazine, ‘Tips for Writers’ Issue 94, which is archived at the Poetry Library in the Royal Festival Hall, London. Wanna listen? Alright then, grab a cuppa. Better make it quick. The video is only 48 seconds long – get yet skates on!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Today we went to see the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Belfast city centre. There was quite an international mix, almost like a mini Mela. Lots of family fun and the rain held off.
There was also traditional music, Irish dancing and festival mask crafting for the kiddos.
I also had a go at making an Irish coffee for the first time – minus the sugar, of course. Here’s my effort. Tasted great!
Later, I’ll be enjoying a glass of Bushmills and watching a suitable horror movie for the occasion. The Leprechaun is our pick for tonight, after the little dude is in bed. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a good dose of comedy horror starring Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston.
Anyway, for now, hope you’re enjoying a glass of Jamesons, a Bushmills, a Guinness, or Baileys, or whatever takes your fancy. Slainte!
This week, while searching for horror authors in Northern Ireland (I am a voracious reader as well as a writer, and I am always on the lookout for more local horror) I discovered something interesting. I came up first on the Google search. Hooray! Happy Dance. Scratch that…spooky dance is more apt.
The two articles that also appeared as the top two hits are also press about my second most popular novel, The Blue Man.
What does this mean for me? Well, I have already read my own books (lol) so my search for other horror books in Northern Ireland continues. I have read a few fabulous Northern Irish Indie authors, the paranormal and psychological thriller author, Amanda Sheridan being my favourite, and I am always eager to expand my list. Jaime Stewart is another local horror author I enjoy – despite the shared surname, we are not related.
If you know of any other Northern Irish or Irish horror books, or are indeed a local horror author, feel free to comment below. I like ghost and psychological novels best, but I’m a willing reader of other kinds of horror too. Surprise me. Scare me. I can take it!
Modelling my ‘writing is my sanity‘ t-shirt alongside my sunflowers
The idea for today’s post came to mind after listening to the GCSE English class presenting their speeches on the topic of career choices. Out of thirty pupils in the class, describing with enthusiasm the careers they feel most passionate about, do you want to guess how many chose ‘author’?
Take a book, leave a book. What a great idea for a free library! This is at the Crescent Arts centre in Belfast, if any locals fancy a coffee and a read. I have donated two of my own novels – The Blue Man and Gods of Avalon Road – in exchange for two novels that are now on my ever growing tbr. I don’t have copies of my other novels at hand, but will leave copies of those at some point too.
My books are tucked on the bottom shelf
Since it’s World Book Day, it would be a fitting time to bury yourself in a new read. If you do stop by, and read either of the books I have donated, please do leave a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Waterstones – or any other places where you can review books. Same goes for any other books you read. Reviews help books find readers. Also, if you take one of my books home, remember to leave a book in its place. Let’s keep the love of literature going. Whatever you choose to grab, hope you enjoy it!
I personally don’t need any excuse for a book shopping spree, but World Book Day is a good reason to add more to my tbr pile. If you have a child, you can expect to receive free book tokens from their school. We tend to pick up the freebie read, and grab a few other books for the basket too. It’s a good excuse for fancy dress too. The little literary one has gone to school this year as Harry Potter – one of many, I imagine.
As for book shopping itself, although I order more obscure titles from Amazon, I prefer to shop local to support bookstores in my hometown of Belfast. I also buy from charity shops too. Trees matter, and I like to do my part to keep old, or discontinued books out of landfill.
What about you? Reading anything good today? Whatever you’re up to, hope you have a Happy World Book Day!
Spring is around the corner, which is the perfect time for a physical – as well as mental – spring clean. I have been in poor health lately too, and that always gets me thinking about the bigger picture – through an introspective lens, of course.
No filters – I’ve been as ill as I look, but feeling grateful for much
Last week I received my Public Lending Right statement from the British Library. This included payment for all the library borrows I’ve had in Libraries NI between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. Only three of my titles: The Blue Man, Gods of Avalon Road and The Buddha’s Bone were available during this time, and between those three titles, I received 11 borrows. I am thankful that 11 readers discovered my books in libraries across Northern Ireland, and hope they enjoyed them.
A book for my hospital bag – coincidentally the last story was a ghostly hospital tale
Last week, I had a health crisis and ended up in A&E. I was admitted to urgent care in this instance as a short stay patient. I will not go into the details of my illness – I feel it’s too personal to share with the world at large – but the scare as a result of this got me thinking about my own mortality. In the days that followed, after I was recuperating back home with some pretty powerful medicine, I had an existential crisis of sorts.
I was curious about all the avenues that lead to sales of my books, or Kindle page reads, and decided to tally up the figures over the last three years since I set up my own author imprint. The results make for interesting reading. If you’re a fellow author, you might be curious about your own sales, so I thought I’d share what I found, in case it might help others:
1. Newspapers/press releases (26%):
Getting newspaper articles written about my books in the Belfast Telegraph, Belfast Live and the Sunday World has undoubtedly driven sales by giving exposure to my writing. 26% of my sales have followed press releases in these newspapers. The sales, however, were limited to the weeks following the press coverage; this isn’t an ongoing thing.
2. Ingramspark (24%):
My hardcovers sell quite well. I wouldn’t say they sell steadily compared to my eBooks and paperbacks, but they definitely sell more than what I was expecting. There tend to be bulk sales when a new book releases, tapering off in the months afterwards. I guess readers must like them as collectibles. Approximately 24% of my sales since 2021 are from hardcover sales through Ingramspark. If you’re an author, I recommend using Ingramspark for your hardcovers; they are well made with sturdy materials and therefore look good on a bookshelf.
With my Valentine’s Day/ Lupercalia Kindle countdown sale finished, I thought I’d take an opportunity to do a wrap-up. Marketing for an Indie author is an ongoing learning experience and I always tweak discounts, or marketplaces, or even the times of year I run promotions, depending on the outcome of sales. For any authors out there getting started on Kindle countdown deals, or free book promotions, it can be overwhelming to know what is the best marketing plan for your books. I thought I’d discuss the pros and cons as I see them, and my thoughts on what is best, depending on your genre.
