February 17, 2023

Chill with a Book Premier Readers’ Award for The Blue Man!

On Valentine’s Day I found out that The Blue Man has received a Chill with a Book Premier Readers’ Award. Winning an award for any of my books is a first in my author career, so to say I’m thrilled is an understatement.

According to the Chill Awards website, a Premier Readers’ Award is only honoured to books that receive exceptionally high evaluations from Chill Readers. Books are given to a panel of readers who evaluate them based on questions, assigning points per answer. The Blue Man was given to three readers in the UK and Spain, as part of a pool of books of – I don’t know what size – all I can say is, the six months wait since I had submitted my book was definitely worth it! It was evaluated based on the following questions:

1. Were the characters strong and engaging?
2. Was the book well written?
3. Did the story/plot have you turning the page to find out what happened next?
4. Was the ending satisfying?
5. Would you recommend to someone who reads this kind of story?

Getting feedback from the readers was marked as optional, but I was very grateful that all of the readers who evaluated my book left comments, which I enjoyed reading.

Receiving a Premier Readers’ Award means that The Blue Man is now in the shortlist for Book of the Month for February 2023. Whether it wins or not, I’m delighted that it’s now an award-winning book, and the news definitely made Valentine’s Day extra special – and indeed my whole week so far!

Posted by on February 17, 2023 in Award wins and tagged , , , , , .

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February 13, 2023

Valentine’s day $0.99 promotion on The Buddha’s Bone

To celebrate Valentine’s Day tomorrow, The Buddha’s Bone is on a $0.99 offer. Grab a discounted copy of the Kindle eBook until 17th February.

So, what’s The Buddha’s Bone about? My second novel is set in rural Japan. Kimberly Thatcher is a Londoner who sets off to teach English in Japan on a one year contract. After escaping her abusive boyfriend back in London, she soon finds herself pursued by a colleague – with even more sinister intentions than her ex. Kimberly soon learns the darker nature of her relationships, forcing her on a soul-searching journey through darkness to find the light. What happens when you look into the abyss?

Want to hear an excerpt? You got it!

Posted by on February 13, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , .

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February 9, 2023

How many people publish novels – on citing sources and using proper social media etiquette

Last week on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter I discovered that statistics from a blog post I wrote a year ago (How many people who write a novel finish it and how many get published?) were circulating without a link to my website. I’m not the first person to research these stats, though I very kindly cite the websites where I got the mix of data, which I then condensed into a concise post for ease of access; however, since my blog post appears as the top search hit on Google if you look for the phrase ‘how many people publish a novel‘, it’s most likely the people involved got the information from my blog.

Please, if you are reading this, fellow Indie authors who used the statistics from my March 2022 post without referencing it, or crediting the other sources I used – a polite request to give credit where it is due. My post made difficult-to-find statistics more visible through a Google search – believe me this took many hours of work finding the relevant articles, which I had to trawl for, doing various keyword searches. I am happy that my post is easy for others seeking info, as it was my intention to make it concise for others to find. By all means, share the information in my post – but like me, please link to the sources you use, as I did. Please, please always link to your sources, especially when using them to promote yourself. Fellow authors will appreciate it, and you will keep yourself safe from plagiarism.

How many people who write a novel finish it and how many get published?

Posted by on February 9, 2023 in Resources and tagged , , , , .

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February 5, 2023

When a reader really connects with your book

I’m always incredibly thankful to readers of my books who leave reviews, but this one of The Fairy Lights really impressed me, as the reviewer totally understood some of the more subtle characterisation of my main character Aisling that I had threaded throughout the story. There are always layers to my plots, and if you’ve read my books you’ll know I like to leave some room for the reader to have their own interpretation of what’s really going on.

If there are any authors out there reading this post, I’m sure you’ll know that reviews are more geared towards other readers rather than directly intended for the author. But don’t you love it when you read a review of your book that really seems to get what your story is actually about? I’m not talking in an ego-flattering sense, but a way that shows how deeply they connected with your story.

Thanks to M.H for this lovely review on Amazon UK. I read every review of my books, and value them all, but I’m really blown away by this one as an amazing literary analysis of my story. Thank you!

Posted by on February 5, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , , , .

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February 1, 2023

How to price your books to attract readers

If you’re an Indie author, then you’ll know that depending on what stage of the publishing process you’re at, you’re going to have to adopt a different role: writer; editor; graphic designer; publicist; the list goes on. After your ebook and/or paperback and hardcover versions are ready to upload onto KDP, Draft2Digital, Ingramspark or whichever distributor you’re using, you’ll know it’s time to price your books. After all, as your own self-publisher, it’s up to you to do the job that a traditional publisher would do, supposing you had chosen that route. But, how to choose the right competitive price for your books? In this post, I want to share how I choose my prices, what I have learned from regular pricing and promotional pricing and my opinion on competitive pricing.

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Posted by on February 1, 2023 in Writing and tagged , , , .

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January 27, 2023

Which is best: strong protagonists or flawed characters in fiction?

I had an interesting conversation with some bookish friends the other day about books we’re currently reading and we got onto the topic of how new books that we have recently read tended to have strong main characters, often ‘perfect’ or tough protagonists who can handle anything thrown at them. It was something that, admittedly, I hadn’t given much thought too beforehand, even as an author. Once I started thinking of this topic, it occurred to me that more often than not on social media lately, I had seen authors displaying their books with arrows and advertising labels such as “strong female lead”. It got me thinking about a few things, from a writing point of view, regarding protagonists in fiction, which inspired my blog post today.

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Posted by on January 27, 2023 in Writing.

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January 23, 2023

Manuscript drafting: on reaching the 40k benchmark

Last week I finally reached 40,865 words on novel wip #6 after one year of working on this manuscript. This draft will become Book 3 of my Belfast Ghosts Series alongside Book 1: The Blue Man and Book 2: The Fairy Lights, and will complete the trilogy.

Why do I consider 40k words a benchmark? Simply because after this point in a draft, a MS reaches novel territory and is no longer in novella range.

Out of the trilogy, I’m finding this manuscript draft the hardest to write. Normally I find writing the easiest, editing harder and marketing hardest, but this manuscript requires much more historical research than The Blue Man and The Fairy Lights and the medieval sources are scant at best. I may have to arrange an archaeological field trip for myself soon as the latter half of my book will involve much more action and although it’s a ghost horror, not a historical novel, I want the historical aspects to ring true.

But, enough spoilers for now. I’ll be sharing the blurb and other promotional teasers before too long. My short-term goal for this year is to have the draft finished by summer so that I can pass it over to my editor and proofreader for checks. Will I manage my goal of publication by October? Let’s see…

Posted by on January 23, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , .

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January 19, 2023

Promotional videos of my books with thanks to Amanda Sheridan

Many thanks to fellow Indie author and fantastic psychological suspense writer, Amanda Sheridan for these amazing book promotion videos.

Here’s a video for The Fairy Lights.

And here’s a video for The Blue Man.

Amanda also designed some book promotional posters for my books too. Here’s one for The Fairy Lights.

And one for The Blue Man.

Amanda is the author of the fabulous Rapid Eye Movement trilogy.

I read all three of her books last year, and have to say, it’s a page-turning trilogy that centres around remote viewing, a subject that makes for a fascinating and unique plot. Amanda is currently working on a new book, which she’ll hopefully have more updates about soon.

Posted by on January 19, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , , , .

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January 15, 2023

In the News! Interview in Sunday World

Many thanks to Roisin Gorman at Sunday World for this amazing interview about my Belfast Ghosts Series books 1 and 2, The Blue Man and The Fairy Lights and my plans for future horror books.

This amazing article came out on Sunday 27 November when I was ill with covid. Unfortunately I was housebound that day and unable to go to the local shop to buy a copy, so I’m especially grateful to Roisin for sending an electronic version.

I’m currently working on book 3 in the series, and I’m now over the 40,000 word milestone-marker of what constitutes a novel. This means I’m just over halfway. If all goes to plan, I’m hoping to crack on and have the draft done before summer, so that my editor and proofreader can go through it. My aim is for this third and final installment of the Belfast Ghosts series to be published by October 2023.

Wish me luck!

Posted by on January 15, 2023 in Writing.

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January 12, 2023

Which do I recommend? Traditional, hybrid or self-publishing?

I’m writing this as a follow up to my blog post in February 2021 about my experience of traditional, hybrid and self-publishing. Back then, I hadn’t yet set up my own publishing imprint with ISBNs bought from Nielsen and registered with the British Library; in other words I hadn’t yet started my Indie publishing journey, with the exception of a couple of poetry chapbooks that I had printed myself to sell at open mic events. Much has changed since then, including my opinion. In this updated post, I want to compare all three options in terms of costs versus royalties so that aspiring writers can make a decision about what might be best for their own career.

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Posted by on January 12, 2023 in Writing.

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