Highs and lows, ups and downs

Once again I failed to produce a monthly blog post in July, but there were reasons for that; much to do with my state of mind and my state of health. My trip to Atlanta was an absolute joy, apart from the outward journey. Despite being in Virgin Upper Class, I found it boring, particularly as I was on my own. The return flight was an improvement because I was able to sleep full length, thanks to a lovely stewardess who made up my bed for me. But it wasn’t the flight that was the problem; it was the interminable delays which added hours to the trip.

My family met me at Atlanta airport of course, and from there it was a whirlwind period of activity and surprises, one of which was totally unexpected — the baby (the reason for the trip), ended up in ICU on his first birthday. Thankfully, the problem was dealt with, and baby was fine — he still is!). We’d celebrated Elliot’s first birthday three days before on the Saturday. It was held on that day, so friends and relatives did not have to take a day off work for the party.

During my stay, I was taken all over the place, including a Baseball game at the Atlanta Braves stadium. I enjoyed that. Then a trip round Atlanta, food halls, Coke World (Coca Cola), trip out to a country lake, rooftop BBQ, and experienced some delightful stuff and met new people.

Once I was back home, I had to prepare for my next big date, and that was travelling up to Lincolnshire to pick up my friend, Pauline, and bring her down here for a ten day stay. We managed to get around of course, but with a dog each it did rather limit us to what we could do and where we could go. Pauline enjoyed it though, which was the main reason for the trip.

After I’d taken Pauline home, my health started to deteriorate, affecting my legs and my general wellbeing. It had actually started before, but I hadn’t noticed. I took myself off to A&E because my hip was giving me jip. I was also suffering from leg problems, which affected my walking, and not just because of the hip. But as time went by and, following the advice of the A&E doctor, I gradually improved. But what all this revealed to me was that I’d overestimated what I could do at my age. And once I’d started going downhill, the recovery process was so much more difficult.

As far as my world of books is concerned, things are looking up. I began a Facebook campaign for my WW2 novel Shadow Over Paris in March, six months ago, and finished the campaign last week because it was falling away. But in that period, my sales and page reads climbed enormously. I sold over 600 eBooks and paperbacks, and my page reads went over 600,000. Even now, with no advertising, I’m selling about 50 books a week and continue to attract page reads. Another bonus is that some of my other books are being bought or read, The Devil’s Trinity probably more than most. All this puts a smile on my face, but I need to keep the balls in the air. Another FB campaign would probably not work for a while, perhaps closer to Christmas though.

Moving on from keeping those balls in the air, I’ve always known I needed professional help with my promotion and marketing, at which I suck. So, I have entered into a project with a professional book publicist who contacted me in the usual way, and one I completely ignored. It was a case of ‘thanks, but no thanks’. However, this lady didn’t give up, she contacted me again and eventually we began a discussion that resulted in an exchange of over 60 emails before I finally agreed to go along with her. I’m not going to say it’s been fun, in fact, I exchanged some fairly probing and pointed questions with her, but we managed to get through that, and now I’m committed. She did pass on the email addresses of three, NY Times bestselling authors with whom she has worked. I contacted them and all agreed that the woman was bone fide and a pleasure to work with. As it turned out, I had actually had an on line conversation with one of them a few weeks earlier on another subject, which for me was kind of like a ‘sign’, so I was happy.

So, where am I now? Well, I’ve finished the sequel to my WW2 story. It’s title is Shadow Over Paris — Beyond Midnight. After a discussion with my four boys, it was agreed that the Shadow Over Paris had to be kept as part of the title, so that readers would recognise it and, because of the subtitle, would know it was the sequel. I have sent the manuscript to my boy, John, who will read and edit it for me. The next step is to contact the jacket designer and ask him to come up with another fabulous jacket for me. I’m trying not to hurry this but would hope to have it finished and proofed before I launch it in time for Christmas (maybe earlier).

This now leaves me with a big hole in my daily routine: what do I do with the time I now have on my hands? Housework is about the only answer I can come up with, but that doesn’t exactly inspire me. Gardening? I have a gardener comes once a week for an hour, which gives me a reason/excuse not to do any gardening. Decisions, decisions, you see, and no inclination to do anything. But I must and I will. So, wish me luck. See you next month?

The Intrepid Traveller

I usually write my monthly blog post early in the month, but on July 1st, I will be travelling to Atlanta in Georgia, USA. I’m going over to stay with my Grandson, Sam, and his wife, Taryn, to help celebrate their son, Elliott’s, first birthday on July 5th. Sam’s brother, Jamie, will be flying down from Vancouver with his girlfriend, Lexi, and Sam’s Mum and Dad will be over from Australia. Taryn’s family will be coming down from Michigan, so it will be quite a gathering, and I’m looking forward to it very much. I’m flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class — something else to look forward to.

This won’t be the first time I’ve been to the States. I’ve been a few times, but my first visit was as an eighteen-year-old in 1958. I was in the Merchant Navy working as a waiter with P&O. We did a world cruise, which incorporated a Pacific cruise before sailing through the Panama Canal for home. As a consequence of that, I got to visit Hawaii twice (not an American State at the time), Vancouver twice, plus a short stop and a five-day layover in San Fransico. There were lots of highlights, of course, and I’ll never forget being driven along a Freeway in a pink Cadillac thinking what a blast it was; here in the land of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley (he had a pink Cadillac), Buddy Holly and the Everley Brothers — the list goes on. I was a bit of a dreamer then (still am, I think).

My highlights for this trip that I know of in advance include a visit to a Writers’ group, a fireworks display to celebrate July 4th, Elliott’s christening on the morning of his birthday, and, of course, the birthday party. I’m also scheduled to go to a baseball game, something I asked my grandson to arrange. Any game will do, I said, so long as it’s not English football. Anything after all that will be a bonus. Oh, and I’ve been promised a Hummingbird T-shirt. That’s the name of the Running Club my Grandson, Jamie, set up in Vancouver along with a couple of his mates.

So what about my world of books? Well, my current WW2 story, Shadow Over Paris, is doing very well. It sells every day and is holding it’s own in the top 20 of Historical French fiction, so I’m well pleased. But I’m struggling to come up with a worthwhile sequel, which some readers have asked me to do. I’m just past the 40,000 word mark, which means about halfway, but I need to keep the excitement level up if it’s to emulate the success of my current book. But I am picking up sales and page reads on some of my other books, which is always good to see. It means people are noticing me and are getting curious. Being in Kindle Unlimited helps as well, and I have about eight of my books in KU. I may take the plunge and put all my books there.

Away from all the glitz and glamour of International travel and the world of books, my domestic routines haven’t changed. I’m sure most of you are in the same place as me. The weather has been good, but not for the garden, except the weeds! The grass is brown, but my pots and hanging baskets are surviving. Life goes on despite the best practices of the international warmongers and the mendacious politicians who think we’re all senile and don’t have a clue. So, don’t worry about things over which you have no control, take life as it comes and spread a little of your own sunshine. I hope I’m doing that with my books. Wish me luck!

Fun, Family and Fans

How does the song go? ‘Where do I begin?’ Looking back on the month of May, there has been a lot going on in my life, one way or another. I can see some significant moments as I look at my diary; always surrounded by the usual domestic chores, of course. So I’ll skip those routines and talk about memorable stuff (for me, anyway).

VE Day was significant. There was an event in our local green area, I went along, took a chair and, hopefully, dressed the part. One very interesting woman I met was 99 and worked as a Land Army girl when she was seventeen. I’m afraid I can’t remember her name, but it could have been Alice, or Helen, or… I often see her early mornings when I’m walking Tuppence. As we go by in the car, Alice (for now) waves. So to actually get to speak to her was a real pleasure. I was four years old when the war ended, so had nothing other than vague memories to swap with her.

Another really memorable day was my Saturday trip to Goodwoof. No, I haven’t spelt it wrong. Goodwoof is a two day dog event at Goodwood. I met my son, Terry with his wife, Claire and one of their sons, Freddie. They had my Great-grandson, Orin, with them who is eight years old. It was fortunate for me because they took control of Tuppence. I must say the event was brilliant. I imagine I would have enjoyed it even if I’d been on my own. I won’t go into details but suffice to say it was worth going. If my boy wants to do the same next year, I’ll join him.

I had a neighbour, Pam, who is in her nineties, come over for a cup of tea and a chat. Pam is into motoring and has been an enthusiast for a good many years. It’s surprising what you learn about people when they begin to reveal something of their past. Pam loves rallies and that kind of thing, and she told me of an amazing, sponsored London to Moscow trip she did many years ago. Fascinating.

Another event was the monthly, Arun Scribes book club meeting in Littlehampton. It isn’t always about books; often you end up talking to someone, like Pam, who has a really interesting story that has nothing to do with books. One chap I got talking to (Stanley) was in the Army and did a tour in Belize many years ago. As it happens, our son, Terry, was a Harrier pilot and did an eighteen-month tour there. Pat and I spent a couple of weeks with him and his family in Belize, a place we would never have dreamed of visiting. So, me and Stanley had a great deal to talk about.

Another good day for me was when our Granddaughter, Gemma, came over with her husband, Max, and their two boys, Orin and Liri. Orin is eight, Liri is 15 months. Gemma cooked lunch for us while Max and I kept an eye on the boys. Liri liked putting his hand in Tuppence’s water bowl for some reason and kept throwing Postman Pat in there for a swim. But when I walked into the kitchen and found the dog bowl upside down, I had to get the mop out and put the bowl away. But for all the dramas and the fascination (for me) in watching Gemma and Max dealing with them, it was a pure joy to have them here. I think it might have worn Tuppence out, though. Lovely day.

But this blog wouldn’t be worth posting without a mention of my world of books. I uploaded my family saga, Past Imperfect, after getting the rights back from the American publisher. I had to pay for a new jacket, but it’s out there and, hopefully, it might sell. I am also preparing the love element of that saga as a pure Romance called Max and Emma. It will be published under the pseudonym (Emma Carney) I use for my Romance novels. It will be a novella, which I plan to sell at £0.99. It will mean I have five Emma Carney titles out there.

But my favourite talking point (if anyone asks) is about the progress of my latest work, Shadow Over Paris. At my level, which is loosely described as a ‘bottom feeder’, the book is selling really well. But along with that are the ‘page reads’. Last month, I had 99,000 page reads. It puts a big smile on my face. I am now working on a sequel to the book, which I find very difficult because I have never written a sequel before. So, that’s it so far. Four weeks from today, I’ll be in America with my family celebrating the first birthday of our fifth Great-grandson, Elliott. Wish me luck!