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!

On the up and up

My April blog

The month of April started with a fraud alert from my bank and their decision to block my card, which meant a conversation with security; fortunately, not a robot, nor someone from a call centre halfway around the world. Once I’d established my bona fide and convinced the woman I needed my bank card unblocked, she ‘graciously’ acceded to my request. I promise you I remained calm (ish). Bring back the old days, please.

Going through my diary is like walking along the beach with Tuppence, scrabbling around the garden on my knees doing battle with the weeds, scarifying the front lawn, and using modern miracles in cardboard boxes, promising me a lawn that would make the final in a Kew Gardens competition. But it’s all necessary, back-breaking work at times, and the only plus is that I get to speak to people who walk by and say hello.

But it was not all work and no play for this lad; I spent a few days away (Tuppence came too). I had a long weekend in Norfolk, staying with my eldest son, Vincent, and his wife, Jackie. They like walking! So, we did a river walk in Norwich (probably my favourite city), watched a Peregrine Falcon and its mate high up on a nesting box on the spire of the cathedral — a good crowd puller too, and enjoyed a coffee sitting in the sunshine. We also managed Blickling Hall and Sheringham. I left Norfolk for Lincolnshire to visit my friend, Pauline, but popped in to see my big brother, Jim. He thinks I’m raving mad because I’m going to America in July to see our No. 5 great-grandson, Elliott (1st birthday). Jim can be a grumpy sod at times, but we’ve had a lot of laughs over the years.

I started filling out a self-assessment tax return, but HMRC informed me I wouldn’t be able to complete it because they didn’t have all the necessary information to hand. I think they meant they were waiting for the Chancellor to make up her mind about how much more she wanted from us in taxes.

I happen to be a lousy cook, so I thought rather than rely on ready meals all the time, I really should start learning. So, I downloaded the Mary Berry recipe for Lasagne, went to Tesco and bought all the ingredients, and then set about becoming another Mary Berry in the kitchen. No, it wasn’t a spectacular failure, which my home-cooked meals usually are. I made enough for six dinners and have since eaten them all. Marks out of ten? Five maybe, but I will go again.

I went along to the Arun Scribes book club meeting in Littlehampton for their monthly mid-week get-together and enjoyed chatting to three people about books (what else?), always bearing in mind not to assume those people aren’t as advanced in their writing career as yours truly. It can be an eye opening experience as people reveal much about their lives and their writing, and shows what an eclectic bunch writers can be.

I took a copy of my latest book, Shadow Over Paris, for them all to see, which is currently selling well. This brings me nicely on to the “problem” it has created for me. I think we’ve all heard the saying, “Be careful what you wish for”. Because the book has been well received, I’ve been asked if there is to be a sequel. The story is set in Paris in 1940, which means there’s a whole lot more that follows. But the problem is: I don’t write sequels. I never have. Sure, I’ve used the same character (Marcus Blake) in several books, but they have all been ‘Stand-alone’, not sequels. I published the book last November and it sold a few copies; marginally more than my usual average. I advertised it using Amazon Ads but saw no real progress. Then I advertised it on Facebook on the 22nd of March in UK and it literally took off. The ad finished after four weeks, so I advertised it in America, where it has exceeded the figures I achieved in UK. In April alone I sold 112 copies and notched up 80000 page reads. Those numbers may not be significant to some of you, but believe me, at my level, they are stratospheric. And I’m making a profit; not a lot, but it’s gratifying to know my efforts are paying off. For now!

Which brings me to the sequel. How, after spending 15 months on SoP, and pouring all my ideas and effort into it, how can I possibly come up with a story that is different, but still the same? I have started on something, the working title is Beyond Midnight, and so far I’ve managed 9000 words. At my current rate it will take two years to complete, so I need to knuckle down and put words on paper. But I can’t do that without research, and that takes time. I do have some ideas knocking about, but I’ve never been a plotter; I’m what’s known as a ‘Pantser’. Yes, writing by the seat of my pants. But it’s what I do, so I will write and hope I can come up with something that is as good as SoP. Or even better.

And just diverting for a while, I received a contact through my website from a woman in America who said how much she’d enjoyed my Emma Carney Romance, Dare to Dream.

So there you have it: my grit, my graft and my gratitude for having the talent God gave me to put words on paper and bring a smile to most of my readers’ faces. In May, I’ll be looking forward to my trip to America and trying to add more compelling stuff to my sequel. Wish me luck.

                                                                                                                               Michael

A 50/50 month

Blog post for April 1st.

As a Christian, I have faith that God will keep an eye on me when the going gets tough, but I think He took some time off at the beginning of the month and left me to flounder as I grappled with technology and near cardiac arrest (I’m joking about that). My Facebook account got hacked, and my account was closed down after £400 had been paid out in error. It would be an understatement to say I was pee’d off and tearing my hair out — not that I have much.

I had to call my bank and ask them to lift the block I’d put on Facebook. Simple request, eh? Have you ever had to deal with a call centre? I had to explain to the lady that I had no idea what she was saying because of her accent. Eventually, she passed me on to a chap who also had the same accent. It took almost thirty minutes to resolve the problem. It meant I could now open another FB account and post another Ad campaign. So, heart rate back to normal, and a smile on my face.

Until I decided it was time to change my Tesco Mobile phone.

I went to the Tesco shop in Shripney and ordered a new phone with a contract extension. No problem — my phone would be delivered the following day. I took it in two days later for the changeover. The guy made a start and then told me it would take two and a half hours for the transfer to complete, which meant I had to stay within Wi-fi range of the shop. To say I wasn’t pleased would be another understatement. Why didn’t he tell me this before he started?

By now my birthday month was on a downward spiral. I ordered a slow cooker thinking it might improve my cooking skills. I bought a small one (£15) and popped down to the new butcher in Pagham Parade for some lamb. I Googled the whys and hows for lamb stew and a slow cooker and set myself to become another Gordon Ramsey. Suffice to say I shouldn’t have bothered; the whole thing was a failure, and the cooker has ended up in what I call my Room 101.

And if you think my month could not have got any worse, I picked up a speeding ticket in Chalcraft Lane where I always obey the speed limit (so I thought). Cost me £100. But there was light at the end of the tunnel, and God was stirring. It was my birthday on the 18th (84), and over that weekend I had visits from two of my boys, my grandson, Adam, and his partner, Agata, and plenty of cards and cake at my Church House Group meeting.

So at last God was beginning to smile on me and giving me the nod of approval for my next foray into the world of technology and advertising. I decided to create a campaign for my WW2 story, Shadow Over Paris. What happened next is beyond belief. My book started selling and gathering Kindle 'page-reads' at, for me, a phenomenal rate. It reached number 10 in the top 20 of Historical French fiction, even leap-frogging Kate Mosse! Last night, the end of the month, it had notched up 42 orders and over 11000 page reads (that's in nine days!). And the trouble is: I don’t know what I’ve done to make this happen — my ads usually notch up a few sales, but nothing on this scale. The campaign is due to run until April 21st, so I’m hoping it will stay strong until then when I’ll create another campaign.

Another project I started on was to edit my short novel, Max and Emma. It’s the pure love story from my family saga, Past Imperfect, I got the rights back for that book from my American publisher, which I can republish after April 21st. But I published Max and Emma and immediately unpublished it a couple of years ago so I had the paperback in my hand. Now I’m planning to put it out as a stand-alone Romance with a ‘spoiler alert’ inside to explain that it has been taken from the full length novel.

Meanwhile, I have two manuscripts with two separate publishers who will almost certainly turn me down. This is simply because of my age and the fact that my ‘career’ is behind me rather than ahead of me. It happens all the time, so I know what to expect. The two books have already been published by the way, so I will have lost nothing.

And despite all that has gone before me this month, I still had to walk the dog, do the washing and ironing, gardening, church, visit my Granddaughter, Gemma and her family in Brighton, go to a book club meeting in Littlehampton and grab 15 minutes in the armchair each afternoon until Tuppence wakes me up to remind me it’s time to share an apple (yes, she does, the little sod). But I mustn’t grumble; life’s okay, the sun is shining and, thank God, we are not living in an earthquake zone. I’ll be back next month with more tales of… Whatever. Wish me luck!

                                                                                                                               Michael.