The observant among you will have noticed that I missed out a blog post in February. This was deliberate because I was having the kind of moments that often make me ask myself if it’s all worth it. So nothing has changed really since I lost my lovely Pat. However, things are looking up, and the big moment for me in February was the birth of my fourth great grandson, Liri, to my Granddaughter, Gemma and her partner Max — and a little brother for Orin!
Liri was born on March 11th and is absolutely gorgeous. I was able to see him just a couple of weeks later when the family celebrated with a lunch date in Horsham on Orin’s birthday. I claimed the right, as Patriarch of the family, to sit next to Gemma, which meant I would be close to the baby most of the time. So the family tree grows, but we haven’t finished yet: my Grandson Sam’s wife, Taryn, is expecting and is due in July. They live in America, so it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to see the new addition, but there’s always video links.
On the book front, my situation has changed for the better. I submitted my thriller, Roselli’s Gold, (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00S9SPMXA) to BookBub for a featured deal. They agreed to advertise it but to UK, Canada and Australia, not the USA. The price was about £150 for a single, one day shot at £0.99. I accepted that and paid the money. The ad started on March 1st. On that day I sold 145 eBooks, the following day, 76 books. The tail followed and I have sold every single day since then, reaching 386 sales so far (March 26th). Although I haven’t recovered the cost of the ad (I would need to sell 600), I am well pleased with the fact that I am selling, something that was pretty alien to me some months ago.
On top of the Roselli’s Gold results, I also started an ad running on Amazon for The Girl With no Name (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BXJR7P6R), (my Romance under the pen name of Emma Carney). I am selling one or two copies a day now, which is really good. But on top of all this I am picking up sales on some of my other books. I think this must be where readers like my style and are happy to spend money. And there’s more; on Draft2Digital, I have sold about forty books in the last four or five weeks; virtually all my titles.
Now, when it comes to comparison with many other authors who write in my genres, I’m not even at the races, but what I have achieved thus far has put a big smile on my face. I’m not making any money, but at least I hope I am making people happy, and long may it continue. I’m also pushing the boat put a little bit on TikTok; the only downside to that are the number of “attractive young ladies” who ‘like’ me. Hmm!
I’m also working on my next book, Shadow Over Paris, which is set in Occupied Paris in 1940/41. I have to admit it’s a struggle, and probably too big a challenge for me to take on, but that is very much what being an author is about: struggle, doubt, impostor syndrome and procrastination. Oh, and making excuses to avoid putting pen to paper. I am told by those in the know, hurriedly pushing their secret on Facebook et al that I could knock out a full length novel in twenty minutes using AI. That to me is not even writing. There is no creativity in it, no emotion, no sudden change of direction because of a character who forces that change. I hope I never meet anyone who has ‘written’ a book using AI; I wouldn’t be able to get the words “Well done” out of my mouth.
On the domestic front, it’s all about getting into the garden between rain showers, keeping body and soul together and looking forward to seeing the sunshine again. I’m off to see my Great Grandson, Liri, this week, so that’s something I’m really looking forward to.
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading this catch-up. If you’ve read any of my books and like them, please tell people; word of mouth is a like planting a seed. And you know what they say — Big Oak trees from little acorns grow.
Wish me luck!