Bridget Jones mad about the book...

I finished reading Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy yesterday and I miss it already - some books just shouldn't end. Or maybe that's the power of a good book, that it has a satisfying ending but you still don't want to come out of the fictional world that you've happily inhabited with characters who feel like your friends...

I came to the Bridget Jones books only recently, after loving the films, but at least that meant that I could read all three as a set, and as is often the case I found the books to be even more enjoyable than the films. But I'm still left wondering: when is the next film? and is there going to be another book...?

How did that happen...?

One minute I'm painting illustrations and the next I'm up a stepladder painting walls - how did that happen?

My problem with decorating is that everything else still has to carry on despite big chunks of day being taken up by painting walls, and then going to the swimming pool while the paint dries - what was that... did I need to go to the pool while the paint dried? Well of course I did... But the surprising thing was, while I was neglecting my bog and social media, I was getting more views  on my website- maybe people prefer to view my site while I'm not there in case I pounce out on them and make them buy a book offer them a book...

Anyway... the decorating is done, and I've been to the hairdressers to get de-frazzled, de-tangled and de-stressed and now I'm nice and relaxed and ready to hide away and read a book get back to work marketing my books to all these lovely people who're visiting my cyber bookshop.

First draft artwork, making a mess and MONSTERS!!

After a morning of messing around with paint, I've decided that I like that first dabble at the artwork for a new book - I suppose it's a bit like a first draft of a book, but the picture bit instead of the words. The point being it's a time to let the imagination run wild, accept that I'm going to make a mess, and just dive in and make a start...

It did cross my mind as I was painting the main character, that the fact that she's a girl is going to put off some customers; though why parents think they can't buy a book for boys just because it has a girl on the cover is beyond me... Her teddy bear is a boy - if that's any help...

Anyway if I haven't already put half the readers (or at least their parents) off by writing a story about a girl, then I'm going to really tip the rest over the edge by writing a story with monsters in... Yes - Monsters - arghhhh!

I stand by the belief that kids love monsters, especially when the character overcomes them - and they usually do you know, especially in kids books - we're not out to terrify them you know...

Website escapee

Welcome to my homepage - actually this piece is an escapee from my homepage - for some reason people can find my blog but not my website. So for those who haven't found my little cyber Bookshop - this is a piece of what you're missing - that and the books of course...

My little piece of cyberspace that's just for me and my books - and some sheep... oh and a few cats.

My equivalent to a business meeting is to sit on the garden seat with a cup of coffee and a few cats. There's my usual two, Captain and Steve who always come out with me and distract me into playing with a ping pong ball, and dangle bits of grass, and even a dressage whip - which they all like to chase.

So that's where the cats came into the stories, but what about the sheep...? Well they just bubbled up from somewhere in my imagination and had to be released... makes me wonder what else is lurking in there waiting to come to the surface... 

The sheep took on a knitted form last Christmas when I wanted a new fun element to add to my table at book signings, well I couldn't take the cats - that would cause a bit more fun than anyone could handle...

Monsters in kids' book...

My very first book bares the title The Monster Under The Bed, and is rarely passed by at book signings without some comment...

Everyone it seems has some sort of monster under their bed, be it noisy plumbing or just a shadow that becomes something more with the addition of a little imagination...  but my point is that it brings a smile of recognition to most adult faces, even if they ultimately don't buy the book, for fear of setting up a fear of monsters in their children, or fueling one that is already there..

But surely the fact that they smile as they remember their particular monster, shows that children actually enjoy the idea of monsters, as long as they feel safe throughout. A story about a monster can be quite exciting, and of course we're talking about children's stories here, so we know it's all going to OK in the end. So let's not deny the next generation their fare share of exciting books, with monsters to overcome...

And on that note, my next book has a definite monster theme too... no apologies - kids love it!

Self publishing and colour printing

I'm proud to be a self publisher. I love the fact that I have control over my books, and if I want to have lots of colour pictures in there, then that's what I'm going to have...

Why is it that the so called self publishing companies put authors off colour pictures in books? Some will even charge all the pages of a book at the higher rate for colour printing... It doesn't have to be that way, and if you truly self publish with your own ISBN you can shop around and get a reputable printer to produce the book you really want.

Of course that does mean that you're responsible for your own merchandising, but then you usually are anyway...

Book signings are a great way of getting self publish books into the public eye, and a great way of getting feedback on what people think of your books. And yes they do judge a book by it's cover - that's the first thing everyone sees, but if you have a cover to be proud of then that isn't a problem.

Of course social media and a website are great platforms to promote books, and if you're reading this, then I'm doing something right, so how about checking out my Bookshop, see the covers and read the blurbs, and if you like what you see - don't be shy, fill your virtual shopping cart and go shopping :) 

And then of course there's the off the wall sort of merchandising like knitted sheep, which customers at book signings love - and have been getting quite a bit of attention online.

Is it just me...? I don't want to fit my writing between the lines...

Is it just me...

I quite often like to go back to basics and write with a pen, in a notebook. And given the choice I would rather have a notebook with plain paper - I don't like the idea of someone telling where to write on the page - isn't it enough that writing on a computer screen is in straight lines, with every possible error pointed out with coloured squiggly lines...?

It's quite therapeutic to have a blank page to do as I please - I might want to doodle a picture while I'm writing, and I might want to choose what size my writing is going to be - not have to force it to fit between predesignated lines...

I might even want to write in a wavy line - I haven't done up to now, but now that the thought has struck me, I think I might give it a go...

Outnumbered by Cats, Buster collars and tablets for cats

I usually say that my cats are a distraction and inspiration in equal measure, not so when they have injuries however, when they become pure distraction. Not only down to a need to take them to vet appointments and administer medication, but also because sitting down to write when I'm worried about their welfare is just a bit too hard.
 
So what have they been up to...?

Well there's Captain, who's on eye drops, and now shuts one eye every time I go near him, so that the only way I can see if he's opening it normally is to view him from a distance, when he's distracted by something else. And while he's fairly accepting of the eye drops - putting a Buster collar on was a step too far. The Buster collar is a hand-me-down from his mum, who only wore it for about 30 seconds, and it's more likely to biodegrade than ever wear out from actually being worn by a cat...

Bumble, not to be outdone, came in sporting a large lump on his neck. It was an abscess, most likely from a fight, and after a trip to the vets, he ultimately burst it himself, and then carried on as if he hadn't noticed that there was a hole in his neck. He did rather enjoy his medication though... The vet suggested emptying the antibiotic capsule and mixing the powder with butter, then spreading the butter on Bumble's leg, as a cat hates to be dirty and would wash it off. I got the butter mixture ready and was just about to start spreading it on Bumble's leg, but first I offered it to him to eat off the spoon - he loved it! He licked the spoon, and then the bowl I'd mixed it in and it became his daily treat, I think he was quite sorry when his medication came to an end.

Books, book signings and sheep...?

Here's a little excerpt from my home page, where you'll find a little bit of cyberspace which is dedicated to books - good old fashioned print on paper books that you can hold and read with no worries about batteries running out... but you will need a light to read by as it gets dark...

  

There's also a bit of a sheep theme running around this month, as woolly escapees from my bestseller But I'm Not Sleepy vie for attention among the books...

For a limited time I am offering my sheep knitting pattern absolutely free... 

Free knitting pattern now you can knit your own sheep, or knit a flock and then you can really count sheep...

 

My little bookshop in cyberspace is always open. It's a book signing that's always there waiting for you. There's even some first editions and a special short print run...

So have a rummage in the bookshop - there's my new true cat story: Outnumbered by Cats for adults. There are picture books to share and read aloud, and the Doodle series to read aloud or to encourage early readers to discover the joy of reading alone.  

Priceless: being told that a copy of The Monster Under The Bed has been read until it's shabby - it's been a loved book, just like a favourite teddy.  

For the rest of my ramblings pop along to my website. 

Book characters meeting

This is what happens when the characters from two different books meet...
Mitzi from Outnumbered by Cats and a sheep from But I'm Not Sleepy.

Hey wait for me

Twitter

I've just tweeted my 1,000 th tweet, it felt quite exciting!

I thought about tweeting something profound, or even tweeting about it being my 1,000 th tweet, but in the end I just tweeted what I was thinking... and what I was thinking was that I quite like research, because it feels like a bit of an excuse to read a lot of stuff about things that I'm interested in anyway, but it is a means to an end.

And what end might that be?  Well I'm not quite ready to tell that to the world just yet, so you'll just have to keep popping back to see what I'm up to, but I will say that I have some exciting plans for the future rolling around in my head... ans as usual my head does get quite full of ideas, so there won't be room to contain this one for long.

Who let the sheep out...?

Who let the sheep out...?

The best part of working for myself is that I can plan my own day, and if that leads me to doing a photo call of knitted sheep, then so be it...

So where did they all come from - they just kept dropping off my knitting needles last winter, as I knitted more and more to keep up with demand as I did book signings at Christmas fairs. And it wasn't just the children who wanted them, it seems all age groups have a secret soft spot for sheep.

Find out how to get one in my online Bookshop
or how to knit one with a free pattern

Computer on, mind open, come on inspiration, I'm ready

Right... it's Monday morning - computer on, mind open, come on inspiration I'm ready...

Well the sun hasn't moved around to the right angle to give me my magical starry ceiling yet, the wind is blowing up a storm, but not lashing rain on my window (yet...), so I'm not feeling as if I'm on the high seas today, so maybe what's needed is to turn off the computer and have a rummage around in my imagination, get the paints out and see what I can pour onto some paper...

hmm I predict a mess...

Less is more - but what magic is at play here...?

There's a corner of my kitchen that looks quite magical - I've tried to capture it in a photo but really it doesn't do it justice. It's like a star lit sky projected onto my wall, except that's it's on a peachy background.

 And what magic is at play here? The magic that comes when you combine natural sunlight with a single Christmas bauble that got left out... at Christmas it was one of many baubles on a tree with lights, but left out on its own, it can fill a whole corner of a room with a magical beauty, made more special by the fact that you can't turn it on or off, it simply happens when the sun is at just the right angle to  reflect off the bauble... and as I write this the lights have disappeared again... till next time.

Hang on a minute... does it rain in cyberspace?

So, my cyberspaceship is starting to feel like a ship on the high seas, with a thunderstorm raging outside, and rain pouring down like waves breaking over the portholes... a damp cat has just rushed in ahead of the worst of the storm,and others are lying low around the place.

Hang on a minute... does it rain in cyberspace? Well it does in this bit of cyberspace...maybe anything can happen in cyberspace... only limited by the imagination...

So what's happening in my little bookshop with big ideas? Well since it relocated from the end of some back alley where no one could find it, and into cyberspace where anything is possible an amazing thing has started to happen - cyberspace visitor numbers have rocketed overnight.

People are visiting and rummaging around - I think some of them are just after the sheep - the free pattern to knit a sheep seems to be popular, maybe I missed my calling, and need to write more knitting patterns...

Bookshop in cyberspace

I have an online bookshop... it's tucked away in cyberspace...

So what is the mission...?

I need to launch myself out into cyberspace in such a way that everyone will want to come along and see what's going on...

So what will I need - a cyberspaceship? I think a cyberspaceship is something that probably floats about in the imagination - I think mine is blue... with electric windows aircon, and cappuccino on tap... But enough about my cyberspaceship - back to the task at hand, which is selling books...

As usual I'm rambling on about books... and sheep!

Yes that's right, sheep are quite a big theme this month, with my free giveaway of a knitting pattern to knit your own sheep...

But don't worry if you're not feeling like knitting sheep, though I can't imagine why you wouldn't, then you can still buy a sheep or get one free with the purchase of a copy of But I'm Not Sleepy. 

So make yourself a cup of whatever you fancy and pretend my bookshop has a cafe attached, and you can have a drink while browsing the books - judge them by their covers if you like, or read the blurb... but please pop along.  :)   

All a writer needs...

All a writer needs are an imagination and the tools to write with...

But a room with a view would be nice, the beach maybe, with the tide coming in, the waves rolling up the beach, coming closer with every rush of water, until the sea has reclaimed the beach and chased everyone back to the land.  And still the sea comes, rushing up sea walls, taking back its territory, dragging man made structure into itself and reducing them to rubble.

Ok so maybe I don't need a view... but it would be nice...

Giveaways - how hard can it be...?

If there's a easy way and a hard way to do something, why do I always find the hard way...?

So, I mentioned before that I was having trouble writing down my sheep knitting pattern in a way that others will be able to follow - but now I have the dilemma of how to distribute this pattern.

My plan is to do a giveaway for the first week, and then charge a small amount for the download. I had hoped to place this giveaway in my little bookshop - right at the back (bottom of the page), to draw customers through the shop past all the books - but it seems that my website shop doesn't understand the concept of a giveaway, and demands payment... or maybe I'm just on one of those learning curves again and have missed something...

Anyway, if all else fails I will post it on one of the pages of my website, or even here in my blog - so watch this space...
Free knitting pattern coming soon!! 
Then you can knit your own sheep - you know you want to...!  :)

 

Knitted sheep pattern... diversification or just procrastination?

Why is it harder to write a knitting pattern than it was to design the pattern...?

As I knitted the first sheep, and admittedly there were a few false starts, I scrawled down the pattern in note form on a ball band, knowing that I would know what I meant. But to write a pattern for others to follow I feel I should put in a bit more effort, not to mention details...

But am I diversifying or just procrastination...? Do people really want to go around knitting sheep, or is it just me?

Comments would nice, to allay my suspicions that I'm just rambling into an abyss,  or add a comment on my facebook page if that's easier...

Knitting pattern to follow...

Book marketing, it's not all about first editions

Book marketing:

Attacking it from every angle...

The signed first edition: Yes I have first editions, some signed, some waiting to be signed and personalised. My latest book is not only first edition and signed, but it's also a small first print run of just 100 books, all of which will be numbered - so they're pretty special books all round.

And why are they such a short print run? Well, when I get inspired for a new book, practicalities don't come into it. If my idea works best  with lots of colour pictures, then I just run with it and work it out later. But at some point, as a self publisher I have to decide how my latest project is going to be financially viable. That's the point when I tell the printer all the details and hold my breath waiting for the quote to come through...

Then it's number crunching time, and my brain doesn't run well on numbers - it's a bit like putting diesel in a petrol engine, my brain runs much better on words than numbers. Anyway, it has t be done, even if it gives me a headache... and in the case of Outnumbered by Cats I decided I couldn't edit out any more colour photos of cats and kittens, so I went with the exclusive angle, cut my profit margin and went for a small print run, pricing the books at £9.99 per copy.

But it's not all about first editions

Putting books into little hands: Most of my books are for children, and the most satisfying sales are to children who choose their own book, and then get it handed to them in their pushchair, or walk away reading it, because I know that their parents understand the value of a book, it's not about keeping books pristine, it's about giving books to children of all ages and letting them enjoy them, because a shabby book is a loved book - just like a favourite teddy bear...

Author rambling about social media

So here I am, living the dream and dreaming about making a living from it...

I've done the rounds of craft fairs, where all too often there isn't much craft going on so much as buying things in and selling them on. So where have all the craft people gone? Maybe they're all too busy making things to stand about and sell them at fairs... certainly a craft fair seems to be an opportunity to have a sit down, and I have even done a bit of writing at a fair, once or twice when the event was really quiet. But the trouble with writing is that it's a solitary occupation and if I start writing at  a fair I'm quite likely to just zone out and not notice if anyone stops to talk to me or take an interest in my books.

So surely the internet is the answer - making use of social media seems to be the thing to do, but it does seem full of people after their own ends or following to get followed, until we all seem to be following each other around in endless herds asking for likes - how can you ask someone to like something anyway...? You put it in front of people and they either like it or they don't... or am i missing something?

Views anyone...?

Bestseller at special birthday price...

But I'm Not Sleepy was 5 years old on the 1st August, so what better way to celebrate than to have a special birthday offer...?

So, for the whole of August But I'm Not Sleepy will be at the special birthday price of £5 (while stocks last) and still come with a free sheep (also while stocks last) - a knitted one that is, handing out real sheep would be a little impractical.

Bestseller at special birthday price

So, if I haven't got your attention with the cover - which is surprising given that everyone at fairs is immediately drawn to this one... apparently everyone has a Lucy - a few even admit to having been one...

Surely you can't resist this little character - or at least want to know where it fits into the story and how you can get one...

 You should also be wondering why more keep cropping up... well, you're just going to have to read the book. But don't start counting the sheep, I don't want you nodding off before you've visited my little bookshop with big ideas.

zzzzzzzzzz 

But I'm Not Sleepy... how to get some sleep

I’ll let you into a secret,” said Granny. “When I can’t sleep I count sheep. It always works for me.”

“Have you got sheep Granny?” asked Lucy, her eyes wide with excitement. “Where are they? Are they in your knitting bag?”

from But I'm Not Sleepy my bestseller is 5 years old today!!

First there was Lucy jumping up and down on her bed, then there was Granny reading calming bedtime stories... and then came the sheep. So all that was left was for Downboy the sheepdog to make an appearance and it looked as if nobody would be getting any sleep - but finally even Lucy felt sleepy...

Because it seems that everyone has a Lucy - some even admit that they used to be one too...