A Face Full of Snow by Anne M Stephenson - from Lost in a Book

Lost in a Book does best at fairs and book signings, but in January wouldn't you rather browse my onlinebookshop rather than battle through the storms to go shopping...?

 Let me bring my books to you...

This week I'm featuring A Face Full of Snow

 

Third in the Doodle series:

As Eric crashes his way down the ski slope, totally out of control, his only consolation is that Iver No-Idea isn't there to see.

Iver No-Idea and his dog HB are doodles. But they are no ordinary doodles - they're alive, and words and pictures come alive around them. Iver No-Idea has been learning to ski in a ski brochure. He's been practising for weeks and now he thinks he's an expert, and can't wait to tell Eric how it's done.

But when Iver No-Idea and HB are left behind, they find a way to gatecrash Eric's holiday. They arrive at just the wrong time, causing their own unique brand of trouble.

50 page paperback

Black and white line drawings

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...

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...