Book merchandising, sheep and knitting patterns...how's that for diversification!

Diversification seems to be the buzz word for keeping business moving along - so when I was looking for a fun addition to my table at book signings, sheep sprang to mind... in fact they seem to have been springing up everywhere ever since...

The sheep were a great hit, but they did seem to take up every evening during the Christmas fair season, just to keep up with demand. So now you can buy your own knitting pattern from my online bookshop - then you can knit as many sheep as you want, and count them along with the story...  zzzz

...how's that for diversification!

It all started with the book - then the sheep came along...

Book signings and Christmas fair

It's that time of year again, I'm busy booking up my weekends in November and December to do book signings at Christmas fairs...

I've got some exciting venues lined up this year, from the Tithe Barn in Poppleton to Yorkshire Heart Vineyard - yes a vineyard in Yorkshire - what an exciting new venue for a Christmas fair! I love the Christmas fair season as everyone gets ready for the festive season, and it's good to know that my books will be part of so many people's Christmas' as they emerge from the wrapping paper  - I wonder which book will be this year's bestseller...?

People like to meet a real live author, parents like to show their children the face to the name on the front cover on the books - but it's a two way thing, as an author it's great to meet my readers - as time goes on there's more and more who've already read my books, and give me feedback and which ones they liked best. The Monster Under The Bed is always a big taking point, everyone has a story to tell about the monster under their beds, and But I'm Not Sleepy is still my bestseller - it seems everyone has a Lucy...

Reading, writing and birthdays...

Well as it turns out my memory isn't quite as good as I thought, and I don't remember what happens in my current read - though that  may change as I get further into the book. But for now I am enjoying rereading a book off my bookshelf, which is nice to know as what other excuse do I have for keeping all these books - apart from maybe that it's quite nice to be surrounded by books...

And talking of being surrounded by books - I do have some stock to sell in my cyber bookshop... can I interest anyone in a beautiful cat book...? It's a true story and full of colour photos - and what's more the characters from the book are 3 years old today!! So what do you buy for 3 year olds on their birthday...? Cat treats, gourmet food and a new biscuit ball, as one isn't really enough for 6 cats to gather round without a bit of friction setting in...

Going cold turkey on buying new books online...

So - after pondering about books being tactile, and it being a better experience to go into an actual bookshop than ordering online, I thought I would go and buy a book from a bookshop. But I always seem to plan more for my week than I can ever get through, and constantly line up things that I'm going to do on that mythical day when I have more time... So now I'm re-reading some books off my bookshelves, which is all very well, but I already know what happens in those books.

Which brings me to the conclusion that, yes it is nice to visit a bookshop and pick up books, and if you're lucky, go and have a coffee in their coffee shop - but if time is short, isn't it one of modern life's little luxuries that we can go online and choose a book, and have it delivered into our home...?