Penny and the Creeping Weed

The third Penny book is in production and I couldn’t wait for publication day to show you the cover. I’ll put it on Twitter when the books are in my hand. I love the way the colours all seem to match on the three books and I am glad I could use the same artist for all the backgrounds.

They really need to be promoted as a trilogy but that will have to wait until the autumn.

As a self publisher I now have to register it with Nielsen and send five copies to the various libraries. Once again I have not done an ebook and will probably make these my last paperbacks and concentrate on online books from now on as this is an expensive hobby.

I tried to do some gardening this morning and found myself pulling up bindweed. Of course, that’s where I got the inspiration for Penny3! I know the big white flowers are beautiful but I don’t want a garden full of bindweed and ivy. ( and a pink flower that has self seeded – verbena?) Half an hour a day is enough for me.

Best Wishes to all.

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Poster ready

I have just designed a poster for the place that said they MIGHT let me launch my book there. I haven’t put times or prices on but they want me to confirm next week which doesn’t give me much time as I wanted to do it on June 2nd. The poster wouldn’t load so I’ve put the cover on again.

I’d like to laminate it but haven’t got a laminator.

The dentist wants me to have a micro operation on the same day and I said it wasn’t convenient. It’s not only inconvenient I don’t think I want it at all but I got dire warnings of what might happen if I leave the root infected. The thought of someone drilling into the top jaw is really frightening and wasn’t helped by the clinic looking so sterile. I’ve never been anywhere so unfriendly. The whole place was white, with grey chairs and a strange echo. White walls in the waiting room, the corridors and the surgery. It felt like something from a science fiction film.

I looked up reviews and the customers seem satisfied. Now I have to decide whether to invest nearly £800 in a gum that doesn’t hurt. I couldn’t see anything wrong on the xray but the dentist said it needed doing. Who am I to argue?

Penny and the Poorly Parrot

I now have a publication date for the second Penny book in June, but the copies arrived today.

I was out promoting the first book so I had better put them away somewhere, although, as they were inspired by the pandemic, I guess the sooner I get review copies out, the better.

I am still waiting for a cover image as I want to do some flyers but the print shop will be happy to sell them for me so at least I have one outlet other than amazon.

I’ll try to put a photo on, but my pictures don’t always come out on the computer.

The first draft.

Well, I have got to the end of my second children’s book and printed it off so I can’t lose it. I did buy a new memory stick yesterday so it will go onto that as well but I don’t want to do that until it has been proof read.

I’m having fun looking for images for the cover – one of my favourite tasks and something an author cannot do when using a traditional publisher.

Now to let someone else read it and pull it to pieces ( or not-as the case may be!) I must keep telling myself the first draft is not precious. This is what happens when people ask for a sequel. I’m even getting ideas for a third one in the series. it keeps me occupied!

Creating

Just to keep involved. I am still in the middle of the first draft of the second book of which could be a series. Penny is called back to the Magic Wood as there is a new threat from the witch,

It is quite difficult to come back to earth and make meals and do housework and take phone calls. However, when the call is from the little girl who is the inspiration for Penny it takes precedence over writing fiction. I am also finding it hard to sleep at night as that is when the ideas flow and I am spending more and more time in front of the TV in the evenings, asleep!

Apparently the families who have bought copies of the book from me are finding it enjoyable but cannot put reviews on amazon as they didn’t purchase them online.

Thank goodness for Goodreads. If I get any written reviews I’ll post them here. I’m sorry there’s nothing else going on to tell you about. Wishing you well. Julie.

On a roll.

Finding it hard to stay online when the notebook is calling. I have written three chapters of the next book and keep thinking of bits I want to add.

I write on the right hand page and leave the left hand pages for alterations and additions. I don’t want to transfer to the computer until the ideas stop coming.

The trouble is, ordinary life seems to get in the way when I’m in the middle of a story. I want to be there, in the enchanted woodland, not here, making a roast dinner.

Twitter seems unnecessary and the TV is all repeats. It’s too cold to garden. I’m going back to my novel writing.

Sequel?

As Penny ends with a promise of further adventures I have begun to write the next book. It wasn’t until I had the vaccination that I could consider being creative but the ideas are now coming thick and fast.

I was going to call it ” Salted Caramel Fudge” but then I realised that if readers like the Penny character her name should be in the title. I need to check on amazon and google that nobody has thought of my title as I didn’t with ” Penny Down the Drain” and found a musician had used it. At least it wasn’t another book.

I have bought a new notebook as I always start my stories in longhand.I may not post so frequently from now on unless I get stuck.

Promoting Penny

I have spent most of today trying to undo a previous error. I did actually find a human being to talk to, but it didn’t seem to result in any change. Maybe I’m just too impatient.

It just proves how careful one has to be when filling in forms on line. Never mind, Penny has has a good reception without amazon and I have written a short piece to send out when the lockdown is over as a kind of second launch. I intend to use a load of postcards as I cannot afford to send out free books for reviews.

Beverley Nichols wrote ” A Tree that Sat Down” in 1945 and in this updated follow-on Miss Smith, the witch, has three new toads and can order items on the computer, namely a drone that she uses over the magic mountain. I guess there aren’t many people who have read the original but if they have I hope they will be delighted to find she is still flying, but still thwarted by the animals and children in the castle.

Following

I think it is time I started to follow some more folk. I might find more comments like that as a lot of the people I used to communicate with have gone.

It isn’t easy to make contact, especially when you are stupid enough to make an elementary error on line which results in amazon putting ” Penny PennyDown” in the title of my new book so nobody can find it. It was my fault and I hope it hasn’t done too much damage to sales. Now to find out how long it takes to get it corrected. I sorted it within a week but it doesn’t show yet.

Being on twitter has been interesting during the Brexit debate. I can see both sides but only time will tell is we get any benefit. I suppose it depends if the EU flourishes or dies.

Today is cold enough for me to try to defrost the freezer. I put the food in the garage while the ice melts. One task a day is enough at present. Best Wishes to all.

One copy here!

The postman delivered a single copy of ” Penny Down the Drain” today and it gave me such a thrill. Never having written a book with illustrations I was interested to see how they came out. Now I want to do more.

It is a slim volume but I don’t think today’s children like to have long books to read and it will only take a grandmother or grandather a few days to finish if they have the opportunity to read it to a grandchild.

I wont be doing the audio version until after Christmas but I am itching to give copies away as presents. I must be more businesslike and find somewhere to sell them. At least they won’t be expensive to post. That’s made my day!