You've got to love vocabulary! Actually, one of the hardest things, I find, is not repeating words. You're always having to find other ways of saying the same thing. But yes, I did have a bit of fun with Rudolf's nose!
Big news! Claus and Claws is now available in paperback! This is ideal for all you luddites (like me) who prefer to read physical books rather than looking at a screen. Can't do much about the price, I'm afraid. There are printing costs. Buy it for absolutely everyone this Christmas. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Claus-Claw...id=1481120821&sr=1-2&keywords=claus+and+claws
the wife struggled a bit with the first half of the first chapter. she got back into it the other day and couldn't put it down. as i was heading to work yesterday she had just reached the part where the elf's? where heading of to china was it? i forgot to ask last night when i got home,but before i left she said your a good writer. she reads all the time. mostly non fiction war type story's and is a big fan of terry pratchet dont shoot the messenger but she seen a similarity?
This is very flattering, thanks. I'm glad she's enjoying it. That's what you most want to do when you write something - have people enjoy what you've done. After all, it's all entertainment and if it's not entertaining, it doesn't matter what else is in it. If she feels like leaving a review on Amazon when she's finished, that would be very much appreciated. You can't have too many reviews.
Signed greetings come at no extra cost! I sort of priced it £1 below what most common paperbacks seem to cost. TBH, the royalty on a book sort of buys me a croissant here. I'll need a tidal wave of enthusiasm before I start paying the mortgage with my writing, but I can see that it's possible, after I have published a few more books. Means I better get on finishing all the other novels and things I have started. But they all take a lot of energy and time. I don't want to just contribute to the pile of crap that already exists to buy.
I was on World Radio Switzerland talking about my book. They have sent me the podcast. Of course, I haven't listened to it. I don't think I could bear to. Who wants to hear themselves? In any case, I was there, so I don't have to. Still, I think they are keen to get some publicity for their station, so I offer it for those who may have an interest. WRS | A Christmas tale by local author Alexander Bell
That's very kind. It never sounds as nice as the voice I normally hear, so I try not to listen to it!
Katt (I have managed to spell her name wrong already in 2 emails) is a very nice girl and ex-circus performer. You make of that what you will.
I remember the first time I heard, and saw, myself speaking on a videoed training course over 30 years ago, what a shock, it was nothing like I was expecting. When we listen to a recording of our voice the sound comes only via our ears, as opposed to vibrations through our bones and tissues, and it sounds so different.
Excellent comment! I can tell you one thing: if you add up all the £2 or whatever my royalty is and divide it by the number of hours spent writing and marketing the book, you probably end up with about 1p per hour. OK, it could be 2p, but you get the picture!
I think that's very true. You really need quantity to make any kind of breakthrough. Visibility drives sales, but sales drive visibility. It's a tricky vicious circle. I suppose that if you are published in a more conventional way, the publishing house reps might go and visit Waterstones to get the book into the window. On Amazon, it's all a bit trickier. Still, tomorrow there will be another 2 days of Kindle Claus and Claws for free, so if anyone missed the first opportunity, here is your last. I'll be interested to see how many downloads occur because I bet nearly all the people I have communicated directly with downloaded it already if they were interested. Future downloads will be from people in cyberspace I don't know. I suppose that if I want people to give away paperbacks for Xmas they will want to have read it first, hence the extra 2 free days.
