My Blog
Crowd-funding – what’s it all about?
Last year I heard about Unbound publishing for the first time. At first it sounded like a scam, reminding me of when someone I know went to work for an insurance company and pestered all her friends relentlessly to buy a policy so she got the commission....
Do ‘special deals’ on books really work?
I've just put the ebook of 'A Good Liar' on a Kindle store special deal for a week, starting April 1st. I have mixed feelings about doing so, but it's just for a week, and we'll see how it goes. If it encourages people to read the whole trilogy, as ebooks or...
Reading your own audiobook: is it a good idea?
I've been reading a piece in this quarter's 'The Author' from the splendid Society of Authors, about the frustrations of listening to a reader making a poor job of recording your book, and being powerless to intervene. And another piece from Alice Jolly about the...
I’m asking again – do I need an agent?
I'm sure I've blogged about finding an agent before: I certainly think about it 'ad nauseam', but until this past week I've done nothing about it since about 2012. Aversion, avoidance - for whatever reason I've put it off, until a necessary change in my route to...
Audiobooks: can I do it all myself?
It's amazing what a relief it is to have decided already that I won't have a new book out until mid-2018. For the first time in five years I feel I can step back a little and not be plunged immediately into the research and planning of a new book, while simultaneously...
A new chapter?
I knew this week would be busy but it's been more than that: it feels like the start of a new chapter in my short writing life. Two events happened simultaneously. First, my new book 'Fatal Reckoning' was officially launched, on Friday at the Beacon Museum in...