I was reading the blog of a writer friend of mine, Karen Gowen, this evening. She was discussing piracy. She posted a link to a site, Torrenz, which tracks pirated downloads of a book.Firstly, I wanted to share this site with you, and secondly write down my mixed emotions about book piracy.When I … [Read more...]
VAT on e-books – what the?
Now this is a subject where my two worlds collide - VAT on books. Both my Accountant's and indy writer's interests were alerted when I read today in The Bookseller about the latest news on this strange taxing anomaly.There's no VAT on books, is there? I hear you enquire. That's right, there isn't, … [Read more...]
The Englishman is an Awesome Indie!
I was absolutely bowled over earlier today when I had an email telling me that the wonderful and discerning folks at the Awesome Indies site had selected The Englishman to be one of their new titles! This after my novel was one of the October reads at Alliance of Independent Authors! It's more than … [Read more...]
Writing again!
I've been notable by my absence on this blog lately, but I have an excellent excuse…well, I think so anyway.I'm writing again, or rather re-editing a manuscript which will become my next Kindle ebook. It will be out (hopefully, please keep all fingers and toes crossed) on 17th November and is called … [Read more...]
Free book promotion!
For a limited period for FIVE days only, starting today, The Englishman will be FREE to download from Amazon. (Where you can also find a Kindle app for most other e-readers, including iPads)The Englishman is a will they, won't they love story set in Helsinki in the 1980's.DownloadThe … [Read more...]
Alys, Always by Harriet Lane
Harriet Lane's debut novel, Alys, Always, was recommended to me by my old bookseller friend, Danny, at West End Lane Books when I was looking for authors who write about North London for next year's Crouch End Festival (more about this later). I didn't really know what kind of book it … [Read more...]
The Englishman is out!
Yes, it's true, my novel, The Englishman is finally out in the world all on its own. Late last night, I pressed the scary, 'Publish' button on both Amazon and Smashwords sites. As I sat and watched the screen change from 'Pending' to 'Publishing' to 'Success', I suddenly felt my heart in my … [Read more...]
Goodbye England’s Lane Books
On my return from holiday I got the sad news that the wonderful England's Lane Books will be no more.High rents and rates, other popular bookshops nearby and a low footfall, as well as the decline in sales of physical books all contributed to the decision to close down this locally loved independent … [Read more...]
E-books in bookshops – whatever next?
There's much consternation in the press this morning following Waterstone's deal with Amazon to sell Kindle and e-books in their stores. Much 'Deal with the devil' kind of comments have been banded about, but I have to say that I don’t understand why there isn't more of … [Read more...]
The results are in!
Firstly, thank you to everyone who voted in my little e-book versus p-book survey! The reason I set up this poll was that I wanted to know how many of you read paper copes and how many have embraced the new digital form of reading. When I first posted the survey, it became immediately clear … [Read more...]