Just 6 days to go!

Hello!

It's getting very exciting now since there are only six more days to go before the eBook launch of Novice Threads. 

It's been a busy time during recent weeks. My cover designer - Laurence Patterson - and I have been getting the paperback versions ready. To date, I can only update that the paperback is now available to buy on Amazon but not quite yet with other distributers. As soon as that happens, I'll be updating!

However, this blog post is more about what I've been spending my limited promotional budget on, pre-launch, and about the different things I've been trying this time around.

NetGalley For the first time ever,  I've put Novice Threads up on Netgalley for early reviewing but as yet I have no information to tell me if there has been any uptake of the novel, even though I've included it as a possibility on all of my Social Media promo outlets. Time will tell on that one since the duration of availability runs out on the 16th May. 

Coffee Pot Book Club Tour I'm very excited about going on tour with the Coffee Pot Book Club! More details will follow on the tour which is scheduled for June.

Mary Anne Yarde I've booked some promo slots with Mary Anne Yarde for exposure on Twitter / Instagram.

Reviews I've requested book reviews from Mary Anne Yarde'; The Historical Fiction Company; The Coffee Pot Book Club (paid). The Historical Novel Society is free and very prestigious if a good/decent review results from it. 

Organising book reviews is quite terrifying because Novice Threads is not like my previous writing. Having Book 1 (Novice Threads) chart the life of my character from the age of 5 through to 16 has meant writing about things which are formative for her future character building. Margaret's adult life  will be full of desperate circumstances, love, loss and betrayal, even adventure - yet that is still to come in books 2 & 3. Hopefully my reviewers for Book 1 will appreciate the premise of the first novel of the series and will enjoy being introduced to Margaret.

Distribution catalogue Something I've never done before is add my new paperback to the Ingram Spark distribution catalogue. It's expensive, as are all promotional packages, but getting the novel seen by libraries, booksellers etc  is something I'm considering as a longer term promotional opportunity. 

Booking a 1-day-slot on a site like BargainBooksy, or E Reader News Today, hasn't worked well recently for my Roman Britain Celtic Fervour Series but I'm not completely discounting using something like that in the future for Novice Threads.

6 days to launch day! I'm
counting down! 

Slàinte!

Before Beltane!

Hello!

Today Tuesday 30th April is indeed Before Beltane but only just. The Celtic festival of Beltane is when the month of April slides in to to the 1st May. 

Today was a good day to remind readers that the Prequel to my Celtic Fervour Series all happens before Beltane. Both Lorcan of the Brigantes and Nara of the Selgovae tribes find their lives are in complete upheaval. Nothing is going according to a life plan for either of them and change, huge change is about to happen.

Not only are they thrust into dangers but their lives are foretold differently from they expect. Lorcan's meeting with the druid means an unexpected glimpse into his new future. And for Nara?  Being unexpectedly banished from her nemeton priestess home means a vastly different lifestyle. 

You can meet Nara and Lorcan in Before Beltane before they meet each other in Book 1 of the series - The Beltane Choice. 

Click HERE to get a copy.

Slàinte! 

Novice Threads is up on NetGalley!

Good morning!

The sun's trying to peek out occasionally in amongst the many showers here in my part of Scotland, but the day is great because I've a new venture to mention.

When I've launched a new eBook in recent years, I've wondered how to use the best methods of getting the message across that the book is now available. I'd noticed other authors getting reviews via a site called #NetGalley but knew little about it. It seemed that early reviews even before publication day were possible via this site, so this time around I made a point of finding a route to get Novice Threads onto NetGalley. 

It's now up there for a pre-launch month, so if you are one of the reader/ reviewers who use NetGalley here's the link to access Novice Threads. 

Or...Pre-Order on Amazon

Novice Threads, Book 1 of The Silver Sampler Series, is also available to buy at a special Pre-order price of £1.99/ equivalent $2.99 on Amazon till launch day on 15th May 2024.  That link is HERE

Now I'm off to do more work on Book 2 of the  series. 

Enjoy your reading.

Slàinte!