Firstly, wow what a weekend! Seeing Lewis Hamilton win his 9th British Grand Prix at Silverstone was utter joy, but now it’s back a solid roof over my head and the hard work!

It’s already been two weeks since I released LOST AMONGST THE STARS and the reviews are coming in. So far I have 5 five star reviews with more on their way, but I need even more. I want to get at least one hundred reviews or ratings by the end of the year across the Amazon marketplaces. Based on the number of books I’ve given away so far I am on for around twenty, although not all of those will turn into reviews, I’m guessing.

I’ve also turned to bloggers and bookstagrammers, with two reviewers on Instagram agreeing to read the book. It’s unlikely they will review on Amazon but a review anywhere is useful in generating interest. The search continues, so if you’re interested in reading the book for free in exchange for a review just drop me a comment and I’ll get you set up.

Here’s the link so you can check out the details.

WORK IN PROGRESS

I took a couple of days out of writing the second in the series last week as I had a request from someone very important to provide an 10,000 word abridged version of the first parts of LATS for, shall we say, promotion purposes to an important industry sector. I’ll say no more unless it goes anywhere.

The second book is progressing well and I’m 20% through the second draft which is the one I always call the most hard work as the although the basic plot and ideas are on the page, the prose lacks little finese and many details need adding, along with binding it all together.

EVENTS

This weekend I’m in Devizes in Wiltshire at a craft fair selling my wares and I’m keen to see if I can repeat the success with LATS that I had at Wallingford. Historically Devizes is in my top three event locations for profit, so I’ve set my target high!

Talking of events, I’ve just put my application in for the 2025 season, and I’ve opted for the same number as this year (although I haven’t booked summer events yet as I don’t know what are family plans are at the moment). This level is the maximum I can book whilst balancing family and other home commitments. This year I have used my assessment system which is based on historic average profit to determine which are the best events to go to.

I categorised each event location by colour, green for top third profits, orange for middle third and red for bottom third. Out of 19 available locations I have only booked 11 venues, eight of which are green, two are orange and one is new for the 2025 calendar.

The events I have booked are Devizes (2), Abingdon (4), Wallingford (3), Thame (2), Henley (2), Winchester (1), Salisbury (3), Witney (1), Cranleigh (1), Guildford (3) & Romsey (1). For the summer I will most likely book Lymington and Lyndhurst. Note these events are all provisional and won’t be confirmed for a couple of weeks.

MARKETING & PROMOTION

I’m still running Facebook ads at £5 per day for IN THE END and the UK price for the first book is still discounted by Amazon. The sales are doing okay, but I’m seeing no upturn in sales due to Amazon’s promotion. The only effect I’m finding is that I’m getting a royalty of 70% on 99p instead of 70% of £1.99, which is hurting a little. I’ll have to wait and see if they do any more promoting in the rest of the month in hope it has an effect.

Right, that’s it for this week. Back to writing, but remember, comments and suggestions are always welcomed.