Keith's February Newslette

Keith's February Newsletter

Welcome one and all, to the end of the wettest and windiest month.

I hope everyone is well, and safe, and not feeling overwhelmed by the insanity going on in the world right now. It can be difficult to process sometimes, just how inhumane some people can be, but try not to let it get to you. Most of it is beyond our control, so the feeling of helplessness is understandable. Just do what you can, be kind to those around you, and we can make the world a better place one tiny act of compassion at a time.

Me Old!

I turned forty-eight in February. It came as a bit of a shock. When you're trying to buy a house and you realise you're just two years away from being eligible for an over-50s retirement property, well, let's just say it does not put a spring into your step.

A collection of pixtures from my rainy walk around the walls of York. Cobbled streets, iron gates, and twisty roads that would give Diagon Alley palpitations.

I celebrated my encroaching geriatricity with a walk around the walls of York, followed by a viewing of

Spiderman's No Way Home

in a completely empty cinema (because every other thing in York is closed on a Tuesday apparently). I enjoyed the nostalgia of the movie, but can't say I'm a massive Peter Parker fan. He really is turning into the new Tony Stark, in that his selfish needs are going to destroy the entire world. I get that they had to do it, to refresh the franchise, but really, dick move Spiderman, dick move. And shame on you Dr Strange for helping him.

News From The Steam Factory

February saw the rerelease of

, and a big push from me to get it to number one in its Amazon category. We were mostly successful, in that we got it to number two, but with the fourth in a long running series by a popular author sitting at the top, our chances of beating it were slim to say the least.

Screenshot of Dexter and Sinister at number two in teen and young adult steampunk ebooks.
Amazon sales ranks. 2 in Teen and Young adult steampunk. 5 in steampunk science fiction kindle store. 13 in steampunk.
dexter and sinister featured in hot new releases list.

Our best results were in the YA/Teen category (above) but we did get it up to number five in Steampunk though, which was awesome, but which was not something I was expecting if I'm completely honest. I would have thought the competition to be tougher than that. Gave me hope of getting myself to number one one day, maybe even with

The Dragonfly Delivery Company

.

Amazon screenshot of dexter and sinister at number five in steampunk science fiction category.

When I'm Not Writing

My polar bear and I have two books we want to bring to your attention this month -

and

.

Hopeless Maine and Big Pand Tiny Dragon books being watched over by a tiny stuffed polar bear.

Hopeless, Maine is a gothic fantasy graphic novel full of beautifully unique illustrations, intricate world building, and steely, heart-felt characters who will not be cowed by the world, no matter how bizarre it gets. I picked up my copy of book one at last year's

, where I got to meet Tom Brown, one half of Tom and Nimue Brown, the creative team behind Hopeless, Maine. I mention it now because Tom and Nimue have a Kickstarter running for the

which you might want to get in on. It's a great opportunity to get some to notch dark fantasy at a bargain price.

The other book is

, a beautifully illustrated collection of Buddhist philosophy that I got given for my birthday (which I know sounds like a bit of a snooze, but it really isn't).

illsutration of big panda sitting in a tree talking to tiny dragon.
Big Panda eating bamboo, surrounded by jack o lanterns. Tiny dragon with a lantern in his head.

Seriously, if you are looking for something to give you hope and inspiration in these dark and foreboding times, you could do a lot worse than picking up a copy of

.

Let me end by saying congratulations to Annalisa on winning my subscriber giveaway. Your book and badge are on their way to you as we speak.

The giveaway invite went out to one-hundred and eighty people, and Annalisa was the only one to enter. This surprised me to say the least. I mean, I didn't expect a great uptake, it was a rerelease after all, but just one?

Friends, don't take this the wrong way, but if you're no interested in supporting me or my work, can I encourage you to unsubscribe. Having a big subscriber list is no use to me if the vast majority aren't interested in what I've got to say. It only gives me a false sense of achievement.

There are many ways to support me and my work, from buying a book to simply liking and retweeting a tweet. I do not expect the world, and I appreciate all of you who participate even a little in what I am trying to achieve. But it does not go unnoticed that this newsletter only gets a 30-40% open rate on average.

My website gets spammed with people making false comments and spurious likes to try and create clicks for their clients, hoping I will visit someone's hairdressing website because they wrote "This blog super good!" on one of my posts. I've had to block the words 'CBD' and 'vape' from being allowed to comment because it was getting seriously out of hand, so I'd at least like this newsletter to be just those who were interested in my work. Of course the irony is that those who aren't interested won't have read down this far, so I'm probably wasting my time. Therefore let me end with this.

Friends, if you have made it to this paragraph then you are my kind of people. You are good and honest and worthwhile, and I appreciate you being here more than you can possibly imagine. As parts of the world descend into ludicrous chaos I wish you well with all my heart. And honestly, if it all starts being a bit much for you do get yourself a copy of

. It will warm the cockles of your soul in unimaginable ways.

Toodle-pip for now.

Keith