Keith's October Newsletter

Keith's October Newsletter

October 31, 2022

Friends, can I confess something to you? I'm not that into Halloween. I mean, I get that people like it, and use it as an excuse to get dressed up and have a party, but the whole vampire/zombie/werewolf thing does nothing for me, and I have no interest in some special night celebrating it all.

That's my roundabout way of saying that, despite this newsletter going out on the 31st of October, it's not going to be a lot of pumpkin based nonsense. Just the usual round-up of what's gone on, and what I have planned for the future.

So, without further ado...

A Landmark Month For A Self Published Author

October marks the first time that one of my books is taking up shelf space in an actual bricks and mortar bookshop. I've been published for over two years, yet it's taken this long to make it happen.

The

features a character called John Kent; aka

. I found out about John Kent from a book I purchased at

in Carlisle, who also happened to be the publisher. When I published TDDC I contacted them to ask permission to mention them and their book in the notes at the back, and they very kindly offered to stock some of my books on "sale or return". Basically I give them some books for free and they give me an agreed amount of money whenever a book sells. I sent the books off last week, so with any luck they'll be gracing their shelves as we speak.

It's nice to think I'll be in a bookshop now, even though it might not come to anything. There's no advertising attached, so unless someone stumbles upon my book they won't know it's there. I'm trying to get some publicity for it by getting a review into Cumbria Life magazine, but to do that I need to make TDDC available through a wholesalers, and that means re-publishing it on Ingram Spark. Wholesalers don't, won't, or can't deal with Amazon/KDP.

It's more effort just to get my book out there, but if it works I might get a few more readers. It means more money too though, Ingram Spark, unlike Amazon, isn't free, but if I was in it for the money I'd have quit a long time ago. I'm hoping the big bucks will come further down the line. Or, with any luck, not as further as all that.

Collage of images from After Dark. Japanese street scenes, often in the rain, neon lights glistening off wet cobbles, lon figures moving hastily through the empty streets.

Speaking of books, I finally received my copy of Liam Wong's latest photography compilation,

. For those of you who remember, I was a great fan of

, Liam's cyberpunk-esque study of Tokyo after the sun goes down, so I felt compelled to back After Dark to make sure it came out, and I'm so glad I did.

The photography is wonderful. It shows you places you might never see, in ways you wouldn't think to, providing you with inspiration in all sorts of unexpected ways. Not limited to Tokyo this time, but incorporating London as well as other Japanese cities too, if you're a fan of street photography you have to give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

News From The Steam Factory

As promised last month, here's a look at the new badges to go with the release of

.

Two plastic pin on badges, one a grey cat in a green scarf and goggles, the other an airship that looks like a dragonfly, a ships hull converted to make the body, gossamer wings on the side, a pink and white balloon, and glass domes at the front for eyes.

You wouldn't believe the grief I had getting them pointing in the right direction. I gave up completely a couple of times. But they're here now and they look great, so it all worked out in the end.

Work continues on

The Journeyman

. I'm up to 26,226 words now, and I'm hopeful of getting to between 40-50k by the end of the month. I might even top 50k if all goes well, but I'm not thinking about that too much. Over 40k is good enough for me (for now).

I had hoped to have it finished before

NaNoWriMo

(National Novel Writing Month) began but work put paid to that idea. I wanted to do

The Cunning Cogitations of Monsieur Leclair

for NaNoWriMo, to get it done by the end of the year, but I might have to finish The Journeyman first before I can start on that. I'm worried that if I spend all of November working on Cogitations I will forget where I am on Journeyman, and Journeyman is the more important book, even if Cogitations might make me the most money.

It's a complicated business this writing lark. I'm glad I enjoy the results because the journey can be a right pain sometimes.

When I'm Not Writing

Not sure what I've done this month. And awful lot of work! I did watch the

Uncharted

movie, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but lacked a lot of the charm and detail of the games. I suspect

The Lost City

, which I'm going to watch next, will have the charm instead. From what I've seen it looks like a modern day

Romancing The Stone

.

Cover. Half Moon Investigation by Eoin Colfer. A shadowy figure of a young boy in a spyglass frame, a yellow detectives badge behind him.

I have also started on a new book which I'm really enjoying.

by Eoin Colfer is a fun, standalone novel from the guy who brought you Artemis Fowl, the evil boy genius. Following a schoolboy detective, it's full of all the wit and charm you expect from Colfer, with the sort of characterisation and efficient storytelling to make any author jealous.

I bought it in the charity shop for a co-worker's son to read, but once I started I had to continue. He'll get it eventually, but not before I've had my fill, lol.

If you've got kids get them into Colfer. He's a great writer, and he writes books everyone can enjoy.

And there you have it! All the fun of the fair.

I've got a busy month coming up. Not only trying to do NaNoWriMo for the first time, but also going to see Sigur Ros in Edinburgh on the 15th, as well as many other side projects I can't go into yet. Hopefully I won't be too knackered by the end of it. It's good to keep busy, but you've got to rest now and then too.

Stay happy, stay safe, and toodle-pip for now.

Keith