Keith's October Newsletter

Hi Folks

The day is finally here! Glunda the Veg Witch is out in the world. If you haven’t got your copy yet, what are you waiting for? Click the link and get it now!

It’s been a hell of a month trying to build some buzz around the book, often with mixed success. Check out all the stuff I’ve been up to below, including details on my trip to Hull.

Welcome To Hull

I’d like to tell you Hulloween went off without a hitch, but with storm Babet bearing down on us many hitches were encountered. Due to the bad weather everything was moved into the Prince’s Quay Shopping Centre, which probably wasn’t a bad thing really. It was good to have everything in one place, and it was a damn site warmer than the abandoned shopping arcade we were going to be in would have been.

We probably got more foot traffic than we would have got too. We were in the open bit by the escalators, with a steady stream of people going back and forth.

I sold nineteen books in total, including all ten of the Glunda’s I’d taken with me. I would have taken more but there was only so much room in my suitcase.

I also did my first proper in person launch when I was there, which went quite well. There was even Glunda cupcakes, which was a very pleasant surprise.

It went well, but my voice was going a little towards the end. I’m not used to talking for so long. Still it was great to be able to do an in person launch for once. Due to the pandemic my previous two launches had both been online only.

Speaking of launches, I’ll be doing an online launch for Glunda tonight (Tuesday, 31st October 2023) on Instagram at 7pm. Do come along if you have the time. You’ll have to bring your own cake for that one thought.

News From The Steam Factory

It has been a busy day posting links for the release of Glunda. If you haven’t seen one yet it’s not from lack of trying. I’ve sold sixteen so far, including eleven preorders, but I need to sell more if I’m going to win the coveted no.1 orange banner. If you haven’t got a copy yet please don’t hesitate. A sale either today or tomorrow could make all the difference. Sixteen is a good start, but Glunda needs a couple of days sales to prove itself worthy of the top spot.

It’s annoying that the Amazon algorithm is this way but there’s nothing I can do. It is what it is. So please, if you’re going to buy a copy of Glunda, please do it now. Thanks.

When I’m Not Writing

When I’ve not been promoting Glunda this month (or working) I’ve mostly been trying to finish Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (which I don’t recommend as it’s a bit of a grind) or I’ve been binge watching Young Sheldon (which I DO recommend as it’s really well written. See all six seasons on the Channel 4 VOD service), but I’m not going to go into detail on either of those today. Instead I’m going to promote another book that came out at the same time as Glunda, the book Through Water and Fire by Matthew Wainwright.

Matt and I have been friends for a while. He asked me to give feedback on the first draft of his book earlier in the year, which I duly did, so I actually haven’t read the finished thing, but what I read at the time I liked, and if you like historical fiction (Tudor) with a great cast of characters, a bit of peril, and a backdrop of world-changing events then this is the book for you. I’ve ordered my copy, and I can’t wait to see how many of my suggested changes he did and didn’t incorporate, lol.

If you want to know more about Matthew and his work he very kindly subjected himself to my Awkward Author Questions which I think you’ll enjoy. He has some unique insights into being a writer which will interest both author and non-author alike. Give it a read if you’ve got a spare five minutes, you won’t regret it.

Matt’s not the only one doing guest posts this month either. I also did one for the Tracks of Words website, my own musings on the nature of low-stakes (cosy) stories and what you can do to keep them interesting. Hint: Low-stakes stories aren’t as low-stakes as you think. Check it out if you’ve got a mo’, I think it’s really interesting (but then again I would, wouldn’t I, lol).

Right, I’ve got an hour before my Instagram Live, so I’ll say toodle-pip for now, and one last buy my book for good measure. Go on, you know you want to.

All the best,
Keith