Go check out my Bookshop.org recommendations.
Sky Heart – Coming Soon
For fun, I created a mini trailer for Sky Heart.
WAM Fest is next weekend!
What a lovely surprise to discover a display in the library, showing me and my book, to promote WAM Fest happening next week.
WAM Fest is a celebration of Women in Arts and Music. I’ll be attending on Saturday. I will have a stall and be on the lunchtime jam panel with other authors.
You do need a ticket to attend this event. These can be bought from the WAM Fest website.
Win a £100 Shopping Spree in a Bookshop
Dial Lane Books, an independent bookshop in Ipswich is selling raffle tickets to raise money for charity and offering a prize of £100 to spend in store for the winner.
Go check out Dial_Lane_Books on Instagram and get your raffle tickets.
Edible Felixstowe
This morning I was at Great Eastern Square for a photoshoot of people taking part in WAM Fest. Whilst I was there, I checked out the Edible Felixstowe pop up event.
This Sunday 29th September, get down to Great Eastern Square Felixstowe.
There is an exciting event taking place called Edible Felixstowe. There are activities for the kids such as a treasure hunt and potato stamping. There is a bike powered smoothie makers that the Mayor has tested and approves of.
There are some lovely things to buy like the beautiful handmade wooden decorations, or the organic teas and soothing balm made with ingredients found in Felixstowe, and you can get fresh produce like apples, onions, honey, mead, and a selection of herbs. All harvested from Felixstowe and many are just asking for a donation.
I treated myself to the Tea LC Brew that has ingredients to boost your immunity, and a healing balm made with local ingredients. Then I got the Mead which I’ve never tried before, and only heard of in Fantasy novels, but I love honey so I’m excited to try it. I also got the local honey for my medicine cupboard as it helps during high pollen seasons. And I got an onion and some apples and made a donation.
I also took away details about the community gardening initiative where locals meet by the library on a Thursday at 5pm and work together to grow local produce that are free to all. One spot is the triangle in town. I had no idea this was happening but it’s such an amazing idea and I know someone I think would love to help.
Not long now until WAM Fest. Make sure you get your tickets so you don’t miss out on the next event!
Yes! I’ve moved my website.
Wow! September has not been my best month.
It started with the kids going back to school and myself back to work full time. I was exited for normalcy and routine and was feeling great as we’d made some great memories over the summer.
But, my son managed to split his lip open and had to be rushed to A&E. after having sutures he needed a week off school due to the pain and swelling. So, his attendance is already looking bad – eek!
Then my husband and I got really ill with colds. The kids thankfully (fingers crossed) dodged that one. I managed to get through work but when I got home I had to do everything as he was really poorly. Needless to say I was too shattered to work on Sky Heart.
Then, I get the notification that my website hosting is about to expire and they want to charge me £168 to stay with them. So on Tuesday, I worked on moving my website to another host for £35. Everything was going great but my domain (with another provider) needed to point to my new website and this can take anywhere between 48h and 72h to know if it worked. 😱. I figured out how to put a maintenance page up whilst it moved, but after several days it was still showing the maintenance page. I started to panic. It turns out, the magic happened in the background and this morning I turned the staging page off. Every year, I learn a little more.
I discovered a new printer for my books. I ordered one copy and was impressed with the quality so I ordered 10 for my next event, WAM Fest. But, the books were delivered on Friday bashed and wet. I’ve emailed the printer to try to resolve this but they don’t work weekends so I have to wait until next week to fix this. I doubt I will be able to get more stock in time, and currently only have five books left.
The low stock is due to the highlight of this month, which was the fabulous YA Lit Fest at Stowmarket Library, part of @forewordfestivaluk . 🥰
My website is back, my son’s lip is healing nicely, and I’m feeling much better. Things are on the up, so I’ll get back to finishing Sky Heart.
#authorlife #authorwebsite #authorproblems #authorupdate #oceanheart #skyheart #yafiction
Books From Book Festivals 2024
Published on YouTube on 12 September 2024.
YA Lit Fest 2024 at Stowmarket Library
Posted to YouTube on 7th September 2024.
Here is a Bookshop.org list I created of the books of some authors from this YA Lit Fest, arranged as part of the Foreword Book Festival, at the Stowmarket Library. These are affiliate links and support local high street bookshops.
Folk of Air series by Holly Black
Published on YouTube on 1st September 2024.
I read these books for free. Let me tell you how. 😍
A few Christmases ago, I got a Kindle. We have a Prime account and with Prime you can borrow books to read for free (and then return to borrow more). In the Prime library was Cruel Prince.
Book two, The Wicked King, was not available on Prime. I checked to see if I could borrow it with my library card and found I could! It was available on the Libby app. Using my library card, I borrowed the ebook, and they had Queen of Nothing, so I borrowed that straight after.
I also used my library card on Borrow Box (audio books to borrow using my library card) to listen to The King of Elfhame, which is a prequel to this series.
I loved these books so much I wanted them for my shelves. I requested them as gifts for my birthday, Christmas and Mother’s Day. They only cost £10 for the paperback boxset from The Works, but alas, I did not get them.
My kids often get book tokens as gifts but I always forget to have them with me and end up using my own money to buy their books. So, I decided it was time to pay myself back and get the hardback editions from Bookshop.org an online shop that gives back to high street shops. As I had the book tokens, it cost me less than £5 for all three books.
I love my new books. They look beautiful next to my stunning Hunger Games hardbacks, which I got from Dial Lane Bookshop, Ipswich, as a gift from my hubby for my birthday.
Follow my bookshop affiliate link to get your hardback copies of:
📕The Cruel Prince: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1425/9781471406454
📗The Wicked King: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1425/9781471407352
📘 The Queen of Nothing: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1425/9781471407581