Published on YouTube on 22 Oct 2023.
My Author Life – July 2023
Published on YouTube on 29 Sept 2023.
My Author Life – June 2023
Published on YouTube on 23 Jul 2023.
Looking forward to Felixstowe Book Festival
My plan was to create a YouTube video reflecting on previous years of the festival. Instead our home was struck with chicken pox. First my youngest had it, then it was school holidays, and then my oldest had it. Having the kids home all the time, has impacted my time to do anything for myself.
It doesn’t matter. Nothing is going to stop me getting excited about this year’s Felixstowe Book Festival. It’s literally starts next Saturday!
When I first attended Felixstowe Book Festival, I dreamt that one day it could be me as an author, Once I published Ocean Heart, I thought maybe my dream would come try but the pandemic struck. The Children’s program was cancelled.
This is the first year since then that they have had a children’s programme, and I’m part of it. More details on my Events page.
My event is on Saturday, 17 June 2023 at 11:30am at Felixstowe Library. I will be joined by Imogen and Phoebe, and we’re going to be chatting Fantasy books.
It is a FREE event, but you need a ticket to attend. Get your ticket from their website https://felixstowebookfestival.co.uk
For now, I wish to encourage you to come join us, especially if you love YA fantasy books. You should also check out the program and see what else takes your fancy. There is so much to offer.
[kofi]
Here are some blog posts I did about previous years, that maybe one day, I’ll turn into a YouTube video…
https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/i-had-a-great-time-at-felixstowe-book-festival/
https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/felixstowe-book-festival-and-my-white-knight/
https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/felixstowe-book-festival-the-publishing-industry/
https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/felixstowe-book-festival-containment/
https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/felixstowe-book-festival-childrens-events/
https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/alwyn-hamilton-at-felixstowe-book-festival/
https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/making-books/
https://lde.tuq.mybluehost.me/what-you-need-to-know-about-childrens-picture-book-publishing/
Herts Book Festival 2023
Published on YouTube on 21 May 2023.
This weekend is Herts Book Festival!
A lot goes into attending an event, and as this is my first appearance at a book festival, it was a little more work.
The HERTS BOOK FESTIVAL will be at Herts Castle. You can find me at my author stall from 10am to 3pm, although I will be popping off to be on the Fantasy Panel to chat about the baddies between 2pm and 2:50pm.
I have written a post on Ko-Fi covering some of the things I’ve done to prepare for the event. It’s worth a read if you are an author going to an event, or just interested in knowing more. https://ko-fi.com/post/This-weekend-is-Herts-Book-Fest-N4N5L40D9
Something I didn’t mention in the post was that I wanted to do book reviews on YouTube of some of the authors I know will be attending. This proved more challenging than I expected because I didn’t get much time in April to record anything!
Here are the book reviews for my author friends that I’m excited to be meeting up with this weekend at Herts Book Festival.
Roxy Eloise
If it wasn’t for Roxy, I probably wouldn’t be doing this event. I met her via Instagram when she was launching her debut novel Discovering Puracordis, the first book the The Guidal series.
She’s become a good friend ever since, and inspired me to get in-front of the camera and try YouTube again.
Here’s my review of her debut novel, and I recently finished book two Unearthing Secrets, so I need to find time to record a book tube of that.
April Grace
I originally met April on Wattpad, and posted on Instagram that I was going to YALC. She was going to so we met up. She encouraged me to query agents, and supported me when I decided to self publish.
April also is a BookTuber and encouraged me to try again. She’s been in my corner for a while now. I’m looking forward to her upcoming releases and sharing a stand with her at Herts Book Festival.
J D Groom
I love Jodie’s writing. I met her via Wattpad and my early days on Instagram. She got me involved in World Indie Warriors. Networking with indies opened my eyes to the possibilities of self publishing.
Jodie had shared her self publishing journey on Instagram and her website. I learnt a lot from her, and highly value her advice. As a result, we have used the same editor, Formatter, and cover designer. Without Jodie, I don’t know if I would have had the confidence to say yes to myself, and self publish.
Jodie currently has a free prequel available on her website for news letter subscribers. I wanted to do a BookTube review of this but didn’t have time. However, Jodie’s debut novel Sorceress of Truth was one of my first YouTube video reviews, and she participated in my YouTube livestream launch party when my debut novel launched during lockdown.
Cassidy Reyne
I met Cassidy through World Indie Warriors. She has the biggest heart, and makes everyone feel included and valued. She has shared a lot with me about her self publishing that has helped shape my journey.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jodie and Cassidy at the Milton Keynes book festival where we had a tour of the Ingram Sparks book printing factory. Cassidy was actively involved in helping me promote my debut novel, doing a proof read, writing a review, and taking part in live streams.
I ARC read her book AGENT:Undone but this is just one of the many books she has released.
Come join us
Come join us at Herts Book Festival. I’m looking forward to making more author friends and meeting lots of readers.
I will be signing copies of Ocean Heart, and I will have a leaflet with details on how to join my Sky Heart ARC.
If you like this, you will like:
[kofi]
What I did for World Book Day!
I delivered my first ever face-to-face author event for World Book Day. It was extra special because I got to attend the high school where my book Ocean Heart is set.
The Setting
Ocean Heart is set in Felixstowe. When I started writing the novel there were two high schools in the town. Deben High School and Orwell High School, both named after local rivers. The two schools had some rivalry and I didn’t want my book about that so I merged the schools together and made Felixstowe High School.
Little did I know that the council were going to do this. The old schools were knocked down and a new modern building erected.
I’ve never had the opportunity to visit the high school so it was really fun to see if it was anything like I imagined. The school was lovely, and very modern, and a lot bigger. I was very impressed.
The students
I met up with groups of five to six students from Key Stage 3. The plan was to introduce myself, and my book, and discuss what had inspired my writing.
I’m not great at public speaking, so I took a notebook with some conversation bullet points to boost my confidence and feel more prepared. I’m not sure what I’m scared will happen, other than making a fool of myself.
The students were very sweet and polite. Once I flipped the attention off myself and onto them, I was able to relax and the conversation flowed better.
We discussed my writing, debut novel, and reading. The students came up with some great questions for me, some that madrWhen we discussed their interests they even had some book recommendations for me.
The book recommendations
My notebook came in handy to write down the books the students recommended I read.
Reflection
I’m so thankful to Felixstowe High School for having me. I appreciated that Deputy Head, Darren M arranged for me to chat with a small groups rather than in-front of a large audience.
Darren also got me thinking about delivering some leisure learning courses for Creative Writing. I’ve been going over old books, notes from courses I’ve done, to explore the idea. Ifurther
I think the more I do, the easier it will get. As a natural introvert, I have to push myself outside my comfort zone but this is good for my professional development. Plus, afterwards I was buzzing that I did it.
Discover Ocean Heart
You can pick up Ocean Heart from all good book shops and online retailers, and borrow through your library or Overdrive.
Mermaids in Felixstowe Magazine!
Felixstowe Magazine recently reached out to me and asked if I’d be willing to do an interview with them about my book Ocean Heart.
We set on the title Mermaids in Felixstowe and I was set questions to answer. You can read the article using the link below.
https://www.thefelixstoweapp.com/blog/c/0/i/57284190/mermaids-felixstowe
More News
For a month where I didn’t have much planned, it is filling up fast. Here are the highlights I don’t want you to miss!
Sky Heart needs Beta Readers
If you’re interested in helping me out by Beta Reading Sky Heart, please check out my post asking for sign ups!
Ocean Heart is free for July
To celebrate Ocean Heart now being available on Smashwords it is in their Sale, making it free for July 2021.
Indie Summer Book Fayre (31 July to 1 Aug)?
I am one of the authors taking part in this event. You can see the full line up in my recent blog post!
[kofi]
Indie Author Summer Fayre
I’m excited to be one of the authors taking part in the Indie Author Summer Fayre 2021.
It’s a great opportunity to discover new books by UK Indie authors. Here is the summer fayre line up!
This event is happening over two days on Facebook. Join using the link below ?
Also, these seems like a good time to remind you that Ocean Heart is currently free on Smashwords for July 2021.
[kofi]
I had a great time at Felixstowe Book Festival…
I love Felixstowe Book Festival. It’s in my hometown making it convenient for me to attend. It’s reasonably priced so it doesn’t break the bank. And, it gets bigger ever year.
This year, I only bought tickets for the writing workshops delivered by Orwell Writers League. It consisted of three sessions, each cost leas than £5, and if you bought all three it was only £9.99!
With the pandemic I was a little worried it could be cancelled. Last year all events went virtual. The only disruption was a location change from Orwell Hotel (the usual venue) to Harvest House (a new venue).
I’ve lived in Felixstowe almost all my life and never been inside Harvest House. Usually it’s not open to the public. They are looking to diversify their income and now offering it up for hire for Weddings. And, Book Festivals ?.
The Workshops
Language & Voice
This workshop had us exploring the 5 senses and developing a word bank for the theme “Shoreline.”
We were given a postcard and challenged to write a short story about the setting using the five senses. Half the room was asked to focus on “natural” senses. The other half focused on “man made” senses.
I wrote this piece, focusing on man made senses:
Body language
This workshop had us thinking about how actions can speak as loudly as words. We thought about facial expressions, and then worked our way through the body listing different actions and gestures.
We then imagined a couple on an open top bus and had to come up with three scenes they see – I think that’s what we were meant to do as I did something different. I did not do what I was supposed to ?♀️.
We were then challenged to write some dialogue between at least two people, and encouraged to use senses and actions to give the scene more meaning.
I wrote this scene based on the setting, “stuck in a hot car looking for a parking space”.
Free writing
The afternoon session was an opportunity to do some free writing. They recapped on all the things we’d covered in the morning.
I decided to use this opportunity to work on an untiled prequel to Ocean Heart (my debut novel). I decided not to read this out allowed:
Reflection
I didn’t learn anything new from the workshop but I didn’t expect to. I find workshops like this valuable as they remind us about the basics needed to write effective fiction. Think of it as refresher training.
Whilst creating my word bank, I realised it would be a useful tool to combat Writers Block and will be adding it to my arsenal. I also find writing settings challenging, the word bank was a great way to create a personal thesaurus of descriptions to use.
I love Felixstowe Book Festival and would go again. I also enjoyed networking with other writers and met two other upcoming authors. It was great to see my favourite local bookshop there with a stall, and to have a good chat with the manager of Stillwater Books.
I wish I’d taken a copy of Ocean Heart with me so I could have taken selfies with my book at such a beautiful location. I did get to hand out my new bookish business card to interested people, and ran out! I learnt from a marketing perspective to be more prepared and utilise every opportunity.
If you liked this, you will like:
Felixstowe Book Festival- How to connect with local writers
We went live for Indie Author Week UK
Felixstowe Book Festival (previous years)
[kofi]