Ally Aldridge Diary, Fantasy, Forbidden, Ocean Heart, Paranormal romance, Personal, Publishing, Romance, Shifters, Sky Heart, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Young Adult

Signed Copies at Stillwater Books

I’m not a salesperson. Every time I have to approach a bookshop to stock my book, I’m filled with nerves. There’s no way I’m even attempting to pitch if I have the kids with me, which happens whenever my husband has a weekend shift.

First, I waited until I had my copy of Sky Heart to check that there were no issues with the print quality. Then I had to wait for a weekend when I was free. When I finally plucked up the courage to go, I found the bookshop closed. A note was pinned to the door saying he was away on holiday. Nooooooo! But at least this explained why he’d not responded to my email.

,It had felt right to approach Stillwater Books first because they were the first bookshop to stock Ocean Heart. It was released during lockdown so I couldn’t have a traditional book signing. Together we managed to sort something out that worked within the rules allowed.

He should be back the following weekend so I braced myself to try again. Thankfully, when I entered the shop, it was quiet, so I didn’t have an audience. William was absolutely lovely. We got chatting about books, reading, genres, and stocking my books. He put my books on the shelves so I could take some pics and a short reel for social media.

It’s so silly that I get myself so worked up about approaching bookshops. From my experience, they have always been so lovely. There is this fear that they’ll say no, and I’ll have to leave with my tail between my legs.

I’m excited to return next Saturday, 8th February, around 10:45 am, with my signed books for his shop. There will be five signed copies of Ocean Heart and 10 signed copies of Sky Heart. If you want to make sure you get a copy, preorder by letting him know and he will put a copy aside for you to collect.

Visit Stillwaters Books website here: https://www.stillwaterfelixstowe.co.uk/

If you can’t get to Felixstowe, you can order a signed copy from my Ko-Fi shop, or order from any good bookshop.

…
…
Ally Aldridge Behind The Book, Book Genre, Diary, Fantasy, Fiction, Forbidden, My Books, Personal, Romance, Shifters, Sky Heart, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Young Adult

The Sky Heart Press Release

As you know from my self-publishing diary, I wrote a press release for Sky Heart. It took me a while to send it out to news outlets as I felt I ought to take a picture of myself with Sky Heart, my new book releasing on 7th February.

First, I had to wait to receive my copy of Sky Heart from the printers. Then I felt too tired to do it in the evening after work but felt too tired. And, when I finally got around to take some pics, they looked awful. It is so dark at the moment, with the bad stormy weather. All the pictures came out gloomy. I returned to the drawing board and used Canva to update an old picture of myself – the one I use as my author pic – to include Sky Heart.

It wasn’t until 26th January that I finally sent it out. Yesterday, on 31st January, I heard back from good old Felixstowe Magazine to let me know that they were including my Press Release for Sky Heart. I am so thankful to Felixstowe Magazine, who always encourage and support me in my author journey.

The article is live and can be viewed here: New Book Release “Sky Heart” by local Gal, Ally Aldridge

Sky Heart can be bought from all good bookstores. Check out the Sky Heart page for up-to-date details on all the places you can buy Sky Heart.

Signed copies will be available to buy from Stillwater Books in Felixstowe, on Saturday, 8th February from 10:45am.

Or buy direct from my Redfae PayHip store.

…
Ally Aldridge Uncategorized

Reflecting on my 2024 Book Festivals

During 2024, I did nine in-person author events. Some of these were two day events!

8 December – Pop Up Stall at Dunelm, Bury St Edmunds

1 December – Felixstowe Christmas Craft and Gift Fair, Brackenbury Sports Centre, Felixstowe

12 October – WAM Fest, Harvest House, Felixstowe

14 September – One Day at the Library, Stowmarket Library

4 August – Legends Comic Con, Stonham Barns

3 August – Legends Comic Con, Stonham Barns

21 July – CapCon, Trinity Park, Ipswich

20 Jul – CapCon, Trinity Park, Ipswich

30 June – Felixstowe Book Festival at Two Sisters Art Centre, Trimley St Mary

19 May – Herts Book Fest at Hertford Castle

18 May – Herts Book Fest at Southern Maltings, Ware

11 Feb – Foreword Festival: Love Your Local Authors at Bury St Edmunds

I have booked no events yet for 2025. I want to organise an event at a bookshop for Sky Heart‘s launch but I only got all the files back yesterday. Uploading those will be my first priority, and then I can start marketing.

But, I would love it to be released on Fri, 7th Feb which is my sister’s birthday. Book one, Ocean Heart, launched on my brother’s birthday during lockdown.

Herts Book Fest is amazing, but staying overnight (due to distance) makes it quite costly. I’m on the fence about going this year. It was the first book festival I ever did and holds a special place in my heart. The location is stunning and I’ve met many fabulous people here. I want to go but need to think about it.

Check out my book recommendations list from bookshop.org of authors who attend Herts Book Festival:

Capcon was one of my best events, despite having to go to the first aid tent because of an eye issue making them sore. Sadly, 2024 was their last year, so I can’t book this event for 2025. As you can see in the pictures, the cosplayers were super friendly. Their energy and enthusiasm bring such a positive vibe.

Talking about positive vibes, WAM Fest was amazing. The whole event celebrates women in Arts and Music and their achievements. Together with other women that have self-published, I got to speak on a panel about my author journey.

I’m a big fan of the library. It was exciting to be invited to Stowmarket Library to be part of their YA event. We got to meet teens and chat with them about writing and reading. They got excited about my book which filled my heart with joy.

Check out my book recommendations list from bookshop.org of authors that were at the YA Event (Foreword Festival):

Because of the cost of doing in-person events, the ones close to home were more profitable. Smaller events charge less for the stall and therefore the offset means they can make more money even with fewer sales.

I’m having a hard think about what events to do in 2025. Being seen sells books. In addition, I met other authors and learned a lot from them, and they introduced me to more opportunities. I want to do more author events in 2025, but need to be more selective about which ones I do.

Check out my book recommendations list from bookshop.org of indies authors:

Ally Aldridge Alternative, Books, Contemporary, Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Fated Lovers, Fiction, High, Humour, Middle Grade, Period, Review, Romance, Young Adult

Book Review: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I always loved the movie and didn’t know it was based on a book. Once I discovered this, I borrowed the audio version from Borrowbox with my library card.

This was one of the best audio books I have ever listened to. There was a main narrator, and every character had their own voice. The story was as magical as I remember. It is a perfect modern fairy tale that will be loved for many years to come.

If you enjoyed this, you might like:

Ally Aldridge Diary, Personal, Writing

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

Ally Aldridge Contemporary, Fae, Fantasy, Mermaid or Siren

Book Review: Never Date a Siren by Byrd Nash

This post contains affiliate links. Please check out my affiliate disclosure page for more information.

About the book

My thoughts

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought this was a siren romance but it turned out to be the opposite. Brigit is a Fae that takes her culture very seriously. She finds herself in a position where she owes a debt to Logan.

Brigit decides to help him overcome the curse placed on him by his ex, a siren. In this short story, we learn the Fae ways and meet many of their kind. This book is a great introduction to this Fae series.

Buy it from Amazon

[kofi]

If you like this, you will like:

Book Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
Book Review: Sorceress of Truth by J D Groom
Ally Aldridge Author Tube, Book Tube, Contemporary, Editing, Fantasy, Fiction, Goal setting, My Books, NaNoWriMo, Publishing, Romance, Sky Heart, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Writing Challenge, Young Adult, YouTube

Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (July 2022)

Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi last month, so you don’t miss out!

Sky Heart – Briefed my cover designer

Taking those next steps towards publishing book two is very exciting. It’s still a way off, but I’ve reached out to my cover designer to discuss ideas and book in.

Content Creation

An update on what I was doing in July. Originally I’d toyed with the idea of doing a project for Camp NaNo.

Instead, I was busy planning my husband’s secret party, and attending all the end of school/nursery events for my kids.

In the end, I was working on remaining present on social media by developing content. This included opportunities to feature in Felixstowe Magazine and interviews with other bloggers.

Smashwords Summer Sale (July)

I posted at the start and end of July to make people aware that Ocean Heart was in the Smashwords sale at 50% off. This needed some prompting and content to spread the word.

Coming Soon – Author Diaries

I’ve also been busy working on this collaborative project, and developing content to start promoting.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel and stay tuned for more info coming soon.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

[Kofi]

Sky Heart
More About Sky Heart
Ally Aldridge Books, Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Mermaid or Siren, Review

Book Review: Coral & Bone by Tiffany Duane

This post contains affiliate links. Please check out my affiliate disclosure page for more information.

About the book

My thoughts

This book held so much promise as it has everything I love. So, I was surprised when I struggled to enjoy it.

I had the audio version, and this was my first audio book. The story was very dialogue heavy, it was hard to know who was speaking at times.

For the first third of the book, the main character was confused and had no idea what was going on. The other characters would talk in riddles about what they couldn’t tell her. I found this annoying.

Eventually they started sharing with her about the worlds she never knew existed, and training her to control her powers. There was a lot of telling rather than showing.

The main character still had a lot of questions and towards the end of the book, everything she’d been told came into question. Then she was confused again. Everything she’d been told was a lie and turned out she still had no clue.

Sadly, I got to a point where I was determined to finish the book just to get it over with. I wonder if I’d have enjoyed this more if it hadn’t been an audio book. I don’t think audio is my thing. Sad to say, this book wasn’t for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Buy on Amazon

<iframe src=”https://rcm-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?o=2&p=13&l=ur1&category=audible&banner=111XA3VRFB60NQB10S02&f=ifr&linkID=221a41d1e17c4a15d187d52723eab641&t=redfae01-21&tracking_id=redfae01-21″ width=”468″ height=”60″ scrolling=”no” border=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ style=”border:none;” frameborder=”0″ sandbox=”allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation”></iframe>

I was surprised I didn’t love this book as it had all the ingredients I usually go crazy for. This leads me to believe the issue might have been that I had an audio version. My first ever audio book.

I found the narration very slow. A top tip I got from TheBrightSideGirl on Instagram was to increase the speed. This faster pace of narration was much more appealing for me. I hadn’t realised before that I could do this.

I know a lot of people love audio books and I’ve had requests for Ocean Heart to be made into an audio book. It’s expensive to do but one day I’d love an audio version of Ocean Heart for people that prefer it.

I feel it is important to have books available in different formats. People have different learning styles and this affects their preference for divulging information.

So, although audio books don’t work for me, I know they do for others. You can try audible for free, sample an audible chapter to see if you like it, and many libraries will lend out audio books.

NB: I am only posting my review here & on Goodreads (for my reading history). I think part of my disconnect with this book was the audio format. Usually I blast my reviews everywhere to help readers find and buy the book. But, I don’t feel it’s fair to the author due to this not being for me. I feel bad for not loving it as I really thought I would.

Ally Aldridge Contemporary, Editing, Fantasy, Fiction, Goal setting, My Books, NaNoWriMo, Romance, Sky Heart, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Writing Challenge, Young Adult

Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (June 2022)

Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi last month, so you don’t miss out!

Sky Heart Chapter 3

Another draft chapter on Ko-Fi. I wonder how this will compare to final version once Sky Heart is edited, formatted, and published.

Sky Heart Coming Soon

Busy Week

I can’t wait for the holidays and to relax. My best friends wedding was a busy weekend but the lead up to finishing school has been crazy. I’m literally taking one day at a time.

Sky Heart – Sent off to the editor

This is a HUGE milestone. I can’t wait to see what my editor has to say. She is fabulous at slapping me with the truth in a way that doesn’t hurt and helps me make my story better. I know there will be a lot of work but I’m ready for it.

Summer Sale

https://youtube.com/shorts/bNQr3J8Y1Mo?feature=share

Just a quick reminder that Ocean Heart is half price in the Smashwords Summer Sale. Grab a copy on discount before the end of July.

Buy Ocean Heart on Smashwords

Follow me on Ko-Fi

It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

[Kofi]

Sky Heart
More About Sky Heart