A busy start to the year.
I thought that nothing much would happen for the first few months of the year, well, not a lot happened in January, but February turned out to be quite busy.
January:
I had been asked to be a judge in the Brightlingsea ‘Spooky Tales’ competition, these were short stories of no more than 1000 words. There were far more entries than expected. The organisers thought there’d be about 6. There were 39 entries and I had to read them all and mark various criteria with a score out of 5. This was much harder than I expected! On the 18th, I was back at Chelmsford indoor market with my friends and fellow Austin Macauley authors Carley-Ann Osborn and Aki McKenzi, but boy, was it was cold there. I also received the manuscript proof for the fourth in the Astrid series—‘Astrid book 4: The legacy’
February:
The 1st: I had a stand at a craft fair at the Firstsite art and event venue in Colchester. Being so early in the year I didn’t expect much in the way of sales. I was wrong. I had all of my Austin Macauley novels, plus 1 that I have self-published—7 different titles. One customer couldn’t decide which one he wanted, so he bought one of each! More customers like that, please.
The 6th: I received my author copies of ‘The Branford Chronicles Book 1: Karla’s Story. This is the first in a nine part crime series that will go on to follow the character arc of Detective Naomi Charlton.
The 8th: I had a really good day at Braintree artisan market with Carley-Ann Osborn. This market proved to be quite lucrative last year. This one, the first of the year, saw some repeat customers, which is always welcome.
The 13th: I had a write-up in the local newspaper about the up-coming release of Karla’s story.
The 15th: Another (chilly) day spent selling books at Chelmsford indoor market with Carley. (I say indoor market but it’s below a multi-story car park and all the doors are open so the wind blows through) Once again we were joined by Aki McKenzi. We all sold books and met interesting people, and if I’m honest, a few—how can I put it politely—a few odd people.
The 16th: I finished reading through the final proof of ‘The Branford Chronicles book 2: The Burning’. This story is based on true—if a little disturbing—events. There’s just a few final changes to be made. Release date tba. This and the rest of the 7 books in the series pick up and follow the character arc of Detective Naomi Charlton.
The 17th: Received the revised proof for ‘The Burning’. I read through it and returned it. I should soon get a publishing date.
The 18th: Carley and I took part in the ‘Chelmsford For You’ book week event. This was an event aimed at you children. Carley read from her children’s picture book, the ‘Cute Newt’ that she has written and illustrated herself. I read a short passage from a work-in-progress children’s story called ‘Brian the space cat’. We also had the opportunity to sell books to parents and took full advantage of that.
The 20th: I received the publishing date for ‘The Branford Chronicles book 2: The Burning’ I will be released on 25th of April.
The 21st: Another busy day. Not only was this the release day for Karla’s Story, but I also did a talk at the local Women’s Institute, this was effectively a 20 minute audition to enable me to be placed on their list of approved speakers.
The 26th: The Brightlingsea Spooky Tales competition had its award ceremony and I was able to indulge my other passion by playing a few songs.
The 27th: Carley and I spent the day at The Maltings academy in Witham, speaking to kids about writing and to further the interest in the Author day event that we are planning for July 12th. This is a follow-up on last year’s event. In our previous author showcase, both Carley and I were impressed with the number of young people coming up to us and asking how they could get into writing. We immediately decided that the next event would have a special section for young authors. To that end we have asked some local schools to organise writing competitions, the winners of which will have the opportunity to read their work at our event. All entries will be compiled into a book for sale, and all profits will go to the NSPCC.
So, what I thought would be and easy-in to the new year is turning out to be quite hectic, and I still work 2 days a week in the live music industry. Despite trying to leave it, the live music industry like the mafia, you never retire.
January:
I had been asked to be a judge in the Brightlingsea ‘Spooky Tales’ competition, these were short stories of no more than 1000 words. There were far more entries than expected. The organisers thought there’d be about 6. There were 39 entries and I had to read them all and mark various criteria with a score out of 5. This was much harder than I expected! On the 18th, I was back at Chelmsford indoor market with my friends and fellow Austin Macauley authors Carley-Ann Osborn and Aki McKenzi, but boy, was it was cold there. I also received the manuscript proof for the fourth in the Astrid series—‘Astrid book 4: The legacy’
February:
The 1st: I had a stand at a craft fair at the Firstsite art and event venue in Colchester. Being so early in the year I didn’t expect much in the way of sales. I was wrong. I had all of my Austin Macauley novels, plus 1 that I have self-published—7 different titles. One customer couldn’t decide which one he wanted, so he bought one of each! More customers like that, please.
The 6th: I received my author copies of ‘The Branford Chronicles Book 1: Karla’s Story. This is the first in a nine part crime series that will go on to follow the character arc of Detective Naomi Charlton.
The 8th: I had a really good day at Braintree artisan market with Carley-Ann Osborn. This market proved to be quite lucrative last year. This one, the first of the year, saw some repeat customers, which is always welcome.
The 13th: I had a write-up in the local newspaper about the up-coming release of Karla’s story.
The 15th: Another (chilly) day spent selling books at Chelmsford indoor market with Carley. (I say indoor market but it’s below a multi-story car park and all the doors are open so the wind blows through) Once again we were joined by Aki McKenzi. We all sold books and met interesting people, and if I’m honest, a few—how can I put it politely—a few odd people.
The 16th: I finished reading through the final proof of ‘The Branford Chronicles book 2: The Burning’. This story is based on true—if a little disturbing—events. There’s just a few final changes to be made. Release date tba. This and the rest of the 7 books in the series pick up and follow the character arc of Detective Naomi Charlton.
The 17th: Received the revised proof for ‘The Burning’. I read through it and returned it. I should soon get a publishing date.
The 18th: Carley and I took part in the ‘Chelmsford For You’ book week event. This was an event aimed at you children. Carley read from her children’s picture book, the ‘Cute Newt’ that she has written and illustrated herself. I read a short passage from a work-in-progress children’s story called ‘Brian the space cat’. We also had the opportunity to sell books to parents and took full advantage of that.
The 20th: I received the publishing date for ‘The Branford Chronicles book 2: The Burning’ I will be released on 25th of April.
The 21st: Another busy day. Not only was this the release day for Karla’s Story, but I also did a talk at the local Women’s Institute, this was effectively a 20 minute audition to enable me to be placed on their list of approved speakers.
The 26th: The Brightlingsea Spooky Tales competition had its award ceremony and I was able to indulge my other passion by playing a few songs.
The 27th: Carley and I spent the day at The Maltings academy in Witham, speaking to kids about writing and to further the interest in the Author day event that we are planning for July 12th. This is a follow-up on last year’s event. In our previous author showcase, both Carley and I were impressed with the number of young people coming up to us and asking how they could get into writing. We immediately decided that the next event would have a special section for young authors. To that end we have asked some local schools to organise writing competitions, the winners of which will have the opportunity to read their work at our event. All entries will be compiled into a book for sale, and all profits will go to the NSPCC.
So, what I thought would be and easy-in to the new year is turning out to be quite hectic, and I still work 2 days a week in the live music industry. Despite trying to leave it, the live music industry like the mafia, you never retire.
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