For those who don't follow my writing blog/journal (here or here), I have some very exciting news.

I'm going world wide with Shadows.

Okay, yes, technically I am already world wide with Shadows @ LuLu but I'm going to be even more accessible in a few weeks time. Why and how? I qualified for a free distribution package (it was always out of my price range), which means my book will soon be available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and will be listed in the Bibliographic Database. Because the book now has its own ISBN number.

This doesn't mean I'll sell more books but it does mean there's more chance of people stumbling across it. Heck, I don't care if I don't sell a single copy - the fact that I'll be on Amazon is exciting enough! The fact that there's a possibility of people seeing it and liking it and purchasing it is also extremely exciting, of course, but you know me: I write cos I have to and not for profit.

The book won't be available for about six-eight weeks so there's plenty of time to wait yet. But as soon as it's there I'm sure I'll post time and time again with giddy excitement.

Labels: books, self-publishing, shadows, writing

by Ys | COMMENTS? 5 | permalink |

This year the Christmas festivities have been really strange for me. Usually I adore Christmas - I'd even go so far as to say it is my favourite time of year. I love buying presents for people, figuring out what they'd like, finding lots of small gifts to surprise them with. I love the decorations, the chocoloate and the drink. I love, love, love Christmas Day Lunch. The Christmas of 2005 is still my most favourite Christmas in recent years. Not that very much happened, it was just a really nice family time.

This year I've been distracted. I was house-hunting at the beginning of the month, then I found the house and have spent the last however-long (it seems like months now!) arranging bills, furniture, moving dates, signing forms and paying the bond. And because we're moving the weekend after New Years I know that Christmas will just pass by in a blur of excitement and nerves as I await the date. Which is a shame. 'Cause I really enjoy Christmas.

I did get slightly festive when the Christmas tree went up:



And even Sweepie got into the spirit of things. Usually she hates me tying anything round her neck but she wore this all night:





I had my first commission cheque for Shadows on Monday. That was super exciting. So thank you to those who bought it, and boo-hiss to those who didn't ;) I think this makes me an official author now - payment for a published book! How very, very exciting. Could the end of this year get any more surreal for me? A published book and a house to call my own! So when do I wake up and realise it was all a dream?

I am going to be AWOL for the next couple of days cos I'm going up to Manchester to see... Take That. Sigh, Gary Barlow (right). Take That were the band that introduced me to homo-eroticism; I was nine years old at the time. I probably owe them some kind of commission for inspiring my love for boy-love and therefore writing novels about it... Anyway, I'm going to see them so I'll be whooping and hollering and trying to catch Gary's eye ;)

I hope you all have a great weekend too!

Labels: christmas, gary barlow, moving out, new years, photos, self-publishing, shadows, sweepie, take that

by Ys | COMMENTS? 1 | permalink |

I've upset a through-visitor with my blog layout. Brian emailed me to say the following:

I found a link to your blog from another site. Unfortunately, I can't read your blog - the type is sooo small and those loud colours make my eyes spin. Perhaps you've made it deliberately difficult to read, as some sort of post-modern reverse double-bluff? Or maybe not. But really, any casual visitor will just give up and move on (as I did).

I didn't think the colours were that bright. They're okay on my screen anyway. The other computer has a gel-screen, too, so the colours look the same on there. I always view it on maximum screen size; maybe it helps. Anyone know what a post-modern reverse double-bluff is, though? I told him I didn't know what it was - perhaps it's my age, hehe. I think it's pretty cool to have some fan mail, though. I wonder if he bought my book while he was passing through ;)

Good news on the house searching. One of the houses we saw last night is a very good candidate. We just have to wait and see if the landlord will take our babies. So that's very exciting :) And we're seeing another house tonight, which looks very pretty, but isn't as great an area for us all. Hopefully one of these houses will work out for us. I think we're all hesitantly excited about it.

Jemma fell over today - right onto her butt in front of the computer. Why is that people falling over always makes you laugh no matter what time of day it is?

Labels: blogging, dogs, jem, layout, moving out, shadows, websites

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

The week's looking a bit better now. Not amazingly so, but at least I've got my energy levels nearly back to normal. Having a shower in the morning does pretty much wipe me out for about thirty minutes afterwards but that's much better than the two-hours it's been all week. I'm actually doing some washing now so I must be feeling a lot better - either that or I'm just running out of clean clothes ;)

I'm afraid to say my parents still aren't talking to me. To be honest, I want an apology for the lies told about me so I don't think I'm making the situation any easier. Soon enough I'll cave in, though, the way I always do. I absolutely hate arguing so I pretty much do anything to avoid it.

To cheer myself up, Ray and I have been making plans for New Years Eve. I did mention a while ago about a little something we were planning. Well, we have got something booked up now but cos it costs so much money we're at the moment trying to see if another place is available instead, which will be much cheaper. It would mean we weren't away for the actual New Years Eve but for the three nights before instead. I guess we can just wrap up warm New Years Eve and go and sit at the top of my hill and be alone up there, watching the fireworks, welcoming in the New Year. Nothing's confirmed yet so I'll just have to patiently wait another couple of weeks.

How can I not be happy, though, when I've got the babies here? Be Warned: this link contains serious squee. They make me melt every single time I see them. I wish I could keep Dolores... Sweepie would hate me for it, though; she doesn't share her mother with anyone ;)

By the way, I've dropped the price of my book "Shadows" - took me a while to figure out how to do it! It's now 9.99 in book form. It'd make a great Christmas present ;) Hehehehe.

I have absolutely no plans for the weekend so fingers crossed it might turn out to be quite a good one ;) So I hope you all have good ones too!

Labels: arguing, family, illness, new years, puppies, self-publishing, shadows, sweepie

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I stumbled across a pretty cool website that seemed professional and affordable. So I went for it. I am now a self-published author.

I started with Shadows, because it's a book I think has a very strong story-line, plus it's got some totally fucked up characters in it. If you want to read my work - in a spanking professional book-bound way - then please, please, please click on the link below:



Expect some shameless self-promotion over the coming weeks hehe.

Edit to add: It was as if God was having a little chuckle to himself, because this morning I got a rather hilarious rejection letter from a publisher I'd sent Soul Mates to. Nothing about whether the book was well written or that they didn't have the space on their books for me, nope just a quickly written note saying, I'm afraid that it is not really our sort of thing. Hehe. Why not just say what you're really thinking Kate Hordern Publishers? You wouldn't touch a gay character-based book cos underneath it all you're homophobic. Ahh, you wouldn't think it would still exist in this day and age, would you? This is just the perfect example of why I've gone down the self-publishing route - no one gives stories based around a gay character a second glance.

Thanks Jem for being my first purchaser - you are officially my first fan, first supporter, and first person to turn me into an official author :)

I'm away at Ray's for the weekend so I'll probably be awol until Monday, so enjoy your weekends :)

Labels: self-publishing, shadows, writing

by Ys | COMMENTS? 4 | permalink |