Tuesday 25 June 2013

A Great birthday weekend.

I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because I have the imagination to write captivating stories, and the common sense to let professionals check them for me.

A big weekend

What a weekend it has been. Firstly on Saturday we had our first meet the readers event at the Kirkmichael book festival. This was my chance to meet face to face with people who are interested in The Viking's Apprentice. I had lots of interesting chats with a varied range of people. From eight to eighty they sat down and chatted with me about my book, the genre and their own interests. I wasn't sure how many paperback books to take with me, but I clearly judged it correctly as I sold out with about ten minutes to go!

I was invited to the event by a local author who was launching his book on the day. Bruce Crichton's The Rage Within is available on Amazon now. I have just started to read it and can honestly say it is excellent. Very well written and an original story. You can follow Bruce on twitter @BRCrichton. Bruce and his family also laid on a lunch before hand which was greatly appreciated after a two and a half hour drive. They even fed us afterwards!

Also at the festival was Mark Price, another great Scottish author. He was there promoting his book Metallic Dreams. I have purchased the book and it is next on my list after Bruce's. The other reason I mention Mark comes under the category of 'it's a small world'. Keep in mind I drove over one hundred miles to the festival through torrential rain, over Scotland's unique country roads. Mark was standing two stalls away from me, and it turns out we live in the same town, Hamilton, and were at one point neighbours. Mark literally lived ten feet away from me. Strange then that our first meeting was in the small town of Kirkmichael. You can follow Mark on twitter - @Metallic_Dreams

It was a successful day for all three of us, and a first festival for myself and Bruce. 

School Visit

On Monday I spent most of the day at Furnace primary school with the Primary 5 -7's who have been reading my book during the term. I was both nervous and excited to learn what the children thought now they had finished the book. I had been in touch with them throughout the term through email, facebook and good old fashioned letters, but this was our first meeting. 

I am pleased to report the children loved The Viking's Apprentice and had done an amazing amount of work through the term. I was presented with three projects they had put together for me. One was a book of their artwork of characters. Some excellent interpretations especially of Tanis and Graff. I was also given a folder of their opinions of the book, and one that showed their predictions for how the book would go as they progressed through the chapters. 

We held a question and answer session where I was asked some wonderful questions and we had a great conversation about the book and where the children felt the next books would take the series. Hearing about my book from the age group it is aimed at was such a valuable experience. Children have imaginations that far outstrip adults, and it was great to know my book had got those imaginations going. 

I have said this before on Facebook @ The Vikings Apprentice Facebook page, but one of the proudest and best moments on my journey as an author so far is being told I have inspired a child to read. One of the children in the class had shown no interest in reading until they began reading my book. The child then spent every day at school looking forward to reading time and loved working on the projects concerning The Viking's Apprentice. That is something I will never forget. 

Ask the children what was their favourite part of the day and I guarantee you they all say the same thing, meeting Jake. Jake is the Jack Russell in The Viking's Apprentice who was based on my own Jack Russell, Megan. She was a big hit with the children even getting to play with them at playtime. Megan slept for ten hours after that!

Forward look

Over the next few weeks I am going to be working hard on book two, and hopefully getting it finished and put forward for editing where many authors would say the real work begins. The book is progressing well and I am very excited to see it out for sale and get the feedback from the readers. Keep following my blog, facebook, website and twitter for updates and release information. 

Contact info and amazon pages

If you would like to purchase the book (thank you in advance) here are the links you require. The EBook version is now exclusive to Amazon. 

UK and EU readers can purchase the kindle and paperback versions here:  The Viking's Apprentice UK

Canadian readers can purchase the kindle version only here: The Viking's Apprentice Canada

USA and the rest of the world readers can purchase the kindle and paperback versions here: The Viking's Apprentice USA

The Viking's Apprentice is published by createspace, and is now available from several outlets throughout America. Please check createspace and Amazon pages for more info. 

If you would like to contact me please do so at one of the following:

My website: www.kevinmcleodauthor.com

Twitter: @bannon1975

Facebook: facebook.com/thevikingsapprentice

Email @ kevinmcleodauthor@gmail.com

Goodreads: Author page

Thank you to everyone who has bought my book. I love hearing your feedback through reviews, emails or chats. I am very grateful for all the support and encouragement from all over the world. 





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