Tuesday 4 June 2013

Let's catch up featuring writing styles.

Sorry!

Firstly let me apologize for the break in blogging. I have been busy writing book 2 in The Viking's Apprentice series and doing other promotional work for book 1. The Viking's Apprentice has been out for just over two months now, and I am beginning to find my feet in the world of promoting, advertising and meeting 'fans'.

The fame game

I still find it hard to believe I have fans, but slowly getting used to it. People bringing their paperbacks up to be signed is something I love. I have found being a published author very nerve wracking, but I am starting to let myself enjoy it. My twitter account now has over 900 followers which is amazing. Before I had written my book I had had my twitter account @bannon1975 for 2 years and had amassed a huge 3 followers. One was my wife and I am pretty sure the other two were fake!

Authors and fans have started to link up with me at Facebook where The Viking's Apprentice page now has over 200 likes. It's great hearing from people who have read the book and getting their thoughts and reviews. I have been very lucky so far in that every review that has been written for my book has been 5 stars. These reviews can be read on my website here Book reviews.

My writing style

I recently had a conversation with another author who had read my book and commented on my writing style. Something I had never really considered before. I tell the story from several different view points at the same time. So chapters can sometimes have view points from 4 or 5 characters. The author had praised me for my use and delivery of this omnipotent point of view as it is a style that can be confusing for both reader and writer. So why did I choose this style and why does it work in  my books? The answer is this; my books are set over a short time period. A few days for each book so the action is fast and furious. This time constraint meant I had to write in a way that got the story across quickly without losing any of the flow. Switching to and from different characters points of view enables me to set a scene quickly, give it depth and allow the readers to see the full picture that some characters in the story can't see. Read The Viking's Apprentice and decide for yourself. Please come and chat to me about the book after you have read it.

Tell  me about your writing style, why did you choose it? Was it an actual choice or is it just your style? I am interested so let me know!

School report

I always remember my 2nd year school report in high school. We had to take home economics (no honestly we all did!) for the first two years. My teacher wrote in my report card that I was 'a very lickable boy'. That took some explaining when I got home. I hope she was trying to say likeable but you are never sure. That story is not the point of this section. The pupils at Furnace primary school have been reading my book this term and just finished it. They have been in contact with me through email, Facebook and good old fashioned letters. It has been a wonderful experience for me to see how they found the book and I am pleased to say they all gave it 5 stars. I am going to visit the school on the 24th of June and spend some time chatting with the children and apparently they have some very good ideas for the later books in the series. I look forward to hearing all of them.

Other news

What else has been happening? Thanks for asking, let me tell you. I have been asked to appear at two book festivals one of which is on my birthday, June 22nd, (don't feel pressured to buy me gifts). I will be in Kirkmichael that day then on to the Bookmark festival in October.

My competition that I ran in an earlier blog was won and the winners were contacted and have received their prizes. The answer was... Tanis has 2 sons. More competitions and giveaways will appear in my blog and website.

A few bits of fairly big book news now. I have decided to go exclusively with Amazon for the Ebook version of The Viking's Apprentice. 90% of my sales were coming from Amazon and I prefer their author platform. The good news is that Amazon Prime members can borrow the book for free from the Amazon lending library here The Viking's Apprentice.

The Viking's Apprentice went to number 1 in it's Genre for a week in Canada. I can now proudly state I have been an international best seller. I have not shouted 'YIPEE' so loud since I was six and Santa brought me a bike for Christmas.

We have listened to our fans and decided to change the writing on the cover of the Ebook. Here is the new cover. Let me know what you think of it.


On that note I am on the look out for a new cover artist for book 2 so if you are a cover artist, graphic artist or an ebook specialist please get in touch with a sample of your work/ link to your website at kevinmcleodauthor@gmail.com

And finally

As always I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has bought the book. I love that so many of you are enjoying it and that you take the time to write reviews and get in touch with me to discuss it. My email door is always open!
You can buy the Viking's Apprentice from amazon at this link for the UK Viking UK. This one for USA, India and Southern hemisphere Viking worldwide. My Canadian fans (Thank you so much for taking me to number 1) can purchase the book here Viking Canada

Please feel free to contact me for anything book related, for advice or to ask about doing a guest blog on here. Contact me on twitter at @bannon1975 and email kevinmcleodauthor@gmail.com or respond to my blog.

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