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.
Tuesday 25 June 2013
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.
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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