Hello again.
It's a beautiful sunny morning in Glasgow. The weather has been fabulous and almost entirely warm, albeit with a chilly breeze every now and then. I like this time of year. It's when I begin to feel awake. Ready to take on new challenges. And boy, are there some exciting ones on the horizon!
First of all, the book. It's been a big success so far. 12 Amazon reviews - all of them bar one have been 5 star reviews, with one a 3 star. Once I have 50 reviews Amazon begin to advertise the book in their newsletters and the book, or should I say, your book, gets more publicity and climbs up the all important charts. I understand that the book has peaked at 6,000 worldwide in fiction (out of 1.8 million!) and just outside the Scottish Crime Top 100 so that is a very, very good start. If you have read the book please leave it a review - it really does help to make a book a success.
A sequel is now definitely on the way. I have written the pitch, synopsis, detailed synopsis and even designed the book jacket too! I started officially writing it a couple of days ago. I've decided on a very evocative title and it has taken a few surprising turns in plot and character development which I hope you will enjoy. I am aiming to publish the sequel next year sometime.
In the meantime I have written a short story for fellow author Shona Kinsella's forthcoming anthology which will hopefully be published by Unbound too. I am very excited about it as this will be my first foray into literary fiction, which is the direction I would ultimately like to head in. I'm planning that my third novel will suit that genre very much - yes, I've planned that far!
I was on Radio Pulse FM a few weeks ago which went wonderfully well. Shirley Whiteside asked me some very astute questions which really made me think about what I had written and she loved the book, commenting that it didn't seem like a debut because it was so multi-layered and well written. People have been very supportive and positive about A Murder Of Crows, and it does seem to have surprised everyone with its structure and 'that ending... '
This is the link if you would like to listen to it...
https://www.facebook.com/bookedonradio/posts/1675424462762249
Tomorrow I begin a short book tour - three in a row:
Monday 8th May: Waterstones, Byres Road, Glasgow at 7.30pm FREE event. FREE refreshments.
Tuesday 9th May: Blackwells, South Bridge, Edinburgh, 6.30pm, FREE event. FREE refreshments.
Wednesday 10th May: The Golden Hare, Edinburgh, 6.30pm, £2.00 entry, this pays for very posh wine!
I've also done two other book launches in Glasgow at The Raven and Dram! which were very successful, and numerous online interviews and blogs. The local papers have shown an interest and both The Herald and the Daily Record will be featuring the book in the near future.
There! As you can see I've not been resting on my laurels - there is simply no time to do so! I intended to take a break last month but this writing lark is just so much work and I've been kept very busy. But I love it. I'm obsessed with it and I must thank you all for helping me to become, shock, an actual professional writer. I'm in Waterstones now. I could not have envisaged that prospect a year ago - so thank you.
If any of you would like to contact me then please feel free. Two book groups are now reading and discussing my novel and I will be approaching local libraries next. I am more than happy to make appearances at any other book groups no matter how far and at any festivals or launches. I am also very happy to give advice and to show my support for other budding writers out there.
Speaking of book groups - yes, more news - A Murder Of Crows is now about to be featured via an online book group called The Pigeonhole. Basically, 200 people online can sign up and read for free the first eleven chapters of the book and chat to me online about it as they read it. It's a very exciting new venture and has received a lot of publicity on social media. Well, it became fully booked five days before the deadline! We added another fifty places and that is now fully booked too. It begins tomorrow so I will keep you posted about its progress.
Phew! It's been a busy wee month or two! Thanks again and please leave me a review on Amazon!
Best Wishes,
Ian.