Monthly Archives: July 2012

Rain stopped play!

Rain stopped play! The Match? Barbara Jane (Serena!) Mackie vs. her nineteen year old son, Maximilian (Federer) Steyger. Location? Ryde Mead Tennis courts in Ryde, Isle of Wight. Mum? A bit rusty. Son? Thankfully, also a bit rusty! Serena Mackie’s forehand? Strong! Agreed by all! Serena Mackie’s serve? Shite! Even back at my Cirencester High School, my serve was my weak point, but we played on with grit and determination through the rain and both games – Mother and son’s – improved!

Now back in my study as the Monsoon descends. Ridley Scott put it well in his vision of the future with ‘Blade Runner’ where it rained non stop. We are living in the ‘future’ now, people, whether we like it or not!

Life on Mars

Life on the Island is going slowly … ‘Eat the View’ did a massive run up the Amazon/Kindle charts and is now hovering around the 20,000 mark (apparently that’s good as the ‘paid Kindle Charts’ have 450,000 novels all jostling with each other) and keeps bumping up to 10,000 and then down and then up again! Being a woman of a slightly impatient temprament (I’m Aries, sorry, guys and gals!), I’m feeling a tad’s frustrated. Seeking solace with my friend and fellow Ryde Author, Andrew Lucas, who has had a Kindle best-seller with ‘Crossed-Dressed to Kill’ his humorous Comedy-thriller (check it out!)

Andrew has been a veritable font of wisdom when it comes to all things Amazon and Kindle and has steered me through this process -which has been quite a white-knuckle ride, a case of trial and error as one uploads. I can see why many wait on traditional Publishers but I must admit, I feel a slight writerly ‘glow’ to be part of this new media – where everything is changing and changing so fast! Andrew now has a publishing book deal, a well-trod path which this particular writer is hoping to emulate!

Roll on September when I find out about e-book sales on ‘Eat the View’ and any monies earnt. After all, we writers have to earn to eat – as Raymond, the ghost says in my novel: ‘You can’t eat the view!’

Back on the Isle

Back on this fair isle after two days of celebrating and partying with my family in London – always big fun. Always exhausting! Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight seemed very empty after pre-Games London and the tourist season, which found us crammed like lemmings in the tube. Great thing about this island – nice and empty! But, did notice that there is a new Costa at the Portsmouth end of the ferry over to the island, so 20th Century life – in the shape of a ‘skinny latte’! – is following us over!

‘Eat the View’ is rising steadily UP through the Amazon/Kindle Charts! Hurrah! All that work and crafting and rewriting (getting notes from friends and my hub) and more rewriting and proof reading and yet more proof reading and FINALLY the little devil – well, monster of a comedy-epic based on my crazy two years in the deepest French countryside – came into perfect Kindle/Amazon form and is now out there, a freed ‘bird’ of a novel, flapping its wings across many nations who HOPEFULLY like my book! The reviews are great – so hugely encouraged! Perhaps it was all worth it.

People ask me if uploading onto Amazon was easy? Answer? It nearly cost me my marriage! There were very few guidelines so it was suck it and see and so, into the early hours of the morning, Tony and I uploaded, tested, reuploaded and FINALLY it took flight!

The hardest thing about getting a novel onto Amazon? Writing something decent! Writing is a craft, remember, so it all takes time and struggle.