Sunday 28th February, 2016

Yeah, I skipped a week. There are going to be a few weekends like that with still having a house about 70 miles away from where I currently live that I’m hoping to sell. Anyway, on to things you may care about.

The Otherworld Gazetteer [External Link] is back up and running. I’m thinking of opening it up to other people and / or shifting it to a more obviously wiki format and host (which would then leave me with some wordpress space to work out what I want to do with, but that’s a problem for another day). If any of that world-sharing appeals, please get in touch and let me know.

I was spotted at the 5th Sheffield Social and there are photos of me on Facebook to prove it. For a change, someone else managed to get the drop on the Mousie postcard and you can see a picture of Mousie out and about on Adele Wearing’s twitter feed here: [External Link]

I have a couple of Mousie photos with some books stacked up but I’m waiting until after the official launch party for African Monsters on March 3rd at Forbidden Planet, London to put them out. And, yes, I shall be taking Mousie if she remembers to get into my backpack.

And my last thing to mention: Adele and I did a book count and I’ve made my Ink Plan-related donation to National Autism Society (NAS) [External Link]

February 2016 Summary

An unofficial continuation of the old Ink Plan, just so I can boast about where I’m up to. Or something.

The Ink Plan

Some time ago, I said that if I sell 1,000 books, I would get a journeymouse tattooed on my arm. This didn’t happen, although I’m still open to getting a tattoo if I sell 1,000 books – and if the artist can cope with me swearing a blue streak while it’s being done. I’m not a silent sufferer. Anyway, I continue to aspire to selling a large quantity of books – possibly even a moderate quantity of books – so here we go.

I’ll be donating to the National Autism Society (NAS) [External Link], with the total sum being made up of 10ps for sole authorship and 5ps for a shared project, using numbers attached to my royalties statements from Fox Spirit Books [External Link]. They’re not the outlet I’ve been published by this year but they are basically the only outlet that money has exchanged hands for my work. With allowances for delays in getting figures from Amazon, these figures cover 01/01/2015 to 31/12/2015.

ASIDE: I know that previously published anthologies (still included below for reference) continue to be sold but the numbers basically aren’t there – these sort of figures aren’t often made available to the authors of short stories in certain types of anthologies. Where possible, I’ve included numbers I know about and if anyone wants to self-report, please do so.

The 2015 Total

I have (that I’m aware of) sold 457 books in my writing career and 86 were sold last year, which means I should have donated £6.90 to NAS – in practice, I rounded it up to £10. The breakdown of how I got this is below. If you would like to make your own donation, NAS have a really easy website donation set-up.

The Bibliography

Cover & Link Details Previous Total 2015 Sales Total Number Donation
African Monsters (Fox Spirit Books of Monsters, # 2) African Monsters
Published December 2015 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
ISBN 9781909348844
The Christmas Book of Ghosts
Published November 2015 by Michael Collins [External Link]
(In aid of Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland [External Link])
n/a
A Pack Of Lies A Pack of Lies
Published June 2015 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
ISBN 9781909348806
13 13 £1.30
(x 10p)
Missing Monarchs (Fox Pockets, #4) Missing Monarchs
Published December 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
ISBN 9781909348738
8 8 £0.40
(x 5p)
European Monsters (Fox Spirit Books of Monsters , # 1) European Monsters
Published August 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
ISBN 9781909348724
24 24 £1.20
(x 5p)
25 Ways to Kill a Werewolf 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf
Published August 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
ISBN 9781909348615
20 41 61 £4.10
(x 10p)
Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction
Published April 2014 by Solarwyrm Press [External Link]
ISBN: 9780980508444
Short story “Gone Fishing”
10 Unknown 10 n/a
No Monsters Allowed No Monsters Allowed
Published October 2013 by Dog Horn Publishing [External Link]
ISBN: 9781907133824
Short story “An Honest Woman’s Child”
Unknown Unknown Unknown n/a
Outlaw Bodies Outlaw Bodies
Published November 2012 by Futurefire.net Publishing [External Link]
ISBN: 9780957397507
Short story “Good Form”
200 Unknown 200 n/a
Crossed Genres Quarterly 4 Crossed Genres, Quarter 4 (no longer available)
Published December 2011 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9780615578637
Short story “Beaumains”
103 n/a 103 n/a
Crossed Genres Issue 17: Antihero Crossed Genres, Issue 17 (no longer available)
Published March 2010 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9781451540963
Short story “Three Little Pigs”
27 n/a 27 n/a
Crossed Genres Issue 2: Dystopian Crossed Genres, Issue 2 (no longer available)
Published January 2009 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9781441455376
Short story “Nesting Instinct”
11 n/a 11 n/a
Totals 371 86 457 £6.90

Sunday 4th January, 2015

Welcome to 2015. Only another 2 to 6 months of me writing the date wrong to go!

Not much to report, seeing as the holiday period generally means things are slow but here’s a couple of things for you:

  1. The Ink Plan closed at the end of 2014. Well, officially. It’s resulted in a £20 donation to NAS [External Link] and, if nothing else, is a good excuse to donate a small some every year, so I shall be counting up again next year.
  2. Fran Terminiello [External Link] and I did quite well at Alt.Fiction 2014 with our HEMA for Writers presentation so we’re planning on doing it again – and not just at Alt.Fiction. Although our part in it hasn’t been confirmed, we’re both now members for this year’s EasterCon, which will be Dysprosium, and this has gone up under my events posts. This time, we’re focussing on a couple of eras / styles of fencing.

    (We shall probably be at Alt.Fiction, although tickets have not yet been bought and our time slot is not confirmed. We’re also aiming for another couple of SFF cons in the year, so fingers crossed.)

January 2015 Summary

Here’s the offical end of the Ink Plan – with final numbers and money owed!

The Ink Plan

I said that if I sell 1,000 books, I would get a journeymouse tattooed on my arm. Of course, this hasn’t happened. I haven’t managed to sell anywhere near that number of books, even including the anthologies I’ve been in over the last few years. Hoever, I will keep working on this (a little more privately) and eventually get my ink!

I can, however, make a donation to the National Autism Society (NAS) [External Link]. I’m donating 10p per each copy of 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf and 5p per copy of an anthology sold before 31/12/2014. Anything with an ISBN counts. We’re being a bit fast and loose with ebooks, which don’t technically have ISBNs but have been counted (where reported) for the purposes of raising money and getting me closer to ink.

ASIDE: I’ve decided that I shall donate similarly (10p for sole authorship, 5p for a shared project) next year and any books that have escaped this count-up will be included next year. The money will continue to be donated to NAS. Next year’s count will (otherwise) cover 01/01/2015 to 31/12/2015.

The 2014 Total

I have (that I’m aware of) sold 371 books, which means I should have donated £19.55 to NAS – in practice, I rounded it up to £20. The breakdown of how I got this is below. If you would like to make your own donation, NAS have a really easy website donation set-up.

Note 1: Numbers for No Monsters Allowed and Amok weren’t made available – and isn’t that surprising as these sort of figures aren’t often made available to the authors of short stories in anthologies. I’ve included some numbers / copies I know about and if anyone wants to self-report for next year, please do so.

Note 2: Although European Monsters and Fox Pockets – Monarchs both came out in December, numbers aren’t out and about, yet, so these will be included in next year’s numbers.

The Eligible Books

25 Ways to Kill a Werewolf 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf
Published August 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
ISBN 9781909348615
20
(29/12/14)
£2.00
(x 10p)
Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction
Published April 2014 by Solarwyrm Press [External Link]
ISBN: 9780980508444
Short story “Gone Fishing”
10
(28/07/14)
£0.50
(x 5p)
No Monsters Allowed No Monsters Allowed
Published October 2013 by Dog Horn Publishing [External Link]
ISBN: 9781907133824
Short story “An Honest Woman’s Child”
? ?
(x 5p)
Outlaw Bodies Outlaw Bodies
Published November 2012 by Futurefire.net Publishing [External Link]
ISBN: 9780957397507
Short story “Good Form”
200
(24/03/14)
£10.00
(x 5p)
Crossed Genres Quarterly 4 Crossed Genres, Quarter 4 (no longer available)
Published December 2011 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9780615578637
Short story “Beaumains”
103 £5.15
(x 5p)
Crossed Genres Issue 17: Antihero Crossed Genres, Issue 17 (no longer available)
Published March 2010 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9781451540963
Short story “Three Little Pigs”
27 £1.35
(x 5p)
Crossed Genres Issue 2: Dystopian Crossed Genres, Issue 2 (no longer available)
Published January 2009 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9781441455376
Short story “Nesting Instinct”
11 £0.55
(x 5p)
Totals 371 £19.55

Sunday 21st December, 2014

This week turned out to be surprisingly busy. There was quite a bit of bombing around for the day job but I’ve had two published announcements this week. Rather than type out all the link soup again, I’ll just give links to the two announcements here:

  1. European Monsters (Fox Spirit Books of Monsters #1), which I co-edited along with Margrét Helgadóttir [External Link] and which contains some fantastic stories and artwork. And I don’t just say that because I’m biased.
  2. Missing Monarchs (Fox Spirit Books’ Fox Pockets #4), an anthology with many lovely authors in.

And any sold before December 31st will count towards my Ink Plan total – I shall have to do a summing up for that in January to ensure numbers cover the time period properly. At this stage, it looks like I shall be handing a donation over to the NAS [External Link] but we didn’t approach Ink levels.

Anyway, here’s the last advent video. I give you a brass band (so we know it’s really Christmas. Well, Yule / Solstice / Midwinter) and my favourite carol (when played by brass bands).

(A reminder: I’m not Christian so my interest in Advent is purely secular.)

Finally, the usual reminder that if you want some free fiction, we have:

  • A Granted Wish, a novella, is up on the Fox Spirit [External Link] web-site under their Free Fiction page. There’s some background here with direct links to the right Fox Spirit page.
  • The first chapter of 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf available on the site. It has all the usual plug links at the bottom of the page so, if you like it, you can get your paws on your own copy.
  • You can find the archive of my freely available short stories here.

Sunday 5th October, 2014

I’m going to say this a few times more in case my friends are all hiding under rocks but… I’ve had a book published by the name of 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf, thanks to the help and support of Fox Spirit Books [External Link]. The linked page will (eventually) get you to the UK Amazon but most other “local” Amazon sites should also … Continue reading

September 2014 update

It’s been a couple of months since the last update, so here’s how we stand.

The changes in the intervening periods are:

  • 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf (my novel, worth 10p to NAS [External Link] for every sale) was released as a paperback in August and as an ebook in September.
  • The Future Fire (links below) ran an Indigogo campaign to fund a new anthology, Accessing The Future, which brought their past anthologies – including Outlaw Bodies – to more customers’ attention.

The Ink Plan

(A Recap)

If I sell 1,000 books, I shall be getting a journeymouse tattooed on my arm. There is the possibility of a stretch goal for 2,000 and a mouseketeer – all sorted by Keety at Ink Addiction Tattoo [Facebook page – External Link], if it happens. Part of the tattoo cost will be donated to National Autism Society (NAS), as per Ink Addiction’s usual set up.

I will also be adding to the initial donation. I shall be donating 10p per each copy of 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf and 5p per copy of an anthology. Theoretically, I could personally be donating £200 + tattoo costs – but it’s more likely to be about the £150 mark (see below). Obviously, you’ll already be donating money if you’re buying one of my books – but don’t let that stop you donating direct to NAS if you want to!

Anything with an ISBN counts – so some of my anthologies count! We’re being a bit fast and loose with ebooks, which don’t technically have ISBNs but will be counted for the purposes of getting me inked. The European Monsters anthology I’m editing with Margrét Helgadóttir for Fox Spirit Books [External Link] will also count towards the total. If it comes out before the deadline (see below), it will also be worth 10p per copy for the NAS.

There is a deadline for this: the tattoo will happen whenever I get to 1,000 books (maybe a different design, depending on how long it takes to get there) but the donation cut off is December 31st 2014. Whatever books have been sold in that time, I shall make the equivalent donation to NAS. So, for example, if I’ve sold 17 copies of 25 Ways to Kill A Werewolf by December 31st 2014, I’ll donate £1.70 to NAS.

(Please try to raise a bit more than that, folks!)

Extending The Ink Plan

If you have any advice on how to push a thousand books, know venues where the book should be reviewed, want to buy a copy, want to see the finished tattoos, want to tell me I’m an idiot, want to register interest in any of the books, have some ideas for events, other blog posts, or anything like that, then comment below.

The Total So Far

As before, I have (that we’re aware of) sold 366 books, and I owe NAS £19.05. The breakdown of how I got this is below, along with what books are currently available to boost my numbers.

I’m still awaiting numbers for No Monsters Allowed and Amok. It’s unlikely I will get any from my editor contacts as these sort of figures aren’t often made available to the authors of short stories. However, if you’d like to self-report copies bought below, I’ll add these up and include them in the totals.

The Eligible Books

The following books are available for sale and count towards the final numbers. I’ve used Goodreads linked images for the thumbnails and you can follow them to find out ways of ordering them. Alternatively, you can go to the (linked) publishers’ sites.

25 Ways to Kill a Werewolf 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf
Published August 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
ISBN 9781909348615
15
(29/09/14)
£1.50
(x 10p)
Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction
Published April 2014 by Solarwyrm Press [External Link]
ISBN: 9780980508444
Short story “Gone Fishing”
10
(28/07/14)
£0.50
(x 5p)
No Monsters Allowed No Monsters Allowed
Published October 2013 by Dog Horn Publishing [External Link]
ISBN: 9781907133824
Short story “An Honest Woman’s Child”
? ?
(x 5p)
Outlaw Bodies Outlaw Bodies
Published November 2012 by Futurefire.net Publishing [External Link]
ISBN: 9780957397507
Short story “Good Form”
200
(24/03/14)
£10.00
(x 5p)
Totals 225 £12.00

Forthcoming Books

These are the books due out fairly soon that will also be in the Ink Plan. As with the books that are out, you can follow the links.

European Monsters
Expected publication: 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
Co-Editor
Fox Pockets – Monarchs
Expected publication: 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
Short story “The Lost Kingdom”
Strange Fortune
Expected publication: 2014 by Knightwatch Press / Fringeworks [External Link]
Short story “The Bull of Essylt”

No Longer Available Books

The following books are no longer available to buy but count towards the final number. Again, thumbnails are actually Goodreads links so that you can find out more about the specifics of the book.

Crossed Genres Quarterly 4 Crossed Genres, Quarter 4
Published December 2011 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9780615578637
Short story “Beaumains”
103 £5.15
(x 5p)
Crossed Genres Issue 17: Antihero Crossed Genres, Issue 17
Published March 2010 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9781451540963
Short story “Three Little Pigs”
27 £1.35
(x 5p)
Crossed Genres Issue 2: Dystopian Crossed Genres, Issue 2
Published January 2009 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9781441455376
Short story “Nesting Instinct”
11 £0.55
(x 5p)
Totals 141 £7.05
(x 5p)

Monday 29th September, 2014

Okay, so I’m a day late. I decided to watch Magic Mike last night. There was a disappointing lack of rainbows and unicorns for something with “magic” in the title, though!

For those of you who haven’t heard me say it a million and one times already: I’ve had a book published by the name of 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf, thanks to the help and support of Fox Spirit Books [External Link]. The linked page will (eventually) get you to the UK Amazon but most other “local” Amazon sites should also carry it. The ebooks (epub and mobi files) are now also available from Spacewitch [External Link].

However you get your copy (oh, please say you’ll buy a copy, I fancy a new tattoo and I’m pretty sure the NAS [External Link] would like the donation I intend to give them by the end of the year), I’d appreciate some more reviews – on Amazon or the Goodreads page [External Link] or the Booklikes page [External Link] – or anywhere else that does liking books! (And if you think of anywhere I should be boasting spreading the news about my book-baby, please let me know.)

Yeah, that intermission in there was a reminder for the Ink Plan. There should be an update on that tomorrow!

I’ve set up links to my Booklikes and Goodreads profiles to the right. If you want some teasers of what I’m working on at the moment (Fool If You Thnk It’s Over) or what I’m reading (Ash by Mary Gentle), I put a quote up on Booklikes after every bout of #amreading, #amwriting or #amediting.

Sunday Stories have been on pause again but I promise we’re back on this Sunday. The last story that came up as a Sunday Story was Second Date, which is in the same world as 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf and Fool If You Think It’s Over.

For your “awww” moment, there’s now a photo for Finn’s 8th birthday on his page.

Sunday 3rd August, 2014

Right, at the top of this week’s list of things to tell you:

The friendly folk of The Future Fire [External Link] are crowdfunding another science fiction anthology. This time they will be focusing on dis/ability although there will be intersection with other issues that can cause problems with attaining equality. The anthology will be called “Accessing The Future” and it’s an Indiegogo campaign (here: [External Link]),

If you’re wondering why I’m supporting them, well… It’s an issue that needs looking at. However, I was specifically approached to get involved because I’m a contributor to a previous anthology of theirs (Outlaw Bodies, see right) and they’ve picked up a couple other of my stories, too.

As to how I’m contributing – next pay day I shall be grabbing myself an Indiegogo reward but I’ve also set off their “Accessing The Future Fiction” blog hop. I also agreed to do another blog post but having done the blog hop, I’ve realised how little thought space I’ve given to dis/ability in my fictional worlds and… well, seriously, even if I hadn’t promised another blog post, I’d need to do at least another post while I work out how I need to improve that part of my world building. Expect to see things over the next few weeks as I work through it! (Seeing as blog posts are just my way of thinking aloud, etc, etc.)

In 25 Ways To kill A Werewolf news – the ebook will be available from August 15th. Best to keep an eye on the Fox Spirit Books pages for announcements and links, although I’ll be updating as soon as I have concrete news: [External Link]

(The relevant section of the 25 Ways background posts have been updated to say the 15th.)

I’ve posted the fourth of the 25 Ways to Kill A Werewolf background posts, this time “On Character“. That, along with my Accessing The Future Fiction post, should show just how naively white and middle-class I can be!

On Wednesday, I’ll be posting the opening section of the book – and Fox Spirit are likely to put up the first one or two methods of killing werewolves alongside this. So, again, keep an eye out if you want to have a taste of Elkie. There will also be an ebook giveaway the week after.

I’ve put together an Ink Plan update. For a couple of the anthologies included (Amok and No Monsters Allowed, to the right) I haven’t been able to clarify numbers. If you fancy self-reporting, leave some comments on the post and I’ll add up the numbers for next time.

And, as usual, we end with the Sunday Story reminder. These are all stories that have been published on the site for a while but I figured it was worth reminding you all of their existence. Last week’s Sunday Story was Parthenogenesis – and this week’s is Baba Yaga.

July 2014 update

It’s been three months since the last update, which only goes to show how stretched out things can get in the small press world. No matter, 25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf is now on course for a mid-August delivery!

Extending The Ink Plan

If you have any advice on how to push a thousand books, know venues where the book should be reviewed, want to buy a copy, want to see the finished tattoos, want to tell me I’m an idiot, want to register interest in any of the books, have some ideas for events, other blog posts, or anything like that, then comment below.

The Total So Far

As before, I have (that we’re aware of) sold 225 books, and I owe NAS £11.25. The break down of how I got this is below, along with what books are currently available to boost my numbers.

I’m still awaiting numbers for No Monsters Allowed and Amok. It’s unlikely I will get any from my editor contacts as these sort of figures aren’t often made available to the authors. However, if you’d like to self-report copies bought below, I’ll add these up and include them in the totals.

(Which is why I’ve put 10 copies under Amok – I know I bought 10!)

The Eligible Books

The following books are available for sale and count towards the final numbers. I’ve used Goodreads linked images for the thumbnails and you can follow them to find out ways of ordering them. Alternatively, you can go to the (linked) publishers’ sites.

Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction
Published April 2014 by Solarwyrm Press [External Link]
ISBN: 9780980508444
Short story “Gone Fishing”
10
(28/07/14)
£0.50
(x 5p)
No Monsters Allowed No Monsters Allowed
Published October 2013 by Dog Horn Publishing [External Link]
ISBN: 9781907133824
Short story “An Honest Woman’s Child”
? ?
(x 5p)
Outlaw Bodies Outlaw Bodies
Published November 2012 by Futurefire.net Publishing [External Link]
ISBN: 9780957397507
Short story “Good Form”
74
(24/03/2014)
£3.70
(x 5p)
Totals 74 £4.20

Forthcoming Books

These are the books due out fairly soon that will also be in the Ink Plan. As with the books that are out, you can follow the links.

25 Ways To Kill A Werewolf
Expected publication: August 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
Fox Pockets – Monarchs
Expected publication: 2014 by Fox Spirit Books [External Link]
Short story “The Lost Kingdom”
Strange Fortune
Expected publication: 2014 by Knightwatch Press / Fringeworks [External Link]
Short story “The Bull of Essylt”

No Longer Available Books

The following books are no longer available to buy but count towards the final number. Again, thumbnails are actually Goodreads links so that you can find out more about the specifics of the book.

Crossed Genres Quarterly 4 Crossed Genres, Quarter 4
Published December 2011 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9780615578637
Short story “Beaumains”
103 £5.15
(x 5p)
Crossed Genres Issue 17: Antihero Crossed Genres, Issue 17
Published March 2010 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9781451540963
Short story “Three Little Pigs”
27 £1.35
(x 5p)
Crossed Genres Issue 2: Dystopian Crossed Genres, Issue 2
Published January 2009 by Crossed Genres Publications [External Link]
ISBN 9781441455376
Short story “Nesting Instinct”
11 £0.55
(x 5p)
Totals 141 £7.05
(x 5p)