To quote the great PG Wodehouse, “It has been well said that an author who expects results from a first novel is in a position similar to that of a man who drops a rose petal down the Grand Canyon of Arizona and listens for the echo.”
Well, that’s my situation today. For I have (takes a deep breath, clears throat, shuffles feet nervously) just published my first novel on Amazon kindle.
The story is my “Wars of the Roses with demons” novel – part murder mystery, part fantasy, part historical novel, it falls between pretty much every stool you can imagine. It’s called An Inquisition of Demons, and it’s published under my own name, with a snazzy cover designed by Margaret. It normally retails for the shockingly good value of 99 cents, but right now – from Sunday till Thursday – it’s on a free promotion, so it can be downloaded it for nothing.
Spring has arrived in Caithness
Should you decide to give it a go – and quite frankly, it would be rude not to – and if you like it, I have just two requests to make: can you pass on the information to anyone you think might be interested – and can you give it a review on Amazon, please? You see, books by unknown authors need two things to get them started in life: firstly, lots of downloads (not a big surprise, really); and positive reviews. So the more reviews it gets, the better. Obviously, though, I’m not asking you to imperil your immortal soul by telling fibs; (coughs behind hand). Well, not much. A teeny bit, perhaps. Nothing your soul can’t handle, if you’ve lived a good life. (What’s that? Oh.)
As I plan to publish my other books on kindle over the next 2-3 years – the next one will come out in September – we’ve revamped the Ganseys.com website slightly. This is mostly so the book stuff doesn’t interfere with the gansey stuff (which is after all the main reason we’re all here). I’ve added a general section for my writing, and there’s a Q & A page dedicated to the background of this novel, for the curious.
Speaking of knitting, it’s been another week of steady progress. I’m over 13 inches up the body now, at the point where a young man’s thoughts turn to gussets (well, it is spring after all – it usually snows in spring, right?). Because of the way the pattern worked out, I’m thinking of letting the seam stitches run all the way through the centre of the gussets, if I can make it work. At present the hard part is knitting what feels like a collapsed bright red parachute, still with the parachutist inside.
Right. I’m off to check on my sales ranking (this morning I was the number 44,935 bestseller on kindle – the only way is, quite possibly, up!) – and listen out for that echo…
HUZZAH!!!
*throws confetti* *listens for echo*
I’m off to go leave my review now, boss.
*grin*
SongBird
(Oh, and the gansey looks lovely, as expected.)
Hello Gordon, Congratulations! Thanks for this opportunity, quite fun to anticipate this read. The gansey looks wonderful and I had a thought re: gussets. Meg Swanson (of Schoolhouse Press fame) suggests a reverse stockinette gusset with a knit stitch running up the center- the “purl” stitches retreat and the center stitch makes for an easy blocking. I feel as though I just taught my grandmother to suck eggs….so, for what it’s worth.
Haha, number one (briefly) in the Amazon “Free Historical Fantasy” category – a bit like winning the “most successful New Zealand archivist in Wick” prize!
Marilyn, thanks for the gusset suggestion. I hadn’t come across that, but then I lead a sheltered life, just me, Margaret and the gerbil. (I think I’d need to see it “live” before I can visualise it though – but I’ll bear it in mind!)
Cheers,
Gordon
I can’t believe I just downloaded Kindle for PC and have opened your book to the first chapter… I’ve been resisting e-reading with a vengeance.
Congratulations! review will be forthcoming.
I was quite annoyed that I couldn’t down load your book because I live in the USA. Would it be possible for you to publish it on the USA Amazon site?
Hi Jacqueline – sorry, we can only link to one Amazon store – but if you go to Amazon.com you can find it if you search, or click on http://www.amazon.com/An-Inquisition-of-Demons-ebook/dp/B0081R2PRK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337062847&sr=1-1
Hope you like it!
Gordon
Cool, I had this on my to do list, download the book not knit the gansey, then suzanne reminded me the download was there and limited to a fe days only. Like Suzanne I had to install the kindle (for me on an iPad)
Kiwi fantasy history, bya fellow kiwi – what could be wrong with that?
Hi Stella,
Hello! I spent most of yesterday talking to a New Zealand couple researching their ancestors – although I usually sound like a (posh) Brit, by the end of the day I had a noticeable antipodean twang beck un mai voice…
The book will be on Amazon indefinitely now – but the free promo ends Thursday, or else you’ll have to pay 99 cents. Hurry while stocks last!
Gordon
Well done Gordon.
And thanks to Suzanne for alerting me to the existence of Kindle for PC – I too had fervently resisted e-reading till now, but can’t resist a bargain and saving 99 cents (really?) was just too good to miss …
Looking forward to reading the book when I get over the shock of being able to.
Dear Suzanne and Alma,
I apologise profusely and unreservedly for driving you to the shameful expedient of resorting to ebooks! (If only a print publisher had recognised talent when he saw it, none of this would have happened – though to be fair, I wouldn’t have been able to offer them for free, either.) So, er, yeah.
Hope you enjoy it – if enjoy is the right word…
Gordon
Enough with the self-deprecating approach! We’re gonna love it! once we get over the shock of not holding a bound tome in our hands (right, Alma?). A position that is, of course, absurd, given the amount of time we spend reading things other than books on the monitor.
I’ve passed the word to three people who do not read your blog (nothing personal – they don’t happen to knit). If they, in turn, contact three more people each, and those contacts do the same, the novel could be a bestseller in no time!
Great news, would love to read it but I’m a luddite without a kindle! Hope it goes well for you.
Bwahahahaaaaaa! I have left the first review! I’m first!
Heh.
SongBird