Book Brag : WHSmith

Link -- WH SMITH

My book, Charlie Cheese Travels The World, has been spotted on the WHSmith website. This is a milestone I didn't think I'd reach anytime soon, but seeing my work on their page made my day - the fact that they stock (or have previously stocked) my work is something I am very proud of, hence this little book brag.

I've linked at the top of this post because I was too excited to write anything else first without sharing! I'll continue to promote my work, even if it was written a couple of years ago - because success is not instant. Delayed success is even better as it comes as a nice surprise just when you think you're not doing enough to self promote.

Search 'Charlie Cheese Travels The World' now to find where you can get yourself a copy.

Charlie Cheese Book Giveaway!

I'm going to have my daughter soon, so as a lovely treat, I'm doing a book giveaway!
It's a mini bundle of Charlie Cheese goodies!
( Including the new book, Charlie Cheese And The Food Dance! )
To enter, all you have to do is:

Follow Charlie Cheese Books on Twitter AND Retweet the pinned tweet!
OR
Like Charlie Cheese Books on Facebook AND Like/Share/Comment on the pinned post!

- You can do both if you want to increase your chances, though!
I will be putting names in a hat and informing the winner on May 18th - a month before my due date. I am opening the giveaway so everyone in the world can enter, so share it far and wide - I want to use some stamps!
Best of luck!

Indie April : Ups And Downs

Indie April has come to an end!
It's been an opportunity to meet other indie authors, promote my books, and have an input to what indies are struggling with. It has also had a few negatives!

UPS -
This month my highlights have been plugging my books without feeling guilty - there has been so many threads asking people to share their Amazon links, it is a chance to self-promote and find what other people have been working on.
I have also enjoyed interacting with other indies - I'm usually quite shy, but I have found so many people I'm comfortable talking to or reacting to their posts, which is a huge step for me!
I have started so many writing projects this month - I don't know if it's due to bouncing creativity off of one another, or just seeing the pride people have in their WIPS have driven me to write as much as I can.
I've found a pattern in what people look for in indie authors - I have written about this in a previous post. I am aware what is popular in the community, so I can either work with that, or decide to go against the grain of what people are doing.

DOWNS -
This month has also had a negative side, I have noticed that people don't look for children's books when requesting work from indie authors - it's not their go-to genre or something they want to read by choice. So this made me feel like I need to work on other things!
Also, I have had more rejection emails than ever before. I don't know if it's due to deadlines being at the beginning of April, and they've replied immediately, but there has been far too many for my confidence this month. It did knock me, I did want to get some of those projects. It's annoying now, and I will get over it.

Either way, there's more good than bad - Indie April is a success and a positive thing to happen to the writing community. I can't wait for next year - and hopefully, by then I'll have no negatives!

One last Amazon link plug for the road:

The Macroodelzig

Don't Eat Charlie Cheese

Charlie Cheese Travels The World

Charlie Cheese And The Food Dance

My First Author Interview!

I was recently contacted to take part in an interview to talk about being a children's author, and of course I was happy and excited to answer the questions!
The interview was for International Book Promotion and it was the January Children's Author edition, the interview was alongside 11 other authors.
Here's the full interview:

1. What is your source of ideas for a new book? Ideas can come from anywhere, whilst doing the most boring activities in the world! It could be from a mispronounced word that sounds like a fun character's name.

2. How do you come up with names for characters? Naming the characters is lots of fun. They can be bizarre and wonderful names, or names that everyone knows, as long as it suits that character.

3. How much time do you write in a day? I put at least five hours aside each day to write, but as I said, ideas can come from anywhere, so I may be making notes in the middle of the night when I've got a busy brain!

4. Is there a lot of material that you have written that never gets published? I do have a fair amount of material that is just scribbly notes! Too much! Sometimes I leave notes and come back to them at a later date, and sometimes I feel that those ideas are no longer relevant and can be left out of publishing.

5. What age group do you target? My Charlie Cheese Books are aimed at 2 - 7 year olds, as the rhyming story and colourful and wacky images appeal to the younger children, and the older children are exposed to more complex vocabulary as well as a fun story. I am releasing a book in the very near future called The Macroodelzig, it contains an exciting rhyming story which again gives children exposure and the opportunity to learn new words.

6. How do you promote your books? I have no pennies to make lovely big billboards, although that would be nice! I have to promote the books by going into local schools to talk to children, or write about the books on my social media accounts. It would be amazing if word-of-mouth promoted the books better, as I have had a lot of lovely verbal feedback from parents in person!

7. What do you think of video bloggers or You Tubers who promote books? I think video bloggers and book vloggers are amazing at expressing their passion for literature! It's lovely to see people are excited about books and are wanting to talk about them.

8. Children's books have improved over the years and there are books that discusses on sexual education, cancer awareness and gender equality. Do you think these topics are too much for children to learn? I think more mature or real-life topics should be included in children's books - the younger they get familiar with real-life issues, the better an understanding they will have. Some topics are normal in some families, so if it's included in books that everyone reads, then it just shows it as a normal family life - which is what some children will relate to.

9. How do you think your work is different from the other children's books? I feel my books are different as they include some weird and wonderful characters, they are unique and it's good to be different!

10. Name one children's book you would totally recommend to parents and kids, and why? It'll have to be Dr. Seuss' The Lorax - it has a wonderful meaning behind it, and the story is fabulous. I love Dr. Seuss myself, my favourite is Cat In The Hat!

11. What are you aspirations, as a children's book author? I very much enjoy writing and seeing little ones reading my work - I first started making stories when working in a pre-school, so making up wonderfully weird stories always made the children smile, which helped spark an interest in books - win win!

12. If there is one thing children's books should focus on improving, what would that be? Children's books definitely need to be more diverse! There's so many cultures and backgrounds in this world that need more representation in children's literature and picture books. The more children are exposed to diversity, the more they can understand the world around them!

I hope you enjoyed reading my first interview, I am happy to do more! Fill in the contact form at the bottom of the blog if you would like to interview me!

World Book Day 2019

It's that time again! Happy World Book Day!
As a treat I thought I'd honour the hashtag, #ShareAStory.

This year I haven't dressed up, as my baby bump limits some costumes, so this is the next best thing - I am sharing some lines from my first book, Don't Eat Charlie Cheese! Hooray!

Happy reading!

 Charlie Cheese has lots of jobs,
he is a very busy slice.

His bosses try to eat him, though,
they've tried to once or twice.

Charlie went to be a chef, he had to cook a roast.

The chef took out a slice of bread..

"I am not for toast!"

Charlie had a little sulk,
they don't know how he felt!

Charlie started crying,
and then began to melt!

Finish the story and fill in the gaps by grabbing your own copy - search 'Don't Eat Charlie Cheese' on google now!

Are Amazon Book Reviews Important?

Well, are they?

I try to review everything I purchase on Amazon - even if I don't write much, I'll leave some stars.

My children's book series is available on Amazon, but unfortunately, it doesn't have many reviews. I have had to request that customers leave a review in the past, as not everyone does give feedback on Amazon. It's not like I'm asking for great reviews, because that's not the case, and the review would then be null and void for other people checking the books out. I am looking for honest feedback which accurately reflects people's opinions on the books - as this can make or break, and is valid to me.

I do think reviews are important, in a way.
I have had amazing feedback on social media sites, via email, or in person - but they are private reviews and not seen by possible readers, which limits me.
Word of mouth is also incredible to get the news out, but it's not often people find themselves in a discussion about moustache sporting cheese men...

If you do have one of the books, please, please, leave some honest Amazon feedback /
Thanks in advance!

Don't Eat Charlie Cheese

Charlie Cheese Travels The World

Charlie Cheese And The Food Dance

Charlie Cheese : Facebook Milestone

I set up the CC facebook page a long time ago, and after four years, we've just hit 300 likes.

(Knowing my luck when I post this, it'll have gone back down!)

It's been difficult promoting the page on Facebook - you can invite your friends, but not all of them are interested and will decline, or you can create sponsored adverts, for robots and fake pages to give the page likes - which is a pointless exercise.
I don't over post on Facebook, so I'm not a bother, but I will update it fairly frequently when I need to.

Either way, hitting 300 likes is fabulous news!
I'm aiming to promote better, somehow, so we can reach 500 likes before the end of the year - without the help of fake pages and likes.

If you want to help out, give us a like, invite your friends, and share, share, share!
>> Charlie Cheese Books!

Possible Audiobook ?

I've been contemplating making an audio book for my Charlie Cheese Books..
Mainly because I'll find it hilarious that a slice of brie has a strong Yorkshire accent!

When working with littlies, we had the odd CD with audiobooks on, I think it was a few books by Julia Donaldson, and the children loved them - because they had freedom to act out the story along with the narrator - plus it introduced literature to busy bodies who don't like sitting to read.

It's definitely on the cards for the near future.
I've read my books aloud millions of times, but everyone hates the sound of their own voice, so who knows.. I'm going to record myself reading in the next few weeks, to see if it's something that can be completed soon, or if it's a project to come back to down the line.

I am excited to find the voice of Charlie and Mouse, though!

Valentine's Day 2019

It's nearly Valentine's Day!
You still have plenty of time to grab some Charlie and Mouse merch - SHOP NOW.
Charlie Cheese loves his little mouse.
Mouse loves his slice of cheese.
Love is love.

Celebrate this year with everyone you love!

My Books.. So Far.

It's weird to think I have FIVE books knocking about! They're all completely different! I thought I'd put a post together where they can all be in one place at once.

For The Best was taken from notes my father made of his childhood growing up in Gipton, Leeds. I've not changed the order of the stories and memories, as that's not how you remember things, there's always tangents and finding something else to talk about. So it's written very organically - which means a lot of explicit language - not for little ones!
You can ONLY grab a copy here:
FOR THE BEST - MEMORIES OF A FIFTIES CHILD.

My poetry book is fairly angry, it's mainly politically focused and it's a collection of my first poems. I used my friend Jo's artwork for the cover (support indie!) - and again, the poems can contain explicit language - but not all of them do!
You can ONLY purchase a copy of my poetry here: MIND THE GAP.

The Charlie Cheese books series are cute, rhyming, indie books about a slice of brie! The illustrator is my friend Tommings - he is beyond talented! Give him a look up and check out his other work, too!
Where you'll find..
Don't Eat Charlie Cheese: Amazon / Waterstones / Barnes and Noble / Booktopia.

Charlie Cheese Travels The World: Amazon / Waterstones / Barnes and Noble / Booktopia.

Charlie Cheese And The Food Dance: Amazon / Barnes and Noble.

UPDATE MARCH 2019:
My brand new children's book, The Macroodelzig: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Where To Find Charlie Cheese And The Food Dance

Some links to the book have been a little iffy - due to the book being brand new and being processed through the Global Retail Network. Luckily, this issue has been resolved!

So here's a little list of where you can grab a copy:

AMAZON BOOKS

BARNES AND NOBLE

BOOK DEPOSITORY

When the book appears in more online bookshops, I'll update this post! Happy shopping! x

Charlie Cheese - MERCH

Did you know I have a Charlie Cheese shop?

I created a Redbubble account for CC a while ago, but I have recently updated the merch this month in time for Christmas. I have added new, unseen artwork from the latest book, too!
Obviously, the shop includes products with art work from the other books in the series.

The shop includes: Clocks, Stationary, Household goods, Phone cases, Stickers, and moooore!

Find the merch  > > HERE < <

Happy shopping! x

Charlie Cheese Books : Third Book Coming Soon!

I'm so happy to say the third book, Charlie Cheese And The Food Dance, will be available in the next few days!

I'm in the process of editing and making the book look sharp, then it's off to print!

When I have a purchase link, or the books are available in stores, I will make a follow up post - but for now, keep your eyes peeled!

Cheeky Charlie Cheese C-plug?

I have not plugged my childrens books in a long time and feel today would be ideal.

It's almost Halloween and Tommings made a lovely cartoon of Charlie dressed up a few years ago, and I love it.

Ideally, I'd like to make seasonal and festive CC books, this is something I've definitely put a pin in before, so it could be good to make a start on the Christmas version soon.. Hmm..

Anyway, you can purchase Don't Eat Charlie Cheese and Charlie Cheese Travels The World on Waterstones, Amazon, and loooooads more online book stores!

My 50th Post!

Hoorah! This is my 50th blog post!

My content has reached places in the world that I could only hope to visit some day! My blog posts have been viewed in the following places:

United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, USA, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Finland, Japan, Singapore, France, Thailand, Brazil, Austria, Canada, Germany, Australia, Portugal, Italy, and Peru!

How amazing is that?

I'd love to eventually have posts find their way all over the world - I need to write some more awesome stuff! I would like to thank you all for putting time aside to have a little read of my content!
You're all wonderful! Send me a message next time you stop by to say hello.
I hope you've enjoyed reading my writing journey so far, and hope you come back again in future!

I'd like to think viewers have enjoyed reading all about the process of writing my books, making poetry, and noting and sharing ideas - as well as seeing my progress as a writer! Thank you so much!

Here's to writing content that interest people - and not lowering standards to making click bait!

So many exclamation marks..

Happy World Book Day!

It's World Book Day! The best day of the year!

I'd just like to suggest that today should be spent reading with little ones, taking a trip to the library, buying more books and visiting independent bookshops - I know it's super snowy and cold today, but that won't stand in the way of little readers!

I have had a bit of bookcase envy today seeing so many people posting creative ways to store and display their wonderful books, and I love all the photos of people dressing up as their favourite book characters! Share your outfits if you dressed up on our Charlie Facebook page: HERE.
You'll also find me dressed like Charlie!

Find the Charlie Cheese Books here: 'Don't Eat Charlie Cheese' and 'Charlie Cheese Travels The World'.
Happy reading!

It's World Book Day On Thursday!

Every year I dress up for World Book Day (It's what you do when you work with children, I don't go out shopping in fancy dress). It's on Thursday!

I like dressing up and World Book Day is when I nail it.
I've dressed up as The Fat Controller from Thomas the Tank Engine, Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo, Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Inspector Gadget and Dr Seuss' Cat In The Hat. I've added two photos for you to have a laugh at.

This year, I'll attempt to dress as Charlie Cheese... I'll enjoy sporting a glorious moustache!

On Thursday, make sure your littlies are going to independent book stores, visiting a library, dressing up as their favourite character or buying some new books!

Don't forget the indie authors!

Charlie Cheese Books - Valentine's Day

Charlie and Mouse are excited for Valentine's day next week!

You can read about how Charlie and Mouse first met in 'Don't Eat Charlie Cheese'.

Mouse needed someone to protect him from a mean cat who lived outside his house, luckily Charlie came to his rescue and they've been together ever since!

We have Charlie Cheese Valentine's cards HERE. So you can send love to your friends and family in the cheesiest way!

Literary Festival - Update

Well the deadline as past and the winners have been informed, unfortuately this time Charlie wasn't successful.
No bother, though! You've got to put yourself forward every once in a while and if it doesn't work out, at least you tried.

I'll keep an eye out in future for any writing competitions that will suit the Charlie Cheese Books.
On to the next one!

School Visit - Photo!

This morning I received a photo of Tommings and I at our school visit earlier this month!

The photo is from the first class of Year 3 we visited, during a question and answer session about how I get ideas for my Charlie Cheese Books stories, how we got interested in writing and illustrating, and then brainstorming ideas for new books with the children.
- I'm mid sentence in the photo so excuse my face!

Thank you so much to Mrs Goodlad and the Year 3 staff for inviting us into their classes, and thank you to the children for making us feel welcome in their school!