#ThrowBOOK Intro.

I'm not at all encouraging people to throw literature.
Do not be rough with the books.

I am creating a throwback feature to go back to the books I have published and discuss my writing process - my favourite artwork from the book - and where to buy it, etc.
I've chosen to post '#Throwbooks', as success is not something that is instant, it can happen years later, for example, I'd created books years ago, but they are coming onto people's radars now. I don't know why the sudden surge of popularity, but I'm definitely pleased it is happening. It's not a race.

The posts will be spread out to ensure I'm not overwhelming my blog readers with self promotion. This is merely an introduction to what I will be writing about in the near future - it'll also help readers find books I haven't managed to promote as much as I'd like to.

I'm looking forward to going through my old books and picking and choosing my favourite parts. It is also a chance to see my writing strengths and what I need to work on for the books I'll be writing in the future.

So, keep your eyes peeled on the blog for '#ThrowBOOK'!

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.

Is There Any Point In Reading To Your Newborn?

Newborns are only able to see in high contrast for a while, they don't know what's going on around them, and their eye muscles are not strong enough to focus yet. So is there any point of introducing literature to them? Because in reality, the first few weeks they only feed, toilet and sleep...

My daughter was three days old when she had her first story time. The book was a contrast picture book and 8 pages long. She's too young to even know what a book is, nevermind what the storyline was, but she was happy to sit with her father and watch him turn the pages as he read aloud. She was comfortable, she was interested, she was content.
She has since had several story times, with board books, paperbacks and even the newspaper. It doesn't matter what you read to them, as long as you're reading aloud and showing them where the story is coming from.

The benefits of reading to little ones consist of: allowing them to learn your voice, exposing them to new vocabulary, bonding over a relaxing activity, teaching them that books are an enjoyable experience, and showing them worlds they don't have around them. Children can sense the excitement in your voice as you read - especially if you put on funny voices for dialogue.

These days reading aloud is something that is being actively promoted - if children see grown ups doing it, they'll think it's just what we do - and therefore they will not feel put out when having to speak or read to an audience themselves. It's a skill even adults often struggle with.

Read aloud and proud!

You're their favourite person in the world and you're sparking an interest in reading. Reading with your littlie is a safe, comfortable activity, one that newborns can get involved with - because let's face it, they can't do much else and reading is a skill they'll have to tackle when they're older.
I've worked with young children, and they love story time. All they have to do is sit and listen, and they're imagination does the hard work. If it's escapism for adults, it's the same for little ones.

So yes, reading to a newborn is a must!

Are Beta Readers Important?

I only recently started using beta readers - I have also had people read the book once released for some feedback and for them to do a possible review for me on Amazon. Beta readers get their hands on your work before it goes too far, they give their honest opinion on your writing, and they help with any plot holes, grammar issues or tell you if the story is interesting or not.

So, are beta readers important?
.. They're more like ALPHA READERS, am I right? - The response I've had from people interested in my writing projects before they are available for the world to see, is incredible. It's very scary letting someone see your work before you even feel it's nearly finished - but it is productive, especially since beta readers will be critical of your work and not just sugar coat things - they want you to have good quality work out there.

I will be contacting more beta readers in the future when I finally finish my novel - I will hopefully do this for my children's books too - obviously limiting how many you need, as if you let anyone read your work, you won't get any sold. I will also be continuing to send out a PDF copy of my books to select people in order to gain more reviews online. Get yourself some betas!

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!

4am Creative Writing

Being woken up at 4am isn't always fun. Who are we kidding, it's never fun being woken up, no matter what time it is!

Unfortunately, this is quite frequent these days, so I put my time to good use. I have been spending the early hours of the morning writing! Poetry, story ideas, and for the first time in a while - a complete children's story. I managed to write a full rhyming story in the hour and a half I was rudely awoken. When I woke up at a reasonable hour, I sent off the note to my beta reader ( ... my poor unsuspecting husband!) and had some good feedback.

No typos, no plotholes, no confusion.
How on earth did I do that when my brain doesn't want to work?

The story is called, 'Do Your Homework, Sally Dean!', I'm hoping to sit on it for a until the end of the year, or the beginning of next year, then release it - but I know for a fact I'm going to be overly excited and try to publish it as soon as I have the finances! (If you see me promoting a book with that title in a few months, call me out!)
I am making sure I put a pin in all future ideas and notes - they will either become future writing projects, or something to reflect on and wonder how I got anything at all done on so little sleep.

Contacting Big Bookstores

I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert at this, as I've only done it once.. Yesterday..

A NYC bookstore had liked a photo of mine on Instagram, and me being me, pushed my luck by messaging them something along the lines of 'if you liked that picture, maybe you'll like stocking my new book'. Ridiculous, but I expected an emoji response or little a back and forth - but no - they sent me to a link of how to get my work in their stores?!

I was baffled. This is an amazing opportunity, which was unexpected. In less than five minutes, I had followed their instructions and sent The Macroodelzig on it's merry way to New York. Sometimes light hearted actions can lead to a big deal. I'm crossing my fingers, but I understand it's a tricky business to break - so my hopes are not too high!

I don't think that I would contact a big bookstore off my own back, I'd feel far too vulnerable and inadequate, but the presence of social media made me put myself forward - although it was in a jokey way, they helped me. I would definitely encourage contacting bookshops if you feel confident enough, or if like me, you'd prefer to test the water, then do it through social media - the people running them are polite and helpful, so you can't go wrong.

Bite the bullet! Contact away - you never know how they'll respond, but they'll definitely be helpful.

The Macroodelzig - Where To Find One!

The Macroodelzig has been out for a while now, which means the book is available in more stores! Hooray!
Along with the fabulous online feedback, I've spoken with many people who really enjoyed the story, artwork and the message of the book. I'm so happy with the response I've had, and I am grateful that people are willing to set time aside to read my book and write up a little review. Please leave a review if you can, it really helps indie authors out.
The book is now out in the world, and you can grab a copy from all corners of the world. Here's a list of online websites and bookstores that stock the book:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Booktopia

Bokus

Foyles

If you spot a copy of the book in the wild, don't be shy, let me know so I can update this post!
Happy book hunting!

Finding Feedback - The Struggle

It's fairly difficult to source your own book bloggers for feedback, and being an indie only makes it worse. Here's how I went about finding people willing.

I had to contact people on several different social media sites to find people willing to fit my work in to their busy To Be Read list.
You can't expect people to drop what they're doing to deal with you.
The people I spoke to were writers, bloggers, book reviewers, parents and carers, and people who enjoy children's literature, and fortunately, I managed to get some feedback.

Some of the feedback I received were posted on the social media that I had contacted them on, so I had featured on their Instagram stories, was retweeted on Twitter, and the cover of my book reposted on Tumblr. Not all feedback comes to Amazon - that's why you have to share their feedback on your own, as others may not see it. It's always good to request that they share their comments on Amazon, if they can, bonus, if they can't, it doesn't matter, they've spent time giving your work feedback, so you should take the time thanking them, sharing their words, and returning the favour if possible.

Don't go into thinking that people owe you anything. Yes, you have a new book. Yes, it's super exciting. Yes, the people you contact do this for a living. It doesn't mean they read your genre, or they prefer books that aren't indie, or they just don't have time - some people make a living from reviews, and therefore would expect a payment for their time. If you cannot pay them - don't ask them. I don't pay for reviews, as I feel you'd want more bang for your buck, and expect a glowing review as your hard earned money went towards it - which may not be completely honest or reflective of your work.

Top tip: Do not expect the review to be perfect and sparkly, they see your work in a different light and will point out the flaws, imperfections, and will inform you of their opinion - it's honest work, and it's better to hear the truth from someone who has built a career on book reviews, than to be told it's amazing and that feedback being useless to you.

My Book Aims

I genuinely didn't expect to have more books than Don't Eat Charlie Cheese.
I was 22 years old when I crafted the Charlie Cheese character, I was working in a pre-school, didn't know exactly what I wanted to do with my life, but I thrived making up rhymes and funny characters with the children and my co-worker (now best friend!). On my break, I used to make notes on scraps of paper or tissues I'd find in my pockets. It was exciting and sparked my interest in writing.

I would never think that 5 years later I'd have two more Charlie Cheese books, a memoirs comedy book, a poetry book and a new children's book.

It's such a wild achievement, and it's incredible to see my hard work being enjoyed by others. I am delighted I found such enjoyment with making stories, and decided that this is the future I'd see myself being happy having.
I believe I've done incredibly well in regards to getting my writing career off to a running start, although I hate feeling like I'm boasting or showing off, I do feel proud about this. I'd like to set myself new aims when it comes to books - rather than writing challenges.

My book aims are:

- Release 10 books by the time I'm 30. (Borderline impossible, but let's give it a go!)
AND
- Finish my novel. I don't have a deadline for this, but I'll be happy when it's complete.

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!

How To Support Indies - FOR FREE!

Not a bad deal, is it?
Imagine having lots of means of supporting your friend's dream, without having to spend a penny!
Well, you can - and you should!

What you can do to help indie authors:
Review the books on Amazon / Like their Facebook page / Share news posts / Share images of their work / Like their posts / Invite your friends to their social media pages / Ask for the books to be stocked at your local library / Ask your local bookstores to stock the books / Talk about their work on your own social media / Tell your other friends about them.

What you can do to help indie illustrators:
Like their social media pages / Like the artwork that they post / Share and comment on images they share / Invite your friends to their social media pages / Talk about their work to your other friends / Recommend them to people looking for artists / Share and credit their work on your own social media platforms / Create fan art and tag the original artist / Attend exhibitions or shows they may put on.

All. For. Free!

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!

My First Writing Milestones

Being an indie writer means that you're starting from scratch, often with no financial backing at all, and you are more of a niche than mainstream.
You're winging it, basically.
There has been some milestones for me that don't seem like a big deal to others, but meant the world to me. Having no money to throw at your hard work is heartbreaking - but that doesn't mean you're not moving in the right direction.

I think the first milestone for me, was completing my first short story - Don't Eat Charlie Cheese.
I was elated when the story was done and dusted, I had been working on it whilst being full time employed in a pre-school, so I had limited time to figure out where the story was going.
But that was only the start, from there, I managed to save money to have the book illustrated by a unique artist TOMMINGS. When he sent me the first illustrations to look at, I could not cope. The character was better than I'd ever have dreamed of - I'd seen nothing like it in my life!
Charlie was alive!
I then got the first print of the book in the post - and I smiled all day and told everyone in the world (and their grandmother) that I had written a book, a real life, hold it in your hands, give it a flick through book!
Don't Eat Charlie Cheese was then discovered on Amazon! I think I cried at this point..
And from there I continued to write!

Everyone has different milestones in regards to achievements. Don't compare yourself to other writers, ever.
You did a thing - be proud!
The good thing about milestones is, they don't stop. There's loads of accomplishments you can gain - I get excited when this blog gets views! I'll be excited if my books ever win a prize, you never know, working hard pays off - even if it's a small win!

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!

A Novel - Making A Start

I've been toying with the idea of writing a novel for a while now, and today I made a start!

I have written up a basic idea of the story line, and made a small attempt to structure it.
It's so early in the creative writing process, but that's the good thing about a novel - no deadline, no rush - I have a long term project that I can work on comfortably and have as much time as I need to chop and change, until I deem it perfect.

There can be months of research, learning and pulling my hair out - and I cannot be more excited!
I am used to putting a pin in a work-in-progress for children's book ideas or short stories, but a novel feels much more serious - so it will hopefully be more rewarding, I'll soon find out!

It will be a writing challenge that will pull me in and out of my comfort zone, and if I still have this blog going when the novel's finished, I'll be sure to update!

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

Poetry Plug

As you may know, I often dabble in poetry. It's either political or angry. There does not seem to be an inbetween. I haven't wrote anything lately, but I'll be working on it a lot more this year!

Last year I created a little book for my poems - Mind The Gap - and I used my friend Joanna's artwork for the cover. (Support indie, like I always say!)

I rarely plug the book as I'm one of those people who look/read at their work over and over and start to hate it - and this happens more often with my poetry, as I seem to get imposter syndrome when it comes to this kind of creative writing.

Anyway, if you are interested in the book, Mind The Gap is only available by link >> HERE <<

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

THROWBACK - Goodreads : You're An Author

It seems like forever and a half ago that I received an email welcoming me into the Goodreads Author society.
I had it in writing. I am an author. This email said so!

This was the best news imaginable to someone who'd been trying to make it as an author, especially since self promotion without the finances to back it, is awfully tricky.
The website is brilliant for reviewing books, making friends, and suggesting lesser known, indie books to others - and a book boost on there does not fall on deaf ears.

I am hoping to spend a little time in the near future tweaking my profile on there, getting as many book suggestions as possible, and of course, making pals!

If you have an account feel free to find me: HERE!
Let's be book buddies!