Highs and lows of my November 

How quickly time flies. Here we are, just four weeks from Christmas, and it’s time to get the decorations out, write and post the Christmas cards, and decide what and how you want to spend the time. But this blog post isn’t about my plans, but how I’ve got through the four weeks of November, and whether I’m on the road to becoming a best-selling author. That last part is a given: there’s no way I’ll hit those heady heights, but I will keep trying. 

I had the misfortune to be scammed (Catfished?) by a crooked publicist. It was very skilfully done over several weeks, leading me to think I was being helped along the way to achieving those dreams most authors have. It was quite by chance that I cottoned on and managed to extricate myself from their clutches. I use the plural here because I believe it was not the work of one person. The result of being caught is that you feel violated, and it brings home the fact that these people are very good at what they do. I think I can promise myself that it won’t happen again.

 

The highlight of the month was the publication of the sequel to my WW2 novel, Shadow Over Paris. The title of the sequel is Shadow Over Paris — Beyond Midnight. I published the book on the 12^th, one year and a day after the Shadow Over Paris. I have just posted a campaign on Facebook, so it’s early days to say whether the sequel will be as successful as the first. So far, I’ve sold sixteen copies and notched up just over 4000 page reads, so at least readers are catching on. Shadow Over Paris sold 1200 copies and notched up 800,000 page reads, so it looks like the sequel has got some catching up to do.

 

Although I said that was the highlight of the month, there was another, and that was Amazon (KDP) getting in touch with me to say I had been successful in the draw for a book promotion, and they will be promoting Shadow Over Paris during the month of December. The price will be $1.99 in Canada and the United States. Amazon will run the promotion, and it won’t cost me a penny. 

When I check how well my books are doing, KDP provides all the information very clearly and easily accessible. It gives me the opportunity to see a snapshot of everything. One thing that surprised me when looking at November’s sales figures, the third highest country for the book was India. I never would have expected that. The wise gurus will tell me to advertise more, specifically in India, to capitalise on that market. It would make sense, but it would probably cost me more in advertising than I would earn through sales. I still have to concentrate on the UK and the United States, though. But it has crossed my mind to push my Emma Carney Romances. It’s a huge market, but one in which it would be unlikely for me to make much of an impact.

 I have no plans to write anymore; I think I’ve reached the end of the road in that respect. I know you can say, “Never say never”, but I just cannot see any way in which I would be inspired. It occurred to me that those readers who wanted me to write a sequel would want me to write a third book, so I would have a Trilogy of WW2 stories. Well, the truth is; I already have a trilogy — Shadow of the Wolf is set in 1943, so that makes a trilogy, although not in the proper sense, I have to admit. 

So, what now for Michael Parker? Next weekend I will be in Prague to help my grandson, Adam, celebrate his 40^th birthday. He doesn’t live there, but that’s where the family is going for the birthday bash, and they are coming from England, Scotland, Canada, the USA, and Australia. Should be fun. Then Christmas to look forward to. I hope all you who read this blog post will have a happy, enjoyable Christmas, with much to look forward to in the New Year. I plan to. 

Wish me luck!

 On a Wing and a Prayer

 

Writing a monthly blog post isn’t something I look forward to each month because it is probably the least productive of anything I do that’s connected with the written word. If I had thousands of ardent fans who hung on my every word, it would be different, but the truth is, it’s only family and friends, maybe some neighbours, who actually read my blog. But it is what it is, so I press on and try to deliver something meaningful and interesting.

 

Looking back through my diary, there are the usual suspects: walking the dog, hoovering, washing, making the bed etc. Going to church, attending an Alpha Course, which is something for new and non-Christians, really, but something I thought I needed to help me get to know a few more people. I did meet someone, not on the course, but in a roundabout way, because of it. She was someone Pat and I knew from our earlier years here on Mill Farm. She came round for tea, and we were able to chat about the ups and downs we’d been through.  After listening to her, I told her she had a story to tell (a good one), but she was reluctant to consider it.

 

Which brings me, conveniently, to the written word. I completed the sequel to my WW2 story, Shadow Over Paris, and sent the manuscript to my son, John, after going through it myself. John did a great job, almost like a professional, and sent back his observations and complaints. I dealt with them and posted it on Amazon for a Proof Copy. This came, which I went through with a red pen. Once I was satisfied (will I ever be?), I ordered a book jacket from Nat at the Booktypsetters.com. I posted the final edit and am now waiting for another Proof Copy, which I expect to receive in a few days. The title is Shadow Over Paris – Beyond Midnight.

 

Writing the sequel was not something I can honestly say I enjoyed doing. And that bothered me because I felt I wouldn’t be able to tell the story and achieve the success I had with the first book. Time will tell of course; all it needs is for me to spend money on promotion and marketing (more of that later).

 

I did make an effort to get myself known on TikTok. I posted a few videos of me at the piano, playing a tune and talking about my book, hoping that the video would go viral and I would sell thousands of books. I’m still waiting…

 

So, what about Promotion and Marketing? Well, I can tell you that a good P&M expert, one who isn’t out to scam or con you, would set you back about $4000 (£3500) for their services (no, they don’t come cheap). I promoted my book, first on Amazon Ads, and sold about six or seven books. Then I tried Facebook. Overall cost to me? For six months, I lost roughly £20 a week (not a fortune). I spent $2500 on FB and earned $2000 in royalties. I sold just over 1000 books (Shadow Over Paris) and had over 700,000 page reads. For me that was a success. I stopped advertising because the ad was running out of steam. But I hadn’t given up, which is where Lila Rose comes in. No, she isn’t a character in my next novel; Lila is a book publicist, and boy, have we tussled over the last six weeks.

 

Lila found me in the usual way and contacted me. I immediately told her no thanks and that was it as far as I was concerned. But she persisted and always answered the questions I put to her. I did some research and even spoke to three New York Times best-selling authors with whom Lila had worked. Eventually, I agreed to part with my money, but in dribs and drabs. I’m still with Lila and may end up with egg on my face, but if Lila is all she claims to be, I could be looking at a profitable association with a professional marketing expert. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope my investment proves worthwhile.

 

Of course, there is another way if your are Reece Witherspoon. She wanted to write a thriller, so she thought, why not give Harlan Coben a ring? So she did. And she had interviews alongside Harlan Coben on BBC News, Radio 2, Virgin radio, and, no doubt, half of America. Now she is a New York Times best-selling author. So that’s how you do it — ring Harlan Coben. I think I’ll follow Reece Witherspoon’s advice and kick Lila into touch. 

 

Wish me luck!                                                                     Michael Parker

 

 

 The Intrepid Traveller (my July blog post) 

I usually write my monthly blog post early in the month, but on July 1st, I will be travelling to Atlanta in Georgia, USA. I’m going over to stay with my Grandson, Sam, and his wife, Taryn, to help celebrate their son, Elliott’s, first birthday on July 5th. Sam’s brother, Jamie, will be flying down from Vancouver with his girlfriend, Lexi, and Sam’s Mum and Dad will be over from Australia. Taryn’s family will be coming down from Michigan, so it will be quite a gathering, and I’m looking forward to it very much. I’m flying Virgin Atlantic Upper Class — something else to look forward to. 

This won’t be the first time I’ve been to the States. I’ve been a few times, but my first visit was as an eighteen-year-old in 1958. I was in the Merchant Navy working as a waiter with P&O. We did a world cruise, which incorporated a Pacific cruise before sailing through the Panama Canal for home. As a consequence of that, I got to visit Hawaii twice (not an American State at the time), Vancouver twice, plus a short stop and a five-day layover in San Fransico. There were lots of highlights, of course, and I’ll never forget being driven along a Freeway in a pink Cadillac thinking what a blast it was; here in the land of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley (he had a pink Cadillac), Buddy Holly and the Everley Brothers — the list goes on. I was a bit of a dreamer then (still am, I think). 

My highlights for this trip that I know of in advance include a visit to a Writers’ group, a fireworks display to celebrate July 4th, Elliott’s christening on the morning of his birthday, and, of course, the birthday party. I’m also scheduled to go to a baseball game, something I asked my grandson to arrange. Any game will do, I said, so long as it’s not English football. Anything after all that will be a bonus. Oh, and I’ve been promised a Hummingbird T-shirt. That’s the name of the Running Club my Grandson, Jamie, set up in Vancouver along with a couple of his mates. 

So what about my world of books? Well, my current WW2 story, Shadow Over Paris, is doing very well. It sells every day and is holding it’s own in the top 20 of Historical French fiction, so I’m well pleased. But I’m struggling to come up with a worthwhile sequel, which some readers have asked me to do. I’m just past the 40,000-word mark, which means about halfway, but I need to keep the excitement level up if it’s to emulate the success of my current book. But I am picking up sales and page reads on some of my other books, which is always good to see. It means people are noticing me and are getting curious. Being in Kindle Unlimited helps as well, and I have about eight of my books in KU. I may take the plunge and put all my books there.

 Away from all the glitz and glamour of International travel and the world of books, my domestic routines haven’t changed. I’m sure most of you are in the same place as me. The weather has been good, but not for the garden, except the weeds! The grass is brown, but my pots and hanging baskets are surviving. Life goes on despite the best practices of the international warmongers and the mendacious politicians who think we’re all senile and don’t have a clue. So, don’t worry about things over which you have no control, take life as it comes, and spread a little of your own sunshine. I hope I’m doing that with my books. Wish me luck!

 

 

 Fun, Family, and Fans

Fun, family and fans

 

How does the song go? ‘Where do I begin?’ Looking back on the month of May, there has been a lot going on in my life one way or another. I can see some significant moments as I look at my diary; always surrounded by the usual domestic chores of course. So I’ll skip those routines and talk about memorable stuff (for me, anyway).

 

VE Day was significant. There was an event on our local green area, I went along, took a chair, and, hopefully, dressed the part. One very interesting woman I met was 99 and worked as a Land Army girl when she was seventeen. I’m afraid I can’t remember her name, but it could have been Alice, or Helen, or… I often see her early mornings when I’m walking Tuppence. As we go by in the car, Alice (for now) waves. So to actually get to speak to her was a real pleasure. I was four years old when the war ended, so had nothing other than vague memories to swap with her.

 

Another really memorable day was my Saturday trip to Goodwoof. No, I haven’t spelled it wrong. Goodwoof is a two-day dog event at Goodwood. I met my son, Terry, with his wife, Claire, and one of their sons, Freddie. They had my Great-grandson, Orin, with them, who is eight years old. It was fortunate for me because they took control of Tuppence. I must say the event was brilliant. I imagine I would have enjoyed it even if I’d been on my own. I won’t go into details, but suffice to say it was worth going. If my boy wants to do the same next year, I’ll join him.

 

I had a neighbour, Pam, who is in her nineties, come over for a cup of tea and a chat. Pam is into motoring and has been an enthusiast for a good many years. It’s surprising what you learn about people when they begin to reveal something of their past. Pam loves rallies and that kind of thing, and she told me of an amazing, sponsored London to Moscow trip she did many years ago. Fascinating.

 

Another event was the monthly Arun Scribes book club meeting in Littlehampton. It isn’t always about books; often you end up talking to someone, like Pam, who has a really interesting story that has nothing to do with books. One chap I got talking to (Stanley) was in the Army and did a tour in Belize many years ago. As it happens, our son, Terry, was a Harrier pilot, and did an eighteen-month tour there. Pat and I spent a couple of weeks with him and his family in Belize; a place we would never have dreamed of visiting. So, me and Stanley had a great deal to talk about.

 

Another good day for me was when our Granddaughter, Gemma, came over with her husband, Max, and their two boys, Orin and Liri. Orin is eight, Liri is 15 months. Gemma cooked lunch for us while Max and I kept an eye on the boys. Liri liked putting his hand in Tuppence’s water bowl for some reason and kept throwing Postman Pat in there for a swim. But when I walked into the kitchen and found the dog bowl upside down, I had to get the mop out and put the bowl away. But for all the dramas and the fascination (for me) of watching Gemma and Max dealing with them, it was a pure joy to have them here. I think it might have worn Tuppence out, though. Lovely day.

 

But this blog wouldn’t be worth posting without a mention of my world of books. I uploaded my family saga, Past Imperfect, after getting the rights back from the American publisher. I had to pay for a new jacket, but it’s out there and, hopefully, it might sell. I am also preparing the love element of that saga as a pure Romance called Max and Emma. It will be published under the pseudonym (Emma Carney) I use for my Romance novels. It will be a novella, which I plan to sell at £0.99. It will mean I have five Emma Carney titles out there. But my favourite talking point (if anyone asks) is about the progress of my latest work, Shadow Over Paris. At my level, which is loosely described as a ‘bottom feeder’, the book is selling really well. But along with that are the ‘page reads’. Last month I had 99,000 page reads. It puts a big smile on my face. I am now working on a sequel to the book, which I find very difficult because I have never written a sequel before. So, that’s it so far. Four weeks from today, I’ll be in America with my family celebrating the first birthday of our fifth Great-grandson, Elliott. Wish me luck!

 

On The Up and Up.

The month of April started with a fraud alert from my bank and their decision to block my card, which meant a conversation with security; fortunately, not a robot, nor someone from a call centre halfway around the world. Once I’d established my bona fide and convinced the woman I needed my bank card unblocked, she ‘graciously’ acceded to my request. I promise you I remained calm (ish). Bring back the old days, please. 

Going through my diary is like walking along the beach with Tuppence, scrabbling around the garden on my knees doing battle with the weeds, scarifying the front lawn, and using modern miracles in cardboard boxes, promising me a lawn that would make the final in a Kew Gardens competition. But it’s all necessary, back-breaking work at times, and the only plus is that I get to speak to people who walk by and say hello. 

But it was not all work and no play for this lad; I spent a few days away (Tuppence came too). I had a long weekend in Norfolk, staying with my eldest son, Vincent, and his wife, Jackie. They like walking! So, we did a river walk in Norwich (probably my favourite city), watched a Peregrine Falcon and its mate high up on a nesting box on the spire of the cathedral — a good crowd puller too, and enjoyed a coffee sitting in the sunshine. We also managed Blickling Hall and Sheringham. I left Norfolk for Lincolnshire to visit my friend, Pauline, but popped in to see my big brother, Jim. He thinks I’m raving mad because I’m going to America in July to see our No. 5 great-grandson, Elliott (1st birthday). Jim can be a grumpy sod at times, but we’ve had a lot of laughs over the years. 

I started filling out a self-assessment tax return, but HMRC informed me I wouldn’t be able to complete it because they didn’t have all the necessary information to hand. I think they meant they were waiting for the Chancellor to make up her mind about how much more she wanted from us in taxes. 

I happen to be a lousy cook, so I thought rather than rely on ready meals all the time, I really should start learning. So, I downloaded the Mary Berry recipe for Lasagne, went to Tesco and bought all the ingredients, and then set about becoming another Mary Berry in the kitchen. No, it wasn’t a spectacular failure, which my home-cooked meals usually are. I made enough for six dinners and have since eaten them all. Marks out of ten? Five maybe, but I will go again. 

I went along to the Arun Scribes book club meeting in Littlehampton for their monthly mid-week get-together and enjoyed chatting to three people about books (what else?), always bearing in mind not to assume those people aren’t as advanced in their writing career as yours truly. It can be an eye opening experience as people reveal much about their lives and their writing, and shows what an eclectic bunch writers can be. 

I took a copy of my latest book, Shadow Over Paris, for them all to see, which is currently selling well. This brings me nicely on to the “problem” it has created for me. I think we’ve all heard the saying, “Be careful what you wish for”. Because the book has been well received, I’ve been asked if there is to be a sequel. The story is set in Paris in 1940, which means there’s a whole lot more that follows. But the problem is: I don’t write sequels. I never have. Sure, I’ve used the same character (Marcus Blake) in several books, but they have all been ‘Stand-alone’, not sequels. I published the book last November and it sold a few copies; marginally more than my usual average. I advertised it using Amazon Ads but saw no real progress. Then I advertised it on Facebook on the 22nd of March in UK and it literally took off. The ad finished after four weeks, so I advertised it in America, where it has exceeded the figures I achieved in UK. In April alone I sold 112 copies and notched up 80000 page reads. Those numbers may not be significant to some of you, but believe me, at my level, they are stratospheric. And I’m making a profit; not a lot, but it’s gratifying to know my efforts are paying off. For now! 

Which brings me to the sequel. How, after spending 15 months on SoP, and pouring all my ideas and effort into it, how can I possibly come up with a story that is different, but still the same? I have started on something, the working title is Beyond Midnight, and so far I’ve managed 9000 words. At my current rate it will take two years to complete, so I need to knuckle down and put words on paper. But I can’t do that without research, and that takes time. I do have some ideas knocking about, but I’ve never been a plotter; I’m what’s known as a ‘Pantser’. Yes, writing by the seat of my pants. But it’s what I do, so I will write and hope I can come up with something that is as good as SoP. Or even better. 

And just diverting for a while, I received a contact through my website from a woman in America who said how much she’d enjoyed my Emma Carney Romance, Dare to Dream. 

So there you have it: my grit, my graft and my gratitude for having the talent God gave me to put words on paper and bring a smile to most of my readers’ faces. In May, I’ll be looking forward to my trip to America and trying to add more compelling stuff to my sequel. Wish me luck.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Michael

 

 

 Blog post for April 1^st.            A 50/50 month 

As a Christian, I have faith that God will keep an eye on me when the going gets tough. But I think He took some time off at the beginning of the month and left me to flounder as I grappled with technology and near cardiac arrest (I’m joking about that). My Facebook account got hacked and my account was closed down after £400 had been paid out in error. It would be an understatement to say I was pee’d off and tearing my hair out — not that I have much. 

I had to call my bank and ask them to lift the block I’d put on Facebook. Simple request, eh? Have you ever had to deal with a call centre? I had to explain to the lady that I had no idea what she was saying because of her accent. Eventually, she passed me on to a chap who also had the same accent. It took almost thirty minutes to resolve the problem. It meant I could now open another FB account and post another Ad campaign. So, heart rate back to normal, and a smile on my face.

Until I decided it was time to change my Tesco Mobile phone. 

I went to the Tesco shop in Shripney and ordered a new phone with a contract extension. No problem — my phone would be delivered the following day. I took it in two days later for the changeover. The guy made a start and then told me it would take two and a half hours for the transfer to complete, which meant I had to stay within Wi-fi range of the shop. To say I wasn’t pleased would be another understatement. Why didn’t he tell me this before he started? 

By now, my birthday month was on a downward spiral. I ordered a slow cooker, thinking it might improve my cooking skills. I bought a small one (£15) and popped down to the new butcher in Pagham Parade for some lamb. I Googled the why’s and how’s for lamb stew and a slow cooker and set myself to become another Gordon Ramsey. Suffice to say I shouldn’t have bothered; the whole thing was a failure, and the cooker has ended up in what I call my Room 101. 

And if you think my month could not have gotten any worse, I picked up a speeding ticket in Chalcraft Lane where I always obey the speed limit (so I thought). Cost me £100. But there was light at the end of the tunnel, and God was stirring. It was my birthday on the 18^th (84), and over that weekend, I had visits from two of my boys, my grandson, Adam, and his partner, Agata, and plenty of cards and cake at my Church House Group meeting. 

So at last God was beginning to smile on me and giving me the nod of approval for my next foray into the world of technology and advertising. I decided to create a campaign for my WW2 story, Shadow Over Paris. What happened next is beyond belief. My book started selling and gathering Kindle page reads at, for me, a phenomenal rate. It reached number 10 in the top 20 of Historical French fiction, even leapfrogging Kate Mosse! Last night, the end of the month, it had notched up 42 orders and over 11000 page reads. And the trouble is: I don’t know what I’ve done to make this happen — my ads usually notch up a few sales, but nothing on this scale. The campaign is due to run until April 21^st, so I’m hoping it will stay strong until then when I’ll create another campaign. 

Another project I started on was to edit my short novel, Max and Emma. It’s the pure love story from my family saga, Past Imperfect, I got the rights back for that book from my American publisher, which I can republish after April 21^st. But I published Max and Emma and immediately unpublished it a couple of years ago so I had the paperback in my hand. Now I’m planning to put it out as a stand-alone Romance with a ‘spoiler alert’ inside to explain that it has been taken from the full-length novel. 

Meanwhile, I have two manuscripts with two separate publishers who will almost certainly turn me down. This is simply because of my age and the fact that my ‘career’ is behind me rather than ahead of me. It happens all the time, so I know what to expect. The two books have already been published, so I will have lost nothing. 

And despite all that has gone before me this month, I still had to walk the dog, do the washing and ironing, gardening, church, visit my Granddaughter, Gemma and her family in Brighton, go to a book club meeting in Littlehampton and grab 15 minutes in the armchair each afternoon until Tuppence wakes me up to remind me it’s time to share an apple (yes, she does, the little sod). But I mustn’t grumble; life’s okay, the sun is shining, and, thank God, we are not living in an earthquake zone. I’ll be back next month with more tales of… Whatever. Wish me luck!

                                                                                                                               Michael.

 

 

 A spanner in the works.

 

Writing a monthly blog shouldn’t be too difficult, and it’s not as if there was a deadline to meet other than a self-imposed one. My intentions were honest and sincere at the beginning of the year, but somehow, February came along and screwed up all those good intentions. I decided to revisit Facebook ads, something I hadn’t done for several months, with the intention of pushing my WW2 story, Shadow Over Paris, and capitalising on the strength of Facebook advertising. But the trouble came after I’d set up a short campaign — my account got hacked and I ended up losing it. Facebook closed it down because of a ‘Violation’ of their terms. Long story short: I had to block FB from taking money from my account until I could resolve the problem. It proved beyond impossible to do that; the recovery codes FB sent me to recover my account proved to be invalid. I Googled the question only to learn this was a common problem. I have since started a new account using a different email address but am now in the throes of rebuilding my ‘Friends’ list. 

My book sales were bouncing along at about one or two a day, and my Kindle page reads were building nicely, reaching almost 4000 during the month. I then got interested in a promotional advert for ‘Click-testing’, which, if it worked, could result in phenomenal book sales each month. The challenge was to accept that it would not be cheap — $30-$40 a day, and what promised to be a lot of work. I watched the promotional video; it was 30 minutes long and was encouraged by what and who I saw: people I’d met and others I was aware of. I was psyching myself up to bite the bullet when the Facebook fiasco started. Consequently, because the Click-testing strategy relies on FB ads, I had to give the idea up. However, I’m seriously considering diving into Click-testing but probably not until sometime into next month. 

I went to a book club meeting in Littlehampton where I met an incredibly talented and determined woman by the name of Sarah Jouault. Sarah has been competing in Ironman championships and triathlon events for twenty years. She is seventy and competed in the World Ironman Championship in New Zealand last year. Coincidentally, our Grandson, Jamie, who lives in Canada, competed in the same event. That made an immediate connection between me and Sarah. You can learn more about this extraordinary woman on her website https://jouault.uk. 

At the moment I am not writing. It’s an unusual situation for me, and one I don’t enjoy; I need to be writing. But I just can’t write anything without some kind of inspiration. I did think I would be writing a follow-up to my WW2 story, Shadow Over Paris, and even bought a couple of books to continue with the research, but unfortunately, I’ve lost the urge to write. I hope it won’t last long although I do have a project on the go.

Over three years ago my book, Past Imperfect was published by the Wild Rose Press in America. It was originally published by Robert Hale of London several years ago. The story is a family saga stretching over forty years with a modern love story paralleling the saga and finally merging in the end. I produced a paperback of the love story (not for publication) because I thought it would make a good novella. I asked WRP for the rights back, which they granted, and I will be able to publish the love story after April 21^st. Perhaps once that is out there, I might find the inspiration to write again. 

I am still advertising, but on Amazon, and although I am selling the occasional book, my page reads are building. So far this month (17 days), they have reached just over 4000. With luck, they could hit 5K by the end of the month. It’s my birthday tomorrow (I’ll be 84), so more book sales and page reads would put a beaming smile on my face. Wish me luck!