THE HEALING PATHS OF FIFE by Diana Jackson ~ Revised and Updated

It was also time, following the pandemic, to revise and update the popular The Healing Paths of Fife by author Diana Jackson. Since it was a fantasy memoir, not only has Diana’s life moved on somewhat, having lived permanently in Fife now for eight years, but also the towns and villages and their facilities have changed. She would like to mention that Alec and Moira to whom the original book was dedicated, the owners of the Wee Shoppe on Kinghorn Beach, had to retire due to ill health. She is still in touch with them but they are missed by many.

Here’s the new cover:

Diana has raised over £700 in profit from the book for The Kirkcaldy Foodbank, and will continue to do so.

Available at Amazon

and Waterstones

Diana has raised over £700 through the profits of the book for Kirkcaldy Foodbank and so not only would you be reading a good yarn, but you would also be supporting a worthwhile charity.

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Novel Writing Trends ~ Are Themes Ever Unique? ~ Post by author Diana Jackson

All authors are readers. All editors are readers. All publishers are readers. Right?

I’m an avid reader of fiction and in the last couple of years I’ve noticed some unusual trends in the novels.

I started thinking this way several years ago, in fact, with the theme of forgotten libraries and ancient libraries, beginning with the famous The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. The visual idea of the idea of a cemetery of forgotten books, imprints on an authors mind, and several books of the same essence have since followed.

The next repeated theme I noticed was mermaids. An unusual one for adult novels. The first one I read was The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gower. A querky book, but enjoyable nevertheless. More recently The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey.

Much more recently the theme which made me sit up and think was adult literature but a link with fairy tales, for example on The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Coggan. There have been a couple of others I’ve read in the last year or so too.

And finally Trees which play a role in themselves and even ‘talk.’ The Island of the Missing Tree is a brilliant narrative set at the time of the partition in Cypress. Once I had finished the book I thought ‘ Wow! That’s a unique and precious book.’ …But … I am now towards the end of reading Still Life by Sarah Winman, an excellent novel set in Florence and London during and after WW2. It is a powerful novel; perfect for its time and for today too; would have been shocking had it been released last century. But …. there it is again. Trees play a role, both here in London and over in Italy. They speak too; as does the charming parrot but that’s another part of the story entirely. The Lord of the Rings springs to mind too.

In fact, speaking trees are in vogue at the moment in spiritual and mindfulness books, as well as environmental ones. Fascinating subject.

on amazon

Now, there’s a thought. Maybe we’ll have a run on parrots playing and important role in novels in the near future. Who knows?

And so I ask my initial question. Are themes in novels unique? Do publishers spot these trends or are they pure coincidence? What do you think?

Do you have to be a Celebrity to Publish a Memoir?

Is the public hooked on celebrity memoirs?

Yes, is the fast answer. With Prince Harry’s book Spare soon to become to greatest selling memoir of all time, and celebrities like Boris Johnson saying that he is writing his memoir too (like no other!), is there still space in the market for lesser known authors?

Yet again the answer is yes, but let’s unpick why.

Have you overcome a huge obstacle in your life?

This could be health wise, as in The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, whose husband rose above severe health problems and walked, including wild camping, along coastal paths of the south-west of England.

It could be some kind of learning difficulty which you turn around to your advantage, for example Richard Branson who has dyslexia, and writes in his blog about Kate Griggs, who has her own story to tell. See This is Dyslexia, a blog by Richard Branson himself.

You could be rising above one of those traumatic moments in your life ~ bereavement, redundancy, divorce, empty nest syndrome …. Our own author Diana Jackson wrote The Healing Paths of Fife after being made redundant and relocating 400 miles away from home. Diana has raised over £700 for local charities, including The Kirkcaldy Foodbank with this book.

You could be becoming aware of your own sexuality as in Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo.

In the end, if you are thinking of writing your memoir, then question who your target audience might be:

Questions you might ask yourself?

Who would read it?

Who might be inspired by your memories?

Who could learn something from your experiences?

Does it make a gripping or/and enjoyable read?

IMPORTANT POINT: Be careful of libel though, if you are including stories of real people in your life including confessions for example, but that is really another blog post entirely.

How should you write my memoir?

A memoir does not have to be linear to have an impact. It could be a series of stories written at key times in your life. It could be in poetry form, or part thereof. It does, however, need to flow, and have an order which makes sense.

Eventispress has just taken on a new writer who has done just that. It has taken about two years of tweaking to find a format which works, weaving together several otherwise random life stories, but it now works as a whole; so beautiful and moving. Watch this space!

Eventispress Authors are on the road again!

Author Diana Jackson has been out and about this morning in Fife. She describes the event but also passes on some pertinent advice. She writes:

‘I enjoyed a warm reception at the Cupar Probus group this morning. There was an appreciative buzz in the audience as I gave my talk on

‘Early Women Aviators ~ Before and During WW1’

At the end I shared a video of some of the earliest planes of the Shuttleworth Collection, Bedfordshire, to give flavour to my talk and bring to life the daring feats achieved by these women in such fragile planes.

Although I sold a few books a remark made was that folks don’t take so much cash about with them these days, which is certainly something to think about if you are giving talks. Maybe us authors need to look into card readers.

In my less than organised state after lock down I also forgot to take my business cards ~ vital for leaving details for folks to look you up after the talk or get in touch with you.’

Author Diana Jackson

If you would like any Eventispress authors to give a talk locally, then you can contact us: enquiries@eventispress or get in touch with the author directly, which you can do on their websites. Click on the tabs above for the link.

New Cover Release!

Search for the Pearl Inside Yourself

by Diana Jackson

… has a new cover, initially only available from Waterstones and on the Great British Bookshop site.

Soon on Amazon too.

A great little book of encouragement for a young adult, college or school leaver.

Latest Update from Eventispress

All of our recent publications are now available for bookshops to order through Gardners.

Why and When is it Valid to Update Fiction, Memoir and Other Genre

In our last post by author Brian Kerr we looked at specific reasons why it is good to revise non fiction. Here we look at our wider publications:

To improve an earlier novel to re-release to a new audience

Author Diana Jackson was one of the founding writers in Eventispress, taking back the rights of her debut novel Riduna and rereleasing it under the Eventispress umbrella.

As Diana says, “You learn so much, the more you write, and by the time I wanted to rerelease Riduna, I had already completed the manuscript for its sequel Ancasta and had begun to write a third novel. When I read it afresh I knew I could improve it, making the story line crisper and deleting some of the waffle ~ well written waffle maybe, but nevertheless I felt some of it had to go!”

To give a book that extra polish if it was once self-published, but it is now being released under the arm of a small publisher

Author Roderick Hart is rereleasing his novel The Ears of a Cat with us shortly, having self published it a few years ago.

Rod writes, “Since The Ears of a Cat is now to be published by Eventispress, which makes sense because it is in the same series as Interleaved Lives, I felt I needed to work on parts I just wasn’t 100% happy with, before the Eventispress team read it for the final edit and approval. “

To amend chronological details of dates

As Diana Jackson explains,

“When I wrote MURDER, Now and Then to be published in 2014 I was predicting a world in 2019, one hundred years after the first murder took place. Once 2019 came along there were two good reasons to rewrite bits:

1. Some of the chronological happenings were not synchronized with the real world in 2019 and although I had guessed the future pretty well, I’d got some of it wrong too.
2. Also, the book takes you through WW1 and bringing it up to date before rereleasing it in 2018 was too good a centenary to miss.“

To respond to any constructive criticism in reviews

We are grateful for the positive and enthusiastic reviews for our books and we are not advocates of taking negative reviews too seriously. We believe in the quality of our books, but there are times when constructive criticism should be acted upon if possible.

An example could be “I enjoyed the book but found too many names beginning with ‘H’ quite confusing.”

It is a big thing to revise and rerelease a book but if the effort is to be made, then correcting something like this could be really good to ensure optimum pleasure for the reader.

And finally …

If you are doing a new promotion to reach new audiences or releasing the next one in the series and there’s that one thing that niggles you about your book, then we say go for it!

We are flexible enough at Eventispress to work with authors to achieve their goals. That’s partnership for you.

Character, character character ~ Make them believable.

A thought struck us at Eventispress is that we warm to certain elements in stories and firstly that:

‘the characters need to be believable so that readers can identify, empathise with, warm to or be repelled by them.’

Whether the novel is loosely termed crime, historical fiction, dystopian or mystery, all of the novels we release are weighted heavily on genuine characters. You don’t always have to like them, but we promise you that you will feel their pain, their joy, their frustration ~ in fact every human emotion. You may laugh out loud or be in sobs of tears. You may pick up the book and find it hard to put it down, but we hope that some of the characters therein will live with you a while after you leave their make believe world.

What you will not see in our fiction so far:

For crime you will not see too many car chases and for murder you will not have scenes that are so graphic you can’t sleep.

For historical fiction you will not see a real person from the past brought alive in the written word, but imaginary characters set in an authentic period in history. (unless loosely based on a true murder as in MURDER Now and Then)

For mystery it is less the police involvement in the crime and although there are certainly mysteries not revealed until the end, it may not be the reason you are compelled to keep reading. (as some readers have mentioned in their wonderful reviews)

For dystopian you will not read about elves or folks from outer space in an imaginary world, but believable people with real lives entangles with a plausible (well almost) future, not of their own choosing.

Instead, this is what you will read in our books so far:

In Roderick Hart’s crime novel Interleaved Lives you will identify with the lives of people struggling to find the truth of what happened to their missing spouses, gaining some solace in each other’s company, rather than gritty police procedure.

For dystopian in Ian K Pulham’s Ticket to Eden there are monsters in the depths of the sea, but they are almost believable and their interaction with the characters in the story almost amusing at times, if it wasn’t so hauntingly disturbing. Also, the web of confusing relationships Ian weaves, as the world loses its grip on any future, is unsettling, and yet there is almost an inevitability but poignancy to it.

In Diana Jackson’s mystery inspired by history series, it is yet again the web of relationships and mixed aspirations which lead to murder in MURDER Now and Then, added to the complex parallels with the past, which compels the reader. In MISSING Past and Present readers tell us that they are desperate to find our how Dot brings herself up from rock bottom. Yes, her husband is missing, as his her step son, but it is the relationships Dot builds which make a tragic story so heart warming.

In summary

…And so, in our fiction at Eventispress expect the characters to lead you into their world ~ one you may be reluctant to leave behind when you reach the last page … and do let us know what you think and write a review.

eventispress@outlook.com

Much appreciated!

THE IMPORTANCE OF BOOK SIGNINGS

Signing books for the public in bookshops is not the reserve for just rich and famous authors. In this post we will look at the ‘how to organise’ and also ‘how to be at the event.’

Of course, the cost of petrol can make events far and wide not viable which is a shame but, nevertheless, supporting and building a positive repartee with your local bookshop is essential in the life of an author, as well as the opportunity to meet new readers.

A) How to organise a book-signing

• Visit your local bookstore regularly.
• Choose a quieter time to visit and discuss your book with the manager (in the case of Waterstones they usually have a designated person who arranges events. You may have to make an appointment by email first)
• Offer them a free copy to read.
• Negotiate a discounted price. (40 – 60 % is usual)
• If it is an Indie Bookshop they may be willing to buy books directly from your stock, in which case it is more worthwhile to you both. Be prepared to be flexible.
• If it is a large book company then they are likely to order from a main distributor, such as Gardners. Your discount will then be set by your publisher and negotiated by them.
• Your enthusiasm will bring you rewards. Don’t forget it is a two way thing. Both should benefit.
• Try if you can to organise the date to coincide with an event related to your book ~ eg the date Queen Victoria came to the throne, the opening of the London Underground etc

How to be on the day

• Publicise the event beforehand on your website, blog on Twitter or Facebook. (You could encourage a few friends to come in to make a buzz and spark interest)
• Don’t be pushy. Make eye contact and smile, but certainly don’t follow readers around the store.

• Readers are only too willing to chat. Be open and friendly and enjoy the banter, even if it is about their own writing project. Be enthusiastic for them and make suggestions if appropriate.
• Have a giveaway of a bookmark or business card to give to those buying the book, but also to other folks. They might go home and check you up on Amazon or your website first.
• Ask if they would like a personal message and make sure to spell their name correctly.
• Have a sheet for folks to sign up for your newsletter.
• Practice your signature, especially if it is a pen name.
• Be courteous to the book sales people and thank them.

Author Diana Jackson writes:

“When my Riduna Series was first published I travelled up and down the country from Alderney in the Channel Islands to Southampton, throughout Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, not to mention more unusual events at the Shuttleworth Collection bookshop, who also stocked my second book ‘Ancasta Guide me Swiftly Home,’ where I gained so much support when researching the aviation aspects of the novel.

I enjoyed the events because, not only did I sell books but I had the chance to meet and talk to readers. I had a special relationship with our local indie bookshop in Ampthill called Horatio’s, which, sadly to say, is no more, but Waterstones were extremely supportive too.

You say to encourage a few friends to come in. At Luton, Waterstones, so many folks I knew popped in from Barnfield College where I worked, that I hardly had time to talk to the public. It was quite a party atmosphere and the store loved it!”

HOW CAN SMALL PRESSES ENJOY BOOKSHOP SUCCESS?

It is important to acknowledge bookshops and give them thanks, because all of our authors now have the same treatment on bookshop websites as they do on Amazon, with author bio, descriptions of books and reviews.

It is harder for small presses like us to be visible in actual bookshops up and down the country, especially following the pandemic shut down, because we are in competition with all the huge publishing companies. This is an area we are working on both by email and by physically visiting and supporting bookshops ourselves.

Let’s look at author Brian Kerr’s books:

Please check out his pages on:

BRIAN KERR’S PAGE ON WATERSTONES

FOYLES

HIVE and WH SMITHS for Skylarks only

Hive is an on line bookshop where you can give a percentage of the sale to support a local indie bookshop of your choice. Ignore the ‘OUT OF STOCK.’ It is the cheapest site on the market to purchase the book and it will take a few days for the order to come through.

Brian’s books have always had orders from bookshops, especially locally in Bedfordshire, with whom we have a good relationship.

Author IAN K PULHAM’S debut novel

Ticket to Eden is on the WATERSTONES

website too.

Author DIANA JACKSON has several books on WATERSTONES including Riduna, Ancasta, Murder Now and Then, her latest mystery Missing Past and Present

and The Healing Paths of Fife, which is also on WH SMITHS.

Diana Jackson’s books have been stocked in bookshops in Bedfordshire, the south of England and on the Channel Islands.

However, all of our books can be ordered from any good bookshop.

We’ll let you know the progress we make in changing attitudes and acknowledging the contribution to publishing small presses like us make.