Today's email is for those of you interested in a few self-publishing stats.A little rainforest treat shared only with this curious crew. "How's it going with the book(s)?" This tends to be the first thing people ask. My usual answer of, 'It's going okay', tends to be more based on the mood I'm in when you ask and that doesn't really cut the mustard. So grab a banana and let's take a closer look... Sales/UnitsThe Monkey State - 571In Search of Maya - 42Kindle Unlimited Page ReadsThe Monkey...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Morning, So, this one was certainly a struggle, an adventure, and a classic late scramble... all rolled into one. But I'm pleased to say that Book 2: In Search of Maya is now available on Amazon. Thanks to those of you who've already jumped in (before I even put up a post!) And cheers to those who popped a review live for Book 1 last week. I was shooting for 50 and reached 49, with an average of 4.9.There’s some poetic beauty in that. Now what is Book 2 about? Well, of course, you can check...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
I wrote this last night but didn't want to trouble your inbox at a late hour. This weekend saw a mini scramble at the Frenchay home office. Tweaks, twiddles and tech challenges. Back & forth with my editor. But we had good fun. It was a success. Hurrah. The paperback and ebook are done. Scheduled on Amazon and ready to read. This Friday, 27 June, if you're up for the challenge.Now, you may think where have I been all this time...As mentioned last week I did take a little break from writing...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads on the list 👴Sooo, you may (or may not) have noticed there haven't been any emails from me for 5 or 6 weeks. After dropping off the weekly chain I was drawn to take a break from writing them. I'd gotten a slight sense I was doing every Sunday 'just because I said I would'. A dangerous zone to be in. I had a similar thing on Twitter/X a few years back. A decent run of daily posts—yet once I stopped the walls came crashing down and I've barely used the...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
I'm just back from a work cruise and mini unplug (tough life I know) so fancied sending you a little teaser of Book 2: In Search Of Maya.It is certainly 'nearing completion' with more info to come this month. A June release on the cards. Of course, if you're getting this email and haven't finished Book 1... then I'd give this email a miss. Spoiler alert 🚨 Chapter Two - Beyond The Pale It’s a hard to describe feeling—leaving behind your old life for an adventure into the unknown. A certain...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Or is there?Last week (on a bit of a whim) I loaded a free promotion for The Monkey State eBook. Given it's only listed at 99 pence or cents, I didn't think much of it. But a quick end of bank holiday KDP dashboard check... And 100+ people had grabbed their free copy. This rose to 173 by the end of the day. Things slowed down from there and yet the 5-day offer gave a real boost to orders: Last week on the KDP dashboard 🐒 It was obviously exciting to see as it propelled the book to the top of...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Morning, As mentioned I thought it'd be cool to mark three months since release by answering a few of your questions. Thanks to those of you who submitted one. I'm sticking to my word and capping it at the first 5.So, without further ado, here we go...1. I hope the map of the Monkey State would not be too precise/rigid, treeper paths whilst interesting, should be left to the readers imagination should they not ?A very astute question. One that the mapmaker & I are conscious of. The way I see...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Easter Sunday (20 April) will mark three months since the monkeys were released into the wild 🎉🐒I'll therefore be writing/sending a special edition of this newsletter on the day.It'll be a Q&A format of the first 5 questions I get asked.About the book or process that is. Not general life aha. So if you're intrigued about anything from The Monkey State — Characters origins, sales, worldbuilding, KU page reads, imposter syndrome, royalties, challenges, would I recommend writing a book etc. —...
4 months ago • 1 min read
I had a funny one on Monday last week—where off the back of a review—one chap asked for a bit of careers advice. He's thoroughly fed up in his line of work, and despite it being pretty lucrative, wants to make a change.It made me chuckle because my first thought was The Monkey State is a work of fiction! My second thought was, 'Who am I to offer advice on careers?' And yet, I did work for 3 years at Escape the City. A company built on the topic. I've also had a handful of job pivots in my...
4 months ago • 2 min read