Poetry – Page 56

It took eleven months, four drafts and a little help, but it’s out there.

‘Ten Days’, my romantic thriller is published on Smashwords. According to all I’ve heard, the hard work starts now – the marketing. Well, I’ve been in retail for 20 years so I must have learned something about marketing.

I published this morning and since then I’ve networked with several folk on Facebook and sent out a message on Twitter, which will be amended and retweeted over the next week or two, just in case it is missed by anyone. I’ve sent out links for the 20% sample to a few people and I have a few more to add to that list.

Perhaps a little unique, but I’ve also written a poem with a flavour of the main characters. I’ll post that on The Starlite Cafe site when I’ve tidied up the lines a little more. For now I’ll have my front cover on here and this brief post. Now I’ll have to get back to my big push.

What’s next? Tomorrow I’ll be formatting the manuscript for publication on Amazon/Kindle.

A link? Of course: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/257906

Please check it out, or better still, buy it! As Arnie said, ‘I’ll be back!’

Ryman - Eldon Square - Red Nose Day — Ryman – Newcastle Upon Tyne.

I know that several people think that I am crazy, and that was before I made the decision. Which decision? I hear you ask.

It could be my stepping down from a management position, or perhaps reducing to a three day working week. In the eyes of different folk it’s one or the other, but for most I suppose it’s because I’m doing both … at the same time. My graphic is an acrylic of the Ryman, Newcastle Upon Tyne store where I’ve worked as a Deputy Manager for the last four years. I completed the painting in 2009 to celebrate Red Nose Day.

Mainly thanks to my wife who is continuing to work, I have no major concerns regarding cashflow. Olive (the wife), is the unsung hero in my situation, because I have her support. She understands how much it means for me to devote quality time to my writing. My motivation is based on several factors but I’ll mention more detail on that in my next post.

I am now well on the way with the third (and final) draft of my romantic novel ‘Ten Days’. My sample readers will have their copies of the manuscript within a few days and a hard copy is already with my son, Andrew. He has agreed to help me with the design of the cover and I know his design expertise will better anything I could come up with.

The Inkerman Writers writing group has recently re-established itself in a new base and I am in attendance once again every week. The group is working on short stories for inclusion in an anthology which we aim to have published in the Spring of 2013.

At the time of writing I have two other short stories underway for competitions. My writing schedule is rounded off by my attempts to write at least one poem a week for posting on thestarlitecafe.com/ For the purposes of posting poetry on that site I’ve retained the pseudonym of Tomfoollery.