Tag: anthologies

The Retail Years

On By TomIn Achievement, author honesty, author ideas, collections, General, Insight, military career, Novel, reading, self-publishing, series, Short Stories, thriller, Unofficial autobiography, work in progress, writing2 Comments

Having now written books on various topics, it occurred to me recently that I’ve often referred to my time in retail and said, ‘I could write a book about it.’ It was, after all, my second career, which is why I’ve already used A Life of Choice as the title, with The Retail Years as a sub-title.

In less time than it took to drink a cup of coffee, I recalled the handful of companies I worked for, and each was different. Within the hour, I was strolling through the nearby woodland, my favourite place to free up my imagination. An abundance of anecdotes surfaced for each company.

Considering such a story is one thing, but would it a viable project?

My job title changed as I moved from one company to another, and with each title came authority and responsibilities. During my 23-year military career, I was no stranger to such things, and, of course, I understood organisation and the need for an established hierarchy. As much as I tried, nothing could have prepared me for the reality of working in ‘Civvy Street’.

Over the coming weeks I’ll create a framework for the story, and while it may cover a similar length of time to my military career, it will be compiled as one, or at most, two, volumes. The content will cover such things as Training, Customer Service, Staff Training, Discipline and the occasional foray into company and workplace politics.

The preparation will be my background project while I continue to work on my latest novel, Another Taste of Honey, and Harriet, a collection of short stories.

 Like any author, I don’t know if an idea will work until I try it. As always, I’m open to feedback, so please let me know if you think the idea has any promise.

End of My Writing Year – 2022

On By TomIn Achievement, author ideas, collections, editing, erotica, fantasy, General, Insight, Katya Cumming, military, military career, Novel, novella, paperback, paperbacks, post-apocalyptic, Promotion, pseudonym, reading, relaxation, Review, sci-fi, self-publishing, series, Short Stories, thriller, trilogy, Uncategorized, Unofficial autobiography, work in progress7 Comments

This has been the first year since 2012 that I haven’t published a new book. I have produced Codename: Foxglove, and Military Matters: An Anthology of Poetry as paperbacks, but both were already available in eBook format.

Did the lack of new titles affect my sales performance?

I would say, no, and without paid promotion, or excessive exposure on social media, my work is still being picked up, mainly digitally, but occasionally, physically.

Available as a paperback trilogy.

The five books that make up the series, A Life of Choice show sales almost daily, and without promotion, all five books are creeping up the charts. At first, it was ex-service, and serving personnel who were the main readership, but it seems that the fact-based-fiction series also appeals to those who have never donned a military uniform.

My crime thrillers, and the Light at The End trilogy have continued to achieve regular sales over the past twelve months. Once again, my royalties on sales have been easily surpassed by the royalties from KENP, the Amazon ‘page reads’ system.

Strong female lead characters are popular, and none more so than any story featuring ‘a girl with a gun’. I create such protagonists to satisfy my readership, but also because they are enjoyable to bring to life. This is reflected in reviews, and in the balance of my projects.

Crusader is my main Work in Progress, and is on schedule for publication in March 2023. As I write the story I’ve been fitting in snippets of information which will be ‘removed’ to help create the sequel, Constance.

Did I publish or have success apart from my main brand?

Yes, I did, but under another name. The erotica I write using a female pseudonym has continued to be successful, and this year saw the publication of four novellas and an anthology of six short stories. My ‘secret‘ erotica brand has been in existence for three years, and has demonstrated stamina (appropriately), and achieved a steady growth.

It may seem that there is a continual stream of titles, but that’s because the stories are created piecemeal and it may take many months before an individual title is completed.

Will I continue to work with two brands?

Yes, while my alternative brand has its own Work in Progress, and there is a demand, I’ll happily cater to those readers. Some of the naughty tales may be slightly shorter (novella), but I don’t cut corners with them. They are stories first, and erotica second.

I’d like to wish you all the very best for the upcoming festive season, whatever your religious persuasion.

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*Remember, books are not just for Christmas. 😀