An Undeserved Accolade

 

Oof! My book is finally live on Amazon Kindle, at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B2S8NPL2

After the rights reverted to me, I tackled the fiddly process of commissioning a new cover, proofreading my original Word document, and formatting the lot in accordance with Amazon’s rules.

Time to relax, and raise a glass to myself.

But – what’s this?

Amazon has ranked my book number 5 in ‘Caribbean and Latin American Poetry’, ahead of Derek Walcott, no less. In fact, I asked for it to be included under ‘Historical Caribbean and Latin American Fiction’ and some poor, underpaid pen pusher in Amazon’s sprawling empire has ticked the wrong box on his list of categories.

According to the marketing gurus, picking the right categories and keywords is vital to self-publishing success. Yet navigating the maze of 4000+ categories is no easy task. I congratulated myself on unearthing strings identifying ‘Women’s Fiction’ by theme, only for Amazon to inform me that those categories applied to print books, not ebooks. Go figure.

A celebratory half-glass then, before I ask Amazon to correct their error, and lose my undeserved number 5 ranking.  

 

 

 

Announcing #psychologicalthriller THE FOREVER HOUSE

Member Linda Acaster’s novel, The Forever House, is now available for pre-order via Amazon – global link: https://mybook.to/ForeverHouse

The Forever House is Linda's eleventh title. She has used psychological suspense as an element in other works, but this is her first novel to fully embrace its genre.

Resisting family pressure to sell the too-big house Carrie and her late husband began to renovate, she is determined to carry through their shared project to prove she can manage alone.

And she can, until a discovery beneath old wallpaper chills her to the bone.

As her need to know more becomes all-consuming, Carrie’s family fears she's tipping into irretrievable obsession. Can she be dissuaded, or must she take that final step?

How far is too far to right a wrong? 

Early readers are calling it ...deeply moving...  ...an enthralling read...

The novel launches on 30 May in ebook format to purchase, and to read via Kindle Unlimited if a subscriber. A paperback will closely follow.

Asked how the idea for the novel originated:
"Simple. I was decorating, removing old wallpaper, and..."

And...? Ah, that would be telling.

Reserve your copy now: https://mybook.to/ForeverHouse

Okay, if you want to know a bit more, hop across to Linda's website.

A Writer's Journey Through Covid

Follow the trail of a writer's journey through covid:

• DAYS 1-5
• DAYS 6-10
• And finally an unexpected accolade

Happy Easter to everyone.

READ MORE from Penny Grubb

Writers - Are Your Books Available in Libraries?

If you are a writer with books available for loan from public libraries, you are eligible for payment.

In order to access this payment, you need to register your books with a PLR (Public Lending Right) scheme, or for overseas libraries, with a Collecting Society.

To learn how to access PLR, CLICK HERE.

Kings of A Dead World - Exclusive Online Event

 

This Feburary 22nd Hornsea Writer Shellie Horst will be chatting with Jamie Mollart, the author of  Kings of a Dead World.

 

In a relaxed and informal online event, interested writers will be able to learn about Jamie's writing processes, influences and challenges of writing the Speculative Fiction novel Kings of A Dead World, published by Sandstone Press. 

 

Set in a world where climate change has caused drastic measures to maintain life, the  novel took five years to write. An Amazon Rising Star of 2015, Jamie Mollart used all of his experience from self publishing to create a story that binds literary and genre styles into a gripping read.

Follow this link to register for free. https://www.crowdcast.io/e/kings-of-a-dead-world-book-launch/register

 

 

A Reminder to Writers - Don't Miss Out

If your work has been published in a magazine, a journal, a book, it is potentially earning secondary royalties, and there are people and organisations all around the world who are out there collecting that money for you.

They will try to find you but it's much easier for you to find them and tell them about your work.

CLICK HERE  to learn about Collecting Societies and how to access your secondary income from writing.

RICK SUMNER: a charitable man.

Christine & Rick Sumner

In 2021, we said goodbye to Rick: friend, fellow-author and founder member of Hornsea Writers.

A former miner, trawlerman and community leader, Rick and his wife Christine moved to the east coast supposedly to retire. Which didn’t happen. Before you could say ‘miners’ strike’ both were heavily involved in projects within their adopted community. 

Christine and her fellow volunteers established lovely gardens from neglected areas. Following the closure of the Hornsea lifeboat station, Rick, inspired by his lifelong love of the sea, was instrumental in the creation of Hornsea Inshore Rescue, an organisation which has saved many lives at sea. Dedicated fund-raising over the years has enabled the volunteers to purchase, crew and maintain the lifeboat, along with its boathouse and popular visitor centre.   

Always good company, and with a wealth of jokes and stories derived from his eventful past, Rick was politically active, a champion of the underdog and a man with a social conscience. Rallies and fundraisers apart, he hit upon the idea of harnessing his writing ability in aid of a cause: sales of his ‘Kilby Welfare’ cassettes raised thousands for ex-miners and their communities. This most amiable of men had little time for politicians, and he never forgave Margaret Thatcher for the pit closures. Hopefully he’s still giving her hell! 

The 2020 HRI Charity Swim - fancy dress optional.

Each New Year’s Day, we remember Rick, one of the Ideas Men behind the event, as the annual Hornsea Inshore Lifeboat charity swim gets underway. Viciously cold mountainous seas would daunt the bravest, yet hundreds take part (282 swimmers in 2022.) The event is always fun, a showcase for the rescue services, attracting hundreds of visitors and raising incredible amounts for the HIR. A lasting tribute to Rick and his hard-working friends.

So thank you, Rick, for the jokes, the stories, the fun…and for making our little piece of Yorkshire a better place. 

 

A bit more on Rick and his life can be found HERE. 

Online Wellbeing and Writing Sessions

 

Hornsea Writer, Shellie Horst, has teamed up with the region’s NHS Recovery College to deliver free writing sessions to help boost creativity and well-being. 

As writers, our cognitive ability to juggle all our characters’ needs (yes, they want to be heard!) on top of those of family, work, and home is precious. Thanks to the move to working from home and limited opportunities to hide in an author’s favourite coffee shop doesn’t do good for the word count. 

But we are more than authors, we’re human beings. 

Most people overlook the importance of taking time for themselves, especially with the impact of the pandemic. Now many of us are racing to pick up the pieces we happily set down for the sake of our loved ones, wondering how we managed it all before. Our well-being affects our mood, and as writers, our creativity.

The nation is still recovering from the stress and strain of being confined to our homes, standing on one too many Lego pieces, and being able to fathom what rules apply to us from week to week. There’s only so much TikTok and sourdough a person can consume before it reduces them to a twitchy mess. Now more than ever, we have to be kind to ourselves.

Of course, we as writers know just how difficult it is to find time to write. Sessions run every Thursday from 1pm until 2.30pm. Each session merges the need to set aside that time with exercises to spark a story and journaling to help get you on track. 

Journaling is a technique authors often used to capture the essence of a mood and it can often prove useful when developing characters or honing your descriptive skills.

Regular attendees will discover how to grow stories and prepare them for publication. Not everyone writes for publication, but those writers who wish to see their work published will then be able to see their work in print as part of the course. 

You can join in using your computer’s web browser, or Teams. No knowledge of the software is needed, just your favourite writing tools.

The sessions take place at 1pm until 2.30pm on Thursdays, online. Click here to see more from the College

The Recovery College offers a range of self-paced e-courses and live video-call sessions on our e-learning platform. It’s at your pace and without pressure. So whether the writer in you needs to stretch physical muscles, the writing ones, or chat with other creatives, there’s a session to help. 

You can find out more about Shellie and her explorations into enabling creativity and equality on her website www.shelliehorst.com or follow her antics on Facebook or Twitter

Wishing Our Readers Festive Cheer

 

As Hornsea Writers closes down for the Festive Season, members raise a glass to you, our Readers, without whom our efforts would be for nought.

We wish you personal happiness, the contentment of a good book and, most importantly, the best of health as we move into the New Year.

Life is for living – so enjoy!

 Merry Christmas

Shellie Horst – a writer of many talents

 

Shellie Horst is a writer whose work encompasses a huge range. Science fiction and fantasy are her particular passions, but she also writes articles, blog posts, reviews, Minecraft projects, advertising copy, interactive narratives ... the list goes on.

In an unconventional career change, Shellie swapped from running an ice-cream van to writing for local news sites. From there she stepped into speculative fiction, her first publication, Virtually Everything, coming in 2013 under the pen name of Beverley Argent.

Skilled not only in creative, but also technical writing, Shellie built and developed websites for other people before turning her talents to creating her own web presence when she started her creative writing degree course from which she graduated in 2015.

Since then she has found her creative talents to be in demand. In 2015 she received a Special Commission as part of the Humber Mouth Literature Festival, Ten Miles East Of England: The Quest for the Lost Stories.

‘I was lucky enough to work with some amazing children at Alderman Cogan CE School in Hull,’ Shellie says. ‘And together we not only developed a story but then converted it to a game for Minecraft.’

Juggling the demands of a young family and a career in the creative arts is not easy, but Shellie manages to balance the two and has seen her own work published in a variety of anthologies including, Ages of Escafeld, Explorations through the Wormhole, and Distaff, a science fiction anthology by female authors, for which Shellie created the cover art as well as contributing a story.

Learn more about Shellie on her website.