You’re probably wondering what my 30th has to do with book promotion…well nothing really, except the book signing tomorrow is triggering some memories.

I had been quite poorly in the months prior to my 30th, and had lost touch with lots of friends. Although I was on a very tight budget, I decided to have a party, just so I could see everyone again. I saved up some money and manged to organise a party. I even designed my own ‘caricature’ invitations (if I can find a jpeg file, I’ll let you see it, though it’s hardly flattering). I was really ill on the day of the party, and stayed in bed until just before I had to leave. When I got there, hardly any of the people I had invited turned up. My close family and friends were there, but lots of others weren’t. I enjoyed the party (despite having to leave early, as I just couldn’t carry on, and then locking myself out of the house) but swore I would never have another event where I was ‘centre of attention’. So now, I’m starting to worry that nobody will come…except my close family and a few friends (Ian and Tom, for the pink Lambrusco).

We’ve already had a bit of a flap. We couldn’t get hold of the books anywhere. The wholesaler that Sarah usually uses has sold out. Now, in some respects, this is obviously a good thing, but a book-signing is pretty difficult without a book to sign! After some frantic phone calls (and some ridiculous ‘Plan B’ scenarios), extra books are being printed as we speak. I’d like to say we can now breathe easy, but I don’t know what to expect tomorrow - I don’t know what people expect from me…except pink Lambrusco, in the case of Ian! Neither Sarah nor myself will rest until the books arrive in the shop (and even then, we’ll probably still not relax).

I’m off now, as I hope to spend the rest of the day:

• Lying on sofa
• Having long bubble bath, reading Mike Gayle’s “His ‘n’ Hers”
• Lying on sofa, part two
• Lying in bed (not being able to sleep - a great way to avoid the nightmares!)

You probably won’t hear from me tomorrow, but I’ll try and update the Blog sometime at the weekend (and will hopefully include some photos, taken from creative angles so you think there was hundreds of people there). I’m also doing a telephone interview on Friday afternoon with a nice gentleman from M.E. Essentials magazine - will let you know how it goes.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, please! And Ali, hope you’re enjoying the book…although it’s probably a bad sign if you’re reading this blog rather than the book!

Decided to type in a drab colour to reflect how I’m feeling on this, the ‘official’ release date of Karma. Was all hyped up yesterday, as I’d been given some great promotion/marketing tips…then my mam said she’d been into Waterstones and was told they weren’t stocking it. My husband was told that it wasn’t in WHSmith either…

So, tell me, why all the hard work and effort (not just the stuff that went into writing the book, but subsequently)? I can push the book as much as I am able, but if people can’t walk into a shop and buy it, how will I ever sell any? I know it is selling at online retailers, but it was my dream to be able to walk in to various bookshops and see my work sharing a shelf with all the authors that I admire.

I guess I’m just feeling a bit upset, as my grandma was taken to hospital yesterday…I thought I’d try and take my mind off it by forcing myself to try and arrange some book signings. It’s not really working yet, and the lack of interest from shops’ book buyers is getting me down further.

EDIT: change of colour to denote change of mood. Spoke to lovely, lovely lady at Waterstones in Hexham and she’s going to stock the book! Yay! She also advised me to try and get a mention in the Hexham Courant, so I’ve had to get in touch with publisher to ask if they’ve sent them a press release. Woohoo!

Hello - I’ve been getting a lot of advice this weekend, on how to get my book noticed. All of it fantastic - it has given me a lot to think about, and has got me excited about the book again! So, this afternoon, I emailed Hexham Book Festival to ask if I could take part in some way. It’s very short notice, as it is only next month, but I thought it would be useful if I could even just stand (OK, probably sit…or lean against a wall) there, handing out flyers for my book. It’s amazing how much promotion/research you can do whilst lying on the sofa, watching Ugly Betty, laptop on knee…

Also, my web designer has got my website up and running - it’s pretty, user-friendly and I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw it! It made everything even more ‘real’. She also gave me a much appreciated ‘good luck’ gift, which was very kind of her. While I’m expressing gratitude, another thanks to: Sarah (who’s been leaflet-dropping again ahead of this week’s book-signing…eeeeek!); Mark (who’s become an unofficial Literary Agent) and is advertising my book amongst his legion of fans; everyone at WriteWords for patiently answering my questions and offering me good, sensible advice; and last but not least, the gang at BookForce who sent me a ‘congratulations on the publication of Karma’ card. They probably send a card to each of their authors, but it still meant a lot to me!

So, this week: book officially published tomorrow (although seems to be on sale now); must contact Waterstones and Borders (almost giving up on WHSmith); and I have emailed publishers to ask what they’re doing by way of PR, so I don’t step on any toes, before deciding what to do next! Bye for now!

IMPORTANT NOTE: a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported me in any way, shape or form. If the book is a success, it will be down to you lot! x

Hi - spent ages typing a new page yesterday, and then there was an error! Then, I had a nightmare last night where I thought I’d sold hundreds of books and I’d only sold thirty…

I finally got hold of some books, and duly sent them off again. I really hope that the recipients enjoy the story, but I’d like to say the following: I’m not an auditionee on the X-Factor. I won’t have a strop if you tell me the book’s rubbish, and I would far prefer you to be honest with me. I’d rather people didn’t pretend I was talented if I’m talentless!

Sarah got her posters and leaflets. I took a few off her and my mam (yes, my mam) ended up leaving some in the library, my auntie’s shop and some local shops, as I was too embarrassed to do so - it’s really pathetic at my age, I know! I, on my meagre budget, managed to get a good deal at M&S on some pretty pink sparkling Lambrusco and some Bucks Fizz (classy and 20% off ) for the ‘official launch’. We couldn’t have nibbles in case Sarah’s stock was damaged, so I ordered some nice pink, lilac and turquoise sweeties. Mmm, chocolate (with a stock-friendly crispy shell). They should come today, but I can’t promise they’ll last until Thursday…

Apart from the fact that I’m useless at self-promotion, I’ve had another issue. You’ll laugh at me when I tell you this: my grandma announced that she’d like to read the book. Whilst it isn’t full of bad language or extremely dirty, it certainly isn’t religious-grandma reading material. It may well be disown-your-granddaughter material, though! After much pleading and begging from me, she has agreed not to read it - this has taken a weight off my mind. I appreciate that she’s just proud, but she really might have been offended by some of the content, so I felt bad.

With regard to Press interest…what Press interest? Even the local newspapers that featured the competition in the first place haven’t been in touch. I’ve heard nothing from the BIG two: Waterstones and WHSmith. As you know, with WHSmith, no news is not good news, but the same applies to Waterstones. I have promised Natalie (who has kindly agreed to contact the radio station, on my behalf, for a copy of my interview) that I’ll get in touch with Borders. By the time I psyche myself up…the book might be out of print! I haven’t heard any feedback from any of the contacts that my publisher has sent the book to, either - does that mean that they don’t like it or they simply haven’t read it??? I must admit that my pessimism has taken hold again, and I fear the worst.

On the positive side, my book is already available at Amazon, and Sarah has sold a couple of copies ahead of the signing. One person has said that she couldn’t stop laughing, which I took as a compliment. I’ve also had an email from someone who is launching a new website, and wants to use my story (the story of me, rather than my story, Karma) on her site. I was very flattered, and I’ll post the site details as soon as it’s up and running.

On an entirely unrelated matter, I was happy to find that James Martin is doing a book signing at Waterstones. Then I found out it was down south…waaaaaayyyyy down south. Too far for me, unfortunately. I bet that he doesn’t have to beg for publicity or to get book shops to allow him to do promotional events for his books!

On that note I’ll leave you. While I feeling slightly proactive, I might give Borders a call… And try and find out what’s happening with my website!

PS Feel free to comment upon any of these posts - these come direct to my email address, and if you have any questions, I’ll try and answer them. All you need to do is click on Comments and complete the box. If there’s a numer beside the word ‘comments’, it means that someone else has left a remark.

EDIT: Just plucked up the courage to ring Borders…the person who deals with in-store events in on holiday, and I have to try again on Monday! Foiled again!