The Joy of Paperbacks

I’m delighted to announce that paperback copies of Trouble on the Tide are now available. It’s always a time of great excitement in our house when the delivery van pulls upside. Who knows what or whose parcel you’re going to get next, but to find a box of your very own creations on your doorstep is pure joy!

I’m old and wise enough to know these paperbacks are not going to sell like hot-cakes.  Self-publishing through Amazon KDP means these books don’t come cheap – when you can get two for one bestsellers in Waterstones and WHSmith, and £3 bargains of the popular commercial titles in the supermarket, I appreciate the Amazon selling price of £9.99 isn’t an attractive proposition, but for a low-key self-publisher like me, KDP is the most viable option for producing print copies.

Books bought directly from me will be sold at a discount of course, but I know the only people who will buy – or receive – copies of this book will be people who know me personally.

So why do I do it? For that precise reason. Family and friends. Personalised books make marvellous Christmas presents and my Christmas list is sorted.  I’ve had a huge amount of support on my writing journey from my family and various acquaintances, and this is a wonderful way to pay them back. (Pay back sounds wrong, like a threat…Reward? Show my appreciation?)

In addition, what writer doesn’t want to hold their very own paperback? I’m a true book lover, I grew up in a house surrounded by books and reading has always been one of my main hobbies. I have a Kindle, and yes I use it, especially when I’m travelling, but you simply can’t beat the feel and smell of a paperback.

When I do talks to groups I like having paperbacks to illustrate the fact I am a genuine writer – because, let’s be honest, nobody has ever heard of me.  I’m so lucky I found the marvellous Berni Stevens who has created such attractive covers for the Eliza Kane series. Even if I don’t sell an awful lot of physical books at events, the covers do make an impression and I might see a spike in ebook sales afterwards.

The three books look wonderful together and I now have five of my own creations nestling amongst my favourites on my bookshelf.

Anyway, the whole point of this brief little post is to announce that paperbacks are now available to purchase either from me (happy to post within the UK or deliver by hand in the local area), or the big A.

Meanwhile, I’ve also updated my social media author pic to something I think gives me a more serious author-ish look as I embark on my next project (basically I’ve balanced my glasses on my head to look more intellectual). I’m still having a little bit of trouble getting inside the psyche of my new leading lady, young Kat, or old Kat, as she is at the start of the novel. She’s already telling jokes, which has to stop, because my WIP (Work In Progress) covers very serious matters. I need to lock myself away and concentrate, hard when the sun is finally shining and the temptation beckons in the form of a deckchair in the garden and a good book…

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