The New Year is now upon us, and events are moving faster and propelling the world to the future. It is not my purpose to bore you with my opinion of those events, for we all know what they are and you know what they say about opinions. I have long thought that the chances were high that 2025 would be a significant year for several reasons, and I hope on a personal note that it is, for I have…
From me to all of you, a Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year. As the holiday season can be hectic at times, it can be difficult stop and catch your breath. The season is a wonderful time, when everything seems a little brighter, the world seems a kinder place, and even if that is only my perception, I still appreciate it. It is important, in my opinion, to keep in mind the true reason that we…
As this Tuesday Tunes post is conveniently a week before Christmas, it seems a good time to post about the season. If you know me, then you know that I am a sucker for piano music. So let’s combine these both for today’s post! To be honest, I don’t really know anything about Daniel Blomberg, but I stumbled across some songs on YouTube. He has several really nice arrangements of well known Christmas hymns that I fell in love with…
As an author, I’m always trying to find new ways to reach potential readers. It can be a bit to manage, as each vendor has their own rules, back offices, and the like, which can become burdensome if one does not take care. Until now, my standard practice has been to release new works on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited, and then to put that content up on other vendors when the Kindle Unlimited term has run its course. My standard…
As Colin mentioned in his last post, it’s time for Merry Mischief! For anyone who has read the blog since it began, you may recollect that we wrote a Christmas story to celebrate the launch of this very site. It’s short, only six chapters long, and tells the story of an obtuse (isn’t he always?) and determined Mr. Collins, Elizabeth’s attempts to fend him off, and Mr. Darcy’s scheming to take Mr. Collins’s supposed place as Elizabeth’s suitors. After a…
In honor of the approaching creepiest night of the year, I thought it would be fun to do a post with some of your favorite Hallowe’en tunes! Hallowe’en is admittedly not one of my favorite holidays, but I still remember trick-or-treating as a kid, or more recently going out with my children. The sudden infusion of tasty sweet treats is fine, though I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, and it’s certainly not good for my waistline or general…
For those interested in audiobooks, I have a few new ones, including several coming up. One of those audiobooks, The Challenge of Entail, is now being offered for sale at a heavily discounted price. If you have not yet given this book a listen, now is the time to have a look. From now until November 9th, it is on sale for 60% discount. I hope you enjoy it! https://www.audiobooks.com/promotions/promotedBook/773562/challenge-of-entail?refId=158977
For today’s post, I thought I would do a bit of a recap of recent audiobook releases and what is coming in the future. I tend to focus much less on audiobooks, and there is a specific reason for it. Once I provide Tantor with the manuscript, they run with it and do everything else. By contrast, as an independent author, I handle all aspects of the process for eBook and physical formats, though of late I have farmed out…
The process of coming up with new ideas, even for books based on Pride and Prejudice is one I do not find all that difficult. As I have written more than fifty of these, I must assume that most of those out there reading this will understand that. There are so many different ideas to explore, so many instances where if a different path had been taken the ending (and indeed the middle and even the beginning if you go back…
This one is a bit out there, as Neil Sedaka is a bit (or a lot) before my time, but his tunes are so memorable that they persist to this day in being favorites to many. His jumpy, catchy tunes in the 60s and late 70s made him a huge star, and his songwriting talent provided material for many other stars of his time. Neil Sedaka was born in 1939 and began to show aptitude, specifically for the piano, at…