THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: SECRETS OF SEASONAL SUCCESS – Jane Cable takes a sleigh ride with Sunday Times bestselling author Heidi Swain

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How much of your working life does the business of books take up?

The business of books, in one way or another, takes up all of my working life now. Earlier this year I made the leap and gave up the day job to write full-time. I had been gradually cutting down my hours, but going out to work two days a week meant compromising time at the keyboard. I was increasingly feeling that I was spinning one plate too many and something had to give. Nonetheless it was a difficult decision because I loved my job, but following my heart has been the right thing to do.

Now I can write from six thirty to lunchtime and work on guest posts, blogging and interviews in the afternoons. It’s a much better balance all round.

 

What’s your business model to earn a living from writing?

I don’t have a formal business model, but writing full-time has given me the opportunity to take on different projects and I am now beginning to earn from a wider source than book sales. Writing short stories for magazines is a good way to supplement income and I have also taught a ‘writing a novel’ day course. That said, I’m not poised to order the diamond shoes just yet and my priority is, and always will be, focusing on writing novels readers love.

What do you write and what do you consider to be your major successes?

I write commercial fiction for Simon and Schuster, although I prefer the term ‘feel good fiction’. I want my readers to feel whisked away to the fictitious town of Wynbridge as soon as they sit down with the book.

I feel very fortunate to have readers getting in touch every day to tell me how much they love Wynbridge and want to live there, or that they have purchased my book to take on holiday or to give as a Christmas present. For me personally, those messages and tweets are all major successes. What could be more flattering than a reader loving what you have written so much that they take time out of their day to tell you?

I’m also very proud of my two Christmas books. Mince Pies and Mistletoe at The Christmas Market was my winter 2016 release and having listened to readers and friends who had been disappointed by novels which featured ‘Christmas’ in the title but barely covered it in the book, I was determined to pack my pages full of festive feeling. Looking at the response it definitely worked and it wasn’t far into January before my editor called asking if I would consider writing another one!

Needless to say I jumped at the chance. I already had the beautiful setting of Wynthorpe Hall in mind and got to work straightaway. The result was Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at The Christmas Fair which was published in October and again, I’ve crammed in as much cinnamon and spice as possible.

 

Tell me about your latest project.

I’m now working on my sixth novel which will be released next summer. This one features a Wynbridge resident who isn’t living in the town, but don’t panic. I’m planning for her to visit her friends and family at least twice so there’ll be plenty of opportunities to catch up with the girls from The Cherry Tree Café and The Mermaid Pub.

Thank you Jane for inviting me to feature today and I may take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas!

 

Since my interview with Heidi Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at The Christmas Fair has taken the Sunday Times bestseller list by storm and just has to be this year’s most successful seasonal romance. Heidi lives in Norfolk with her wonderful family and a mischievous cat called Storm. Find out more about her here: Website: http://www.heidiswain.co.uk/

 

All spruced up and bushy tailed for Christmas

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Canine Cutz in Downley, High Wycombe is now in its 4th year, and business is booming and it’s not hard to see why. Owned by Mum and Daughter team, Joanne and Stephanie, they not only have a way with the dogs, but the owners too. It is always a laugh a minute and a massive welcome for the two legged ones as well as the four.

Joanne and Stephanie are experienced groomers and breeders, and both are knowledgeable about dog breeds, standards, grooming and dog health.

Joanne has been showing and breeding Bernese Mountain Dogs for nearly 30 years, and also judges at Championship Dog Shows around the country. She has bred a number of Champion Bernese (Bernsteph Bernese)

Let’s not leave out Stephanie though, as she is following in her mum’s footsteps and showing a number of different breeds from Bernese to Bichons, and Cavaliers to Newfoundlands. Not content with that, she owns, shows and clips horses.

Canine Cutz use only the best products and highest quality equipment but it doesn’t cost the earth. In fact it is remarkably reasonable.

 

This year, Stephanie has created a bountiful Christmas ‘market’ in the salon, with gifts galore for those most important members of the family, the dogs, which expect their housekeeping staff (us) to at least look at, and then to buy. Or is that just Rosie and Polly? So we do, and are glad that we have. How pretty they look.

 

The stock has proved so popular that it is depleting fast, so get there while you can. And book a groom for that most important of family members. No, not the husband, the dog.

www.canine-cutz.com

Canine Cutz Dog Grooming, High Street, Downley,High Wycombe, HP13 5XJ

Email: info@canine-cutz.com

Tel: 01494 443349

 

 

Why Cybersecurity Can Win the Fight Against Islamic Extremism By Cosmo Clark

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Cosmo Clark is a cybersecurity and cyber terrorism analyst and observer whose first novel, Blue Eyed Infidel, a satirical sci-fi thriller in the vein of Orwell’s 1984, hits the UK shelves this week. Here Clark (a pseudonym) argues that computers, not bombs, will win the war on terror.

What do you think is the best way to win an argument? When I was at primary school, John Biggers, the village bully, thought he had the answer: to punch me in the face. Hard.

But violence didn’t work in the playground and it doesn’t work in the real world, either. Invading Iraq and bombing ISIS in Syria might win a few headlines for politicians, but in the long term, all it really does is create more terrorists, and leads directly to more attacks here in the UK.

It is my firm view (and one shared by a wealth of academics) that technology, not bombs, will win the global war on terror.

1. In-APP-propriate action: why we should boost, not ban, encrypted chat apps

Extremists talk to each other using secretive, encrypted chat apps. That’s how they groom new members, organise attacks and keep out of the public eye.

Our kneejerk reaction to that has always been to shut these apps down. But that would be a big mistake. Banning one type of app (or making it less secure) will only lead to more. That is a battle that can never be won.

Instead, we should be encouraging their use; remember, loose lips have and always will sink ships. We should be using covert spyware to infiltrate the apps and identify the bad guys.

2. Jihadi Join: why UK spies should be posing as online extremists

Islamic extremists will never love the UK. They don’t feel loyalty to a passport, only to their God. Trying to force them into ‘being British’ or to ‘integrate’ is a total waste of time and money, and just helps them know what to say in order to disappear into our society.

Instead, we should talk to extremists online in ways that make sense to them. To start with, that will involve doing things which will seem completely counter-intuitive. Let’s say you are a jihadi who wants to blow himself up. If you create an online persona as someone who can help them make that bomb, it’ll be much easier to grab the perpetrator – and the rest of his terror cell – when the time comes.

3. Dead ringer: using deceased ISIS fighters to communicate with terror cells

Technology changes quickly, but we’ve got two exclusive advantages right now that we should be using more. Firstly, we must put more pressure on social media companies like Facebook and YouTube to track (rather than ban) and report on Islamic extremists using their platforms. That’s harder than you might think.

Secondly, we’ve got access to cool resources like artificial intelligence. My favourite idea is to create fake cyber-personalities, ‘chatbots’ if you like, which are smart enough to hold conversations with real-world Islamic extremists. To be genuinely believable, these cyber-personalities could actually appear to be real people. There are roughly 25,000 Islamic extremists in the UK, and about 1,000 British jihadis who went to fight for ISIS and who have since gone missing. If a few of those deceased individuals popped up online, they could be treated as heroes. Only those ‘in the know’ would ever know the truth.

Blue Eyed Infidel by Cosmo Clark is out now, priced £9.99 in paperback and £3.49 as an eBook, and is available at Amazon UK. Visit www.cosmoclark.com.

 

The Folio Society Celebrates Poetry

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Let January Be Your Time to Relax and Reconnect

 

Whether you over indulged over the festive season or just want to unwind, poetry is a great way to relax the mind.  The Folio Society has produced three very different, equally lovely volumes of poetry for those looking for a bit of inner peace:

 

  • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner & Three Other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  • Selected Poems by Rumi
  • The Book of Psalms

THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER & THREE OTHER POEMS
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

& Three Other Poems

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Illustrated by Harry Brockway

 

Available exclusively from www.foliosociety.com

 

 

Bound in cloth, blocked with a design by the artist. Set in Albertina. 120 pages. Frontispiece and 23 integrated black & white wood engravings. Blocked slipcase. 11¾˝ x 8¾˝.

 

UK £34.95|US $51.95|Can $69.95|Aus $69.95

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was the most innovative and influential of all the English Romantic poets. This beautiful edition emulates our popular limited edition, with four immortal poems superbly illustrated by Harry Brockway, one of the UK’s leading wood-engravers. A striking binding design by the artist and a blocked slipcase make this the perfect vessel for Coleridge’s fantastical journeys.

 

From the mystical power of ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ to the visionary magnificence of ‘Kubla Khan’, Coleridge’s work reshaped the landscape of English poetry. He forged new paths in philosophy and criticism, but it is his poems that have earned him pre-eminence. His images are embedded in our cultural consciousness: the beauty and perils of Xanadu; the ‘glittering eye’ of the ancient mariner; the ‘charméd water’ of deathly seas.

 

This edition unites ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ with three poems published as a single volume in 1816: ‘Christabel’, ‘Kubla Khan’ and ‘The Pains of Sleep’. All were exceptionally influential on later writers: Mary Shelley in Frankenstein, Bram Stoker in Dracula and Herman Melville in Moby-Dick all explicitly refer to ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.

 

The final poem, ‘The Pains of Sleep’, is one of Coleridge’s most personal, written during a nightmare-ridden period of withdrawal from laudanum, the drug to which he was addicted. It is an outpouring that uncovered his deepest soul, his sense of wasted promise and guilt, and his desperate, childlike yearning for love.

Illustration by Harry Brockway from The Folio Society edition of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

& Three Other Poems ©Harry Brockway

 

SELECTED POEMS BY RUMI
Selected Poems

By Rumi (Jallād-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī )

Translated by Coleman Barks

Introduced by Michael Schmidt

Illustrated by Marian Bantjes

 

Available exclusive from www.foliosociety.com

 

Bound in cloth blocked with a design by the artist. Set in Arno Pro. 376 pages.

Printed with metallic blue and rose gold patterns throughout. Ribbon marker.

Plain slipcase. 8¾” x 7¾”

 

UK £39.95|US $59.95|Can $81.95|Aus $79.95

 

Rumi is celebrated across the Islamic world as a visionary thinker, his verses revered as masterpieces of Persian literature. Nearly 750 years after Rumi’s death, Coleman Barks’s vibrant translations have also achieved the unlikely feat of making him the best-selling poet in the USA.  The poems have even been among the favourites of Madonna, Tilda Swinton, Beyonce & Jay-Z and Chris Martin.

 

Shortly after his birth in present-day Afghanistan in 1207, Rumi’s family were forced to flee Mongol invaders, eventually settling in Konya, in modern-day Turkey. It was there in 1244 that he encountered the eccentric Sufi dervish, Shams of Tabriz. Their intense spiritual friendship was shattered by Shams’s sudden departure a devastating loss which changed the course of Rumi’s life. Over the next 30 years, he produced prodigious outpourings of verse and prose, addressing readers with rare directness – by turns confrontational and playful, lyrical and abrupt, and his range is extraordinary. With his inclusive vision of the world and his tolerance, wisdom and humour, this 13th-century mystic continues to speak to 21st-century readers with startling immediacy.

 

Coleman Barks first encountered Rumi’s poems in 1976, when a fellow author showed him academic translations with the suggestion that ‘these poems need to be released from their cages’. Barks responded by producing what he calls ‘playful palimpsests’ – epigrammatic free-verse translations that allow Rumi’s distinctive voice to bridge vast gaps of culture, geography, language and time. Barks’s ‘Selected Poems’ capture Rumi’s spirit without imprisoning it.

 

This beautiful edition features a spectacular binding designed by Marian Bantjes. Her intricate Islamic-inspired geometric patterns also frame every page of text, evoking the music and whirling dances associated with Rumi’s poems, and encouraging us to lose ourselves in his words.

 

 

THE BOOK OF PSALMS
The Book of Psalms

(From the Authorised King James Version of the Bible)

Introduced by Valentine Cunningham

Lettering designed by Jessica Hische

 

Bound in cloth blocked with lettering by the artist. Set in Arno. 296 pages. Printed in 2 colours throughout. Gilt rose-gold page tops. Ribbon marker. Blocked slipcase. 6¼” x 4¼”

 

UK £24.95|US $36.95|Can $49.95|Aus $49.95

The Book of Psalms is the spiritual ‘heart’ of the Bible, a key instrument of communal worship for practising Christians and Jews and a focus for private devotion. The 150 Psalms also form the ancient world’s greatest collection of poetry, continuing to speak to readers with unparalleled power more than 2,500 years after they were first composed.

 

Known in Hebrew simply as Tehillim or ‘Praises’, the Psalms take us from the heights of confidence to the depths of self-doubt, from crippling despair to overwhelming joy. With their highly personal outpourings and vast psychological range, reading the Psalms remains an intense religious, literary and emotional experience.

 

The King James Version is the definitive translation of the Bible, unique in its influence on the culture and literature of the English-speaking world. Commissioned by James I in 1604, it took a committee of 47 pre-eminent scholars the next 7 years to complete. With its deliberate archaism, literal translation of Hebrew metaphors and sensitivity to the spoken word, its version of The Book of Psalms captures the essence of the original Hebrew text while achieving its own poetry.

 

In his new introduction, Valentine Cunningham explores the Psalms’ enduring power as a source of literary, religious, political and personal inspiration – and how their language has become our language.

 

This exquisite edition fits perfectly into the hand, allowing an intensely personal reading experience and an intimate connection with these soul-searching poems. Jessica Hische’s beautiful lettering and the generous layouts bring new clarity to the text, whether one is focusing on a single Psalm or experiencing their cumulative effect, reading aloud or for silent contemplation, as poetry or prayer.

 

Why Technology is Ruining Christmas By Ian Shepherd, author of The Sleighmaker

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A third of children will be sending their wish lists to Santa by smartphone app this Christmas.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Now, when the kids aren’t looking, swipe their gadgets – all of them – and hide them in a sock drawer until December 26. Because technology is ruining Christmas. And I mean ruining it.

I wrote an unashamedly traditional children’s book called The Sleighmaker, which is out this week. My publisher assures me that it will capture the public’s imagination in much the same way as The Snowman did all those years ago. Except that it won’t. Because that was then, and this is now. Raymond Brigg’s classic picture book was released in 1982, long before Britain’s obsession with all things ‘smart’. In those days, children read books for entertainment, not homework. Books were the must-have ‘device’, the original hand-held tablet.

Children still love to read – a lot. Sales of children’s books rose 16 per cent last year to £365million, according to figures released by the Publisher’s Association. But in today’s tech-obsessed households, where youngsters spend an average of six hours-a-day (yes, you read that correctly) glued to an array of ‘smart’ screens, the paperback no longer takes centre stage. Technology and its new leading lady, the smartphone (which has never been, er, smarter), steal the show. A quarter of children will use one to send Christmas wishes via Facebook on December 25. Yes, technology has written off the humble pen, too.

And so back to Christmas and the thankless pursuit of that impossibly perfect day. Nothing, even the in-laws, should be allowed to spoil it.

Except that technology in any of its guises almost certainly will. Its availability anywhere in the home will prevent kids from focusing on wonderful books like The Snowman (and The Sleighmaker). It will fill your home with irritating noises, and reduce your children’s vocabulary to monosyllabic grunts. It will also cause your children more harm that cocaine, if you believe the warnings (Earlier this year, an addiction therapist claimed that giving children a smartphone is like “giving them a gram of cocaine”. She said time spent messages pals on Snapchat and Instagram could be just as dangerously addictive for teenagers and drugs and alcohol).

A new smartphone app lets kids scan the barcode of a toy they want for Christmas before sending their parents an automated email with the details.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Now, when the kids aren’t looking, swipe their gadgets – all of them – and hide them in a sock drawer until December 26. Because technology is ruining Christmas. And I mean ruining it.

The Sleighmaker (Raj Joshi Publishing) is out now priced £11.99 in hardback, £6.99 paperback and £4.60 as a Kindle eBook. Signed copies and further information from www.thesleighmaker.com 

 

Frost Loves: Winsor & Newton Gift Range 2017

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Frost loves these art sets from Winsor & Newton. The fine art supplier has the most beautiful gift sets of top-quality art materials. A perfect show-stopping gift.

Just in time for the holiday season, Winsor & Newton, one of the world’s leading fine art suppliers have released their 2017 Gift Range. Combining craftsmanship with innovation, this all year round gift collection is perfect for all artists and crafters alike.

The range consists of five curated sets, each containing a collection of world class art materials including ink, water colour, acrylic paint, mediums and metallic markers and presented in a beautiful keepsake box. I was wondering if you would be interested in including a set from the gift range in your Christmas Gift Guide?

Winsor & Newton 2017 Gift Collections

 For the budding artist, inspiration starts here.

The new gift range is built upon Winsor & Newton’s extensive knowledge, passion and artistic understanding to curate and has been designed to ignite artistic journeys that will excite the mind and engage the senses with each set containing a unique collection of high-performance art materials.

Winsor & Newton is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fine art materials. Drawing on a commitment to quality and a tradition of innovation, the brand remains dedicated to the craft of the fine artist, providing them with new ways to explore their creativity and share their work with a worldwide community. These sets offer artists and non-artists the chance to gift creativity, to kickstart, improve or round-off an artist’s collections of the finest art materials

Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajas   Reviewed by Margaret Graham

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Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajas – The Al Thani Collection – author Dr Amin Jaffer, Chief Curator of the Al Thani  Collection arrived in the office, and that was that as work stopped for a few hours.

Frost Magazine loves SKIRA books

Not only are they fascinating and informative, but so beautifully presented that we can’t actually leave them alone. It’s like walking through an exhibition but without the crowds.

This book full of defined images of worked gold, jewels, diamonds is a journey through the history of Indian jewellery from the 16th century to the present.

Indian jewellery is an interest of mine. My dad was stationed in India in the war, and my mum too and he was constantly being offered gifts that he had to decline. But they were so exquisite, so excessive, so… well just about everything.

The glory of the gems is down to the region of the Indus Valley, so rich in real gemstones: Golconda has the highest grade diamonds, Kashmir, where my parents honeymooned, produced sapphires of glorious hue, and so on, and so on.

This book, published on conjunction with the extraordinary exhibition in Venice, explores the jewellery traditions of the Indian subcontinent from the Mughal period to the modern day and is a fount of information.

The evolution of gem setting and jewellery is shown through over two hundred and seventy exceptional pieces from The Al Thani Collection, plus major works from prestigious institutions and private collections.

You must absorb the images of the historic Indian diamonds, the precious objects and legendary pieces of jewellery as the book reveals taste and technique in India’s jewelled arts as they were refined over FIVE centuries.

Exceptionally interesting are the major developments in traditions from the peak of 17th century Mughal patronage through the ensuing years of political chaos and colonisation in 18th century and up to the age of the Durbar. (great ceremonies that provided Indian sovereigns with a new setting in which to show off their jewels during the time of the British Raj).

A central theme is the Mughal visual culture as is the dialogue it created with Europe from the Renaissance onwards. Take note of the Wine of Cup of the Emperor Jahangir, and the Shah Jahan Dagger.

The volume doesn’t ignore contemporary jewellery made by Indian jewellers, or inspired by India.

Treat yourselves, you really must. And share it with the children so they can see the intricacy of exceptional creations.

 

Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajas. The Al Thani Collection. 388 colour illustrations. Hardcover. Price: £50.00

The Deadly Lies by David Dawson. Reviewed by Dr Kathleen Thompson

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The Deadly Lies is the second in the Delingpole Mysteries series, and stars newly-married Dominic and Jonathan.

The plot starts in sunny Sitges, Catalunia where the couple are enjoying their honeymoon. Or at least they are until Dominic receives a strange coded text from his old lover. He discovers that his ex-lover died in a suspicious road accident just after sending the message.

In the search for the meaning of the code, they become friends with a Spanish police officer and his husband, who help them escape danger as they leave Spain for Los Angeles. Here they meet up with Steve, a computer hacker who featured in the previous book. Once again Steve’s unconventional IT knowledge saves them from mortal danger.

Typical of David Dawson’s writing, it is a clever and unusual plot, which addresses the dark side of modern technology, in particular redistribution of world wealth through the manipulation and elimination of personal identity records. We also see Dominic and Jonathan’s relationship develop, as they are both forced to face their conflicting views on monogamy.

 

The author, David Dawson, is a journalist, and documentary maker who specialises in LGBT novels. His first novel won a President’s Awards for Adult Suspense and Thrillers.

 

By Dr Kathleen Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co,uk