Tag Archives: THE FAERIE TREE: A book in the making

THE FAERIE TREE: A Book In The Making

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book, publishing, self publishing, writing, author, Ostara: A time of rebirth and renewal. A time to celebrate the coming of spring. And the coming of new books…

By the time you read this The Faerie Tree will have been unleashed. Actually, even at the time of writing it’s creeping out there; Amazon have stopped listing it as a pre-order and I’ve had to hold Matador back from making the ebook available before its time.

A few boxes of paperbacks have arrived with me as well. Holding one for the first time was tinged with sadness; my mother, who was a huge supporter of my writing, passed away just ten days before so she never got to see the finished book. But she’d read early drafts and approved the cover – and right at this moment is sitting at my shoulder, telling me to get back to the point of this article.

The point is that it’s hard to publish a novel alone. I’ve written before about the ‘official’ team; my editor, the wonderful Margaret Graham (author, teacher and Frost contributing editor) and the folks at Matador, but in recent weeks I’ve received an enormous amount of help from people who, quite frankly, didn’t have to.

In my last article I mentioned my desire to create a faerie tree near my home city of Chichester. I also mentioned this to a few of my fellow Chindi (Chichester Independent) Authors, and children’s writers Christopher Joyce and Becky Edwards leapt in with huge enthusiasm to brainstorm ideas and open their contact books. We were joined by the administrator of the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy – acting in a personal capacity just because she loved the idea so much.

Through them I met Vicky Edwards, a local book-lover (she runs the Spirit FM book club) and PR. She not only gave me some great ideas to improve my press releases but just as importantly introduced me to a local charity with a woodland walk – the ideal home for a faerie tree. I was due to meet them in early March but had to cancel so there is another date in the diary and I hope that in the next article there will be something definite to tell you about this very special project.

I’ve also had a great deal of support from the bloggers who are taking part in the launch tour. These ladies work so hard reviewing books and helping readers make good choices about what they might enjoy. They do it for the love of it – some are retired, but most hold down day jobs as well. And I think I’m busy. Follow the tour (details below) and browse their other posts for great steers on books you might enjoy.

Finally, I’ve had the blessing of the elves, pixies and faeries who live around the real faerie tree where the book is set. You see I did what many people have done before – for over twenty years, in fact – and I put a letter into their little box. And like everyone else, I received a reply; wishing me well and giving me instructions on where to leave their copy. I hope they like it. I hope everyone likes it. It would be a really fitting thank you to all the unsung heroes who’ve helped me along the way.

The Faerie Tree blog tour…

22nd March: Random Things Through My Letterbox – author Q&A
http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox.blogspot.co.uk/

23rd March: Rosie Amber – review
https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/

24th March: Liz Loves Books – the settings & scenery of The Faerie Tree
http://lizlovesbooks.com/

25th March: My Reading Corner – the faerie tree itself and book giveaway
http://myreading-corner.blogspot.co.uk/

26th March: Crooks on Books – author interview
http://crooksonbooks.blogspot.co.uk/

28th March: Jaffa Reads Too – the inspiration for The Faerie Tree and book giveaway
http://jaffareadstoo.blogspot.co.uk/

29th March: Being Anne – second chances
http://beingannereading.blogspot.co.uk/

31st March: Beadyjan’s Books – writing with women in mind
http://beadyjansbooks.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

THE FAERIE TREE: A book in the making

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Yule: A time to celebrate with those we love. A season full of magic and new beginnings which spring from the darkest days of the year.

When short, dark days stretch interminably ahead the deep human urge to rebel against nature and celebrate is hardly surprising. It is an instinct deeper than religion, broader than faith; whether it’s carols in church, TV and tinsel, or the burning of a sacred log, it is something which touches almost all of us.

faerietreejanecable

After 21st December the days start to become a little longer. Actually, that’s what I need. Maybe there is some mid-winter magic to create a few extra hours in each one. Maybe I should write to the fairies and ask them. As well as everything else, this festive season I have proofs to check.

The last few months have been particularly hectic as I balance work, writing, preparing for publication of The Faerie Tree and even a stint or two selling books on Chichester Christmas Market. That came about because I’m lucky enough to be part of Chindi, a very active group of independently published authors in the Chichester area. The reason we exist is because there are so many things we can do together which we couldn’t do alone, and one of those was to take a stall on the Christmas Market. It was something of a learning curve and a great opportunity to meet readers. It was also fascinating to see which books sold well and which didn’t – and to try to work out why.

The huge importance of covers was brought home to us very quickly – which was actually great timing for me as far as The Faerie Tree was concerned. The Cheesemaker’s House is pretty striking visually and people tended to head straight for it on the stall. But when it was stacked sideways with other books the title disappeared – and having watched one gentleman struggle with the colour of the print on the back I realised a few things would need to change next time around.

My main concern when briefing the cover designer at Matador was to make sure the book looked as though it was for adults. The title could imply it’s a children’s story so it had to be crystal clear at first glance who it was meant for. I also wanted it to look as much like The Cheesemaker’s House as possible. It’s an inescapable – if a little uncomfortable – fact that authors are brands these days.

When I first saw the cover of The Faerie Tree I had one word for it: wow. It’s a word I’ve heard time and again as I’ve showed it to the people closest to me and to other members of Chindi. So, for the first time, I am revealing it to the wider world through Frost readers and I’m really interested to see what you think. The significance of the candle? Well, you’ll have to wait until Imbolc to find that out.

Now that the cover has been designed there is a plethora of marketing material to sign off. The paperback will be in the shops from 1st May and the book trade need to know about it now, so an AI (advanced information) sheet has been prepared as well as a trade press release. They’ve been languishing in my inbox for over a week but gut instinct tells me sending them out this side of January would be a waste of time. The thought is salving my conscience anyway.