POSTED BY Jessica Redland | Nov 16, 2016 |
Eek! It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted that I had to blow the cobwebs off my blog before I could write this post. I apologise profusely for neglecting things but I have two very good reasons.
Firstly, the day job is extremely demanding. I’m working some very long hours and finding very little time to do any writing. I’m a tutor for a distance learning company and I absolutely love it but the company is doing really well with lots of new students joining us, meaning the volume of work has just gone up and up and up … but so have the hours. I’m trying to get that balance redressed at the moment so I hopefully have more time for writing and family. And sleep. Zzzzz
Secondly, and more importantly, I’ve come to some very big decisions. For anyone who has been following my blog for a long time (on the wordpress version before I got this shiny, sparkling, gorgeous one), you’ll know that I was seriously exploring going indie before I got my publishing deal but didn’t quite have the courage or confidence to go it alone. I knew I’d kick myself if I didn’t explore what being with a publisher could mean and, let’s be honest, I liked the validation that came from having a publisher saying, “We love your book and want to put it into print”. So I accepted the deal and I do believe it was the right decision for me at the time. But I’ve learned a lot during the past two years about being published, publicity, and the type of writer I want to be and that’s an indie writer. Deep down, even when I accepted the publishing deal with glee, I suspected I would probably end up going indie at some point and, as of Monday this week, I have done just that.
Well, sort of….
I have very amicably parted company with my publisher and, at present, none of my books are available to buy either on eBook or paperback. This is only temporary. My publisher has returned my rights to me but my husband is busy designing fresh new covers and typesetting the work so that it can be re-released under my indie imprint: Little Bear Books.
In the meantime, my 9-year-old daughter, who is showing a great gift for art and writing, has designed me a new front cover based in part on what hubby has been working on. Isn’t it fabulous? I love those happy sheep. Unfortunately she’s picked the wrong spelling of Steven, bless her, but I still love it. I think I’m going to have to get it framed and give it pride of place on my office wall. I’ll reveal the final versions of hubby’s designs in due course. He’s done Steven and I’m thrilled with it, but I’ll reveal it at the point when Steven’s ready to go back online.
BOOKS GALORE!
In the meantime, if anyone wants a paperback copy of any of my books, I have a big box of Getting Over Gary and Dreaming About Daran available looking for new homes, and a few copies of Searching for Steven, all with the original artwork: collector’s items (hee hee!) They all retail at £7.99 but I’m offering them at a bargain £4.00 half price (plus p&p) and, as long as I have enough Stevens available, I’m offering an even more ridiculously bargainous (if that’s not a word, it should be) reduced price of £10.00 (plus p&p) for the full trilogy. Find me on Facebook or email me at jessicaredlandwriter@yahoo.co.uk if you’re interested.
Big hugs xx
Jessica xx
