Hi all
It has been a busy few weeks. 'Til It Bleeds got an early launch, and has done pretty well so far despite the marketing being planned for June to advertise the launch. But even without a lot of noise about it, people have picked up the book and are reading it. Thank you so much!
Another exciting thing was seeing the first star rating come through on both Goodreads and Amazon: 5 stars! Sadly no review to accompany it, but hey! I'm not complaining. A five star recommendation already. Happy days!
The Cost of Living Crisis
All that being said, I am acutely aware of the current economic climate across the world, and its steady decline. Prices are going up everywhere for everything, and if they haven't yet, they will be. It is the natural progression of supply chain issues, caused for the main part, by the ill-conceived war in the Middle-East. Oil and Gas prices are soaring - February it cost £36 to fill my car with fuel from near empty to full; this week it cost £61; that's a 69% price rise. Food prices are also climbing and there will be shortages soon. We're already seeing it on our shelves here, but no one is talking about it, certainly not our Government.
All of that to say, that I understand how, and why, people are being very careful with their money right now, cutting back on those expenses which are considered frivolous, such as hobby spending like Kindle Unlimited or ebooks.
I've taken the decision to lower the price of all my ebooks to £2.99. The first in the series, Dirty Little Secret, remains at £0.99. This is the lowest I can put the books to make it more affordable for readers, while at the same time bringing earning a modest income. All future books in the Louise Miller series will also be at the same £2.99 price.
As for the physical books, the paperbacks and hardbacks have had their prices reduced to the lowest I can and still earn from them. I've questioned whether or not to continue with the physical books as the prices are, quite frankly, staggering. The only reason I am considering keeping them is that they are available in libraries - it earns me a pittance, and only a yearly royalty paid out, so from a "business" point of view it isn't viable - but it means people have access to my books who may not be able to afford to buy them, even at £2.99, or even like digital books.
Look at that, you just saw the decision making process take place - I'm keeping the physical books for that very reason. I'll keep the prices the lowest I can, and they'll be available as well from your local library.
What I'm writing
At the moment I'm tinkering with some short stories I've wanted to write for some time, using them as a way to keep the writing habit alive as I gear up to start work on a new novel. I'm also writing longhand, taking time on a morning to get an hour or so in while the rest of the house sleeps. It's hard going, retraining the hand to use a pen rather than tapping away at a keyboard. It slows me down, lets me think more through the word choice and language used and so far, I'm enjoying it.
I've some new notebooks on the way to use for the novel; they should arrive towards the end of next week, and I've been cleaning out my favourite fountain pen to use. This isn't a Louise Miller novel, it isn't even a crime novel I'll be working on, but it is a story I've held for a long time and I think now is the time to write it.
I'll post some more updates later down the line.
Our Allotment
Lucy and I have started growing our own food, taking up an allotment which we have spent the last few weeks working on (yesterday we had 2 tonnes of compost delivered and spent a couple of hours moving it in the pouring rain - our muscles are crying out today!), the plan being to grow as many vegetables, fruit and salad leaves as we can, as well as provide for several members of our extended family as well.
I have to say I am loving it. Spending time with Lucy, out in the fresh air, surrounded by quiet, and doing good work. Hard work. I marvelled when I discovered we had a frog in the little pond at the back of the site. I spent time just watching a couple of pigeons fluttering around in the trees. It's a nice pause, away from the screens and scrolling.
So far we have potatoes planted, but the beds we put down and filled with the new compost yesterday will have lots of different veg put in soon - courgettes, tomatoes, beans etc. It's fun as well learning about them, when to plant, how to water them etc. It's a whole new hobby!
