What's the Story?

Just taking a wee break from my Olympic Viewing Fest to talk about the latest BLOOD TEARS news. (And no, this post has nothing to do with Jessica Ennis, I just wanted an excuse to post a photo of this remarkable young woman.)

At the start of the 'lympics my publisher decided that he would offer the ebook for free on kindle for the first 5 days of the games. A kind of  - Sick of sport? Buy this! - approach. And it only worked.

My peeps got tweeting and blogging and posting on Facebook and before you could say What An Opening Ceremony, BLOOD TEARS was charging up the chart. Over the weekend, the book moved in to the No 1 slot on both the general fiction chart and the crime/ mystery chart.

The number of downloads?

Over 18,000.

Yup, you read that right. Over 18,000. That's mental, mental I tells you.

Then the price went up to a whole 99p - and BLOOD TEARS had to start all over in the charts, but this time in the paid ones. And it quickly moved up there as well. At one point we were at no 25 in the general book chart and no 5 in the crime/ mystery chart. And this chart HERE currently has me at number 10. Yesterday, I was at no 5, sandwiched in among all the porn books.

Which was nice.

So, a BIG, HUGE thank you to everyone who has posted reviews, posted on facebook, blogged and tweeted. You have all played a part in bringing BLOOD TEARS to a bigger audience.

Now I just need to make a wee bit of cash, so the publisher will continue to publish me.

laters,
Michael

NEWSFLASH

NEWSFLASH:

I have just signed and returned a publishing contract for my debut crime novel “Blood Tears”.

WUHOOOOOOO.

Can you feel the excitement? Can ye? Can ye? Can ye?

The release date is June 2012.

It is taken a looooooong time to get to this stage, a lot of energy, a lot of writing, reading and re-writing, a lot of prayer, a lot of sweat, a lot of frustration, a lot of close calls, more frustration. I can’t overstate how good this feels.

And yet it also feels a bit surreal at the moment - I’m sure it won’t feel “real” until I hold the book in my sticky paws

The publishing house with impeccable taste? Five Leaves Publications are an independent publishing house based in Nottingham, England. They have an eclectic catalogue with radical and literary roots. Their main areas of interest are fiction and poetry, social history, Jewish secular culture, with side orders of Romani, young adult, Catalan and crime fiction titles.

“Crime” is where yours truly comes in. They have a stable that includes Allan Guthrie, Russel D. McLean, Ray Banks, John Harvey and Rod Madocks (great name for a crime writer) who’s “No Way to Say Goodbye” was shortlisted for the ITV Crime and Thriller Awards. So I’m in good company.

I’ll keep you posted as I work myself into a pitch of frenzy not seen since Wills proposed to Katie.

Laters,

Michael