This last week has been quite the rollercoaster! A large part of me wants to leap up and have a little dance of happiness because of the success of Burly & Grum's Halloween Adventure but a larger part is saying hold on there bud, you're not quite up to that! Really? Me? Not up to a little dance of happiness? Unheard of! But midweek I had to have a chronic abscess treated at the dentist and have been nursing a sore head ever since. Honestly, at this moment in time I'd kill to sleep through just one night! The consequence has been that I haven't done as much as I'd like to let people know that the story is available FREE as an audio book and as an ebook, but despite that it's been downloaded over 80 times as an audio book and over 500 times as an ebook. Not bad really! And Pat (the narrator) and I have had some excellent reviews, which has really given us a boost. I think that Sophie's review is my favourite -
but reviews such as this one, mean a huge amount to both Pat and myself: "I got this title as an audiobook from Soundcloud and loved every second of it. The story, for the younger amongst the young adults is fun and even has a lesson hidden amongst it. The characters are all extremely well portrayed, each showing their respective personalities within only a few short pages. The story itself was fun and I am sure the kids would love to listen to it on Halloween as a form of entertainment not regularly used these days. The audio production on Soundcloud was very professional and the narrator did a smashing job of creating voice characters and managing to entertain with his voice. The sound quality was high and enough of sound effects was used to entertain but not too much so that it distracts. Narration and audio production thus gets a 5 * review as well!" was just fantastic."
Thank you to everyone who took the trouble to sit down and write a review, I can't tell you how great it makes me feel when I read them!
My very grateful thanks have to go to Witherbys Printing - they kindly printed 200 copies of Burly & Grum's Halloween Adventure so I could give them out free. Witherbys are a fantastic company and if you ever need any printing done, I'd certainly recommend them! Yesterday, despite feeling really grim, I ventured out of the house for the first time, put up my brolly and fought my way through sleet and pounding rain (yes, winter seems to have arrived in Essex) to Chelmsford Library, Gem's Halloween Shop, Stephen Alexander Hairdressing and Bah Humbug (the latter 3 shops are in Moulsham Street) and all of them kindly took some copies so they could give them away free to their customers. Tomorrow I'll be off to the Barbican Library as they've also said they'd like a few copies. It's half term next week and the kids will be off, there's lots going on so I'm going to make sure the booklets reach as many children as possible. It's really great to have some hard copies, there's something brilliant about having a story in print version in your hand to read. I'm looking forward to the coming week, hopefully my head will stop hurting at some point and I'll be able to do lots of little dances of happiness!
Burlington Bear (Burly to his friends) and Grum the groblin are sitting at the entrance of Burly’s cave in the Great Forest waiting for Jennifer Wilson, aged 10. Jennifer is already an author having published a book of poems ‘Dogs Forever’ with her mother, Dawn Colclasure, and Burly and Grum are going to talk to her not just about her writing but also her drawing. Burly is a little bit nervous and is eating a large slice of honey cake to calm himself. Grum is grumbling about the lack of mud in Burly’s cave. “I think you should have one of those things like the humans have, you know, a tub thing but with mud in it instead of water so I can sit in it all day.”
Burly ignores Grum and wipes cake crumbs from his snout with a large paw. “What if Jennifer doesn’t like cookies?” he asks worriedly, pointing to a huge basket stuffed full of different types of cookies that Max, his friend, has baked for this very special occasion.
“Mum’s packed me some spare crispy fried earwigs, she can have those.”
Burly raises his eyebrows, “She won’t want… oh! Look here she is!”
Jennifer appears. She’s a little out of breath having climbed up a narrow path that runs along the side of the mountain to get to Burly’s cave. Burly immediately drops what’s left of his cake and rushes to greet her. “Jennifer! How lovely to see you, I’m so glad you made it – do come and meet Grum.”
Jennifer has a big smile on her face: Hi, Burly. Hi, Grum! It’s good to be here!
Grum: “You’re a lot shorter than I thought you would be.”
Burly: “Grum, mind your manners, Jennifer, would you like a cookie before we begin?”
Jennifer: ….*stares at Grum, looks at Burly* Yes, please.
Burly and Grum and Jennifer sit down at the entrance to the cave. There are no comfy chairs or seats but the view overlooking the Great Forest is beautiful. The interview begins.
Burly: I’m so pleased you agreed to speak to us about your writing Jennifer and thank you so much for coming, I know the Great Forest is a little out of your way.
Jennifer: No problem! I love the wilderness!
Burly: I’ve read ‘Dogs Forever’ and really loved your poems. You seem to know all about dogs. Have you got one of your own and what is his – or her - name?Jennifer: We have a family dog! His name is Chewbacca, from Star Wars. “Chewie” for short.
Burly: How long have you been writing poems and do you write anything else? And do you need another cookie?
Jennifer: I sometimes write poems. Yes, I write short stories and comics. And of course I need another cookie.
Grum: Burly has read your poems to me and I really like the one where you say dogs poo in the house, it reminds me of home and made me laugh. What’s your favourite poem?
Jennifer: “Poems!” My faves are: “Dogs” on page 6, “You Are My Best Friend” on page 4, “Small Dog, Big Heart” on page 11, “Dog Sport” on page 18, “Dogs Dream Of. . . .” on page 20 and “I Love Dogs” on page 24! Those are my faves! J
Burly: What did you say when your mum asked you to write a book with her? Or was it you that suggested it? Were you very excited?
Jennifer: When Mom asked, I was happy, but not sure. But I decided to do it!
Grum: I really like your drawings of dogs, they look like very tasty snacks. Are they your dogs and can I meet them?
Jennifer: No. And, no. . . . . Dogs are not snacks, Grum! And thank you. J
Burly: What do you like doing best, drawing or writing?
Jennifer: Drawing. Writing is awesome, but I’m a drawing girl! J
Burly: Do have another cookie Jennifer. You are a very talented girl and I’ve heard you also write songs! Are you going to do an album as well?
Jennifer: Thank you! (eats cookie) My and Mom are thinking about making my own CD! :D And, yes! I do write songs and sing them, too! . . . . But I can’t reach high notes without screwing up.
Grum: My mum has read your poems and she likes them but wants to know if you’d write a poem about groblins because we don’t get mentioned much. Jennifer: Sure! I’ll try my best! And I know you don’t . . . . !! Thank you, Grum. You gave me another idea for another poem book! :DBurly: What do your friends say about the fact you have had your poems and drawings published? Jennifer: They’re pretty impressed and I said that if Mom needs help drawing a certain . . . thing, that I would recommend them!
Burly: What are you going to do next Jennifer? Are you going to publish another book and, if so, what kind – a story book, a comic or a book of poems?
Jennifer: I’m working on my own book now! It’s called The Legendary Wolf! I like how it’s turning out! J
Burly: I love the sound of The Legendary Wolf – we have a few wolves in the Great Forest you know, they’re mostly friendly but sometimes they can be quite scary.
Grum: My mum isn’t scared of them, she whacked one on the nose with her rolling pin.
Burly: Do you know if you are the youngest author on Amazon, Jennifer?
Jennifer: I don’t know. Maybe?
Grum: Where did all your cookies go Burly? Have you eaten all of them Jennifer?
Jennifer: (makes a startled face) . . . Noooo . . . I’m innocent!
Burly: It’s been a real pleasure to talk to you Jennifer and I’m sure you have a wonderful future ahead of you whatever you decide to do and that you will be an inspiration to other children. Thank you so much for coming to see us.
Jennifer stands up and gives Burly a big hug and he gives her a big bear hug back. She walks over to Grum ready to give him a hug.
Grum holds his hand out: Yeah, bye Jennifer.
Burly (raised eyebrows): Grum?
Grum (big sigh and lets himself be hugged): Thank you for coming Jennifer, it’s been lovely having you.
Jennifer: It’s been lovely being here. J
Burly and Grum wave goodbye to Jennifer as she leaves. Burly: Well, I really enjoyed meeting Jennifer didn’t you Grum? Do you think she’ll come and visit us again?
Grum: Yes, she was okay but d’you think she could bring her dogs with her next time – I really want to find out what a hot dog tastes like…Note: Jennifer recently finished illustrating a children's bookthat her mother, Dawn Colclasure, wrote on upcycling. She is now not only going to illustrate another children's book written by her mother, this one is a story about a boy who wishes for a million doughnuts and one day his wish comes true, but is going to write a song for it as well! Here at Burly and Grum we all love Jennifer – what a brilliant girl and we are sure that she will inspire other children to write and draw and sing and do whatever makes them happy!
When I published the first Burly & Grum book 'Beyond the Forest' in May last year I did so because, quite simply, I wanted to learn the process of publishing. I'd barely even heard of kindles so grappling with formatting, editing, social media, creating a website, etc was an immense learning curve for me.
It was also addictive and a few months later I published the second Burly & Grum book and then the third. That was it, I thought, I have my trilogy - three books available in ebook and in print, something to be proud of.
But far from being the end of my journey, it was only the beginning.
Somewhere along the line I discovered that I'm simply incapable of sitting back and waiting for the books to be discovered. Sometimes, yes, I'm limited in what I can do because I work full time and don't have a great deal of money (master of the understatement me...) but I have an incredibly strong sense of purpose in making the Burly and Grum books as successful as possible. This is for two good reasons; firstly, I owe so many people who have helped me along the way - first and most importantly, Rob Jones the artist who, luckily (or scarily depending on your perspective...) is on the same wavelength as me, and has brought my characters to life, but there's also Stuart Wakefield, Richard Farr, Stephen Alexander, the staff and supporters of the charity Born Free - each one has helped me without asking for anything in return. Burly and Grum has to be successful so that I can repay them with more than my most sincere and humble thanks. The second reason is the simple fact that I love Burly and Grum, Max, Grum's brothers, Daffodil, Mike and the Great Forest and the quirky world they live in. I'm a bit of a lost cause when it comes down to it and the truth is I'll probably be creating their/my own world for a long, long time to come.
Earlier this week I spoke to Pat Scullion. Last year Pat gave up a well paid, secure job in IT in order to start a degree in Digital Media. He's got great imagination, great humour and I'm delighted to say that he's still a big kid at heart - he's the perfect person to help me improve the Burly and Grum website. Talking to him made me realise just how much I still want to do. I want children to step through a door and discover the wonderful Burly and Grum world, to walk in the Great Forest, explore the Secret City, to have a look around Burly's cave and slide down Mike's shiny red slide - don't worry, they won't have to eat crispy fried earwigs... or maybe they should...? I want a website that is interactive, fun and exciting, that has bells and whistles and a lot more besides, and with Pat's skill and imagination I'm sure all that won't be a problem (no pressure there Pat!) But there's more! Yes, Pat also does voiceovers and is going to help me create audio books. How cool is that?! Quite how he's going to squeeze in his degree I don't know,but the thing is, once you start thinking and being creative, you just have to keep going! So, when you create a whole new world how do you know when to stop? The answer is - I don't have a clue, I'm not even sure it's possible to stop because the reality is that I think I've barely begun to create my Burly and Grum world. It's just as well really that I was born with a certain doggedness about me and along the way discovered some pretty incredible and talented friends (who, at some point in the future, I will pay back!) to join me on my journey. Exciting, isn't it?!
There's a lot I'm grateful for in this life, but the support and love my family and friends give me - yes me, the Restless One who is always dashing off doing this that and the other - means the world to me. Now, through Burly and Grum I'm getting support (and lots of hugs) from others as well - this week, Aiden aged 7, gave me a massive hug and asked me to pass it on to Burly because he was the best bear in the world, and a little girl called Sophie gave me a picture of Grum that she spent ages colouring in. Frankly, I think she's got Grum down to a 't'! Thank you so much Sophie - it's gorgeous!
Friends are helping me in other ways as well - I get my hair cut at Steve at Stephen Alexander Hairdressing in Moulsham Street, Chelmsford and he is one of my biggest supporters (way to go Steve!). He's a great family man and has a busy business with many local families coming to the salon. Last week when I had my hair cut there we chatted and now we're running a competition together which should start next weekend. I've already put together a draft poster - what do you think? The competition will mostly be for local people but hopefully others will want to join in as well because I'd like lots of gorgeous pictures to look at! More details about the competition will be coming soon! I'd also like to mention the fabulous organisation Born Free. From the very beginning I knew that I wanted to give a percentage of any earnings to Born Free because I think the work they do to stop animal suffering is awe inspiring, and despite their very long wait they keep promoting and helping me - Burly and Grum have their own page on their webside, Virginia McKenna will be reading the books soon to her grandchildren (I'm very nervous) and I should also be running a competition with their kids club Wildcrew. I'm incredibly grateful to them. Thank you to everyone there, especially Joanne Bartholomew. And just to keep you updated, Burly and Grum are doing very well - especially The Secret City which is still in the top 100 in Amazon (both UK and US) under free books for children. I'd like to thank every single person who has downloaded the books and I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading them. Now, onto the next exciting week!
Although all three Burly and Grum books are available as e-books, only two of them are available in print. I've been waiting for what seems like forever for the proof copy of the third book to arrive and yesterday, finally, it did! It was waiting for me on the doorstep when I got back from shopping and I have to confess I did a little jig of happiness as I unwrapped it. Finally, I have a trilogy!
The cover looks great (thank you Richard for the expert tidying up!) and, flipping through the pages, I could see that the print and images are clear and easy to read (although my old camera doesn't do it justice, sorry!). I have to admit I was very happy.
But a proof copy is a proof copy for a reason so I settled down last night and went through it with a fine tooth comb. I have to admit I was pretty confident I wouldn't have to change much because, frankly, I'd already proof read it a thousand times. Hah, that'll teach me! The book now has about 30 yellow tabs hanging out of the side and each one refers to a change I've made! This morning I went on Kindle Direct Marketing page and updated the Kindle version and this afternoon I've worked through the Createspace version making sure everything is in order. That final print version will have to wait a few more weeks because I do want it to be as near perfect as possible.
In my last blog I mentioned that I was thinking about recording sections of the Burly & Grum books (maybe even all of the books!) but that I had to do some research to find out what children wanted. I've been out and about collecting opinions to find out what kids thought and you know what? They're a sophisticated lot - never under estimate a 7 year old! I aim to start working on this project very soon.
I also thought I'd like to improve the Burly & Grum website and create some games for children. I put in 'Spot the Difference' game and received some very positive feedback. My son is working on word search and, again, I've got a few other ideas bubbling away in the background. They might not be the most sophisticated games but I'm working on improving things to the best of my technical and financial ability! One website I absolutely love is the most wonderful Magicbelles - if you have a moment, do go on it, it is fabulous, just the kind of website I'd love Burly & Grum to have! When that proof copy arrived yesterday I momentarily felt that that was it, I'd completed everything I'd set out to do with Burly & Grum. Who did I think I was kidding?! Today I've submitted an updated version, I've looked at ways of recording the books and improving the website and I still have a lot to do on the marketing side. I don't think I'll ever properly 'finish' Burly & Grum - there will always be something else to do, to learn and frankly, I'm having a great time!
The weather was glorious last week and, as I sat in my office in London gazing up at the blue sky above, I bet myself that the week I was off, i.e. this week, wouldn't be as nice. And yes, right on cue the temperature dropped, grey clouds formed and rain is now moving in... I suppose it's probably just as well, sunny weather would distract me from my List. Yes, like most mothers I have a List and for this coming week it's as long as my arm - take cats to vet, go to dentist (check-up only thank goodness), prepare car for MOT, print third book, write blog, etc. It covers two sides of A4 and is pinned to the notice board in my kitchen. At the top of the list is 'make sure prize winner gets prizes'. Yes! The Burly & Grum competition came to an end on Friday. For those of you who may not know what I'm talking about, I asked readers to guess Grum's middle name, which begins with a P. Every email I opened made me smile - there are a lot of people out there with great imaginations! Pantswasher was one of my favourites but there also Pembo, Pierre Plin Paul, Pickalo, Peregrine, Parker,Pepin, Pee, Puzzled, Poddlemore, Persevere - just brilliant names!! The winner was Kim who came up with the name Pungent - I really loved this name because although Grum does actually smell a bit, it makes him sound quite refined as well, a nice combination. So well done Kim!
Now, what else is on my list? Ah yes, mums! Mums are fab, wonderful people and most of them, like me, endlessly juggle and run around trying to do a million things at one. The Easter break is almost here so I'd like to offer all you hard working mums my second book Burly & Grum and The Secret City for FREE*! Hopefully you can get a bit of break while the kids read it :) If you read it to them yourself, make sure you make yourself a nice cup of tea and relax. Click on either of these two links to download - The Secret City - UK or The Secret City - US. I met a group of three wonderful mums on Friday evening and they were so interested in what I doing and were very encouraging, offering me good advice. They all said that most mums don't especially want their children to have Kindles - they love the experience of sitting down with their children and reading to them from a book. I totally agree, there is nothing like reading a story to your children and I sincerely hope this will never change - books should be read and loved, dog-eared and taken everywhere, they're brilliant! However, having said that, I do think there's room for both ebooks and print books in this world and one of my friends says her 9 year old daughter loves her Kindle - she's at the age she likes reading to herself and can have all her favourites in one place (doesn't get out of bed so much was the phrase that kept cropping up!). She also helps her two younger brothers to read by making the print larger so it's easier for them to follow. As I say, there's definitely room for both!
I must get on with my list and do a bit of gardening before the rain sets in. Have a good week everyone, especially all you mums out there! :)
*The offer is for ebooks only.
Earlier this week I did a bit of adding up in my head and thought 'I must be close to 100,000 downloads from Amazon'. I then did some adding up on a calculator and the total came to over 103,000 for The Secret City. I feel very calm about this because although it's a large number I know I've got a long way to go before the Burly & Grum books are taken seriously in the children's book market, which is probably the most competitive in the publishing industry. I feel as though I'm standing at the edge of an exciting adventure and now have to take braver and scarier steps if I want to establish myself in any way. The publishing industry does not take prisoners! I have been looking at the itinerary for the Bologna Children's Book Fair and it is absolutely fascinating. I'd love to be there! Today, for example, the subject is Tools of Change for Publishing - The Art, Craft & Business of Digital Content for Kids. Engaging children in this digital world is challenging, fascinating, exciting - more and more opportunities are opening up to make reading more accessible to every child. Having worked for the charity Mencap and supported those with learning disabilities I think the expansion of reading material from print to ipads etc will be immensely helpful to those who need more encouragement. A British company, Nosy Crow, is leading the way with apps and has already won many awards. Transforming a story into an app does not detract from it, but can enhance the experience of reading and children love the interaction. The future of children's literature is very exciting! Having said that, I don't think that the print book will ever disappear as some people fear. Taking the time to read books to your children builds strong bonds and instills a love of literature. I simply could not imagine a world without print books for children.
There's a place for both digital books and print books in this world and I'm looking forward seeing how they develop side by side in the future.
Meanwhile, back to the 100,000 downloads, I'm going to give myself and Rob (Burly & Grum's artist), a tiny pat on the back; last year I didn't even know what a Kindle was (and I'm not sure Rob did either!) - I wonder what we'll have learnt and achieved by this time next year?
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I think patience tests all of us at some point in our life. like you I want everything done yesterday, but knowing that is unattainbale I set deadlines and plans, and if the dealine is missed well does it really matter. I believe things happen for a reason and sometimes I hear myself saying 'phew, that was a near'egg of face' moment'. Everything will fall into place - I'd check out Burly and Grum's backpacks for any spare patience they might have :) n x have a lovely day :)
You're right, everything will fall into place and if it doesn't then that's okay as well. I'll definitely check the backpacks - I think Burly's got loads of patience stashed away in his, but I have my doubts about Grum's! You have a lovely day too :)