Blog

February 29th

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:56:00 -0500

Conflict Management - A Rant

A New Newsletter often brings with it new thoughts; new perspectives. I am finding that on occasion tolerance is a furtive creature. Once you thing you have it leashed and muzzled, it suddenly rebels and drags you off to its lair. An example of this is how I recently perceived the response to my request to a very famous personality. The request was simple enough, support for a cause that would only serve to help a group of people (children, no less). Support that would consist of nothing more than a few words - a few sentences - typed onto a computer screen.

The response was a few words - a few sentences - to suggest that the person was already far too committed, far too busy to add such a note of support. I thanked the person, thrown off kilter by the fact that they had responded to my email. My reply was gracious, forelock touchingly humble even. I allowed them to let needy people down, and thanked them for it! Shame on me!

Then the beast called tolerance morphed into something else. I applied a formula and didn’t much like the outcome. My formula for my work is crystal. I published with a company that uses the sale of each book to help others. That’s what Chipmunka Publishing does. It is an ethic to which I can easily subscribe. I get to do something that I love to do, and others benefit each time I sell a book. Clear to me. Clear to most.

That someone who earns six figure sums each year cannot make such a miniscule, token commitment of a few words that have potential to help so many is a concept that I simply cannot understand, let alone tolerate. And to think that I have been a fan for many years - contributing heartily to already bloated bank balances - is a final hew in the pedestal. Shame on you; shame on you! The climb to the top is hard, but the fall will always be harder.

Dave … all ranted out!

It's an Update!

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:48:51 -0500

A big thank you to all those who attended the book signing last Saturday. The event was such a success that we have been invited back to Waterstones Bromsgrove in January 2009. I will let you know when the dates are confirmed.

Also in 2009 there are plans to expand the signings to a national level and this will incorporate a variety of venues, including large bookstores such as Waterstones and Borders, independent bookshops, and libraries and schools.

If you wish to book me for any event then please let me know and I will see what I can do, given the constraints of a limited diary. The more notice I get then the greater the likelihood that it will happen.

Make an enquiry with my agent, Jackie Kain, at jskmedia@yahoo.co.uk - she?s wonderful and very friendly.

The official fan club will be lunched in Spring 2009 and the third Beatrice outing will be published later in the year and is called Beatrice Beecham?s Cryptic Crypt. Exciting times ahead, methinks!

One last note, if you require signed copies of any of the Beatrice books for Christmas, orders will need to be with me by December 10^th for US fans and December 15^th for UK fans. Otherwise, the books are available through the usual channels Chipmunka Publishing Ltd, Amazon, Waterstones and Borders etc.

There are a limited number of signed copies currently being held at Bromsgrove Waterstones, as well as unsigned stock. All can be reserved by contacting Nicola at Waterstones on: 01527 833339

Very best wishes

Dave.

The Fate of 'Fete of Fate' ...

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:16:44 -0400

Frustration is a soul-destroying beast. More often than not it sort of creeps up on me, but lately it has taken to landing in my lap and shouting 'boo!' with all the subtlety of a Damien Hurst sculpture.

Fete of Fate appears to be hexed. I know this sounds slightly paranoid but let me explain. Then you can tell me I'm definately being paranoid! When I first started the book, Fearsome Feast was out and totally unknown (as opposed to being mostly unknown; as it is now). I began writing Fete in the Winter of 2006, and was halfway through when two events occurred. In March, 2007, my father died within six weeks of being told he had cancer. My wife's step dad died four weeks after that in uncannily similar circumstances. I spent the June and July of 2007 pouring my anger and disillusionment into the tale that became Finding Jericho which was accepted for publication by Chipmunka Publishing Ltd in September of the same year. My focus shifted for a while; and what was once unclear became a very ugly vista. Depression followed and by December I had a date with anti-depressants.

So I was drifting along and Beatrice and The Newshounds were in limbo. I handed in the final MS for Finding Jericho in January 2008 and then picked up where I left off; ploughing into Fete of Fate in an attempt to adorn my daemons with best jackets.

The intention was to publish Fete as one volume, yet publishing through Lulu meant that it would be exhorbitant to the loyal fan-base that Feast was beginning to amass on the Internet. So I decided to publish it in two volumes; to keep the cost down. I set a publishing date for April 2008 but then there were more delays as poorly edited copies were allowed into the marketplace and I had to halt the process of book 2 as I re-edited book 1.

With Book One now ready to go, work began on the final edit of Book Two and I suggested that it would be ready for early summer. To sate the desire of those loyal to all things Beatrice, I released Book One but fans wanted to wait for both books to be available.

With Book Two nearly ready, and disillusioned with Lulu, I decided to approach Chipmunka to see if they would consider publishing the third Beatrice tale: Cryptic Crypt, next year. To my great delight they said yes - but they also wanted Fearsome Feast and Fete of Fate Books One and Two on their roster!

So ... Fearsome Feast was to be re-edited, re-vamped and revised. More character depth and hints to future stories added. The ending altered. Then Fete of fate Book One was to be re-vamped; as well as Book Two. More delays saw the Beatrice waggon hit rocks and lose a wheel throughout the summer and into the autumn, where things finally began to work out. But not to everyone's satisfaction.

Amazon still hasn't uploaded the new book covers onto their site. And I suspect the credit crunch will disuade all but the staunch from purchasing Fete of Fate Books One and Two. Christmas is coming and belts are tight - this is now the way of the world. Who could have predicted it? Fate, I guess.

So what is the point of all this, you may well ask? I guess I needed space to see what's gone on over the past eighteen months or so, try and get a handle on it all. Life has been a storm for a while and Fete of fate has been a constant. Now it's out there, I'm hoping I have exorcised the daemons that I've harbored for so long and the waters towards which I sail are at least calmer for a while.

My best to you all, dear readers.

Dave

It seems strange ....

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:43:48 -0400

....but, truth is, this is the first time I've realised that my site has a blog feature. So observent. I guess I must have been a little distracted putting the site together and writing the books to realise. But hey, I got there in the end.

So I've had the site for little over a year now and what's happened? Well, lots of visitors to look in and support what I do. Some even leaving comments for which I thank you all. One book published in February 2008 another two pending this month; exciting times.

The website will continue to grow, as does the incredibly loyal fan base that Beatrice is lucky to have. To these good people my gratitude is endless.

No more thoughts for now. But later - that's another tale in the making ...