January 2023 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to my first newsletter of 2023. As I explained in a previous update, I'll now be sending out a newsletter on the first day of every month; this one's a bit late due to a technical hitch! Each email will be more organised and give you a closer look at what I'm working on. This is the first one and you can expect the next instalment on the first of February. There may be one or two extra emails a month if I have something to announce, such as a new e-book.
Book of the Month – January 2023
Every month one of my e-books will be free or discounted for my Book of the Month promotion. The one I've chosen for January 2023 is Viral, which is free to download all month. It's a collection of thoughts, mini stories and other pieces of writing about the pandemic. There are three sections to it: the first is about lockdown, the second looks at the government and the third focuses on the media.
If you haven't read Viral, now's your chance to do so without paying. Should you like what you read, feel free to leave a rating and review. If you don't like what you read, there's no need for a rating or review! Here are the links:
Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Google Play
If you enjoy reading it and can stomach some more pandemic writing, download the sequel, Viral: Moving On, which is on sale at $/£0.99 all January. This second instalment looks at life after lockdown, lessons we can learn and the future. It's also the final instalment in the series as I have no intentions of writing about the pandemic ever again, for obvious reasons.
January Promotion
As well as making Viral free all month and discounting Viral: Moving On, I'll be running a promotion focusing on another e-book of mine. Here are the details:
A Flash of Fright. Download Terror in Brief, a collection of 200 two-sentence horror stories, free from 15-16 January.
If you're a horror fan and fancy reading some extremely short stories, download Terror in Brief and discover some of the shortest horror stories around.
Last Month I...
Launched a new website
I'm happy with the site but will probably tinker with the odd thing every now and then.
Started writing Not So Loving, a series of rants about Valentine's Day
This is the third instalment in the Rants About Special Days series, following Not So Festive and Not So Spooky. In this short e-book, I rant and rave about the mushy, gushy day of romance, love, relationships and whatnot. I can't stand it and when I've been writing about it, I've held nothing back. If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on Christmas and Halloween, just wait until you see what I have to say about Valentine's Day...
This Month I Will...
Launch my blog and write several posts about Viral
Every month I'll write at least two blog posts about the current Book of the Month. These will look at the inspiration behind the book and the writing process. A lot of my posts will be about particular e-books, but some of them will focus more on the ups and downs of self-publishing. I'll send an email with the link when I've got the first post up; don't worry, it won't be a long email like this one!
Finish writing Not So Loving and will get it published
It'll be online in plenty of time for Valentine's Day, which I simply can't wait for... Here's the cover:
Continue working on My Time, the sequel to No Going Back
This is my biggest project for 2023. I've already written several chapters and have a plan for how the story's going to proceed. It should be around the same length as No Going Back and will be similar in style and tone, though it will touch on some darker topics. Without giving too much away, there will be some full-length dream sequences in which we get a closer look at Brian's way of seeing the world and the fame seekers in it. I'm aiming to have the novel all done and dusted (and available to download!) by the end of the year. Keep checking this monthly newsletter for regular updates.
Write some short Christmas-themed horror stories
I've already written one Christmas-themed horror story, Presents for Raymond, which I'm very pleased with. Right now, this short story is only available to subscribers. I have ideas for several other short horror stories themed to Christmas and will work on them this month:
Better Be Good. An unruly boy dares to get on the wrong side of Santa Claus...
My Decorations. An obsessive woman notices there are extra decorations on her Christmas tree...
Lights for Company. An unfaithful wife is locked out of her home by her furious husband while snowfall is worsening...
The plan is to publish all four stories – as well as any more I write – in an e-book called Presents for Raymond. Look for it coming out in the next few months. I'll give you another update in February's newsletter.
Thanks for Reading!
If you’ve made it this far, you’ll be pleased to know that next month’s newsletter will be even longer.