Welcome to 2022

2022 is going to give me a lot of trouble. I typed that four times before I got the right number of 2s in the right order!

Happy New Year!

What’s in store for 2022

In the Princelings world, there are only a couple of incidents that are firmed up, and both appeared somewhere in the blogoverse in 2011. One made it into the paperback as a bonus chapter, and follows the trip Mariusz made to see Fred and the Realms as you read in my Christmas story. Actually, I suppose it shouldn’t be called the Realms any more, as they are not exactly kingdoms. But it’ll do.

I have two projects involving the Princelings on my list of things to do. Neither is listed as to do in 2022, but I may get started on them.

  • A set of short stories involving Roscoe and Neville, possibly as seafarers, we’ll see. I’m not sure I can come up with four or five 5000 word stories for them. They may or may not involve other Princelings characters. That’s how it starts: just ‘stories with Roscoe and Neville’.
  • The second is a very long-term project, maybe over ten years. A Princelings Encyclopedia, or some such title. Maybe I’ll start it off here and see how far I get with it.

I’m also awaiting the edited version of the Princelings and the Lost City audiobook.

Personal Appearances

The Craft & Gift Fairs I did last autumn may not have been a huge success, but they were successful in that I sold books and probably raised my author profile by several hundred percent. I think if I’m prepared to invest in advertising, I have to consider this as an effective way of putting my books in front of, maybe fewer people, but one who are more inclined to read them. I sold copies of books 1,2 3,4 and 7, and a couple of Messenger Misadventures, too.

So I’ve booked four venues in Hampshire and Wiltshire for the coming year:

  • Lymington (Masonic Hall) — leisure sailing port: March 26, June 25, and possibly August dates
  • Salisbury (Guildhall) — tourist destination: April 9, July 9, and possibly August and December
  • Romsey (Town Hall) — local to me: May 7, July 23 , and possibly October and December
  • Lyndhurst (Community Centre) — heart of the New Forest: June 4, August 20.

I’m also investigating other venues, including the summer shows (agricultural etc) and book fairs, if I can find them.

These are all subject to English Covid rules, of course. And they may (are likely to) change. And hopefully change back. I think people are willing to mask up and get out and about, but the venues have to be strict to keep their licences etc.

Zoom Events

If you are a teacher or librarian and would like a Zoom event for your pupils/members, please get in touch. So far I’ve only been on the receiving end of these.

Keep safe, have a productive year, and look after your well-being and that of your loved ones.

The Princelings of the East – 3rd ebook edition plus Audiobook

Princelings of the East audiobook

All the work for the audiobook of Princelings book 1 is complete and loaded onto ACX. I’m just waiting for technical approval, after which I’ll be able to give you some links and also some FREE COPY CODES.

Princelings of the East audiobook

Free Audiobook Codes

Obviously there are reasons for giving free codes: to get reviews! So please watch this space to get a code and be able to review in three parts: the story, the narration and the technical bit.

Third Edition

The third edition has had some minor tidying up and smoothing of some of the wording. This makes it in synch with the audiobook, which means that if you like to listen and read at the same time, you will be able to do so using Amazon’s Whispersynch technology.

The third edition will also be going to Apple Books (and Kobo, Nook and Smashwords), so if you prefer to read on your iPad, you can also get the audiobook to listen along.

The ebook remains free on Apple iTunes, Kobo, Nook and of course Smashwords.

You may be charged 99 c/p if it’s the first time you’ve bought it from Amazon, but if you already own it, you can get the upgrade via your kindle account.

Princelings as Audiobooks

Princelings of the East audiobook

Audiobooks – the coming thing. With the growing popularity of smart speakers, it seemed the time to get the Princelings books onto audio. I mean, if someone is going to ask the admittedly unlikely question “Alexa, find me a fantasy book where guinea pigs are kings” I want them to find mine!

The procedure for indie publishing audiobooks is well documented elsewhere. The two main sources I’ve found for uploading audio files for publication are ACX (Amazon’s connection with Audible), and Findaway Voices, which recently made arrangements with Smashwords. Both have very good and helpful instructions for asking for auditions, and choosing your narrator. There are also the business things like payment and contracts, and technical aspect of quality, length and uploads.

Naturally I started from a different position.

Princelings audiobook cover

I was lazing on the sofa one Saturday, watching the auditions for The Voice UK. The next one up was a guy from Norfolk (where I live) who did audiobooks as one of his activities. When I heard him reading, I sat up and said “that’s Fred!” I had found my Fred and George, as far as I was concerned.

Scroll forward to this year, and I decided I’d better get these audiobooks started, with the Princelings of the East as priority. I tracked down my Voice, first through the tv show website, then to his Facebook page. He did some audition tapes – a five minutes extract and a fifteen minute one, and after some more discussions, he got going on them.

Christopher Preece is delightful to work with, comes up with just want I want (sometimes without guidance) for the voices, and surprises me with some of the side characters sometimes. Who knew that Baden has a Sheffield accent? Fred, George, Hugo, Victor, Lupin and Nimrod are just as I hoped. I’ll hear his Lord Smallweed for the first time later today, as that chapter just went up on our working site. The brief: a nasty piece of work, who will become more evil as the series progresses.

The words need to match the kindle ebook exactly, in order to comply with Amazon’s specifications for Whispersynch. So, having given Chris a slightly updated version of book 1, I’m now tweaking bits where word flow is better in the audio version than the reading one.

There’ll be a new edition of Book 1 published before the audio is released. You can update your Kindle, iPad, Nook or Kobo from your purchase site, or get it free from Smashwords as usual, if Amazon isn’t pricematching.

I expect to get the audiobook online in January or February. You’ll probably be the first to know.

And after we finish The Princelings of the East, Chris will be starting on Princelings and the Pirates, followed by Princelings and the Lost City. It’ll depend on sales of those whether we do any more. Chris is excellent value for money, but it gets pricey when you have a ten book series!

And a quick ‘thank you’ to Dani English, who rustled up a revised Princelings cover even though she was packed with pre-Christmas commissions.

Note: I’ve set up a page for the audiobooks, but be warned – there’s a link to Chris’s stupendous rendition of Prince Ali on it!