Back to school, 40 years on.

Tags

marketing, New book, School

Now that my book, The Greatest Gift, is available in print and eBook versions, I’ve started telling people about it.

Proud of my achievement and English being a weakness at school, I sent a copy to the Rector (headmaster) of my old school, Trinity Academy, Edinburgh, with a covering letter, quoting what the old Rector had said to me when I was sixteen, “Balneaves, you’ll never make anything of yourself Boy.”

At the suggestion of a friend, Len Russell (Author of the soon to be released, A Man Who Cast Two Shadows), I also offered to give a hardback copy of the book as a prize to a student for ‘best effort in English’. To my surprise and delight, the current Rector, telephoned me to accept and also asked me to be Guest of Honour at the forthcoming school award ceremony to hand out the awards and make a short speech about my book.

So, it’s back to school for me in June and what a tremendous accolade to be asked. Thank you Sir.

Paperback available at http://www.balneaves.co.uk

EBook for Kindle and ePub for Mac and IPhone are also available through links on the same website.

The challenge of writing

Tags

New book, sequel, time, writing

It’s an irony that my book, The Greatest Gift, is about time, the very commodity that evades me. I’m so busy with my full time work that I have limited time to write so do so mainly only on holiday.

In two weeks, I managed to set up the sequel, Drifting Sands, and write 6,000 words. At that rate I’ll need about 10 holidays or 3-4 years. In that time, not only will my readers have lost track of my story, I will too and constantly have to re-read what I’ve written to keep the continuity of a difficult time travelling plot. I guess this is the constant bain of a writer’s life unless they are full time.

Time, I can feel it slipping away. That’s why I’m writing about it I guess.

It has arrived

Tags

New book, printing, proof

Well, the proof is here and it’s looking good. The cover sits well and is evenly set round the spine, all the chapters start on facing pages as planned, the numbering works and the finished book is 25mm thick.

It is so pleasing to see the culmination of five years work in my hand.

Order the first print run.

Now, the promised sequel, get that mind working.

A hitch

Tags

New book, publishing

Files uploaded for printing. Error warning, spine too narrow. Must have written more than I thought. Launch Photoshop, you have a new mission.

Imaginative Writing

Tags

imagination, New book, thinking, writing

Today I’m structuring a sequel to THE GREATEST GIFT. This is an exciting time as I let my mind wander through the possibilities.

From bare bones to publication, how long? TGG took five years but now it’s done and my mind is more trained I think SHIFTING SANDS will be more of a McDonald’s rather than an Italian dinner.

The Greatest Gift is complete

Tags

afterlife, first book, hypnosis, New book, nmd, scifi novel, time

Well, it’s finally complete, story written, cover designed, sent to my editor for a final read, then it will be out. I can’t believe it but watch this space for a release date. It’s about time and it’s about Time.

The Greatest Gift

Tags

beyond the grave, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, New book, scifi, time

Typically, readers of my forthcoming science fiction book, THE GREATEST GIFT, will be into pure escapism, with some concern for what’s beyond the grave.

It’s been five years since I first started writing this, my first, book. Ironic really as it’s about, time. So it’s about time it was published.

Expect THE GREATEST GIFT later this year.