There are six more posts to go until I sign off for the year. Its been a busy year so I can very much believe how quickly 2013 has passed. It only seems like the other week I published my first ever novel, but this Wednesday will mark the 3 month anniversary of The Northumbrian Saga being published. It is also near the end of the Amazon kdp 90 day program, which actually ends tomorrow. It’s not a bad program, I had fun with the 5 free days offered and in those days (I actually only used 3), I ‘sold’ 379 copies. But the other perk of being in the scheme is a share in the global fund pool and a chance for people to borrow my book for free (if they are a prime member). I can see a lot of instances where this would be worthwhile for many people, but for me it wasn’t exactly earth moving. Over those three months a grand total of one person borrowed my book and I think I only ever received a few bucks from the pool anyway. The best part were the free days, but as other people have pointed out, you can do that even if you’re not on the scheme.
But this post isn’t a discussion on the pros and cons of kdp select, or even what I could have done in order to maximise its benefits better.The point is that the 90 days are over and I have no plans to continue for another 90 days, which means I hope to have The Northumbrian Saga available on a number of platforms such as Kobo, IPad, Nook etc, very very soon. I am a big believer in spreading the love and putting your eggs in several baskets, plus markets are always expanding and gaining more readers, kobo particularly is not very far behind Amazon.
On the writing front, you may have noticed that I didn’t have an update last month, and that I have been a bit absent on facebook and google+. Well that was kind of intentional. It’s been a very busy month in terms of the day job which unfortunately resulted in hardly any writing getting done. I’m not entirely sad about this really, as it has forced me to have a bit of a break from writing in general. Hopefully this time off will recharge the batteries and give me enough energy to push through with the final stages of the first draft/ outlining.
I have reached a bit of an impasse with TNS2. It’s 915, the Irish, the Scottish, the Northumbrians, the Kingdom of Jorvik (York) ruled by the Danes, and English Mercia and Wessex ruled by brother and sister powerhouses Lady Aethelflaeda and King Edward the Elder are all gearing towards the battle of Corbridge in 918 and the final demise of the Danish strongholds south of the Humber. I know all the players, I know the aftermath, I even have a fairly good idea about the battle and how it plays out, its just the three years into the lead up that I am having trouble with. Right now all my characters are sitting around looking bored and impatient for something worthwhile to happen. I think this is largely due to the fact that even though plenty is happening outside of Northumbria which has massive implications for the country’s future (and of course English history in general), not much is happening to my characters directly.
So that’s all from me for now, until next month and the last update for the year.
All the best, wherever you may be.
A H Gray
A H Gray 
Good luck with the first draft of the sequel, and meanwhile best wishes for sales on the various online platforms. I know how social media can absorb all your time – Facebook and Twitter are good, but they can completely draw you in. I find Facebook is really just a picture-sharing platform (at least that’s how it has worked out for The Hazel Tree!) – for it to be anything more, I think it would need a lot more time than I am prepared to give it. I think the writing must come first, whether it’s on your book or your blog, and the rest will have to come second!
Totally agree Jo! If I find an interesting article online then I sometimes share it on facebook or Google+, but other than that there just isn’t enough hours in the day. The book and the blog are my hobby, they are the things that interested me in the first place so they come first, and like you said, the marketing and social media stuff comes second.