GIFTED BOOK REVIEW: ‘Where Is My Smile’ by Natalie Reeves Billing & Hannah Jesse’Where Is My Smile’ by Natalie Reeves Billing & Hannah Jesse @BillingReeves@byhannahjesse@tinytreebooks@lovebookstours

Tags

Author, Book, book blog, Book Review, Books, children's books, emotions, Poetry

Big thanks to lovebookstours, the authors and the publisher for my gifted copy of this book.

Please see the photos for the blurb.

📚📚📚 MY REVIEW 📚📚📚

This story is written as a poem with wonderfully matching illustrations. I read this book with my eight year-old nephew. After reading it he said, “I don’t like the rain. Mum and Dad make me happy.”

This book shows children that it’s okay to be sad, that it’ll pass, and that the people we love will help us through. Plus, a dose of sunshine helps make things better.

This book is excellent in the way that it helps children to express their emotions.

It’s a very thoughtful read.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review: ‘A Notebook For Living Adventurously’ by Alastair Humphreys

Tags

Adventure, Book, Book Review, Books, Fun, Happiness, Hiking, Journal, journaling, Mental health, Motivation

What This Adventure Journal Book Is About

My Review

This book is based on the questions that British Adventurer Alastair Humphreys asks his guests on his podcast.

At the time of writing, I’m enjoying working my way through each question. I’m finding that it’s a fun way of journalling based around my hiking experiences. Writing in this way helps me to gain a deeper understanding of myself, and to reflect on past achievements and future dreams.

Staying focused on what drives a person is important to making dreams come true, and this book is an encouraging resource for any lover of the outdoors to make those dreams happen. Answering the questions is garunteed to stop procrastination.

I’m looking forward to answering all the questions. I highly recommend this book for any seasoned or newbie lover of the outdoors.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

Buy Links:

Hiking Book Review: ‘Tales From The Big Trails’ by Martyn Howe

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Adventure, Blogging community, Book, Book Review, Hiking, Nature, non-fiction, UK, United Kingdom, Well-being

BLURB

‘I am already planning the next adventure. The wanderlust that infected me has no cure.’

It all started in Fishguard in the mid-1970s when, aged fifteen, Martyn Howe and a friend set off on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path armed with big rucksacks, borrowed boots, a Primus stove and a pint of paraffin, and a thirst for adventure. After repeating the route almost thirty years later, Martyn was inspired to walk every National Trail in England and Wales, plus the four Long-Distance Routes (now among the Great Trails) in Scotland. His 3,000-mile journey included treks along the South West Coast Path, the Pennine Way, the Cotswold Way and the West Highland Way. He finally achieved his ambition in 2016 when he arrived in Cromer in Norfolk, only to set a new goal of walking the England and Wales Coast Paths and the Scottish National Trail.

In Tales from the Big Trails, Martyn vividly describes the diverse landscapes, wildlife, culture and heritage he encounters around the British Isles, and the physical and mental health benefits he derives from walking. He also celebrates the people who enrich his travels, including fellow long-distance hikers, tourists discovering Britain’s charm, farmers working the land, and the friendly and eccentric owners of hostels, campsites and B&Bs.

And when he is asked ‘Why do you do it?’, the answer is as simple as placing one foot in front of the other: ‘It makes me happy.’

MY REVIEW

The author writes in such an engaging way about his journeys that its as if you’re walking with him at times. The descriptions of the landscapes and the interactions with the people that he meets really drew me in.

As an avid day hiker looking to become more involved with long distance/multi-day hikes, this book has given me a lot of encouragement to start planning those journeys.

I’m sure this book will be a constant companion to me on my future treks.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Cold Snap’ by Codi Schneider – Gifted Book Review

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blogging, Blogging community, Book, Book Review, Cats, Codi Schneider, Colorado, Fantasy, fiction, Humour, new author, Vikings

With big thanks to @lovebookstours and @codi_schneider for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. What a great book it is!

Blurb

Tucked in the cold Colorado mountains lies the remote village of Gray Birch, a place where outsiders are frowned upon. In this village lives a cat named Bijou. But she’s no ordinary house cat; her ancestors were mousers on Viking longships, and their blood runs through her veins. Since her battle skills are hardly needed in this modern age, however, she spends her energies running the Fox Burrow Pet Inn with her human, Spencer, and her assistant, Skunk, a mentally negligible Pomeranian. Together, the happy trio has created a safe haven for their four-legged guests.

But when Eddy Line, a handsome baker from California, comes to the inn—along with his piglet and pit bull puppy—everything changes. Spencer falls for Eddy, Bijou is unhappy with the sudden changes to her clan, and the townspeople are anything but welcoming; in fact, threats are made against Eddy when he buys the town’s historic firehouse in order to open a bakery.

Then a shocking murder/dognapping occurs on the night of the bakery’s grand opening, and Bijou finds herself thrust into a tangled mystery. To solve it, she will have to summon her inner Viking—and fight tooth and claw for her new clan.

My Review

I was super intrigued to read a mystery novel told from the point of view of a cat called Bijou. Her crime-solving powers are aided by her innate Viking abilities, and her animal friends.

This honestly has to be one of the best books I’ve ever read. Codi Schneider is a very talented writer with a mastery of word play. This novel is such fun – I didn’t want to stop reading. The book has a good dose of humour and an engaging plot full of suspense. The cast of characters gives the story depth and diversity.

I really look forward to reading more from the author.

Back Again! Self-Publishing Update And Other Stuff

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Adventure, Author, blogging, Blogging community, Book, book marketing, Creativity, Self-publishing

Hi Everybody,

I hope you’re keeping well in your part of the world. It’s a good couple of months since I was last here. I’m so sorry for the delay. I’ve been focusing on a few projects that had taken me longer due to my level of dyspraxia only making it possible to take on one project at a time. This can hamper in sticking to other tasks (like putting up regular posts) but these last couple of months have helped me to work at a possible solution around this.

I’ll come to that solution at the end of this post. Suffice to say here that it means that I should be posting up more regularly, and able to focus on all the wonderful blog posts that I enjoy reading more.

NEW PROJECTS

Website

My new author website is up and running now. I’ve got to make a few edits to the text and replace some of the stock photos still, but I’m reallly happy with it. I’ve struggled to merge this blog with the website, but I’ve got a good friend looking into this problem now. So, hopefully it’s just a matter of time before it’s sorted.

Please feel free to have a peak at it: http://www.waynemullane.com

It’s been a real education in learning how to get a domain name and build a website. I really felt out of my depth at times. But when all is done, I can appreciate that I had some good people to teach me and I’ve gained lot more knowledge.

Social Media

I’ve found the likes of Facebook and Twitter a minefield. Thankfully, I’ve been able to hire some very reasonably priced freelancers on Fiverr to help me to get my author accounts on social media going. It’s now focusing on putting out good quality posts that’s the next challenge. I’m learning all the time, and it’s good for me as it’s helping me to connect as well as grow as a person.

I’ve included my social media handles in the ‘About Me’ section of this site.

Marketing

This has been really tough. Normally, I’m the kind of person who’s happy to sit in front of the keyboard and write away for hours on end. But writing a self-published book has so many other aspects that take up time. Plus, I’m quite shy by nature, so having to promote my book to magazine editors and other groups (even via email or telephone) can play havoc with my brain as I think endlessly about the right things to say.

I’ve had a few magazine editors say that they’d kindly promote the book. Such things do give you a boost as there’s a constant stream of people to contact including podcasts, charities, social media groups, libraries…the list keeps growing. Pitching a book can mean that you’ll get rejections or no replies. This means sending two or three rounds of emails. So, for the ones that do reply and do offer you an outlet for promotion, it makes the whole experience so worthwhile.

What’s Next?

As well as continually working on the things above, I’ve got a week long book blogger tour coming up in the middle part of October. I’ll do a separate post or two about that nearer the time.

I mentioned at the top of this post that I had a new strategy to commit to doing more posts and following other bloggers here more regularly. One thing I’m going to do is write a few posts in advance, spending a day here or there just dedicated to this blog. Dedicating whole chunks of time to this is better for my dyspraxia as it means I’m still focusing on just the one thing.

I’m at a level now with developing my website and social media skills that makes dedication to my blog easier as well. Plus, at times when I’ve been focused on other projects and not written for a while, this blog has assisted me in refocusing my efforts and reconnecting with so many lovely people.

Next Up is a post about my recent hiking holiday in Northern Ireland!

Thanks for reading, everybody. Stay safe and well. Peace and love to you all!

SELF-PUBLISHING UPDATE: FULL STEAM AHEAD WITH MARKETING

Tags

Adventure, Author, blogging, Blogging community, Book, Discover Prompts, Hiking, marketing, Self-publishing, WordPress

Hi Everybody,

I hope you’re all keeping well.

I knew that when I published my book, Adventure Dayze, last month that the marketing side of things would keep me busy. Just how busy, though, has been a complete surprise to me!

Taking a different route to market

As I was writing, the advice I’d researched about marketing a self-published book told me that I should do the majority of it before publication, including reaching out to established book reviewers. However, the gut feeling I got when I told others that I was writing a book was that it’d be believed when seen. So, perhaps somewhat counterintuitively, I decided to wait and do the marketing after the release date.

Family And Friends First

Once the book was up on Amazon, I put the word out to my nearest and dearest via social media. Whether people offered kind words, bought the book and maybe left a review, I was humbled by the response. The reviews I’ve received have provided me with an important step in the next stage of my marketing strategy.

The Importance Of A Marketing Mentor

I discovered Hollie Anne Marsh via the freelance website Fiverr. Hollie has a background in marketing and she is an award-winning author with her Sweetbriars book series, which is set in the world of horse-riding. Hollie has supported me to get the book published, and has sorted the advertising campaign on Amazon. This week the Facebook advertising campaign will start.

Working with Hollie has taught me a lot that’ll benefit me in the future: how to navigate Amazon Author Central and my Facebook Author page; how to write a press release statement; how to actually get a book live on Kindle; the ins and outs of marketing.

From the start, Hollie showed me the importance of having reviews for when the time comes to reach out to organisations.

Hollie has helped me brainstorm a list of hiking magazines, podcasts and websites to contact. Libraries, local newspapers, charities and bookshops are on the list too.

The Next Step

After much brainstorming and research, then, I now have a list of contacts that I’m working my way through. It’s an enjoyable process magnified by the hope that something will come of it. It takes a lot of perseverance – there’s a lot of phone calls to find a named person to contact in an organisation followed by a lot of emails – but hopefully the fruits of the labour will show soon.

Lessons Learned

Although I’ve taken a different approach as to the order of publishing and marketing the book, I can see the importance of following the much suggested route to market for my next book.

However, as a self-published author I can see that marketing is an ongoing thing and can take place any time after a book is published. So, all I’m doing now is giving me experience for the future.

Having an experienced hand to guide me has been so important. It’s made the whole experience more navigable and rewarding.

Thanks for reading this. I hope to come back soon with some positive news about who I’ve reached out to.

If you have any comments or advice, it’d be great to hear from you.

Peace and love for now 😃.

SELF-PUBLISHING UPDATE: EARLY DAYS ON MARKETING THE BOOK

Tags

Adventure, Author, Blogging community, Book, book marketing, Books, creative writing, Hiking, marketing, Self-publishing

Hello Everybody,

I just wanted to briefly share some early insights on marketing a self-published book.

This is by no means a definitive guide. I just wanted to share a few issues I’d found that may help others attempting to self-publish.

THE MARKETING ADVENTURE BEGINS

Next Monday sees my hiking book, Adventure Dayze, go ‘live’ on Amazon. It’s actually been out about a month, but my main aim in the first four weeks was to get word out to family and friends, and to build up a few reviews.

I’ve also used that time to create my Facebook page and to put together a list of blogs, podcasts, tourist boards etc as I start to promote and market the book more from Monday 5th July.

LESSONS LEARNED

My approach has been a little different to the advice I’d researched on how to market a self-published book. Normally, having a team of readers to review the book before the launch and doing a few other marketing bits and bobs is the regular way. However, it was important for me to focus on getting my book out there first and dealing with the other steps one at a time. My mind works better that way as I can give more thorough attention to each step.

That said, for my next book there’s things that I’ll definitely do differently before the book launch (e.g. getting it reviewed) as I can see the benefit in that.

What I appreciate is that I’ve had some great advice from my mentors, Jessica Coleman (editor) and Hollie Marsh (marketing), that is steering me in the right direction, and that the way I’m presently doing it is okay. It’s so important to have people around you that help you to believe in yourself.

Overall, this is all a learning curve and I’m enjoying the whole experience.

WHAT’S NEXT?

I’m returning to Rutland on a camping adventure holiday this weekend.

Then, it’s time for the marketing to begin properly.

I’ll put posts up about all this in the next week or so.

If you’ve self-published or are about to, what has your approach been? Or, if you’ve enjoyed this post, please feel free to leave a comment. It’d be great to hear from you 

MY HIKING BOOK IS OUT ON AMAZON

Tags

Author, blogging, Blogging community, Book, Britain, Hiking, Novel, Self-publishing, Travel, UK, writing

Hi Everybody,

My self-published novel, Adventure Dayze, is now out on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

• 

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Hiking is the gateway to adventure.

Being in the Great Outdoors is great for the mind, body, and soul. And the even better news? It needn’t involve much more than putting on a pair of trainers and heading out your front door.

In Adventure Dayze, author Wayne Mullane recounts his hiking experiences in Britain and Ireland with his friends, including overcoming limitations walking at altitude and having a dodgy sense of direction!

This book aims to help you get started… or, if you’re a seasoned hiker, to encourage you to hike with renewed vigour. This story shares insights and discusses the benefits of hiking, including fitness, friendship, courage, mental health, and…err…the joy of eating.

Adventure Dayze will inspire you to overcome your limitations and get outdoors to enjoy all the unique beauty that is on offer. Even pandemic lockdowns won’t be able to suppress your exploration, as the author found out, there are many ways to bring the outdoors inside when there’s no other choice.

AMAZON.CO.UK LINK AND PRICES:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventure-Dayze-Overcoming-limitations-Irelands/dp/B096LKHGLN/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=adventure+dayze&qid=1623688944&sr=8-1

Prices: Paperback is £7.99; Ebook is £2.99 (FREE on Kindle Unlimited).

AMAZON.COM LINK AND PRICES

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096LKHGLN?pf_rd_r=7VAYZBC327SQZRJDSEXX&pf_rd_p=9046d300-28af-4c4d-96e2-e418322f9056&pd_rd_r=1a404fe0-0ce0-4d62-adc8-013c023033bd&pd_rd_w=Bndgg&pd_rd_wg=OSlj0

Prices: Paperback is $7.99; Ebook is $2.99 (FREE on Kindle Unlimited).

WHAT’S NEXT?

I’m really focusing on the marketing side of things from this week. I’m learning a lot of new stuff and enjoying the journey.

I’m also looking to get this website revamped in the next few weeks to give it a fresh look, add a mailing list link and more.

It’d mean so much to me if you were able to support me by purchasing a copy and leaving a review. Thank you ☺️.

Peace and Love, Everybody. Thanks for popping by. See you next time.

PHOTO POST: HIKING BOOK COVER REVEAL

Tags

Adventure, Author, blogging, Blogging community, Book, creative writing, Discover Prompts, non-fiction, Self-publishing

Hi Everybody,

I hope you’re all doing okay.

I’m very excited to reveal the cover for my first book, Adventure Dayze, which charts the adventures of my friends and I. The book covers my progress to overcome a fear of heights and a dodgy sense of direction as we attempt the highest mountains in each of the countries of Britain and then Ireland.

• 

The cover shows me wandering off in a completely different direction to my friends even though I’m holding the map. That’s a very common theme on our mountain hikes! The cover is mostly green for two reasons: this is a nod to my Irish roots and because my favourite colour is… you guessed it…green!

The cover was designed by Laura Antonioli, who I found on Fiverr. Laura was so patient and kind, and very supportive of any changes I needed. She also did the internal layout of the book – and I am really pleased with that too. I look forward to working with her on future projects.

In the next post I’ll reveal more details about the book’s release!

Thank you for stopping by and reading this. If you’ve got any comments, it’d be great to hear from you. I’m looking forward to reading your posts as well.

Peace and Love for now 😊

Self-Publishing Update: Back On Track With A Lot To Do

Tags

Adventure, Ben Nevis, blogging, blogging101, Book, Discover, Discovery Prompts, Discovery-Prompts, Hiking, Mount Whitney, Mountain, Mountains, Novel, Self-publishing, Walking, writing

Hi Guys,

Hope you are all well, healthy and keeping safe 😊

QUICK RECAP

In my last self-publishing update (14th May 2020) I mentioned about the sudden horror I felt when I realised that sections of my Ben Nevis hiking book needed a serious revamp. Due to the lockdown I needed to offer up-to-date safety advice regarding taking public transport to the countryside for a hike. It left me very despondent, but after chatting with my family and editor I now have a blueprint to update the book with a couple of extra chapters and sensible advice.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE RELEASE DATE

I had originally planned for a release date of late summer. That’s on hold now as we don’t know how long this lockdown business may carry on. I’m keeping a journal of all my hiking-based endeavours in lockdown so that when things start to settle I can put together those extra chapters.

Then it may be necessary to add another post-lockdown chapter as we start to venture out more frequently (and safely) into the wilderness. Time will tell how this fans out.

I really do feel that in terms of getting this all done there’s a mountain to climb. This climb is taller than Ben Nevis, but smaller than Mount Everest. Somewhere in the middle. I think Mount Whitney is about the size of it! I say this because I’d love to trek Mount Whitney one day; as difficult as it’d be I know I’d enjoy it – and that’s exactly my feelings toward my book at the moment.

Presently, I’m hoping for a release date of Spring 2021 – but it really is a case of seeing what is happening in the world before finalising the date.

EBOOK FORMATTING AND COVER UPDATE

I also mentioned in the previous self-publishing post that I have this self-imposed bugbear that formatting the book would be something I’d not be able to get my head around. I added that my brother surprised me with the knowledge he has of this.

Well, it turns out that as he’s pursuing his own projects he’s going to provide me with the know-how and tools to complete formatting the book for release on different platforms. I mentioned about the cover design and other component parts of the process and he said he’ll be able to provide support for that as well.

Given how exasperated I’d become with the extra work I now need to do for the book, to have the good news above serves as a massive morale booster; I feel that there is a tangible end date in sight now – even if that exact date is not yet known.

My brother’s involvement will free me up mentally to focus on other aspects of the self-publishing process.

When I become more involved with the other aspects of self-publishing I’ll post up the resources I use on this website.

I’VE GOT A NEW DESK

One of the joys of writing is that it can be done anywhere with pad and pen, laptop or phone. I’m normally perched on the end of my bed with scraps of paper spread about as I tap away at the keyboard.

However, we had a move about with the furniture downstairs and I’ve now got a little desk space sorted out in the kitchen. It’ll be interesting to see how writing here works out with the daily life in our household going on around me. Perhaps I’ll have to reconsider the times of day I write, but if needs be I can always retreat to my bedroom where my set-up there has served me generally well.

UPCOMING PLAN

So, after it all falling flat last week, things are looking up again. I feel more reinvigorated to focus. By the time of the next self-publishing post I hope to share that I’ve made decent progress with revamping the book.

I’ve also got some ideas for near future posts on hiking that I’m currently working on and will post up soon.

Plus, I’ve really got into writing poetry, so there’ll be a few poem posts as well.

Thanks for reading, Everybody. I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

If you have any comments, it’d be great to hear from you.

Bye for now 😊.