There are over 50 stories by incredible authors and read by amazing narrators, and for some reason I massively lucked out and got Julie Walters (yes! Dame Julie Walters!) reading my Witches of Woodville story Two Chickens for Laura Longarms…
I’ve just sat and listened to it and it was something of an out-of-body experience to hear such a familiar voice read my words. It’s a brilliant reading and I think this up-and-coming actor has a great future ahead of her…
A huge thank you to Julie and LJ Ross and her team, to the editor of the story Julian Barr and to everyone who downloads a copy.
An exciting missive from Miss Araminta Cranberry — Head Librarian, Woodville Village Library. (First featured on the Woodville newsletter – Subscribe here).
I have splendid news. After some considerable cajoling, I have persuaded local author Mark Stay to pop down to the village printers and order some bookplates (*what’s a bookplate? Please see below). And not only that, he’s agreed to give 50 away in a draw. You could be in with a chance of getting one if you pre-order The Ghost of Ivy Barn in the month of February 2022! I’ve also convinced him to extend this offer to anyone who asks their local library to get the book in, too… though quite what they can do with a signed bookplate when they have to eventually return the book to the library is a mystery. Mr Stay suggested they slap it on their forehead as a sign of their devotion.
So how does one obtain one of these bookplates?
Pre-order The Ghost of Ivy Barn in paperback, eBook or audiobook from any UK retailer (there’s a list here). Or pop along to your local library and ask them to order a copy.
You should receive some form of proof-of-purchase.
Also — and this is important! — please complete this form. It allows me to keep track of everyone who has pre-ordered the book. If one is not on the form, one will not be entered into the draw.
All pre-orders must be made before midnight on Monday 28th February 2022.
We will then draw 50 names at random and send them their signed/dedicated bookplates.
I do hope that’s clear. If there’s any confusion do please email me: minty@witchesofwoodville.com Full terms and conditions are here.
Oh, and one bit of pertinent news. The publication date of The Ghost of Ivy Barn has pootled along and is now 7th July 2022. I’ve asked Mr Stay why and he said something about “paper shortages, chaos in publishing and bookselling and HGV drivers!” before ranting that he “delivered the bloody thing on time, and it’s not my fault!” We sincerely hope that doesn’t cause you too much distress.
WHAT’S A BOOKPLATE?
It’s a small sticky label that the author signs so that you can put in the front of your book and pretend you met them and bask in their reflected glory.
Here is the current design for the new bookplate (you’ll just have to imagine Mr Stay’s scrawl in the middle there)…
In a bit of news that left me genuinely gobsmacked, I learned that the story I wrote for LJ Ross’s wonderful anthology Everyday Kindness will be read on the audiobook version by none other than Julie Walters! Or to give Julie her full honorific title: Dame Julie Blimmin’ Walters!
Her Most Royal Dameness, Julie of Walters.
I have a wee bit of history with Julie. I worked at Orion when we published her autobiography and novel (both of which are terrific) and I ran a quiz at the Orion Sales Conference when she was there in 2004 (I think), along with the likes of Michael Palin. All I had to do was run a fun quiz in front of my childhood heroes. Simple. Only… it went on a bit too long. This was in the ballroom of the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne. Hundreds of authors and Orion staff, all fed and restless and ready to rush to the bar and get drunk (as was the tradition at sales conferences)… and we were into the second hour of the quiz and there were still a couple of rounds to go. I lifted a card to read the next question, took a breath. “How long…” I began, and a familiar voice came from the darkness, “Not as long as this bloody quiz!” Yup. Julie Walters heckled me, and got the biggest laugh of the whole conference and I still rank it as one of my best moments on stage. So to hear that she is reading my story for the audiobook feels strangely serendipitous.
Two Chickens for Laura Longarms is a Woodville story about kindness and sacrifice and has a fun monster. The Everyday Kindness anthology features over 50 amazing stories, and the audiobook also features the likes of Richard Armitage, Katie Leung, Celia Imrie and many more! You can pre-order it from Audible here.
I had a great time chatting with Neil McRobert of the Talking Scared Podcast about how my writing has been influenced by a warped childhood of Bagpuss, Camberwick Green, Chorlton and the Wheelies, Dennis Potter and more. You can listen on all the usual podcast providers here.
I’ll be celebrating with a live online event this evening (7pm BST, 11am PDT, 12noon MDT, 2pm EDT, 4am AEST) hosted by the fantastic Mr Caimh McDonnell who will interrogate me to squeeze all the Babes in the Wood secrets out of me in just an hour. We’ll be announcing the winners of the signed book and chocolate giveaway, I’ll also be talking about the trailer for UNWELCOME, and I’ll be dropping some big hints about the third Witches of Woodville book.
And publication day is off to a lovely start with this blog from Mai’s Musings…
“Once again, Mark Stay has produced a book that is utterly charming, sometimes funny, and sometimes a little bit scary. It was a joy getting to know more of the colourful Woodville residents, and I am excited to keep doing so in future books.”
I was hoping to do one of those unboxing videos for my new book, but they’ve delivered the book… here.
Babes in the Wood is the second of the Witches of Woodville books. And… After the events of The Crow Folk life has returned to normal for Faye and her fellow Witches. Then a group of children arrive…
They are kindertransport children fleeing the Nazis. They finally have a safe haven in Woodville.
You are cordially invited to join me for the launch of the new Witches of Woodville novel BABES IN THE WOOD on Thursday 28th October (that’s this Thursday coming!) at 7pm BST (11am PST, 12 noon MDT, 2pm EDT, and 4am next day Brisbane… with apologies to the good people of Australia!).
I will be joined by the magnificently-bearded bestselling author Caimh McDonnell, and we will dig into the origins of this tale and you will discover…
Why it’s called Babes in the Wood.
Who the blazes is Otto Kopp?
The influence of PG Wodehouse, the movie Night of the Demon, the Midwich Cuckoos, and Dada art.
The secret of the Ur-Tree…
And what the dickens is an Ur-Tree?
And will Faye and Bertie ever find true happiness?
Spiffing news. Simply pre-order a copy of my new book Babes in the Wood from Coles Books, and you will receive an exclusive free badge and a signed bookplate copy of the paperback.
Hello, old chap. What’s that on your uniform? Why, that’s a Woodville Village. Badge. How simply spiffing. You look quite the dandy. Where can I get one of those? What’s that? One simply pre-orders “Babes in the Wood” from Coles Books for an exclusive badge and a signed bookplate by visiting Coles-Books.co.uk. Jolly good. Where to now? Oh, you have to pop off to defend this Sceptred Isle from the Nazi hordes. Actually, I was going to the pub…
With the publication of THE MEMORY THIEF, the MISS CHARLOTTE QUARTET is now complete. A series of four short stories featuring the witch Charlotte Southill from my Witches of Woodville novels. Sign up to the Woodville Village Library newsletter and grab your FREE copies here… https://witchesofwoodville.com/#library
Hello folks, the Miss Charlotte Quartet is now complete. Okay, I know some of you will be going, “What’s a Miss Charlotte Quartet?” Well, Miss Charlotte is one of the witches in the Witches of Woodville novels. And she’s very mysterious, and there are all kinds of hints that she has a murky past, and she might just be a wee bit older than she’s actually letting on. The four stories in the Miss Charlotte Quartet explore her history. Not all of it. Don’t worry, she’s still as deliciously ambiguous as ever.
But the stories go from 1593 to 1910. See, told you she was old. Weirdly, I also seem to have written a love story as it’s about Charlotte falling in love with a young woman called Lizzie. And, well, to say any more would be a spoiler. These stories began life as a project to get me out of my funk during the first covid lockdown. They started with just a few hundred words a day and have become something wonderful.
Thanks to the editorial skill of Julian Barr, and the splendid artwork of Andrew Bowden, both are available for hire, I would not hesitate to recommend both of them wholeheartedly. Julian saved my bacon on a number of occasions with his sharp eye, and Andy went out of his comfort zone to produce what I think you’ll agree are a fantastic set of cover designs. Thank you, gents, for helping Miss Charlotte and me on our way. Thanks also to Claire Burgess for her help on the audio books and of course, to Woodville Village’s head librarian, Miss Araminta Cranberry for, well, not throwing me out of the library, especially when it was raining, which was… usually. And most of all a huge thanks to everyone who has read all of these stories and said nice things about them. That’s all an author ever wants, really. So what’s next? Well, I’m currently writing the first draft of SKYCLAD, the third Witches of Woodville novel. That should be done in a few weeks.
Just a first draft, very rough. Then it’s copyedits for book two, BABES IN THE WOOD. Once they’re done, I’ll be sharing the first few chapters with everyone who subscribes to the Woodville Village Library newsletter. So that’s where you can also get all these free stories, not just the Miss Charlotte Quartet, but all of these too. Hey, hey, hey. I’ll pop a link in the description below. This is the part of the video where in the past I’ve put a clip of the audiobook.
Oh, did I mention these are also available as MP3 audiobooks to download narrated by me. Never mind. But I don’t want to do this for this because it would reveal something a bit spoilery. So just grab your copy now. Free, it’s free! Thanks for watching and happy reading.
Mark Stay Writes 