Soft Linkage with Graham Hurley

Soft Linkage sounds vaguely filthy (or that just might be my warped mind), but it’s a concept that the brilliant Graham Hurley — author of 49 books and counting — came up with when pitching his series of Second World War thrillers to his publisher. They naturally wanted a central character that the reader could follow through the war, but Graham wanted to tell the stories that fascinated him without having to shoehorn the same protagonist into every novel. And it really works. His latest novel, The Blood of Others, is well into the series but anyone could pick it up and if you love WWII thrillers you definitely should.

We also discuss the benefits of long publisher lunches, searching for the Titanic (yes, really) and writing in a genre you’re not a fan of. Full disclosure: I used to sell Graham’s books when I worked at Orion so there’s a little bit of nostalgia in here too. Enjoy!

Christmas Signings

I’ll be popping up a couple of times before Christmas to sign books in the Herne Bay area…

CHISLET CHRISTMAS FAIR

Saturday 2nd December: 10am to 1pm

I’ll be signing books at this fair. It’s as close as you can get to actually visiting Woodville. No tickets necessary, just turn up…

LITTLE GREEN BOOKSHOP CHRISTMAS SHOPPING NIGHT

Sunday 3rd December

We had so much fun last year, we’re doing it again! Some fab local authors will be signing books for Christmas gifts (or why not treat yourself?). There will be mulled wine and mince pies! 

See you at The Little Green Bookshop in Herne Bay, 38 High St, Herne Bay, CT6 5LH

Join me and Jen Williams and AY Chao at Guildford Library this Thursday

Come and join me, A.Y. Chao and Jen Williams as we take a look at the fantasy fiction that has inspired our writing. After the panel discussion, there will be a time for audience questions, then meet the authors for book sales and signing. BOOK TICKETS HERE

Fight for your Rights with Fiona Valpy

A surprising number of traditionally-published authors don’t realise that their publisher only owns the rights to their novel for a set period of time. It’s usually five years, and yes there are caveats in contracts meaning that they can retain the rights for longer if the book is still “in print”, and print on demand technology can complicate this arrangement, but… there’s a good chance that one day you’ll get the rights back to your book. It happened recently with me and The End of Magic and opened the door for me to write a sequel.

Fiona Valpy discusses this and much more in this week’s episode of The Bestseller Experiment!

And in the extended version for Academy members and podcast Patrons, me and Mr D discuss reissuing books with new titles, why you should think of your books as lifetime assets, research when you can’t travel, and much more! If you want to support the podcast and keep us going click on this here link.

Healing Through Writing with Mira V Shah (and we won an award!)

I first heard of Mira Shah after reading her excellent blog on how to manage the expectations of debut authors (read it here), which ended up on The Bookseller and on pretty much every bit of writers’ social media. She’s spot on when it comes to how the industry is great when it comes to the big deals and ad campaigns, but can be lacking when it comes to the rest of us and how the launch days for our books can be a bit of a damp squib.

We also discuss how her writing came about through grieving, but if all that sounds a bit heavy for a Monday, don’t be put off. Mira is a delight and this is a really uplifting chat…

And at the end of the podcast, I tell Mr D all about my night in London’s glittering King’s Cross where I was honoured to collect our award for Best Books Podcast at the inaugural Independent Podcast Awards. It was an amazing night celebrating the terrific indie podcasts and I’ve added a whole bunch of them to my pod catcher. You can find out more about the award and the evening here.

Mark Stay gurning for the camera after collecting the award for Best Books Podcast for the Bestseller Experiment. Photo by Simon Brew.
Mark Stay with presenter Esther Manito at the Independent Podcast Awards 2023.
With Esther Manito at the Independent Podcast Awards

Michael R Miller is Epic

I did a panel with Michael R Miller at the MCM Comic Con yesterday and was once again struck by how generous he is with his advice. He’s done incredibly well since I met him at an Eastercon a few years ago, selling over 350,000 copies of his fantasy epic, but he’s always been the first to suggest new ideas and strategies for selling books and you would do well to heed his advice! It was great to get him back on the Bestseller Experiment to catch up on what he’s been up to, including getting Broken Binding editions of his books, having a D&D campaign based on his new series, and how he’s taken his experience with cystic fibrosis and used it in his fantasy world building…

And in the extended version for podcast supporters we discuss how you decided if you should write a series, trilogy or standalone, how to launch your audiobooks, and the differences between USA and UK editions of books. You can support the podcast here.

Happy 100th Birthday to Faye Bright

Today is Faye Bright’s 100th birthday. Yes, Woodville’s youngest witch was born the day before *Halloween* in 1923. This illustration is by Emily Stewart and you can see more of her work in the limited edition comic book The Wish Demon available from the Woodville Village Bookshop here.

Getting Emotional with Ivy Ngeow

Ivy Ngeow is a powerhouse of creativity. A musician, a novelist and writer of cookery books, diet books, interior design, she’s done it. Her new novel is The American Boyfriend and she talks about how she studied bestsellers before writing it to better understand what makes a smash hit and it’s paid off as she now has an international hit and is signing books at places like Singapore airport!

Then in the extended edition for our Academy members and Patreon supporters, me and Mr D discuss the different routes to market for your novels, including airports, supermarkets and gift boxes and loot crates! You can support the podcast and get hundreds of hours of extra material here.

Ashford Library – Author Talk – Gabby Hutchinson Crouch & Mark Stay

Thursday 9 November 2023 at 6pm – 7.30pm

Join Gabby Hutchinson Crouch (Darkwood) and Mark Stay (The Witches of Woodville) as they discuss the challenges and joys of writing humorous fantasy fiction and their influences!

Gabby Hutchinson Crouch is a regular writer on Radio 4′s THE NEWS QUIZ and THE NOW SHOW. Her first novel, DARKWOOD, was published in 2019 by Farrago Books, followed by the second in the series, SUCH BIG TEETH, a year later, and the third in the series, GLASS COFFIN, published in 2021. 

Mark Stay got a part-time Christmas job as a bookseller back in 1993 and worked in publishing for over 25 years. He would write in his spare time and sometimes those writings would get turned into books and films, including the Witches of Woodville series from Simon & Schuster, and the 2023 Warner Bros. horror movie Unwelcome.

For more information and for bookings, please contact Ashford Library

This event complements the Living Knowledge Network exhibition, Fantasy: Realms of Imagination at Ashford Library between Friday 27 October – Saturday 11 November. Visit our Fantasy hub for more information about the Living Knowledge Network exhibition.

Robert Rankin in conversation with Mark Stay at Horley Library

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 18:30 – 19:30 GMT

Robert Rankin will be discussing the influence of The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke and other art on his writing with author Mark Stay. After the discussion, there will be a time for audience questions, then meet the authors for book sales and signing. BOOK TICKETS HERE.