Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie discussion

How do you make God laugh? I've a feeling I made him laugh a lot when I packed my bag and went to look after a puppy too young to go into kennels. I had such plans...

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Please take a look - despite the lockdown, the election, and the dark nights this really is a wonderful world.

Great blog post, Anna. Well done.

Thank you, Angel :o)

Missing the puppy, I started to reflect (very dangerous) on what little Rosie taught me.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

And as the title of this post says, there's more to my blog posts than puppy ramblings. There's handy hints, jokes, wisdom in words and hopefully it won't send you to sleep.

Also, I wouldn't want you to miss out on my latest book's bargain price of 0.99 from 20th - 27th November. FREE on Kindle Unlimited



After all, if you ever get stuck for something to say, you could ramble on about what lies beyond the grave. I bet no one else will start a discussion on that over Christmas dinner.

It’s December and if you haven’t been given an Advent Calendar then it’s very easy to create your own version to shine out into the darkness. I’m not good at crafts so you’ll undoubtedly do better than I will. And, of course, you’ll also get a Sage Saying, a Jolly Joke and a Handy Hint if you follow this link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

And there’s scintillating news on how far I’ve got with my new book. Ahem!

2021 – Surely not

We made it! We’ve got past 1984, the millennium doom mongers, and I hope you’ve avoided the virus too. 2021 might be the year for ‘all systems go’. I’m hoping for bags of energy. I’m off to a good start, I’ve published my January blog post on the first day of the month!

Here it is:

Pedalling to Pluto
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

I hope you take a look and say hello and happy New Year to some of our Goodreads’ Friends. (Yes, I give them capital letters.)

My best wishes to all readers, writers, illustrators and anyone else who’s passing through.

Happy New Year to you too!!!

Feel good factor? Want some? Do a quick flick over to the blog:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

And please go ahead and add your ideas, the world needs you!

And to thank you, there’s a bargain at the bottom of the page:



It’s free on Kindle Unlimited or for a short time it's only 0.99 if you want to own it, or nothing at all if you don't want either of those options! Decisions, decisions...

Winter’s nearly over (in the northern hemisphere at least) and let’s hope the lockdowns will soon be over too.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

My blog has its usual sage saying, jolly joke, handy hint, bargain book and yet another bright idea (please don’t groan too loudly, well not so that I can hear). A plan to brighten the place up...



0.99 through till 3rd March US/UK or FREE on KU
I’d love to know who wrote the latest review: “A beautifully written, imaginative, supernatural and definitely unique story! ...Well paced story with wonderful characters and full of suspense and romance, too!” A big thank you to that person.

Dared to Return

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

The above link takes you to my blog with its usual sage saying, jolly joke, handy hint and bargain book and a little tale of a super cool James Bond.

Any writers struggling with finding a title for their book might want to know what “The Sea Cook” became.

For readers: This month’s bargain is

From 31st March for 7 days, 0.99 US and UK. The choices we make determine our futures. A romantic thriller mystery. If you like Poldark, you’ll probably love this too. And, of course it’s free if you’re a member of Kindle Unlimited.

Writers write, some better than others. Even Charles Dickens wrote some duds though, so the Internet says. However, I am absolutely sure that my big flop is a bigger flop than Dickens’ flops.

Please rescue it - the hero’s having a hard time, they’re all out to get him and the heroine’s 12,000 miles away and being kept in the dark. Only you can save them from oblivion.



Immortality: This is Probably a Novel. You are invited into a mystery: intriguing, exciting, deadly.
0.99 in the UK and US until 5th May 2021. Free on Kindle Unlimited.

Can you guess which of Dickens’ books were flops? Take a look at my blog post for May:

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

And you might also like to take a look at best selling author Josh Grant’s youtube video which tells you more, and you get to see a waffling woman too. He bills it as ‘the least professional talk show on the Internet’. I’ve already been told it’s funny - not quite what I was aiming for :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3CXm...

I saw it there but haven't had time to watch it yet. I'll try to get to it soon.

Hi Dale, it's a bit of fun - light chat, nothing too onerous!

I always thought I’d never start a blog. But I did and somewhere near the beginning I made a promise to update anyone who was kind enough to be interested as to what progress I was making with my new book. So this month’s blog post sort of keeps that promise.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

And I did answer the question – Is there a villain?
Whatever do you want a villain for? There’s a squirrel. OK, OK, yes there’s a villain.

There’s also the Sage Saying, the Handy Hint and the Jolly Joke – what more could you possibly want? A win in the lottery, even if you don’t do it? Dream on!

Here’s a book to make you dream:



is on sale for 0.99 until Wednesday 5th May. UK and US only (Amazon rule for the Kindle Countdown Deals).

A time travel romance with a dash of mystery and humour: How much does our past influence our future? Laura cannot forgive herself and risks her future to heal the heart she has broken.

How do authors think of an opening line to the first book they write? Until I wrote my first book, I don’t think I ever thought or even cared how they came up with something snappy or enlightening. But first lines of books have become famous. Think of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or Graham Greene’s ‘Brighton Rock’. Well the blog gives you one idea of how it can happen. Rather embarrassing really.

Here's the safe link:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

I think of it as the 'elevator pitch' for the reader to choose to invest in reading the entire book! I think it's vital to catch a reader's interest.

So true, Carole.

I guess all writers think the first line has to be special but it wasn't until a Goodreads member, in a review, picked out one of my opening lines that I realized just how important they are.

We’ve heard a lot about injections lately and we’re told they’re doing a good job. There’s another injection doing a good job: something unexpectedly cheerful can feel just like an injection of joy. I won a prize! Definitely unexpected and definitely something good.

There’s also the usual sage saying, handy hint and stress reducer. And news of three of my books being reduced to as low as £0.77/$0.99 (similar prices for all markets) or a little bit more for the other three.

Hop on over to https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog... and share your idea of an injection of joy. Children? Grandchildren? Holiday? Meeting someone new and super...?

Congrats, Anna!! Well deserved!!

Anna wrote: "We’ve heard a lot about injections lately and we’re told they’re doing a good job. There’s another injection doing a good job: something unexpectedly cheerful can feel just like an injection of joy..."

Nice! My wife wins things sometimes. I don't. I joke with her that if we really need to win something, she needs to enter the drawing (or whatever), because if I do it, we won't win.

I've only just found these comments! So sorry.

I very rarely enter any competitions as I have no expectation of winning! The first writing competition I won was the Bards and Sages eFestival of Words, Historical Fiction- and I hadn't even entered! Someone I barely knew entered one of my books because his mother liked them! Needless to say, I have not forgotten his name.

I was about to recommend the competition to you all but it appears it has not been running since. Nevertheless the Bards and Sages site might be worth investigating.

Does anyone know anything about how Wattpad runs, please?

I'll find a better thread to post that question!!

52 things to do once in your life - you may be surprised – they’re not quite what I expected. Take a look here:

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

And you’ll find news of a greatly reduced PAPERBACK. If you think this world is getting stranger by the day, wait til you see what Chester had to put up with.




US$10.45 to $6.99;
£8.95 to £5.99
€8.95 to €6.99
Ca$ 12.95 to Ca$ 9.99
Au$ 17.52 to Au$13.99

These prices are a very few cents more than Amazon permits me to sell it for and they will remain until the end of October.

Please visit the blog for your Handy Hint, Sage Saying and Stress Reducer and you’ll be very welcome to leave some chatter in the comments box.

November’s blog post has something for everyone.

There’s something for readers – want to choose an Indie author for me to interview?

Something for authors – want to have a mini interview?

Something for everyone – fancy writing a drabble and posting it in the comments? Go ahead, have fun. A drabble is a very short story – exactly one hundred words, no less, no more.

You’ll find the blog here: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

And the cat’s been crying again. Ignored apparently.

Don’t you wish you could change the world?

Visit https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog... and help us do better in a troubled world.



It's reduced to 0.99 in the US and UK until 4th February.

In this book, Chester is paying a high price for attempting to improve the world he inhabits.

He has achieved his burning ambition to become an investigative reporter but what has he sacrificed in the process? And now he's become the target, will he survive to enjoy his achievement?

Off the grid in New Zealand, his quiet life is shattered when a stranger knocks on his door and takes him to the gates of Hell and back. He holds onto his sanity through the promise of returning to the one girl he has ever loved.

You are invited into this mystery: intriguing, exciting and deadly.

And it's FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

For Readers and Authors and anyone in between

Which of these four opening chapter sentences do you like best?
https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Which is your favourite opening line from any chapter of any book you have read? Please comment in the blog if you want to share.

And for authors, would you like to tell readers of the blog your favourite opening line from the first chapter of any one of your books?

As usual, there’s a bargain for readers:




One Dark Night is reduced to 0.99 in the UK & US until 6th April and, of course, it is FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Here’s how BookBub describes it: “English Lieutenant Karl Thorsen won’t rest until he hangs smuggler Daniel Tynton for his crimes. Caught between them is Lucy Yorton, a young woman torn away from her life of privilege and thrown into a whirlpool of temptation and betrayal. Can she decide where her heart truly lies?”

Great book!!!

Thank you, Carole!

The Joseph Store

Regular readers of my blog will know I like to chat about not only books but also good ideas for life. The Joseph Store is worth checking out in these difficult times. In times of inflation, it saves you money and that’s just for starters.

If you have ideas that help out in times of inflation, uncertainty and rising costs of everything except your income, please join in and leave a comment. And readers, it’s a good idea to check out the blog more than once because April’s blog received 49 comments so it’s worth seeing what others had to say.

Here it is: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...



is on sale for 0.99 in US and UK and also FREE on Kindle Unlimited until 7th May. Here’s what a Goodreads reviewer had to say about it:

What a beautifully written book. I instantly fell in love with the characters and cared about what happened to them. I loved the history, the little gems of information which sent me off to research further and the concept of the story. I found it believable even though it’s a work of imagination and fiction. Hide in Time is a must read for all those looking for a well written book in which to lose oneself. Highly recommended.

Thanks for the tip, Anna!!

I wouldn't be surprised if you already do that! lol

I woke up in the middle of the night to find the radio still on and a really happy song was playing. I hadn’t heard it for years but, even though I was half asleep, it made me smile. And the following day it still made me smile when I tracked it down on YouTube. It’s also brilliant to exercise to without wishing you were doing something else!

Then when you’ve finished jumping around, you can reward yourself with a flop on a comfortable chair with a whole trilogy of adventure, romance and mystery for $2.97 or £3.97 in the UK.

Take a look at the blog for further details:

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Does Your Life Have a Theme?

Have you ever looked back on your life and seen a theme? I doubt that most of us have. But if you have, I’d love to hear about it.

Here’s where to tell us:

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

If you are a reader, I’d love to know what theme you feel authors never tackle. Or, tell us your favourite theme in books in general or in a single book.

If you are an author, please tell us how you arrived at the theme of one of the books you have written (no links please but do put the title).

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

There’s also a stress reliever tip for the tough times ahead.