For the last few years, I have released a novella at Christmas and for the next few days, they’re all FREE!
Over on Amazon, you can get access to the entire Reindeer Games trilogy and it won’t cost you a penny.
“But, Alex,” I hear you say, “I don’t have a kindle!”
No problem… the kindle app is free to download on any device and they have a handy web viewer if you want to read on a computer.
The only slight issue is the strange eccentricity of Amazon being unable to sell kindle books on the Amazon app itself… you have to go onto the actual Amazon website.
That’s a lot of Amazon.
And look, I know some people aren’t big fans (or even actively hate that platform) but for little indie plebs like me, there really aren’t many options.
So, the books!
It all started with…
Reindeer Games
A silly story about Santa’s reindeer being picked off one by one on the night before the night before Christmas.
It was only ever supposed to be that one book, and I did it for a laugh. But then along came the sequel, and I really eased into the parody angle.
Reindeer Games 2: Rein Harder. With a Vengeance.
Mrs. Claus is forced to rescue her husband who has been kidnapped by terrorists and held captive during the Christmas party at Knickerbocker Towers. High-brow stuff, and I bloody loved making the back cover…
And that was it. No more silly, violent, bad-taste, sweary Christmas books. But then people kept asking me, “So, what’s the next one about?” and the answer was obvious because, like an idiot, I’d left book 2 with a cliff-hanger ending… there’s a bomb on the sleigh! Which led to…
Sleigh: Reindeer Games 3
I had no choice, really. I had to write it!
So, there it is. Three silly and violent Christmas novellas, and this year, they’re all on sale. In fact, they’re all free.
click on the image and it’ll take you to the Amazon website in your country.
So, that’s it, right? Not quite. The second novel of my Arthur Crazy series is set at Christmas as well, and the lovely folks at Parliament House Press have joined in the Christmas sale and popped the ebook online for a dollar.
That’s four Christmas stories for a dollar if you think about it! Surely, that’s enough?
Nope!
Introducing the latest… The Frost Identity!
I promise I’ll stop eventually. But it is not this day!
Happy Reading and Merry Christmas, ya Filthy Animals!
Well, what a week it has been! My second novel, The Sword and the Hounds, was published on the 23rd of July and got shared around a bit on social media by some amazing and lovely people, though from my end, it wasn’t quite the all-singing, all-dancing affair I had in mind… largely due to my youngest kid being a bit unwell. I had every intention of doing… something, but the day itself sort of went by in a bit of a blur. I walked the dog as I normally do, talked some bollocks on TikTok as I normally do, replied to some lovely messages, got ready for work… and didn’t go.
So, it’s book publication day, you find yourself off work because your boy is poorly, what would you do? That’s right… I spent the entire day sitting in front of a fire, editing a novel, and making plans to self-publish at Halloween, but that’s a different story for a different time (literally). Back to the week that was…
MY BOOK IS PUBLISHED!
I am absolutely over the moon, although I’m still yet to receive my six-figure contract and movie deal, which is a bit strange. I think the postman might have lost it.
I am, however, eternally grateful for the amazing support I have from family and friends… and some lovely people I’ve only ever ‘met’ online. The Sword and the Hounds has been really well received… by those able to get access to it. Because that has been a nightmare!
You may have heard that Booktopia (the biggest online book shop in Australia) collapsed and Amazon pounced on that news in the only way Amazon knows how… by cranking the price of small press and indie books in the Australian marketplace. That was gutting… to see my little novel priced so high and knowing what that means. And there’s nothing I can do about it. My lovely publisher was just as shocked as me. So, I spent the first few days after publication trying to find anywhere that might sell my novel and not rip people off. Thankfully, there are a great number of really cool independent bookshops who have the book listed online so all was not lost.
And then… drum roll… W.H. Smith listed it on their website! I was gobsmacked! Smiths is an institution of the British high street! I boasted all over the place about that one… and then it got taken down! I have no idea why. It came, it went, it came back again, my sister ordered it, it went again. Whether or not my sis ever gets her hands on the book remains to be seen! (sorry).
But speaking of Smiths… I got talking to the manager of the branch in Richmond (where the book is set) and he is going to try and get it on the shelves there. THAT is amazing! I told my mam (I was ‘fizzing up and busting’ as she likes to say) and she told her friends… the wonderful ‘Stray ladies’ (best not to ask). One lovely lady, Janice, even went to look, bless her, but it was only a few days after publication and not in stock. I don’t know if that one will eventuate… but if it does, I’ll be begging people to take photos of my book on the shelf! That will be a dream come true.
After that, I spent a good few hours (and god-knows how much on the phone bill) calling other UK bookshops… with zero success. One guy told me he receives between 3-4 thousand requests a month! That’s insane… and a bit of a kick in the tits… but I guess I can’t feel too bad about it.
On day three, the Kindle version of The Sword and the Hounds climbed the charts in ‘Ghost Horror’ on the Australian market and hung around number 3 for a very short while… that was utter magic, and so I made a load more phone calls trying to ride on the coattails of that momentary success… again, no luck 😀
On day four or five, my Goodreads account got hacked… or a gremlin was let loose, I don’t know. It was a bit of struggle getting that sorted, but when I did (thanks to the wonderful ‘librarians’ at Goodreads) I found some reviews sitting there for the new book! 2 x 5 star and 1 x 4 star! Magic!
My lovely (and patient) wife organised a book launch and I sent the wrong date out to everyone at work. I then sent them all another email with the correct date. And then a few days later I cancelled the whole thing. To tell the truth, I don’t really know why. I think the first one was such a huge moment for me that I got into my own head a bit. Maybe something more low key might be in order this time round. We’ll see.
So, what else have I been up to? Well, I’ve spent countless hours trying to create ads for the book but all I’ve really ended up doing is scrolling through photos and videos of our time in Richmond and Yorkshire and giving myself crippling homesickness. That then leads to thoughts of moving back, which leads to thoughts of finances, which leads to thoughts of ‘well, if I sell a million books I won’t have to worry about it, I can just wander around Yorkshire like the next James Herriot’, which leads to thoughts of ‘you’re a dickhead’, so I distract myself with the Olympics, which leads to thoughts of ‘am I really this old?’. It’s quite the roller coaster.
BUT THEN I got in touch with an absolute legend on Instagram… one of my favourite accounts… and my publisher sent him my books! That’s exciting, and more than a little scary. Details to follow soon.
A few days ago, I had an interview with a lovely reporter for a local paper, which was fantastic. I haven’t really mentioned that to anyone (until now). I’m just going to see what happens when the paper gets put on the table in the staff room. I’ll keep you posted.
Me mam!
And over the last few days, those friends and family who ordered the book have started to receive it in the post and my inbox now has some cracking photos of The Sword and the Hounds out in the world… and like a crack-whore looking for a fix, I want more! So, I’ve been writing. And then I realise I’m ignoring advertising, so I go back to that, and I end up ignoring the writing and I get nothing done at all, and… , blimey, it’s noisy in here! Thank God for the Olympics and All Creatures Great and Small.
So, here we are… a week or so later trying not to metaphorically peer over everyone’s shoulder to see if they love or hate my book (and therefore, tacitly, me)…like some right needy dickhead! But there is a part in this story I just can’t wait for folk to read… especially those who read the first book and told me they liked a particularly character… something happens!
BLANK comes BLANK as a BLANK and BLANK BLANK BLANK.
If you crack my code, hit me up, I want to talk about it!
Thanks for reading folks! And thank you all for an awesome week.
Tomorrow is the 23rd of July 2024 and the day my second novel will be released into the wild. To say I’m a little nervous would be an understatement, but I am also very excited. Quite a few people read The Book and the Blade (the first in the Arthur Crazy series) and the reviews are (mostly) positive… except for one bloke who took exception to the fact the main character smokes too much and drinks too much. I mean, that’s kind of the point, but reader spaces are for readers, not for writers. He is absolutely entitled to his opinion. But I digress. I wonder if he’ll read what happens next? Probably not.
The Sword and the Hounds follows directly on from the events of The Book and the Blade and tells the story after the story, so to speak. If The Book and the Blade was about Arthur getting to grips with an ability to communicate with the deceased, The Sword and the Hounds is about him coming to terms with the wider implications that the dead (and assorted bit n bobs n beasts) exist in the first place. It is the hangover after the big night out. There are… injuries. There are… gaps.
I wrote The Sword and the Hounds when we lived in York in 2019… just before COVID hit. If nothing else, it is a love-letter to the town of Richmond and the folklore of Yorkshire. As one of the characters expresses…
It’s Yorkshire. We’re all a little pagan around here.
But really it exists because I fell in love with Arthur and I fell in love with writing. Something clicked in me when I wrote The Book and the Blade and I knew I’d never look back. Even if they never see the light of day and no one reads them, I’ll never stop writing these stories. I’m not sure I can. Full disclosure… there are four complete Arthur novels, two complete tie-in novels, one obscure novel ‘set in the same world’, a script for a graphic novel, a half-written plan for the fifth, and a series of random notes for the sixth and seventh. If you’re along for the ride… it’s a long one… and it’s going to get bumpy! I hope you enjoy it!
But therein lies the rub… Amazon are not making it easy for people (mainly in Australia) to access my books. The price is astronomical and there is nothing my publisher and I can do about it… other than direct you elsewhere.
That’s the who (me), the what (The Sword and the Hounds), and the when (tomorrow) taken care of so now for the ‘where‘.
In a perfect world… your local independent bookshop. The more mysterious and confusing (and possibly a little creepy) the better. One of those old type of bookshops that vanishes like the emporium in the movie, Gremlins. You know what I mean… with corridors and stairs and hidden rooms that will eat you given half a chance. You go in aged 21 and come out with white hair and a sack full of books. Perfect. But if you don’t have one of them… please try my publisher… Parliament House Press. They distribute worldwide.
If you’re in Brisbane, I know Books@Stones have copies of The Book and the Blade in stock… and if they’re still there this time next week they’ll be signed (if they let me scribble in them) and they also have an online listing for The Sword and the Hounds. You’ll be able to order it in and support a local business at the same time. And THAT is the why! Galactic Overlord Bezos can’t have everything, surely!
Any local bookshop should be able to order The Sword and the Hounds… and in a perfect world, if enough people do, they might consider a permanent stock.
One last note for those in the U.K. – – – and this made me do a little happy dance. W.H. Smiths have an online listing for The Sword and the Hounds! That is an absolute dream come true for me! I loved shopping in Smiths when I was a kid (and an adult!) and the thought that you can order my book and pop in to pick it up is the stuff of “pinch-me-I’m-dreaming” fantasy. And I think it all has to do with one dude… the manager of Smiths in Richmond. He was really keen to get the book on the shelf and so we chatted a bit and he took my details. I called him yesterday to say thanks when I noticed the online listing (horrifyingly getting his surname wrong because I’m a forgetful nobhead) and, bizarrely, he said he wasn’t sure it was him. He has begun discussion with head office but couldn’t remember if he’d passed on my name or the name of the book. So… I reckon it is him… it must be… but if it isn’t, that means my little book got on the list at Smith organically. Which is also exceptionally cool. But I include this little anecdote because it illustrates something really important that hits every part of who, what, when, where, and why… every aspect of what I might call success has been achieved thanks to other people. People who read, who support, who encourage, who advise, who critique, and even people who tell me my characters smoke too much.
So, I’ll end this by saying a very heartfelt thank you to you all. If you’re reading this, I have no doubt that I owe you a debt of gratitude. Thank you!
Here’s looking forward to tomorrow and all the days after!
Cheers!
Al
(I promise not to be too needy and metaphorically read over your shoulder over the coming weeks. Well, I’ll try really hard!)
I have just finished going through the first round of edits for The Sword and the Hounds and pressed send on the old email to my publisher. It is, officially, squeaky-bum time, ladies and gents!
The Sword and the Hounds is the sequel to The Book and the Blade and is due out later this year. I wrote it in a bit of a frenzy during the after-glow of signing with Parliament House Press way back in 2019 (I think… I get some of the dates muddled up). To be honest, that period of a few years (four!) between signing my first book and seeing it in print was probably the most productive of my life. It was like I was in limbo. I had signed a book deal, so that made me an author, right? But no one had read it yet, so there was no chance of anyone saying it was shit and taking it away from me. So, in that glorious liminal period, I churned out as much as I could. I mean, seriously, I wrote non-stop. There was one day where I finished one novel and immediately started the next, because I knew I still had a few hours in me before my brain shut down. That’s not normal is it? But it was fun. I was burning the candle at both ends, while holding a blow-torch in the middle.
And I loved it!
But back to The Sword and the Hounds. To make things easier for myself, I wrote The Book and the Blade (set in York) while living in Richmond, and then wrote The Sword and the Hounds (set in Richmond) while living in York.
Look, I’ve never been accused of being overly smart 😀
Reading through the book this last week was the first time I’ve read it in three years. It was a really cool experience… and also a bit shit in places. My editor is awesome and made some excellent points about changes that needed to be made or parts that needed clarification. There are some things that you just don’t pick up on when you’re writing. I guess it’s a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees. One of my main points was an event that happened in the story, which absolutely would have changed the lives of a great number of people, and then was never mentioned again!
It made me laugh when I read her notes and then read the scene. It reminded me of when the great Conn Iggulden wrote about his editor who once pointed out that he had described his protagonist mounting his horse three times… without ever getting off it!
So, there are parts that made me cringe, but they were easy enough to fix, and the guidance was great. I’ve definitely grown as a writer, but I do absolutely love this story. It’s a very personal story in some respects. If The Book and the Blade is about a man who is lost in the big, bad grown-up world and can’t find his way, The Sword and the Hounds is about the ‘defeat’ of ‘retreating to the safety of the familiar’ but then the… eventual… realisation, that there is no such thing as a backward step. We try our best, and we push on.
That’s vague enough not to be spoilery, right? Which brings me to the quote.
The really fun thing about writing, and the great thing about going back to your own work after so long away from it, is when you come across a line you love. I giggled when I read this…
This is Yorkshire. We’re all a little pagan around here.
The Sword and the Hounds
I won’t give any further context other than to say, The Sword and the Hounds, like its predecessor, weaves a LOT of local myths and legends through the narrative. And it may also play fast and loose with a tale you might all be familiar with, one that took root in Britain a very long time ago.
I can’t wait to introduce you to some of stories from Richmond and the surrounding area, and to let you know how Arthur is getting on. And who knows, maybe some other characters from The Book and the Blade will make an appearance?
Not long now, folks!
Thanks for reading.
I mean, if you live here, of course you’re going to write stories! Absolutely magical!
The Book and the Blade is on sale over on Amazon, ladies and gents. For the rest of the month (admittedly, not long) it will only cost a few dollars/pounds. So, now is the perfect time to have a little read of my comedy/horror about a drunk loner who sees dead people… because the sequel comes out soon!
There are currently four books in the Arthur Crazy series, with the second, The Sword and the Hounds, slated for the end of July… and there is even a chance that the third, The Saint and the Shadowman, will hit the shelves before the end of the year! Fingers crossed!
After that… well, things get a little odd. The Arthur Crazy series was originally a trilogy, but then the fourth seemed to come from nowhere, and… it’s a bit different. The fourth novel is called, I Draw the Line at ******* Vampires, and I had so much fun writing it.
Now my silly brain is even working on the fifth! Nothing is on paper yet, apart from a smattering of notes on Google Keep and one or two post-its shoved in a diary, but I have this ridiculous plan where all my books tie together in one glorious whole!
Red Dwarf
And with that, here are the links for The Book and the Blade should it strike your fancy…
I wrote a thing for the Halloween Hearth Stories hosted by Parliament House Press. This weekend and next they are publishing a selection of creepy/spooky/Halloweeny short stories from some of their authors (that’s me, Mum!) and my story is online now for you to have a gander at.
I’ll come clean, I cheated a bit.
The story you will read from me is actually an excerpt from the sequel to The Book and the Blade (coming in 2022, published by the lovely Parliament House Press peeps). So, I guess if you love it then it’s really good advertising for my book. But if you hate it, well then, at least it was short, right?
A.B. Finlayson 