It’s been a weird few months. I’ve had four book signing events – well, three if you don’t count the Geeky Craft Fair at the Game Chamber. That one wasn’t an exclusively ‘book event’ but did demonstrate how there can be a lot of overlap between gaming/fantasy fans and the books I produce. Another truth that becomes evident, is how challenging it can be for an Indie author to stand out from the crowd and how your confidence can suddenly evaporate when confronted with ‘Imposter Syndrome’ – all while surrounded by a thousand excellent novels by ‘real writers’. However, there is a decided bright side to book signings.

This takes the form of actually chatting to people. Being immersed in the writing experience, a writer must then step into the light and talk (shudder) with their fellow human beings. It’s daunting if you’re an introvert. Imposter Syndrome can seriously undercut your faith in yourself and your book. I’ve seen indie creators sometimes promote their works in such an apologetic manner it sounds as if their ashamed to draw attention to themselves. So far, I’ve managed to avoid that. What has helped, is some of the amazing and interesting conversations I’ve had with the people that stopped by my table. Even it they didn’t buy anything! LOL!

FEATURE DESIGN OF THE MONTH?

With all the book signings, my day-job and other unexpected distractions, I wasn’t able to complete my latest illustration in time for this deadline. I hope you like the little teaser for my latest character for my “Women of Magic and Mystery” collection. Look for her next month. Or maybe a bit earlier on Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok.

Well, things are gearing up for the multiple book signings, I have lined up with fellow indie author, Cynthia Brubaker. My appearance at the Game Chamber Geek Craft Fair was a blast. As an interesting side note: of all the sales I had at the event, only one person paid in cash. Every other sale was by card, using my Square device. A true sign of the times. It also kind of symbolizes how things have changed.

When my brother and I first entered the self-publishing arena with our graphic novels, Print-On-Demand was just barely more than an idea and the piece of the market for Indie artists was considerably smaller – or at least, less populated.

However, the rise of POD and devices like the Square, have definitely thrown open the floodgates and made “side hustles” a much more available option for an increasing number of creative entrepreneurs. This has, of course, had a seismic effect on the entire publishing industry and set up a strange tension between indie authors and traditionally-published authors – backed in some part by big publishing houses. It’s an absurd opposition as both approaches hold value and can actually compliment each other. It’s my belief in the future most authors will be ‘Hybrid Authors’; they’ll have books self-published and traditionally-published.

For myself, I prefer the control of self-publishing and there are now, plenty of services and platforms on which to promote your work. Self-publishing can also be done on the cheap – depending on how much of the process you take on yourself – or it can be more costly if you hire services to help get your book to market. The challenge is getting noticed amongst all the truly good, even great, work present in the marketplace. That’s where sometimes traditionally-published authors can have more of any edge. Big publishing houses have bigger marketing budgets. However, they won’t necessarily spend much on a new, untested author. In the end, we love our art but we also need to make money in order to continue.

This is really just a roundabout way of saying that we are currently in a state of flux or change in the publishing market. Things may look exceptionally different in 5, 10, or 20 years from where we are today. Don’t even get me started on the effect of AI on this whole scenario. Maybe your favourite novel in the future will have a person’s ‘face’ as a cover for an AI ‘author’ (like a Mrs. Butterworth or Betty Crocker?) under a big publisher’s control of course. Or maybe you’ll find books divided into AI or ‘Bio-organic’ categories?

What book would you prefer to read? Indie Author or Traditionally-published? AI or Real person? It’s going to be … interesting in the coming years and not all the changes can be foreseen.

In that vein, the feature design below may be somewhat fitting.

FEATURE DESIGN OF THE MONTH

The Mistress of Autumn or the Autumn Sorceress, has come to usher change into your life. With her guidance, it will be smooth and abundant. Claim her magic for this season of letting go. She’s available on lots of cool merchandise like stickers, mugs, t-shirts and more in our Redbubble store. The site frequently has sales too, so it pays to check in regularly to get in on some of the best of indie artists’ work.

Well, sometimes you just can’t love technology and sometimes you can’t do without it. Case in point, when a technologically-challenged person like myself finds their website provider has “updated” their site, many things can go awry. Such as having to relearn how you do things because all the regular tools you use have been moved around. This is my explanation for not posting at the beginning of the month like I usually do. As things stand I’m still learning how to get things done. For that reason, this will be short and sweet and to the point.

Sales of The Sons of Enoch, Book Four in The Witch’s Foundling series continue. I received some pretty good reactions as the adventures of Sally and Samdriel reach new levels of danger and challenge. If Blood Walkers weren’t enough, the Sons of Enoch are certainly giving our protagonists a hard time. To promote the latest release, I’ve been arranging some book signings with my friend and fellow indie author, Cynthia Brubaker. You can find us at these locations :

Book Signings 2024:

The Geek Craft Fair; September, 21, 2024, Noon to 4 PM at The Game Chamber, 1700 Dundas Str. London, Ontario. (Just Alison at this one)

Chapters Indigo North; October 12, 2024, Noon to 5 PM, Richmond Centre, 86 Fanshawe, London, Ontario.

Coles Bookstore, October 26, 2024, Noon to 5 PM, Lambton Mall, 1380 London Road, Sarnia, Ontario.

St. Lawrence Presbyterian Church, November 2, 2024, Noon to 4 PM, 910 Huron Street, London, Ontario.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok to keep track of these dates for any up-to-the-minute changes or the latest news.

FEATURE DESIGN OF THE MONTH!

Whether you’re an aspiring author or a student working on a late-nigh essay, the Word Witch is just the friend you’re looking for. Let her enchanting, whimsical magic keep you inspired and never at a loss for what to say. Find this design on t-shirts, stickers, mugs, coasters and so much more in our Redbubble store. The cat will never have your tongue again.

At last the launch for The Sons of Enoch, Book Four of The Witch’s Foundling series is upon us! On August 9, 2024, the next installment in the adventures of Sally and Samdriel, will be set free. This will begin on Amazon.com and follow on the other ‘Zon sites and other major platforms throughout August. This ‘Rolling Release’ is based on the fact that certain platforms take a bit longer to approve and list books than others. However, since they carried the proceeding three books, I don’t foresee any problem and The Sons of Enoch should be available just about everywhere by the end of the month.

I chose this wide distribution model both to get my books in front of as many eyes as possible but also to ensure that if anything goes wrong with the Amazon listing, readers have other options to purchase my books. It’s a balancing act as Amazon does offer some perks if you go exclusively with them. However, the perks weren’t quite enough to lure me away from my decision.

So, if you’re not a fan of the ‘Zon, you can still expect to find all the books of The Witch’s Foundling series on other platforms like Chapters/Indigo, Barnes and Nobles etc.

If you can’t wait to get your hands on the story and are open to leaving a review, ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) are available on Book Sirens. There’s no charge for the digital copy but there are only a limited number on offer.

BOOK SIGNINGS!

On Friday, August 16, 2024, 3pm to 6pm at the Federation Hall, Columbia Rooms A & B at the University of Waterloo the first “Spellbound and Starscapes” will take place. It’s a gathering of fantasy and sci-fi indie authors and we’re hoping anyone in the area will join us for an entertaining time of bookish delight.

I’m also planning more book signings. Keep a look out here, and on our Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok for up-to-date news about future events.

FEATURE DESIGN OF THE MONTH

Soak up a little Solar magic with the Sunflower Sorceress. Enjoy the bright energy of summer when you join forces with this golden enchantress. She’s the latest addition to my “Women of Magic and Mystery” Collection. Find herm along with all her sisters in our Redbubble store.

Alright! The Sons of Enoch, Book Four of The Witch’s Foundling series, is in production! I’ve uploaded the manuscript with Tellwell Talent and the interior formatting is almost complete. On the second round of revisions and this should settle things. I’m also planning on setting up the first Ebook (maybe second Ebook, too?) on sale a little before the release of Book Four. Keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok for news about that. For now, feast your eyes on the cover for THE SONS OF ENOCH! (insert cheers)

So, are you intrigued? Let me know what you think. A lot happens in this installment of Sally and Samdriel’s saga? Deception. Danger. Magic. Monsters. Action and adventure. And, of course, some romance. Who are the Sons of Enoch? Find out when you read the book. Look out for more news about a release date and art featuring some of the new and interesting (also, deadly) characters, you’ll meet in this latest story. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok to keep up.

FEATURE DESIGN OF THE MONTH

The winds of magic are stirring things up and releasing a burst of enchantment. Join the rolling, rousing ride with the Enchantress of the Four Winds as she guides the sorcerer-ish forces along a path of excitement. You can find her on an amazing assortment of merchandise in our Redbubble store. Pick her up and get ready for blustery, magical adventure.

Not to mention the blurb; the paragraph(s) of description found on the back of the book. I’ve discovered that the challenge of writing a blurb for the fourth book in a series, is it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid spoilers for the preceding books. For example: “After defeating the evil Lord Blackthorne, young Amanda is drawn into a new mystery”. Now, if the book before this one, had made the identity of Lord Blackthorne a major plot point, mentioning Lord Blackthorne in the latest blurb could be a major

This, of course, is a problem only if the person reading the newest blurb hadn’t read the first book. However, such a thing is quite common. Speaking from experience. So, I’m left with conveying the hook for the new plot, while avoiding spoilers and encouraging readers to read all the books in the series. I think I’ve got it for Book 4. Once the production for The Sons of Enoch is underway, you can expect to see the blurb, here and on our Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok. Stay tuned.

FEATURE DESIGN OF THE MONTH

Take charge and claim the magic of the Poppy sorceress. There’s no way to go but forward when you follow the example of this powerful enchantress. She, and other “Women of Magic and Mystery”, can be found on numerous quality products in our Redbubble store. Check it out!

Well, I have to say I wasn’t sure at a certain point that our newsletter would be back. Things are changing so rapidly on the front of email providers thanks to Google and Yahoo that it’s been difficult to keep up. I’m still working on getting our sign-up form sorted out – that’s a whole other issue. Hopefully those already subscribed to our newsletter will be receiving it. However, when you’re not technologically-gifted and don’t have the budget to hire, progress can be slow on this front.

Not to go into too much detail, (some explanation is in our newsletter) Google and Yahoo, in order to clamp down on spam and scam emails required further ‘authentication’ for people and businesses to prove their identity. It was our understanding that small subscriber lists like ours would be exempt but not with our provider. The size of your list didn’t matter, they wanted to get everyone aligned with the new requirements.

However, no matter how many times we went through with the given instructions, videos, chats and the like, nothing worked. We couldn’t even get live support with the email provider because we were on one of their free plans. Insert big, frustrated sigh here. Only after taking some time away and regaining some perspective were we able to figure out what to do. We appreciate all the support and patience of the subscribers we do have. You’re fantastic.

Feature Design of the Month

Looking for a little uplift during this time of confusion? Let the Starlight Sorceress grant your wish in the tradition of the finest Fairy Godmothers. She’s displayed here against a dark background to show off her enchanting sparkle but she’s available on t-shirts in a wide variety of colours in our Redbubble shop. Not mention how cool the stickers and mugs and other stylish merchandise are.

At long last, Book Four of The Witch’s Foundling series has been handed over to my editor, Rachel Walden of 1823 Revisions. Alison’s Gaslamp Fantasy, takes Sally, Samdriel, Ernest, Caroline and company for a rollercoaster of a ride in this latest instalment. In this alternate 19th century world, supernatural forces are a constant, shadowy threat. Book Four features a mysterious group, formerly associated with the Society of Seekers, pursuing an agenda of their own. Who might these new characters be, you wonder? Let me introduce you.

The Sons of Enoch take their name from a biblical character known for such profound faith that “God took him”; presumably to heaven. Do the “Sons of Enoch” display a similar purity? What are their motives? Why are they interested in Sally and her friends? Will they be a threat or a help against the gathering darkness? Between these forces and others, the tension intensifies as Sally tries to navigate treacherous ground in the face of unforeseen challenges. Striving to support her growing family and worrying for her loved one caught up in dangerous duties, it seems Sally and Samdriel’s struggles may never end. Yet, they have so much more to fight for.

This adventure introduces more characters and shifts its setting to – I’ll keep that secret for now. You’ll be able to get a look at some of the new characters she encounters on our Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok accounts as the next months unfold.

FEATURE DESIGN OF THE MONTH

With the approach of Spring and all it brings, this month’s design is about Hope – that can pack a punch if she needs to. Something Sally, the witch’s foundling, could definitely use more of. Let the power of the Angel of Hope sustain you as we look forward to an awakening of life after a long winter’s sleep. You can find her on numerous quality products on our Redbubble store. The sweatshirts, t-shirts and stickers are all sure to warm your heart and raise your spirits.

While promoting my latest novel, Spell of the Wordsmith, my attention has been grabbed by the rise of the Audiobook market. Audiobooks aren’t particularly new but they have begun to increase in popularity. Significantly since the pandemic. Whether you like to listen during a long commute or while doing chores around the house or out walking the dog, audiobooks are an entertaining way to consume literature. But are they worth it? Speaking as an Indie Author that is.

To produce an Audiobook, it’s highly recommended a professional narrator or Voice Actor be hired with a reputable company. Makes sense. Audio files must be in special format that meets the standards of the platforms where you would be offering it for sale. However, Professional = $$$. Usually.

What do I mean by “usually”?

Well, if you’re good at negotiating, there are professional Voice Actors who are open to a profit sharing deal where no money is put upfront but sales are split 50/50. I know of one author that went that route. He produced an audiobook without paying a cent. But it did require him to be okay with sharing the profits. That’s 50% of the royalty, of course, not the retail price. Which brings up another issue.

When it came to try and understand what the actual cost and profit for producing an audiobook came down to, I found a lot a varying information. Articles that didn’t recommend it for indie authors were a few years old. Essentially before the notable growth during the pandemic. Those that fully endorsed it, usually were the audiobook producing services. A little bias perhaps? I think the best and most matter-of-fact presentation I found was by indie author Roger Zargari.

His article “What does Audible Really pay Indie Authors?” succinctly lays out the math and the potential for profits. If your an indie author and audiobooks are something you’re wondering about, I recommend the article. Or even if you’re a reader, you might find it interesting to discover some of the financial challenges faced by your favourite indie authors. Needless to say, these are not considerations faced by traditionally published authors.

Well, this turned out to be a longer and long-winded blog about something I’ve been considering, going forward. Let me know what you think. Have any of these things ever, even crossed your mind or are you a reader of traditional books and have never bothered with audiobooks? One aspect of the whole audio vs. traditional books has been audiobook consumers insisting they “read” their books and traditional readers vehemently disagreeing. I purposely avoided that debate as it would take up an entire blog all on its own. In either case, stories are being told and stories are being received. And in the end, isn’t that every authors dream?

Feature Design of the Month

Of course, we can’t let you go without introducing you to the Queen of Hearts. She’s ready for Valentine’s Day and she “Plays for Keeps”! Join her in the game when you purchase her on any of the quality products found in our Redbubble shop. Spread the Love and show your support for Indie Artists! The stickers and t-shirts are particularly cool.

Anything to add about audiobooks or one of Alison’s novels? Reach out to us on: Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok.

A new year has begun and I hope it finds everyone looking forward to great things. If you’re not already in the know, Spell of the Wordsmith is available on all major platforms! This third book in The Witch’s Foundling series features a change of scene from the countryside and Briarstone Manor to the shadowy and threatening streets of Victorian London. Things are getting more challenging for Sally and Samdriel as old foes and new friends lead to stunning and unexpected challenges.

I’m still looking for reviews. So, if you’re interested in helping to give Spell of the Wordsmith a boost, consider checking out my listing on the review sites, Book Sirens and Reedsy-Discovery. In each of these cases, you have to sign on and create a reader/reviewer account but it’s free and you’ll have ARCs from emerging new authors sent to your e-reader as soon as you select them. You can tailor your account to receive only the genres you prefer to read, too. All that’s asked is that you leave a review on the platform(s) of your choice. I can also invite readers to download a free ARC for my books using a special link. At no point does it cost you anything. Reviews can give a great boost to indie authors and really help our sales so we can keep doing what we love. Write more stories! *Side note: So far The Witch’s Foundling series is averaging 4.8 to 5-stars on Amazon!

In the coming months, I’ll be releasing more news about the following two books in The Witch’s Foundling series. So, you might want to join us on our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok. I confess, we don’t do X (formerly known as Twitter) anymore and I’m not sold on Threads (connected to Instagram)yet either. At the moment, if you join Threads but then decide to opt-out, you will also lose or be deleted from your Instagram account – regardless of whether you wish to do so. Those creatives with well developed Instagram accounts risk losing everything they’ve built if they try to leave Threads but want to stay on Instagram. If that ever changes, I’ll look at joining but not at the moment. Anyway, the social media accounts I’ve linked do allow for up-to-the-minute news. But don’t worry, we’re committing to updating our website more regularly and hope to see more people signing up for our newsletter. I’m working on putting together some nice little perks for our subscribers but more on that later.

Wishing any and all, a Happy and prosperous New Year with our January dragons. The Dragon of the Old Year is showing the Dragon of the New Year the ropes, but the new guy has some tricks of his own. You can claim his charm and luck for 2024 by purchasing this design on a number of quality products in our Redbubble store. The journals, stickers, t-shirts are particularly cool but there a lots of products to attract your interest.