Well, now, let's see. In keeping with the spirit of this Year, I intend to forge ahead boldly, to make the future happen.
I have now published 2 more 'Sherlock Holmes Investigates' stories, 'The Free Trade Consortium' & 'The Lascar's Fate'
http://amzn.to/xbFnOM
& http://amzn.to/xZVJ4I
I intend to assemble the 4 stories located in Hampshire around 1891 into one continuous narrative, and publish that as a novel length work. Those 4 stories are 'Lady Chatterleys Voodoo Dolls' 'The Pink Jewel Conundrum' 'The Free TRade Consortium' and 'The Lascar's Fate'
There is also a story with Hercules Zungo, the witchdoctor from the Kafue River Valley, and Josh Green, the New Forest Gypsy, as the protagonists. This is somewhat steam-punky, and they are involved in some dubious enterprises, the sort of things S. Holmes could not be associated with, and so must have a story all their own, split off from the Sherlock stories. Not quite finished yet.
Also, I have posted 3 more poems on the Poetry page of this blog. Take a look.
January 23, 2012
December 30, 2011
2011
I know, I know. I haven't posted here in too long.
Well then, have you noticed my Poem Page on this blog?
Seven poems, written over the last six years. Very erratic production. Will never produce enough for a whole book, but may as well post them so some might read them.
I have published another Sherlock Holmes story, The Pink Jewel Conundrum, and people are buying it. This is the first finished product from the Nanowrimo effort. More will follow, though I'm spending more time online or otherwise occupied than in editing & revision.
Then, I put Stone Song into the Amazon Select Programme, which allows Prime members to borrow 1 book per month free, and allows authors to have books free on Amazon for 5 days in a 90 day period.
Stone Song was free on the 25th & 26th December, to benefit from the feeding frenzy of new ereader owners. It was downloaded 50 times in the UK and more than twice that many times in the USA over the two days. Then it went back to $3.99 until today, the 30th. It will be free for 3 days this time. My hope was there would be less free books now, while people would still be downloading at a high rate. From the big gains in rank garnered from few 'sales' today, I was right.
So far (4:30 pm) 10 downloads in the US and 7 in the UK have got it to ranks (Amazon Free) of #5,900 US & #2,500 UK.
Well then, have you noticed my Poem Page on this blog?
Seven poems, written over the last six years. Very erratic production. Will never produce enough for a whole book, but may as well post them so some might read them.
I have published another Sherlock Holmes story, The Pink Jewel Conundrum, and people are buying it. This is the first finished product from the Nanowrimo effort. More will follow, though I'm spending more time online or otherwise occupied than in editing & revision.
Then, I put Stone Song into the Amazon Select Programme, which allows Prime members to borrow 1 book per month free, and allows authors to have books free on Amazon for 5 days in a 90 day period.
Stone Song was free on the 25th & 26th December, to benefit from the feeding frenzy of new ereader owners. It was downloaded 50 times in the UK and more than twice that many times in the USA over the two days. Then it went back to $3.99 until today, the 30th. It will be free for 3 days this time. My hope was there would be less free books now, while people would still be downloading at a high rate. From the big gains in rank garnered from few 'sales' today, I was right.
So far (4:30 pm) 10 downloads in the US and 7 in the UK have got it to ranks (Amazon Free) of #5,900 US & #2,500 UK.
October 26, 2011
Eland Dances new cover
Some good news today.
First, Hannah Warren has posted an 'author interview' with me on her blog.
http://www.hannahwarrenauthor.com/?page_id=3722
Secondly, I have permission from the Bradshaw foundation to use one of their images of San rock art for the cover of Eland Dances.
I chose the image they call the 'Rossetta Stone' of San rock Art, the picture of a dying eland with a shaman from Game Pass shelter in the Drakensberg.
Click on the Title to see the new cover on Amazon UK
First, Hannah Warren has posted an 'author interview' with me on her blog.
http://www.hannahwarrenauthor.com/?page_id=3722
Secondly, I have permission from the Bradshaw foundation to use one of their images of San rock art for the cover of Eland Dances.
I chose the image they call the 'Rossetta Stone' of San rock Art, the picture of a dying eland with a shaman from Game Pass shelter in the Drakensberg.
Click on the Title to see the new cover on Amazon UK
October 7, 2011
Sherlock sells
Rambling until I think of something brilliant -- I don't know why the writing I invest the least in proves most popular with readers with whom (as far as I know) I have no contact. I am thinking here of the fact my Sherlock Holmes stuff does sell, while the novels don't. Could be the blurbs, covers, etc are just not eyecatching enough? Could it be the demographic of ereaders who browse in the underworld of the Hundreds-of-thousands from-the-top Best-sellers are looking for plain take me away entertainment, no heavy stuff?
Whatever the reason, the message is plain, write more Schlock (Holmes I mean).
I'd better get on that today, really, what with Nanowrimo coming fast. I hope to get out a Sherlock shortie, and then plunge into November writing frenzy, and emerge into a brilliant December buying frenzy on Amazon, while I edit and rewrite whatever might emerge from NanoWr.
Also, of course, I have to get in winter firewood, decobweb the house (grandaughter wont visit a House of Spiders), finish the basement in the London house now the tenant is moving out, while there's still money in the bank. Then another higher paying tenant or sell??
Whatever the reason, the message is plain, write more Schlock (Holmes I mean).
I'd better get on that today, really, what with Nanowrimo coming fast. I hope to get out a Sherlock shortie, and then plunge into November writing frenzy, and emerge into a brilliant December buying frenzy on Amazon, while I edit and rewrite whatever might emerge from NanoWr.
Also, of course, I have to get in winter firewood, decobweb the house (grandaughter wont visit a House of Spiders), finish the basement in the London house now the tenant is moving out, while there's still money in the bank. Then another higher paying tenant or sell??
September 28, 2011
Fish Hoek shark attack
My friend Chana Martens posted this video of the aftermath of a shark attack on Fish Hoek beach, Capetown, today, Wednesday 28th September.
This is actually the mouth of the Silvermine River, and in the background there is a row of houses against the mountain. We lived in a cottage next to the red roofed house, where there is now a larger building.
That was around the time of the events recorded in my short stories Sunbird & Finding the Eland. The second of those stories is also included in modified form in Eland Dances. Part of Ch 6 I think.
Click on the post title to watch the vid.
We didnt usually swim right in this area because of strong currents, and quicksand around the rivermouth.
This is actually the mouth of the Silvermine River, and in the background there is a row of houses against the mountain. We lived in a cottage next to the red roofed house, where there is now a larger building.
That was around the time of the events recorded in my short stories Sunbird & Finding the Eland. The second of those stories is also included in modified form in Eland Dances. Part of Ch 6 I think.
Click on the post title to watch the vid.
We didnt usually swim right in this area because of strong currents, and quicksand around the rivermouth.
September 26, 2011
Eland Dances
Eland Dances by Philip van WulvenTo see the cover, click on the title of this post, which links to the book on smashwords.
I think because I wrote this, I am disqualified to review or rate it.
That is my response to the standard Goodreads request to review & rate every book you 'put on your shelf' on their site. I know others do actually rate their own stufff, but seriously, what is the point of that?
View all my reviews
Peter Fitt instinctively dislikes the power-hungry men who see others as ego-food or enemies. In San beliefs, passed down in his family, the eland opposes the selfish and destructive carnivores, the men with 'lion spirits.' Healing power is found in dance, in trance, and the strong should defend others, not prey on them.
When he uses a Soviet airplane in a development project the Russians use this opportunity to supply arms to both sides in the Rhodesian independence struggle. They intend to escalate the civil war so their cadres can climb into power. Shit rises to the top when stirred.
Now also available from amazon.com http://amzn.to/oMossa and amazon.co.uk
Eland Dances now published on smashwords
I finally took the plunge and Published 'Eland Dances' on smashwords.
This book has been a lot of work, with a lot of learning. I began it back in 2004, so it has taken 7 years to come to this point.
There is still something not quite right with the formatting, because the epub version from their meatgrinder conversion software does not have the proper functional hyperlinked Table of Contents. The epub version done by the iPages software on my Mac works perfectly, as does the Mobi version from the Meatgrinder.
Which means at least one more re-formatting attempt from a clean copy.
The point is that it is published, and any changes from now will be minor, to fix errors.
With that much time invested in it I want the final version to have a seamlessly efficient Table of Contents, so some effort is going into the formatting for sure.
There is a coupon code, so I can give free copies to people who might offer opinions or reviews. If anybody actually reads this post, and wants a copy, contact me for now. I will post the code on this blog when I am happy with the formatting in all versions.
I am going to email a few people who might like to read the final version, having read parts at some point.
Ideally, it should be ready for distribution to all of smashwords' retail network, and on Amazon Kindle, by the end of this month.
This book has been a lot of work, with a lot of learning. I began it back in 2004, so it has taken 7 years to come to this point.
There is still something not quite right with the formatting, because the epub version from their meatgrinder conversion software does not have the proper functional hyperlinked Table of Contents. The epub version done by the iPages software on my Mac works perfectly, as does the Mobi version from the Meatgrinder.
Which means at least one more re-formatting attempt from a clean copy.
The point is that it is published, and any changes from now will be minor, to fix errors.
With that much time invested in it I want the final version to have a seamlessly efficient Table of Contents, so some effort is going into the formatting for sure.
There is a coupon code, so I can give free copies to people who might offer opinions or reviews. If anybody actually reads this post, and wants a copy, contact me for now. I will post the code on this blog when I am happy with the formatting in all versions.
I am going to email a few people who might like to read the final version, having read parts at some point.
Ideally, it should be ready for distribution to all of smashwords' retail network, and on Amazon Kindle, by the end of this month.
September 14, 2011
New Covers
Well now, almost halfway through the month. What have I achieved? Not much.
Fiddled with all my book covers, edited 'In the Valley' to add in a linked Table of Contents, so now you can click on a story in the list and whizz, you are on the first page of that story. Click on the story title/header inside the book and you go back to the Table of Contents.
I took 'Heavy and Light Tales'ebook version down from Amazon. None have sold. Maybe I should split the stories in that to try as freebie short stories, or perhaps simply try a better cover and some directed marketing. I dunno.
After the first week of September, 5 had sold of each of the Sherlock books in the USA,1 of Voodoo Dolls in Germany, and 1 in the UK. Then everything stopped. Just 1 copy of Voodoo Dolls has sold all this week, in the UK.
I don't know if this was because I changed the covers so Amazon froze sales for a day. I didn't think they'd do that, since the new cover was up on the site in a couple of hours. But now I'm thinking that has to be the reason all I have are dropping rankings. Once momentum is lost, it is simply gone, it seems.
Lastly, I tried a site which 'animates' gif images - or more precisely, they rotate a series of images you supply. I have added their code to this post. Curious to see if it works.
Fiddled with all my book covers, edited 'In the Valley' to add in a linked Table of Contents, so now you can click on a story in the list and whizz, you are on the first page of that story. Click on the story title/header inside the book and you go back to the Table of Contents.
I took 'Heavy and Light Tales'ebook version down from Amazon. None have sold. Maybe I should split the stories in that to try as freebie short stories, or perhaps simply try a better cover and some directed marketing. I dunno.
After the first week of September, 5 had sold of each of the Sherlock books in the USA,1 of Voodoo Dolls in Germany, and 1 in the UK. Then everything stopped. Just 1 copy of Voodoo Dolls has sold all this week, in the UK.
I don't know if this was because I changed the covers so Amazon froze sales for a day. I didn't think they'd do that, since the new cover was up on the site in a couple of hours. But now I'm thinking that has to be the reason all I have are dropping rankings. Once momentum is lost, it is simply gone, it seems.
Lastly, I tried a site which 'animates' gif images - or more precisely, they rotate a series of images you supply. I have added their code to this post. Curious to see if it works.
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