Bright Blessings to all Stonewylde readers!
Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a great Yule and New Year's Eve. And now we're at Imbolc - one of the eight pagan festivals of the year. It's a time of new beginnings - a chance to spring-clean your home and your life in general. The young spring maiden (sometimes known as Brigid or Bride) replaces the old crone of winter as the earth starts to send forth new shoots and emerge from the slough of winter. If you google Imbolc you'll find loads of information about the festival (for those of you who don't already know, of course) and some lovely pictures on google images. Imbolc itself is February 2nd but like many pagan festivals, it's often honoured on its eve, February 1st. So even if you're not into celebrating the festivals, you could light a white candle this evening and take time to reflect on the things in your life to cast off and leave behind (leaving the dead and cold of winter) and look forward to new beginnings and opportunities that you wish to embrace (the coming spring). As with all pagan ceremonies, I love the fact that there's no right and wrong way of celebrating - do your own thing, think your own thoughts, do what's symbolic and right for you. Sometimes just a few minutes of quiet reflection and tuning yourself into the rhythm of the earth as it turns is all that's needed. And other times it's great to have a party and dress up in suitable colours, light a bonfire, eat, drink and be merry!
Well - the Stonewylde news. Many of you I know personally but there are more and more new people subscribing to the newsletter, and lots of you I've never met. I suppose the biggest event to tell you about is that I've given up teaching and am now concentrating on being a full-time author. Much as I loved teaching, it was impossible to promote and market the Stonewylde series as well as work in such a demanding job. It wasn't so bad writing - that just flowed of its own accord and I could stay up all night if I wanted to write. But this promotion side is more demanding in a different way, and I have to be free to go out and meet people, and able to make and take calls during the working day. Thanks to my brilliant partner I'm now able to do this - he believes that it's the only way Stonewylde will ever reach a mass market and be really successful.
I think most of you have now read the second book in the series, Moondance of Stonewylde, and thank you very much to all who've left comments in the guest book on the website, and also written a review for Amazon. But I need more please! So if you haven't done it yet, please take a few minutes to write something. It really does help, and the more mentions there are of the books on the internet, the better. If you google Stonewylde you'll be amazed at how many entries there are. I really need your help, everyone. The guestbook link is: http://www.stonewylde.com/guestbook.htm . And to leave feedback on Amazon simply search for either of the books and then click on the Write a Review bit.
In fact, that's the crux of this Imbolc newsletter - how I need help please from everyone who's enjoyed Stonewylde and wants more. As you know, I had to set up my own publishing company, Moongazy Publishing, in order to get the first book into print. I had a wonderful agent who was pretty confident of placing the book with a publisher, but after several rejections I realised I'd have to go a different route. The feedback I'd had from friends and family who'd read the manuscripts convinced me that the publishers were wrong - the Stonewylde series was worth pursuing. So I borrowed money and set up my company. I've sold all of the first print run and have had further copies of Magus printed. And in the meantime went to print with Moondance, which is selling really well. In order to do this I re-mortgaged my house and have now given up my career - so you can see I really do have faith in Stonewylde and its eventual success. I've written four of the five books in the series and I know many of you are looking forward to reading the third book, Solstice at Stonewylde. So it's got to work! But without wishing to bore you all with the details of how the system works - it's a tough world in the publishing industry and a real struggle for an unknown author with an unknown publishing company. I need to get the books into the shops and known to the general public, and that's where I'm hoping you can all help. I read (and I'm sure this is true) that what sells books more than any big advertising campaign is word of mouth recommendation. People buy books that their friends recommend. If all of you who've enjoyed the books could recommend them to at least six friends, who in turn read them and recommend them, the word will soon spread.
Another way of promoting the books is to take a copy in to your local bookshop or alternative shop (the sort that sell pagan stuff, crystals, etc) and recommend that they stock it. Rant and rave and impress them! Tell them that the books have been enjoyed by males and females from 11 to 80+, and most people who read the first one want to buy the second. I'm set up with two distributors so any shop can get hold of the books using their computerised systems. If any of you belong to book clubs or reading groups, please recommend Magus of Stonewylde as a suitable read! Ordering a few copies from a Waterstones or similar will make the buyers take note. And I'd be happy to correspond with or visit any groups who'd like to have a discussion with the author.
I've had a couple of good interviews and a book review with the Dorset Evening Echo, but anyone from outside this area might be able to interest their local paper or radio station to do an article - I can be contacted via the website if they'd like to interview me. And if any of you know anyone involved in the national media of any sort - WOW! Please ask them to do an article or interview. If I could just get some national publicity I think Stonewylde would really take off. My youngest and loveliest fan (she's 11) has written a review for the Guardian which she's sending off soon - let's hope they take note! If several of you readers could pester the national papers it might work - certainly better than me pestering them, which doesn't work.
And finally - the internet! The more mentions of Magus and Moondance, the better. A very keen reader from Chickerell has mentioned Magus of Stonewylde in her MySpace - which now pops up when you google Stonewylde. If any of you have MySpace or Bebo accounts, or something similar, and can promote the books that way, it would really help. Or if you have a website and could put a link to Stonewylde.com on that, I'll get more hits and publicity. If you visit forums or other websites, especially book related ones, please mention the Stonewylde series to others. Anything - just spread the word!
Thank you everyone! Thanks for all your e mails and enthusiasm - it means so much to me, especially when I feel despondent and wonder if I'm wasting my time trying to get a toe into such a cut-throat world where only the major publishers ever seem to have success. Let me know how you get on and if anything seems to work. I'm determined that the Stonewylde series will make it. I really want to publish the third book for Samhain this year (Oct 31st for any non-pagan readers) and I know many of you are desperate to find out what happens next. But I need to recoup some of the money spent on printing before I can do any more - so I need to sell more. If anyone has any ideas at all, please let me know. I'm very grateful for any help.
So - bright blessings to you all for Imbolc. Let's hope this is the start of major success for Stonewylde, and I hope it's a time of exciting new beginnings for everyone. It's also the full moon on Friday - so if you're casting a circle, lighting a candle, or simply gazing up into the sky, think of Yul and Sylvie and the magical world of Stonewylde, where the earth energy is powerful and the goddess breathes in every stone, leaf and fold of land. And dream of walking into every book shop in the country and seeing those Avebury stones and the golden sky, and the bright full moon with Sylvie dancing, staring back at you from a big Stonewylde display! Who knows - it might just work!
Keep in touch - I love getting your e mails.
Kit xxx
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