Cee Tee Jackson's Blog, page 30
October 12, 2016
SEE A SAMPLE OF ‘SOUL SURVIVOR.’
‘The Summons’ and ‘Thought Shower,’ the first two chapters of ‘SOUL SURVIVOR‘ (working title) my latest attempt to write a hundred-seller, are free-to-read on Booksie.com
THE BLURB:
A rather incompetent junior god and his beautiful minder; a bad tempered, cantankerous crow, and a psychopomp with a troubled past – why would anyone put the fate of the planet in the hands of this motley crew? Dux Shrevas may just be having second thoughts.
October 3, 2016
AMAZING REVIEW!
Since I stopped promoting ‘Damp Dogs & Rabbit Wee’ about a month ago, it has virtually flat-lined as far as sales go. But the time had come to give more attention to drafting my new book, ‘Soul Survivor,’ (working title.)
It seemed the kindest thing to do was to take ‘D&RW’ down that sad, one-way trip to the local book-vet, for …. well, sssshhh – you know.
But then last night, came THIS – an absolute belter of a review from a reader in USA.
The book has also been included in the ‘I Recommend …’ Top 10 Humor books on Lia London’s excellent blog.
Maybe there’s life in the old (damp) dogs, yet.
September 2, 2016
August 28, 2016
#1 INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER, BABY!
That’s right – ‘Damp Dogs & Rabbit Wee,’ can now legitimately be classed as a #1, International Best Seller.
OK, it’s kinda stretching things a tad, but following a wee promotional push on the USA, Amazon.com site this week, ‘D&RW’ rose from an overall ranking of 1,127,973 to 15,902. (I believe there are over three million titles available on that platform.)
Not only that, but, wait for it …. it reached the #1 slot in the ‘Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Pet & Animal Care > Rabbits.
It also reached a ranking high of #3 on Amazon UK – Kindle Store > Books > Home & Garden > Animal Care & Pets . Essays.
Yeah, they’re rather niche classifications, I know. It’s all good fun, though .
So that’s now a year since its release. It’s sold reasonably well and has served its purpose as an experiment in writing and finding my way around the publication / marketing landscape.
The latter really is most time consuming and is a necessary evil for indie publishers. Keep on top of it, and the book will steadily climb / maintain its position in the rankings. Stop, and unless you are an established writer with a substantial fan base, the title will drop like a stone to settle somewhere amongst the silt and dust that forms beneath the virtual shelves at Amazon.
But proactive marketing is a big distraction from new projects. So ‘stop,’ I must.
Maybe now’s the time to take ‘Damp Dogs & Rabbit Wee’ on that sad, last journey to the book vet. I mean, there’s no point staggering on trying to flog a dead, erm … well – you know.
Anyhows! Right now I have a rather bad tempered, cantankerous crow and a psychopomp banging on the inside of my head, desperate for an introduction to y’all in the next few months.
You’ll know them when you see them.
NAMING THE BITS BETWEEN.
Naming The Bits Between by Jessica M. Collette
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I stumbled across this book from visiting the author’s blog, and having enjoyed Jessica’s poetry, decided to check out her book. Now, I have to say I’m a bit of a crusty old punk, and books that deal with sensitive issues such as grief wouldn’t normally attract me. But when I scanned through the positive, life-changing experiences undertaken by the main character, Eric, I noticed several that I could relate to – and would like to check out for myself, for that matter.
The more I read, I could see that this was a book more about life than death. It’s a very positive story, and delivered in a manner that is neither ‘preachy’ nor over sentimental. Sure, it has plenty touching moments, but there are also some lovely light moments.
The book is very well written and Jessica’s strengths are definitely in her descriptive writing. ‘Show, don’t tell’ is the mantra of all authors – and Jessica does this very well indeed, leaving the reader with a very clear image of the characters and happenings.
And the title? Yeah – it bugged me too. It makes sense now ….. though you’re going to have to read virtually all the way through until the penny drops and the phrase is actually used.
(Or maybe you’re a lot more intelligent than a crusty old punk.)
August 27, 2016
DESICCATION.
Desiccation by Sarah Potter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
(The only reason I took so long to read this book is that I was reading a couple others at the same time ….. and the baseball season started!)
I loved this book. The cover shouted ‘B-movie’ and ‘Sixties’ so that drew me to it straight away.
I would say that initially I struggled to keep up with the number of characters being introduced, but that could also be because as I mentioned above, I was reading another couple of books at the same time. Whatever, the storyline and characters soon settle down and the plot develops.
What I love about this book is that it is a ‘light’ fun read, never really straying too far from that B-movie feel, but at the same time it is spine-tingly dark.
Sarah Potter has written this book in such a manner as to make the reader (well, me at least) at various points feel as if they themselves are on some sort of weird, psychedelic, hallucinogenic trip.
The (at times) earthy language and actions of the characters define the period and situation to a tee.
Yeah – most definitely worth a read if you like something that little bit ‘different.’ In a good way.
Desiccation.
Desiccation by Sarah Potter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
(The only reason I took so long to read this book is that I was reading a couple others at the same time ….. and the baseball season started!)
I loved this book. The cover shouted ‘B-movie’ and ‘Sixties’ so that drew me to it straight away.
I would say that initially I struggled to keep up with the number of characters being introduced, but that could also be because as I mentioned above, I was reading another couple of books at the same time. Whatever, the storyline and characters soon settle down and the plot develops.
What I love about this book is that it is a ‘light’ fun read, never really straying too far from that B-movie feel, but at the same time it is spine-tingly dark.
Sarah Potter has written this book in such a manner as to make the reader (well, me at least) at various points feel as if they themselves are on some sort of weird, psychedelic, hallucinogenic trip.
The (at times) earthy language and actions of the characters define the period and situation to a tee.
Yeah – most definitely worth a read if you like something that little bit ‘different.’ In a good way.
THE FARGENSTROPPLE CASE.
The Fargenstropple Case by Lia London
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A fun read. I got the sense of a good old-fashioned English farce. Like something that would have come out of the Pinewood film studios at the tail end of the 50s / early 60s.
The FARGENSTROPPLE CASE.
The Fargenstropple Case by Lia London
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A fun read. I got the sense of a good old-fashioned English farce. Like something that would have come out of the Pinewood film studios at the tail end of the 50s / early 60s.
August 26, 2016
SHIZZLE INC.
Shizzle, Inc by Ana Spoke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Not really a ‘bloke’s’ book, I’d say – but a good, fun romp of a chick-lit novel. Some very funny lines and images created. The plot is simple enough, but I did feel it really stretched the bounds of realism towards the end. It felt that Ana had an idea for the follow-up and was keen to get it started, and so rushed the assumptions and situations that led to the end.
This is one of those books that I read as if in ‘film’ mode. It would definitely come across well as a TV movie.
Yeah – a good, fun read. And yes, I’ve already downloaded that follow-up. And again, yes – I am looking forward to reading it.
