Graham Johns's Blog, page 4
August 21, 2020
Merchandise!
I had a very nice surprise recently.
A friend of mine, having read and enjoyed “Pickled“, noticed something I had completely forgotten about writing (bar a vague sense that it seemed familiar)…namely that I described a t-shirt in my narrative that related to the tale.
He wasn’t to be denied and had one made online. A pretty great treat, wouldn’t you say?
If you don’t know who Hippo Man and Blue Boy are, you should probably start by getting a copy of “Baabaric” without delay…and if you have already done that and fancy such a fine piece of merchandise yourself, well, you might have to locate your own store rather than expect me to be retailing them for huge profit…hmm…now there’s a thought!
Visit Yorkshire…visit Nether-Staining…visit Amazon Books for your e-book or paperback entertainment…
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August 14, 2020
Blasphemy
Hi Everyone
Good news!
I wanted to share with you that Book 4 in the Annals of Nether-Staining now has a title!
And that title is “Blasphemy“. It’s by me, Graham Johns, and will pick up where “Pickled” left off in the grand tradition of sequels everywhere…
But is it blasphemous? Does it offend God? Or is it all about Yorkshire being God’s county? Only time will tell!
I’m hoping for a pre-Christmas release but editing takes time so watch this space…
[image error]Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
August 3, 2020
A Note of Thanks
Hi Folks
A small note of thanks to everyone who took advantage of the offers to take a budget trip to Nether-Staining over the Yorkshire Day weekend. And if you missed it, the books aren’t hugely expensive anyway so why not treat yourself?
Books are a great way to escape the world!
Long Live Yorkshire! Long Live Nether-Staining!
[image error]Photo by Luis Quintero on Pexels.com
August 2, 2020
LAST CHANCE for Yorkshire Day FREEBIES!
The Yorkshire Day giveaway is almost at an end (cue tears). You have until end of 2nd August to take advantage of these great Amazon offers for a budget trip to Nether-Staining…let your imagination take you on a journey that COVID will not allow in person…
All you need is a Kindle or Kindle e-reader App to partake…
“ Baabaric ” e-book is FREE for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on ALL Amazon stores.
“ Stoned ” e-book is ONLY £0.99 for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on Amazon UK.
“ Pickled ” e-book is ONLY £0.99 for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on Amazon UK.
July 31, 2020
YORKSHIRE DAY FREEBIE!
It is Yorkshire Day today…1st August…and I, Graham Johns, hereby pledge to offer bonus book deals for Amazon readers…click on the titles below to learn more…offers valid until end of the weekend…may your journey to Nether-Staining be a joyous one…
All you need is a Kindle or Kindle e-reader App to partake…
“ Baabaric ” e-book is FREE for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on ALL Amazon stores.
“ Stoned ” e-book is ONLY £0.99 for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on Amazon UK.
“ Pickled ” e-book is ONLY £0.99 for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on Amazon UK.
July 30, 2020
Yorkshire Day! FREE BOOK!
They may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!
It is finally Yorkshire Day this weekend…1st August…which means I shall hereby live up to my promise to give all Amazon readers an offer they’ve hopefully been waiting for…
Here are the offers…courtesy of me, Graham Johns, I bid you to enjoy…
“ Baabaric ” e-book is FREE for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on ALL Amazon stores.
“ Stoned ” e-book is ONLY £0.99 for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on Amazon UK.
“ Pickled ” e-book is ONLY £0.99 for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on Amazon UK.
Yorkshire, the eighth wonder of the world, although for those living there, it’s the first.
Isn’t it time you visited Nether-Staining? Go on, you know you want to…Yorkshire needs you!
DISCLAIMER – if anyone is wondering why the discounts only apply to Amazon UK, that’s simply because of Amazon rules regarding minimum prices…other countries must already be getting a good deal as I’d have to raise the price to offer a promotion…craziness! In other words…buy it anyway! I thank you.
Emily Brontë
On 30th July 1818, Emily Brontë was born in Thornton, on the outskirts of Bradford, Yorkshire. She died at just age 30 in Haworth, Yorkshire. During her life, she gave us “Wuthering Heights”, a truly great work of literature. It’s not the easiest book to read because of the rather complex representation of Yorkshire dialogue. But it is well-worth the effort. It wasn’t until after her death that her real name was associated with the novel (it had been published the year before her death under the pseudonym of Ellis Bell).
I really wanted to write the speech of the Nether-Staining residents in a similar way but decided that…
It wouldn’t make enough sense to most people who I hoped would read my novels.
I’m just not able to do so.
No harm in honesty.
Emily, I doff my cap to you in honour of your birthday.
July 22, 2020
Coming Soon…a Yorkshire Day Bonanza!
It isn’t long now until Yorkshire Day…1st August…a day to celebrate all things great about God’s county…
PEOPLE OF YORKSHIRE, PEOPLE OF BRITAIN, PEOPLE WHO SHOP AT AMAZON, IT’S ALMOST TIME TO CELEBRATE YORKSHIRE!
And how, you may ask, might I be celebrating?
Three ways…click on the titles to learn more…
“ Baabaric ” e-book will be FREE for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on ALL Amazon stores.
“ Stoned ” e-book will be ONLY £0.99 for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on Amazon UK.
“ Pickled ” e-book will be ONLY £0.99 for Kindle from 31st July to 2nd August on Amazon UK.
What a great way to celebrate the world’s best county!
Isn’t it time you visited Nether-Staining? Go on, you know you want to…Yorkshire needs you!
June 15, 2020
Coronavirus Time – A Writer’s View
Hi folks
It’s been a while since I posted anything, largely because I’ve been hard at work on the fourth novel in the Annals of Nether-Staining series. It now has a working title but I will share that at a later date. I feel like a final first draft is only a couple of weeks away…exciting times. But right now, I wanted to pause.
A lot has been said and written about the current pandemic (90% of which is probably total garbage) and it occurred to me that other than writing my free short story, titled “Lockdown“, in this blog, that I hadn’t really commented on it much.
I’ve been lucky enough to be living in New Zealand during this time. I have to tell you that for a country which is so laid back and seeming to have a culture of muddling through, to suddenly get organised and on the front foot in trying to eliminate this virus was astonishing. Hats off to everyone in NZ for generally following the rules and getting ahead of the curve, for now at least. When I read about what has been happening in other places during this time, it seems chaotic by comparison.
This time has revealed the very best and the very worst of human behaviour. I haven’t met anyone who admitted to panic-buying (yet) and therefore depriving others, but then I’ve probably met a number of liars. I’ve met people who have been shopping for groceries for the elderly, I know someone who has been coordinating such a volunteer group. I’ve seen plenty of politicians who seem to think this is a time for deflection, finger-pointing and diversion instead of listening to experts and tackling problems with empathy and genuine leadership – hopefully the voting public remember these behaviours when they have an opportunity to next cast a vote.
As a writer, the lockdown period here actually meant I was in less isolation than normal because my wife was working from home throughout this time. I actually really enjoyed it because of that. I’ve started using Duolingo to learn German for the first time in over 20 years, been taking regular walks in the local area, exercising often with a 7-minute workout app and have been playing more boardgames than in a long time (if you’ve never heard of “Gloomhaven”, check it out, it’s an amazing game!)
Curiously, my regular (cheaper) supermarket stopped selling carrots or onions individually – you had to buy them in big bags. Weird. I therefore started going to two supermarkets to get groceries. I’d never thought of a humble carrot or onion as a luxury item before. It makes you appreciate them. I’ve been cooking more – and you sure need onions (just not a huge bag) for that!
And now, as things return to normal here, I find myself in greater isolation than before. It’s a bit of a shock. Where there were people nearby, they have now all gone back to their routines of being busy and are no longer there to chat to over the fence or even indoors.
I’ve been thinking about how I live my life, the joy there is to be found in simple things like being able to visit favourite restaurants again and not taking these things for granted or making them too routine. I feel less inclined to make unnecessary car journeys or buy unnecessary items (or items which are blatantly a bad environmental choice). I’m reflecting on the weekly conservation-based volunteering I had been doing until this all kicked off and wonder whether I need to look for new things to do in addition because they had perhaps lost some of their enjoyment in the routine.
More broadly, I have been pondering how this whole thing feels like a big opportunity for everyone across the world to put aside political agendas or selfish motivations and think about our only planet and public health in general – which I am far from convinced most of us are doing. The speed at which the old normal has returned in NZ with little to show for what has been happening is concerning.
I hope everyone can learn something from this, and hopefully make a small positive change for themselves and just maybe for everyone and everything.
How has this time been for you? Have you started doing anything new? Has it made you appreciate some things far more?
Stay safe and be kind!
April 28, 2020
First Review for “Pickled”…it’s a goodie!
Hi Everyone!
It’s always a great thing when a review comes in for one of your novels, especially when you are a self-published author trying to get noticed. Even better when it’s a good one. This is the first review I’ve had for “Pickled” and it came in on Amazon.com (US) from “leb”…FIVE STARS!!!
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“Another great addition to the extended tale of Nether-Staining, full of hilarity throughout. If you’re looking at this book and haven’t read the two previous in the series it’s worth picking those up first to better understand the universe and characters. Great book if you’re in for a laugh and are ready to delve into a new and absorbing world.”
Thanks to them for this review and for their continued support of my novels.
If this inspires you to learn more about it, or have a read of one of my tales, you should start with “Baabaric” and then venture towards “Stoned” and finally, “Pickled“…I hope you enjoy.
Click on the book titles above to learn more. All are available on Amazon around the world in both e-book (Kindle) and paperback formats.
