Amanda Giorgis's Blog

March news from Applecross

​Hello from all of us at Applecross HQ. To our newest subscribers, welcome – and to those who have been here a while, welcome back!​

Scoop – Shepherd’s Delight – Amazon #1 Best Seller!

I’m rather pleased with myself this week. That teeny tiny brown banner is much sought after. 

OK, so it may only be the Historical Australasian and Oceanic Fiction category, and it only stays in place for a day or two, but it is still recognition for sales. So, thank you to all those of you who chose to continue with the Applecross series beyond book 1. If you haven’t done so yet, please do get into the 2nd book, Shepherd’s Delight. I promise you will enjoy meeting Captain Shepherd and the handsome Guy Pender, though you may not be so pleased to make the acquaintance of Mr Basil Drummond!



BOOK NEWS

Research for the next book means I’ve been learning a lot about New Zealand’s fascinating contribution to the Boer War (1899-1902). Here are 15 interesting facts.

First Overseas Military Campaign: The Boer War marked New Zealand’s first overseas military involvement as a nation.
Volunteer Spirit: Over 6,000 New Zealanders volunteered to fight in South Africa, with around 6,500 actually serving. This was a significant number given the small population at the time (around 800,000).
Mounted Rifles: Most New Zealand troops served as mounted riflemen, known for their mobility and ability to fight on horseback, which was particularly useful on the South African veldt.
Support for Britain: New Zealand was the first British colony to offer troops, with the first contingent leaving in October 1899, just days after war broke out.
Contingents: New Zealand sent a total of ten contingents to South Africa, with each contingent being made up of volunteers who were paid and equipped by the government.
Kiwi Resourcefulness: New Zealand troops were known for their practical skills, horsemanship, and ability to adapt to harsh conditions, earning a reputation as tough and reliable fighters. – Note, however, the term ‘kiwi’ was not used until the 1st World War. New Zealand soldiers were often called Maorilanders before that.
Casualties: Around 230 New Zealand soldiers died during the war, most from disease rather than combat, as conditions were harsh, and diseases like typhoid were rampant. Many horses were killed too, only a few returned after the war.
Distinguished Service: Four New Zealand soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during the conflict.
Women’s Contributions: Although women did not fight, some New Zealand nurses served in South Africa, providing medical care under challenging conditions.
Financial Commitment: New Zealand’s government funded the deployment of its contingents, a point of pride that demonstrated loyalty to the British Empire.
Impact on Identity: The Boer War marked a turning point in New Zealand’s emerging national identity, as it was the first time New Zealand soldiers served under the New Zealand flag rather than the British.
Welcome Home and Memorials: Returning soldiers were celebrated as heroes, and many towns and cities erected memorials to honor those who served and died, which are still visible across the country today.
Māori Involvement: Although Māori were initially not allowed to enlist, some individuals with mixed heritage joined the contingents, reflecting evolving attitudes toward race and military service.
Lessons Learned: The experience gained in the Boer War would later shape New Zealand’s approach to military training and tactics, influencing their involvement in World War I.
Public Sentiment: Initially, enthusiasm for the war was high, but as news of British tactics (like concentration camps) spread, public opinion became more divided.

COVERS

I’ve been playing with ideas for the new book cover. I don’t think I am entirely happy with either of these ideas – definitely a work in progress. But, what do you think? Please do let me know.



WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN READING?

I am looking forward to the 2nd book in the Bookshop Detectives Series, ‘Tea and Cake and Death‘ due out in April, made even more special by having the chance to meet the authors, Gareth and Louise Ward at my wonderful local bookshop, Emma’s at Oxford. Can’t wait!

Some of these are worth a look too – Free Historical Fiction​

Don’t forget that all of the Applecross Saga books are available from your usual outlets as ebooks and paperbacks.The ebook version of Book 1, ‘The Wideawake Hat’ is free to download. The audiobook of ‘The Wideawake Hat’, narrated by Su Melville, is also available from all the usual outlets and free to listen on YouTube. 

Checkout my website for all the details – www.amandagiorgis.com​

Authors love to hear from their readers – please do consider leaving a review wherever you like to do so – and I really do enjoy receiving emails from my readers, so feel free to reply to this post or engage on Facebook or Instagram.
More details at https://linktr.ee/amandagiorgis​

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Happy New Year from Applecross HQ

​Happy New Year from all of us at Applecross HQ.

To our newest subscribers, welcome – and to those who have been here a while, welcome back!​

It’s been an eclectic sort of a year so far. My search history is certainly pretty diverse :-

Suitable name for a doctor of welsh origin in 1901 in New Zealand
Details of the royal visit to Dunedin in June 1901
Details of New Zealand’s involvement in the Boer War of 1900-1902
A maori prayer for the dead
Ladies’ hats of the early 20th century
Numbers 1 to 10 in Danish
How telegraph worked in rural New Zealand in 1901

All of the above will feature somehow in the first book of the new series which is now called ‘Strong Roots, New Shoots‘ and continues the story of Applecross as we enter the 20th century.

Book 1 has the working title ‘Hope and Expectation’ and will be available in mid 2025.

Other searches are more varied – I have fallen down these rabbit holes :-

The history of Wolff’s Road suspension bridge
Chicken feather colour genetics
The best dog breed for people who go running (not for me!!!)
How the word ‘gay’ came to have its current definition over time
How the 1931 UK census records came to be lost
What to cook if you only have eggs and cheese in the fridge (pretty sad, that one – too busy googling to go shopping!)
How the ‘internal monologue’ works, or doesn’t work for some people
How to tell if bees are going to swarm
Gentle walks in the Waimakariri District
How to connect MBI to a PC (also not for me – what’s MBI?!)

As you can see, my life is a positive pot-pourri these days, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love finding stuff out, squirrelling it away in a corner of my brain. One day, somehow, some of this will pop out and be useful again.

ANCESTORS

I’m glad our summer has been such rubbish so far. Not, of course, for the poor folk trying to have a family holiday in a tent when all it does is pour down with rain, but for me it gives the perfect excuse for all the above topics, plus writing the first three chapters of the next book and researching some family history. The 1921 UK census data is now available to search – what fun it has been to find more recent ancestors. I have already solved a few mysteries, although on balance I probably have more questions to answer as a result of searching. According to my records I have 2452 people in my family tree who were alive in 1921 – could take me a while to find them all. I already know that my Swiss grandfather was living in London with his brother – I didn’t know his brother came to England too – and that he was a chef in a hotel in London and my grandmother was a waitress in the hotel next door. They must have known each other in 1921 as they married in 1922, my father was born in 1924 and the rest, as they say, is history!
Edmond Eugene Giorgis and Emily May Berry wedding

Here’s the wedding, 1922 St Pancras, London.

At the back l to r, my great great aunt Sophia Johnson, great uncle George Giorgis (Swiss) and great grandfather Thomas Bolitho Berry (master decorator).

At the front l to r, great uncle Ernest, great aunt Hilda, grandfather Edmond Giorgis, grandmother Emily May Berry, great aunt Bessie and great uncle Percy.

READING MATTERS

What are you reading this year so far? 

I went for escapism with my sister’s Christmas gift – the first three books in ‘Her Majesty the Queen Investigates’ series by S J Bennett. Unlikely, I know, that her late majesty would be solving murders, but surprisingly entertaining. 

My current audiobook is another UK based tale, The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, recommended to me by my wonderful local bookshop Emma’s of Oxford and purchased through Libro.fm which provides that bookshop with a small share of the purchase cost. It’s 1979 in Yorkshire, Margaret Thatcher is PM, the miners are considering striking, the Yorkshire Ripper is top of the news every day. I am so enjoying the voice of Joanne Froggatt (of Downton Abbey fame) narrating, as well as the familiar day to day lives of the 70s and 80s. I was there!!!

Some of these look good too – Free Historical Fiction for January 2025​

Until next time

Don’t forget that all of the Applecross Saga books are available from your usual outlets as ebooks and paperbacks.The ebook version of Book 1, ‘The Wideawake Hat’ is free to download. The audiobook of ‘The Wideawake Hat’, narrated by Su Melville, is also available from all the usual outlets and free to listen on YouTube. 

Checkout my website for all the details – www.amandagiorgis.com​

Authors love to hear from their readers – please do consider leaving a review wherever you like to do so – and I really do enjoy receiving emails from my readers, so feel free to reply to this newsletter or engage on Facebook or Instagram. More details at https://linktr.ee/amandagiorgis​

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ManyBooks

The kind people at ManyBooks recently gave me a chance to promote my books and to be their Author of the Day. It was really successful and resulted in The Widewake Hat being one of August’s Books of the Month.

I even won a badge. How cool is that!

You may be interested in reading my interview as Author of the Day – a bit of an insight into the inspiration behind the Applecross Saga.

The post ManyBooks appeared first on Amanda Giorgis.

Echoes of change

As one door closes, another opens

Echoes of Change

The clue is in the title of the 8th book in the Applecross Saga. We are reaching a point where change is inevitable. Some of our characters are growing old, while the new generation are beginning to make their mark in the world.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that the 8th book, due out in November, will be the last in this series. 

Now, don’t be sad because I have a plan!  

The first book in ‘Applecross – a new era’ will follow soon, picking up our characters and moving them on into the early 20th century. Some folk will be familiar, others new, but the setting remains the same, both in New Zealand and Scotland.  

We begin in 1901. The old Queen is dead, a new Edwardian era has arrived. Will Guy and Freddie be driving automobiles by then? Maybe Guy has a movie camera. How about one of the boys learning to fly? And, in New Zealand, women have the vote by then. Imagine the power that gives Heather and Vicky. And then there’s war. Will our young men be involved? Will Caroline and Adey Rose nurse the troops? 

Send me your ideas, please, and I’ll do my best to include them in the ‘new era’ series. 

To mark the end of one era and the start of another, I have made the audiobook version of Book 1, The Wideawake Hat, available for free listening on YouTube. Please do have a listen, and pass the link on to all your friends. I aim to add more videos and audio material to my YouTube channel, so subscribe to hear about new additions. https://www.youtube.com/@AmandaGiorgis 

‘Echoes of Change’, the 8th book in the Applecross Saga will be published on 15th November. Pre-orders are available on Amazon.



News from Applecross HQ

The chook girls got a bit of a shock recently when Hector, the handsome rooster arrived. Turns out he’s a mild and gentle fellow, interested in the girls but not pushy. He’s really rather lovely and is already very much part of the flock. Only trouble is, he doesn’t wear a watch, and his idea of dawn can be anything
from 3:30am to 3:30pm! And, my goodness, can he crow!!!

  

Fancy a free historical fiction ebook?

While you wait for book 8, you are sure to find something of interest in this wide range of free ebooks available during July.  https://books.bookfunnel.com/freehistficjune24/4mf0ngqwl6  and https://books.bookfunnel.com/freehistficjuly24/eo4ssfgj5k

Don’t forget that all seven of the Applecross Saga books are available from your usual outlets as ebooks and paperbacks. The ebook version of Book 1, ‘The Wideawake Hat’ is free to download. The audiobook of ‘The Wideawake Hat’, narrated by Su Melville, is also available from all the usual outlets and free to listen on YouTube.  

Book 8, ‘Echoes of Change’ is due to be published on 15th November 2024, and yes, we do go back to Scotland – so many of you have asked me about that! 

Checkout my website for all the details – www.amandagiorgis.com 

Authors love to hear from their readers – please do consider commenting below, leaving a review wherever you like to do so or feel free to contact me at amanda@amandagiorgis.com

 ­ 

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Betsy Franks’ baking

Our dear friend Betsy Franks, proprietor of the Marytown village shop, has passed on. Those of you who have read Flora Brown, will know that she has been ailing for some time, but at the start of Book 8 (yet to be completed) she goes to her grave in the Marytown churchyard. Many say that Edgar won’t be far behind her, together in death as they have been in life for many a long year. Betsy was one of the first residents of the settlement that later became Marytown, along with James Mackenzie, Sophia and her first husband, Samuel and Carrie Morling and Reverend Job Nicol and his wife Clara. Something of a stickybeak, she nevertheless grew her business from a small vegetable stand to a thriving village hub where almost anything could be bought. In recent years, she ran the postal service too. Betsy and Edgar never had children of their own, but they became aunt and uncle to every small child who passed through Marytown. In times of need, Betsy’s famous red sofa made a comfortable bed for small children to sleep on, almost always having eaten far too many sweet treats from Betsy’s table. And children rarely left Marytown without a twist of barley sugar in their pockets.

It is always good to talk about memories of those who die, and while reminiscing with a friend about Betsy’s famous baking skills, we got talking about old cookery books and the handwritten notes our mothers and grandmothers used to write in their recipe books. Although a hundred years on from Betsy’s time, I was reminded of moving into a house in about 1990 that had belonged to a recently deceased elderly couple. We found a few bits and pieces that had been left behind by their family, including, rather poignantly, the old chap’s gardening shoes lined up neatly by the garden shed.

In a kitchen drawer we came across this recipe book, dog-eared and greasy with splashes and finger marks, stuffed full of handwritten messages and clippings from magazines. I can tell you that the 1963 Christmas cake used the same recipe as 1962 and 1961, but was much improved by an extra knob of butter and chopping the raisins finely. It was made in May 1963 for the following Christmas and it improved once cut. By 1967 a small orange, peeled and squeezed had been added, and the ingredients cost 17/4 – about 87p in today’s UK money.

The recipe book itself has no pictures but is jam-packed with good basic recipes. I particularly like the ‘NICE FISH DISH FOR LUNCHEON OR HIGH TEA’ and the ‘PLAIN JANE’ for pudding.

I notice the ‘Plain Jane’ recipe uses the weight of eggs to measure the other ingredients. This is something I inherited from my mother too. I still use old fashioned balance scales for cake making and weigh the butter, sugar and flour against the weight of the eggs. It works really well and takes account of different sized eggs.

So go on, hunt out those old recipe books and have a go at creating something – our forebears knew a thing or two about using ingredients in a frugal way, not wasting anything and spending their pennies wisely. Betsy Franks will be proud of you.

Mind you, I can’t find tinned lobster on the shelf at our local supermarket, maybe I will have to make do with a can of tuna!

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Christmas at Applecross

OUT NOW!

FLORA BROWN, the 7th book in the Applecross Saga is available everywhere from 1st January 2024. 

Special offer for followers  – get in early with the paperback version available now on Amazon

Or pre-order the ebook version on Amazon, Google, Apple Books or Kobo for delivery on 1st January 2024.

Meet the characters 

I have always resisted trying to conjure up a physical image of my characters. For example, I would much rather leave it to my readers to imagine what James or Sophia look like. However, with advances in AI image making, I couldn’t resist having a go at creating the main characters in the 7th book. It has taken a good deal of experimenting, and the cutting room floor is full of failures, but here is my interpretation of Flora Brown, her family and friends.  

Flora at the top, John James Mackenzie, Sam Morling and Bella Gordon-Wrightin the middle row, left to right and Flora’s mother Moira, father Hector and brother Cam in the bottom row. 

As you read the new book, do you think the images fit the characters? I would love to know – email me your thoughts at amanda@amandagiorgis.com  

And, rest assured, I don’t mind using AI to generate some images, but the writing in my books is all my own, and it will ever remain so!!! 

[image error]

Christmas at Applecross HQ 

Will I ever get used to Christmas in the summer?  

Things I miss about an English Christmas :- 
lights – why would you bother when twilight lasts until 11pm?
the long evenings in front of TV specials as you write cards, bake mince pies and so on
a big roast dinner in the middle of the day, everyone asleep in their armchairs after eating and drinking too much!
the general mad rush at the supermarket
wearing woolly hats, gloves and scarves, or even the dreaded Christmas jumper! 

Things I don’t miss :- 
the general mad rush at the supermarket (oh yes, I may dread it, but I quite like the buzz). It gets busy here, but nothing like Sainsbury’s a few days before the big day.
snow – let’s face it, it rarely snows in England, and when it does it causes chaos. Most Christmas Days I remember were damp, dreary and cold.
cheesy Christmas TV and endless repeats
having to dress up to keep warm 

Things that are great about a summer Christmas :- 
a much more relaxed build up to the day
people are in summer holiday mode, friendly and cheerful
ham, salad, cold desserts, informal dining
a general feeling that you can leave it all to the last minute and get away with just putting a salad together with the cold ham!
long sunny days, picnics and BBQs with friends and families
T shirts, shorts and jandals (flip flops) – don’t forget the sunhat! 

Wherever you are in the world, I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May 2024 bring peace to us all. 

Looking for something historical to read?
If you can’t wait for the 7th Applecross Saga book to come out, you could fill the gap with a free choice from here – https://books.bookfunnel.com/historicalfreebies/87ttwdwtvf

Don’t forget that all seven of the Applecross Saga books are available from your usual outlets as ebooks and paperbacks. The ebook version of Book 1, ‘The Wideawake Hat’ is free to download. The audiobook of ‘The Wideawake Hat’, narrated by Su Melville, is also available from all the usual outlets.  

Checkout my website for all the details – www.amandagiorgis.com 

Authors love to hear from their readers – please do consider leaving a review wherever you like to do so – and I really do enjoy receiving comments here or emails from my readers, so feel free to contact me.

The post Christmas at Applecross appeared first on Amanda Giorgis.

November news

Signs of Summer at Applecross HQI’m reaching the point where I can’t tell the mothers from their lambs now. They have grown so fat on the lush green grass in our field. Since my last newsletter we have had the odd drama, losing one poor lamb on a viciously cold and wet day, and another who had to be fed by hand when his mother rejected him. But, all in all, we now have 9 healthy lambs, 3 black and 6 white. Sadly, in chicken news, I have to report the demise of Henry the rooster. If truth be told, he was never much of a macho rooster, but I miss him bossing his girls around, crowing at teatime and generally being an ornamental addition to the flock. Will we get another rooster? Who knows? Our thoughts turn to more horticultural matters at this time of year. There are trays of seedlings growing in the greenhouse and all the fruit trees are showing signs of being productive this year, although there’s still time for a stiff NW wind to blow the seedling fruit away. I may pick my first strawberry today – what a treat that is!Political Turmoil

Here in New Zealand we have just had a general election, although it seems to be taking weeks and weeks to work out who is in charge because our form of government almost always ends up with coalition deals having to be done. While I find the political (with a small p) process fascinating, I am not at all Political (with a capital P), so all I will say is that we seem to be going along mighty fine without a Prime Minister and cabinet for now. Says a lot, doesn’t it? 

But there is much more interesting political turmoil on another front. It is our annual ‘Bird of the Year’ competition, although this time it is ‘Bird of the Century’ to celebrate 100 years of our Forest and Bird organisation. Long time followers will remember that a bat won a couple of years ago, so we are not shy of controversy when it comes to voting for our much-cherished wildlife. We could even vote for extinct birds this time – my favourite, the Huia, made it to number 8 in the charts.  The overall winner this year, by a huge margin, is the Australasian Crested Grebe (Pūteketeke) – something of an outsider until a certain American chat show host decided to give his backing. He nearly got pipped at the post by 40,000 invalid votes for a penguin. Now, you may think we don’t approve of foreign interference in our elections, but this competition is about awareness of our treasured birds, many of whom are threatened with extinction, so, as they say, ‘any publicity is good publicity’! Much more fun than the process of selecting prime ministers, anyway! 

I took the photo above when we lived in Twizel. You can’t help loving a bird who brings such watery gifts to his chosen mate. If she decides he is ‘the one’, they will dance together and make that distinctive heart shape with the long necks. When the babies hatch, they climb aboard their mother’s back and hitch a warm and safe ride in her feathers until they can swim.

Looking for something else historical to read?

If you can’t wait for the 7th Applecross Saga book to come out, you could fill the gap with a free choice from here – https://books.bookfunnel.com/historicaloct/p7ve0t1ed8

[image error]

Good news – I have finished writing ‘Flora Brown’!  

Just some editing and formatting to do now (although that is sometimes harder than writing the book in the first place). If all goes to plan, the ebook will be available on 1st January 2024 – a month earlier than anticipated. You can already pre-order it on Amazon and Kobo. The paperback version will follow very soon after that. 

I have to say I am quite pleased with this book. It has a little bit of everything in it – adventure, romance, a nasty neighbour, a little bit of romance, lots of puppies and even a ghost! All set against the true historical story of the early refrigerated ships carrying food from the colonies to feed the malnourished folk back home. I can’t wait to share it with you. 

One of my advanced copy readers sent me this message as soon as he had finished reading :-

Book completed!  Brilliant!!  Next one please!  

Here is the synopsis :- 

The year is 1880 and cousins John James Mackenzie and Sam Morling set out to make a new life for themselves in Scotland. 

Having never ventured beyond the shores of New Zealand, they seek adventure and excitement on their journey before settling at the Scottish estate owned by the Mackenzies, where, with John James’ farming experience and Sam’s desire for landscaping, they hope to restore the house and grounds to their former glory.

The estate manager’s daughter, Flora Brown, is not only pretty, but clever and determined. She has her own ideas and dreams of a life in New Zealand with the laird’s son. She fears she will be overlooked because of her lowly social standing, but intends to try everything she can to make him notice her.

Isabella, daughter of the neighbouring estate shares Sam Morling’s passion for plants. As love begins to blossom between them, Isabella finds her way blocked by her cruel and over-bearing brother who considers gentle Sam to be an entirely unsuitable match.

Meanwhile, at Applecross sheep station, James and Sophia Mackenzie are growing older, much in need of their son’s help. Sophia has always believed that her son would stay in Scotland forever, though James disagrees and expects him to do his duty on the farm. A sudden change of circumstances requires John James’ immediate return, bringing with him echoes of his father’s past. 

Last month I shared a short extract from the day John James visited his grandmother’s grave. This time, I give you part of the tale of wee Mabel, a much loved black Scottish terrier :- 

As Bella walked away from Braeside after the conversation with her mother, her mind was full of ideas of how to get away from Charles and Agnes, but her duty to her parents always seemed to be in the way. She had her little Scottish terrier, Mabel at her side today. The scruffy black dog enjoyed her walks to Crawdon, not only for the exercise, but to get away from Charles’ spaniels, who were far too boisterous for a little terrier. She did everything she could to keep away from them these days, much as her beloved mistress did in regard to her brother. It was a hot and humid day, despite the onset of autumn, the sky cloudless, the sun still strong. Bella, deep in her own thoughts, took a while to notice that Mabel was no longer by her side. Turning to look back, she saw the dog flopped down on the side of the road, her tongue hanging out, her sides heaving. “Oh, Mabel, what’s the matter?” said Bella, hurrying back to pick the dog up. “Come on, we are nearly at Crawdon. Sam will know what to do.” 

Sam and John James were just leaving the stables, having spent the morning on matters relating to the grouse moor renovations before eating their lunch at the office table. They were not expecting to see Bella today, but this was not the first time she had arrived uninvited, so they were happy to wait as she came up the drive towards them. It was only when she called out to them that they realised she was doing her best to run, holding Mabel in her arms. “Sam, Sam, help me, please,” she called out. “It’s Mabel.” 

Despite Bella’s expectation that Sam would know what to do, it was John James who ran forward to take Mabel from Bella’s arms. He knew far more about dogs than Sam did, and he instantly recognised the problem as soon as he saw Mabel’s bulging belly. “Quick, let’s get her to the stables,” he said, not stopping as he spoke. “It’s cooler there, and she needs to drink some water too. Bella, when are the puppies due?” 

Bella stopped in her tracks. “Puppies!” she said.  

John James kept moving, reaching the shade of the stables and placing the exhausted dog on a pile of straw. Meanwhile, Sam had gone on ahead to find a shallow bowl which he filled with water from the pump. As soon as he put it on the ground, Mabel raised her head enough to lap at it, her little pink tongue spraying everyone with drops of water. It made them all laugh. 

“Is she really having puppies, John James?” asked Bella. “I thought she was just getting fat from eating too many scraps from the table. The awful Mrs Upton keeps handing her tidbits of food. I should have realised, I am such a fool.” 

“No, you are not,” Sam jumped to Bella’s defence. “You have a lot of other things on your mind too.” 

“Any idea who the sire would be?” John James had seen enough pregnant dogs to be taking a practical view of it all rather than an emotional one. 

“I suppose it would have to be one of Charles’ dreadful spaniels,” Bella shuddered at the very thought of her poor little Mabel being mounted by one of those ugly beasts. “She hasn’t met any other dogs that I am aware of.” 

Now that Mabel’s panting was diminishing, John James put a hand on her belly to feel for her pups with a well-practised hand. He could count four bumps, maybe five, and they were a fair size for such a small dog. “Well, either they are quite large puppies, or they are almost ready to arrive,” he said. “No wonder she was tired, carrying all this extra weight. I’d say you should get her home and make sure she has a quiet place to have her litter. It will be in the next day or two, I reckon.” 

“Oh, goodness,” was all Bella could think to say in reply. 

I’m afraid you will have to wait to find out who Bella, Charles and Agnes are, and what happens to Mabel and her puppies, but not for long! Don’t forget that all six of the Applecross Saga books are available from your usual outlets as ebooks and paperbacks. The 7th book, ‘Flora Brown’ is available for pre-order on Amazon and Kobo too. 

The ebook version of Book 1, ‘The Wideawake Hat’ is free to download.

The audiobook of ‘The Wideawake Hat’, narrated by Su Melville, is also available from all the usual outlets.  

Checkout my website for all the details – www.amandagiorgis.com 

Authors love to hear from their readers – please do consider leaving a review wherever you like to do so – and I really do enjoy receiving emails from my readers, so feel free to contact me at amanda@amandagiorgis.com

The post November news appeared first on Amanda Giorgis.

Five years on

I’m being a little bit self-centred today. But, I make no apologies for celebrating 5 years to the day since I hit the ‘publish’ button on my first ever book. So I am looking back at what I have learned since that evening (Saturday 29th September 2018 at 7:29pm, to be precise).

I was far too old to take up writing properly. I wish I had started years earlier, but life got in the way of the stories in my head. Husbands, jobs, emigrating, other hobbies, you know the kind of stuff. Over the years I had written the first paragraph of a dozen books, only to abandon them after a few days, and then in 2018, quite unexpectedly, a few magical things came together and The Wideawake Hat was born.

Here’s how I described these events in the Preface to The Wideawake Hat :-

In late 2017 my ex-boss (and now good friend) Heather came to stay at our house in the basin. The story of James Mackenzie caught her imagination and we enjoyed finding places associated with his name including his memorial on the hills looking out across the flat lands. It is indeed an awesome place and this is where the seeds of this story were sown as we walked along the river past an abandoned homestead, which could once so easily have been James’ home.

Between March and September 2018 my interpretation to the legend of James Mackenzie grew into a book. In the back of my mind I had visions of The Applecross Saga being another Poldark series – 12 books, I said grandly to anyone who asked! We are on number 7 now, so I may have got that prediction right after all.

Now, writing I can do, but in that naive way that creative people think, I presumed someone would just come along and want to publish the book, All I had to do was sit back and watch the royalty payments come in. There was sure to be a call from Netflix too. We would be raking it in!

Oh, how silly that idea seems now. I did a lot of research into publishing, and I didn’t much like what I found out. I have to admit to being quite arrogant here. I didn’t want to wait for years to be published, neither did I want some publishing house to tell me to change things round. It was my book and I thought it was perfect. Looking back now, it is far from perfect, but it isn’t a bad start to my writing career. If I re-wrote it now, with experience under my belt, I would probably change it quite a lot.

So self-publishing was for me, it seemed, though it wasn’t a world I knew anything about. In New Zealand at that time, Amazon did not have a big hold on readers. We kiwis don’t much like having to pay for things in Aussie dollars, and that was all there was on the mighty Zon in those days. So I began on Kobo, simply because a few friends who read a lot suggested it to me. I suppose I thought the ebook thing would be a small part of my overall sales. Paperbacks would make my fortune. I ordered 500 copies to be printed locally. It was a lot of boxes – it still is a lot of boxes, I’m afraid! I was hopelessly over-ambitious about that.

I had enough experience to produce a reasonable cover, the back matter and a decently formatted document. My only external help was from my good friend Heather, who served as editor, proof reader and all round sharer of good ideas. I couldn’t have done it without her. So, on Saturday 29th September 2018 at precisely 7:29pm, I hit the button on Kobo that says ‘Publish ebook’.

It took a while to go on sale (that was my first lesson in planning ahead). I sold 5 copies in the first day. My husband, my sister, my niece and Heather. I have never known who the 5th one was, which makes me feel very proud that someone chose my book without even knowing me. Whoever you are, thank you very much!

Having dipped my toe in the water, I continued to wander around the internet looking for ways to expand my publishing empire. I found Apple Books and Google, then took the plunge with Amazon. Never in KU – it has never appealed to me to be forced to be exclusive to Amazon. Sales grew a little bit at a time. I found the world of promotions and sought out the free or cheap ones. I built a website and some presence on social media. It all helped a bit. I suppose I was publishing ‘wide’ at this point, though I have never known another way, and had certainly never heard the term to describe self publishing to more than one place. 

I’ve made friends online along the way, and learned so much from those who are prepared to share their experiences with us newbies. I’ve tried a few things and failed – I don’t think I am ever going to be a TikTok influencer – and I’ve tried some things and they have worked very well indeed. If I had to pick one good idea out, it would be making the first book in the series free as an ebook. Slowly the conversion rate for those who continue to read books 2-6 has grown to 22% and I’m still working on building that up.

So here we are. 6 books written and a 7th one nearing completion. I continue to love writing, to lose myself in the characters and storyline. And I continue to enjoy seeing people start to read my books and get hooked on James and Sophia and their lives in Mackenzie’s Basin. I have no way of knowing if my sales figures are good, bad or indifferent. All I can say is that I take in more money than I spend each year, though it isn’t enough to live on! But I will proudly say that on the 5th anniversary of publishing my first book, 20852 copies have been downloaded, bought from my website or a shop, or listened to. I treasure every single sale!

The big question, though, is what will the 10th anniversary bring? There’s always that call from Netflix, I suppose……!

The post Five years on appeared first on Amanda Giorgis.

News from Applecross – august 2023

[image error]Signs of Spring

It feels like it has been a long winter here in New Zealand, but, at last, the daffodils are in flower and there are buds on the trees and shrubs at Applecross HQ. 

We have a neighbour’s six pregnant sheep grazing on our lush, green field at the moment. It will not be long now until we hear the patter of tiny feet. Looking at the size of the mums, we could well be in for six lots of twins!  

This level of productivity is not showing up in our hens, though. Two eggs in the last fortnight is just not good enough! I will forgive Henny and Penny as they are at least 6 years old, and Bluebell, Poppy and Lily are not far behind them. And Henry, well, one would not expect an egg from him, of course! But Daisy, Ivy and Rosie should really be laying their usual lovely brown eggs most days. 

Our animals live out their natural lives with us regardless of their productivity, but we are missing our regular supply of eggs. Anyway, two more ladies will be arriving soon to boost supplies – maybe they will encourage Daisy, Ivy and Rosie to lay too. Continuing my vague theme of flower based girls’ names, I googled suggestions and got 124 names – plenty of scope for more chooks to come. I’m thinking Marigold and Clover, unless you, dear reader, have any better ideas. Comment below with your suggestions. 

Here’s a photo of the lovely Bluebell…
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Our Land in Colour

When you look back into history, your mind usually conjures up images in black and white. In New Zealand, colour photography was rare until the 1960s and colour television only reached our shores in the late 1970s. How wonderful it is, therefore, to see photographs from 1860-1960 digitally coloured and published in this beautiful new book, ‘Our Land in Colour’.

Somehow the rather flat, monochrome portraits and landscapes have come to life with the colour added. I thoroughly recommend you track down a copy and have a browse. Prepare to be amazed! 

I bought my copy from my local bookshop, Emma’s at Oxford

As you all know, I like to support my local bookshop and library, which is why I am now advertising in ‘Indie Books‘, a catalogue of independent and self-published authors. Although this is only available in New Zealand, the same rules apply worldwide – if you want to see my books in your local bookshop, or on the shelves of your local library, ask the manager to look me up and consider purchasing copies of my books.

Here’s the ad –
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While we are on the subject of other books, if you are looking for a new historical fiction series to read, look no further than here – Free First in Series

‘Flora Brown’

Winter is the perfect time to be writing, more often than not you will find me with feet up in front of the fire, my laptop balanced on my knees, tapping away with the 7th book in the Applecross Saga, ‘Flora Brown’. 

I’m on track for publication in early 2024, but I thought I would share a little excerpt with you, to give you an insight into the storyline. John James is just about to leave for Scotland. He believes he will be gone for good, although he hasn’t told his mother that. Little does he know that there’s a young lady called Flora who can’t wait for him to sweep her off her feet and transport her back to Applecross……

Nobody quite knew what to talk about at the breakfast table. Everything that needed to be said had been spoken at supper, so all that was left were the odd questions from Sophia.

“Have you packed your presents?” she asked. 

“Yes, Mama,” replied John James, pulling the knife from his pocket to show her it was not going to be left behind.

“Do you think you have enough warm clothes for the Scottish weather?” she asked only moments later. 

“Yes, Mama,” John James replied again. “I can always buy extra if I need to.” 

In truth, Sophia was trying to fill the silence with words. This last hour with her son was almost painful. She rather wished he would get on with his porridge and go now. Or even better, change his mind and stay at home. 

“Don’t worry Ma,” he had said last night. “I’ll be fine.” 

Sophia knew perfectly well that her son would be fine. He had grown into an independent young man, intelligent, well-mannered, capable and, in her opinion, handsome. Yes, he would be fine. But would he ever come home again? She had tried to tease that out of him over the last few months, only too aware that he had made no definite plan for the return journey. But he had been evasive, only willing to say that he would sort that out later, or laugh at his mother for wanting to know every detail about his journey. She knew him too well. James didn’t agree with her, though.

“He will be back in due course,” he had said when Sophia mentioned it. “He knows he has a duty to run the farm one day, and I may not manage it on my own for many more years to come, you know, my dear.” 

“I’ll be fine,” John James said again now, echoing his words from last night. It was an answer to his mother, but a sort of affirmation to himself too. Yes, he would be fine.

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Don’t forget that all six of the Applecross Saga books are available from your usual outlets as ebooks and paperbacks.  

The ebook version of Book 1, The Wideawake Hat’ is free to download. 

The audiobook of The Wideawake Hat, narrated by Su Melville is also available from all the usual outlets. 

Checkout my website for all the details – www.amandagiorgis.com 

Authors love to hear from their readers – please do consider leaving a review wherever you like to do so – and I really do enjoy receiving emails from my readers, so feel free to comment below or contact me at amanda.giorgis@icloud.com 

The latest ‘pup’date from Applecross

Is there such a thing as Puppy Brain? You know, like Baby Brain. Anyway, I have it, whatever it is called! To begin at the beginning…..Many of you will be familiar with Jess, our old huntaway girl who starred on the paperback cover of ‘The Wideawake Hat’ in her role as Friday, James Mackenzie’s favourite dog. Sadly, we lost her a week or two ago at the good age of about 13 (she was a rescue dog, so ages are all a bit approximate). Here she is as Friday’s ‘cover dog’ on the paperback version of the Wideawake Hat, and on the day she arrived with us – just over 9 years ago.

Because we have been expecting her time to come for a while now, we have been keeping an eye on available rescue pups to fill her paws as Ted’s companion. So here comes Hunter, a 5 month old huntaway who was found wandering the streets of Invercargill, unclaimed by his owner. Last week he made the big journey up to Christchurch, with an overnight stop in Dunedin. And he is just wonderful! I could bore you with photos and videos for ever. It is so hard to choose just one, but this will do for now. Be warned, there will likely be more to come as he grows into adulthood.

Those of you with young children know that finding time to concentrate for any length of time is hard, and so it is with a puppy. Checking that he is chewing toys, not the furniture, counting the minutes between toilet breaks and waking to howling pups during the night are not ideal for creative thinking, so writing has taken a back seat for a week or two, I’m afraid. However, with shorter days coming over winter here in New Zealand, logs on the fire and the garden in hibernation, I plan to get into Book 7 very soon. No spoilers as yet. Suffice to say that it will mainly be set in Scotland and that the first shipment of frozen lamb was sent from New Zealand to London in 1882, organised by a land owning company based in Scotland. Put two and two together, and those of you who have read Book 6, Cocksfoot and Clover, may well realise that John James does indeed journey over the seas. The question is, will he be persuaded to return to Applecross? And by whom?

Cyclone Gabrielle

Have you heard about the havoc caused in parts of New Zealand by Cyclone Gabrielle? It has not been widely reported outside of New Zealand, even though there are areas of the country, like Hawkes Bay, Tairāwhiti and the west coast of the North Island, where many people have been made homeless and, in particular, our farmers and growers have lost their stock and had their crops utterly devastated. Debris from forestry work washed down swollen rivers, blocked bridges and caused slips and massive flooding, with metres of silt being deposited on houses and land. The clean up will take a very long time and require orchards to be replanted, stock to be replaced and fields and fences to be recreated. Fencing is a priority. You will remember that George and Sophia built a fence as soon as they decided where to settle in Marytown. Then James and Edmund spent a good deal of time and effort fencing their land at Applecross and Combe, and in the latest book, James and his son are seen mending and replacing those first fences. Fences are important to farmers. They protect crops, stop animals from wandering and provide a symbol of ownership. I give you the following extract from Book 2, Shepherd’s Delight, with a request that, if you are able to do so, you donate to the New Zealand Disaster Fund – see how some of the money will be spent on the Farmy Army Facebook page.

Fencing

The Great Historical Fiction Giveaway

Fancy some free books? Click here to download your next favourite story.

And finally

The Easter weekend is a perfect break to catch up on the latest from Applecross. Curl up in the Spring sunshine or by the Autumn fireside wherever you are in the world and come on in to Applecross to meet the folk who have made their home in Mackenzie’s Basin. Download the ebook version of all the Applecross Saga books from your favourite ebook provider, or listen to Book 1, The Wideawake Hat, narrated so well by Su Melville, from Audible, Spotify or your local library. I love hearing from my readers, so please do reply to this post or email me at Amanda.giorgis@icloud.com, or comment and review wherever you see my books. And tell your friends about Applecross too – they would be most welcome to join us on our adventures in 19th century New Zealand.

In the meantime, Hunter says, “Goodbye for now.”