Stuart Keane's Blog, page 9

The Customer Is Always… Now Available on Kindle

Hello all!

Imagine my surprise this morning when I saw my debut novella on Kindle. A day early.

That’s right, The Customer Is Always… is now available on Kindle. Only on April 3 not 4.

I was surprised and ecstatic all at the same time. The entire day was spent shaking and smiling at the jubilation of being published, a dream I have followed for nearly twenty-five years. I shared it with my friends, called my family members and when I returned home today, jumped straight onto Twitter and Facebook to share the news.

And what news! I even sold a few copies.

So its official, I am a published author. As I am aware, the slow crawl upwards starts here. All that means is that I’ve time to work on my second novella (a third done), my second full novel and, when it returns from the editor, prepare All or Nothing for release.

An exciting few weeks ahead. Thank you to anyone who has purchased the book. If you haven’t and enjoy a tense, suspenseful thriller, its probably your cup of tea.

The Customer Is Always…Now Released April 4

Hey guys and gals

It’s been an eventful day and I’m happy to announce that The Customer Is Always… is FINALLY complete and ready for publishing. And who knew, it’s actually a novelette after the editing process and many rewrites reduced the word count. Not a bad thing, I feel the story is taut and solid now.

I have goose bumps!

As all authors probably know, this is a huge moment for me. So I’m also happy to announce that the release date has been moved up to April 4. That’s right. My first novelette is being released THIS Friday. The original date was scheduled for April 21 but because everything is complete and in place, the novel can be released early.

When ready, I will post the relevant link to purchase the novelette through Amazon Kindle (which can be downloaded via tablet, phone, PC or Laptop). Happy days!

The Customer Is Always…COVER REVEAL!

Hello everyone.

A short blog on this occasion. I’ve been a busy guy applying the final touches to my novella and, of course, preparing the cover. One final sweep through the novella (thanks to my patient proof reader) and it will be complete and ready for release. Details will be posted here when the novella is available on Kindle (the app can be downloaded on PC, Laptop, Phone and Tablet for free). Release is still set for April 21.

So, here is the cover! Enjoy!

The Customer is Always… is now complete. Release date – 21 April 2014.

That’s it. A solid month of writing, editing, rewriting, reediting and late nights.

It was worth it! My first novella, The Customer is Always… is complete.

For those keeping tabs (and to be honest, I haven’t spoken about it in detail) my first full length novel, All or Nothing was due to be released first. All or Nothing is over 100,000 words so editing this, as expected, will take a little longer than my novella. For those on my Twitter profile, you will have been following the word counts on the journey to completion.

It’s only fair I release the novella first. All or Nothing is due for release at the end of May 2o14. Until then, I think it’s about time I released some material. I have been writing non-stop during 2014 and I am itching to release something. Let’s just say my creative flow is constant and seeing something released will finally bring that warm feeling many first time authors seek.

The website is finally live too. Expect a cover reveal in the next seven days. Updates will be posted via Twitter and Facebook. If you haven’t followed/shared or liked, now is the time to do so.

The Customer is Always…has a tentative release date scheduled for 21st April 2014. Excited!

The Website, novels and everything in between.

Busy.

One word to describe the last two months. Amongst other things.

In January, I started to finish my first novel. One that has been in limbo for several years. On top of this, inspired as I am, I started a novella in February, which is complete. Editing remains on both but it’s getting to the time where it matters. The publishing.

All or Nothing is my first novel, which is now also complete. To think I started this book about ten years ago. That’s when I wrote the first paragraph. Needless to say, the paragraph has since been changed several times. The original paragraph actually no longer exists. Such is the world of editing. Revisiting my work is crucial. There is always some tweak, some extra word that can improve the writing. Looking back, All or Nothing is…well, nothing like I expected it to be…which is a good thing. Initial reviews from my editor are positive. Let’s see if this remains when the work is finalised. Fingers crossed!

Editing for me is key. In hindsight, I am thankful for this approach because All or Nothing has been entered into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2014. Pending the decision on this, all editing and work on All or Nothing is on hold. Editing is still required, but this gives me the chance to produce some follow up work. Amazon are aware, but it wasn’t a specific requirement for the competition. My novel was entered at the last minute and I am proud to be involved.

Which is where ‘The Customer Is Always…’ comes in. A short thriller about an ordinary guy, against the odds during a normal working day. The cover shoot is complete for this. Once the editing is finalised, this novella can be published. This will officially be my first published work. Writing this novella was very rewarding as it became a challenge. I love writing novels but short stories test me and I was happy I could pull a short thriller out of my bag. I really didn’t expect to do it so quickly.

Otherwise, life is normal in every way. Working full-time whilst doing the above is a little tough. It ensures my working day is about 16 hours now. This only spurs me on and inspires me to write good fiction. I am sure most writers started in this fashion at some point. Early days then, but we will see how it goes. I have a feeling my upcoming wedding will put a bit of weight on proceedings too.

As I said, busy. The best way to describe my 2014 so far.

That’s it for this blog. The website should be running properly within the next two weeks so keep it here for updates and information. Feel free to follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page. Links can be found to the right. I write and tweet daily so feel free to join in the (busy) fun.