Simon Varwell's Blog
Promotion, writing, and a competition (or two)
As I stumble from one busy spell to another in both work and “normal” life, I find myself in the briefest of lulls in which I can get stuck into a few book-related things that demand my attention.
First, the recent news emanating from Sandstone Towers that it’s now launching bravely into the uncharted world of the ebook is very exciting, not least because “Up The Creek Without a Mullet” is now available to download anywhere in the world. Well, anywhere there’s an internet connection. This further increase in its international availability means I’ll be spending a bit of time in the coming weeks plugging the book, especially in its new format, to various contacts around the world. One of the advantages of a book that’s set in three countries is the potential for publicity, so hopefully various journalists that interviewed me all those years ago in Australia will still remember me.
Second, I’ve actually been doing some writing. I am now well into the sequel to UTCWAM (not an acronym that easily slips off the tongue, I admit), a book that will chart my further mullet-hunting adventures in England, Canada, New Zealand and the USA, bringing the story more or less up to the present day. Reading through my notes, creating chapter plans and even re-writing my opening for the umpteenth time is an exciting process, and I am dearly hoping that even a little of the huge fun I had on these journeys transfers itself on to the computer screen.
Third, I’ve decided to give a signed copy of UTCWAM away in a competition. There are loads of different ways I could give it away - a competition of some sort, perhaps where people have to say why they should get it in 14 words or less, or submit 101 uses for a mullet, you perhaps know the kind of thing I mean. One author I follow on Twitter is even giving books away to a random selection of people who “retweet” his announcements that there are books to give away. None of these options grab me as original or appropriate for my book, so I decided that I needed to have a competition to find a way.
So I now have a competition where people can submit ideas for a competition. The winner gets a signed copy of the book plus their idea put into practice as a competition for another signed copy. It’s all potentially a bit recursive, I admit, so suggestions that there is a further competition to define the competition have been ruled out. There are some great ideas coming in, though, and there’s still plenty time to enter - entry closes on the 13th of September and details are on my website.