To celebrate the birth of Santa Claus (is that right?) I am giving away Consarn Christmas and Other Stories on Instafreebie HERE.
I’m also giving it away at all other ebook retailers except Amazon because they don’t do free. It may take a few days for the free to come through on some so check first.
This free giveaway is partly because I am full of the Christmas spirit but mostly because nobody wants to buy it.
I feel like a real writer now. I was interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol at ten to six last night on Drive Time hosted by Laura Rawlings. They posted on the local writers’ facebook page that they were looking for local authors to chat to on the book slot and I got in touch. To my surprise, they wanted me. I guess they are looking for local rather than big-name authors. You can’t get a smaller name than me. I suppose it helped that The Brigstowe Dragons is set in a fantasy version of medieval Bristol, known as Brigstowe way back.
I was a nervous wreck, to be honest, but Laura put me at my ease. Not sure I’d do telly. I have a face built for radio. I guess local stations are looking for local interest and, like everyone else, content. Getting to the studio and back took a while but I think it was worth it. Poor writers will (and should) do anything for a bit of publicity.
The word amateur is misunderstood nowadays to mean someone not very good. Amateur! It’s a term of contempt.
But the word derives from the Latin verb Amo – love. (Amo, amas, amat, amamis, amatis, amant is just about the only thing I remember from Latin class long ago). Whether they are amateur book reviewers like me, amateur writers (almost like me, I don’t earn much) or amateur footballers who turn out on the Downs every Sunday morning to play, they are doing it because they love it. In this age of declining mental health that can’t be a bad thing. Hurrah for the amateurs!
As to mental health, the government is spending more money on it but I think it’s a symptom and the cause is how our society works. Fix the society and the mental health might get better.
