Can I call it a Book Signing Tour if I’m visiting a few places soon to sign some books? Yes?! OK, I will. I’m thrilled to be on the road on a new ‘Book Signing Tour’ over the next few weeks. I’ll be popping into a few Waterstones and visiting the countryside to take part in my first ever County Show. I hope those country folk will be kind to this city boy! Really thrilled and grateful to have been invited along to the following:

Sat 26th May 2018 – Waterstones Darlington – I’ll be book signing between 11am – 2pm

Bank Holiday Monday 28th May 2018 – Northumberland County Show – Schedule to be confirmed, but I’ll be there somewhere!

Sat 2nd June 2018 – Waterstones Sunderland – I’ll be around from 11am until 2pm

Sat 23rd June – Waterstones Hexham – Times to be confirmed, but possibly 11am – 2pm like the rest!

It would be great to see some friendly and enthusiastic readers waving copies of ‘The Great Chocoplot’ at me. So please come along and say ‘hello’!

I try not to make a habit of checking my Amazon ranking and ratings because it can be an easy way to spoil a perfectly good day! But I do pop in now and then (and maybe more than I should – I envy those cool authors who say they don’t check, but wonder if I believe them!!), and sometimes I get a nice surprise.

Lucky, the last time I checked, this is what I found! My chocolatey book snuggling up next to Charlie and Mr Wonka and looking like best friends (am I looking too much into this?).

I know that it doesn’t take much for Amazon’s sub division lists to fluctuate, but a sight like this seemed like a great ‘screen-shot moment’ before it disappeared. I try not to take rankings and rating too seriously, but they can sometimes put a little spring in an author’s step.

If you have read a book that you’ve enjoyed, it’s a great idea to leave a comment on Amazon (or other platforms like goodreads) to let the author know. It also helps that author get more notice as Amazon will promote the books that get reviews, which is a great help to all of us struggling writers. Consider it a polite ‘thank you’, and it’s something the author will be very, very pleased with (so long as it’s positive, obviously!). You don’t even need to have bought the book on Amazon to leave a review there – you could have borrowed it from a library or a friend.

Thank you to everyone that has already left a review and I’ll keep checking back and crossing my fingers!