The fifth book in my Lou Elliott series is now underway (at last!)

Hello! Yes I know, I only ever seem to write blog entries when I want something but I really do intend to start blogging more regularly (honest!).

Anyway, I have some important news to tell you about: work is now underway on the fifth book in my Lou Elliott mystery adventure series. I know it's been a long while and many of my readers will probably have thought I'd abandoned it but it's not the case. I've just been waylaid with so many other things which have demanded my time.

But it's great to get back to the series and to pick up again with the characters and find out what they've been getting up to. Lou, Jack, David and Emily are all fine and they've been having a great summer holiday in Snowdonia where they've been camping. The parents of the Johnson children are with them this time, and wrongly supposed that they could keep their eye on them and stop them from falling into another adventure. How wrong can you be!

I am hoping that the book will come out in time for Christmas (2017) but it's possible that it may not be ready until early January. The important thing though, is that book five is on its way and it definitely won't be the last. So watch this space, I will post regular updates on this blog.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I better get back to writing it. Things are hotting up!

My children's adventure novel set at Abersoch, North Wales, free on Kindle today!

Well I am sitting here on holiday at Abersoch on the Lleyn peninsula coast of North Wales enjoying glorious sunshine. I've just been down to the beach with my wife and kids and come back to find that I've had three people so far who have downloaded my book for free today.

I thought it would be a nice way to mark being back at wonderful Abersoch to have another free day for my novel, Smugglers at Whistling Sands, in Amazon's Kindle store. So PLEASE take advantage of it, go on to Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com and get a free copy of my children's adventure novel.

If you like it, all I would ask is that you mention it to others and - if you have time - consider leaving me a short review on my Amazon listing which will really help me as an unknown author to get known.

The book, as regular readers of this blog will know, is intended for children aged 9+ but is also intended to be perfectly readable by adults. It should appeal if you enjoy good, wholesome, mystery/adventure stories, loosely inspired by the great Enid Blyton and her Famous Five series.

Anyway, enough talking from me, I'll leave you to get a copy of your free book - just click on the Amazon links to it on the right hand side of this page - Amazon.co.uk for British readers and Amazon.com for the American site.

Do let me know how you get on!

If you want to buy my novel - remember that you can use the product links on right of screen

Assuming you want to buy it, that is. I shouldn't presume. But my statistics show that almost nobody uses the product links on this page to purchase my ebook, Smugglers at Whistling Sands.

Instead, people seem to feel that they have to log on to Amazon on a separate page and search for it. You don't need to do that - just simply click in the box advertising my ebook - either the one for Amazon.co.uk or the other one lower down for Amazon.com. This will take you to my Amazon listing where you'll see my book cover and book description. At this point you can choose whether to buy it or not and/or continue shopping on Amazon.

I've put a few other Amazon product links on further down to books that I think viewers of this blog might enjoy, a couple of Enid Blyton's Famous Fives; John Locke's useful advice book on how indie authors can get good sales on Kindle; the current no.1 bestseller on Kindle, Scott Mariani's The Alchemist's Secret, and my all-time favourite book, The Lord of the Rings. I've also put a link to Amazon's new, cheaper Kindle which I think is an excellent product for the price.

It is very much in my interests and all authors who sell their wares on Kindle, that people should have the proper kit to read ebooks. You don't need a Kindle, of course, you can just read an ebook on your computer with easily downloadable softwar, but I think the Kindle, particularly the excellent and more affordable new version really does take some beating.

I intend to put further product links on this blog to books which I personally recommend, in particular of independent authors whose work I am aware of and which deserves pushing.

Hodder's modernised editions of Enid Blyton's Famous Five series

Call me a journalist! I can't believe that I have only just found out that Enid Blyton's wonderful Famous Five series has been relaunched by publishers Hodder with their language updated (and no doubt, any remaining political incorrectness excised).

This decision was taken a full year ago and hit the papers and I'm beginning to wonder which part of the moon I must have been holidaying on to have completely missed this. I loved the Famous Fives as a child, and frankly still do as an adult. They were in part the inspiration for my book, Smugglers At Whistling Sands which, you might feel, has a somewhat Blytonesque touch to it.

And yes, for sure, my dialogue is up to date and the kids calls their parents mum and dad not mother and father but then I wrote it in the 21st century. Why is it necessary to go back to books penned in the 1940s and 1950s and make such changes? Should we do the same to Dickens so that he can reach a more modern audience who perhaps struggle with the concept of a world before the motorcar was invented?

What Hodder's decision does show, however, loud and clear, is that there is still a market for the kind of wholesome, "normal" if I may use that word, children's adventure story. Personally I feel that many children's authors of today feel that such tales are hopelessly dated and old fashioned and that today's youngsters won't be interested unless some fire-breathing dragon hoves into view each chapter.

I have tried in my book to give children back the kind of adventure story that Blyton wrote for them - albeit I feel with an attempt at rather more realism than she strived for. Whether I have been successful or not is for others to judge, but that has been my aim.

Has anyone seen these new re-written Famous Five books? I would be interested in your opinion. I shall share my views when I have got hold of a couple of copies.