Reet chuffed ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a lovely afternoon in the village yesterday. Our library held an event called 'Partir en livre' .. basically 'Lose yourself in books' .. and, very flatteringly, I was asked if I'd join several (real) authors to give a reading from my books. (One writer was a friend who topped the Sunday Times fiction list when her book came out last year).  In the end, I managed two chapters from 'Page 99, by Joe Bancroft' before I was squeezed by the schedules (ouch) and had to forget about reading from my children's book 'Swapsies' ..

But what a 'novel' experience it was. I got some great feedback and even shifted a few units to add to my million-seller target. (How lovely to be asked to sign the books, too.) To top it all, one lady said "Loved the Book Fest. Great readings from Martin, super book, loved listening to it in Martin’s northern accent .. "

Eeh, that made me reet chuffed, that did!

 

 

And we have lift-off ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first man on the Moon .. seems so long ago, doesn't it? Probably because it is! Fifty three years ago today to be precise. But what exciting times they were, especially to a nearly-nine year old like myself. I was absolutely fascinated by 'Space', forever gluing Airfix Lunar Modules to papier mâché 'moon surfaces' whilst watching James Burke and Patrick Moore explaining the intricacies of forthcoming 'TLI' manoeuvres. I did a lot of reading, too. The Observer Book of Astronomy and the Peter Fairley Space Annual were never far from my side ..

Which brings me to a new book about 'Space', one which I've written myself. I say 'one', but it's actually the first in a series of four adventure books I've created for children and which I'm thrilled to launch today ..

"Swapsies" is my story of The Sun and The Moon and The Earth, and of how The Moon helps The Sun to find all its friends in Space. The books are educational yet funny, and I'm very proud to say I did all the illustrations, too. I'll be reading from Swapsies at a book event this Sunday in our local park, and I hope it's soon filling a space on the bookshelves of many a wide-eyed new young space enthusiast ..

( If you'd like a copy, you can click here to order .. )

Three, two, one .. lift off!

Hooked from Page One ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I was hooked from the first page .." So begins a lovely message from a new reader of my book "Page 99, by Joe Bancroft'. "Joe is wonderful .." she continues. "I laughed and I cried. So many people will be able to relate to this book in so many ways."

Well, what more can I add, dear blog fan? Constantly trying to think of new ways to market my book, I can do no better than relay her words to you, and hope they move you enough to buy the book. (Think how you'll boast when it finally comes out as a film. "Oh yes, I was one of the first to read it, you know?")

Pleasing for me was the fact that this person found "it was an eye opener to read about the life of a press photographer" (though relax ..  it's not a book about press photography) and, best of all, she describes my work as "a real person telling it how it was .."

I am very flattered! Very flattered indeed ..

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, my new book ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing a book, they say, is the easy part. After that, you've got to market the bugger! So here I am, marketing the bugger, and you're going to have to get used to me going on about it. Yes, I've finally self-published my book, after probably four years of writing and editing (and trying to find an agent!) ..

Page 99, by Joe Bancroft, is the semi-autobiographical tale of a young Manchester lad who lands his dream job as a press photographer on a local newspaper (ring any bells?) There's a lot more to it than that, of course, and it feels good that it's finally all down on paper ..

I've already had a great review, which ends with the line "Personally I loved the book and can't recommend it highly enough, I can relate to so much that Martin has written about, a joy to read, go on treat yourself to Page 99" .. so that's a good start, isn't it?..

If you fancy a good read, you can get hold of your own copy on Amazon Kindle. 

I really hope you'll give it a go ..