Matthew Williams's Blog: My Diary as an Author - Posts Tagged "matthew-williams"

Still trying to get on top of this blog. Hence, I'm still writing this as historical events rather than in the now. (Bit like I do in my novels sometimes lol)

As I mentioned in an earlier post. March was a good month for sales and some nice reviews came in on Amazon UK. I also mentioned that I'd set the ball rolling on a few other things, some of which are now bearing fruit, while others are still lurking in the shadows waiting to leap out hit me with another high or a cheap low blow! (Here's hoping it's the former lol)

http://AllAuthor.com invited me to enter my novel Shadowchild in the cover of the month awards for the month of April. I love a good competition and signed up.

April 1st - My cover campaign began and I took an early lead. That lasted all of a day before I was rudely shoved out of the top ten - Grrrr!
I picked myself up and decided to focus on staying in the top 25 so I at least made the cut onto the shortlist, it proved to be a little easier than expected and I ended the first week hovering around 3rd place. Okay I may not win but 3rd place still gets a prize and a month of promotion, I'll take that :-) I figured.

10th April - My publisher sent out my press release for Shadowchild. I have to say that I was extremely doubtful it would have an impact, but it was offered for free so, of course, I took it gladly. I worked tirelessly, following up with all the local media outlets, just trying to generate some interest in Matthew Williams and his new book Shadowchild. I mean, seriously! What do the media care about nobody publishing something? But I'd worked bloody hard on this novel so I wasn't giving up easily.

14th April - Cover competition going nicely, Shadowchild poked its head into the top 500 kindle books on Amazon UK. Then, BOOM! Contact from a local newspaper - The Hinckley Times wanted to run a story on me and after the interview they found an angle to go with.

19th April - www.myranour.net/horror Blog invited me to write a piece which is due to go live on the 22nd May. Awesome!

20th April - A friend, Stephen Helmes,
author of Nightly Visits invited me to write a piece for www.lisaswritopia.com as the spotlight author for June. More great news!

21st April - Another newspaper (The Redditch Standard) local to where I grew up wanted to do an article on me. This was becoming a brilliant month!

28th April - A friend who I grew up with messaged me on facebook saying 'Wow Mat your in the Redditch Standard!' My first small taste of newspaper fame lol. Actually that's not quite true, I was on the front page on the Daily Mirror when I was 18 months old - The Bionic baby they called me, after I shrugged off a car.

30th April - Final day of the cover of the month competition, I had a slender lead and rallied every last vote I could muster from my facebook followers (who are all awesome, thanks!) Was it enough? Can you feel the tension :-) lol

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the my next post, I'm nearly caught up to the present now - PHEW!

Okay so April didn't see any new reviews, and sales were pretty slow. Sort of a steady trickle throughout with only the occasional lunge into the triple digits in the Amazon rankings.

That said, it was highly productive on the networking front. Many new friends, followers & contacts, and some good media related bits and bobs cropping up too.

1st May - Drum roll please, I bet the suspense from the end of my last post is killing you, right?
Shadowchild crowned cover of the Month for the month of April by www.allauthor.com - well chuffed :-)

2nd May - An uneasy feeling knowing that copies of my books sent out for review were due to bear fruit very soon. Nervous about what the reviews will say if I'm honest lol.

3rd May - Arcticle in the Hinckley times went live, it's such an exciting time, I'm buzzing :-)

4th May - Star Wars day so it's bound to be good :-) It certainly started well, I got some reviews come through and they were excellent. It seems my writing isn't quite perfect, but it certainly seems to stand up against most in the horror genre. I had a tear in my eye when I read some of them, they were so good!

Lunchtime and BBC Radio Leicester call me up saying they saw the piece in the Hinckley Times and want me as the lead story on the morning show on Tuesday 9th May - WOW! How cool is that?

7th May - Article in The Hinckley Times goes from print to internet; extra facebook, twitter, web exposure - Awesome!

8th May - Now I'm all caught up and nervous about being live on the radio tomorrow. Some people are never happy lol

Thanks for reading and please stay tuned :-)

More great reviews keep popping up and sales keep trickling in. I can see that the word is spreading very slowly, but I need to do more!

I have appeared on a couple of blog's this month -

22nd May Myra Nour's Horror blog - http://myranour.net/author-guest-post...

24th May Lisa's Writopia -
http://lisaswritopia.com/matthew-will...

Weirdly, these two blog posts sandwiched my birthday lol

I've decided that before I really market my work, I'm talking spending money here! I have to make sure everything else is in place. Reviews must be plentiful and my website must be in good shape.

So I need reviews on Amazon.com, don't seem to be getting them on there yet, despite plenty of readers?

And my website is currently undergoing a extreme makeover so it really does what it's there for - promote my writing and my books.

Thanks for reading :-)

Finally! It's finished! :-)

My website has been transformed from a 5 page splatter of information that wasn't really promoting my books at all, into a site that focusses primarily on promoting me as an author, and my novels 'The Shady Corner' & 'Shadowchild'.

www.matthewwilliamsauthor.com is now the best place to see reviews, read samples, and see the latest news.

Please take a poke around my new website, and feel free to offer suggestions on how I can make it even better! After all, my website is the heart of my network, so it needs to beat fiercely if I am to continue to grow my fan base.

As always, thanks for reading :-)

Just a quick update on Talia's Kiss. Eleven chapters complete now, but I'm still a bit behind schedule.

I am definitely enjoying the process more than with my other stories. Working with a framework, rather than a firm plan does feel more fluid when new ideas present themselves.

The story is coming together nicely and I know my readers are going to love this one when it's finished!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for updates.

Sunday morning, up at 5am, wide awake! Why does this never happen during the week? When I actually have a chance to stay in bed, I'm always wide awake lol

Anyway, at least it was productive, Talia's Kiss - Chapter 12 is now finished!

Gut feeling at this point is that Talia's Kiss may be a little shorter than The Shady Corner & Shadowchild. Although the story is still evolving so I can't be sure yet lol.

Thanks for reading :-)

August was pretty eventful, although not overly productive on the writing front.

I conducted 3 interviews at the start of the month, before we had a great family break in Switzerland. It's beautiful there, and I'd recommend it to anyone, despite the costs OMG! lol.

Interview 1 - AllAuthor interview - https://allauthor.com/interview/matth...

Interview 2 - Swansbrook Radio - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ls1_...

Interview 3 - By Fiona McVie - https://authorsinterviews.wordpress.c...

The great news while enjoying our holiday was this - I have the framework for book number 4. It's going to be an apocalyptic story with a Matthew Williams slant on it. That means it will be gruesome, it will be packed with horror, and it will be a little different from the norm! I don't have a title yet, so I'm simply calling it '42' for now. That's my age, but it's also the meaning of life the universe and everything :-)

Progress on Talia's Kiss stopped throughout the month of August. What with the holiday and the fact I've snapped the ligaments in my foot, there hasn't been any time for writing. But I'll be back on the writing this week and chapter 13 shouldn't be too far away for all those of you who are eager to get your hands on a copy.

Thanks for reading :-)

Myra Nour has reviewed my Horror Novel 'Shadowchild' - http://myranour.net/book-chat-shadowc...

I love this review because it proves that my work can stir a little controversy! Why would I want to do this? Because it tells me that I'm breaking away from the norm. and succeeding in writing something new.

Myra is correct in what she says in the review, some Christians may, indeed, be offended by some of the elements in the story.

Trust me when I say that there is no offense intended in any of my work. But I will certainly not shy away from using unpalatable concepts and ideas to ensure my novels are not offensive. Shadowchild deals with a possession, but as is pointed out in several of my reviews, "it is not just another possession story! It is way more than that!"

I thank Myra sincerely for her very honest review of my book, and I hope her words make more people want to read it.

Thanks for reading :-)

I am giving away one free paperback copy of each of my horror novels in October.

Giveaways will run from 1st of October 2017 - 31st October 2017

You've gotta be in it, to win it!

The Shady Corner & Shadowchild could be yours by Halloween!

Thanks for your support and stay tuned for more updates soon!