Monday 27 April 2015

Seven Sword-Swirling Suggestions for Historical Fiction

As part of the Indie Author Fair 2015 Showcase Magazine, here's my 2 cent's worth on writing in the historical fiction genre.


Friday 24 April 2015

LONDON BOOK FAIR - FRINGE FESTIVAL

Friday 17 April saw London Book Fair’s first Fringe Festival.

Foyles, London’s biggest independent bookstore, opened its doors to the Alliance of Independent Authors, IndieReCon and IAF15, organised by Triskele Books. An exciting, educational and fun day:

Bestseller CJ Lyons



CJ Lyons opened the event by using the analogy of a blacksmith.

Forge your first book with love and care, then keep honing your craft. Engage with readers. Don’t try to sell a million. Write something a million people want to buy.





Debbie Young of the Alliance of Independent Authors chaired a discussion with panellists Peter Urpeth of Scottish based Creative Agency, Emergents; John Prebble of Arts Council of England Literature Relationship Manager and Nicola Solomon of the Society of Authors.

The theme was how to keep the cash coming in while you write. Grants, prizes, Public Lending Rights, mentoring schemes, partnerships with business development organisations and sponsorship are all potential sources of support for authors.



L-R: Peter Urpeth, John Prebble, Nicola Solomon and Debbie Young

Next up, Dan Holloway and Rohan Quine fired up the audience by speaking eloquently and poetically on diversity in literature.


Dan and Rohan



ALLi’s literary agent, Toby Mundy of TMA chaired a panel including Scott Beatty of Trajectory, book-scout Sharmaine Lovegrove of Dialogue Berlin & Fremantle Media, and Katie Donelan of BookBub to discuss how authors can sell more rights.




L-R: Sharmain Lovegrove, Scott Beatty, Katie Donelan and Toby Mundy





Porter Anderson introduced SELF-e. Authors everywhere can sign up to get their ebooks into US libraries.




L-R: Dr Alison Baverstock, Robert Caskie, Porter Anderson and Robin Cutler

Much talk centres on what self-publishing should learn from trade publishing. Rarely vice versa. Porter Anderson explored this key question with panellists Robert Caskie, Senior Agent at Peter Frazer Dunlop; Dr Alison Baverstock, Associate Professor, Department of Journalism and Publishing, Kingston University and Robin Cutler of Ingram Spark: how does self-publishing affect trade publishers, editors, agents and bookshops?

Debbie Young and Piers Alexander introduced the new #Authors4Bookstores campaign. All writers and readers love bookstores and want to see at least one on every high street. This new campaign encourages and enables indie authors and bookstores to form mutually beneficial, supportive relationships.

Last session of the day saw Joanna Penn grill a range of successful indie authors, Rachel Abbott, Steena Holmes, CJ Lyons, Mark McGuinness and Nick Stephenson on their tactics, breakthrough moments and advice.

Orna Ross & Porter Anderson wrapped up the conference with a look back at the last three years of ALLi (including a divergence of opinion on how to pronounce it) and hopes for the future.

You can access all this and more via IndieReCon – talks, tips, ideas, videos and vast amounts of resources to peruse at leisure.



The last part of the day was IAF15 @Foyles, organised by Triskele Books. Fifty authors with books, balloons, goodies, quizzes, wine, canapés and smiles welcomed browsers, bookclubbers, friends and readers. The atmosphere was happy, friendly, communal and everything an indie author fair should be.

The Indie Author Fair at Foyles

And we’re now planning the next one.

After a cup of tea.


Team Triskele

Tuesday 7 April 2015

Best Indie Books Up for Grabs in our Rafflecopter Giveaway

Forty books up for grabs! On Friday 17 April, Triskele Books and Foyles Bookshop welcome a myriad of authors to the 2015 Indie Author Fair. Here’s your chance to sample what’s on offer! Whatever your taste, we’ve got something special for you. Entry is easy and free for a chance to win one of forty different ebooks, paperbacks or swag bag prizes. The Indie Author Fringe Festival, run by The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi)/Indie ReCon, in association with The London Book Fair’s Book and Screen Week. a Rafflecopter giveaway