Pat came out of hospital last Monday after spending six days in isolation. We were happy to have her home (me and Tuppence). Although Pat has recovered from the infection, she is still quite frail. I’m keeping an eye on her temperature and BP, but there is precious little I can do about her general weakness. She had a blood test yesterday in preparation for the appointment with her haematologist on Monday, which will be followed by her third chemo session the following day. All the jobs around the house are slipping behind again because of the amount of time I’ve had to spend on visits etc., but I’m hoping to catch up as we get through next week. This afternoon I’ll be doing the ironing and watching the football on TV (on the big tellie! Yeah!)

I published my latest crime thriller (No Time to Die) during the week, but not without a couple of tweaks that were necessary. When I checked the ‘Look inside’ facility on the Amazon product page, I could see the text was ‘left justified’; something I dislike intensely, but in the downloaded eBook the text if justified. It makes me happier but I did wonder how many potential readers would be put off by the book because of the way the text appears on the product page. I’ve bought a print version, which arrived today. There are a couple of changes I’ve already noticed that I’ll deal with, but I will go through the book with a red pen and then update the cover and Word doc before sending it up to Amazon. You can find it at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WFQMQV4

Back on the health front for the moment. I have had a chest infection (something historical) since Pat went into hospital and ended up seeing the doc. Meanwhile, Pat was talking to our eldest son on the phone while I was watching the football on my laptop. She told me our son, who is a personal trainer, said I should be on an electrolyte to compensate for my mood-swings (really?) and to ensure I don’t get dehydrated. She said I had to buy an electrolyte from the Wiggle bicycle company. Now I know I was watching football and not listening, but honestly, who buys electrolyte from a bike shop? But sure enough I ended up buying it from the Wiggle bicycle company. Could have gone to Boots of course. Perhaps Wiggle could start selling my books?

I’ve signed up for an email marketing course with Adam Croft. It’s a cheapy and he will tell me where I’m going wrong with my email marketing etc. Well, all the experts will insist you need a big bunch of subscribers because they are your most important marketing tool EVER! I’ve done Nick Stephenson’s excellent course, I’m a member of Mark Dawson’s SPF group and have followed his advice, and have seen it trumpeted far and wide by all those who know how to sell books through their subscribers. When I launched my eBook, I notified my subscribers of it’s release at 0.99 and it’s inclusion in KDP Select (which means it’s free for members), and sat back waiting for the sales figures to rocket. I have 1220 subscribers and in two days I have sold 2 paperbacks (I bought one), eighteen eBooks (yes, I bought one), and have seen 8 pages read on KU. Fantastic. So I’m wondering where I went wrong after spending so much time and money on Mark Dawson and Nick Stephenson. No doubt Adam Croft will reveal all. I think I will be told that it’s “Engagement” that counts. But how can I engage when my open rate is about 0.1%?

So, more effort from me, more effort from my readers and more pedal power if I’m to get anywhere. Wish me luck!