Welcome to Episode Seven of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast, with your host, Kay! After a longer than intended hiatus, we’re back with a special episode to catch you up on everything from new projects to exciting events coming up in the indie book world.
In this episode, I’ll be sharing:
Tune in for all this and more! Listen Here:Show Notes:
Here are all the links included in this episode.
Read the transcript:
Welcome back to Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast. It's been a little while, about two months, actually, since the last episode, I'll explain why in a minute, but I'm so glad to be here with you all again, to talk about all things indie books.
Today's episode will be a bit of a catch-up as well as a dive into the latest indie book news and events for both indie readers and authors. I'll also be sharing an exciting personal update and asking for your recommendations. So, first things first, where the bloody hell have I been? I just wanted to explain why we didn't have a podcast in August and September, and why this one is a little bit later in the month than usual. If losing a pet is a trigger for you, you might want to skip ahead a minute or so. So, the last episode aired on the 27th of July, and then six days later, my dog died. We knew it was coming because we'd found out around a month or so before that she wasn't very well, but we didn't expect it to happen so fast, and I don't think it helped that it was literally four days after her birthday when she passed away. It's a weird thing in a way, because I didn't think it'd bother me that much. I was mostly worried about how my daughter and my partner would take it, and I didn't really think much about myself. But apparently, it bothered me quite a lot because I pretty much lost it emotionally and just couldn't bring myself to enjoy anything really for quite a while. I know some people will think, oh, it was just a dog, but honestly, we'd had her from eight weeks old until just over 11 years, and she was amazing. She was our best friend, my reading buddy, and she kept me company whenever my partner was away or while I was working. So, everything's felt pretty crap, and I just didn't have it in me to read, write, never mind podcast. For everyone who's ever lost a pet and felt too sad to do anything, even get out of bed in the morning, I really get it. So, that's the reason why August and September had no podcast and why this one is so late, because I'm only just starting to feel okay enough to enjoy reading and writing and podcasting again. So, while I won't have tons of book recommendations for you this month, I still have a lot for us to catch up on and dig into. So, moving on to things that are much less sad, over the last couple of weeks, I've been working hard on my debut short story collection. While it's been a difficult few months, I've also found a really amazing creative escape through Dungeons and Dragons. I've started to DM a couple of games for friends and family, and it's done wonders for my creativity and mental health lately. It's just such a fun escape from the real world, something obviously that reading normally gives me, but I've found it through playing this game. And if you like D&D, I'd also highly recommend the Legends of Vox Machina show on Amazon Prime, it's so much fun. I've literally just finished watching season three and already want to go back and rewatch all three seasons again. You don't have to be into D&D to enjoy it, it's just a really great show that does some amazing things with the fantasy landscape and the characters, especially the dragons. They're some of the best I've ever seen, so I do think you should go and check that out. So, let's jump into episode seven with a big announcement. With Halloween just around the corner, I am thrilled to announce that my debut short story collection, Spellbound, will be releasing on Halloween. So, the 31st of October. Is it obvious that as a teen, I was obsessed with Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and that The Crow was one of my all-time favourite movies? I don't really celebrate Halloween now, but still love the whole paranormal, supernatural aesthetic, and so couldn't resist making Halloween the release date for the spellbound eBook. The print book will release a short while afterwards, as I need to wait for the paperback proofs to come through first. I'm so excited for those. But I didn't want to push back the eBook release date. Spellbound is a collection of 10 short stories, all featuring various elements of magic, whether that be witches, werewolves, and vampires, or haunted houses and bizarrely magical trees. You will have to read it to find out what that one is about, and why I cried while writing it. So, yeah, just be warned. Some of the stories are around one to one and a half thousand words, though I think one or two are a little bit longer than that, and they're very character-driven stories that are then mixed in with some much shorter pieces of flash fiction, which are more atmospheric and kind of set that supernatural, paranormal almost spooky tone as well. I've been working on this collection for quite a few months now, somewhere between like four and six. I released it on Wattpad a while back and it had some really great feedback there. I then went on to edit the collection a bit more and passed it along to beta readers who again were just so enthusiastic about it. And so, it's now finally ready to publish. I am beyond terrified. This is the first thing that I've ever properly, she says with air quotes, published. I'm the tiniest bit excited, but mostly terrified to the point that I also feel physically unwell. But, yeah, so it's coming, 31st October. And once it's out, I can then turn my attention back to my debut novel, which is a paranormal fantasy novel, which I'm also hoping to have ready to release by December or January. I spent so long writing and rewriting, and rewriting again, the synopsis for spellbound that I hope you don't mind me sharing it here really quickly just to give you a bit of an insight into what you can find inside. Would you spend Christmas with the Grim Reaper, hunt a vampire through their neon haze of a nightclub, or take tea with a denizen of hell? In Spellbound, Kay M. Weston's debut collection of 10 standalone fantasy stories and flash fiction, magic pulses through every page exploring cozy fantasy, magical realism and paranormal fantasy. Discover what happens when a speed dating agency opens its doors to the supernatural or when an old witch's revenge delivers unexpected results. Each story invites you to lose yourself in magical twists and turns, from whimsical encounters to darkly magical moments that linger long after the final page. Interspersed with emotional flash fiction, Spellbound introduces a vibrant cast of characters whose lives are forever changed, for better or worse, by the caress of magic. Okay, that's it for the self-promo, that was really awkward, other than to say that Spellbound: A Fantasy Short Story Collection releases in eBook on the 31st of October 2024. It'll be available for 99 pence or 99 cents, wherever you are in the world, and available from Amazon to begin with, with other retailers to follow. If you listened to the last episode, you might also remember I mentioned a short story that I'd hoped to submit to the Indie Bites Anthology. Sadly, I didn't manage to get it in before the deadline, for all of the reasons already mentioned, but I'm happy to say that it seems to be growing into a project of its own and shaping up to be novella, which has surprised me a little bit, which I'll be releasing myself once it's finished. It's turning out to be a really fun, cozy fantasy style story about an unwilling necromancer. So, I'm looking forward to bringing that one to you sometime in the near future. All right, let's dive into some recent reading and indie book news that's caught my attention lately. First up were a couple of articles I saw that talked about bookshops being cool again, which is great on one hand, I absolutely love a good bookshop, but also that no one's reading because we're too busy on our phones. Again, picture those air quotes there. I found this one a bit bizarre and frankly, quite snobby. They do know that reading apps exist, right? Like, we read on our phones all the time. I certainly do. But onto the bookshops bit, bookshops are awesome. I love them. I'm extremely lucky to have three bookshops in my hometown. Two of which are indie bookshops, one is a Waterstones. We also then have loads of charity bookshops as well. So, one of my favourite things to do is head to those shops and browse the shelves, though I'm always more inclined to spend money at the two indie bookshops than the chain one, and the charity shops are also great places to find unexpected gems. I remember a little while ago, although saying that, it was probably a few years ago now, Sophie, my sister, and I, we went and had a day out, just trawling all of the bookshops. It was like a pub crawl, but for books, and just spent an absolute crazy amount of time finding all of these bargains and all of these hidden gems. So yeah, that was really great, and it's always one of my favourite things to do. But one of the big problems I have with big shops is how difficult it is for indie authors to get their books inside. Some bookshops won't stock indie authors, period. And with others, you have to jump through a lot of hoops to even be considered. I know that one of my local bookstores does a fantastic job of supporting indie authors, particularly local ones, by hosting signings, events, and stocking indie books. But I really wish that more indie bookstores and chain stores would do this to. If you know of a great indie bookstore that really supports indie authors, please let me know. The next thing I wanted to talk about was Amazon's new Kindle announcements, which sparked a debate I saw on a Facebook reading group I'm in, where the discussion was around people not using Amazon to buy eBooks because, and I quote, "you never own the books." And on one hand, this is true. Yes, if you buy a book from Amazon and Amazon, then for whatever reason closes your Kindle account, you could lose access to the book too. It's the same with Apple Books, Kobo, wherever you get your eBooks, unless you buy the files direct from the author. So, that's one thing that indie authors are doing to help combat this by selling their books directly from their websites, and then sending out the digital file to the reader, which you can then easily add to your devices. This way you've purchased and own that file. Buying direct from authors is also a really great way to support them as they don't lose any royalties to Amazon or other retailers and distributors. My big issue though, with the debate I saw was how many people who said, "this is why I won't buy eBooks", or "I'm not going to buy eBooks anymore". I mean, do you know how damaging that would be for indie authors? Amazon, as much as we might, not particularly like all they do, and as much as they can certainly cause trouble for indie authors, they're one of the biggest ways to get noticed as an indie author. And as I've already said, indie's already feel pretty pushed out when it comes to brick-and-mortar bookstores. If you take away eBook stores too, we're going to struggle even more to get noticed. For readers, it's pretty privileged also to be able to say, "oh, I'm going to buy everything in physical format from a bookstore." That's great for you, if you can afford it, but a lot of readers can't, and it's often exponentially cheaper to buy, or rent if you like, an eBook than it is to buy a physical book. So, that's just something to think about, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on that as well. Again, I'll give out the email at the end of the episode. Onto some more exciting things now, the awards voting for the Indieverse Book Awards is opening up soon from the 1st to the 10th of November. I spoke with Indieverse Awards founder and creator, Kristina Carmella in episode three of the podcast where she explained what the Indieverse Book Awards are and how readers and authors can take part. So, feel free to check that out and then go ahead and cast your votes for your favourite indie books, authors and creators during the voting period. It's a really great awards program and it's very reader focused, with lots of prizes and different ways to get involved. So, it's a fantastic way to show your support for the indie author community and just get involved and make other indie reader friends as well. A couple of weeks ago, I also had the pleasure of attending SelfPubCon24, a 24-hour online conference for indie authors. It runs annually, and disclaimer, I do work with the team who organize it. And it's such an amazing font of knowledge and expertise on indie publishing and it's completely free to access for the whole weekend when it runs. This year, the theme was publishing for profit, not something I've hugely thought about as a very new author, as my main goal right now is just writing my books and getting them out there. But there was a lot of great information here, even for someone like me, including things like how to find and work with book influencers, how to showcase your book through public speaking, like podcast appearances, and how to use stories in your marketing, which is something that I'm really interested in. There were also really great panels from Amazon, Ingram Spark, and Reedsy, giving a sort of in-depth insight for indie authors in how to make more money using those platforms. So, if you're an indie author, I'd recommend taking a look next year to see what advice and tips you can pick up. As I said, it runs annually, every October. Moving on to a few things now that are on the horizon. I've set my sister, Sophie, who primarily reads traditionally published books, a challenge to read as many indie books as possible between now and Christmas. She'll then be coming along for a special episode to chat about what she's been reading and her thoughts on indie books, and whether she'll read more in future. We'll hopefully also have some gift recommendations for those who are looking to buy indie books for Christmas and birthdays, and that kind of thing. Next month, I'll be heading up to York for a much-needed family weekend away. I'm looking forward to all the spooky autumnal vibes, and I would love any and all recommendations that you have for bookshops, literary sites, and even cozy reading spots that I should visit while I'm there. So, I'm only there for two days. I come back on the Monday. So, if you have a favourite spot in York that I should check out, please let me know. I'm really excited. I definitely want to check out the ghost shop, which I've completely forgotten the name now, I think, is it the York Ghost Company, or something? There's a few little things that I've seen, but I really want to pack in as much as possible that's sort of bookish and, you know, just lots of fun. And I will share with you what I've discovered on my travels in the next episode. Of course, I couldn't finish an episode without sharing what I've been reading and also sharing a few new indie books on my TBR. I haven't read a lot lately, just because of all the stuff I've already mentioned, but I am around a third of the way through The Demon of Elderstay by I.R. Ribbon, which was just released, I think this week or last week. It's a very D&D style, fantasy story about a gnome named Gerome, and yes, he gets that a lot. There's some shenanigans with a demon involved and things just start to go a bit wild when Gerome teams up with an adventuring party to try and break a curse on a city. Let's just say that while reading it, I can imagine a D&D party making all sorts of bad and occasionally lucky dice rolls as the events in the story play out. Gerome is fun and an unlikely hero, being in his fifties, reliant on magical drugs to get through the day, and hiding a pretty big secret. I'm really enjoying The Demon of Elderstay and hope to share my full thoughts with you next time. I also have some great books lined up, the most recent being A Captured Cauldron by R. K. Ashwick. This is the sequel to A Rival Most Vial that I talked about a few episodes back, and I'm really excited to jump back in with these characters and find out what trouble they're in now. Again, this is a cosy fantasy, D&D style story. Are you sensing a pattern here? Ruby Roe has also recently put her Girl Games series onto Kindle Unlimited. This is not a D&D style story. I read the first one, A Game of Hearts & Heists, a little while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Think sapphic Six of Crows with plenty of heat and spice. The next book is based in the same world, but focuses on a different couple. So, I'm looking forward to jumping back in there. That's all for my new TBR additions this time, but I'm sure I'll have plenty more in the next episode. So, that's it for this catch-up episode of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me through some ups and downs there, but I'm trying to stay positive and looking forward to all that's coming up in the next few months. If you'd like to get in touch, you can reach me at any time via email at [email protected]. You can also reach me on Instagram and Threads at @myendlessshelf. I'm working on putting together some indie author guest interviews, so be on the lookout for those over the next couple of months. If you do pick up Spellbound, and you enjoy it, I'd be really grateful if you could leave a review. Early reviews particularly are really important for indie authors. So, I'd really, really appreciate that. Until next time though, have a great Halloween if you celebrate and keep turning the page.
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