Hedgehogs in our greenhouse!

We've had a mummy hedgehog give birth under a blanket in our greenhouse. 
Here are some photos at 1 day old when they had to be moved for their own safety... 
 then again at 3 weeks old - the next time we checked them. 
Soooo sweet!!!

We are putting out cat food, meal worms and water every night and mummy comes out to forage. The little ones can be heard squeaking in the nest, but no sign of following mummy out yet.

 

Brilliant Day at the South Petherton Folk Festival!

My daughter and I had a lovely day on a craft stall at the South Petherton Folk Festival.

I was there with my paintings and my books, my daughter was there with Steampunk and Victorian style jewelley. We had a fantastic day of selling, the weather was scorching, and the entertainment was a great backdrop that set the mood.

Here we are in action...

Best sellers!

Had a whole load of best seller bars!

I like this new feature - it shows up really well on Amazon's selling pages and hopefully will add to the sales!

 

Lots of watercolours!

I've been painting lots of watercolours - mostly birds - because I have an arts and crafts exhibition on the 19th April. As I was busy at my table painting a blackbird I could hear a very LOUD bird repeatedly chirping from nearby. After a while it was beginning to disturb my painting, so I went to investigate who was making such a racket.

To my surprise it was a nuthatch! I've never seen one so close before, he ws sat perched on the end of a branch chirping away for all to see and hear.

So, I painted a picture of him. He he is with some of the others I've been doing.

 

New No:1 Bestseller bar on Amazon!

I like the new No;1 Bestseller bar on Amazon.uk.

Football is Fantastic! My early readers chapter book was in the no:1 position today in Children's books, sports and activities, so it got a Best seller Bar! Looks good. :)

If your ebook gets to be No:1 it gets one of these...

My books in a shop!

 

Whooop! First batch of print books off to a shop... A local craft/gift shop attached to a large farm shop complex has asked for a display of my books!

So hubby has made me a very nice stand for them, and off they go today.
I'm hoping the advert pages in the back will draw people to go to look at the other books I have published as ebooks. I've had people who have bought ebooks before, ask for them in print, so I'm hoping it goes both ways.
Here's how they look in their stand.

 

 

I've updated my web page!

I've re-designed and updated my Hairy, Scary Spider? page on my website. 

I think it looks really great now with the option of choosing an ebook or a paperback, as well as lots of reviews from various sites, all in one place!

I have scrolling images, paypal symbols and checkout - the lot!

If it works I'm going to add the same to all the books.
 
You can take a look at;   tothewillowgarden Hairy, Scary Spider?

   

Mark Zuckerburg and the Hairy, Scary Spider?

Mark Zuckerberg and the Hairy Scary Spider?

I use google alerts to tell me if anyone is talking about any of my books over the internet. This sometimes gives surprising results and helps with any marketing.

I had an alert for 'Hairy Scary Spider?' today, and though it wasn't as expected, I thought it was a funny enough story to tell...  

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had a problem he needed the web to answer, recently.
But if you're assuming he turned to Facebook for help, you would be wrong.
When confronted with what appeared to be a very hairy, scary spider in his shower, the billionaire social network mogul instead turned to a new venture - Jelly - a site designed to get quick answers to visual questions using just your smartphone camera.
Zuckerberg took a picture of the problem arachnid, and sent the message out on the site.
"What kind of spider is this," he asked. "And is it okay to let it keep living in my shower?"
The response - from the COO of the startup, Kevin Thau - came nine minutes later.
"I think it's a Phidippus johnsoni," he replied. "Probably want to relocate it…"

The spider, it turns out, is not poisonous but does have quite a bite - and it can jump.
Still, it was enough for the site's founder (and Twitter founder) Biz Stone to get pretty excited (on Twitter) anyway:
"First life saved on Jelly!" he said.


I've never heard of 'jelly', but maybe Mr Zuckerberg should have read my Hairy, Scary Spider? before getting in a panic.
If I had the tech type mind and the know-how I'd send a message to him!

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Two new 5 * reviews!

I've had two new reviews - both 5 stars!

One was for Hairy, Scary Spider? the other for Percy, the not so Perfect Puffin!

I particularly like it when a child gives their opinion as the books are for them. :)

Here they are;

5.0 out of 5 stars Children should be taught to like spiders 26 Dec 2013

By Jeannie Dee

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

a brilliant little book that helps children (and possibly some adults) to understand that spiders are not to be feared. Spiders are clever and amazing little creatures and children will love the humour in this book. 

 

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite books. 26 Dec 2013

By Mrs. M. Hurst

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved this book because it was funny and it teaches that looking different doesnt matter. I will never forget the chubby cute puffin on page 39!   (written by Thomas, aged 8)

 

 

 

Hairy, Scary Spider? is on promotion at Amazon.uk. Just for this weekend this great little ebook can be bought for just 0.99p
Grab him before he scuttles away!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hairy-Spider-Childrens-Rhyming-Picture-ebook/dp/B005HFHI26

Which children's ebook cover is best?

Which cover is best?

I've changed the cover and title to one of my children's stories.
I think the self-esteem part of the title was confusing it. Though it has a powerful message to children, the story is designed as a fun picture book.

But what title and cover do you like best, and why?

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New Amazon.UK Promotion - Pipsy the Penguin!

Pipsy the Penguin is on promotion - just 99p

This post was last modified: Today 08:37 AM by Paula Jane.

One of my best selling ebooks, 'Pipsy the Penguin' - a cute children's picture book - is on promotion for just 99p on Amazon.UK
It is perfect for little ones aged around 3-6 years.
Product Description
Described as 'exquisite' and 'charming', you will easily fall in love with this sweet, yet powerful, little rhyming story.
Pipsy, a young blue penguin - who hatches too early - has a secret and a huge dream. With a Mother's love and much determination, Pipsy grows gradually, but do his fanciful dreams come true?
Follow the story, brought to life by beautiful, original illustrations that magically capture little Pipsy on his journey of discovery.

Pipsy the Penguin is a bestselling ebook that is also available as a paperback.

• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #54,714 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #1 in Kindle Store > Books > Children's eBooks > Animals > Marine Life
  • #1 in Kindle Store > Books > Children's eBooks > Animals > Birds
    

My author visits this week.

I thought I'd tell you about my author visits this week.

I had a great time at The Warminster Writer's group, who made me really welcome. We had a lovely chat about all things publishing, my books and writing in general.

We also played a few writing games and I explained the difficulties and joys of writing for children, and read a couple of my stories to them.

They were a fabulous bunch, varied and talented in their own ways. I enjoyed hearing some of their work too.

 I had a good time, finishing off with a book signing of three of my physical copies including the best sellers, Hairy, Scary Spider!  Pipsy the Penguin and Football is Fantastic!


Then later on that same week I had two children's groups to visit in Bath. We had lots of fun, played loads of games about descriptive writing, ate chocolate cookies and generally had a good laugh.

We read some of my stories, dissected some of the sentences and made them brand new. We played Toady Twisters, a going on holiday game and a describe the item game. The children showed lots of enthusiasm and came up with some brilliant suggestions and went home brimming with new ideas, along with some of my stories to read. It was well worth the visit.

If an author gets a chance to visit a writing group or a class of children, I'd advise to go for it, it's a fun evening or day out and gets your name into the community a little bit more.

It's taken a long time, but 'Football is Fantastic!' my 'Early Readers' best seller in children's sports has been made into a paperback.

I don't use createspace, but have them printed locally, so the only place to get a signed by the author, first edition, at this moment is on ebay.UK.

Soon it'll be on my website too.

The size and shape matches exactly with Hairy Scary Spider? - they're similar in size and feel to the Mr Men series - so with all nine of my titles together they'll look great on the shelf.

This really is a laugh-out-loud children's story and has become a UK children's sports best seller, so it's good to see it in print.


Football is Fantastic! paperback.

Helpful hints to marketing your ebook.

 After two years in the self-publishing business and four bestsellers in their genres, I'm often approached and asked, "how do you market your ebooks?"

So here's a few helpful hints.

Be patient!

Promote whenever you can, but don't be me! me! me! Buy! buy! buy! No-one likes a pusher.

Be more patient. These things take time, from the upload to the reviews coming in. Everything will slowly build. A friend of mine who is approaching 250 thousand downloads tells me how she only sold 40 books in her first year.

Write more books it's the best way to advertise all your titles. If someone is attracted to one of your stories they will search for more. Not many authors do well if only one title.

Use the tools that Amazon gives you. Have a fantastic cover, a brilliant blurb and an up-to-date Author's page.

Don't be afraid to make changes to your blurb, author's page or even your actual book. Listen to your reviewers with an open mind. Have they got a point? Make changes if necessary!

Don't be offensive. There are people who will leave you with a bad review if they don't like what you're saying or you're saying it in a dogmatic way.

Make sure you do some promoting every week whether on your blog or facebook page. Join forums that are genre related and post meaningful threads, be helpful to the group.


Oh! One last thing... be patient!

Hairy Scary Spider? available as a paperback!

Hairy Scary Spider? is now available through ebay.uk once again! 

You'll be able to get a 1st edition, signed by the author, and inscribed to anyone of your choice too.  
 
So grab one while you can, that naughty spider scuttles away fast! He's only £3.89

Here's the link:    Hairy, Scary Spider? Paperback

 

When children review ebooks.

Just had a lovely review for my ebook Football is Fantastic! but what I like about this review is it's from a child, and children tell you straight what they think of your story!

Here's the review from Amazon UK:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review 1-3 13 Oct 2013

By Luke Mayes

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Really funny I could read it over and over again without getting board. One of the best books I've ever seen as a child. I've always been a big reader but this was perfect for kids and over 8 year olds. Paula McBride made this book and is an excellent author. Well done Paula McBride your amazing. 

 

 

Football is Fantastic! has been in the top 100 best seller's list, in it's genre, for over a year now and - even more exciting - is soon to be published in traditional print form too!

 

 

 

Autumn Sale on Children's Ebooks!

I'm having an Autumn Sale of my children's ebooks, before two more titles are added by the end of the year.

Many as low as .99c or 76p!

The titles in the sale are as follows;

Slippy the Slimy Slug!  

Pipsy the Penguin!

Little Chick's First Day!

All Sheep Love to Sing.

A Little Bear Behind

Who said Quack?

Oh! That Naughty Puppy!

Enjoy!

Oh! The Crazy World of Self-Publishing.

Sometimes I just feel like....

Super selling day!

Hairy Scary Spider? had a super selling day yesterday! It shot up the best sellers lists and was number 10 in it's genre by the evening.
Also I sold a hard copy to' Lady Gates' in Wiltshire, who 'adored the little book' and had always tried to encourage her children not to be afraid of spiders.
It's great to get that sort of feedback and meet the people who love the story.