tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34883788887527279302024-02-21T22:55:26.790-08:00Sam HayesAUTHORSam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-76286296912082985272013-06-05T01:54:00.004-07:002013-06-05T01:54:43.484-07:00Come over to my new website and blog!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks for stopping by but I've moved from here! My new website is now live at </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.samanthahayes.co.uk/">www.samanthahayes.co.uk </a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and my blog now resides there too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All updates and events and book news can be found on my website from now on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sam x</span></span></div>
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Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-32039653081883516922012-09-24T05:30:00.001-07:002012-09-24T05:32:45.012-07:00UNTIL YOU'RE MINE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;">I've had quite a few emails over the last few months asking when my new novel will be published. I'm really happy to report that UNTIL YOU'RE MINE will be out in the UK in June 2013! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'm very pleased indeed to be working with the fab team at Century and I'm in the thick of some edits right now so we can have some proofs before Christmas. Early summer next year might seem a while to wait, but in the publishing world, I know only too well how time flies. One minute you're writing the first draft and the next your book's on the shelves. But a lot of work goes on behind the scenes during that time and, as I type, there are five designers beavering away on my new cover. Can't wait to see that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">And the other good news is that my novel is being published in the USA by Crown and will also be available in lots of other places from Brazil to Europe to Australia! Meantime, here's a little blurb...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Life is pretty much perfect for mother-to-be Claudia and her husband James. Perfect, that is, until their new nanny Zoe moves into the top floor of their Georgian home. She comes highly recommended but when James's job takes him away and out of contact, Claudia starts to get nervous. What is it about the nanny that unsettles her so?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Meanwhile, a series of vicious attacks on pregnant women is all over the news. Married detectives Lorraine Fisher and Sam Scott have never seen anything like it. And when their teenage daughter suddenly decides to leave home and get married, keeping home and work separate becomes impossible. They soon realise that the killer will stop at nothing to get a baby of their own and it becomes a race against time to prevent another murder.</i></span><br />
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Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-29907015101794684402012-07-31T06:30:00.012-07:002012-07-31T07:38:26.724-07:00A Little Random News...<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">J</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">ust a very quick update to say that an exciting new-look blog and website are flickering on the horizon and in techie development as I type. If nothing else, it will all be a lot easier for me to update regularly!<br /><br />And following on from my post last summer when SOMEONE ELSE'S SON was nominated for the <a href="http://www2.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/leisure_and_libraries/libraries/big_red_read.aspx">Redbridge Libraries 'Big Red Read 2011' Crime Fiction Awards</a>, I had absolutely no idea until recently that I actually came second! I'm very chuffed and thoroughly believe in delaying my gratification - even if it was for nearly a year! It's extremely good to know that enough readers voted for me to fight off some extremely fierce competition. Though not quite enough to pip Erin Kelly and The Poison Tree at the post, who came in first. But it was my fave novel of last year and the perfect book by which to be beaten, so I'm not complaining.<br /><br />Meanwhile, here are a few lovely foreign covers to show off and add to my sidebar collection...<br /><br />Blood Ties in Norway...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBJCww1Used-aMFN4RRmXY3W5kdVv3c4_sXLlc9TQUevYW4JNRCBZ27rG77UT8FwRQWQ2GDT-Z2yQp6XaXy9Hi1UAf3buP8S5kHEKJsdxddGBShaP1CSgg5PIRJA4FJIMYzrusZ2FdJbV/s1600/Blood+Ties+Norway.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBJCww1Used-aMFN4RRmXY3W5kdVv3c4_sXLlc9TQUevYW4JNRCBZ27rG77UT8FwRQWQ2GDT-Z2yQp6XaXy9Hi1UAf3buP8S5kHEKJsdxddGBShaP1CSgg5PIRJA4FJIMYzrusZ2FdJbV/s320/Blood+Ties+Norway.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5771333433035822402" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Someone Else's Son in Germany...<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDHJSePpr2q7h_K6r3OjOgvj6jmw1tPKUG6Wx9zbdrU31-R7dgw8-QrstX0qw9Enxt3Myzqxd6iRuhju1xjWoSPWM46gQD88e8MFAPeQIQ8oqgjH2z-sskbScBoTAaP-wdzMykejw6FSH/s1600/SES+Germany2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDHJSePpr2q7h_K6r3OjOgvj6jmw1tPKUG6Wx9zbdrU31-R7dgw8-QrstX0qw9Enxt3Myzqxd6iRuhju1xjWoSPWM46gQD88e8MFAPeQIQ8oqgjH2z-sskbScBoTAaP-wdzMykejw6FSH/s320/SES+Germany2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5771334638781905890" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><br />and Blood Ties in France...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWa6ukCaDgpIEY12BvkWnQHdAnFfLU5-0-7DBGVtRSJkiDWHLhF2Lp2-dVK_eUtvcCYhWUKelNgFtXBiUDqYchyphenhyphen2EB3dc3RJhrmv-2phrodEGdGmVLQB-q_YvhQCHC4syi575V9FXacOir/s1600/BT+France.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWa6ukCaDgpIEY12BvkWnQHdAnFfLU5-0-7DBGVtRSJkiDWHLhF2Lp2-dVK_eUtvcCYhWUKelNgFtXBiUDqYchyphenhyphen2EB3dc3RJhrmv-2phrodEGdGmVLQB-q_YvhQCHC4syi575V9FXacOir/s320/BT+France.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5771333295400064002" border="0" /></a></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-86037777458892912842011-11-02T05:46:00.000-07:002011-11-07T04:56:37.798-08:00N is for NaNoWriMo<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Considering all the <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en">NaNoWriMo</a> excitement around at the moment, I just had to make it N in my A-Z. November is a month of furious novel writing, a creativity-filled four weeks with thousands of writers around the world bent over their keyboards hammering out a little over sixteen hundred words a day. I'm not actually signed up for it but quite wish I was, given all the goings-on and banter at the moment.<br /><br />So what is NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month and began in 1999 in San Francisco. In brief, it's based around a website where writers register and commit to writing a 50,000 word novel in just a month. The site will help you plan your novel, keep track of your progress, you'll get loads of support during this brain-crunch time, there are forums covering all aspects of writing and publishing, and you have the chance to join regional meets during November. Sounds like fun. It also sounds like hard work.<br /><br />Or does it? I suppose that very much depends on how much time you have each day to devote to your task. If you're working a fifty hour week already, add these words on top and it's going to be a pretty hard slog both physically and mentally. The opposite is also true. If you have all day to give to NaNo then it's an easy prospect...surely?<br /><br />In my experience (and I'm writing my ninth novel now with seven so far published) no two days of writing output are the same. Writers don't have a measurable rating, sadly, and experience doesn't always mean the words will come on demand (though I don't believe in writers' block). Some of my best writing stints happen when I'm severely under pressure either from deadlines or other commitments. While it's luxurious to amble through a novel with no one breathing down your neck for a delivery date, this can also result in a bit of procrastinating and the self-imposed deadlines get kicked back and back on the calendar until you wished you hadn't set one in the first place.<br /><br />If you're a newbie writer, then leaping into <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en">NaNoWriMo</a> will probably feel a bit like running a half-marathon without having trained. In fact, I've always likened writing to exercise. Writing's a bit of a muscle in my book (haha) and needs to be exercised regularly. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. <span style="font-style: italic;">Really!</span> And I don't mean that the ideas, the language, the skill will necessarily become easier - I mean the actual discipline of sitting down and writing solidly for two, three four, ten hours at a time will become second nature the more you do it.<br /><br />For the more experienced or published writer, NaNo might seem like just another day at the coal-face. Words come, hopefully the right ones, and the book progresses. But in both cases, the added bonus of fellow participant motivation (if she/he can do it, then so can I), the brilliant community where you can post about your head-bashing word count of fifty or boast about the five thousand you knocked-off before breakfast, shouldn't be underestimated. Writing is a lonely business. Support is vital. And then the sense of achievement at the end when you type the fifty thousandth word and write, well, The End, will be immense. Though remember, most published novels are usually between eighty to a hundred and twenty thousand words, so there's a little way to go once you've 'got down the bones.'<br /><br />But that's the whole point of the novel writing month, so say its fans (and I am one!). Get it down, bash/churn/hammer it out however it comes, do not go back and revise, do not stop and do not give up. I completely agree. I've never written a novel that way <span style="font-style: italic;">exactly</span> but I can certainly relate to the process. When I'm writing, I like to write about two thousand words a day. I will cheat a little and edit the previous day's work the next morning but not very much. The big edits come later.<br /><br />So, <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en">NaNoWriMo</a> - it's fast, it's furious, it's fun and gives a huge sense of achievement to have completed such a large body of work at the end of the month. I'm sure the website will have lots of advice about editing your novel once it's written. My suggestion would be to forget about it for about a month or so then re-read it, say, in the New Year. Do not cringe in horror, do not delete or burn. Do remember how many hours of work you put into your novel and do believe that it can be added to, edited, polished and improved by applying a good dose of your November discipline. This is normal. All writers go through it.<br /><br />And if publication is your aim, you're going to need an agent. Being absolutely certain of your work, knowing it's the very best it can be, is essential. If another month of polishing is what it needs then do it - the agents aren't going anywhere. I can't stress this enough. Agents aren't looking for a way to reject you - they're really <span style="font-style: italic;">hoping</span> your work will be stunning. But a rushed manuscript isn't going to do you any favours. A few typos can certainly be forgiven but a novel without a compelling story, believable characters and brilliant ending can't.<br /><br />There have been a number of NaNoWriMo successes. <a href="http://www.juliacrouch.co.uk/">Julia Crouch</a> and <a href="http://www.elizabeth-haynes.com/">Elizabeth Haynes</a> (their books are fab - I've read them both) spring to mind and both bagged publishing deals from spending thirty days one November writing seventeen hundred words a day. Of course, there was a lot of work subsequently but it certainly got them off to a flying start!<br /><br />So if you want to write a novel and fast but haven't signed up, don't despair. There are still twenty-eight days left in November. That's only 1785 words a day compared to the original of 1666. Happy <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/en">NaNoWriMo</a> to all participants and good luck!<br /><br />Sam x<br /><br /><br /></span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-24789818349925758902011-08-30T05:44:00.000-07:002011-08-30T06:41:42.228-07:00Shortlisted for The Big Red Read 2011!<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">So the holiday season is pretty much over and autumn seems to have set in rather early in Warwickshire. I even lit the fire over the weekend as I seemed to be doing a weird shaking thing. Shivering, I've heard it's called. A post-Crete adjustment, I suppose, and I don't really mind. I like log fires and I like autumn. I seem to produce my best writing during this season so bring it on!
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<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Meantime, my novel SOMEONE ELSE'S SON has been shortlisted for </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/leisure_and_libraries/libraries/big_red_read.aspx">The Big Red Read 2011</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and I'd be mighty chuffed if anyone fancies taking a quick trip to the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/leisure_and_libraries/libraries/big_red_read.aspx">website</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> to vote, especially if it's for my book! All you need to do is send an email to bigredreadvoting@visionrcl.org.uk and say which book and author you're voting for. I'm really pleased to have been shortlisted in such good company!
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<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">I was messing about in Crete trying to be a bit arty with my camera and thought I'd post a couple of my favourite pics (click to enlarge). The first one had me staring thoughtfully. Taken rather lazily from my towel on the only bad weather day we had all fortnight, it screamed New Novel Cover at me and youngest She-Devil was rather pleased to have been of assistance. Rather moody and dramatic, it could so easily be the Cornish beach in the novel rather than a beach in the Med.</span></span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCowdJpMzfOI-EM6ZQMeJhu_HeSIGpQq3jIrEd21wTlrNF1wedYGrYn4obvEp8j0Fm8TJTF8aLBWTj7ax4HdV5kLuI476f4tvwcvqB2i9KYEQxdqOQ6feGO5-JPE5riwrsXv3aZVNiAfC/s1600/Lucy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCowdJpMzfOI-EM6ZQMeJhu_HeSIGpQq3jIrEd21wTlrNF1wedYGrYn4obvEp8j0Fm8TJTF8aLBWTj7ax4HdV5kLuI476f4tvwcvqB2i9KYEQxdqOQ6feGO5-JPE5riwrsXv3aZVNiAfC/s320/Lucy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646641445916278722" border="0" /></a>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">There were lots of cats draped around the place and they seemed to love nothing more than a nice snuggle in a rubbish dump (not that I went sightseeing around bins). </span></span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYcccvnsPj07HTuqtOwKk3GPxCihcQoNPVppUyZ6J9Nn_XkK_DJeTl17k2clx2dQ4a8cFJXXtprlB3MduMUDt8BEupZ0lHY8t0OybVUldNud8hIvRXIDfk40FJf-aCzJY2vDk2nEqi4jZ/s1600/cat+photo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYcccvnsPj07HTuqtOwKk3GPxCihcQoNPVppUyZ6J9Nn_XkK_DJeTl17k2clx2dQ4a8cFJXXtprlB3MduMUDt8BEupZ0lHY8t0OybVUldNud8hIvRXIDfk40FJf-aCzJY2vDk2nEqi4jZ/s320/cat+photo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646636957885718818" border="0" /></a>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Yes, the sky was always this blue...wasn't sure what the white stuff in the sky was when we came home.</span></span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXKVKXziHlLAjSKK6OosOFYHr-vekZVM6KY0IGQ-8px__2n9z-SY6gxatBr9Vb55t3pypntKb9oOhvgeUlgvHVF8XUW7TqbCZP9HIu178Hys_J-XVpnFQ7qM-mgxFGkkxzBp9c86PMeMc/s1600/CIMG3310.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXKVKXziHlLAjSKK6OosOFYHr-vekZVM6KY0IGQ-8px__2n9z-SY6gxatBr9Vb55t3pypntKb9oOhvgeUlgvHVF8XUW7TqbCZP9HIu178Hys_J-XVpnFQ7qM-mgxFGkkxzBp9c86PMeMc/s320/CIMG3310.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646636760154072018" border="0" /></a>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Someone's house in the old town of Rethymnon.</span></span>
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<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVqmU3I3PgFHQWh76ylsEN_oLdkIr3dYbatnFZwLql3spXg4XnTKu1SEhSHxH_9rcWk9dtMXpYPAi9X8QXzNkg4YZMhIryvtg1xjJPIu49YORL2GilR64bFBdD1aepYWiU8gAjUEnjKD5/s1600/CIMG3267.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVqmU3I3PgFHQWh76ylsEN_oLdkIr3dYbatnFZwLql3spXg4XnTKu1SEhSHxH_9rcWk9dtMXpYPAi9X8QXzNkg4YZMhIryvtg1xjJPIu49YORL2GilR64bFBdD1aepYWiU8gAjUEnjKD5/s320/CIMG3267.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646635383575845842" border="0" /></a>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">A little caff in Rethymnon. Not Costa.</span></span>
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<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwTs88LDo2D1qPmIC7o2ynWguivkYDE30yO8ZrlAPiWK4Oh1ReecqtofHs4cdXtaZQ1wTZ-28PaTFijVMJmGg8CrThuXSO-j-vE4zFvrzcXFayCdC7qjhzZUTFPgY-jLNYUniOruAphdC/s1600/CIMG3260.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwTs88LDo2D1qPmIC7o2ynWguivkYDE30yO8ZrlAPiWK4Oh1ReecqtofHs4cdXtaZQ1wTZ-28PaTFijVMJmGg8CrThuXSO-j-vE4zFvrzcXFayCdC7qjhzZUTFPgY-jLNYUniOruAphdC/s320/CIMG3260.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646635235531268130" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SzBwrgQopBxm7ZceKfq-dB6a37H-rPYXZYMGOvmE4N5SExhPHQ2ladJuekY0gVUKEMraT-a_xK7ZXD8kHsv6bmraS1kGeIq05MsyMipBhnJ3W7K-mquc7ax-XsFnUj-dAp9Sfyl-rgo0/s1600/CIMG3260.JPG">
<br /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;">It'll be Christmas before you know it.</span>
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Sam x</span></span>
<br />Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-9475704135025466132011-07-20T04:45:00.001-07:002011-07-20T04:51:18.093-07:00TELL TALE goes to Norway<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's my Norwegian cover for TELL TALE...absolutely beautiful! Thank-you so much to everyone at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cappelendamm.no/main/katalog.aspx">Cappelen Damm</a><span style="font-family: arial;">!</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8n8kaN3KsRqR7zXCPOvDL-BvQdjNPfAKhF57FDcwB1Mmx6GjM9Odk-qMShyphenhyphenOvIFZ6WHQQVaib-fF7YChOELQ2O4fy-I0poL45aQDNtOq5-3jqtMiSDCvJfRVc-g8aYIRm2VNL0bYgB4j/s1600/Norway+Tell+Tale.jpg"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZaqmg5mEWwo-PVr9S7T6Dr02AhMuFC1ILQ6QagSxR_3xvdu5rWghqXkaxa-flVoO-ClJgx5lR1tu_adwMjJu-ICArNz7hT2cbeEvv9fMTu597dLX8mJJZsvcw2t30c2eN3sVl3OEhMf3/s1600/Norway+Tell+Tale.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZaqmg5mEWwo-PVr9S7T6Dr02AhMuFC1ILQ6QagSxR_3xvdu5rWghqXkaxa-flVoO-ClJgx5lR1tu_adwMjJu-ICArNz7hT2cbeEvv9fMTu597dLX8mJJZsvcw2t30c2eN3sVl3OEhMf3/s320/Norway+Tell+Tale.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631400349633274530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In other news, I'll be mooching around at Harrogate this weekend at the Crime Festival so hope to bump into some tweeps! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Sam x</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-59279841015906548902011-06-15T05:29:00.000-07:002011-06-15T07:28:32.866-07:00M is for Marketing<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">This is a huge topic and not one I'm going to scratch the surface of in a quick-fire, catch-up post on my slightly neglected A-Z of (my experiences) in publishing. In fact, what I know about the subject has been largely gathered from my own books being published. So these are just some of my thoughts/experiences regarding marketing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Obviously, marketing a book costs. And from what I gather, to do it properly costs a lot. These days, there are many ways to market a book--newspaper adverts, tube posters and other poster campaigns (taxis, buses, mainline stations etc), television adverts, in-store promotions such as the lovely 'front table' or the 3 for 2, other paid-for promotions...maybe competitions, perhaps alongside another 'compatible' product (think books and chocolate!). This is just scratching the surface and, as an author, it's completely out of my hands. I'm not the one with the budget (or not), the publisher is. And they decide how best to implement a marketing campaign for their titles. I've been much more involved with the publicity side of things (think marketing but for free!) as that's where an author can really help get things rolling at a book's launch and beyond. But that's another post.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />I've been very lucky. My first novel BLOOD TIES was published within a fanfare of tube posters and in-store promotions. It's very hard to have a novel picked up by a supermarket or chain bookshop for their precious shelf space, but my first was stacked high in all three big supermarkets in their chart promotions, as well as appearing on the front tables in Waterstone's, WH Smith and poor old Borders. I remember accosting a woman in Asda. She was holding a copy of my novel and another book, weighing up which one to buy. 'Pick that one,' I suggested. 'Have you read it?' she asked, surprised I'd even shown an interest. 'I </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family:arial;" >wrote</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> it,' I told her. I don't think she believed me.<br /><br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">I went on a whirlwind tour of the underground with my publicist at the time. She proudly showed me some of the many posters plastered all over subterranean London (and a good number of mainline stations nationwide, too). I was hot from dashing around but immensely proud to see my book, my name, decorating tube stations. I have one of the posters. It's still rolled up in its container as I don't have a wall big enough to put it on!<br /><br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XwREOGgbiGO1kAgUehfJGgQwzaFVXuENUwnCOvyQnIzdbfCr6DHUXZDrgBITe3jKn8-scBj8tC4QUtYjdZ-G_A-vt5DabUJDAqap5PMHC0EFZlB2wTLxRQHownFLy99cFgkblJmzB2d_/s1600/SP_A0014.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XwREOGgbiGO1kAgUehfJGgQwzaFVXuENUwnCOvyQnIzdbfCr6DHUXZDrgBITe3jKn8-scBj8tC4QUtYjdZ-G_A-vt5DabUJDAqap5PMHC0EFZlB2wTLxRQHownFLy99cFgkblJmzB2d_/s320/SP_A0014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618449358970577170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The marketing campaign, along with lots of lovely publicity, really helped spread the word about BLOOD TIES. The book sold a lot of copies and it makes me wonder: Would this have happened without the marketing spend? Would publicity have been enough? Would 'word of mouth' have achieved the same figures?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Like I said, it's a huge subject and I'm not even a tiny bit of an expert on it - just a speculator, a consumer, a person whose books have been marketed. As a consumer, marketing works on me to a certain extent. If I see a poster or an advert for a new book and I like the sound of it - either by a favourite author or a new one - I'll certainly make a mental note to look it up online later. Then, based on the blurb, a quick flip through, perhaps online reviews, I'll decide whether or not to buy. So, for me, in that respect, marketing works. It draws my attention to books I perhaps wouldn't get to hear about. Or would I?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">These days, most people (not all, I realise) have internet access and many will do as I do and check out books online, even if that's not where they end up buying. And of course with the rising popularity of Kindle and other e-readers, you're more likely than ever to research online. I suppose the perfect marketing food chain goes like this: Reader spots advert for book, reader comes across a piece in a magazine written by the same author featured in the advert, reader looks at author website and reads an excerpt of the book, reader buys book from local independent bookshop (as well as a Kindle edition or similar) and then reader, publisher and author are happy. All for an average price of around £4.50.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I have no breakdown of the cost of producing a book and neither do I know the average spend (or the smallest and the greatest) for a marketing drive. I'm convinced that for certain titles, the figure would be immense. We're all used to seeing huge advertising campaigns for the giant names but surely it's a circle that will only continue to grow once the wheels of paid-for promotions have begun to turn. What would happen to these authors if they didn't have marketing? I doubt Dan Brown would suddenly stop selling if his books weren't on the sides of buses or that John Grisham's loyal readers would quit waiting for his latest title if there were no posters. What would happen if unknown and debut novelists had a massive marketing spend instead? Would it be wasted? Would it be the start of great things for authors who wouldn't otherwise have been heard of? Is it fair that the book-buying public only get presented with a small number of books as we go about our daily business, the occasional advert for a new novel catching our eye?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I don't know the answer to these questions. The publishers hold the key to successful advertising. They have marketing departments filled with people who know their stuff. Authors trust them and keep writing books. It's the readers, the great book-buying public, who hold the key really, I suppose. We're the ones who respond to the advertising, we're the suggestible ones who maybe unconsciously react to what our brains have soaked up. So perhaps next time I'm in a bookshop I'll walk on past the front tables and the cardboard promotion stands and do eeny-meeny on some authors I haven't read before. Not that I don't anyway and I'll no doubt grab an armful of 3 for 2s on the way out.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">BLOOD TIES had a television advert in Germany. The first cover for this title in Germany had the heads of two rather freaky porcelain dolls on the front. I had no idea what the advert said (apart from the 'Krimis und Thriller' bit). The dolls' eyes popped open at the end and everything. Three books down the line in Germany and 'Das Verbotene Zimmer' (TELL TALE) is currently hanging around number 10 on the Amazon.de crime and thriller list. Clearly dolls with popping eyes work well over there!</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-33277410008314458012011-03-30T03:40:00.000-07:002011-03-30T04:18:06.139-07:00WordFest Crawley<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Just a quick plug for </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://wordfestcrawley.org/">WordFest</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> beginning this weekend in Crawley. A whole week of fab literary events is planned, including everything from an illustrative lettering workshop to an open mic night to author panel events...which is where I come in. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">On Saturday 2nd April, I'll be doing a 'Meet the Crime Writers' panel discussion with fellow Headline author </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://juliacrouch.co.uk/">Julia Crouch</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> as well as Peter Lovesey and Andrew Martin. We'll be talking about <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3ASam+Hayes&keywords=Sam+Hayes&ie=UTF8&qid=1301483803&sr=8-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B0034PPMUG">our books</a> - we're all quite different in terms of what we write - the writing process and how we ramp up the tension. Of course, it wouldn't be a panel event without lots of questions from the audience, so come along and give us a good grilling!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The event is being held in the Food Court at County Mall, Crawley and begins at 6.30pm. Tickets are £3 each and you can buy our books there too - and get them signed, of course! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Hope to see you there!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Sam x</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-61179754191935925462011-03-02T03:20:00.000-08:002011-03-02T03:26:06.617-08:00World Book Night in Crawley<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Live in or around Crawley? Then why not pop along to Waterstone's and get me to sign a book (preferably one that I wrote, although I'm happy to sign anything really). I'll be there from 4PM with copies of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/075534989X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299064030&sr=8-1">SOMEONE ELSE'S SON</a> and fellow Headline author Julia Crouch.<br /><br />Here's a link to <a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&pq=crawley+map&xhr=t&q=queens+square+crawley&cp=11&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Queens+Square,+Crawley,+West+Sussex+RH10&gl=uk&ei=hhFuTYyZDsLAhAew6p0z&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBoQ8gEwAA">County Mall </a>where you'll find Waterstone's at <span dir="ltr" class="pp-headline-item pp-headline-address"><span>83-84 County Mall, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1FD Telephone<span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="gigpress-info-item" style="font-family:arial;">01293 533471.<br /><br />Then...it's off to Crawley Library for an event for <a href="http://www.worldbooknight.org/">World Book Night</a>. It starts at 6.30PM and costs a mere £3 which includes a free book (Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell or </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Shadow Magic, a young adult book by John Lenahan) so you can't say fairer than that. Plus I'll be reading from my latest novel along with several other authors.<br /><br />Crawley Library is on Southgate Avenue, Crawley - close to County Mall (exit via Debenhams). The postcode for SatNavs is RH10 6HG. Contact the Box Office on </span></span><span class="gigpress-info-item"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">01293 651751.<br /><br />If you think about it, you can come to the signing in Waterstone's, grab an early supper (or carry on shopping) then come on over for a glass of vino and some quality fiction. Sorted!<br /><br />See you there!<br />Sam x<br /></span></span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-11672349125951154032011-02-10T05:41:00.000-08:002011-02-10T06:14:40.796-08:00Another one from Russia with love...<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2ggWh4_k8E_mDfbc1RyJbv0t8Wvp3hAsKpddG3ijek0kN-BVoWK2oJPvJZ50DNeMclNM0BOMkdhN66siLJbL27_891CTU1v-QzmdywKCq4yJgQybQP-6jgJXWKf2USHYsaugFcHwf02Y/s1600/Tell+Tale+Russia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 153px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2ggWh4_k8E_mDfbc1RyJbv0t8Wvp3hAsKpddG3ijek0kN-BVoWK2oJPvJZ50DNeMclNM0BOMkdhN66siLJbL27_891CTU1v-QzmdywKCq4yJgQybQP-6jgJXWKf2USHYsaugFcHwf02Y/s320/Tell+Tale+Russia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572059512331456034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Russian cover of TELL TALE - 'THE INFORMER'</span></span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">This time it's Big Bird and a little ballet dancer but oh how I love it, despite it being rather sinister-looking! It's the cover of Tell Tale and my Russian contact (aka my Dad's wife - see my piece in the Sunday Times Style magazine this week for more on that story!) informs me that it translates as, well, The Informer. Quite fitting. I seriously would love all my Russian covers as big framed pictures in my house. Of course, put these images on my books in the UK and my readers would stand in the bookshops scratching their heads wondering what on earth I'd written about. If you take a flick down the side of my blog you can see how the different countries have their very unique ideas for covers, with the German edition of Tell Tale (The Forbidden Room) looking quite different to the previous two.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />And soon I'll be adding Dutch and Norwegian covers with the ink still wet on contracts for more titles sold in these countries.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />I'm now a paid-up official member of the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.thecwa.co.uk/index.php">Crime Writers' Association</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> (why didn't I join before, I'm asking myself?) and I'm very excited about going along to my first get-together and meeting other members. I hear that they like the bar. I'm not sure they mean the legal one.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Meantime, I'm nearly done ploughing through an office stuffed full of paperwork and accounts - it suffers for my art, you see (well that's my excuse) and I will be starting work on my new novel next week. I've been tinkering and planning and plotting for several weeks now and I'm ready to begin in earnest. I'm not keen on the little gaps between books but alas they are necessary to sort the mess that grows while I'm immersed in writing. I think new curtains and a lick of paint might well be in order too. I may even post a pic of the 'writer's workspace' if it turns out well. I'm always intrigued to see other writer's places of creation.<br /><br />Sam x</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-42715972319360970502011-01-28T07:21:00.000-08:002011-01-28T07:31:15.267-08:00Nice Review from Downunder<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">A little trumpet-blowing never hurt anyone on a Friday afternoon. I've just been sent a nice review from Australian Women's Weekly so thought I'd share in the hope it will tempt you to dash out and buy my new book, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/075534989X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296228445&sr=8-1">SOMEONE ELSE'S SON</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. Have a great weekend all!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Sam x</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Click on image to enlarge</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHYc4WlVnGVKKquOW7NaChmUTFSF6vCWAuxxNXIJtrHS-oeMVVF81RHHSHTEtyQm2CdaBl9e-A_xXibWAPoeyj0kirMNUoKcragO5cM37jJcKFdSAvLXSIz4r7SavkKfJq0J9xUurBR0M/s1600/Australian+Women%2527s+Weekly+Jan+2011.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHYc4WlVnGVKKquOW7NaChmUTFSF6vCWAuxxNXIJtrHS-oeMVVF81RHHSHTEtyQm2CdaBl9e-A_xXibWAPoeyj0kirMNUoKcragO5cM37jJcKFdSAvLXSIz4r7SavkKfJq0J9xUurBR0M/s320/Australian+Women%2527s+Weekly+Jan+2011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567259091293244994" border="0" /></a>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-91827363894399002272011-01-25T03:04:00.001-08:002011-01-25T04:00:38.735-08:00A bit of book stalking<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">So She-Devil and I did a little bit of book stalking at the weekend. Hey, tell me an author who doesn't? Or vanity-google (or lay in bed really late - ahem). Here are a couple of pics. And did you see my fab book trailer yet? Go to my </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.samhayes.co.uk/">website</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> to take a look. There's a link on the main page. Not following me on </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.facebook.com/sam.hayes.author">Facebook</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> or </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/samhayes">Twitter</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> (@samhayes) yet? Please do! Oh, and you can buy my book online </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/075534989X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295954303&sr=8-1">here</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsC93h1VaBP5jNQe8ezoE89XiT3osd1vpE2L6KEgkLPkIz-Y4us3orAbZquai7a3W_-Nm3v9_BVEBoWGr2jbCfQ5ng_TeyNl9m6SkxQSsMDJ4CMAfULaJ2JD1fck8BVbEf8ZePHKYf4Cs/s1600/IMG_0373.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsC93h1VaBP5jNQe8ezoE89XiT3osd1vpE2L6KEgkLPkIz-Y4us3orAbZquai7a3W_-Nm3v9_BVEBoWGr2jbCfQ5ng_TeyNl9m6SkxQSsMDJ4CMAfULaJ2JD1fck8BVbEf8ZePHKYf4Cs/s320/IMG_0373.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566080010448749634" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" >In good company WH Smith</span></span><br /><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Z8t0V-zNQSQ1_XP5yeOuTjJWtRkHf9PcEs_lXsDO1byvUJOO-kijPGo28M3FuVJuWg8zxmGk7yGrqoJx1TaCUg2TrnEpCrH_AeC6k2lrvtn5CwxFEdebOqm06jO_02R0A5xgqmT40cqG/s1600/IMG_0368.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Z8t0V-zNQSQ1_XP5yeOuTjJWtRkHf9PcEs_lXsDO1byvUJOO-kijPGo28M3FuVJuWg8zxmGk7yGrqoJx1TaCUg2TrnEpCrH_AeC6k2lrvtn5CwxFEdebOqm06jO_02R0A5xgqmT40cqG/s320/IMG_0368.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566079606184543010" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Youngest She-Devil doing a bit of promotion work</span></span><br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnjft640Dz41Xx-ZGBE5OBOPuzWLdFV0kqkBx7ZENJQXNczUBOLlh6IeFCLSyIZwkE0bY-X_CQtDE3M0WJ9x7hJRZBFvZfBj4UU8flDuGkh6MzzSzOKbJIWoODf_9mV_hMWdEypr76cc4/s1600/IMG_0366.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnjft640Dz41Xx-ZGBE5OBOPuzWLdFV0kqkBx7ZENJQXNczUBOLlh6IeFCLSyIZwkE0bY-X_CQtDE3M0WJ9x7hJRZBFvZfBj4UU8flDuGkh6MzzSzOKbJIWoODf_9mV_hMWdEypr76cc4/s320/IMG_0366.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566079266825590578" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It might <span style="font-style: italic;">look</span> as if I did an impromptu, in-store reading...<br /><br /><br /></span></div>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-41892486581671364092011-01-20T04:22:00.000-08:002011-01-25T03:59:36.281-08:00SOMEONE ELSE'S SON Out Now In Paperback!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8vxHuRI1NSYJW562woaW2x9rgXgzPnYTpJSGROB3rUrqYwRmFmskBtrLmrsLkJBB4YLZOzV8NDZocbwDEbgnDEZqBOjCCNF5nCdSJdv931iz3YCzsp9_MFYoFfCPTG4O3cLJutWzgc6O/s1600/SES+PB.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw8vxHuRI1NSYJW562woaW2x9rgXgzPnYTpJSGROB3rUrqYwRmFmskBtrLmrsLkJBB4YLZOzV8NDZocbwDEbgnDEZqBOjCCNF5nCdSJdv931iz3YCzsp9_MFYoFfCPTG4O3cLJutWzgc6O/s320/SES+PB.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564312120702394514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So it's been that kind of day again...a paperback publication kind of a day - yay! <a href="http://www.samhayes.co.uk/">SOMEONE ELSE'S SON</a> is released into the wild. You can buy it at WH Smith in the chart section of their shops and of course from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/075534989X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295541749&sr=8-1">Amazon</a>...or, dare I say it, you can find it in your local library. Assuming you can still find your <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/overdue-the-fight-to-save-our-libraries-begins-2185826.html">local library</a>.<br /><br />The theme of this book was clear from the outset. It's about being different, about not fitting in, about being true to yourself and your beliefs. The main characters, from famous daytime TV presenter Carrie Kent to blind mathematician Brody to the two teenagers and their love-hate affair, all suffer for their differences, their quirks, their circumstances.<br /><br />The book opens with a tragic event. A teenager is stabbed in his school grounds. Knife crime is something we read about almost daily in the news and every time it makes me shudder. I'm a mother of three (two of them teens) and, not long after I began writing this book, I was shocked to find my home town silenced from fear as yellow police crime tape cordoned off a section of our town centre one Sunday morning. A young man had been stabbed to death only a short distance from our home. Yet we all think <span style="font-style: italic;">This will never happen to me...</span><br /><br />Carrie Kent believes just that and is thankful on a daily basis that she's nothing like the no-hopers she interviews on her Jeremy-Kyle-meets-Crimewatch TV show. But then she gets the call every mother dreads--her son has been stabbed at school--and she's suddenly plunged into a nightmare she'd always believed happened to other people. The only witness is a girl too terrified about consequences to speak out. Determined to find answers, Carrie enters an unknown world of fear and violence and gradually discovers things about the son she clearly knew little about. The novel asks: <span style="font-style: italic;">Do we really ever know our children?</span><br /><br />Even after four books, it's still a thrill to know that a book I wrote is Out There, being bought, being read, being reviewed, being talked about. Be sure to let me know what you think as there's nothing better for an author than the sound of the inbox pinging with some nice (hopefully!) words. Enjoy! (Although it's quite sad in places so have a box of tissues close.)<br /><br />Meantime, I've finished next novel. Haha to 'finished' but it now lies in the hands of Lovely Agent and I will await comments without destroying my non-existent nails. You hear about authors saying 'This book wrote itself' - well, of course it didn't - *I* wrote it, but it seemed to have a momentum all its own. I began it during the second week of Septemeber last year and finished the first draft at the end of November. At a hundred and twenty thousand words, that's physically no mean feat, but it's true that the story flowed faster than my fingers could manage. I even have high hopes that no one will chew the end of their pencil over the title on this one. Not saying owt yet but news to follow soon.<br /><br />I have a number of events coming up this year and a couple of panels with some other lovely writers (does that mean I'm lovely too - oops!). I'm planning on attending <a href="http://www.harrogate-festival.org.uk/crime/">Harrogate Crime Festival</a> in the summer and also <a href="http://www.crimefest.com/">Crimefest</a> in the middle of May. I had the pleasure reading a fellow Headline author's debut novel recently and I'll be posting a review of CUCKOO here soon. But why not take a look at the author <a href="http://juliacrouch.co.uk/">Julia Crouch</a>'s site and blog to find out how she got published. <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo</a> was involved. We'll be doing a panel event together soon along with author Barbara Nadel. Details to follow soon.<br /><br />Happy reading!<br /><br />Sam xSam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-20936708796458048492010-10-14T03:52:00.001-07:002010-10-14T04:15:43.220-07:00Happy Publication Day to me!<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Yay...the hardback of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/0755349873/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287054912&sr=1-1">SOMEONE ELSE'S SON</a> is published today. And to celebrate (apart from chocolate with my coffee...heavens, I know how to live it up) here's a link to my fabulous new </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.suremedia.com/sam/someone.html">book trailer</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Do let me know what you think! It will be on my website very soon and on Amazon etc. It's weird but very cool to see images that literally seem to have come from my head when I was writing this book suddenly translated into a video clip. And talking of book trailers, it's still not too late to vote for your fave from the four finalists over on the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.foyles.co.uk/bookvideoawards2010.asp">Foyle's Book Video Awards</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> site...</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >cough ....vote S J Bolton...cough...</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />A nice review from the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/leisure/8442974.Someone_Else___s_Son_by_Sam_Hayes__Hodder___19_99_/">Northern Echo</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> here and a reminder of the competition over at the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/Competition.html">Euro Crime</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> site to win a hardback copy of my new book. Another competition at the wonderful </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/7326-sam-hayes-someone-elses-son/page__pid__229002#entry229002">Book Club Forum</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> site but hurry as this one ends today! Michelle from BCF has also written a review and you can read it </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://bcfreviews.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/someone-elses-son-by-sam-hayes/">here</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />There's also going to be a review in the Sun this Friday I believe and also in Bella and Stylist magazines as well as the Daily Mail at some point. And finally some other nice news to reveal...TELL TALE has sold to Norway!</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Sam x</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-70681701442137093762010-10-10T04:43:00.000-07:002010-10-10T05:07:15.703-07:00Foyles Book Trailer Awards<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Being the seat-of-the-pants gal that I am, I totally meant to blog about this before now. But totally didn't. Anyway, better late than never...so I insist that you go immediately to the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.foyles.co.uk/bookvideoawards2010.asp">Foyles website</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> and take a look at the amazing (and I do mean amazing!) book trailers that have made it into the final of the 2010 video awards.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">There are four finalists and each clip is of such a high standard, you'd think they were for a major Hollywood production. I've already voted for my favourite, Blood Harvest by S. J. Bolton. Sharon tells me </span></span>"A very talented young German student has produced a fabulous trailer for my latest book and it's got through the the final four of the Awards."</span><span style="font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:courier new;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"> A talented student indeed - just look at it! Seriously sinister. And being a CWA finalist for the Gold Dagger award makes this book doubly exciting.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Why am I so enthused by book trailers currently? Because I've been trying to 'direct' a trailer for my latest book. I tell you, it's easier to write the damn book than it is to chop it up into three second clips and come up with a few punchy words. Of course, with a budget of exactly zero pounds, it is proving...interesting. But thanks to the resourcefulness and talent of my techie other half, we very nearly have a minute and a half of gritty trailer to let loose very soon for this week's publication of SOMEONE ELSE'S SON.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Meantime, as I said, I insist you hop over to the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.foyles.co.uk/bookvideoawards2010.asp">National Book Video Awards voting page</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> before OCTOBER 15th (this coming Friday!), take a look at the clips, agree with me whole-heartedly about S.J. Bolton's being the best...and vote! It only takes a second and actually gets you very excited about reading the books. And for more information on Sharon and her thrillers, she has a fab </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.sjbolton.com/">website and blog here</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And talking of trailers...I'll soon be posting news of an exciting 'blog trail' where you can read excerpts from my </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/0755349873/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286712124&sr=8-1">new novel</a><span style="font-family:arial;">!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Sam x</span></span><br /></span></span></span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-83420200175720366462010-09-28T08:29:00.000-07:002010-09-28T08:43:07.315-07:00Library Events<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >Just a quick mention of two libraries that's I'll be visiting in October. On 20th October I'll be at <a href="http://www.dudley.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/libraries/find-a-library/dudley-library-">Dudley Library</a> between 10am and 12 noon talking about SOMEONE ELSE'S SON.<br /><br />Then on 21st October (evening) I'll be at <a href="http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/web/corporate/pages.nsf/links/F87FA2CA307673E780256A1B00510546">Rugby Library</a> with <a href="http://www.judithallnatt.co.uk/news.html">Judith Allnatt</a> discussing our work, including my new book. Our styles and subject matter are very different indeed so should make for a varied and interesting evening! Contact the library for details on 01788 533250.<br /></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-84881583215662954992010-09-24T07:03:00.000-07:002010-09-24T07:50:43.707-07:00TGIF<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">It's been a funny old week. One where lots has been done but has left me wondering if anything's actually been achieved. As for actual creative words, there have been some - mostly in the form of New Novel - and some in the form of a Christmas (yes Christmas!) short story. What I really need to get my head around (and dear agent, forgive me if you're reading this) is a synopsis. </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The synopsis is a strange thing. The dictionary says it's a brief summary of the main points of a written work. Absolutely correct, of course, but it's way more than that when you're trying to capture not only the main plotlines and how they all hang together, but also convey the tone, setting, suspense and feel of the novel. And really, no one likes to read a synopsis that's more than a couple of pages long. Lengthy descriptions of characters and scenery are a big no-no and the worst bit is, you have to </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >give away the ending</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. When you don't even know it. Hence synopsis-avoidance syndrome in my house this week.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />With the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.buchmesse.de/en/fbf/">Frankfurt Bookfair</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> (don't you love 'Buchmesse'?) drawing near, much talk in the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/129571-major-retailers-wait-and-see-over-hachette-agency-move.html">trade mags</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> is about ebooks and pricing and basically how it's all going to work. When ebooks were just a twinkle in the publisher's eye, no one really knew how it would pan out. Now it's panning, potentially quite nicely, authors just want it to be fair. For everyone. We all work hard. Everyone has a part to play. I have a Sony ereader and to be honest, I don't use it nearly as much as I should. Not because I prefer the feel of a book (although that's nice) but because I can't get the books I want for it at a reasonable price. But hark at me, the author, complaining about high prices! We all expect £4 supermarket paperbacks to be the norm since the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_Book_Agreement">NBA</a> did a runner. What do we expect with ebooks? The truth is, I don't think anyone really knows yet.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />I got rather excited yesterday when a delivery man called with the familiar boxes that I knew instantly contained my hardback author copies of SOMEONE ELSE'S SON.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span> I lugged them into the kitchen, snipped the tape and spent an indulgent few moments handling them very carefully. They smell and look gorgeous. And eldest She-Devil was delighted when she saw the dedication. This one's for her.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Talking of the hardback, as I type it's now reduced by £5 on </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0755349873/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0XRY1AXEZ0GKSZV0YC2S&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294">Amazon</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. A bit of a bargain for such a quality read so why not get ahead of yourselves and bag a few for Christmas pressies? Pre-ordering is easy and you'll receive your copies mid-October. Plus, if you email me your address and what you want me to say, I'll personalise and sign a book plate for you to include. A treat for you or a loved-one. (Sorry, I'm a serious sales slut at the moment.)</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />So the week's drawing to a close and I'm off to gather the harvest. She-Devil # 1 asked me to bring 'stuff' to school as a matter of urgency for Sunday's harvest festival. Here's me thinking giant home-grown marrows (of which there are none so it would be off to the market) and bunches of fresh carrots are a good idea. But no, they want tins and packets. Doesn't exactly conjure images of thankful farmers praying to the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://veggiebox.blogspot.com/">veg gods</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> but hey, it allows me to clear out the cupboard (all in date, of course) and dontate to the cause.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Have a good weekend, all, and I'll be back soon with dates of library visits and other booky stuff.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Sam x</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-25609494677197380492010-09-22T03:14:00.000-07:002010-09-22T05:27:18.204-07:00L is for Launch Day<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Following on with my (rather leisurely) A-Z of publishing and book-related posts, I thought it quite timely that L should be for Launch Day. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">My next novel, SOMEONE ELSE'S SON, will be released in hardback on 14th October and so launches (oh ok, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >champagne</span><span style="font-family:arial;">!) are on my mind. I'm thinking about celebrations...most likely a private room in a swanky London club, champagne cocktails for the couple of hundred gliterati that will have been clamouring for an invite for weeks, an emotional speech from me in my new designer dress thanking publishers, my agent, my mum, my kitten...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">OK, so the budget's not quite there but that doesn't mean to say I can't drink some nice champers on the 14th and feel all warm and gooey inside because people will finally be reading this book (I'm quite proud of it, you see). And I'm more of a jeans gal anyway, which set me thinking that an online launch party would be just the ticket. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Will I get the whole world raising a glass to their monitors on 14th October? I doubt it, but if I can gain some new readers, chat with some good friends, connect with writing clubs, book groups and forums, and reach as many book fans as possible, then I will be happy. So next month, expect daily tweets and blogs, exclusive excerpts, signed copies up for grabs, the odd competition or two, interviews and perhaps an 'author at home' video. I'll be lurking around book forums (the <a href="http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?app=portal">Book Club Forum</a> is a fab place!), hopefully coercing a few fellow authors into writing some guest blog posts, stalking literary types on Facebook and generally being a bit of a web-slut. Oh, and I have a couple of library events coming up in October too so will post details about those very soon.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Meantime, feel free to add me on </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.twitter.com/samhayes">Twitter</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> or </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.facebook.com/sam.hayes.author">Facebook</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and don't forget to pre-order your </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/0755349873/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1285157935&sr=8-4">hardback</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> or </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/075534989X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1285157935&sr=8-5">paperback</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> copy of SOMEONE ELSE'S SON!<br /><br />Sam x<br /></span><br /></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-27030164308585504822010-07-29T04:03:00.000-07:002010-07-29T04:50:41.655-07:00SOMEONE ELSE'S SON Cover<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5ACJEKD0KDHDjs2BPQ8lBtrVEjIAAfC2l_e4wdP94pEHpGTER9iiN8V8bFAktdv2ofrcQBNqAavTuayzMuWTq_eIU21PRmH8wdsN8Kuomo7d_F_TV1QChNtpVOuf-LK1_fYaJGPb_Noe/s1600/someone+elses+son+hb+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5ACJEKD0KDHDjs2BPQ8lBtrVEjIAAfC2l_e4wdP94pEHpGTER9iiN8V8bFAktdv2ofrcQBNqAavTuayzMuWTq_eIU21PRmH8wdsN8Kuomo7d_F_TV1QChNtpVOuf-LK1_fYaJGPb_Noe/s400/someone+elses+son+hb+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499289243689159138" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />I thought I'd share the amazing cover of my new novel <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Someone-Elses-Son-Sam-Hayes/dp/0755349873/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280404182&sr=1-2">SOMEONE ELSE'S SON</a>. Isn't it fab? Quite different from my other covers but totally screams out (in a very clever way) that it's an emotional thriller and something pretty disturbing has happened. It's published in the UK in hardback on the 14th October and will be released in Australia and New Zealand in December - odd to think of it as a summer read over there when we'll be rugged up with fireside reads here! The UK paperback edition will be in the shops from the 3rd February.<br /><br />Here's what the Amazon description says:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">A tense and powerful emotional thriller that asks: Do we ever really know our children?</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />There must have been some mistake... TV presenter Carrie Kent can’t believe the voice on the end of the phone. Surely it didn’t just say that her son – her beloved son Max – has been stabbed within his school gates? This sort of thing happens only to the guests on her daily morning chat show. Not to someone like her boy. But when Carrie arrives at the hospital and learns that Max is dead, she is thrown into a nightmare. No one will reveal what really happened and the only witness, a schoolgirl, is refusing to talk. Carrie must enter an unknown world of fear and violence if she wants to find the truth. But can she live with what she discovers?</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />I've been told by several early readers that it's...<span style="font-style: italic;">ahem</span>...my best book yet (no, not my mum!). I love all my books dearly - rather like my kids and, as an author, it's hard to choose between them - but I always strive to make my current book my best work. Sometimes it's hard and issues need to be resolved (technically known as ripping it up and starting again) and other times everything goes to plan and the book seems to sail from my head straight to the bookshop shelves - via a brilliant and dedicated team at Headline, of course. SOMEONE ELSE'S SON was a sailing moment and I really can't wait for it to hit the shelves. Be sure to tell everyone about it!<br /><br />You can pre-order either edition of my new novel over at <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sam-Hayes/e/B0034PPMUG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1">Amazon</a> (and why not order any of my other three thrillers while you're there!). Don't forget to let me know what you think when you've read it.<br /><br />For me, one of the highlights of being an author is actually getting out there and meeting my readers. I still kind of get a dizzy high from realising that yes, people buy, read and enjoy my novels and I'm excited to have several events coming up in the autumn to promote SOMEONE ELSE'S SON. I'll put up the details when everything's confirmed.<br /><br />Meantime, the summer holidays roll by in a blur of trips, piles of washing, ferrying kids and keeping up with my writing. I'm lucky to work from home and, while my kids are old enough to be pretty independent, I take my hat off to all the mums who juggle work, childcare and school holidays. It's not an easy feat.<br /><br />Sam x<br /></span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-38304142548551674892010-06-22T02:30:00.000-07:002010-06-22T03:06:44.816-07:00K is for Keeping it Together - Guest Post by author Neil Ayres<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDk3U025UGZa8x3h7tcn3FH9YRb97Xmrb5yVOg0IQG6UsfMjVZFnEmoffxlXrWiV95DkPzuGk8Wu3eNVBfALR6RCVOinaR2Vq0vfH89s0nN0FrhzwQbmlutAYn0Y-UvknBXbuD2N5JHDy/s1600/neilayres.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDk3U025UGZa8x3h7tcn3FH9YRb97Xmrb5yVOg0IQG6UsfMjVZFnEmoffxlXrWiV95DkPzuGk8Wu3eNVBfALR6RCVOinaR2Vq0vfH89s0nN0FrhzwQbmlutAYn0Y-UvknBXbuD2N5JHDy/s320/neilayres.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485534958027556034" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELvfNjzFwVGbIPYKk-hT4DqBIjLTbanDkjGgOOI4BJlBYWttiqtz4I1ZMdXf4DiH1PMn-wjzTF8fzRkEkBaYT6fyu4Hoes0vbRYIpbE4yKoX7mZptAeOwCkx9qdeMldjl2-v3tndRADDI/s1600/TNG_cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 171px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELvfNjzFwVGbIPYKk-hT4DqBIjLTbanDkjGgOOI4BJlBYWttiqtz4I1ZMdXf4DiH1PMn-wjzTF8fzRkEkBaYT6fyu4Hoes0vbRYIpbE4yKoX7mZptAeOwCkx9qdeMldjl2-v3tndRADDI/s320/TNG_cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485530640288274850" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Sam has kindly and rather wonderfully let me take up some valuable space on her blog, ostensibly to do a guest post, but in reality to pimp my new book, which is for the present time actually unavailable as a hard copy. It’s a part of an iPhone app, see, which has lots of other stuff on it, all appropriately enough related to the book. There’s the wonderful cover photography by Nicole Heiniger, the fab illustrations by Johanna Basford, a bespoke music track by Rich Watson and a brilliant, overlooked novelette by Miguel Cervantes (he’s the guy what wrote Don Quixote). All this content has been corralled into order by all-round clever chap Russell Quinn.<o:p></o:p><br /><br />But I did promise a guest post, and I know Sam has been working intermittently on her alphabet of publishing. It appears we’re on K. Sam was going to go with Kill Your Darlings, but I’m much too weak for that, and prefer to let them stumble around in the limbos of unfinished stories. More appropriate for me is…<o:p></o:p></span><br /><br /><b style=""><span style="">Keeping it together</span></b><span style=""><o:p></o:p><br /><br />As with many authors, writing is not my day-job. I have a family to feed and a house to keep out of the hands of the re-possessors. The New Goodbye, the novel included in the app of the same name, took me a good few years to write, in and around working full-time in magazine publishing, getting married and becoming a father and running an online zine. Although not calling for a similar amount of intellectual application or soul-searching, producing the app has been as time consuming, and required managing the various strands that comprise the app. And if anything following its release a couple of weeks ago, the demands are even greater. There’s chasing up publicity, trying to arrange a deal with a mutually beneficial book retailer (fingers crossed that one will come off) and producing a music video that will be included in an update of the app next month.<br /><br /></span></span></p><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_221dydotpUm8lR2hpIH78kodZZSIloiSH14NXA2yjy2fkewFp-mjrwgiiOlqP8f_HTEzPA4Ux4pEKTARAaLLTDqwaoishjDrETvjngURhOmr9ErsnaWMIYOilebVOIJT4tRLMktCKza/s1600/TNG_assortedscreengrabs.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_221dydotpUm8lR2hpIH78kodZZSIloiSH14NXA2yjy2fkewFp-mjrwgiiOlqP8f_HTEzPA4Ux4pEKTARAaLLTDqwaoishjDrETvjngURhOmr9ErsnaWMIYOilebVOIJT4tRLMktCKza/s320/TNG_assortedscreengrabs.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485532499138205954" border="0" /></a></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">In and around all this, and writing guest blogposts and the like, my own blog, I’ve somewhat neglected my own blog, which I share with Aliya Whiteley, and the project blog set up to promote the app. Needless to say, as for any ‘real’<span style=""> </span>writing, I’ve managed very little.<o:p></o:p><br /><br />In addition to the marketing budgets assigned to her book, a commercially successful writer like Sam will be in the fortunate position of having a publicity team to work on her profile and secure coverage for her in the national and trade press. Lower down the pecking order though, new and mid-list authors are expected to do most of this work themselves. In addition to writing good, commercially viable novels they have to in some way try and maintain a media profile. Most often the way to do this is by social media, and few are lucky enough to have even a handful of media contacts to help them along their way. Even with these contacts, such as I’m in the fortunate position to have, actually getting coverage for a book is by no means a given, and without an interesting angle to a story, untested authors are going to lose out to established names or the current crop of zeitgeist-riding writers. It’s just not enough to have a good book out.<br /><br /></span></span></p><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi797mM6Xw_pvID_HwUP6MVaQAzTf-FMkV9LbmyxyRbLFBcEQIqNjk6DrKoHMLP664oQJfhRS_P-mNla5AVJbFdp40ZNAEMNPyaz8PFRDMVoBnUOYfxj8OtJsCVm43ShOIoG8jNp_OnO331/s1600/johannabasford_video.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi797mM6Xw_pvID_HwUP6MVaQAzTf-FMkV9LbmyxyRbLFBcEQIqNjk6DrKoHMLP664oQJfhRS_P-mNla5AVJbFdp40ZNAEMNPyaz8PFRDMVoBnUOYfxj8OtJsCVm43ShOIoG8jNp_OnO331/s320/johannabasford_video.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485533755024133858" border="0" /></a></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p><br />This isn’t necessarily fair, it’s just the way the media, and the trades that rely on them, work. Publishing success is often more about public word of mouth than media coverage, which is often soothing to an artist’s ego but doesn’t necessarily put readers in front of their work or cash in pockets. Having a huge author with a news story very much of the moment won’t necessarily translate into sales. Like my own novel, Hilary Mantel’s ManBooker prize-winner Wolf Hall has recently been released as an iPhone app. The difference is, people are downloading my app but not hers. To me, the reasons are obvious. I have an iPhone-friendly short novel with a batch of interesting, complementary multimedia features created from other artist’s interpretations of my themes. And, perhaps more importantly, it’s the type of book of relevance and interest to the iPhone-owning demographic of young professionals and parents. Oh, and it comes as a free sampler with the full all-singing and dancing edition costing just £1.79.<o:p></o:p><br /><br />Mantel’s book is about five times longer than my own, not exactly conducive to a pleasant reading experience on the small iPhone screen. And, forgive me for generalising, but its core readership is likely to be comprised of middle-aged traditionalists unlikely to be keen to surrender their printed books for <i>de rigeur</i> technology.<o:p></o:p><br /><br />It’s early days for The New Goodbye. My hope is that the bookshop deal I’m trying to put together comes off and that eventually a publisher picks the book up for print publication. But for now I’m just happy that people are downloading the app and getting to see the great, collaborative work that has been involved in putting it together.<o:p></o:p></span><br /><br /><b><span style="">Related links<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Download the app here: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-new-goodbye/id372159294?mt=8">http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-new-goodbye/id372159294?mt=8</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Official blog: <a href="http://thenewgoodbye.blogspot.com/">http://thenewgoodbye.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Neil’s blog: <a href="http://veggiebox.blogspot.com/">http://veggiebox.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Developer: <a href="http://russellquinn.com/">http://russellquinn.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Illustrator: <a href="http://johannabasford.com/">http://johannabasford.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Music: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/richwatsonthe147s">http://www.myspace.com/richwatsonthe147s</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Photographer: <a href="http://nicoleheiniger.com/">http://nicoleheiniger.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Documentarian: <a href="http://iampingpong.com/">http://iampingpong.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Film-makers: </span><a href="http://thisisorder.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://thi</span><span style="font-family:arial;">sisorder</span>.com</a></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-91213071448827366182010-05-07T06:20:00.000-07:002010-05-07T06:47:24.758-07:00Win a set of DVDs!<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The lovely people at Headline are running a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.headlinecompetitions.co.uk/telltale/">competition</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> for you to win a set of DVDs for your mum! My books are all about family and relationships and tragic things that can blow apart families--the reality of modern-day living that so many people, whatever their background, have to struggle through. So why not show your mum how much you care and have a bash at the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.headlinecompetitions.co.uk/telltale/">competition</a><span style="font-family: arial;">. Still plenty of time left to enter and good luck! Let me know if you win.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />This month sees me in the June edition of </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.womanandhome.com/">Woman & Home</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> magazine again. Perhaps I should have a regular column! The feature is about something that's looming in the next few months in our household - Empty Nest Syndrome. I can hardly believe that my eldest is nearly nineteen and will be moving out this September. Why is no one else round here bothered about this? Two other women also tell their personal tales of what it's like or will be like to have teens fly the nest...something that everyone with kids has to face one day. I just never thought it would happen so quickly. He was a baby a minute ago! (Sorry, Ben.)</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />And, while I haven't seen a copy, apparently my short story was in the Sunday Express S Magazine last weekend. A quirky little tale about a couple's return trip from their honeymoon. I called it 'Long Haul'.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />Finally, I was in WH Smith a little earlier and squealed in delight when I saw </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.adamlgnevill.com/">Adam Nevill's</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> book </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apartment-16-Adam-Nevill/dp/0330514962/ref=cm_lmf_img_2">Apartment 16</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in the charts. Go Adam! He's such a great writer (used to be my editor at Virgin) and this book deserves to do really well. Of course I bought it and can't wait to get stuck in...when I've finished the final proofs of my next one.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />Have a good weekend!</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />Sam x</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-34338204072869879192010-04-15T01:41:00.000-07:002010-04-15T01:49:32.539-07:00Another TELL TALE review<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">My publicist alerted me to this </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.crimesquad.com/reviews.asp">great review</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> on the Crime Squad website. (Scroll down a bit)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Meanwhile, kids are now all back at school so writing can begin again in earnest - although I still do write in the holidays, I never seem to get quite as much done! And thanks to everyone who's emailed me about TELL TALE. It's so good to receive nice feedback.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And do feel free to add me/follow me on </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.facebook.com/sam.hayes.author">Facebook</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.twitter.com/samhayes">Twitter</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.myspace.com/_samhayes">Myspace</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-27954917471962990172010-04-07T00:16:00.001-07:002010-04-09T05:19:55.612-07:00TELL TALE Review<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Just a quickie to share this rather nice <a href="http://www.lep.co.uk/bookreviews/Tell-Tale--Sam-Hayes.6202519.jp">review</a>... Sums TELL TALE up very well, I think.<br /></span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-40451175389528153382010-03-18T05:09:00.001-07:002010-03-18T05:21:40.571-07:00Paperback Publication Day!<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">It feels a little like my birthday today but without gaining a year - TELL TALE is out today in paperback and is straight in the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.asda-entertainment.co.uk/books/chart.list">Asda paperback charts</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> at number 18! I think I might have to take a little grocery shopping trip later and see the evidence in real life. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">You'll also be able to find it in the WH Smith chart section as well as the other usual book retailers. Feels a little odd not to include Borders in the list.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />If you buy a copy from </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0755349865/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0B9SAXB3GC47T3SSSBE2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467198433&pf_rd_i=468294">Amazon</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, you can read an excerpt now (although for some reason it doesn't include the prologue!) and watch a little video of me trying to describe the story without giving all the plot twists away! </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Finally, not long to go now until my </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=BCC_Event_C&childpagename=SystemAdmin%2FPageLayout&cid=1223291780556&packedargs=subtype%3DEventDetail&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper&rendermode=live">double act</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> with the lovely <a href="http://www.sophiehannah.com/">Sophie Hannah</a>, who I had the pleasure of meeting and watching in action a little while ago. Should be a great evening in Birmingham, so if you're around, do come to the event. It's free!</span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3488378888752727930.post-55396755831159338762010-03-09T01:57:00.000-08:002010-03-09T02:07:49.587-08:00Book of the Month<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Just a quickie to say that <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tell-tale-Sam-Hayes/dp/0755349865/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268129153&sr=8-1">TELL TALE</a> has been chosen as Book of the Month over at the brilliant <a href="http://www.crime-files.co.uk/books.html">Crime Files</a> website. I've been getting some amazing fan mail from those who have already read it - mostly from the southern hemisphere as it came out at the end of last year downunder.<br /><br />And a reminder of a review that went up at the excellent <a href="http://bcfreviews.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/tell-tale-by-sam-hayes/">Book Club Forum</a> a little while ago...just to give you a taste of the book without giving too much away - something I always find hard to do at talks!<br /><br />Only 9 days to go!<br /></span></span>Sam Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16846546792797296395noreply@blogger.com0