San Stefanos Online ~ North West Corfu
Welcome to San Stefanos (NW Corfu) => San Stefanos news and views => Topic started by: Jimbo on March 27, 2022, 09:05:05 PM
-
I'm very pleased to say that my new novel "Almond - and the deep blue sea" will be published this week. It's a tongue-in-cheek thriller set in Agios Stefanos, featuring private investigator Johnny Almond, who was a detective in London until he made a career-ending mistake.
It'll be available in Kindle and paperback.
It's a nervous moment for me, as you can imagine! I do hope you will enjoy it. You'll certainly know what the locations and the food look like!
-
wishing great sucess and would love to order- get a paperback! Lots of greetings to you :)
-
Good luck Jimbo! Does this mean when you become famous you won't slum it here with us minions ...?
-
I'll kiss anybody who buys it. Erm - on second thoughts - I've met quite a lot of the blokes on here!
-
Sounds like the ideal holiday read Jimbo, and what better place to read it than on location!
-
Ah Perfect Jim, looking forward to reading it......
-
And the Kindle version is now available:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09WN5LV9K/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1648467954&refinements=p_27%3AJim+Hawkins&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=Jim+Hawkins (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09WN5LV9K/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1648467954&refinements=p_27%3AJim+Hawkins&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=Jim+Hawkins)
The paperback will follow when it's finished the review process.
-
Well done and would like to wish you every success Jimbo. I look forward to reading the paperback and will definitely order a copy when available :)
-
Wishing you every success with your novel Jim, enjoyed your last one, read it while staying at Olympia apartments a few years back.
-
And we have lift-off!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ALMOND-deep-blue-Jim-Hawkins/dp/B09VJTKR4V/ref=monarch_sidesheet
If you enjoy it, I'll be grateful for a few stars and a review on Amazon. It makes a big difference because Amazon's automatic system takes note of ratings and includes popular books in emails etc.
I've enrolled the book in the Kindle Unlimited system, and if you are a member you can read it for nothing! I wish I could make the paperback cheaper but, alas, I can't because Amazon imposes a minimum sales price. I can assure you I am not making enough per book to buy a bottle of Mythos!
-
Just purchased your new on kindle ready for our stay at nafsika in may
-
I prefer to read paperback, so I shall be ordering Jim and good luck with the sales!
-
I'm amazed and moved by the orders on day one! Thank you all.
-
Paperback to be delivered tomorrow Jimbo, so I've got your thriller and Shane Warne's autobiography on my reading list!!
-
Let me know later which was more exciting! I think I know. :-(
-
On my kindle ready for July
-
Hi Jimbo. I've just read the sample of your book on kindle. I wanted to see if it flows. Jimbo, it's flows. So easy to picture san stefanos through Almonds eyes. I'm now going to purchase the book. Looking forward to relaxing by the pool at silvermoon with the book. Not sure about a kiss if I see you. 🤔
-
Hi Jimbo,
I also downloaded a sample of your book on kindle. It may flow but I question the need to use such language from someone who is such a eloquent writer on this forum.
I will still download the book. Don’t wish to offend but I’m only being truthful.
-
John, I understand. But it's a first-person novel by an ex-CID copper in north London. It's not me telling the story - it's Johnny. I spent quite a lot of time with the police when I was writing for The Bill, and their language was a lot stronger than this!
I can put a health warning on Amazon if you think it's a good idea.
-
Nice one Jimbo,
My wife has just read most of the sample and she suggests that I should have the health warning and that I should be more tolerant.
-
I like your wife!
The preview option does allow people to decide, doesn't it? I was brought up in a very religious household. My father was a preacher, so absolutely no swearing. But that is not like the modern world. Swearing is a stress marker in speech, and it is very general, and always has been. There's swearing in Chaucer and Shakespeare, but the words are different. It was a constant moan amongst writers on The Bill that the language was not realistic - or the instruction that tired coppers should never "accidentally" hit some toe-rag's head on a car door. The language in EastEnders is very unrealistic. But those are prime time TV - a novel is not.
Two characters in the novel swear. Plenty of others don't. I think that's pretty true to life, really. I've tried to have Johnny describe the village as it is. I hope you will see through the odd casual F word to the affection I have for the place and its people.
I started writing book two last night. If - as my father would have said - the Good Lord spares me, bearing in mind that I'm 80 in September, it will be out in the summer.
-
I have ordered my copy of the paperback which should arrive tomorrow ;D Now I have a dilemma - whether to begin reading or whether to wait until my holiday? Decisions decisions ;D
-
Mrs Winkie has it on Kindle, bedtime reading :).
-
Hi all - I'm pleased to say that sales in the first four days have been very good. In fact better than the total sales for my science fiction novellas!
What's interesting is that Kindle sales are more than three times the paperback sales. It's also enrolled for Kindle Unlimited and quite a few are reading it on there. I must say that all surprises me.
I wish I could make the paperback cheaper, but Amazon imposes a minimum price. I may make the print format a bit smaller for book two to reduce the page count. I would have done it for this for book one, but I showed proof copies to several people who liked the easy to read format for older eyes - both layout and font. I'd really appreciate feedback from those who read the paperback before releasing book two, but that won't be until mid-summer unless a magic age-rejuvenation pill comes along!
-
My copy has just arrived - I don't think I will be waiting for my holiday to begin reading :D
-
Jim just to say on the link you shared and I shared it says paperback sold out and to pre order if you wish to check with them?
-
I think that's what happens if you log on from Greece. It's printed on demand, so never out of stock. UK sight shows it as available.
-
ok xxxx
-
So i purchased your book for the mrs on her kindle she was going to read it when we arrived at nafsika in May but couldn't wait she's enjoying it at this time i don't know if you remember us but we was the only people round the pool last September which was very nice hope your sale well she's now waiting for the next one and i can watch football in peace
-
Of course I remember you! I was quite ill with bronchitis, so not as lively as usual. It was quiet at Nafsika, but lovely by the pool as always.
I'm glad your mrs is enjoying it. If she likes it, please persuade her to drop a little review onto Amazon. It makes a huge difference. What's her name again? I'll make sure she gets a mention in book two!!!
-
Just ordered for my Kindle. Can't wait to start reading tonight. :D
-
Yes she will definitely write a review once she's finished it and her name is Julie look forward to book number two
-
Best of luck with the book Jimbo, long time no speak.
-
Thanks, Charlie. How are you doing?
-
Best of luck with the book Jimbo, long time no speak.
How are you Charlie?
-
Mighty and mysterious are the ways of Amazon! They dictated the book pricing for the paperback - which was £8:90. There was nothing I could do about it. I would prefer it to be cheaper, although I only get about £1:20 royalty at the full amount.
This morning I see it's now listed at £7:71 or £7:48. I'd be very interested to see if you get the same result! Don't use my link: put "Amazon Jim Hawkins Almond and the deep blue sea" into the URL bar.
I know that several people have sent reviews in, some five days ago, but none have appeared. Reviews and plenty of stars are very important. Kindle sales are still about 3:1, so I can see why some authors choose Kindle-only as an option.
Meanwhile - Almond:2 is underway.
-
Ah the idiosyncrasies of Amazon, £7.48 here. But this is an issue I've long found interesting as I can look at something on my account whilst looking at the same on a device next to me under another account and the price is different. I'm talking items of say £10-20 being 12-18 on the other... At first I thought this was an currency exchange issue e.g. they work in $ and convert, but this looks more like a profiling/ data collection issue?
-
Thanks! Yes - it's profiling - but they didn't ask me, or even tell me. I mean, I'm just the writer.
-
What we really need to know is how to setup your profile to get things cheaper ;D !
-
I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and really enjoying it - (no spoilers) but it looks like Jimbo's take on Sidari is exactly the same as mine!
-
Thanks, David. I've tried to describe things as accurately as I can from the point of view of Johnny Almond, who is seeing it all for the first time. I spent a week in Sidari with my son when he was sixteen. We couldn't find a decent Greek taverna. We did have some good curry, though, so I'll try to get that into the second book!
-
Actually I fell in love with Corfu (and in love) on my visit (1981) to this rock in Sidari which then was a sleepy resort, a few hippies, sandy beaches and - oh yes found my hubby to be.. A moped hair- riding ride took you over to Manthos in Ag Stef on a Saturday night for a real Greek night but you had to book - else no tables were available, a sandy road between the resorts took ages to get there .....
-
Sidari was a dead quiet little village when we visited there in 1989. Really quaint with traditional taverna's and a few bars. Lovely.
Drove through it on the way to San Stef in 2004 and there was a Mcdonalds (if memory serves), a one-way system and hordes of bars and eateries. How things change.
-
If you want to know how I described it - which you may not - get the book. The Kindle version costs about the same as a pint of beer, and you can read it on phones, tablets, laptops and, of course, Kindles.
What I actually think about Sidari is that it's a rather sad place. It does not have the village feel of Agios Stefanos. It's spread out over a large area and looks like a cheap package-tour operation. It's central street is lively in a commercial way, but lacks a sense of a real place. I would never stay there again.
I suspect whoever is in charge of releasing reviews on Amazon likes Sidari. I get emails from people who posted a review a week ago and it's still not there. Maybe they're all awful - at this rate we'll never know. I set out to write another novel before I was eighty or dead and I did it. Now I want to write two, so I'm 6,000 words into the sequel. I just hope people will enjoy it.
-
Well Jimbo I've downloaded it and will read it by the pool in Majorca in June. I think a book about Corfu would be best read in the summer while in San Stef but we're not going this year as we have a number of postponed trips in the diary already from last year, so Majorca it is.
-
Thanks, TB. That way you can be in both places!
-
Lesley it hadn't changed much when I went first in 1988. Manthos Taverna was the hub of entertainment, well let's face it there wasn't much choice. The Greek nights were legendary. The roads were horrendous and unlit so you never went out at night without a torch. The sky at night was spectacular as there was so little ambient light, I have never seen so many stars.
-
Wishing you every success with your book Jimbo, downloaded to my kindle today for my San Stefanos trip in June. Hoping I can resist an early read and keep it under wraps until I am ‘on location’ so to speak. 😀 Not sure how these things work but it was only £3.49 as a download.👍🏼 Hope sales are going well. Yamas .
-
Thanks, Sellsy. Sales are trickling in. There are no published reviews so far - but today there is one five star assessment, which is flattering. I have no means of knowing who it was. All I can do is to press on with the sequel - not because I expect to make a lot of money, but because I enjoyed writing the first book, and I hope San Stef fans will enjoy the familiar landscape.
-
I do feel a book signing event in resort with Cheese & Wine is called for Mr Jim ? xxx
-
I think your right is only fear apparently is a very good read well done jimbo
-
Being delivered Sunday.
-
Thanks, Carl! Thanks, Maggie!
Lesley - love the idea of a book-signing with wine and cheese. If there's no cheese, it doesn't matter!
-
Julie as sent her Review in of your book not sure if it will appear only time will tell she enjoyed it waiting for the next one to be released
-
Well done jimbo
-
Thanks, Carl and Julie! It's taking forever for reviews to get through. The publishing site says that book-vetting will be slow at the moment. Probably means that Amazon have sacked a lot of people.
-
I have my copy and have posted on the SS site on FB with a picture of the cover.I hope it generates some sales.
-
Oh - thanks a lot, Maggie!
-
Phew! Just finished chapter four of the sequel, also set in Agios Stefanos! With any luck it'll be out in the summer, but I'm not rushing it.
There are still no actual reviews on Amazon - just two "starred" evaluations. If you have actually written a little review and it hasn't appeared I'd be grateful to know. The problem with self-publishing is that you don't have a publisher's advertising campaign to do promotion, and some nice reviews and word of mouth are all there is.
Meanwhile - I've reduced the Kindle price of my collection of science fiction novellas to £1. I know SF is not to everybody's taste, but modern British science fiction is not at all like Star Wars. "Digital Rites" is mostly set in Corfu, and has scenes in Agios Stefanos. Most of them were started there. Might be worth a try at that price? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fragments-Tomorrow-collection-Jim-Hawkins-ebook/dp/B01GF1QIJ4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fragments-Tomorrow-collection-Jim-Hawkins-ebook/dp/B01GF1QIJ4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=)
-
Just purchased your book Jimbo, it's gone back up to £8.90 but never mind. You're probably not getting any reviews because people are putting off reading it till they go on holiday. I don't think I'll wait that long. I read a lot at home but never seem to have time to read much on holiday. I'm not one for lying on the beach all day, too many places to go and people to meet.
-
I sat up to finish a very complicated 950 pager last night and today will be an afternoon in the garden with your book Jimbo.
-
Our lovely Jimbo offered to send me a copy here to Corfu, Greece. I replied apart from the awful Postal service normally , since Brexit - anything coming from UK whether it be FREE or not we now pay import duty as no longer EU (something to think about as I know many on here have Greek friends and they/you may not be aware of this when sending gifts ) so the recipient will pay often more than the goods worth. They will be too polite to advise/tell you this.
Apart from a simple card, letter or bank statement everything else now incurs import tax?????
So I will await my personal (signed) copy delivered in person come June - cheese & wine too LOL.
Happy Wednesday All x
-
I've finished the book now Jimbo and enjoyed it - I'll certainly put a good review on Amazon.
I even started a re-read last night as I forgot that I read the first few chapters whilst under the influence one Saturday evening!
-
Great! Thanks.
Gillie is just re-reading it and finding some typos. Whatever you do there are always more damned typos. I'll fix them later and update the Kindle version first.
-
I'm very pleased to say that my new novel "Almond - and the deep blue sea" will be published this week. It's a tongue-in-cheek thriller set in Agios Stefanos, featuring private investigator Johnny Almond, who was a detective in London until he made a career-ending mistake.
It'll be available in Kindle and paperback.
It's a nervous moment for me, as you can imagine! I do hope you will enjoy it. You'll certainly know what the locations and the food look like!
Ive just bought it, its £3.99 today, cant wait to read it 8) 8) 8)
-
Just ordered the paperback.
-
Not sure if lesley will be able to confirm this my daughter and O/H not vaccinated but been told visitors won't need to show any negative test results regardless of vaccination status after May 2nd
-
Good Morning Carl, I posted on FB a link as I have also read on line regarding this. It was from a link called Schengen Visa Info and includes TCN's (Being UK as we are now non EU) I haven't heard this as yet on the Greek TV channels so I can't say for sure but here is the link. Any update I will post when I see it or hear it via the Greek P.M. Unless someone finds it before me and can also post. www.schengenvisainfo.com
-
This is so important I've made a new topic in the "Help and Information" section.
-
Good Idea Jim x
If I read anything or have official links I will add.
-
Thanks for the link will have a look
-
My husband received his copy a couple of weeks ago and is not going to start it till we arrive in July
-
When are you there, Chrissie? Maybe I can sign it. Or maybe he'll want his money back!
-
We are there last 2 weeks of July .We only booked last night ,going independent for the first time always gone on a package
-
See you there!
-
Phew! An updated version of both e-book and paperback are now live! The only changes are typos and reformatting, so if you already have it you're not missing anything!
Reformatting has reduced the price slightly, which is pleasing. As I amongst friends here, I'll tell you that 90 days after the end of the month is which a sale occurs I will get £1:40 per book. That's more than four months' work. That's what it's like being a writer. Please leave some stars and a tiny review - it only has to be a couple of sentences, but it makes a huge difference. There are no reviews so far, apart from on various forums, where "thoroughly enjoyed" seems to be the theme.
-
Jim, just started reading it today. Johnny has just arrived in resort and purchased a bag of oregano crisps! I’d forgotten all about this delicious snack- funny how the little things bring the memories flooding back!
-
Hi Jim I am new to posting on the forum but felt the need to join just to tell you I have read and really enjoyed your book it took me right back to our beloved San Stefanos.I was unable to leave a review as there is a spend threshold on my Kindle which I have not met ??? So ***** from me can't wait to be there in May and July
-
Barbara: Many a bag of those have I munched on a balcony with a glass of plonk after a shower! My local Premiere stocks the Polish version, so I had some while I was writing. It all helps.
Joanie: Welcome to posting on the forum. So glad you enjoyed Almond. I enjoyed writing it - though it was sometimes hard having my mind in Ag Stef and the rest of me in a Yorkshire winter!
-
Hello Jimbo
I hope you are keeping well. I've just finished Almond and The Deep Blue Sea - I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great entertainment and brought back many memories. I laughed lots of times reading it, especially when the waiter said, "chips or roast potatos"
All the best
David and Mhairi x
-
Thanks, David. Very, very long time since we saw you, alas. Hope the next book will make you laugh as well!
-
If you're seriously bored on Saturday morning you can hear me on BBC Radio Humberside at 11:15 talking about Almond. Wow! If you don't live in Yorkshire and are desperate you can find it on Sounds on the BBC website.
Sales are ticking over steadily. Still only two reviews, but 4.5/5 on the stars, so thanks if you did that.
-
If you're seriously bored on Saturday morning you can hear me on BBC Radio Humberside at 11:15 talking about Almond. Wow! If you don't live in Yorkshire and are desperate you can find it on Sounds on the BBC website.
Sales are ticking over steadily. Still only two reviews, but 4.5/5 on the stars, so thanks if you did that.
Thought this was a forum for SS!!! Not a promotion for books etc !!!
-
The book is set in SS. Sorry if it offends you.
-
It's a forum for all things San Stefanos related...can't see a problem with it..
-
The book is set in SS. Sorry if it offends you.
I know I’ve read it.
-
Can't be, Jimbo is an over 2000 post man on here...?
-
I'm really sorry if anybody is upset by this. All my many friends for over the last decade on this forum were in my mind when I chose to set the novel in SS. See loftyscot's kind comment a few above. I genuinely thought you would enjoy being in touch with the release and progress of the book. I will move any more discussion to the Yammas Bar, which is explicitly for non-SS-related discussions - but that's a slight problem because Almond clearly is related.
I guess some who joined fairly recently have missed out on things like the long chats about the Durells, which had nothing to do with SS.
At lunchtime I was waiting for a bus into town and the local butcher popped out of the shop and said "Hey, Jim. We just heard you on the radio! I might get the book to go on holiday." That's what it's all about. It's not a bad advert for the village.
-
I'm really sorry if anybody is upset by this. All my many friends for over the last decade on this forum were in my mind when I chose to set the novel in SS. See loftyscot's kind comment a few above. I genuinely thought you would enjoy being in touch with the release and progress of the book. I will move any more discussion to the Yammas Bar, which is explicitly for non-SS-related discussions - but that's a slight problem because Almond clearly is related.
I guess some who joined fairly recently have missed out on things like the long chats about the Durells, which had nothing to do with SS.
At lunchtime I was waiting for a bus into town and the local butcher popped out of the shop and said "Hey, Jim. We just heard you on the radio! I might get the book to go on holiday." That's what it's all about. It's not a bad advert for the village.
I doubt there is very many , if any, upset by it Jimbo....
-
Agreed Geordie..I'm yet to read your book Jim, but am really looking forward to it!
-
and I am looking forward to seeing you both Jim & Gillie very soon with my signed copy and having a few krasi's and a good ole catch up too - Happy Sunday All 8) 8) 8)
-
I finished reading the book last night and I loved it, it has given me a couple of weeks of happiness during a tough time watching my father succumb to the final stages of Alzheimers disease. It has made me smile and helped me off to sleep on nights when i have lay awake.
I wouldnt have known about the book if you hadnt mentioned it on this forum so thank you Jim x
-
I finished reading the book last night and I loved it, it has given me a couple of weeks of happiness during a tough time watching my father succumb to the final stages of Alzheimers disease. It has made me smile and helped me off to sleep on nights when i have lay awake.
I wouldnt have known about the book if you hadnt mentioned it on this forum so thank you Jim x
So sorry to hear about your father..
-
Keep up the good work Jimbo, you are a great ambassador for everything related to San Stefanos.
Sorry to hear of your loss Evertonendo.
-
Thanks, everybody, and particularly evertonendo - I so pleased it helped, and it really makes it worthwhile. I hope book two will make you smile even more.
-
When will your next book be released jimbo
-
Hi, Carl. I'm working on it, but it's taking some time. Been a lot of domestic issues to deal with. I was hoping for August, but probably September.
-
That's good if it's done for September give Julie something to read when we go back to san stefanos spiros as got a new thinking chair very comfortable
-
Finished reading the book in San Stefanos last week Jim. Something a little different to what I would normally read and I loved it. Made even better by being able to visualise so many of the locations. Waiting for the next one now :)
-
Bless you! You'll know what my step-son meant when he said 'He eats a lot, that Johnny Almond.'
-
It's amazing what social media can do. Tony Cox posted a lovely review on one of the Agios Stefanos groups on Facebook last night and there were eleven Kindle purchases by 1pm!
E-book sales still at over 4:1 compared to paperback. Times really have changed. Press reports last year said that e-book sales were falling, but that's not reflected in this experience. Any comments?
-
I'll be signing books at Little Prince bar on Saturday, 3 - 4 pm. Including signing a few Kindles!!
-
I'll be signing books at Little Prince bar on Saturday, 3 - 4 pm. Including signing a few Kindles!!
When are you in the village until Jim? We arrive Thursday 21st July, and I will purchase a book direct from you if you are still there then and have some stock left. Otherwise I’ll get it direct from Amazon before we leave. Brian
-
Hi BAJ - here until 29th. I could only carry 11 and 3 are already committed. I can book one for you if you like, but it might be safer to get one in the UK. Then we can meet up for a beer and a natter!
-
I don't think I'll actually have many books for the signing. People keep getting advanced orders in. I'm prioritising people who live here, because since Brexit it's almost impossible to get books here.
-
I don't think I'll actually have many books for the signing. People keep getting advanced orders in. I'm prioritising people who live here, because since Brexit it's almost impossible to get books here.
No problem Jim, I will get one ordered here so that I can read it whilst ‘on the set’.
We will have a week cross over to meet up for a beer and natter. Brian
-
Jim I hope you dont let fame change you ;)
-
It has. I used to be good-looking!
Book signing was lovely. Met friends old and new, and all the books went. Could have sold more. It's a shame Amazon doesn't operate here.
-
I received my copy today Jim, I see Lesley gets a mention in acknowledgements - nice touch.
-
Glad you got it! Lesley is my angel.
-
Just finished your book this afternoon Jim - Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me be part of it too......So now my lovely, roll on the next one. Happy Holidays x
-
Almond II is going to be a bit late, I'm afraid. My south-facing second-floor study is simply too hot, although I did manage half a page today.
On a more serious front, the attack on Salman Rushdie is an appalling blow against freedom of expression. If writers avoided offending people there wouldn't be any books. Religion has a bad track record on this score. I've had a minor taste of this - but I'm proud to have been condemned by Mary Whitehouse and the Daily Telegraph. Must confess that I've never read The Satanic Verses, so I registered my disgust and my solidarity with Rushdie by ordering a copy today.
The sad fact is that, under attack from Left and Right, there is a high degree of self-censorship by writers at the moment.
-
Carl - Check your messages!
-
It has. I used to be good-looking!
Book signing was lovely. Met friends old and new, and all the books went. Could have sold more. It's a shame Amazon doesn't operate here.
Hi Jim I hope you are well just letting you know I have downloaded Almond Books 2 and 3 and can’t wait to read them
Thanks Corin :)
-
Thanks very much! Hope you enjoy them. J.