Newsletter 1/2025

 

Newsletter – January/February 2025

Book 1 of 2 - Oscar the Owl has wise words about caring, kindness, accidents, compliments etc has been read in pre-schools, primary schools, cafes and a library. If you have somewhere that would like an Author visit (in or around the Midlands) do give them my email address. I am also available for talks to women’s groups having visited two locally recently.

January was a time to reflect as illness plagued me and on-going health appointments. Being grounded I was able to read and look forward to the year ahead. There was a very interesting article in the Society of Authors about the value of Author visits and social media advertising – the time factor, sales figures, effort etc. I do feel as though I have a full-time job but actually I ENJOY IT! However, I am aware I need to balance my time and energy levels for good health.

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Novel update – I had it printed off A5 size and ring-bound so it looks like a book now!! It’s been a long time coming. I am liaising with an artist about a cover and have approached a couple of ladies who do independent publishing. I feel it has gone on for far too many years with seeking a main house publisher/agent and life is rushing on. NOW, at last, I can be hopeful of it being ‘out there’ this year.

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’My Journey to Publication’ talk went very well at Coton Ladies Club here in Tamworth, Staffs. About 50 ladies were present, including three from the Tamworth Writers group which was a great comfort to me. I had visual aids and made the talk interactive so that they kept interested. Questions were asked and answered and Oscar the Owl book was on sale at the end. I also received a monitory gift for my time which was very welcome of course.

I have recommended well-known authors to lead zooms for the Society of Women Writers and Journalist and I offered to do one on Writing for Children. Embarrassingly, this didn’t go particularly well as I set up the zoom for the allotted time but after 40 minutes it cut us off. A few were able to re-join and we continued with question and answers and discussion about the different types of publishing. I sent my apologies but am pleased to say that those who were unable to re-join are being offered a repeat free of charge on Saturday 22^nd March 2-30 pm with the zoom link coming direct from SWWJ. Non-members and other members are able to partake at a price of £10. If you or anyone you know may be interested do ask them to register their interest to me by email: sueflint13@hotmail.com. You will find other zoom workshop events by Claire Dyer, Poet, and Sue Moorcroft, Novelist, on https://swwj.co.uk

            An abridged review by Margaret Gallop, SWWJ member: Sue provided an enjoyable and thought-provoking online workshop on Saturday February 8^th. We were encouraged to think about the wide range of children’s writing from board books to writing for young adults. She emphasised the value of engaging with children of the age you are writing for, if not family members then perhaps reading for a school or library would be helpful.
She recommended the Children’s Writers and Artists Yearbook to research publishers and choosing an illustrator if self-publishing. There were two writing short sessions with ideas/prompts. I appreciated Sue’s warmth and encouragement and look forward to attending future workshops.

Oscar the Owl reading at Coton-in-the-Elms Pre-school.

What a delight! 10 pre-schoolers sitting on a mat listening to me read. One little girl was desperate to hold the toy Oscar but then wouldn’t share him with the others (well it was before I read about caring and sharing!). Each child came up to me for a little owl ‘reader’ sticker afterwards. The staff were very friendly too.

Here IT IS! – Book 2 – now available on Amazon - https://amzn.eu/d/f14OOcC                

or email me for a personal copy at sueflint13@hotmail.com 

Book 2 of 2 – Oscar the Owl and his footwear. Through the seasons of the year Oscar wears different footwear. This book also introduces Oscar’s little sister Olivia.

 

If you have a copy of Oscar the Owl Book 1, or purchase Book 2, please write a review on Amazon. You may have bought a copy directly from me but if you have an Amazon account to buy any goods from, you can still review books. This is hugely appreciated by authors and helps sales. If you got your copy from Amazon your review will show ‘verified purchase’. Here’s how to review: click on the stars/the number and scroll down to ‘Customer review’ where you will see ‘Write a review’ tap that and away you go. Over 200 copies are out there and I would love to see more reviews. Thank you in advance.

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