I always appreciate it when people take the time to read my work. It’s also lovely when they leave a review, as well! Reviews are like pockets of air for us indie authors, as we dive down into the abyss.
Laura McToal, who has a book review blog and a popular Instagram page, has reviewed my newest collection, Under Blankets, Under Stars. Here’s my favourite excerpt:
“…I was left wondering why this is only a short story and not a full length novel!”
Laura McToal
You can check out Laura’s full review over on her blog — TheMagicFarawayTree.
My second book, ‘Under Blankets, Under Stars’, is out now! Over 20 short sci-fi and fantasy stories to warm the soul. Includes three Reedsy Writing Contest winners and several other shortlisted works.
Due to COVID-19, it’s only available as an e-book. As soon as printers are back up, it’ll be out as a paperback.
I am pleased to announce that my second collection of short stories will be available this Valentine’s Day! ‘Under Blankets, Under Stars’ is the light to the darkness of ‘A Chance of Rain’.
Over 20 upbeat sci-fi and fantasy stories, ‘Under Blankets, Under Stars’ will be available as an e-book on the 14th. A paperback version will be in print once printers are back up and running following lockdown. 🙂
So, A Chance of Rain has been out for a little while now, and it’s starting to get some reviews — some of which are really lovely! As we all know, a review is worth its weight in gold — so, every one is very much appreciated!
Well, hello there! How’s everyone doing on this fine Wednesday? I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of August — it’s crazy! That also means that A Chance of Rain has been out for about a month now, so I thought I’d do some data analysis to get an idea of how the book’s being doing. 🙂
Figure 1: Sum of net units sold on days that royalties were earned (data courtesy of Amazon)
As you can see in Figure 1 (sorry, force of habit from my academic days!), the book hasn’t set the literary world on fire, but it hasn’t done too shabbily either. In fact, considering that this is an indie book, and my first one at that, I’m rather pleased with how it’s all gone. 🙂
The next step is to accrue more reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, so that I can reach more readers! Any help in this endeavour would be so very much appreciated.
Well, I guess that’s all for now. Until next time!
One of the local newspapers from my hometown did a piece on me and my new book, A Chance of Rain! I thought it was rather sweet — I’m very appreciative! You can read the article via the link below. 🙂
Hey, guys and gals, I’m extremely pleased to let you all know that I’ve released a book! It’s called A Chance of Rain, and it’s a collection of my short stories — particularly the darker ones!
If you’ve followed my writing for a while, you might know several of these stories, but I’ve included all of the sci-fi/horror that I’ve written, regardless of the platform it was initially published on — so, there’s something new for everyone here. Additionally, I’ve added one extra short story that’s entirely brand new, just to sweeten the deal. 😉
You can find A Chance of Rain on Amazon, available as a paperback (£6.99) and for the Kindle (£1.99). If you fancy buying a copy and leaving me a review on Amazon and Goodreads, it would mean the world to me.
If you are worried that this means there will be no “proper” novel coming from me, rest assured, I’m still working hard on that WIP. 🙂
Wow! So, here we are! 100 followers! *Cue party blowers and confetti showers* I didn’t think I’d ever get to the point where 100 people would voluntarily subject themselves to my waffling posts and inane ramblings that I try to pass off as “writing”. But here we are! So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you — it really means a lot! Here’s to many more stories in the future! 🙂
I do apologise that my Bite-Sized Horror series has fallen by the wayside recently, but I’ve had neither the time nor the energy to keep it up at a consistent quality. Maybe when my life returns to something that resembles normality, it’ll make a return! In the meantime, I hope my short stories alone are enough fuel for thought (fuel for nightmare?).
Okay, so, that fanfare and apology is out of the way and done with — on to the next part. Writing is one of my main hobbies, alongside music (which I write, record and publish online) and art. It’s this latter point I’d like to draw your attention to. I like to make my own art (mostly digital paintings), and I’ve recently been adding images of my own creation to my short stories (check out the latest additions, for examples!). Well, it turns out that I’ve amassed quite a lot of art over the course of this hobby, and a few weeks ago I started sharing the pieces via Instagram, to positive response. I thought to myself, “Why not do the same on WordPress?”
I didn’t want to start uploading art onto this blog, as it’s solely for my short stories and horror pieces, and I didn’t want to get my threads crossed or to strike tonal inconsistencies — my stories are, for the most part, horror-themed, whereas my art is quite gentle, dreamy, and psychedelic. So, I’ve made a sister site on WordPress, dedicated entirely to my art. If you’re in any way interested, you can find it here: https://artinsoulstudio.wordpress.com/ — but at the moment, it’s in its fledgling stages!
An example of the sort of art I’ll be sharing! Artwork by Joshua G. J. Insole
Don’t worry, though — writing is (and shall remain) my main point of focus (even if I don’t have time to work on Bite-Sized Horror!). Art is quite a quick time-filler — I can bash out a painting in ten minutes or so; it doesn’t occupy that much time. I just thought it might be nice to also start sharing my other creative hobbies, as well!
Well, I guess that’s all I really wanted to say! So, thanks for the follows, likes, comments and shares over this past year — I look forward to many more years of blogging with you guys!
P.S. If you’re interested in my music, you can find it on YouTube or SoundCloud!
What’s that I hear you say? “Josh, we had no idea that Halloween was your favourite holiday! That’s so unexpected! Who’d have guessed that the lunatic who has an unhealthy obsession with horror likes Halloween? Not me!”
Alas, it is true. Halloween and October are my most treasured times of year. The burnt-orange leaves that scatter and make skittering noises as the wind ushers them down the streets. The acrid perfume of bonfires and fireworks lingering in the air. The cooler temperatures, the thick jumpers, the hugging scarfs. And, of course, All Hallow’s Eve.
I love all things Halloween. The movies, the music, the TV specials, the books, the decorations, the costumes. All of it. All of it. From the legitimately terrifying stuff to the kid-friendly goofy stuff. It simply warms the cold, cobwebby recesses of my heart.
So, to celebrate, Bite-Sized Horror will undergo a special Halloween theme for the rest of this month! I’m not sure how many posts there’ll be, but there’s going to be an underlying connection to them — perhaps even one overarching story. I think I may stray from my two-sentence rule — maybe I’ll play around with the 99-word structure I’ve recently come to love (check out CarrotRanch’s weekly prompts!). If I (temporarily) abandon the two-sentence shocker, I’ll probably not post every day, due to time constraints… But we’ll see — I think I’m going to wing it, and see where my dark, rotten soul leads me.
Additionally, I’ll be sharing parts of my other creative passion as well: music. I play a few different instruments and I love composing. Unsurprisingly, I adore horror soundtracks — particularly the works of John Carpenter. Writing music (especially creepy, horror-themed electronica) is one of my most enjoyable pastimes — so I’ll be posting tidbits, here and there, when the mood is right and the moon is full.
So keep your eyes peeled and your ear to the ground — terrible things are lurking in the shadows.
Over 20 short sci-fi and fantasy stories to warm the soul. Includes three Reedsy Writing Contest winners and several other shortlisted works.
Joshua G. J. Insole 