Oldies love Stonewylde!

Old people love Stonewylde - that's a fact. It was my dad's 70th birthday recently and I went down to his retirement home in Dorset to take him out for lunch. I gave him a copy of Magus of Stonewylde to put in the communal library, and today he told me that it's caused a great stir amongst the residents. They love it! Several have gone out to the local bookshop to buy the next two books and the more technical ones have ordered them on the Internet. My dad says they're all talking about how much they enjoyed the book, how different it is to anything else they've read, and how very much they need to know what happens next! Sound familiar??

I've had other feedback in the past from elderly readers - several people in their seventies and eighties have taken the trouble to write to me in praise of the books, which is lovely. One lady in her late eighties said that Stonewylde took her back to her childhood, when life was simple and natural. The orchard and cider house scenes in Moondance of Stonewylde were an echo of her past memories of apple-picking as a child. Another elderly lady said she loved the beautiful storyline of Sylvie and Yul's developing love, and their bravery in taking on Magus. A couple said that they'd always felt something special and spiritual about the countryside and woods, and Stonewylde helped them to understand this natural affinity with the landscape. In fact many people of all ages, including a girl of 11 year old, have said this.

One of the problems with elderly readers of course is failing eyesight. I've also had an e mail from a lady who's desperate to read the Stonewylde Series, but can't read properly any more. She wanted to know if the books would be published in large print format, which is something I'd love to do in the future and am looking into. It must be awful not being able to read any more, particularly at a time in life when your mobility's affected too, and reading should be one of the remaining pleasures. I'm also looking into creating an audio book, which would be very exciting. The hundreds of children I've taught in my previous life will remember just how much I loved reading them stories. I can't think of anything better than reading Magus of Stonewylde aloud! Although I suppose a professional actor would do a better job. It will require quite an investment to produce an audio book, so that'll have to stay on the back burner for a while.

I'm so glad Stonewylde brought pleasure to the men and women in my dad's retirement home. If anyone has a relation in a similar place with a communal library, let me know and I'll send them a copy of Magus. It's great to know that older people love the books (one of my most profilic forum members bought the books for his elderly mother who's in her eighties - or it may be her nineties - and she really enjoyed them). Another lady e mailed me and said she'd read the whole series, then her husband nabbed them, then her two teenage kids, then her mother read them, and finally her grandmother! Wow!

Waterstones - please take note!!!

Breakthrough with Waterstone's and Independents

Good news on the Waterstone's front! The Stonewylde Series has been available in many Waterstone's branches for over a year now, with a massive increase in June 2007 when their Head Office decided to place the books in their core branches. This was fantastic news - until we realised that the books (only two of them at that point) were being put in the Teenage/Young Adult section. Nothing wrong with that of course, as many teenagers love Stonewylde and I recommend the series to anyone aged 13 or over. But the vast majority of readers are adult, male and female. It was incredibly disappointing to visit a branch and find single copies of each book tucked away in the Children's Dept. I've received so many e mails from frustrated people saying they can't find the books in Waterstone's. Or to be directed by staff to the Children's section.

But now apparently the Stonewylde Series is being classified as General Fiction, to go into the Adult section! I hope that the branches stocking the books will move them - or better still, leave some in the Teenage section and order more for the Adult section. I'd be really grateful if all my wonderful readers who are so proactive in their support for the books could visit their local Waterstone's and recommend that the books be re-categorised. Don't move them yourself of course! This annoys staff no end, and means if anyone asks them for the books, they can't find them. But a friendly chat may bring good results, as I've always found the majority of staff to be very helpful and keen to increase their business. Placing the books where adult browsers will come across them will increase their sales, so it makes sense. You'll be doing everyone a favour. And those of you waiting with bated breath for the fourth book know that it can't happen until the first three books are widely available and selling well. (Does that sound like a bribe?)

Another brilliant breakthrough happened this February and March, when Moongazy Publishing did a massive publicity and promotion drive to almost 500 independent bookshops throughout England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland to follow). This resulted in many shops ordering copies of the books, and there's been some very enthusiastic feedback from booksellers in many parts of the country. Tomorrow the new promotional posters are being delivered, and bookshops will be sent one of these in the next week, along with the publicity postcards. If you see a shop displaying a Stonewylde poster, please go in and congratulate them! Those shop-owners who've read the books themselves have been wildly enthusiastic, which is the best thing ever as of course they'll recommend the books to their customers.

If anyone has any interesting observations or does any bookshop reconnaissance, please let me know the outcome. It's so helpful to have this information, and my readers know how much I appreciate their assistance. I wonder how many other new authors are lucky enough to have such incredible support? When Stonewylde becomes a best-selling series, I know it will be largely due to the efforts of the Stonewylde fans in spreading the word, telling their friends, family and colleagues, and generally helping to generate interest and excitement. Many of these wonderful people are now members of the Stonewylde Forum, and they've created a fantastic community there. The latest hot topic is about keeping chickens! But there's lots of discussion too about Stonewylde, including a thread where readers are writing slogans to help promote the books.

I have some new diary dates for events in the summer, which should be going up on the website soon, so keep watching! I hope to meet more of the Stonewylde community this summer, having conversed with so many of them for the past year on the forum and via e mails. It's great when someone comes up a little diffidently at a book signing event or after one of my talks, and I realise it's a person I've been "chatting" to for months!