Thursday, February 28, 2013

Newsletter #2 out!



There's so much happening at the moment it's hard to keep track!  

Highlights this month are a very exciting publication, appearances in Beijing and Hong Kong, and news of a secret mission to a very closed country: taking Shieldwall to places not even the Vikings ever got to!

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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Feb 2013: What's happening here.....

For those of you not yet subscribed: here's my first newsletter.

and you can subscribe to the newsletter here


First things first: thank you for subscribing to this newsletter.  I’m delighted to see so many of you signing up, and I’m doubly delighted that I know very few of you: yet!  Hopefully this is something that changes over time…..  feel free to get in touch if there’s something you want to know, or read!

So: what to expect from this newsletter? 

I’m certainly not planning to bombard you with trivia.  You’re busy and so am I, but if you want a constant Justin-Hill-Buzz in your life, feel free to subscribe to my twitter account at @JHillAuthor, or go ahead and find my Facebook page, where there’s an almost daily feed of things that seem interesting. 

What this newsletter will give you is a place to find out first what’s coming up from me.  In fact, I want it to be the place.  First and foremost!

As you may know, I’ve set out to place 1066 and the Battle of Hastings in its proper historical context in a series of novels.  Shieldwall has given this story a cracking start, and I intend to follow it up with great books that bring you through this history in a way that’s compelling, informative and most importantly, great reads.

One problem I have heard from readers is that it takes too long between finishing reading a book and the next book getting to print.  There’s nothing I can do about this, I’m afraid!  Compared to some, I write slowly.  Compared to others, I’m a blur of pages.  But as a reader, I understand how frustrating it is to have to wait for an author to put the rest of the story under the feet of the characters you love. 

To tide you over, I’ve decided to start releasing a few special items that will hopefully keep you happy, and not leave you too hungry. 

Many bits of the historical story fell out of Shieldwall because they didn’t fit into Godwin’s story.  So I’ve decided to rework some of those into short pieces (a proper name would be short story or novella – although I see them all as part of the jigsaw) and publish these as ebooks, print on demand and limited edition prints. 

Other publications are some of the translations of Old English poetry that I worked on as part of ‘background mood’ building, some non-fiction pieces, or other translations.  I have ideas of what might be interesting to you, but I’d love to hear your ideas too! 

As a writer I find all the possibilities of epublishing both exciting and liberating, and I hope it means I can keep readers happy too. 

So – to get back to the original question – what’s this newsletter for?

Well, it’ll be the best and first place I announce upcoming work and publications; and all the e-publications to keep you in Hill writing.  There’s a few things coming soon – so stay posted. 

It’s also where I’ll give you news on the progression of the second novel, Hastings, which is due out in Spring 2014.  (No guesses what that’s about..!)

Thank you again!  And welcome!

 

Justin