Lynne Stringer – Author & Editor

I looked at my blog the other day and realised I hadn’t posted since February! Eeek! I thought I’d better rectify that. It’s amazing how quickly the years fly by and as an author, I suddenly realise how little I’d done to market my books so far this year. It doesn’t help that two of my most supportive bookstores closed down at the beginning of the year. Bookstores are becoming harder and harder to find and fewer and fewer seem willing to take authors for signings. However, I have been looking for other avenues. Not long ago I became involved […]

You’d think that after six years, I’d be over it. I first submitted The Heir to Wombat Books in 2011. I was terrified of rejection and worried they would say the book was crap. Fortunately, they didn’t, although it still needed a lot of work, which we gave it until its ultimate release in 2013. Yet here I am, about to submit my latest manuscript to my publisher, and I’m terrified of what they’re going to say. I worked on Raydon’s Muse for most of last year and managed to finish it in December. Since then, I have been going […]

This week was my birthday. I’m not going to tell you how old I was but it was one of those birthdays where I’ve gone over the hump and now am going down the other side towards my next big celebration, you know, one of those ages that end in a zero. 🙂 In the lead-up to this birthday I was feeling down about that. Sometimes it’s hard to deal with the realisation that I’m getting steadily older. I don’t usually feel that much older, and in the end, that was the thing I clung to – I need to […]

The book business is hard. I think this is true whether you’re an author, publisher or bookseller and that was brought home to me in a sad way this week. I received an email from Angus & Robertson at Capalaba Park Shopping Centre with the sad news that they are closing down. This is a great loss to the Brisbane Indie book community, as they were a great supporter of local authors. I had a signing there in November and sold 14 books. David, who ran the store, was always welcoming, always recognised me and remembered my name, and I […]

Merry Christmas! I haven’t been too regular with my blogs just recently, mainly owing to just how busy it gets when you’re promoting a new book, especially when it’s Christmastime. Having pneumonia hasn’t helped either. Even though I only have ‘walking pneumonia’ it’s still been hard to find my ‘get up and go’ to do all the things I need to do at this time of year. Not to mention that there have been break-up parties and Christmas events, usually which require baking, and also the need to do the job I have. You know, the job that actually helps […]

It’s now only six weeks until Christmas day. Does that scare you? I think I’m on track with all my Christmas shopping and everything, so I’m not too worried. Some presents have already been bought and wrapped in preparation for putting them under the Christmas tree. There are more still to buy but in most cases, I have a good idea what I’m going to get, so I feel reasonably prepared as we draw closer to the festive season. As Once Confronted has just been released, this time of year is also phenomenally busy as I try and be everywhere […]

It’s almost the end of October and things are getting busy. All those end-of-year events seem to start in October. I had to be careful when scheduling the book launch for Once Confronted, as a few people had kids who were preparing for formals around that time, so were busy helping them get ready. Then there are the early Christmas parties and other end-of-year preparations, as there isn’t a lot of the year left. I work for Australian eBook Publisher, a self-publishing company, and we have also suddenly become very busy. I think some people are hoping to have their […]

How many authors do you know who have YouTube Channels? I know quite a few, although it still seems to be a rarity in some author circles. I’ve had my own channel for some time now, and every new book of mine that comes out provide the opportunity to upload more videos, as I have created book trailers for each of my books. I hear varying opinions on whether creating a book trailer is a worthwhile thing or not. Some people seem to think they’re a waste of time, others think they’re extremely useful. If nothing else, mine have been […]

This afternoon I held a book launch for Once Confronted. I hired a nearby church hall and went down in the early afternoon to get everything ready for the 2.00 pm start. It’s amazing how many things you need to take with you to an event like this. I needed a sign people could see from the street so they could see where to turn into the car park. I needed another sign to point people to the right building. I put up posters and blurbs and book review quotes for all my books, with food and drink enough to […]

Once Confronted is out now! It was released this weekend and I’ve already held an online launch. The local launch is next weekend. To celebrate its release, I thought I’d tell you the story behind it. It’s a little long, but I hope you can get through to the end. 🙂 On Saturday 20th April 1991 I was working alone in a bookstore. I had objected to working by myself, as I was worried that something might happen. However, I was told that I would not be allowed to work at night by myself but that nothing would happen in […]