☆★*¨*•.¸☆How time flies☆¸.•*¨*★☆

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? Well I don't know if it's been fun but the time has certainly gone quick. We have been in our new home for 11 days now but if you popped round for a cuppa you'd think we've been here years! I think it's safe to say we have settled in.

Now it's not the area we hoped for and that was a bit of a shock but the house? OMG! It's so big and lovely. We are tucked right out of the way in a very quiet cal de sac surrounded by hills. Lots of bloomin' hills. I'm having to drive the children into school every day as it's six miles from our old house and it takes around 20-30 minutes depending on traffic. It's not ideal and quite time consuming but I think the house is worth the travelling.

It has been very tiring and I don't seem to stop, which means my writing has been neglected. I haven't written in a fortnight. I must get back to it because I'm so close to completing Maxwell Mysteries #3. I'm sure once I develop a routine it will be fine. The youngest has just started nursery too, so it means half-days! Today was his first day and he enjoyed it. I felt weird without him but managed to get everything done in the three hours. Child no #5 seemed quite concerned I'd be on my own without anyone with me. I reassured him I'll cope ha ha ha

Because of the travelling I'm now having to do, it means the daily freebies and my posting on the page will be effected. I will get on when I can but it's hard, especially when there's something to do and believe me, six kids, a husband, two pets and a house this size, there's always something to do!

Do not fear, I will still try to post daily freebies but the times will vary. You're probably best looking out for them between 4pm and 5pm Saturday to Thursday. I doubt I'll get on, on Friday's, That's my busiest day along with Tuesday's but I will do what I can.

Thank you for your continued to support and remember, you can find all my books on Amazon, available to download from as little as 99p.

Amazon ➜ UK 

Amazon ➜ US

Please remember to tip this indie author and leave a review.

Keep up to date by 

Following me on Twitter

Liking me on Facebook

or

Adding me on Goodreads

☆★*¨*•.¸☆On a personal note☆¸.•*¨*★☆

Hey guys,

After ten long years, we are finally moving! It's been a long time coming but we've never actually got around to doing anything about it (because we are lazy) until now and I cannot wait. It'll be so nice to have a bath in a decent bathroom, have fully working lights, enough bedrooms for all of us and I certainly won't miss the parking problem. 

It also means I may be without the internet for some time. I'm not sure how long that will be yet and to be honest I don't know how the hell I'm going to cope! Although I may get more writing done (in between unpacking of course!) because I won't have the added distraction of Facebook or Twitter and to be honest I can still access them on my phone but my phone's pretty crap so it means I'm limited in what I can do. There will be no daily freebies unfortunately until I'm back up and running with the internet but I will still try to pop on as and when I can. 

Try not to miss me too much and remember you can still download and read any of my books in the meantime. I'm almost finished book #3 in the Maxwell Mysteries and I already have ideas for book #4, #5 and #6! I need to finish book #7 in the Cocktails & Tattoos series and I plan on writing other things too. 

You can find all my books here ~ 

 Amazon ➜ UK 

Amazon ➜ US

Please remember to tip this indie author and leave a review.

Keep up to date by 

Following me on Twitter

Liking me on Facebook

or

Adding me on Goodreads

I'm sure I will be back soon and service will resume as normal.

☆★*¨*•.¸☆The Important Things☆¸.•*¨*★☆

It's not often I write a personal post. I tend to keep all my posts book related. After all, it's the self promo I so desperately need and my personal life really isn't very exciting unless you want to read about me shaving a complete leg with the safety cap on the razor and wondering why it isn't working or how I dropped the car keys in the wheelie bin (again!) and had to practically climb into the stinking bin because I'm so god damn short. I thought not but I want to share with you the important things of being an Indie Author and what is important to Indie Authors.

Writing is the easy part and the most enjoyable. That goes without saying. You think of a plot, develop some characters and when they start talking to you, the writing comes naturally. I have had some stories that have practically written themselves in a space of a few short weeks. 

Designing the cover. Now that's fun. Finding that all important cover that's going to sell your book. You have the perfect cover mapped out in your mind and all you want to do is find it. Whilst trying to find it, can be stressful and if you're not blessed to have the means to do it yourself or like me, have a mother who is brilliant at that kind of thing because I am useless, it can be quite costly. Seeing the end product is worth while.

Editing and proof reading. An Indie Author's nightmare and unless you have a brilliant team behind you or the funds to hire professionals, editing and proof reading can be a pure headache but one of THE most important things about the whole process. No one wants to be a victim to bad grammar and receive unpleasant reviews for it. I have been victim to this and it's not very nice. While negative reviews can be constructive because how else are you going to improve, I think some reviewers get a kick out of being mean and really they don't understand how much hard work goes into creating that story and for what? We get paid peanuts! 

Every aspiring author's dream is to bag that all important book deal with a top notch publisher and seeing your book line the shelves of every book store and supermarket. Those that say it's not are lying. I mean, who wouldn't want the the five figure sum and to see your name up in lights? Set up shop in a book store, meet your fans and sign copy after copy of your books? It's all I have ever dreamed about since I was 14. It's my ultimate goal. My life would be complete BUT it's not easy. There's plenty of small publishing companies around who are willing to take on the likes of Indie Authors but unless you make it big, it's not going to work. If they ask you for money for outlays etc then you shouldn't do it. They should pay YOU.

Thankfully, today, there is the self-publishing option like Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Nook etc, which gives everyone the chance to get their work out there and share it with the world. I know it's been my life saver. I no longer have to write a story in my spare time and leave it clogging up my laptop. That's the beauty of self-publishing and hopefully it means, one day, a big publishing company or agent will pick up my story and say, wow, this is brilliant and offer me a deal. Well I can live in hope.

I only self-publish with Amazon. I tried Smashwords, it didn't work out for me. If you publish with Kindle Direct Publishing you earn yourself a whooping 70% stake in royalties but that means you can't publish with anyone else. If you publish with Amazon among others such as Smashwords etc, you get a mere 35% in the hope that the other publishers will make up the remainder 35%. For me it didn't. If it does for you, brilliant. It's got to be better to have a bigger selling platform that's for sure.

Pirating. Unfortunately it happens and not with just movies but with books too. Indie Authors already earn a pittance. I am lucky if I receive a cheque every six months that hits three digits. After all, eBooks aren't expensive. Mine range between 99p to £1.99. It's not much at all when you think about it. All that hard and you're lucky to make 29p out of a 99p download and £1.13 out of £1.99. So imagine how many people would have to download your book for you to earn anything worth mentioning? Of course you could increase the price of your book to download but then who is going to buy it? Who wants to pay a small fortune for a book written by an author no one has heard of? I find keeping them cheap, ups your chance of downloads and you never know, as a reader you might even find a new favourite author because you don't mind spending less then a quid on a download.

I know most Indie Authors don't even do it for the money. I mean how could we when we're barely earning but my reasons for doing it, is for pure satisfaction, for the achievement and being able to share my warped imagination with others and for them to enjoy it. That's what makes it worth while but it doesn't mean people should get it for free unless it's on a free promo from your publishing platform. Pirating is against the law for a reason so please share a thought before you do so. Think of the author who has written it, the sleepless nights they have encountered because the characters would't shut up talking to them, the cost of the coffee they went through to keep them going and the mind they lost. They deserve to be awarded with something, however little it is.

The only advice I can give to stop pirating is don't dish out your digital copies via emails. ARC's are dangerous. The person it's sent to will forward it to a friend who then forwards it to another friend and so on and then it's out there for anyone to read free of charge. Unless you completely trust that person it should not be done. If you want to give away eCopies, run competitions or need your team to proof read, send it directly to their reading device. Ask them for their Kindle email and get them to add your email address to their approved list on Amazon. It's the only way to stop pirating and they still get to read your work for free.

The perks of being Indie Author is the freedom. Not having anyone breath down your neck, screaming at you for not reaching that deadline and having the added pressure of the money. Someone editing your work so much it no longer reads like your work and suffering from writer's block when everything is staked on you and not being able to produce. Imagine the stress? Whilst the money would be great, I find Indie Authors passion for writing shines through more, they are more relate able and readable because no one has edited the shit out of it. We have the freedom to write what we like, when we like. So what if we bring out three or four books in a year or only release one? We are our own bosses. No stress, satisfaction guaranteed.  

Reviews are the most important thing to Indie Authors. I don't believe in review swapping. I think that's classed as cheating, Someone isn't giving you a review because they enjoyed reading your book or they didn't. They are only giving you it because they are getting one in return. I don't do it. I like the honest to god reviews, whether they are one star or five stars although I prefer the latter obviously.

Reviews are what helps sell a book. The book with reviews is more likely to be downloaded to the book without. It's a known fact so please, when you've finished reading a book, take a minute to pop on Amazon or Goodreads and leave a review, even if it's short.

If you plan on writing a negative view, I do urge you to think about it before you do and word it correctly. I understand your need to write honest reviews, it's important to us too but please keep them constructive rather then mean. There's no need for nastiness. If you didn't enjoy the book, list your reasons rather then saying it's just crap or slag the author off. We have feelings. Keep them honest and constructive. After all, it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. We can't please everyone.

 

Are you signed up to Kindle Unlimited? Amazon now pays royalties to authors on Unlimited as long as the reader reads one page of the book so please make sure you flick the pages so we can get paid. It's also another great way to find new authors. Don't ignore the Indie Authors. You're paying your monthly subscription anyway so why not make the most of it and try something new.
       

So that basically wraps up the The Important Things to Indie Authors. We're a friendly bunch just trying to make it in the big bad world and it's sometimes a scary place so any help is hugely appreciated. You never know, you might be surprised with what you'll find. 

You can download any of my books from Amazon for a small fee and please remember, tip this Indie Author by leaving a review. 

Amazon ➜ UK 

Amazon ➜ US

Facebook

GoodReads

Twitter

☆★*¨*•.¸☆Cocktails & Tattoos☆¸.•*¨*★☆

☆★☆Cocktails & Tattoos series☆★☆

The news you have been waiting to hear.... book #5 in the Cocktails & Tattoos series, Birthday Cake & Sandy Beaches will be out summer 2016 and that's not all.... book #5 will be followed up by book #6, which is a short novella written in Harley's mum's POV and I'm half-way through writing book #7. I know ~ exciting!! There was no way I could leave them and who knows, I am thinking about book #8 but I'm not making any promises.

Please note: These stories contain lots of bad language, a little bit of sex and loads of laugh out loud moments so please do not read if easily offended or prone to peeing yourself from laughter.  

Right, so here's all the info you need.... 

☆★☆Birthday Cake & Sandy Beaches #5☆★☆

Blurb

Harley and Spike are back for a fifth book in the Cocktails & Tattoos series.

Spike is turning forty and what better way to celebrate then taking all the family off to Bora Bora for a fortnight. It sounds like the perfect plan but of course, whilst the location is every bit perfect, it’s going to be anything but, as trust is broken, tempers fly, secrets are revealed and family bonds destroyed. They are sure to be in for one hell of a fortnight and will there be any going back for Harley or has she burnt her bridges forever.

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.

1

I quietly climb into bed and pull my thick white quilt over me. Spike is fast asleep next to me but his arm automatically falls open for me and I snuggle down into the warmth of his body. There truly is no better place. I close my eyes and I am sure it won't be long before sleep comes. It's eleven pm, I am knackered and feel like I could sleep for a week. Parenting is so hard. And tiring. I am in constant demand whatever time, day or night and I never get a moments peace let alone spend any time with my husband. It certainly is a full time job and I don't know how these working mums fit in time to work. I tried it when Ava turned one but I couldn't do it. Taylor was at full time school so he was OK but Ava had to go to a child minder and I cried myself stupid every morning on the way to work and clock watched until the moment, I could leave to pick her up. I was so god damn tired, because having two kids is something draining. In the end Big Bruce said to me I clearly wasn't ready to return to work and sent me home to be with my kids. After two weeks of what felt like torture, I had to agree and I haven't attempted it since. Ava will be three in a few short months and due to start nursery in September. Maybe then, I will attempt working again, just part-time, fitting in appointments that co-side with her nursery hours.

Because I am not working, it means I have been painting more and Ava loves to join me while Taylor is at school and Spike is at work. Then there are the walks we share in Regent's Park with our trusty cane nine Albert, although Ava doesn't like the pug much. Since learning to talk, she has called him, "Pig, yuck, stink." It has rather stuck and now he answers to it. Life is pretty fucking good right now, I must say, well except for the tiredness. No one warned me how tiring it was going to be.

I feel myself dosing then I am brought back from the brink as I hear, "Mummy, mummy!" I fling back the covers, reluctantly leave my haven, and pad across the hallway into my daughter's bedroom. Ava is sitting up in bed with just the glow of a night light outlining her tiny figure and mass of dark hair. She doesn't look like me. She has her dad's rich brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She even has his naturally tanned complexion, which at least means she isn’t pale, and doesn't burn in the sun but she is tiny which she must get from me. My mum always said I was dinky. Personality wise, she definitely is my mini me according to Spike. She is strong minded and shamefully has my blue mouth. 

"What is it Ava?" I ask her, sitting down next to her. 

"Giant mummy," she cries. Her eyes are huge like saucers.  

"Ava, hunny, there is no giant."

"Yes mummy, there is. In my clothes," she points towards her wardrobe. 

"I knew it was a bad idea for daddy to read you Jack and the Beanstalk for bed," I mumble getting up. 

"He took Dolly mummy. Giant took Dolly."

"Dolly has probably fallen off the bed sweetie, that's all," I tell her, looking around the floor for Dolly but I can't find it.

"No. Giant took Dolly," she insists. I roll my eyes and walk over to the wardrobe. This really is the last thing I want to do at half-past eleven at night. I am tired, too tired to contend with a missing Dolly and a giant. I look over at Ava and she is hiding beneath her Disney Princess quilt. Thanks for the back up hunny. I yank on the wardrobe door and jump out of my skin as Taylor comes charging at me. He starts laughing at my screams and chucks Dolly at me before running out of the bedroom. I hear Spike shout his name then appears in the doorway half-asleep. 

"What the hell is going on?" He asks scratching his head. 

"Giant daddy," Ava replies. "That giant needs to fuck off daddy."

Spike looks to me and I shrug. 

"It was just Taylor hunny," I tell her handing her Dolly. 

"I'm scared mummy."

"I'm going to kill Taylor," I mumble. 

"No mummy, not kill Taylor, kill giant."

"Why did you read Jack and the beanstalk to her?" I ask Spike. 

"It was on her shelf," he shrugs looking over to her bookshelf on the wall. Out of the three rows of books, he had to fucking read her probably the scariest one there.

I lay Ava down, tuck her and Dolly in and kiss them both good night. "You are going to have to have a word with Taylor. He nicked her Dolly and hid in the wardrobe." I pull the bedroom door to and leave it a jar.

"Why me?"

"'Cos I'm fucking tired," I snap.

"Mummy, mummy, I'm scared mummy," Ava calls. 

"Guess where I'm sleeping," I say turning on my bare feet and heading back to Ava's bedroom. 

Prior to editing. Subject to change. 

Copyright @ Kerry Frith 2015. 

Out Summer 2016

☆★☆Love, Lies & Apologies #6☆★☆

Jan is turning 60, Harley is moving to Australia and Harley and Meredith are still not talking. Cliff asks Jan what she would like for her birthday. The answer is simple. Her daughters to talk again so Cliff decides to take action.

Join the Cocktails & Tattoos gang as Cliff puts Jan, Meredith and Harley on a plane to Rome to celebrate Jan’s birthday and embark on one last attempt to reunite her daughters. Can Jan bring her girls back together before Harley moves half way around the world and more importantly will it be a birthday to remember for the right reasons?

Part of the Cocktails & Tattoos series. From Harley’s Mum’s POV. Short novella.

Due out summer 2017 

Followed by Christmas Cocktails & Sexy Tattooists (Coming Christmas 2017).

Download the series so far.... books #1 & #2 are available to download on Kindle for just 99p and also can be purchased in paperback from Amazon. Books #3 & #4 are available to download on Kindle for £1.99. Paperbacks coming soon.

☆★☆Cocktails & Tattoos #1☆★☆

Harley-May Reid is a straight talking kind of girl. Despite her accident prone nature, she likes to keep her life simple, like her causal relationship with Ged, sharing a flat with her gay best friend Lewis and working in her dad’s tattoo parlour in East London. There isn't any complications, no hidden agendas and no love on the arisen but all that is about to change. 

Harley’s best friend Emma is getting married in Corfu and as Harley sets off to be bridesmaid, things take an unexpected turn in the shape of Spike. Of course he’s tall, dark and handsome and he drives Harley mad and not in a good way. In fact he causes her nothing but grief and all that is just on the flight. Harley cannot wait to land in Corfu to get away from him but it’s never going to be that easy as she finds herself permanently crossing paths with him, and trying to resist his charm is growing harder by the day. 

With jealous ex’s, a deranged secretary, a pregnant big sister and crazy best friends, it's never going to be easy, and when Spike offers her an opportunity of a life time and she refuses, will Harley regret her mistake, or is it too late to change her mind? 

This story contains lots of bad language, a little bit of sex and loads of laugh out loud moments. Why not join Harley on her adventure to keep love and stay out of trouble.

Amazon ➜ UK / US 

☆★☆The Blog of Travelling & Mishaps #2☆★☆

This short story follows Cocktails & Tattoos as Harley and Spike set off on their around the world adventure. Join them on their Travelling & Mishaps as they visit thirty-two countries in eighty-two days using Harley’s iphone to keep everyone at home updated via a Facebook Blog. 

This will show Harley in her full glory as she sustains more injuries, experiences home sickness, travels on a night train through Beijing and loses Spike in LA before returning to London with a proposal. 

With the same sense of humor and bad language as Cocktails & Tattoos, you will be mad not to read this Blog style short story just in time for the sequel Ex’s & Shotgun Weddings.

Amazon ➜ UK / US

☆★☆Ex's & Shotgun Weddings #3☆★☆

She wasn't made for pole dancing nor dressing like a hooker and jealousy is such an ugly trait. 

Harley is back and this time she is the one getting married but she doesn’t want the big white church wedding. No thanks. Small and intimate will do. After all saying those two important words is the only thing that matters right? Right. 

So what will it be… A quick ceremony in Vegas perhaps? Maybe a wedding like Emma’s in Corfu? Or both? Well we are talking about Harley and nothing is ever straightforward. In fact, there’s so much going on she can barely concentrate. Everything is changing and she isn't sure whether she likes it. 

Can Harley keep her mouth shut about the affair, learn to cope with working in a battle zone, forgive her dad for lying, deal with jealous ex’s, support Emma in her time of need whilst being dressed as a Ghost buster and more importantly, ever say I do? With new and old friends combined, it’s certainly going to be one hell of a bumpy ride.

Amazon ➜ UK / US

☆★☆Swollen Bellies & Tiny Feet #4☆★☆

There's a baby boom going down but who is prepared for parent hood?  

While Emma has the perfect house, the most beautiful nursery and a whole row of designer bags lined up, Harley is fretting whether she's mother material. After all she can barely look after herself let alone a baby.  

As the swollen bellies start to grow, the constant need to pee kicks in and never mind the mood swings. That aside, Lewis has gone AWOL in Dubai, Big Bruce has some news of his own and is Spike really having an affair? 

Join Harley on her final adventure as she takes on pregnancy support classes, moves house and meets Peanut for the first time but of course being Harley, it's never going to be without a few bumps and bruises, and cursing along the way. 

Amazon ➜ UK / US

For all up to-date info make sure you check out the following links ➜