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Woop woop! Can you believe that it is the 1st of December already! That can only mean one thing....it is time to add the first of our books to this month's Cozy Mystery Christmas Collection, and today we shall be exploring books with a Christmas tree theme. Cozy Mystery Audiobook Add-OnsIf you love audiobooks or use the Whispersync for Kindle facility, then you can often download the audiobook versions of the free books for a huge discount once you have the Kindle book, even when you get the Kindle book for free. Below are the audiobook versions of this week's free Kindle books. Amazon will generally ask you if you want to add the audiobook version once you get to the checkout.
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 December is all about Christmas cozy mysteries and you can download all of the following books and previews for free on Prolifick Reads. This is a great way to try out books by other authors to see if they are your cup of tea. If you are an author, why not add your book to one of the future collections. There are even more Christmas cozy mystery themed books over in the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer private group on Facebook. The Mewltide Mugger by Alannah Rogers
Lost Voices by Victoria LK Williams
The Mystery of Ruby's Sugar (Sample) by Rose Donovan
Run Away For Christmas...A Citrus Beach Mystery (sample) by Victoria LK Williams
Avery Meets Chevy: An Avery Barks Dog Mystery by Mary Hiker
Christmas Shop Murder by Linnea West
Here are this weekend's free cozy mystery books to download. As always, be sure to double check that the book is still free on Amazon as prices do change. Don't forget to thank the author for making their book available for free - it helps them and future readers if you leave a review, and follow the author's profile on Amazon. You can get the free Kindle app for your phone, tablet, or laptop (links here for the free app: US UK CA DE AU IT IN FR ES NL MX JA), or simply download the books straight to your Kindle reader. If you were wanting to get yourself a Kindle reader, I just purchased one for my birthday (I wrote a little review about it) on a special promo for Black Friday, reduced from £49.99 to £29.99 and I absolutely love it.
Cozy Mystery Audiobook Add-OnsIf you love audiobooks or use the Whispersync for Kindle facility, then you can often download the audiobook versions of the free books for a huge discount once you have the Kindle book, even when you get the Kindle book for free. Below are the audiobook versions of this week's free Kindle books. Amazon will generally ask you if you want to add the audiobook version once you get to the checkout. Download Bertram Bile: The Raven's Curse for Free
 This week's cozy mystery author in residence in our Cozy Mystery Book Explorer Facebook group is Margaret Lashley, best known for her Val Fremden Humorous Mystery series. Margaret will be taking over the group from Friday 30th December until Friday 7th December, when we'll be joined by a new cozy mystery author in residence. This is a brilliant opportunity for cozy mystery fans to get up close and personal with the author and to ask them any questions you like, about the characters, series, life as an author, and inspiration behind the books, so please don't be shy. A Little Bit About Margaret Lashley I’m Margaret Lashley, Sarah’s first “guinea pig” guest author through December 6. (Forgive me as I bumble along in new territory.) I am an American, born and raised in Florida, and am the author of the best-selling Val Fremden Humorous Mystery series, which just happens to be conveniently set in my hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida. How did I get into writing? After graduating with a degree in communications, I got my first real job (unless you count roller-skating waitress) when I landed a spot as a “Girl Friday” at a small advertising agency. I didn’t realize at the time that the job mostly entailed running around the office screaming “The sky is falling!” at lackadaisical artists unfazed by impeding deadlines. In search of a more rewarding position, in my spare time I tried my hand at writing copy for brochures and ads. Every morning, I slipped my fledgling, typewritten attempts under the office door of the agency president. I guess he got tired of stepping on them or throwing them away, because not long after, he promoted me to junior advertising copy writer. That day, my writing career was born. I’ve never looked back.  I’ll admit it. I LOVE to write. And that’s a very good thing, because I can’t say I have too many other marketable skills. (Snarky stand-up comedian and evil genius don’t pay peanuts unless you know somebody. And getting references? Forget about it!) I began writing the Val Fremden series because I couldn’t find many books out there featuring a woman with thighs bigger than a hamster’s. And all the female protagonists were either in their twenties or nineties. What about all of us wonderful gals in-between? Val, my main character, is a smart, snarky risk-taker who hasn’t won all her battles. Maybe not even half of them. At age 45, she still doesn’t have her act together. In fact, she’s divorced, broke, and wondering what Friskies Cat Chow might taste like for dinner. Princess material she most definitely is not. But she does know how to laugh. And that trait, along with a gin and tonic, is, most of the time, enough to get her through. With Val, I wanted to explore the ups and downs of being a woman, while mining midlife for all the laughs along the way. Val is a heroine who clever, world-wise women can identify with, cheer for, cry with, cringe over, and be happy they met her (and even happier they AREN’T her). The Val Fremden 10-book series just wrapped up with Cloud Nine. The final book released on November 22 – just a week ago. It’s been a wild ride. And it’s been gratifying to see the series get discovered and loved by readers. (The first book, Glad One, is currently topping many charts on Amazon!) So, now what? I’m currently taking a break to read, relax a bit, regroup, and explore what I want to do next. I most definitely will keep on writing. I can’t imagine a day without putting words on the page. When I’m not writing, I’m traveling. In my late 20s, I started backpacking all over Central America. And while I don’t sleep on hammocks on the beach anymore, I still love to visit new places. I’ve been to well over 40 countries so far. I even lived in Europe for nearly eight years. I’ve been back in the US for five years now. I try to plan a big trip every summer – both for inspiration and to escape a chunk of Florida’s long, hot summer. So, enough about me! I want to hear from YOU. Feel free to post a question in the comments section of the Facebook group during the week. I’ll be popping in regularly to answer your questions in between doing what I love best…telling stories. Don’t be shy! I’m here all week folks!
How to ObserveThere are loads of ways to mark this special day, here are just a few ideas. Don't forget to use the hashtag #cozymysteryday
We're coming to the end of our historical cozy mystery book month, but there are still a few more collections to share with you before the month is up. Today's collection is a Victorian themed one, set between 1837-1901 during Queen Victoria's reign (they may or may not be technically considered cozies!). If you haven't done so already, don't forget to download your free historical books and previews here - this is a great way to try out new authors and books you might not normally read. You can also join the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook for more free books and book fun. Audiobook Versions to Add-OnWhenever you 'buy' (download for free) the Kindle version of a book, always check if to see if you can add the audiobook version at check out at the same time. Audiobooks are often reduced from over £20 to around £2.99 for folks who have the Kindle ebook already. This usually means that you can make use of the Whispersync function on your Kindle device and switch between reading and listening to the story - perfect for when you are at the gym, or driving your car. You can also get the audiobooks as part of an Audible subscription, or sign up for a free 30 day trial to see if you like audiobooks first.
I don't know about you, but I'm a huge fan of the Downton Abbey series, and with no more new series on the cards, I figured I would try and find some cozy mystery books with a Downton Abbey vibe instead. Because, well, let's face it, you can NEVER have enough cozy mystery books in your life! So without further ado, I present to you....today's historical cozy mystery books!! Audiobook Versions to Add-OnWhenever you 'buy' (download for free) the Kindle version of a book, always check if to see if you add the audiobook version at the same time. These are often reduced from over £20 to around £2.99 for folks who have the ebook. This usually means that you can make use of the Whispersync function on your Kindle device and switch between reading and listening to the story - perfect for when you are at the gym, or driving your car. You can also get the audiobooks as part of an Audible subscription, or sign up for a free 30 day trial to see if you like audiobooks first.
Since November is all about celebrating historical cozy mystery books, I thought we'd take a moment to appreciate author Kerry Greenwood and her female sleuth and fearless flapper Phryne Fisher. These books are set around 1928-1929 in Australia. They have some of the most beautiful book covers too! I'm not 100% certain that they are cozy mystery books, but they are certainly close enough and it would be too sad not to include them. Audiobook Versions to Add-OnWhenever you buy the Kindle version of a book, always check if to see if you add the audiobook version at the same time. These are often reduced from over £20 to around £2.99 for folks who have the ebook. This usually means that you can make use of the Whispersync function on your Kindle device and switch between reading and listening to the story - perfect for when you are at the gym, or driving your car. You can also get the audiobooks as part of an Audible subscription, or sign up for a free 30 day trial to see if you like audiobooks first. Here are this weekend's free cozy mystery books to download. As always, be sure to double check that the book is still free on Amazon as prices do change. You can get the free Kindle app for your phone, tablet, or laptop (links here for the free app: US UK CA DE AU IT IN FR ES NL MX JA), or simply download the books straight to your Kindle reader. If you were wanting to get yourself a Kindle reader, I just purchased one for my birthday (I wrote a little review about it) on a special promo for Black Friday, reduced from £49.99 to £29.99 and I absolutely love it.
Cozy Mystery Audiobook Add-OnsIf you love audiobooks or use the Whispersync for Kindle facility, then you can often download the audiobook versions of the free books for a huge discount once you have the Kindle book, even when you get the Kindle book for free. Below are the audiobook versions of this week's free Kindle books. Amazon will generally ask you if you want to add the audiobook version once you get to the checkout. Download my Bertram Bile: The Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark Book for Free
What better way to celebrate National Gingerbread Cookie day, than with a cozy mystery book or two! Here is just a small collection of books and audiobooks for you, but if you want to see more cozy mysteries on offer, check out the Gingerbread Cookie Day Cozy Mystery Book board on Pinterest. If you love free cozy mystery books then check out the Thanksgiving collection here and the free books collection here. Audiobook Add-OnsIf you love audiobooks and Whispersync, then you can often add the audio version of the book for a hugely discounted price when you buy the Kindle book first. Usually around £2.99 instead of £20 or more. You can also get the book for free as part of an Audible subscription or 30 day free trial, so it's worth checking those out if you love audiobooks.
 We can't celebrate November without celebrating Thanksgiving and giving thanks for all the cozy mystery books we get the opportunity to enjoy. Likewise authors will be thanking their readers for being fans and enjoying their creative works. In this Giving Thanks collection you will find full books and book previews that can be downloaded free of charge. What better way to try out new books, themes, and authors risk free. And if you need more books, then don't forget to try out this month's Historical Cozy Mystery collection too before the end of the month. Oh and here is a sneak peek of all the upcoming collections on offer, so you know what's in store each month. If you are an author, why not add your book to one of the future collections? There are even more historical and Thanksgiving cozy mystery themed books over in the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer private group on Facebook. If you want to give thanks to these cozy mystery authors for making their books available as part of this free collection, why not consider following their author page on Amazon (only an option for UK and US sites), or leaving them a book review to help other cozy mystery fans to find their books.
Are you a cozy mystery author and want to have your book included in a future themed promo month? All the details on Prolific Works here. For a full list of upcoming promos click here.
Here are your free cozy mystery books for today. You don't need to have a Kindle device to access them, just the free app which you can download to your mobile phone, laptop, iPad, or computer. That's it. (Download the free Kindle app here: US UK CA DE AU IT IN FR ES NL MX JA). If you love audiobooks, then you can often download the audiobook version of your chosen book for a huge discount at the same time as you download your free Kindle book on Amazon, so be sure to check out the related audiobooks on this blog post below. You can find even more cozy mystery audio books here. PLEASE REMEMBER WHEN DOWNLOADING YOUR BOOKS FROM AMAZON, THAT THEY WERE FREE AT THE TIME OF ME WRITING THIS BLOG POST AND THAT THE AUTHORS MAY END THE PROMOTIONS AND CHANGE THE PRICE AT ANY TIME. IF YOU SEE A BOOK YOU WANT, GRAB IT NOW RATHER THAN WAIT BECAUSE THE FREE OFFER COULD END WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR. WANT TO THANK THE AUTHOR FOR MAKING THEIR BOOK AVAILABLE FOR FREE? GIVE THEM A FOLLOW ON AMAZON, AND LEAVE THE BOOK A REVIEW TO HELP OUT OTHER READERS BROWSING THAT BOOK.
Audiobook Add OnsIf you love audiobooks, or want to make use of the Whispersync function on your Kindle so that you can alternate between reading and listening to your new Kindle book, then it's well worth checking out the free and discounted options for the audiobooks. There are several ways to do this, so choose the one that best suits your needs. When you download your free Kindle book at the Amazon checkout, you will often get the option of adding the audiobook for £2.99 (or equivalent currency) instead of the usual £26.99 or however much the book usually costs to download. That could be 10 hours of listening!! Bargain!! Alternatively, you can make use of Gift codes and get the audiobook for free. I have these for my own cozy mystery books and I make these available to my Free Book Friday mailing list subscribers each week on a first come, first served basis. If you subscribe to Audible, then you get credits to use on audiobooks each month, and you can make the most of their free trial to see if you like it. They currently have a promotion for Black friday that's worth checking out.
Here are this week's free cozy mystery books to download for the weekend. You don't need to have a Kindle device to access them, just the free app which you can download to your mobile phone, laptop, iPad, or computer. That's it. (Download the free Kindle app here: US UK CA DE AU IT IN FR ES NL MX JA).
If you love audiobooks, then you can often download the audiobook version of your chosen book for a huge discount at the same time as you download your free Kindle book on Amazon, so be sure to check out the related audiobooks on this blog post below. You can find even more cozy mystery audio books here. PLEASE REMEMBER WHEN DOWNLOADING YOUR BOOKS FROM AMAZON, THAT THEY WERE FREE AT THE TIME OF ME WRITING THIS BLOG POST AND THAT THE AUTHORS MAY END THE PROMOTIONS AND CHANGE THE PRICE AT ANY TIME. IF YOU SEE A BOOK YOU WANT, GRAB IT NOW RATHER THAN WAIT BECAUSE THE FREE OFFER COULD END WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR. WANT TO THANK THE AUTHOR FOR MAKING THEIR BOOK AVAILABLE FOR FREE? GIVE THEM A FOLLOW ON AMAZON, AND LEAVE THE BOOK A REVIEW TO HELP OUT OTHER READERS BROWSING THAT BOOK.
Free and Heavily Discounted Audiobook Versions of Your Free Books
If you subscribe to Audible, then you get credits to use on audiobooks each month, and you can make the most of their free trial to see if you like it. They currently have a promotion for Black friday that's worth checking out.
I Just Treated Myself to a Kindle Reader for £29.99 for my Birthday!
Special Announcement!! Limited Edition, Personally Signed Copies of my New Book 'Dead on Doughnuts' - Deadline to Order is 1st December 2018
To celebrate my birthday and the launch of my publishing company Isla Britannica Books this week, I'm releasing 100 signed copies of my new book 'Dead on Doughnuts' before it comes out to the public on the 1st February 2019. I previously released this book on Amazon and it did very well, getting 4-5 star reviews as I tested the water as a new cozy mystery author.
Well I've finally saved up enough for an editor and a cover designer, and am re-writing and polishing it to be released on the 1st February 2019 as the first of many cozy mystery books to come. But folks who want to have a special, collector's edition of the print and hardcopy book can place orders before the 1st December at midnight PDT and I'll send them a signed, numbered (1-100) copy of the book just after Christmas as soon as the final print book hits my hands. That means that you get the book over a month before anyone else, and you'll have one of only 100 signed copies of the book as I won't be signing any more of this book after that. Books will be numbered as the orders are placed, so if you are the first person to order, then you'll get the very first copy ever sold and will have the number '1' in your copy.
There are three options available, prices are in £ because I'm in the UK, but the price will be adjusted to your local currency. The cost includes shipping anywhere in the world. The paperback version is £15 (50 copies available), the hardcopy version is £25 (50 copies available), and the book box containing both the paperback and hardcopy versions (50 available) is £35. Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed PAPERBACK AND HARDCOVER BOOK BOX Edition (includes shipping)
£35.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the PAPERBACK AND HARDCOVER versions of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so they will be collector's special editions.
The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardcover version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardcover version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January. Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed PAPERBACK Edition (includes shipping)
£15.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the PAPERBACK version of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so it will be a collector's special edition. The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardback version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardback version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January. Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed HARDCOVER Edition (includes shipping)
£25.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the HARDCOVER version of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so it will be a collector's special edition. The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardcover version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardback version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January. Want to Watch me Write my Next Cozy Mystery Book?
To celebrate my birthday and the launch of Isla Britannica Books this weekend, there will be 100 limited edition, signed copies of my first book 'Dead on Doughnuts' available to order between now and midnight PDT on the 1st December. This book was previously published on Amazon but is being relaunched after some re-writing, editing, and a brand new cover which will be finished in December. It has done very well on Amazon previously, gaining mainly 4-5 stars, especially considering it was my first book and I couldn't afford an editor. So now it will be relaunched on the 1st February 2019, but 100 copies will be shipped worldwide in early January as soon as the first copies come back from the printer for folks who wish to keep these as special collector's editions. Each book will be signed by myself, numbered from 1-100 on a first come, first served basis, and I won't be signing any more copies of 'Dead on Doughnuts' after this, so it really will be a limited edition just for collectors. There are 50 copies of the paperback available (£15 or local currency), 50 copies of the hardcover version available (£25 or local currency), and 50 copies of the book box containing both the paperback and hardcover together (£35 or local currency). The price includes shipping worldwide, and the book will be available as a paperback, hardcover, or book box bundle. Books can be signed to individuals, along with a message if required. NB. THE COVER DESIGN IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER AS A NEW COVER IS BEING DESIGNED RIGHT NOW!! Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed PAPERBACK AND HARDCOVER BOOK BOX Edition (includes shipping)
£35.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the PAPERBACK AND HARDCOVER versions of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so they will be collector's special editions.
The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardcover version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardcover version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January. Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed PAPERBACK Edition (includes shipping)
£15.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the PAPERBACK version of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so it will be a collector's special edition. The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardback version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardback version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January. Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed HARDCOVER Edition (includes shipping)
£25.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the HARDCOVER version of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so it will be a collector's special edition. The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardcover version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardback version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January. A rather self indulgent blog post from me, since I'm not only celebrating my birthday today, but I'm also celebrating the launch of my publishing company Isla Britannica Books, going full time as a cozy mystery author...and an announcing some rather special first editions of my new cozy mystery book Dead on Doughnuts!! But in case you need some more birthday themed books why not take a look at my Pinterest board and see if any of these birthday mysteries take your fancy!! Grand Theft Retro isn't especially birthday themed, but it does have a 1970s theme, and since I was born in 1975 I figured it might be fun to add some retro to the birthday collection!! Help Me to Celebrate My BirthdayYou may or may not know that for every copy I sell of my books, a percentage of the royalties is given to my UK registered charity Oceans Project to fund a teen to go on a citizen science expedition with Earthwatch - tagging sharks, protecting coral reefs, working with archaeologists.... Funds are also used to provide free, online, environmental and STEM education to young people aged 5-25 worldwide, in particular those without formal access to school because of things like gender, poverty, war, natural disaster, or disability. This is something I have been doing for free since 2010, reaching over 100,000 young people each year, mainly through Skype in the Classroom. I was even named by Microsoft Education for International Women's Day 2014 as a 'woman changing the world through technology'. The charity doesn't generally accept donations as it raises funds through passive income from my books, but to celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books, and it being my birthday and first year as a full time author, I've decided to set up an annual birthday fundraiser for anyone who wants to contribute towards the charity's work, to see how many teens we can fund to go on expeditions that will raise their awareness of the environment. You can find out more about the charity here. Order your Limited Edition, Signed Books Before the 1st December 2018Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed PAPERBACK AND HARDCOVER BOOK BOX Edition (includes shipping)
£35.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the PAPERBACK AND HARDCOVER versions of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so they will be collector's special editions.
The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardcover version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardcover version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January. Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed PAPERBACK Edition (includes shipping)
£15.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the PAPERBACK version of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so it will be a collector's special edition. The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardback version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardback version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January. Dead on Doughnuts Limited Edition, Signed HARDCOVER Edition (includes shipping)
£25.00
To celebrate the launch of Isla Britannica Books and my birthday, I'm releasing 100 limited edition, personally signed copies of my new cozy mystery book 'Dead on Doughnuts' which comes out on the 1st February 2019. This means that you will receive the HARDCOVER version of the book in January before anyone else. Plus your book will be numbered, signed, and marked as one of the first 100 copies. I won't be signing any more 'Dead on Doughnuts' books after this so it will be a collector's special edition. The price includes shipping worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COVER IS CURRENTLY BEING DESIGNED SO THIS IMAGE IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER. THE BOOK IS AN EDITED, MUCH IMPROVED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL. There are 50 copies of the paperback version (£15), 50 copies of the hardcover version (£25), and 50 book boxes which contain both the paperback and hardback version (£35). Orders must be placed before midnight PDT on the 1st December and will be dispatched at the start of January.
Limited Company or Sole Trader? One of the biggest decisions I had to make over the past few weeks was whether to continue working as I was, submitting an annual self employment tax return to HMRC or whether to take the plunge and to set up as a more official business. I didn't need to set up as a company, I'm not earning anywhere near enough, but I knew that psychologically it would be a mental shift and the timing felt right for me to step up my cozy mystery author career. My initial thought was to be a sole trader (for more on the differences between sole trader and limited company click here). But with all the recent discussions over the trademarking of the word 'cocky' by a romance author, and my longer term goal of buying a forever home, it made more sense to become a limited company and to have my personal assets (including my future home) protected and separate from my business assets. This was spurred on by seeing Irish fashion designer Orla Kiely go into administration after years of success, and then seeing other authors lose money when Amazon suddenly had a glitch and books suddenly disappeared over the past few weeks. Publishing and writing as a business would be potentially volatile, much like any business this day in age. I'm not getting any younger and I did not want to invest everything in my books, only to end up losing my home if things ever went wrong. This might not be the right decision for every author or publisher, but for me it was the right decision. I want to be a cozy mystery writer for the rest of my life, and I want to wind down my paid speaking events and my work on film and television productions (unless it involves screenwriting which is something I'd like to do in the future for my books). So my publishing business needs to be diverse, and not reliant on one stream of income. I'll have to be savvy to make this more robust, especially as my business and all of my works will ultimately be left in my will to fund my charity Oceans Project long after I'm gone. It was a no brainer, I wanted to be a Limited Company. The main downside would be filing a lot more accounts with HMRC and that would cost me more money probably, but it felt like it was worth it for the extra peace of mind (I still have to tackle insurance, but we'll come on to that in a bit). As an aside, I'm starting at zero right now, so I have nothing to lose, and I'm working hard for everything I have, so there's no way I am going to put my future assets at risk. In this respect I'm very lucky as a new business owner because I'm not leaving a lucrative career, I don't have a family to support (just my pets), and I currently live in a guesthouse since my landlords decided to sell up the place I rented. It therefore made more sense for me to live in a guesthouse and to save up to buy a house for cash sometime in 2019. That way I don't have to pay utilities and council tax and can instead really focus on building my author and publishing business. I don't earn enough to get loans and credit cards (I don't think I'd use them anyway to be honest), so I have to do everything slowly and steadily, saving up a few pounds each day and doing thinking strategically. This in itself is a good thing in my view. I have had a Paypal business account for more than three months (it doesn't cost any more than a personal account) and in a few more months I should be close to having earnt enough (£9000 is the minimum) to be eligible for Paypal Working Capital. This looks like it would suit me as it would allow me to drawdown funds and these would be repaid from future Paypal income. Since I currently offer author services (Vellum formatting, beta reading, and marketing help) on Fiverr the payments for these go into my Paypal account so any money would soon be paid back from those earnings. If I can get this working capital, then I would plan to use it to buy 1000 ISBNS from Neilsen in bulk because that way the cost works out as £0.94 per ISBN instead of £89 per ISBN and since they don't go out of date, they'd likely last me a lifetime. I'd also look to pay for website hosting upfront rather than monthly, and reducing outgoings by paying for other things once a year instead of per month. I could of course stick to using the free ISBNs on Createspace/KDP but since I'm looking to run this as a long term business and without having all my eggs in one basket, I'd like to make my books available outside of Amazon, so having my own publishing house ISBNs would help me to achieve this. Registering with Companies HouseWith the decision made to be a Limited company, and already knowing what I wanted to call my business - Isla Britannica Books Ltd. (which is named after my Italian Greyhound Isla, partly because she's 13 years old now and I know that one day she won't be around anymore, so this is my little tribute to her and all her hours sat by my side as I write) I scribbled down my logo and had a lady on Upwork create it as a digital version for a few bucks. I read through lots of websites for free about starting up a business and found out from the HMRC website what I would need to set up my business. The process itself was straightforward enough. I filled in a form online, paid my £12 registration fee, waited a couple of days, then received notification that I was now registered. I also checked with my accountant about anything I was unclear about. She's an awesome accountant in case you are looking for a UK accountant for your own business or personal accounts. Choosing an AddressWhen I first moved into the guesthouse back in June I was already in the process of buying a house and didn't expect to be here any longer than a few weeks, but I needed to have an address so that I could forward on any post from my previous address. I already had my accountant Helen and I knew that they offered a service whereby I could pay them a set fee each year and have my mail sent to their address so that they could then forward it on to me (and could use it as my business address - lots of accountants offer this to their clients but it was news to me). This was a lot less than me paying to have a P.O.Box because you had to pay for the year upfront with the post office, so when it came to setting up a registered address for my publishing business I decided to use the accountants address as my registered business address and added the guesthouse address for personal mail. So this isn't costing me any more than what I was already paying, and it means that I can use the address on my newsletter and on any publicly available documents. To be honest, even if I was in my own home now, I would still use a different address as I wouldn't want people just turning up at my home. That way, if I ever move house again, it will save a lot of paperwork because everything will still go to the accountant.
That way I wouldn't lose my branding even after my death (see the example of Enid Blyton as a case of interest). It's worth thinking about what will happen to your books after your death, even if you just want the royalties to continue providing for your family, so I don't think it is ever too soon to think about these things, and will be one less thing for others to worry about later. Joanna Penn and M.L.Buchman did a great podcast episode on this topic, not just for writers, but for all creatives, and there is a book and audiobook to refer to as well. Definitely worth checking those out, even if you haven't published any books yet. Website Building and Email AddressesNext on my to do list was to build a website and to set up a professional email address. Not my favourite thing to do, but it was relatively painless and now it is done, it should serve me for a long time to come. I've had websites with Wix, Wordpress, BlueHost, and others before, but the one I prefer for its ease of use is Weebly. It allows you to simply drag and drop and can be set up for free initially. You only start to pay if you want your own branded domain name and any extra features, but it can be paid for monthly, though you will save a little bit if you pay for a year or more at once. I built this website on Weebly too. I bought the domain name sarahweldon.co.uk from Go Daddy first before I even started building the site. (I also bought islabritannicabooks.com). I would have preferred the .com for my author website but it had already gone. If I had kids right now or nieces and nephews and wanted a christening gift for them, to be honest I think I would buy them their own domain name so that it then belonged to them in the future. And I would buy it for them in .co.uk and all the other versions too!! Nothing worse than ending up with a more complex domain name because your name has already gone. I then built the website over a few hours, and then upgraded so I could add my own domain name. I built all three websites as my charity's site was ready for a fresh look and I wanted to move it back from Wix. At the moment I'm paying between $8-$18 dollars a month per website for the hosting and domain names, but as and when funds allow, I plan to pay for these in one go because it will reduce the costs, and once my business bank account is set up I want to get all of my outgoings to leave my account on the 1st of the month, rather than random dates. This will help me to keep my accounting as simple as possible. I then needed to set up my email so it looked professional. I had looked at buying the email address from Go Daddy at the same time I bought the domain name, but since I use Gmail for my emails I found it really complicated and frustrating to set up the email address redirection. In the end I signed up for a free trial of Google Suite, and will then be paying £6.99 a month (I think it was?). This gave me the email address I wanted office@islabritannicabooks.com and was set up in seconds. I would have been paying for the email address on a monthly basis from GoDaddy anyway, and though it might work out slightly more expensive each month, I didn't mind because it was the simplest way to set things up. Plus everything else was waiting on me setting up the email address before I could move on. Opening a Business Bank AccountI tried to open a business bank account online twice before, but nothing ever came of it. I then had an appointment to see the bank to set up the account, but then discovered that I could only set up the Sole Trader bank account in branch, but not the limited company one. So they gave me a phone number to call. I then called and spent a long time on hold, eventually getting to just before 5pm when they shut down for the day. On my second attempt, I got through but discovered that I had to wait three days after registering as a company before I could set up the account. Finally, I called and went through the whole application over the telephone. It took about thirty minutes and because I was already a customer with Lloyds bank, I didn't need to take any extra documents to the local branch. I now have to wait to see if the application is approved which could take about 10 days before I hear back. This is probably the most frustrating part of setting up as a business for now. Everything else has to wait until this stage is gone through. The next part of the process is probably going to be the hardest part of the transition for me. Right now I get paid on a daily basis for my author services and I live hand to mouth from one day to the next. This transition will be made a lot easier if I can get an overdraft facility on the account because it would mean that I could set up all of my outgoings to go out from that business account on the 1st of the month and that all money coming in would also go to that account instead of my personal account. The tricky part is that I've never really had a salary, but will now have to set up payroll so that I get paid a set amount every month regardless of how much or little goes into the account. This is the scary part. I need to cover the guesthouse rent and I need to change the timings of everything. But nothing can happen until the account is set up, I may or may not get a debit card, the charges will be huge if I go overdrawn, and I don't know if I'll be able to get an overdraft to help me as a buffer whilst I transfer everything to that account. Other Business ExpensesThere are other costs to take into consideration as well. The bank account will be free to use for the first 18 months but then there will be a charge of about £6 a month. I also need to set up payroll, and will need to invest in some accounting software. Thankfully my accountant provides access to such software (Quickbooks is one) for about £6 a month, and they will also be able to submit the second tax form as I wasn't able to do this online myself so far. These are all little amounts that will soon add up that I wouldn't have if I ran things as a Sole Trader, but if I expect that my income will increase in time, the books I publish, then setting things up from the get go will make my life easier in the future.
I still have a lot to learn, but it's a really exciting journey so far!!! All of the books you might want in your collection for National Pickle Day (14th November). Follow the Pickle themed Cozy Mystery Book board on Pinterest here for even more suggestions! Pickle Themed Cozy Mystery AudiobooksIt turns out that today (the 14th November) is National Spicy Guacamole Day, so here are some cozy mystery books, just perfect for the occasion to enjoy as a side dish to your celebrations!
Here are your weekend reads, all of which are on free promotion at the time of writing this, but as always PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK THE PRICE BEFORE CONFIRMING as prices are subject to changes and authors may decide to raise their price at any time. This lot should keep your reading glasses busy for the week ahead! One or two may be borderline cozy mystery but they looked so tantalizing that I just couldn't resist adding them to the collection. Be sure to check out this month's historical cozy mystery collection here for more themed books that you can download for free. Not sure how to get free books for Kindle, or don't have the free Kindle app or a device, check out this blog post here. It's not as tricky as you might think, and all you need is the free app on your laptop, computer, or phone. If you still need more cozy mystery books in your life, you might enjoy my Pinterest board to help you pick your next book, and I post new books on free promotion in the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook, and in the Free Book Friday newsletter.
Bertram Bile: The Ghostly Ship
Free Audio BooksDon't forget that you can use your Free Book Friday Audiobook codes to download any book that you like for free from your country's Audible store. All you need to do is to redeem your gift code at the bottom of the page on Audible, pick your book, then use your credit to cover the purchase cost. Here are some cozy mystery books you might want to use your credit for. If you already own the Kindle books (which you can get for free) then you will also be eligible for discount when purchasing the audiobook version. Many of these are Whispersync for Voice Ready, which means you can have your Kindle read the book to you, or swap between reading yourself and having your Kindle read the next section. Try A Charming Crime if you want to give it a go.
Technically, Agatha Christie can't really be included under the heading of Historical Cozy Mysteries because the books were not written at least 50 years after the time period she was writing about. But not to include her in our celebration of historical cozy mystery books would just seem like blasphemy given that Christie is considered the Queen of the Mysteries. The technical term for Agatha Christie's books would really be 'classics' but they certainly give us some insight into the time in which she wrote. Not all of her books are cozy mystery, since they are really crime thrillers, but I'm going to break my own rules and include some of them anyway - such a rebel I know! If you want to explore more of Agatha Christie's books and wonderful book covers, check out my Pinterest board here. Inspector Poirot Cozy Mystery BooksMiss Marple Cozy Mystery BooksFree Agatha Christie Audiobooks
Every Friday I include free audiobook codes in my Free Book Friday mailing list for you to use to download any book you like from Audible in the UK, US, Germany, or France. You can also get the books on your 30 day free trial if you aren't already a member. What would be super cool, is that you leave a review on whatever book it is that you listen to, as this will really help future readers and help me to acquire more free codes from Audible that I can pass on to you. Need more audiobook suggestions, check out my blog post here or for more Agatha Christie audio books click here. Agatha Christie Crime ThrillersMore Historical Cozy Mystery BooksRemember, remember, the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason, and plot.....if you grew up in the UK then these words will be etched on your brain forever from history lessons as a child - Guy Fawkes and his plan to blow up London's House of Lords on the 5th November 1605. But more likely, will be memories of bonfire night festivities, the smell of bonfires on chilly nights, hot soup, and treacle (bonfire) toffee you could break your teeth on, and the sky filled with explosions and crowds murmuring oohs and ahhs at the pretty colours. Well, I think I just found a little niche for cozy mystery writers, as there aren't a whole lot of cozy mystery books based on bonfire night, so I'm going to set myself a little challenge and try and write one for you for next year, because it seems like the ideal time and location for a cozy murder mystery to take place!! If I can find enough other cozy authors to write with me, then who knows, there might even be a book filled with stories for all your favourite writers!! Now that would be really cool. And you can never have enough cozy mystery books - right? FYI, a little fact you might not know about me. I was recently filmed over the space of a year for a television series based on the American and Irish 'Genealogy Roadshow' looking at my love of ice swimming (it's not been on TV yet, but will be on Channel 4 in England). Well, there were two little children there on one of the filming days, and they discovered that they were descendants of Guy Fawkes himself. That has to be a bonus when you're at primary school in England, imagine being able to get one up on your teacher in a lesson about your relative! Anyhow, here is a little collection of loosely themed Guy Fawkes /Bonfire Night cozy mystery books that I found for the occasion so I hope that you enjoy them. They may or may not be bordering on the 'cozy mystery' genre, but let's see how you get on. In the meantime, I've put together a Pinterest board of Bonfire (Guy Fawkes Night) books and you can download this month's historical cozy mystery collection absolutely free of charge from here. Be sure to join us in the Facebook Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group if you need more cozies in your life. Gunpowder Plot by Carola Dunn was the closest I could find. Set during the annual Guy Fawkes Night fireworks display on the 5th November 1924 at Edge Manor in the Cotswolds, England. In Reggiecide by Chris Dolley, Guy Fawkes is reanimated and brought back to life in a steampunk-esque story.
Here are your weekend reads, all of which are on free promotion at the time of writing this, so knock yourself out.... Not sure how to get free books for Kindle, or don't have the free Kindle app or a device, check out this blog post here. It's not as tricky as you might think, and all you need is the free app on your laptop, computer, or phone.
If you still need more book inspiration, check out some pretty cozy covers on my Pinterest boards, and feel free to join the conversation over in the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook. Oh and there's Free Book Friday too! That lot should keep you out of mischief for a while.
As part of this month's historical cozy mystery collection, I thought I would share with you all the marvellous mystery books with a museum theme. There were too many to feature here, so I hope you'll enjoy checking out even more on my Pinterest board. If you want to see more historical cozy mystery pins then click here. In the meantime, enjoy these museum themed books, and don't forget to download this month's free historical cozy mystery books. If you want to get even more involved, please do come and say hello in our Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook.
As part of historical cozy mystery month, I thought we would showcase some antiques today. There are some very prolific writers in this category and it was hard to decide which books to chose, so I really hope you will check out the authors and see their whole collection of books. They really are stunning. If you need more free historical mystery books in your life, here are this month's books to download for free, and my Pinterest board featuring loads of lovely book covers to wet your appetite. If you want the heads up on more cozy mystery book freebies, come and join us in the Cozy Mystery Book Explorer group on Facebook or sign up to my mailing list.
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Copyright © Sarah Jane Weldon, 2020
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