#FF Friday - Festival and Fringe!



The amazing Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo

Last weekend, my lovely friend Dina and I did what we have been talking about doing for years – we spent a long weekend in Edinburgh together doing The Festival, The Tattoo, and The Fringe. We had THE most amazing time. We did everything – including lunch at The Witchery, The Tattoo at the Castle, the ultimate Book-Fest (bumping into Neil Gaimen), Stand Up Comedy, Shows, chatting with Radio DJ Johnny Walker and pop diva Kiki Dee (who asked if I was from Liverpool – lol!) to finish off with a tour of Edinburgh’s old underground vaults with torture museum and spooky stuff all thrown in and then to clubbing at the famous Old Town Cowgate at Cabaret Voltaire. A weekend never to be forgotten!

Lunch at The Witchery by The Castle

Left: Neil Gaimen signing at The Edinburgh Book Festival

 

The spooky Ghost Tours and Edinburgh Underground Vaults

 

Haste ye back

Janice xx 

Friday... again?

I’ve had my head down all week catching up on all sorts of things – so much so that I could not believe today was Friday – again.

I’ve been busy writing 1000 words a day of ‘Voodoo Child’ and I must admit that so far I’m having a ball with this stage of Nola’s life. This is a follow on novella to ‘How Do You Voodoo?’ and ‘Voodoo Wedding’ and in it Nola and Louis are expecting their first child. Of course, this time next week, I could be wailing and moaning that it’s all a load of junk but so far I’m having a lot of fun and the writing is going well. My editor is expecting to edit this book at the beginning of October and I’m planning a publication date of around 31st October. Wish me luck!

I’ve also been working hard on behalf of Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine, for which I edit the Bookshelf Reviews feature.  After attracting over two and a half million hits on our website we now want to give our visitors even more reason to return to us day after day. We are planning to grow the website again in the Autumn and hope to publish the very best articles in a high quality downloadable emagazine. Our features will include everything from interior design to recipes, but the ‘heart’ of our project will still be book reviews for our own featured authors in our Bookshelf Reviews feature.

 

 

 

I’m currently looking for one or two more book blogger reviewers to join us at Loveahappyending Lifestyle magazine and so if you love reading and have a book blog and are interested in applying please get in touch with me directly at janice@janicehortonwriter.co.uk.

 

I’ve been out and about promoting my latest title this week too – a with a mini book tour for ‘How To Party Online’ and you can read my guest spot at: Talli Roland’s Blog, Brook Cottage Books, Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog for online party advice and top tips!

 

 

Haste ye back here next Friday

In the meantime, be my friend on Facebook for regular writerly news and/or be a tweetheart and follow my daily authorly updates on Twitter at @JaniceHorton

Winners of the Party On event!

 

I just want to say how fabulous yesterday was! I laughed and gasped and ooo'd and swooned at all of your fabulous and clever photos and pictures throughout the day and it was so much fun. What lovely party peeps you all are!

 

Well - all the entries have now been collated from all those who took part yesterday and have independently drawn by my two strappingly handsome sons who are home at the moment. I do wish there were prizes for every single one of you who made my day yesterday by taking part in the Party On event.

 

The Winners! 

Without further ado the winners are Linn B Halton for her Animal Party Game entry of 'Mr Tiggs'. Heidi Cosmochicklitan for her Cocktail Party Game entry of 'Cocktail on the Beach' and Angela Simons Barton for her Hollywood Red Carpet Game entry of Johnny Depp. Each win an exclusive How To Party Online Notebook! If you ladies would like to email me at: janice@janicehortonwriter.co.uk with your postal addresses I'll send them straight out to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main prize of a £10 Amazon Voucher for posting a 'Party Photo' of your own goes to Awen Thornber who posted this fabulous photo and is a such a worthy winner that I was delighted when her name was drawn! Please email me Awen and I'll have the gift voucher emailed to you straight away. Thanks again everyone!

 

 

 

I'd LOVE it and appreciate it if you could spread the word to your friends and associates about the How To Party Online ebook for Kindle and if you sign up to my newsletter on my Blog (pretty please!?) them I'll be able to let you know when it's out in paperback too. Thanks again everyone!

 

 

At the moment I’m featuring on Dizzy C’s Little Book blog with a summer fun interview that features reading, writing and holidays. There are photos of my Scottish country cottage and my hens and there is an international giveaway for one of my Kindle books! Click here for the link.

I read an Interesting post on 'Between The Lines' blog this morning on book marketing - and was pleased to see a lovely mention of my How To Party Online book. You might also find it an interesting read. Click here for the link.

I was also delighted to see a new book blogger review for my first novella ‘How Do You Voodoo?’ on Books4U this week. Nikki says: "A superb novella from author Janice Horton. An interesting storyline about a character who thinks she has it all but learns there is something missing." You can read the rest of this review by clicking here.

Haste ye back here next Friday!

 

 

 

The #partyon Facebook Party - Wednesday 31st July 2013

Hi everyone -  I’m getting into party mode to launch my non fiction title ‘How To Party Online’ with a party event being hosted on Facebook which is also planned to spill over to Twitter and Pinterest. I’m looking forward to seeing your friendly faces and would absolutely love it if you could pop over to attend. Please check out the party event page – I’ll be there all day on WEDNESDAY 31ST JULY from 8 till Late.

https://www.facebook.com/events/324400584360645/

 

 

 



THE PARTY ITINERARY

 

 

All Day on Wednesday 31^st July – from Early until Late on the Party On Facebook Event Page post up your own Party Photo. ALL party peeps who post a photo of themselves at a party (any type of party you choose) will be in the draw for Amazon Vouchers!

 

Then... 

At 10am: The Cocktail Party – This game will start on the Party On Facebook Event Page at 10am and will continue throughout the day. The idea is for you to post a picture on the Facebook Party Page (from the internet or it can be one of your own). Or alternatively, you can pick one from my ‘Cocktail Party Game Board’ on Pinterest and then post it to the Party On Facebook Event Page.  The next thing is to choose a name for your cocktail. You should make up an exotic/ funny/unusual/delicious/weird sounding cocktail name. If you want to you can even share your own recipe for it! You can also Tweet using the hashtag #partyon.

 

 

 

 

ALL entries in this game will be in a draw for an exclusive How To Party Online notebook

1pm: The Animal Party Game – This game will start on the Party On Facebook Event Page at 1pm and continue for the rest of the party. The idea is for you to post up a picture of a party animal on the Facebook Party Page (from the internet or it can be one of your own). Or alternatively, you can pick one from my ‘Animal Party Board’ on Pinterest and post it on the Party On Facebook Page. You can also Tweet using the hashtag #partyon.

 

ALL entries in this game will be in a draw for an exclusive How To Party Online notebook

3pm: The Hollywood Red Carpet Party – This game will start on the Party On Facebook Event Page at 3pm and will continue until the party ends. The idea is for you to choose which fabulous Hollywood star would escort you on the red carpet. Please post up a photograph of the star of your dreams on the Party Page or alternately choose from my ‘Hollywood Red Carpet Party Game Board’ on Pinterest and post it on the Party On Facebook Page. You can also Tweet using the hashtag #partyon

 

ALL entries in this game will be in a draw for an exclusive How To Party Online notebook

 

PLUS: Throughout the day and in between partying I promise virtual party food, music, prizes and lots of very REAL fun!

 

Do join the party over on Facebook and/or Tweet using the hashtag #partyon

Haste ye over there…!

 

The 777 Challenge

I’ve been tagged by my lovely friend Emma Calin in the 777 challenge.

The rules... Go to Page 7, 70, or 170 of a current Work in Progress or recently published work and choose either the first complete paragraph or 7 lines of dialogue to share. Paste to FB and tag 7 other authors to do the same.

Here is a paragraph excerpt from Page 7 of ‘How To Party Online’

You might be under the impression that to be successful online, you have to have an established social network in place, but that’s not strictly true. I started promoting online without a pre-existing social platform and did so successfully. In this book, I aim to show you how you too can produce measurable results from your very first online party and, while you are working towards building up your social network, how to make it fun.

And on Wednesday 31^st July I’m hosting an online party to officially launch ‘How To Party Online’ and love you to join me on the day. Before then do pop over to the party page on Facebook and check it out. I promise fun and prizes!

 

Click HERE to check out the Facebook Party Page

 

 

 

 

How To Party Online has been chosen by Thornberry Publishing as recommended reading for all authors and writers.

Early Reviews on Amazon

“This book explains, step-by-step, how to prepare for a book launch and do it with style!”
“Janice also adds a very nice personal touch. It's like getting help from a friend.”
“I'll be consulting it many times as I plan future online promotional parties.”
“This e-book will quickly become a staple on every author's ereader.”

 

How To Party Online is available exclusively for Kindle on Amazon UK and Amazon.com

Party On!

I pass this challenge onto:

Linn B Halton

Kit Domino

Carol E Wyer

Rosemary Gemmell

Melanie Robertson King

Joan Fleming

Sara Bain

So what’s your very favourite sort of party…?

 

A birthday party, a fancy dress party, a cocktail party, a surprise party, a hen party, a stag party, an office party, a xmas party, a new year party….?

And I bet you have just the photo to prove it …?!!

On Wednesday 31^st July I’m throwing an online party to launch my latest title ‘How To Party Online’.

The event will be hosted on Facebook but will also spill over to the blogosphere, to Twitter, and to Pinterest and everyone is invited!

To take part, dig out a photo of you looking your party best and post it onto the party page on the last day of July to take part in the real fun and virtual games.

Simply comment, like, post, share, tweet (#partyon) to be in the draw to win some fabulous party prizes!

 

Check out the Facebook Party Page

 

 

‘How To Party Online’ has been chosen by Thornberry Publishers as

recommended reading for all authors and writers.

Early Reviews on Amazon

“This book explains, step-by-step, how to prepare for a book launch and do it with style!”

“Janice also adds a very nice personal touch. It's like getting help from a friend”

“I'll be consulting it many times as I plan future online promotional parties.

“This e-book will quickly become a staple on every author's ereader.”

DG Life Magazine says:

“Janice has made it her business to get stuck into the whole self-publishing malarkey. Savvy enough to realise it’s not enough to simply write, she’s studied social media marketing until it could be her specialist subject on Mastermind. She can plan a book launch, maximise publicity, keep the momentum going after the first initial flush, and perhaps most of all, she knows how to make the whole thing fun, which is no mean feat”.

About ‘How To Party Online’

• Online parties are a fun way to launch your book or introduce your product and engage with your target audience.

• Social media applications are perfect forums for parties - the venue capacity is infinite, the guest list is global, and the fun and games can lead to bestselling success!

• This aim of this book is to show you how you can produce measurable results from your very first online party and while you are still working towards building up your social network.

• The purpose of this book is to walk and talk you through each step of the planning and implementation of four very different online promotional parties.

• Together we will look at how much work and effort is involved in implementing each step and we will experience the party format, explore the outcomes, and quantify all the successes.

• I’ll show you how to make it lots of fun!

 

Check out the Facebook Party Page

Post up your own Party Photo on Wednesday 31^st July

Take part in all the real fun & virtual games!

How To Party Online is exclusive to Amazon for Kindle

Amazon UK   Amazon.com

Trending - and not just on Twitter...!

Grow Your Own is trending - not just on Twitter - but on my Scottish Country Lifestyle feature in Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine this week.

 

 

 

If you haven’t discovered LLm yet then you are in for a treat with the wide range of articles on lifestyle and entertainment regularly on offer and written by an international cast of guest writers. You can, if you wish, sign up for the newsletter to get a digest straight into your inbox but very soon, due to its amazing popularity, the magazine will also be available as a downloadable quarterly PDF for your tablet and e-reader. How fab is that…!!?

 

      Click here to read my latest LLm Scottish Country Lifestyle article   

 

I’m thrilled to announce that the winner of my Bagpipes & Bullshot completion is Bouncin’ Barb, who left the correct answer in a comment on the 18^th June. Bullshot is indeed an alcoholic cocktail similar to a Bloody Mary! Bouncin’ Barb wins a Kindle copy of Bagpipes & Bullshot so, Barb, do please get in touch with me via a DM on Twitter @JaniceHorton or via email at janice@janicehortonwriter.co.uk and I’ll send it out to you pronto!

Meanwhile, party peeps, you might be interested to know that I’m still busily making plans for the online party I’m hosting to officially launch my non-fiction book ‘How To Party Online’ - and I promise to have news, a date, and links for you next Friday on that!

 

So haste ye back here next Friday!

Partying, Planning & Plotting...

This week has whizzed by in a blur. I remember starting the week in the City of Glasgow – at a rock concert on Monday night – I’m not as young as I used to be so I’ll admit that it was Wednesday before I fully recovered!

 

Since then I’ve been busily planning and booking tickets for The Festival of Romance weekend in Bedford later in the year, where I’ve now confirmed I’ll be attending as an author at the Saturday Coffee & Cake Event. Yay!! I’ve also booked a hotel and my flights from Glasgow to Luton and back, so I’m feeling rather pleased with myself for being organised so well in advance!

You can find out about The Festival of Romance HERE.

In the more immediate future - next week in fact - I’m planning to go up to Aberdeenshire to stay over and meet up with some of my Scottish Writer buddies at a cliff top cottage retreat. It really is as idyllic as it sounds. There we will writerly chat, a plotting workshop, a catch up on where we are all at with our writing at the moment, and of course wine. It will be blissful and wonderful!

 

A Clifftop Writer's Retreat in Aberdeenshire
 

 

I’m also planning to have an online party later next month to celebrate the publication of my How To Party Online book and I will be outlining the details very soon – as at the moment I’m still in the plotting – erm, planning stages.

But you know I love a party don’t you…?!

 

Okay, I’ll let you in on what the theme will be.

 

It will be ‘PARTY’.

So I’ll be looking for photos of YOU dressed up in your party attire. Will you be in fancy dress, I wonder? (See below!) Will you at a fancy cocktail party? Will it be a wild hen party celebration? Or a very smart birthday party…?

It’s up to YOU!!!

Party details coming soon!!

Me & Mr JH in '60's Hippys Fancy Dress Wear!
(And yes, Mr JH IS wearing a wig!!)

So Haste Ye Back…!

Virtual parties, cyber pizza, internet ice-cream - and food fights!

I’m excited to be over at the Romantic Novelist’s Association Blog today – talking about virtual parties, cyber pizza, internet ice cream and food fights!

 

I'd love you to pop over and keep me company by clicking HERE

 

Then haste ye back here next week when I’ll have more fun news to share!!

Janice xx

 

RIP My Beloved Kindle!

 

Before I went on holiday I spent a considerable amount of time choosing and downloading to my Kindle all the books I might want to read while away. Dozens and dozens of them! After all, one of the best things about an ereader is that it holds so many books, and after once being charged a fortune in excess baggage due to the weight of my holiday reading, I’m now a total Kindling enthusiast and won’t travel anywhere without it.

 

Actually, I have two Kindles. I have a two and a half year old 3G (the one with the keyboard) and I also have the new Kindle Fire (my prezzy from last Christmas) and, as I planned to do most of my reading on the beach, I decided taking the older one with its non-glare screen was the sensible option.

But woe is me! On day two, after reading just one book (Security by Mandy Baggot – which is, by the way, a fabulous and highly recommended read) my Kindle died and could not be resuscitated. (Even on getting home and ordering up a replacment battery, it was still as dead as dead could be).

I did ask our holiday rep if there was any books I could borrow, there was but they were all printed in Russian and German, which I neither read nor speak. So for those of you about to embark on your summer travels with your full stocked ereader, I might suggest you sneak a paperback or two into your luggage, just as a back up!

If you fancy reading my Kindle bestselling and award winning humorous novel Bagpipes & Bullshot this summer, you can win a copy between now and the end of June by answering this simple question (if you don’t know the answer you could always Google for it!)

What exactly is Bullshot…?

Answers in the comment box below, my email to me at janice@jancehortonwriter.co.uk or you can post to my Facebook Author Page (which I’d love you to Like while you are there!)

Haste ye back here next Friday!