I Made a Book!

I think I mentioned a little while ago that I had published an ebook on kindle - well, it is now in actual paperback *seriously big grin*

Look!

It's a children's book about a magical teddy bear who helps kids through tough times - all around the world. I'm so proud of it, and I've had some lovely amazon reviews:

Sensitive, emotional and highly imaginative - a must for all ages.

Skilfully written with a heart warming story.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A heart-warming story. Lovely to sit and read with your little ones at bed time over one or two evenings

I have a facebook page for The Adventures of Brown Ben, just in case you might be interested in learning more/keeping up to date with news etc. And that's also the best place to get in touch if you'd like to order a copy. 

Oh, yeah, information that is useful:

The book is £4.95, p&p (according to Royal Mail's calculator) is £1.10 in the UK, and 50% of the profits from the book are being donated to The Children's Trust - an amazing charity. 

Anyway, I just wanted to share, because this is the coolest thing! Ok, so it's time to stop blowing my trumpet, but I'm just seriously excited that I wrote a book, and now it is in my hands *grins*

I Published A Book!

I have some really exciting news - I have written and published an ebook *grins, a lot*

It's a story I wrote a little while ago, and I thought it was about time I did something with it. So I have published it to amazon kindle (which means that anyone with an ipad or phone can also read it, and there is even a kindle for PC service now available).

I'd like to introduce you to Brown Ben...

Brown Ben is a magical teddy bear, who finds his way to children who need him, whether that's because they're poorly, they're sad or they just need a cuddle.

The plan is to have a series of books, with Brown Ben visiting children struggling with all the different issues that kids have to deal with. This is the introductory book, and I'm so in love with it (even though I do say so myself *laughs*)

I love the cover - a friend from school is now an illustrator so I asked her to bring Ben to life, and I think she captured him perfectly.

I'm donating 50% of the proceeds from the sale of the book to an amazing charity - The Children's Trust. It's based in Surrey and provides services to children with severe disabilities, and is a specialist center for acquired brain injuries.

If you would like to know more, you can find the amazon page here. If you do read it, I'd love to know what you think!

Special Offer

I've posted a couple of times recently about my new freelance business, but it occurred to me that some of my readers here may be interested in a special offer I have running at the moment. I know some of you have websites and businesses of your own, so I thought I would share...

If you don't think that you need an entire half day session, and just want a quick check through, let me know. I can work something out that suits you *smiles*

Anyway, I hope you will forgive the slightly salesy nature of this post, normal posting will resume tomorrow ;)

Working Away in the Background

My poor blog is feeling very neglected of late *frowns* I've been working hard on my freelance business, and I'm still trying to get the balance right.

In case you missed it - I recently left my job to set myself up as a freelance writer - a move both exciting and terrifying ;) I've been dedicating time to writing my novel, which had been languishing during a busy time at my old job. I've been drafting articles to pitch to magazines. And I've been networking to try and build my contact base and meet potential clients.

All of which has affected my crafting time, and subsequent blog fodder, which is something I'm finding frustrating. I write because it is something that I love and I wanted to try and make a career of it, but crafting and creativity is also part of what feeds me and I need to find my way back to that a bit more.

I do have some finished objects, and a trip to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour, to blog about. And I really want to catch up on the blogs I haven't been reading as much recently. I miss you guys ;)

Overdue Update and Exciting New Venture

Hi again, poor neglected blog ;)

I mentioned in my last post that things have been particularly busy lately. And they really have been! But hopefully everything is a little bit more settled now. Cunning boyfriend and I have moved into our new house, which is starting to feel like home now. Especially the funky new office.

I have new yarns, new projects and new toys to show off, although I will post them separately so I don't use up all my content at once *laughs* Most of the new yarn comes from my trip to Unravel, where I met up with Tink and Sarah and had a great time :) Again, more on that later.

Saving my most exciting news for last - I left my job and I'm starting a new venture as a freelance writer. I'm really excited about it, and have spent the last few days getting my new website, twitter and facebook page set up *grins*

web: www.nataliehowells.com
twitter: @NHowellsFW
facebook: Natalie Howells Freelance Writer

I'd love any feedback you might have. Everything's still a bit of a work in progress but constructive criticism is most welcomed.

I'm also available and excited for any guest blogging opportunities - so if you'd like me to write a post for your blog (on any topic, I'm very flexible *laughs*), just let me know. Either leave a comment or use the contact form on the website and I'll get back to you :)

I'll be back on Monday with actual knitting-related content.