News

May 20th 2013

A Stephanie Zia short story will be featuring on the US Huffington Post Featured Fifty Short Story Page this week, beating off an avalanche of submissions. The Long Pig, inspired by her travels through Micronesia and Melanesia, can be found in her short story collection The Doughnut Dome & Other Stories.

May 17th 2013

Centrefold spread in June 2013 issue of French Property News features  an extract from Swallows & Robins – The Guests In My Garden and pictures of Susie’s house where all the action takes place. Large house, many outbuildings including gite cottage, land, nightingales… 40 mins SW of Poitiers airport currently for sale at 157,000 Euros. If you fancy living the French dream,  see details of her beautiful home here.

May 16th 2013

Consumer queen Penny Golightly gives the thumbs up to Elle Ford’s A London Steal:

This book is definitely for you if:

• You’re more than slightly addicted to Made In Chelsea
• You own ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ or any of the sequels
• You secretly fantasise about being Carrie in Sex and the City
• Your subscription to Vogue is more of a priority than food
• You’re obsessed by Angelina Jolie’s wardrobe in The Tourist

Who’s likely to find the information useful?

• Students and anyone on work experience in London
• Tourists who fancy some chic on a shoestring
• Any fashion fan who’s feeling the pinch this year
• Charity shoppers who want to try some new haunts

and launches a simple-to-enter competition to win a paperback.  Click to enter, runs until 22nd May.

May 15th 2013

We are delighted to announce the imminent publication of Susie Kelly’s memoir, I Wish I Could Say I Was Sorry… It will be available in paperback and ebook from 20th May.

With uncompromising honesty and hints of her usual humour, the author describes emigrating, from post-war London in every shade of grey to the technicolour splendour of Kenya, as part of a dysfunctional family. From profound lows to sublime highs, the one constant is her pony, Cinderella. You may shed a tear at her losses, and you will almost certainly be shocked and appalled by what she does for the love of Cinderella. If you have enjoyed reading of Susie’s life and travels in France, then this book will give you a moving insight into her earlier life, and allow you to judge her actions for yourself.

May 3rd 2013

Montcalm Hotel, London: Stephanie Zia attended Truth TV’s World Press Freedom Day Awards on behalf of Blackbird Digital Books’ associates editorsonline.org

April 9th 2013

Our Book of the Month for May

March 19th 2013

As we complete our first catalogue in preparation for April’s London Book Fair, available for PDF download here, we are delighted to announce the imminent arrival of two authors with exciting, wonderful new books coming very soon to Blackbird Digital Books

 A London Steal

  a fast, fabulous guide to London’s hidden chic

 

Elle Ford is a London born writer and illustrator currently finishing her final year studying for a BA in History at the University of Exeter. A London Steal started as the accumulation of her work in Vintage around Central and PR in Mayfair, but really comes from her realisation at an early age that there were very few lengths she would not go to to keep her subscription to Vogue magazine.

Elle currently lives and works in central London where she spends most of her free time practising running for things in heels and continuing her mission to see/do everything London has to throw at her, with the help of her friends.

How To Be A Literary Genius

a comedy for anyone who has ever faced the blank page and survived it

Jacqui Lofthouse’s novels have sold over 100,000 copies in the UK, the USA and Europe and have been widely reviewed.

Praise for The Temple of Hymen and Bluethroat Morning:

“A remarkable, often beautiful and startling piece of writing. A considerable achievement.” – John Mortimer

“Deceptive; entertaining and unusual.” – Louis de Bernières

“A very impressive book… a superbly recreated historical period and a passionate investigation into femininity, all wrapped up in a mysterious and well-paced narrative.” – Jonathan Coe

“There are many elements to savour in this novel. Lofthouse has a fine eye for the bleak Norfolk landscape and how it both reflects and affects characters’ moods.”- Tracy Chevalier, Author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

“A thriller full of twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing. Every word is magical, almost luminous.” – Daily Mail

February 14th 2013

The Born Again Virgin – Sex & Death Vs A Woman Of A Certain Age goes through to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2013

February 1st 2013

Your Cat Magazine blog launches Celebrity Cat Names competition, to follow in magazine shortly.

January 31st 2013

 Avril Joy has won the first ever Costa Short Story Award with her 3,000 word tale Millie and Bird. Avril is a contributor to the Authors Electric Anthology SPARKS, A Year In E-Publishing. Read Avril’s first blog post for Authors Electric here.

January 28th 2012

11.00/11.15am Christina Hamilton, author of our Book Of The Month CELEBRITY CAT NAMES – CAT TALES OF THE RICH & FAMOUS is appearing on the Dave Burns Show, BBC Radio Humberside.

January 19th 2013

Stephanie Zia in February issue of Prima.

Celebrity Cat Names #8 in UK Amazon Cat Books chart

Swallows & Robins – The Guests In My Garden #1 Gardens Around The World; #1 Household Hints; #1 Cleaning, Caretaking & Relocating; #1 French Travel  today

Magic of France at #2 , Travels With Tinkerbelle #9, Best Foot Forward #14

December 11th 2012

She’s done it! Susie Kelly at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 in Amazon UK Bestsellers French Travel, Paid, today.

November 28th 2012

FOUR Susie Kelly books in Amazon Kindle UK Top 20, Bestsellers, France, incl No. 1 spot!

November 25th 2012

Just one week to go before we publish Susie Kelly’s brand new title Swallows & Robins – The Guests In My Garden. Preview reviews are ecstatic, with pre-sales recommendations already kicking off -  “When I got to the part in the book about guests Dick and Alice [and I shan’t spoil it for you by telling you more other than Alice is a lady of a certain age who knows her mind – and her miniskirts] I actually snorted with laughter much to the amusement of a family sitting near me on the ferry who wanted to know what I was reading. They will possibly be the first purchasers of Kelly’s new book since I promised to send them a link when the book is published on 3^rd December 2012!” The Good Life France Magazine.

October 13th 2012

Sarah Ball’s first novel has just been republished by the Little,Brown ebook romance imprint Piatkusentice.  Two more novels are on their way to Piatkusentice whilst Sarah’s first children’s story, the amazing The Dream Theatre, remains with Blackbird.

Paperback and ebook available here.

October 9th 2012

September 25th 2012

US blog A Storybook World interviews Stephanie Zia about writing.

September 22nd 2012

Here’s the new cover art for Susie Kelly’s Best Foot Forward, beautifully drawn for us by caricaturist and cartoonist David Lewis. The detail is fantastic, we especially love poor Susie’s aching feet! Those in the UK may recognise the style from ITV’s award-winning animated topical satire 2DTV where David was one of the resident cartoonists. He also does personal appearances as a caricaturist at conferences and parties. Details and more of his work at David Lewis Cartoons.

September 21st 2012

Our new Charity Page.

September 18th 2012

Sarah Reads The World – A Literary Grand Tour has taken Susie Kelly’s Travels With Tinkerbelle – 6,000 Miles Around France In A Mechanical Wreck and plotted the route, marking significant landmarks along the way. Click the image to see more. These past months Tinkerbelle has become a permanent fixture at the very top of the paid Amazon UK Bestsellers in French Travel. Look out for a new Susie Kelly original – coming to Blackbird in the next few months.

August 29 2012

Diana Morgan-Hill is wheelchair dancing in the Paralympic Opening Ceremony tonight despite fracturing a pelvic bone. Her amazing autobiography may be published here later this year, though agents are already talking and she could be heading straight to mainstream. See our PRESS page for full coverage from Daily Mail, London Metro, BBC Radio Solent, and The Times coming shortly.

August 25 2012

The Transworld version of Susie Kelly’s Best Foot Forward makes an appearance at the London South Bank Book Maze - alongside Dickens and Victor Hugo! Thanks to author Jacqui Lofthouse for the spot and the photo.

August 20 2012

RT @lifefrance EXCLUSIVE interview with Susie Kelly – such a great author.. and coming up soon Joanne Harris – WOW! bit.ly/NBEVXG

August 10 2012

We’re delighted to have the lovely, multi-talented, Elle Ford working with us over the summer. See Elle’s website here.

July 9 2012

Skyscanner’s 30 best holiday books for £4.99 or less features Susie Kelly’s Valley of Heaven and Hell, Cycling In The Shadow of Marie Antionette.

July 2 2012

In That Way makes a surprise entry at No.2 Amazon Germany fiction bestseller chart

June 29 2012

June 24 2012

Sarah Ball is moving back to mainstream publishing. Sarah has signed with Little, Brown’s new sub-imprint Piatkus Entice who will be epublishing Sarah’s backlist of 3 contemporary commercial fiction novels: Nine Months, Marry Me and Written In The Stars. Sarah’s first children’s novel, The Dream Theatre, first published on Blackbird in 2011, will remain here as an exclusive paperback and ebook, available from all Amazon and Smashwords outlets.

“There are echoes here of Alice, of Blyton, of William Mayne and of a number of surreal texts, from Badlidrempt to various Pullman novellas.” Armadillo Children’s Book Magazine, June 2011

Book of the Month June

Travels With Tinkerbelle, 6000 Miles Around France In A Mechanical Wreck by Susie Kelly See the slideshow here .

15 May 2012

New blog post - how to fix one of the most common Kindle formatting problems.

13 May 2012

More  5* Reviews: “The Bible of Ebook Publishing” MCWriter, US Amazon. “Excellent and Comprehensive. This is the best book I’ve read on eBook publishing to date. It is comprehensive with outstanding links to other resources. I learned a great deal reading this book.” InsideJoe, US Amazon.

9 May 2012

Our latest limited free offer on Kindle for Susie Kelly’s The Valley of Heaven and Hell  Cycling In The Shadow of Marie Antoinette was selected to feature on the USA’s top free Kindle site Pixel of Ink, producing over 10,000 US downloads. It made #27 in the overall US Top 100 and was #1 in various subject categories including Travel, France; Budget Travel; Top Travel Tips and Cycling.

The words every author wants to hear: “I couldn’t put this book down“. Susie Kelly’s The Valley Of Heaven & Hell – Cycling In The Shadow of Marie-Antoinette receives 3 new rave reviews in 24 hrs.

13 April 2012

Special London Book Fair offer – FREE ebook

New short story collection The Doughnut Dome by Stephanie Zia. Now previewing on Amazon Kindle USA and UK. First 5* reviews in. CLICK BOOK IMAGE ABOVE  to read and/or download free ebook. Read our latest blog post The London Book Fair Is For Authors Too here.

9 April 2012

Fab new reviews tumbling in for Best Foot Forward – A 500 Mile Walk Through Hidden France

“A Winner!” “One of the Best Hike Journals I’ve Read” “Susie’s Epic Walk Of Blister Hell, Susie is an exceptional woman” “Fabulous!” “A Thoroughly Enjoyable Read!”

and

“The Bible of Ebook Publishing” “Good Grief This Book Has Absolutely EVERYTHING…” “One of the very best books I’ve seen on ePublishing” “Worked for Me”

5 April 2012

How To Publish An Ebook – An Author’s Guide No. 1 UK Amazon, Writing.

28 March 2012

New How To Publish An Ebook On A Budget – Update Blog Post: why the Kindle makes the perfect editing tool.

22 March 2012 

Closing the Book

The touching story of Susie Kelly’s mission to reunite a long-lost diary with its owner.

12 March 2012 New Reviews Page!

SUSIE  KELLY  A wonderful read! This book was so pleasurable to read I felt like I was with the author on her travels I find walking the dogs tiring enough but to walk from La Rochelle to Geneva beggars belief!   I could read it time and time again as I could with all of Susie Kelly’s books, she is an inspiration An incredible journey which provided this reader at least with a sense of having travelled with the author through her struggles A book to inspire – GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

SARAH BALL A story full of the fantastical adventures of a boy and girl and their dog called Pip There are echoes here of Alice, of Blyton, of William Mayne and of a number of surreal texts, from Badlidrempt to various Pullman novellas. ARMADILLO MAGAZINE An excellent book with an interesting twist Ms. Ball has done an excellent job worthy of such children’s authors as J.K. Rowling and L. Frank Baum RITA REVIEWS

STEPHANIE ZIA Intelligent, perceptive and moving portrayal of loss and learning to live again THE WRITING COACH A wonderful look at finding yourself again after the death of a loved one HUFFINGTON POST BOOKS  A tender, entertaining read with some lovely set passages and an unexpected, heart-warming conclusion THE BOOKSELLER  You’ll never wear perfume the same way again!

4 March 2012

Introducing our new author Christina Hamilton. Christina’s unique, fun book is coming soon to Blackbird Digital Books.

24 Feb 2012

10 Good Reasons To Lie About Your Age is through to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2012






18 Feb 2012

5.00 out of 5.00 Star Reviews are pouring for Susie Kelly’s Best Foot Forward – A 500 Mile Walk Through Hidden France

Click image for full reviews and purchase:

$2.99/£2.21/E2.99 Kindle $12.99/£9.99 paperback

LOVE THIS BOOK! This book is written so well and with a lot of humor that made me laugh out loud. Fabulous book. Looking forward to others. San Diego Jesse, US Amazon

“The writer is not a wee timorous lassie; she is a lady with tenacity, courage and oh such a wonderful sense of humour! I find walking the dogs tiring enough but to walk from La Rochelle to Geneva beggars belief!” Lilian, US Amazon

“Wonderful, brilliant! I loved every bit of it, & I’ll be reading ALL of Susie Kelly’s books! James Penhaligon “Jim” (Cornwall) UK Amazon

“I read this book in March 2005 and could read it time and time again as I could with all of Susie Kelly’s books. She is an inspiration with all her wonderful adventures and has a wonderful insight into the history of France, and her characterisation of people and events are funny, educational and very entertaining.”  Janet, UK Amazon

“The author has terrific wit…It is easy reading, and relaxing and fun. Liked it a lot.. RicheleNC US Amazon

12 Feb 2012

How to Publish An Ebook On A Budget – An Author’s Guide: all ebook formats and paperback updated. SELLING: THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST SELLING EBOOKS FROM YOUR OWN WEBSITE. See the update blog entry here.

7 Feb 2012

“With elements of suspense, fantasy and sci-fi, The Dream Theatre is the perfect children’s novel for pre-teens on up.” Literary R&R reviews The Dream Theatre by Sarah Ball.

5 Feb 2012

Best Foot Forward – A 500-Mile Walk Through Hidden France by Susie Kelly

No. 1 Amazon US, Excursion Guides $2.99

No. 2 Amazon US, France $2.99

No. 3 Amazon US, Adventure $2.99

“I have read many books of “great walks”, but few which show an ability to trudge on day after day through terrible rain and furious heat. Susie’s nights were beset by flooding and insect infestations yet she carried right across France, with feet blistered into a pulp and with terrible pain – a journey like this cannot be made in comfort. Many people would have given up but eventually she reached Lake Geneva and walked into the lake, filling her battered green jungle hat with water and pouring it over her head. The end of an incredible journey which provided this reader at least with a sense of having travelled with the author through her struggles.” Tom Cunliffe, Amazon Top 50 Reviewer on Susie Kelly’s Best Foot Forward – A 500-Mile Walk Through Hidden France. Jan 13th 2012. Read the full review here.

A DIFFERENT DEFINITION OF SUCCESS

What does success mean to you? asks The Writing Coach Jacqui Lofthouse.

“In this age of epublishing, we are lucky that we can create ‘external’ success for ourselves too, whether or not agents and publishers are involved.  We can create our own readership. My two friends Stephanie Zia and Louise Voss (together with Mark Edwards) have done just that, Stephanie by becoming a publisher and creating Blackbird Digital (books include her own excellent 10 Good Reasons To Lie About Your Age) and Louise and Mark by publishing their thrillers direct to Kindle and going on to sell 100,000 copies. This year I plan to publish my own latest novel whether traditionally or digitally. I’m excited that both options remain possible.” Read the full, fascinating post here.