Press
MAY 2013
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.
South African magazine Catslife will be featuring an interview with Christina Hamilton in their 50th Anniversary JUNE 2013 print issue. Christina’s book For The Love Of Cats is available as an ebook in SA via KOBO and as a paperback for delivery worldwide via the Createspace estore. It will be coming soon to The Book Depository which has free worldwide delivery.
MARCH 2013
5 March 2013, Hull Daily Mail interview with For The Love Of Cats author Christina Hamilton
FEBRUARY 2013
“France et Moi” The French Village Diaries interviews Susie Kelly about her life in France
Susie Kelly at Love My Trips on the iconic Loire chateau of Chenonceau and A Picnic to Remember
For The Love Of Cats reaches No. 1 in two Amazon Japan Kindle Charts Fun Facts & Animal Care & Pets
For The Love Of Cats is US blogger Cat Chat With Caron & Cody’s Fun Friday Find
US blog The Conscious Cat review & giveaway of Celebrity Cat Names
The UK’s top cat magazine Your Cat runs an online Celebrity Cat Names competition, magazine comp to follow
JANUARY 2013
Christina Hamilton on BBC Radio Humberside DAVE BURNS show Monday, 28th Jan 11.00/11.15am talking about For The Love Of Cats
Stephanie Zia and Done & Dusted – The Organic Home On A Budget feature in the February issue of PRIMA magazine.
Susie Kelly books at #1 #2 #3 #4 and all 5 in Top 20 UK Amazon, Bestsellers France
NOVEMBER 2012
The Good Life France awards Swallows and Robins – The Guests In My Garden a 5 Star Rating.
“Laugh out loud funny and a must read for anyone dreaming of the good life running gites in France.”
OCTOBER 2012
The Single Mother’s Survival Guide to Sex & Dating No. 1 in Germany, Allienerziehende Eltern (englischsprachig)
SEPTEMBER 2012
Throughout the month Travels With Tinkerbelle completely owned the No. 1 Spot in Amazon UK’s Bestsellers in French Travel. Now carrying through to October, long may she reign!
AUGUST 2012
Diana Morgan-Hill, whose amazing autobiography is at final edit stage and may be heading for Blackbird, though agents are already talking to her:
London METRO full text here
Coffee With A Canine interviews Susie Kelly, Tally and Dobby.
The Good Life France, loving Susie Kelly!
“Susie Kelly, the author of Best Foot Forward – 500 Miles Through Hidden France describes herself as “slightly scatter-brained… gets on best with animals, eccentrics and elderly people”. Reading this book I’d say she is certainly fits the description and is possibly slightly bonkers in the nicest possible way. She is also a fabulous writer…. read on
JULY 2012
Women Travel The World blog features an extract from Susie Kelly’s Travels With Tinkerbelle – 6,000 Miles Around France In A Mechanical Wreck: Heavenly Campsite In France.
JUNE 2012
Skyscanner selects Susie Kelly’s The Valley Of Heaven And Hell – Walking In The Shadow of Marie-Antoinette as one of it’s 30 best holiday books for £4.99 or less.
French Village Diaries reviews Stephanie Zia’s The Kew Mum Gang. “I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself so engrossed in the characters that snippets of it would pop into my head during the day when I wasn’t reading, which is always a sign of a good book.”
MARCH 2012
18th March 2012
KDP Select offer produces over 7,000 free downloads of How to Publish An Ebook On A Budget – An Author’s Guide, ranking #77 in US Amazon Top 100, #1 Writing, #1 Graphic Design, #1 ECommerce.
FEBRUARY 2012
5 Feb 2012:
Best Foot Forward takes up residence on #paid Best Sellers, Amazon US
including #France, #Adventure, #Outdoor Recreation, #Hiking and Camping Excursion Guides
2 Feb 2012:
Free Kindle promotion on Susie Kelly’s Best Foot Forward – A 500-Mile Walk Through Hidden France 1 – 3 Feb
#1 Amazon France Travel Best Sellers in USA and UK; #20 UK Non-Fiction; #50 Amazon USA overall ranking.
JANUARY 2012
The Deux-Sevres Monthly
The Smile In The Garden With The Starfish Number 1, US Amazon Bestsellers in Short Stories
DECEMBER 2011
Blackbird Digital Books and Ecloth UK team up for an online competition feature in Your Home Magazine. Answer a simple question and click to win a whole bundle of E-cloth goodies plus an ebook copy of Done & Dusted – The Organic Home On A Budget.
NOVEMBER 2011
Ten Good Reasons To Lie About Your Age joins the bestsellers at Books on Board, America’s largest independent ebook retailer
How To Publish An Ebook On A Budget – An Author’s Guide No. 1 Amazon UK Bestsellers in Writing Reference
Best Foot Forward – A 500-Mile Walk Through Hidden France No. 1 Amazon UK, Amazon France, No. 2 Amazon US Bestsellers French Travel
NOVEMBER 2011
Poitou Charentes Journal
The Valley of Heaven and Hell – Cycling In The Shadow of Marie Antoinette by Susie Kelly – “Domestic frisson is rife, entertainment level high and there are certainly a couple of ‘laugh out loud’ scenarios…” Reviewer Sandie George
SEPTEMBER 2011
“Woman” magazine
How To Publish An Ebook On A Budget – An Author’s Guide recommended by UK Kindle-success author LOUISE VOSS
“I put my novel on sale for 79p – and got a six figure publishing deal!” ‘…it didn’t cost a penny. Amazon tells you how to format your work but I found How To Publish An Ebook – An Author’s Guide by Stephanie Zia helpful too.’
SEPTEMBER 2011
Seattle Pi
The Valley of Heaven and Hell – Cycling In The Shadow of Marie Antoinette by Susie Kelly. “If you enjoy history and are looking for a look into both the past and present than look no further. This would make an exceptional book for a book club or reading group.” Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-The-Valley-of-Heaven-and-Hell-2162618.php#ixzz1YUchh3ZV
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011
Federation of Children’s Book Groups
Sarah Ball’s children’s story The Dream Theatre offered as a free giveaway by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups. Founded by (Ragdoll Productions/Teletubbies/In The Night Garden) Anne Wood in 1965, the Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) is the most prestigious children’s literature organisation in the UK. They own and run the ‘Children’s Booker’ Red House Children’s Book Award, won last year by Michael Morpurgo.
JUNE 2011
THE DREAM THEATRE by Sarah Ball
Armadillo Magazine, The Online Independent Children’s Book Magazine
Although her previous novels for adults have appeared in conventional format, Ball’s first book for young readers has been published by only as an eBook. Just how appropriate this is for the intended audience of primary age children is debatable, and the resulting lack of illustration could also be considered a shortcoming for this readership. It would also seem that blackbirdebooks have misjudged their age-range in describing this text as for 8-12 year olds. There is a noticeable disparity between the content, the narrative style and the length, none of which sit entirely comfortable together, as we feel this is essentially a story more suited to upper KS1 and lower KS2 readers.
Jamie Ellis and his best friend Martha make an incredible discovery when Martha’s dog Pip leads them into The Dream Theatre and then disappears. Desperate to find him Jamie and Martha search the dream world, visiting places and seeing things they never thought possible. But when they eventually find him they face an even more puzzling problem, to identify the strange, unending dream Pip seems to be guarding. The answer means a race against time to help a friend in a coma and Jamie facing up to the trauma he experienced when his father died.
Ball’s text is engaging, though sometimes rather disjointed and scrappy. However gradually the more serious questions addressed come to the fore, and are thoughtfully resolved. There are echoes here of Alice, of Blyton, of William Mayne and of a number of surreal texts, from Badlidrempt to various Pullman novellas.
MARCH 2011
Valley of Heaven & Hell – Cycling In The Shadow of Marie-Antoinette by Susie Kelly Reaches No. 1 Amazon UK Kindle Chart, French Travel
TEN GOOD REASONS TO LIE ABOUT YOUR AGE by Stephanie Zia
28 March 2011 “10 Good Reasons To Lie About Your Age” appears in Ireland’s top woman’s weekly Woman’s Way. With 205,000 readers per week, Woman’s Way reaches nearly 1 in 10 of women in Ireland. Illustrated full page article by Stephanie Zia with author photo, book cover and publisher details.
FEBRUARY 2011
28 Feb 2011
Leslie Walsh’s glowing review of Ten Good Reasons To Lie About Your Age is shared widely across US mainstream press sites:
OCTOBER 2010
DONE & DUSTED:
9/10/10 Stephanie Zia interviewed by John Toal about toxic chemicals in cleaning products on John Toal’s Saturday Magazine Show, BBC Radio Ulster
SEPTEMBER 2010
5/9/10 The School Run reviews Done & Dusted
Countryside La Vie reviews Done & Dusted
Stephanie Zia’s top stain removal tips feature on Talk Talk’s Home & Garden page
JUNE 2010
To celebrate World Environment Day on 5 June 2010, Stephanie Zia’s top ten green cleaning tips published by Hello Eco Living
MAY 2010
Done & Dusted gets a recommendation in the May/June 2010 issue of Green Living magazine.
Top UK consumer blogger Penny Golightly gives a big thumbs up to Done & Dusted and launches competition + review of Done & Dusted
Extract from Done & Dusted by Stephanie Zia in Wellbeing Magazine, May 2010: How to Make Healthy Home-made Air Fresheners
FEBRUARY 2010
4 Feb 2010 3.30pm Stephanie Zia appears on The Richard Bacon Show, BBC Radio 5 Live, answering listeners’ cleaning and stain removal problems
