Tag: Australia

The one where Bumblebee Barn goes into Prime Reading, SC3 is up for pre-order and HH6 is on a Kindle Daily Deal in Australia

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

Hi everyone, hope you’re well and not too chilly if you’re in the UK surrounded by snow right now! In Scarborough (aka Whitsborough Bay), we had a white-over on Tuesday this week which cleared fairly quickly. This morning it was another white-over but even less snow which quickly turned to slush and went. My parents who are inland have it quite heavily, though. I was hoping to go across to see them today but the snow at their end has prevented that, especially as there’s a steep bank mid-way which is closed due to the weather. I’ll bob across next week instead.

I’ve had an extremely busy start to March. I had a submission deadline for book 20 – the first in my Lake District series – on Tuesday this week and I should have had plenty of time to write it but I lost a week early on due to illness. I suspect it was another Covid hit and it wiped me out which meant I was way behind so put in some exhausting hours catching up. I love the story, though, and am eagerly awaiting my editor’s feedback next week.

I’ve also started running a one-month online course so needed to record my training videos and get that all set up. I’m now pausing for breath and picking up the many balls I had to drop over the past few weeks.

One of these balls is letting you know that Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn went into into Prime Reading at the start of the month and will be there for at least 12 weeks.

It didn’t move up the charts much at first, but seems to have taken traction today and is loitering just outside the UK Kindle Top 100 so I’m hopeful of it dipping just inside again. Go on, little book, buzz on up that chart please!

If you haven’t already read it, here’s the blurb to entice you…

Welcome to Bumblebee Barn, home to wonderful animals, stunning views and spectacular sunsets – and resident young farmer, Barney.

While Barney loves his life at Bumblebee Barn – a farm that has been in his family for generations – he’s struggling to find someone to share it with. The early mornings quad biking through muddy fields and the long hours looking after the crops and animals are proving to be a deterrent to finding love.

So when his sister, Fizz – desperate for Barney to find his soulmate – sees an advert for Love on the Farm, a new reality TV show to help farmers find love, he has nothing to lose by applying. After all, he isn’t meeting anyone suitable down the traditional route and surely he won’t be picked anyway…?

Thrown into the chaos of reality TV, Barney could never have expected that his whole life would be turned upside down, with buried secrets to be uncovered and his heart on the line. With his family and friends rooting for him, could the magic of Bumblebee Barn heal his broken heart and help him find love on the farm?

Join top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland for a brand new standalone novel of love, family and second chances.

Readers are loving Bumblebee Barn and I’m so chuffed that it went past the 1,000 reviews/ratings on Amazon at the start of the week so a huge thank you to everyone who has shared the book love.

In other news, it’s just under 4 weeks until my next release. My nineteenth book, Summer Nights at The Starfish Café is out on 6th April. It’s available for per-order on Kindle UK here and Kindle US here.

It has also gone up for pre-order on Audible. The full details aren’t there at the time of writing e.g. it hasn’t got a running time yet and it says the narrator is Kitty Kelly. That’s correct but Kitty is the guest narrator, telling Kerry’s story. Hollie’s chapters are still narrated by the amazing Lucy Brownhill who has narrated the other two audiobooks in the series – Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café and Spring Tides at The Starfish Café.

You can find pre-order the Audible UK version here and the Audible US version here.

Can you read or listen to this book as a standalone? Yes, but I say that with significant hesitation. Kerry’s story is new although she did appear as a minor character in book 2. Hollie and Jake’s story starts in book 1 and develops across the series and I really don’t think you will get the full reading enjoyment if you start with book 3. A couple of the plot points in this third book don’t really make sense in isolation. Well, they do because I give the back story needed as a reminder to those who have had a gap between reading the books, but there’s a much richer reading experience to be had by starting at the beginning.

If you’re interested in a print version, the large print version and the hardback are up for pre-order at the moment. You can tell they’re special versions due to the price. The paperback will retail at £12.99 and may go up for pre-order or be available on the day. If anyone wants a signed copy, please do comment or contact me on social media as I have stock which will be £14 including p&p in the UK.

Here’s what this book is all about…

Welcome back to The Starfish Café for a glorious summer, but with a few dark clouds on the horizon…

A new beginning…

As her summer wedding to Jake approaches, Hollie is excited for their new beginning as a family. But when some unexpected news threatens the future she and Jake had hoped for, Hollie will need to find the strength to overcome heartache once more.

A fragile heart….

Single mum, Kerry, loves her job at The Starfish Café, but behind the brave smiles and laughter with customers there is a sadness deep within. So when someone from her past re-appears in her life, Kerry can either hide away or face her demons and try to finally move on from her heartbreak.

A summer to remember…

For Hollie and Kerry it promises to be an emotional rollercoaster of a summer, but the community at The Starfish Café will always be there to help them through – after all, with courage nothing is impossible…

Join top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland for a wonderful summer at the seaside, full of love, friendship and community spirit.

And my final offer for today is on Kindle Australia where the final book in the Hedgehog Hollow series – Christmas Miracles at Hedgehog Hollow – is on a Kindle daily deal. This is on Saturday 11th March and, as it’s already Saturday in Australia, this offer has now kicked in. Readers can pick it up for the bargain price of $1.19 on SATURDAY ONLY. You can find it here.

With it being the final book of six, you can probably guess what I’m going to say here? NOT a standalone book. Yes, you can pick it up and read it as it’s a complete story but there are so many characters who have been building up across the entire series and so many threads tying together that I wouldn’t. I really would encourage readers to go back to the start and enjoy the whole journey. But, you might want to add this to your Kindle while it’s on the daily deal and add the others to it later.

The blurb if you haven’t read this one yet…

It’s the countdown to Christmas at Hedgehog Hollow Wildlife Rescue Centre, and everyone is gearing up for a festive season to remember…

It should be the most wonderful time of the year for Samantha and Josh as they prepare for the arrival of their first baby. But life at Hedgehog Hollow rarely goes to plan and the pair are faced with adversaries, old and new, and unexpected challenges to overcome.

Fizz’s job at the heart of the rescue centre is a dream come true but her personal life is more like a nightmare. With her love life a disaster and her past about to dramatically catch up with her, she needs the love and support of her Hedgehog Hollow family more than ever.

As the snow falls over Hedgehog Hollow, will Samantha and Fizz find the Christmas miracle they need to overcome their heartache and find happiness?

Top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland welcomes you back to Hedgehog Hollow this Christmas for the final time in this series for a heartfelt story of love, family, friendship – and hedgehogs of course!

That’s it from me for now. Wishing you a fabulous weekend. It’s my husband’s birthday tomorrow and also our dog’s but, due to the weather, we’re having a quiet day at home rather than attempting to go out and about, with a Chinese takeaway for tea and a family film.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

The one where I wish you a Happy Easter and share an offer in Australia

Jessica Redland Author4 Comments

Hello everyone and Happy Easter. Whether the bank holiday weekend has religious meaning for you or not, I hope you’ve had a restful one so far and haven’t over indulged on chocolate!

I’ve been self employed for about seven years now so a bank holiday doesn’t always mean a break for me but, when I was employed, I used to love the long four-day weekend, particularly when Easter fell in April meaning the May Day bank holiday weekend would follow soon after. If there were three four-day weeks in a row, that was such a special treat although this year we have one full week before the May Day weekend.

I took a few photos of my books in Easter poses (can books pose?) intending to share them across the weekend but I didn’t think to schedule them and, as we’re away at the moment, I forgot to share any until yesterday. I thought I’d therefore share a few here instead of waste them! Hope you like them.

Today – Monday 18th April – most of my books are on offer in Australia. It’s nearing the end of the day in Australia as I write this but please do spread the word if you read it and it’s still Monday in Australia!

Six of my books are on a one-day Goldbox deal at 99c: Making Wishes at Bay View, Finding Hope at Lighthouse Cove, Coming Home to Seashell Cottage, Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow, New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow and Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow.

The offer doesn’t end there. Another six of my books are in the Kindle Monthly Deal: All You Need is Love and the three books in the Christmas on Castle Street series – Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop, Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes, Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Cafe – are all only $1.29. New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms and The Secret to Happiness are also in the Kindle Monthly Deal although they’re $2.59 and $3.19 respectively.

And in case you wanted to almost complete the set, A Wedding at Hedgehog Hollow and Snowflakes Over The Starfish Cafe are both on a $2.19 offer. So many bargains to be had!

Enjoy the rest of your Easter weekend.

Big chocolatey hugs
Jessica xx

Super celebrations for those hedgehogs

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

It has been another amazing week in the world of Hedgehog Hollow.

Today, on the 4-week anniversary since the release of book 3 in the series – Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow – the first book is celebrating a major reviews/ratings milestone. It has now passed the 2,000 point on Amazon. Woo hoo those hedgehogs!

But book 3 has hit another amazing number. 1,300 is maybe not a number we’d call a milestone but when we say that 1,300 was achieved in only 4 weeks, my gaster is well and truly flabbered (which auto correct wanted to change to my Easter is blabbered!)

And with over 2,300 reviews, the 2nd book – New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow – is well on its way to a 2,500 milestone.

Meanwhile over on Apple, the hedgehogs have been enjoying more celebrations. I posted to say that Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow had been chosen as Apple’s Free Book of the Week in the UK and Ireland as well as being free Romance of the Week in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. That week is over now. Well, I say the week is over but it still is showing as FREE in some territories so, if you’re an Apple user and haven’t already grabbed it, you may still get it for free.

Giving away a book for free may seem a strange thing to do as it obviously brings in zero income for an author and we do have bills to pay. It’s a strategy that can work well when the book is the start of a series as it’s effectively giving readers a free sample. If they like what they try, they’ll hopefully go on and read the other books in the series and, as they’ll be buying those, some income is still generated.

In March last year, the first book in the ‘Welcome to Whitsborough Bay’ series – Making Wishes at Bay View – was the Free Book of the Week in the UK and made it to the #1 position, with #3 for Making Wishes at Seaside Blooms, #13 for Finding Hope at Lighthouse Cove and #23 for Coming Home to Seashell Cottage (#2, 3 and 5 respectively in the Romance category chart). I hoped similar things would happen for the hedgehogs.

And I’m delighted to say they have…

FINDING LOVE AT HEDGEHOG HOLLOW topped the overall chart in UK and Ireland, and the Romance category in both those territories and Australia. Top 6 everywhere else!

It was so lovely seeing it at the top of the overall free chart…

NEW ARRIVALS AT HEDGEHOG HOLLOW came so close to the top in the UK and I thought at one point that it might just nudge up there… but there was a new E L James released today. The hedgehogs are not going to topple Mr Grey!

I was absolutely delighted to chart in the USA with it being such an enormous market. Apple shows the Top 200 positions but gives no indication of chart positions outside that so it’s such a special moment spotting it visually represented.

A particular thrill was becoming a sandwich in the Apple Books UK chart with Richard Osman and Matt Haig who have two of the biggest selling books of the year. What an honour! I’d bought both paperbacks recently so couldn’t resist recreating the sandwich in my office.

And this was my #2 moment, so very close to the top. As you can see, book 3 was still working its way up the charts at this point. It’s so surreal when I see some of the HUGE names with whom I’m sharing ‘shelf-space’ and also particularly lovely to see a fellow Boldwood author, Diane Saxon in there too…

FAMILY SECRETS AT HEDGEHOG HOLLOW didn’t chart in Ireland but did well in all the other territories and potentially could still climb higher but I wanted to write this post today as it’s the 4-week anniversary since the release of Family Secrets.

It was particularly great capturing book 2 and 3 today in the Top 5 together:

At one point, books 2 and 3 were Top 5 together while book 1 was top of the free chart so they were all featuring on the home page in the UK. Don’t imagine I’ll see that again!

A huge thank you to all Apple users who’ve made this possible this week and to all the Amazon users who’ve helped achieve those amazing review/ratings numbers.

As I say, Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow still appears to be free in most territories for Apple so do check yours out if you haven’t already grabbed it. It’s also still in Prime Reading on Amazon and all my books are in Kindle Unlimited so free if you subscribe to that.

Big hedge-hugs
Jessica xx

FREE Romance of the Week in MORE territories

Jessica Redland Author2 Comments

I blogged yesterday to say that Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow was the FREE Book of the Week on AppleBooks in the UK. It’s currently #1 in the overall FREE chart and the Romance category chart.

I have exciting news! It is also the FREE Book of the Week on AppleBooks in IRELAND where it is also currently #1 in both free charts. Woo hoo!

FREE Book of the Week in UK and Ireland

And there’s more!!!!

I announced that Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow was the FREE Romance of the Week in Australia, Canada and USA. More news… it’s also on that promotion in NEW ZEALAND too!

So loads of AppleBooks territories around the world where you can grab the start of the Hedgehog Hollow series for absolutely nothing.

Romance of the Week in Australia, Canada, New Zealand & USA

I’m really excited to see the hedgehogs have just entered the Top 20 in the USA’s and Canada’s free charts this morning.

And perhaps treat yourself to books 2 and 3 – New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow and Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow – while you’re at it!

The hedgehogs and I wish you happy (free) reading!

If you’re not an Apple user but you have friends/family who are, please do spread the word!

This offer will continue across the weekend but I believe it will be back up to normal price on Monday (depending on timezone).

Big hedge-hugs
Jessica xx

A golden day down under and the bears were out climbing

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

I had a really busy Easter weekend, finishing editing book 13 and a couple of exciting promotions on my books.

The first promotion was a Kindle Goldbox in Australia. This is a special promotion that Amazon Kindle run on a Sunday. The author needs to have at least six titles with the same publisher and they need to have been at £2.99 or more (or the overseas equivalent) for at least two months. If accepted for a Goldbox, the price will drop to 99p for a 24-hour period and Amazon will heavily promote the deal.

I’d noticed this in the UK charts for the first time last year but didn’t know why. I spotted that all the books in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series were in the Top 50 and I wondered whether it might have been the anniversary of author Douglas Adams’s birthday or death but it wasn’t. I noticed the same happening for other authors over subsequent Sundays and discovered from my publisher about the Goldbox promotion.

On Sunday, eight of my titles went on a Goldbox promotion in Australia and I can’t thank the readers in Australia enough for responding so positively to the deal and delivering these amazing results:

  • #10 for The Secret to Happiness
  • 3 x other titles in the Top 50 (New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms, Finding Hope at Lighthouse Cove and New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow)
  • 3 x more Top 100 titles (Making Wishes at Bay View, Coming Home to Seashell Cottage and Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Café)
  • #1 Best seller Tags on all the books

And what was even more amazing was all seven of these titles were in the Kindle Top 100 at the same time!

The only title that didn’t make it into the Top 100 was Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes which wasn’t really a surprise considering it’s a long way from Christmas (even Australia’s Christmas in July celebrations). It still did me proud with a #149 position. (For some reason, I don’t seem to have a screenshot of it but I do have one of the Movers & Shakers chart showing the jump up the chart).

It was tricky keeping watch of the promo due to the time difference so I confess I got very little sleep on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Then around mid-afternoon GMT on Sunday, it was the turn of the bears. All You Need Is Love (set partially in a specialist teddy bear shop, hence the reference to the bears) was on a BookBub promotion in the UK, Canada and Australia. This is where an email goes out to thousands of subscribers alerting them to books on offer. The bears climbed up the chart to #45 in Australia, #81 in Canada and #127 in the UK. Well done those bears!

I got very little sleep on Sunday night/Monday morning keeping my eye on that promotion too! Soooo sleepy now.

The Goldbox offer has ended but there is still a discount on All You Need Is Love so not too late to bag a 99p (or overseas equivalent) bargain. The first two Hedgehog Hollow books are also discounted just now.

A huge thanks to my amazing publisher, Boldwood Books, for making this possible and achieving yet another dream that wasn’t even a dream with 7 Top 100 books in Australia at the same time. That feels pretty special.

Hope you have an amazing second week of the Easter holidays.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

Amazing Kindle Deals in Australia TODAY ONLY

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

Happy Easter everyone!

Down in Australia, the Easter bunny is delivering a fabulous basket of treats for Kindle readers because a whopping eight of my ebooks … yes, EIGHT of them … are on a very special offer for ONE DAY ONLY.

The four titles in the Welcome to Whitsborough Bay Series, one of my Hedgehog Hollow books, and three more of my Whitsborough Bay books are all reduced to the ridiculously low price of $0.99 for SUNDAY 4th APRIL ONLY:

  • Making Wishes at Bay View (Welcome to Whitsborough Bay book 1)
  • New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms (Welcome to Whitsborough Bay book 2)
  • Finding Hope at Lighthouse Cove (Welcome to Whitsborough Bay book 3)
  • Coming Home to Seashell Cottage (Welcome to Whitsborough Bay book 4)
  • The Secret to Happiness
  • Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes
  • Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Café
  • New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow (Hedgehog Hollow book 2)

And All You Need Is Love and Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow (book 1 in the Hedgehog Hollow series) are both only $1.89 on offer at the moment too.

So you can get all ten of my Boldwood Books releases for only $11.70!!!

You can find my Amazon Australia books here.

The only book not on offer is Charlee and the Chocolate Shop because that’s due an edit and re-release from Boldwood Books in July so I’d encourage waiting until then to read the fresh version.

Happy Easter and happy reading! Please tell your friends and family and I wish you a fabulous Easter weekend.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

Two books in the UK Kindle Top 100 at the same time. Woo hoo!

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

I’m very tired this morning. Actually, I’m tired most mornings but I was super-duper extra tired this morning because I’d been up at various points in the night checking chart positions. I assure you I’m not normally that committed – or perhaps I should say obsessed – but New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow was on a BookBub promotion in the UK, Australia and Canada yesterday/overnight which is always exciting as it can mean high positions.

What is BookBub? Avid readers can sign up to it for free in exchange for details of book promotions. You choose the genres you’re interested in reading, your favourite authors, and whether you like ebooks, audio or both. Every day at around 3pm GMT, BookBub email a newsletter to their subscribers with details of a small number of promotions based on the selections they’ve made. For an author/publisher to secure a BookBub deal, a book must be on offer – I think it has to be at least half price – or free. It’s a great way for readers to keep on top of bargains.

BookBub’s subscriber database is ginormous and having a BookBub promo usually has a significant impact on chart positions. Even though the Kindle charts are meant to be updated hourly, this isn’t always the case and there’s often a lag. There is also a time difference across the regions so the greatest chart impact can often be in the UK’s early hours, hence my nocturnal activities last night!

New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow was already close to the Kindle Top 100 in the UK before the newsletter came out so I was pretty sure it would make it inside the Top 100 but wasn’t sure how far. Those hedgehogs scampered up to #77.

All my previous BookBub promos have resulted in higher chart positions in Australia and Canada than the UK so I was particularly excited to see how high New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow would reach in those regions. Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow had made it to #40 in Canada and #20 in Australia when it was on a BookBub last October but The Secret to Happiness and Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Cafe had made it even higher in both regions. How would the second hedgehog outing fare?

This time, the hedgehogs didn’t perform quite as well in Canada with a peak of only #263 late last night. It’s still a great chart position and something that, 18 months ago, I never dreamed I’d ever achieve but it’s significantly lower than the other four promos I’ve had (Making Wishes at Bay View was also in a BookBub last year and, although it didn’t get as high as the other three, it still made it into the Top 100). I don’t know why New Arrivals didn’t do as well as my other books and I could go into circles speculating so I’ll celebrate the Top 300 position instead and be very happy with that.

It was also a lower chart position in Australia than the previous four but the hedgehogs did still crack into the Top 100 with a peak of #67 late this morning in Australia meaning all five of my Aus BookBubs made it into the Top 100. Thank you Australia!

So a very valiant attempt by the hedgehogs and I’m very proud of their performance. But what is even better is ticking off yet another goal that wasn’t even a goal: two books in the UK Top 100 at the same time!

Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow (book 1) is currently in Prime Reading and was already in the Top 100 but it was so lovely to see New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow (book 2) joining it. I managed to capture them at #58 and #77 respectively. They’ve both dropped a few places now although, at the time of writing this, they’re still both in the Top 100. They both remain on promotion in the UK at only 99p and will stay that way for a limited time, with Finding Love still being in Prime Reading for another couple of months. New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow will remain on offer in Canada and Australia for a short while too.

A huge thank you to everyone who has helped both Hedgehog Hollow books to get into the Top 100 at the same time. Yesterday, my amazing publisher Boldwood Books announced a new record for their authors with a whopping eight titles in the Top 100. New Arrivals joining them today made a new record of nine. Massive congratulations to Shari Low, Rosie Clarke, Gemma Rogers, Judy Leigh, Louise Douglas and Portia MacIntosh – writing across a variety of genres – for their Top 100 success. Go Team Boldwood!

And, to help the celebrations, it’s amazing to see six of my books with bestseller tags today in the UK, including the third book in the Hedgehog Hollow series – Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow – which is still only on pre-order but storming the charts. Thank you so much to everyone who has pre-ordered it.

Wishing you all the best for a great end to the week and a relaxing weekend.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

The one where I was Top 3 in Australia

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

I had a lovely moment a week ago when one of my Christmas books – Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Café – secured a pretty fabulous chart position in Australia.

Last Thursday (5th November) it climbed to number 3! Eek! That’s number 3 in the overall kindle chart.

This is the highest chart position that any of my books have achieved anywhere in the world in overall rather than category charts, the previous highest being #9 in the Canada Kindle Chart for The Secret to Happiness last year.

Prior to that, my highest position in Australia was #11 with Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow so it was really exciting to break the Top 10 and even more exciting to get into the Top 3 down under.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t enter my head how incredible it would be to achieve the #1 position but I knew there was no chance and that wasn’t me being negative. The latest Jack Reacher outing written by Lee Child and his brother Andrew had just been released and was #2. I was never going to outsell Jack Reacher! The top slot was held by Imogen Clark’s The Last Piece. It was certainly a proud moment to be sharing chart space with them both.

Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Café is currently on a monthly Kindle deal in Australia which will have helped propel it up the chart and I’m thrilled that, a week later, it’s still in the Top 50.

The first and third books in my Welcome to Whitsborough Bay series – Making Wishes at Bay View and Finding Hope at Lighthouse Cove – are also in Kindle monthly deals in Australia so are on offer there. (Making Wishes at Bay View) is also on a UK monthly deal just now. These deals are throughout November so still plenty of time to bag bargains.

Thank you to all those readers in Australia who made another writing dream come true for me. It’s certainly something I could never have imagined happening this time last year!

Big hugs

Jessica xx

The one where Seaside Blooms has done blooming well

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

This week, New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms – the second book in my ‘Welcome to Whitsborough Bay’ series has dropped out of the UK’s Kindle Top 100 after nearly four months. Oh. My. God! FOUR MONTHS!!!

This is the first book I ever wrote and was my debut release in June 2015 under the title Searching for Steven. It shifted about 2,000 copies through my original publisher then as an indie author after they ceased trading. It wasn’t setting the world alight but I was fairly pleased. After all, when I wrote it, I had no plans to become a published author; I simply had an idea for a book and wondered if I could write one.

When Boldwood Books took on my back catalogue and we did a fresh edit on Searching for Steven and re-released it as New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms, never did I imagine that I’d be able to add another zero to that sales figure or experience four months in the Top 100, peaking at #14.

I have to be honest and say that it did dip out of the Top 100 once during that four months when, on 20th August, it was only as high as #101. But that’s pretty close isn’t it? I’m allowing that.

I’m thrilled to have gathered 234 reviews/ratings on Amazon, 92% if which are positive. Of course, you can’t please all the people all of the time and I have a few scathing negative reviews including this accolade:

Ouch!

And this 1-star review from someone who definitely didn’t like the main character:

Also ouch!

But so many people have loved this book and gone on to read – and love – the rest of the series. And I’m so very grateful to those who have shared their love in a positive review.

If you haven’t read it yet, you can download it here for Kindle. It’s available on Kobo, AppleBooks and in paperback and audio formats. You can borrow the audio version from your library if they have the uLibrary App or you can listen to it on Spotify. And, if you’re in Australia, it’s on a special offer on Kindle until the end of September as part of Kindle’s Monthly Deal.

I’m so proud of this book. It was a wallflower in the shadows for a long time but found its sunflower moment under Boldwood and took that moment to shine. Sometimes reader love can bloom when you least expect it!

To anyone struggling to make an impact – whether that is in writing or any other aspect of your life – hang in there because your moment to shine could be just around the corner.

Big hugs

Jessica xx

From those who loved it…

The one where The Secret to Happiness is a year old

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

One year ago today, The Secret to Happiness was published. Happy book-birthday to me! It’s an exceptionally special book-birthday because this was the first of my books released by my amazing publishers, Boldwood Books. It was the book that secured me my publishing deal.

Originally titled Wish I Could Tell You Goodbye, it tells the story of three women – Alison, Danniella and Karen – who are struggling to let go of something/someone from their past. They all meet at a beach-based bootcamp run by Karen and it explores whether the power of friendship can give the women the strength to move on and find the happiness they deserve.

It’s an emotional but uplifting story which I love and I was sure that, after several years as an indie writer, it would secure me a publishing deal. It didn’t at first. When Boldwood opened for submissions, it had been rejected by five different publishers. Five rejections is not a lot in the grand scheme of things but I took each one to heart and was crushed by them. Because I’d already released nine books, originally with a publisher and then via an independent route – all with great feedback – I started to seriously doubt myself. I wondered if I’d tried to be too clever writing about three women instead of just having one protagonist (like in all my books except Bear With Me which has two). I wondered whether I’d lost my writing mojo.

On the shelves in The Works

But this is a positive post and I want to focus on the amazing things that have happened since what became The Secret to Happiness found its home at Boldwood. I have pasted my rejection feedback at the end if anyone is curious. For authors, this may give the encouragement to keep going as, what one editor passes on, another may feel passionate about.

Thankfully, Boldwood thought differently to the other five publishers and offered me a 9-book deal for this book plus another three new ones, and five novels from my back catalogue! Wow!

And I couldn’t be happier. I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason. I believe I was always destined to join Boldwood so I’m grateful for those rejections because they meant I could find my true home.

What has The Secret to Happiness done for me?

  • Over 9k paperbacks in branches of The Works around the UK
  • Sold nearly 500 audio copies*
  • Sold nearly 15k eBooks*
  • #122 in the UK Kindle Chart
  • #9 on the Canada Kindle Chart
  • #20 on the Australia Kindle Chart
  • #35 on the overall AppleBooks Chart and #10 on the Romance Chart
  • Secured 123 ratings/reviews on Amazon UK, 92% of which are 4 or 5-star
  • Secured 43 ratings on AppleBooks UK, all of which are 4 or 5-star

* Up until end June 2020

Reviews/Ratings on Amazon UK

This book took a struggling indie writer and turned her into an international bestselling author! Eek! Still can’t quite believe that!

I cannot thank my amazing editor, Nia Beynon, enough for believing in this book and helping shape and polish it ready for publication. And thank you to the team at Boldwood Books and the fabulously talented authors there who’ve supported and promoted my work.

If you haven’t yet read it, now’s your chance as it has been selected for Kindle UK’s September Monthly Deal and is 99p for the whole of the month. Kobo and AppleBooks also have it for 99p.

You can find it for Kindle here or on Audible here.

If you prefer paperbacks, The Works sold out really quickly online but you may still be able to find a copy in your local branch. Alternatively paperbacks can be ordered via Amazon. Or you could win a copy!

Yes, to celebrate The Secret to Happiness’s 1st book-birthday, I’m giving away THREE signed copies. There’ll be one book given away in a competition on Facebook, one on Instagram and one on Twitter. I’ll share details from my various social media accounts but they’ll appear first on Boldwood’s social media. You can find them as:

  • Book & Tonic on Facebook and Instagram
  • @BoldwoodBooks on Twitter

So watch out for news of how to win!

In the meantime, have an amazing week/weekend and thank you once more to everyone who has discovered The Secret to Happiness or is about to discover it!

Big hugs

Jessica xx

And, as promised, here’s the rejections…

“Concept intriguing and writing engaging [but] not suitable for our list.”

“Created a great ensemble cast .. setting well delineated … [but the] concept wasn’t quite ‘hooky’ enough to stand out in a very crowded market.”

“While the premise is fun and engaging and original, we just feel the bootcamp idea is not quite right for us at this time. I do think it’s very well written, however, so please don’t let this stop you – you just need a cracking idea and you’ll be on your way.”

“I absolutely loved diving into the world you’ve conjured here … [but] as the story went on I struggled to empathise with the characters as much as I wanted to. Rather than being invested in their journeys I felt they lacked the necessary depth and layers, I wanted to see more of their emotions and feelings on the page. In such a competitive book market we have to ensure we feel passionate about the book and characters and sadly I just couldn’t find myself getting lost in Alison or Karen’s story as I couldn’t connect with them. In terms of next step I recommend looking at how you can weave more depth into the characters, offering readers different layers to uncover from them all.”

“Your writing is great, and there is huge warmth and emotion in your narrative. All of the women’s stories are hugely poignant, but because there were three of them, it felt at times like there wasn’t quite enough space for each story, including the tragic events before the book begins, to be fully explored. The women’s fiction market is so tricky at the moment, and what we tend to be looking for at the moment are in-depth emotional stories with a tight scope, or high-concept stories that can be pitched in a single line. I’m afraid that Wish I Could Tell You Goodbye didn’t quite hit the mark for me.”