Hi All
Hope you are well. Thought I’d do a quick update blog.
It has been an unusual few weeks to be honest. A Tiny Feeling of Fear (ATFOF) was released just over a week ago and there have been some excellent reviews already coming through. Those who have read it are saying things like “It is the first book that I have wanted to re-read as soon as I had finished it” and “…a bigger twist than The Sixth Sense” and “…absolutely brilliant, fabulous twist, I want to read it again.” [Before you say it, I didn’t write these]
I am truly humbled by all of this. Obviously, it brings with it an amount of pressure – people are already asking me for the next book. Er, that’ll have to wait just for now. In the meantime, if you have read and liked it, please do tell your family, friends, colleagues and whoever else. Please also take two seconds to do a quick review on Amazon (.co.uk and .com) – it doesn’t have to be anything wordy, just simply a rating and one sentence. It makes an enormous difference. It also means that perhaps I will get a weeny bit of income to allow me to get on and write the next one. Currently Amazon are still selling it at around 70% discount on kindle right here so you can still bag a copy at a bargain price.
And so, the pressure. As you will all no doubt know, ATFOF is my attempt to speak candidly about mental health issues and try to and get people to realise that mental health is not some dirty secret we keep to ourselves. One out of four people will suffer from some kind of mental health issue each year. Twenty-five per cent of all people. ATFOF is a ‘bare-all’ novel which took some writing and now it is released and available is taking some talking about. It has brought back memories and thoughts crushed away in the corners of my mind to fore. Things that I didn’t want to deal with or I had blanked out have now reappeared like a distant friend. It’s as if ATFOF has climbed to the top of a mountain with a 1,000 coloured balloons and invited my deepest thoughts to join it.
But, this is a good thing. This is what I wanted to achieve after all. It has certainly helped me. And from here, I am hopeful it will help somebody else say the words, “Y’know I’ve not been feeling myself recently. I’ve been having X,Y, Z thoughts.” We need more understanding, help and to destigmatise the illness. Because that is all it is. An illness. I often use the analogy that my computer breaks down as soon as I accidentally download an update or install a new printer. I am awash with pop-ups or spyware and within a few days the whole system has slowed to a halt. This is how a computer reacts. You compare the human brain and its’ far superior intricacies and processing power. The brain is a million times more powerful than a laptop. Indeed, it is so superior that we humans do not even understand it. Get that, we don’t actually understand how we ourselves work! It stands to reason that with everything that goes on in our lives, our brains simply cannot function at times. Our mental health suffers. It’s normal.
Here’s a piece that I wrote for Rethink Mental Illness charity for those who haven’t seen it yet Rethink
As usual lots is going on and the USA trip with my soon-to-be-great-friends-or-sworn-enemies, Hallelujah The Hills is just over a month away. There’s more here HTH
I’ll be back again soon but for now, please ensure you sign up on to the mailing list. Aside from further ATFOF add-ons (I’ll explain later) and a reveal of all the clues from The Page, there is a lot of exclusive material to come.
Take it easy
Joff