Tag: news

Paperback release week – Update 12.5.24

by Jen Elvy, posted in poetry, update

I have loved how well You are Not alone has been received so far. Thank you each and every one of you who bought a copy.

On Tuesday I finally got the email I was waiting for. After a bit of a delay, my paperback copy was ready to collect at my local shop. Next time I’ll totally get it delivered as it’s been a bit of a faff and an author needs her copy!

Then it was time for my customary author photo with the new book and so my husband took the photo you saw posted on my account on Tuesday. Here it is again:

I had a great response to the announcement across social media. The paperback, as you know, had been released for a couple of days but I had to follow the photo announcement tradition and the response was worth the wait, with many saying they wanted a copy or had already ordered one.

I was proud to take it into work to show some of my colleagues the next day, who were so supportive and seemed impressed. I have such a matter of fact attitude about what I do. I’ve come such a long way in the shouting about my achievements area but I still take it as just something I do and I’m humbled when people are impressed. That said, I’m incredibly proud of this project. It has been highly emotive at times and I hope those who read the book can find comfort in the poems and feel heard and seen.

I now have three five star ratings and I even briefly made the top 100 in the Poetry Anthologies category on Amazon. It was a fleeting appearance but I’ll take it as a huge win.

In other news, this week has been very productive in terms of writing new poetry. I can’t explain the reason for it. I’ve just been more inspired this week. I do think I need to write some more rhyming poems and I managed a couple of these yesterday. I’d still like to write more though.

One of the poems I wrote this week was a spooky version of an early poem, Through the Keyhole. The poem will be posted on my paranormal socials.

If you’re familiar with this blog, you may be familiar with Through the Keyhole. It was featured in my first ever collection, The Perfect Prompt and I’ve also had it featured on the BBC upload show. It is a fun rhyming poem that lends itself to encouraging further writing, which is what my Perfect Prompt books are about. My son and I have already written a sea creature version and listening to a spooky podcast prompted me to write a spooky version too. I have used Through the Keyhole in my poetry club in my previous school and the children loved writing their own versions of the poem.

I also wrote a blog post about how to use the poem in the classroom: Poetry in the Classroom 1 – Through the Keyhole

Here is the poem:

Through the Keyhole

Through the keyhole I can see
A pretty fairy waving at me
She is tall and has blonde hair
With eyes a shade of blue so rare

Through the keyhole I can see
A bunny rabbit as white as can be
His eyes are tiny; his ears are long
I want to sing him a happy song

Through the keyhole I can see
The greenest, tallest old oak tree
Its trunk is thick; it stands so proud
I think it’s trying to touch a cloud

Through the keyhole, what will you see?
will you see an animal, running wild and free?
Will you see a fairy or perhaps a little elf?
Have a little look and see for yourself.

jen Elvy

Once again, here’s the link to order You Are Not Alone

Preparing the Paperback – Update 5.5.

by Jen Elvy, posted in books, grief and loss, grief poetry, update

This week saw more positive feedback on SOCial Media, my first review and a bit of preparation for the release of the paperback

When I put my poetry together to make a collection, I use the Kindle Create App. This lends itself very well to Kindle books but you do find that there are some differences for the paperback. I knew that there wouldn’t be too much adaptation involved for this one but I needed to see how the paperback would look so, as I’ve done for every book but my first, I ordered a proof copy from Amazon. This copy is designed for that final check and has a big strip across it saying ‘Not for resale’.

The proof copy for You Are Not Alone arrived on Wednesday and I made the necessary edits (There weren’t many.) and finally uploaded the latest copy, checked the preview and hit publish for the paperback. I knew for a fact there were people waiting for it and I was glad to tell them the following day it was ready.

I just have to wait until tomorrow when my new copy hopefully arrives and I will do my traditional photo with the book and announce its publication. I had hoped to do this yesterday but there’s been a bit of a delay. I did make a bit of a low-key announcement on some socials.

I think I will pop back on and upload the photo tomorrow and give you the link. However, if you can’t wait until then, you can get to the paperback version via the link I posted last week.

I now have two very positive reviews as well as some amazing feedback on social media for the poems I’ve posted. It leaves me very humbled.

I’m going to close with a poem that isn’t in the book but is a grief poem I wrote a few years back on the anniversary of my dad’s death.

Another Year

Another year where I call your name
And you won’t be able to answer
Another year where I see your face and hear your voice
But only in my heart
Another year with so much to tell you
But you can’t be here to listen
Another year with so many questions
And no answers
Another year wanting to feel normal
But feeling so very sad
Another year without you in my life
But you are in my heart always.

jen Elvy

Friday update 21.10.22

by Jen Elvy, posted in friday update

fridayupdate

Pic credit: @zena_rowland
This beautiful piece inspired me to write a fantasy poem today!

After a difficult and emotional week it was nice to have a chilled day with the boys and get down to writing some poetry. I started as usual by editing my poetry from last week – I finally finished my bedtime A-Z poem! And then I wrote a fantasy poem and an extended haiku.

Sales of More Perfect Prompts have been slow so I intend to do some showcasing on social media and really promote it over the next couple of weeks. I’d love to reach teachers and schools with the book so if you know anyone who works in a school please spread the word!

I really enjoyed reading some poems from the book at @holymolypoetry on Sunday and the chance to be around fellow poets and ppl who appreciate poetry is so very motivating and validating.