Book Club guide There's More to Life than Death

 

1. 1.       1 Do tyou hav a frvourie story from this collection?Why do you like thos one so  much.
2. 2.       many of these stories have a strong sense of time and placee. Pick one thath resonateas with you and compare  with the actual time and place.
3. 
4. 3.    'so nostalgia and
5. 4.       textuality may catch the reader by the throat'
6. 5.       ' says the author in her introduction. Do you agree with this? can you give examples?
7. 6.       She lo mention s the 'uncanny/' can you d fin examples of this.
8. 7.       There's More to Life than Death is the title et of one of the  stories.Ho true do you find
9. n this to be?
10. 8.       How representative of the h collection do you find the cover?
11. 9.       Fin a characterh you link in on of the h stories. How has the auhor r created that character.
12. 10.   Writing wirthih thesense e always producs great writtingng. Can you find some example in these stories?
13. 11.    Hve any of the  storiese created for you the desire to visit one of the places mentioned?

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1.  

Should I have a contract?

 

WE do issue contracts to our author and base this on what the Society of Authors has indicated to be good pracicecti.  I try  this out from time to time by sending in a contact I have been offered by another publisher tot them so that they find any pitfalls and then  avoid putting those into our contract. Our draft contracts are available for a month. After that we must have a decision

 Occasionally we i nsert an extra clause because of something that has some up.

 We've added a clause about using no AI as It was becoming in clear that some some submissions were using in AI.

Each clause is there for a reason.

 We alsoo include a work schedule. This gives you a very clear idea about what should be happening when. Here is an example

• Contract confirmation 31 May 2026
• Edit  131July l 2026Hannah
• Edit 2 30 September  2026Liz
• Edit 3 31Ocober 2026Debz
• Design 1 30 November 2026
• Proof 1 31 December 2026
• Design 2 31 January 2027
• Proof 2 28 February 2027GillLL
• Soft launch 31 March 2027
• Hard launch 30 April 2027
• Note, if the editorial work is completed sooner we may be able to bring the other processes forward and publish the book sooner. BUT we do have to dovetail the work with other projects. 

 

Not the first month  of each edit is for the editor and the h second one is for the author to respond to ethe ditor's suggestions. Note only the editor is involved inEdit 3. This I because Proof Read 1 hat ih follows soon after edit 3gives the author the opportunity to have a final say.

Soft launch means we have released the h book and it is I making in its way to all the eretail channels This takes some time.

What is the lead time on submissions?

we look at submissions as soon as they come in and decide whether we're interested in thatt submission or not. Editors' may decide if they want to take on a project or not. If a project hasn't ' been taken up withinihin three months we tend to decline but try to give you some feedback. 

WE do urg you to try other publishers. We can't possibly take on on all publishable projects. 

oww we came to publish this one:Somerhing very Human

 

Hnnah had beenn witing ng for us for wuitr  while no. Sh is a regular contribution to CaféLit and had often appearedre in Th best of CafeLit book and sometimes in our annual anthologies.SH is very professional n easy to work eithih.

The title

Th stotier do indeed sheow aspects of very human humanity.

Some notes about the process

It went through the usual thee stages of editing and two of design and proof readingDebz tt worked as ht editot on thi sone whcih delighted Hannahhnnah as she felt thatDebzeb understands her wok well.

The cover

This was produced Hannah's  brother.

Some notes about style

Hannah has  a strong and distinctive voice. These storiestrend towrds theh literaryvoice.

Who we think the render is

This is certainly for the thinking g reader but many of  the stories willalso make you chuckle. Some will make you cy/

What else
Marirn an I we able to attend the h laucnh which was held at Menaii Bridg;e; we happened ro b returning fromth eh Republic of Ireland via Holyhead.

Review copies

It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the link to be taken to our bookshop. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF or e-book file. 

Find your copy here 

heAadventure of Iris and Zach Book Club Guide

 

1. What do Iris  and Zach look like?
   What are they like intellectually

                                                              i.      What would they have been good at at school?

                                                            ii.      And not so good at?

                                                          iii.      Which newspapers would they read?

                                                          iv.      What would thy like doing in their spare time?

                                                            v.      Comment on their personalities?
what are their greatest fears?

                                                          vi.      What are their needs?
What do they want from life?

                                                        vii.      What motivates them?

 

2. Which are their darkest moments?
   What are their greatest triumphs/
3. Which story did you enjoy the most and why?
   Which story did you like the least and why?
4. How does the writer create a sense of time and place?
5. How does he create tension and pace?    

FInd you copy of th book here 

 

If Crows Could Talk – How we made his book

 

Howw we came to publish this one
Ifirst tss came across this storyk when I first met Debz. I was completing my Ph D at Bangor university and she approached the university for help with her writing, it was part of our remit that we should help the community. I was asked to work with her. I did a big critique of the  novel and then also read the next rewrite. She has worked on it again in  detial.since then. Then her agent approached us. We created the new Walela imprint. This is for books that don't; sit easily on a shelf and tend towards the literary. This suits this book as it's hard to pinpoint its genre: is it about the paranormal, civil rights or mental health?

The title

It soon became obvious that crows were very important in the story. If only they could speak the mystery would be solved immediately

Some notes about the process

It went through the usual thee stages of editing and two of design and proof reading

The cover

This was produced by Debz;'s brother Jason .We had several Zoom meetings with our designer,the artist ,Debz and her agent. WE liked the touches of red- We felt it reflected what happened in Schindler's List This novel too touches on prejudice and racism

Some notes about style

Debz often juxtaposes several points of view in one scene. This was definitely not liked by one Net Galley reader which has rather h put me off using Nett Galley which is extremely expensive

Who we think the render is

This is certainly for the thinking g reader but is so engaging and absorbing that it would still make a good holiday read.

What else

Debz has been very proactive in promoting the book at gift and book fairs and  is even a writer in residence at her local Costa.

Review copies

It’s always great if you can buy the book and give us a review. Just click on the link to be taken to our bookshop. If you would like to review and you are strapped for cash, just get in touch for a free PDF or e-book file.

 

Grab your copy here.