A seasonal short story from my new flash fiction collection Quick Change, and an introduction to Wattpad, the free reading site.
Received wisdom in my village is that autumn starts the day after the Village Show is over. The morning mists this week bear witness to that myth’s veracity. So, feeling all autumnal, I thought I’d post up a link to a short story on an autumn theme (or fall, to my friends the other side of the pond). It’s taken from my new flash fiction collection, Quick Change, which is currently available as an ebook and due for launch as a paperback in November this autumn.
Click on the story title to read the story on a site called Wattpad. You can also find other free samples of my work there, not just from this book but from others too, both published (my diabetes book) and as yet unpublished (my memoir of moving from the city to the country).
All about Wattpad
If you haven’t already encountered Wattpad, it’s a social media site which helps authors share free samples of their work with readers by posting up their books in short bursts, either all at once or eking them out over a longer period. (The old adage “always leave them wanting more” doesn’t only apply to the performing arts, you know.) Some authors also use it to test out new stories and gain feedback, effectively acquiring beta readers (the book world’s equivalent to test drivers) prior to publication. And of course, they all hope that lots of readers will enjoy the free samples sufficiently to pay real money to buy their actual books, whether as ebooks or in print.
I joined Wattpad only recently, but I’m hoping it’ll help me reach new readers that otherwise wouldn’t know about me. The site is particularly popular with teenagers and new adults reading scifi and fantasy (not my core audience), but it’s becoming increasingly popular across other genres and with other audiences too.
More about Quick Change
The ebook edition of Quick Change is now available to buy exclusively on Amazon for £1.99 or the equivalent in your local currency. That’s just 10p a story, folks! Click the book cover image on the right to go straight to its page on Amazon. I’ll be adding the ebook to other distribution platforms such as Kobo and Smashwords shortly, but if you’d like to read it now and don’t have an ereader, simply download the free Kindle app to the electronic device of your choice (phone, tablet, PC, etc).
In the run-up to the launch of the paperback, if you’d like a free review copy of the ebook of Quick Change, in return for an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads, please let me know.
Like to join my mailing list? There’s a free, new, previously unpublished short story with every issue of my enewsletter, despatched once a month. Click here to sign up now for free. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for the intro to Wattpad. I’ve been hovering on joining myself, so good to know who’s hanging out there. Congrats on your book of flash. Happy to have found your site:-)
Thank you, and I’m glad you found my site too! To be honest, I think one can’t lose with Wattpad – I think it’s got to be a worth a try, especially as it costs nothing but time. Good luck with it!
Yes, even while I was writing ‘My Big Greek Family’ I knew the areas I wanted to explore in the next two books. I have started writing and from the feedback I’ve received, such as the last reviewer on Amazon US, readers are expecting to read what happens next. I’m really looking forward to reading your collection of stories because it will be my first experience of flash fiction. There are probably similarities with short stories; one of my favourite books is ‘The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl’. I’ll leave a review at the end.
Thanks, Maria, a review would be much appreciated! Flash fiction is really just a very short short story – usually under 1,000 words, often far fewer. There are some in “Quick Change” that are about 100 words long, but I also know people who write much shorter ones. All good fun! Roald Dahl was a master of short stories – I reckon that if he’d never written a children’s book in his life, his short stories would have a much higher profile. The huge success of his fabulous children’s books have eclipsed them. Looking forward to reading what happens next with your Big Greek Family!
Hi, Debbie. I’ve just bought ‘Quick Change’ and it’s on my iPad. I’m looking forward to the read!
Thanks, Maria, that’s great news! Have you any plans to write a sequel to “My Big Greek Family?” I was so glad I read it before I went to Ithaca this summer!