The Arrival, and almost Departure, of Abigail.

It is funny really as I look back on what has been the most stressful and heart-breaking week of my life, and then cast my mind back to last year.

The rise of the Covid virus sent shivers down my spine, as I got to see something not unsimilar to the rise of the Red Death, and realised very quickly that my thoughts back in the mid 1980’s were actually pretty accurate, as an unknown virus swept across the world creating havoc. Back in March 2020, it was frightening to watch the news media, and see some of my theories about the fragility of life become a reality.

People around me were scared, jobs were threatened, schools closed, and everyone went into survival mode, and spending stopped as people stayed home, and a whole new reality of life became apparent. We all wore masks, if we had to leave the house, something we all did with much trepidation. Business crashed, including my own, it was a difficult and frightening time to be alive.

Suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands, and so I focused on writing. Getting the last part of HTTK out was a priority, even though I knew few would sell as people sat on their cash, just in case their employers crashed also. I got the book out in July, but was not expecting a great deal, and in order to stay focused, I wrote another related story that went back to the very beginning of Heirs to the Kingdom, which I do hope to publish this year.

With that over with, I had to occupy my thoughts, we came out of the lockdown, only to find ourselves back in another one, so I did what I could with VCP, and then turned back to writing, and a project I shelved back in 2017. Back then I really wanted to write this book, but I was so tied up with Kingdom, it was not possible, I have a file filled with outlined ideas, and story plots, and in mid-October, I was sifting through it, when I came across what was at the time simply labelled ‘Students.’

For those not in the know, as I do keep a lot of my life private, I worked on and off for over twenty five years counselling, and in that time of talking with every generation, I have been privileged enough to gain a lot of insights, to areas of life that are not often visible to most of us.

I read through what was the synopsis for the book, it was late at night and I was really feeling that need to write, which I lovingly refer to as having itchy fingers. I reached the end of the synopsis and quickly realised this would actually make a great start to a story, and would create almost a full first chapter, and that was it, I reached the end, hit enter to drop a line and continued to write for the next five hours, creating notes on the story as I went. Somewhere around dawn, I collapsed into bed mentally exhausted, with a list of main characters, a rough sketched village map, and the first two chapters.

Abigail's Summer by Robin John Morgan. ISBN 978-1-910299-27-2

That became the pattern of my life for the next two weeks, I hammered away everyday making a few more notes, but basically, I was writing blind and, in the dark, just making it up as I went along, never knowing what the next chapter would be about. For myself, it felt like freedom, and reminded me very much of writing the Bowman of Loxley back in 2007, which was the same inspired and intense experience, and I was loving the fact I was writing something nothing at all like Kingdom.

The editing watered it down a little, it was real, very gritty, a little spicy, and had lots of twists and turns in it to keep the reader guessing, and the most wonderful thing about it all, was it contained lots of slightly tongue in cheek, and a little naughty humour. I have always struggled to write humour, Harry in Kingdom was not always an easy thing, and I would spend hours putting each little section riddled with misunderstanding together. Abigail was so different, it just flowed out of me as I thought back to all the stupid and bizarre moments of my own life, and that of friends.

What emerged was a book that whilst not as elaborate and heavily layered as Kingdom, still had a lot of great sub plots and layers, that would all weave through the story to the final ending. I hoped it would provide a good twist, and really engage the reader to take a long hard look at their own life and the lives of those around them. From the few to date that have read it, I think it has worked really well.

I will not deny, the book is very modern and fresh, and very off the cuff, and gritty, and for a lot of readers, I am assuming there will be a few WTF! moments, but I actually like that, books should make people think, and even with Kingdom, I created similar scenarios.

Abigail and her crazy friend Birch, encounter so much unpredictable madness, that it is my hope it keeps the story flowing, so far those who have read think it does, but ultimately the jury is still out on that. The last month of editing and formatting was such an exciting time for me, I guess with Kingdom I have become a little jaded, after 14 years and eight books, and not as excited as I should be, but this book had me chomping at the bit as the deadline drew closer, and seeing it formatted was thrilling, and even more so, as this was the first time, I was putting a digital version out at the same time.

Abigail's Summer, Print and Digital

Digital Kingdoms are coming soon, there has been a lot of set backs getting the right distribution, but that is now sorted and settled, and the Kingdom stories are almost ready, I just held back a little as I wanted to give Abigail a good run first. The day approached and I got the first test print, and it looked amazing, it was also so much fun to work on the cover, as my wife took on the task of cover design for me, and she produced such a great relevant and fantastic picture for it. I really was so excited, and could not wait for the moment when we hit the button, and it was published.

My joy was short lived, the following day when the book appeared on Amazon, it was listed as unavailable, with the comment “We do know when or if this item will be back in stock.” I could not believe it, and checked straight away with the distributor, but it was available and ready to print, it made no sense at all. The following day, June 13th, the book was offered, but the delivery time was ‘one to two months’ Again my happiness was crushed. I checked again with the distributor, they were quite insistent the book was available, as it could be printed and shipped within 3 to 5 working days depending on the number of orders coming in.

Currently Unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock

All I can say is, when you are an author and you have put your heart and soul into a book, to experience this, is devastating. No reader is prepared to wait between one and two months for a book. I tried to contact Amazon, which as an author or publisher is impossible, their email no longer works, and their phones lines ring and ring, and when you do get through to the call system, you go round and round, all they are interested in is customer calls, not authors. It was frustrating and gut wrenching, my chances of selling my book were zero, it was literally dead in the water. I tried chat, and got a robot, and again got the same run around, it was impossible to get past it, because there is no chat box to write in, you just have generic answers to press, and no hope of speaking to a human being, and talk to someone who could help me. I cannot write how soul destroying it was to have to go through it. I spoke to another author on a forum who I know quite well, they told me, “They want you to publish with them and use their POD service, if you don’t, get used to this.” Another author told me. “It happened to me, and the only way I could get back on the platform was to give them an even bigger discount.” They added. “My book sells for twelve pounds, and at the end of all of it, I get just one pound and forty pence, after paying the print costs, Amazon takes the rest which is massively more than I make.”

Usually despatched within one to two months.

All Authors use POD (Print on Demand) it is an advanced system which means as you buy the book, it is printed and shipped automatically. Amazon has no reason to list any of our books for more than one month’s deliver time, they simply chose to, because they are a multi billion dollar company that rules supremely over the book world, and no one is big enough to challenge them, and so they can do as they wish, which means delaying delivery of anyone’s books, and it is wrong and it sucks.

Just like last year, it felt like my books were running in sync with my stories, last year I saw a virus not unsimilar in its spread to the one I created for Kingdom, and my latest book Abigail’s Summer, focus’s on the bullying tactics of those who feel they can control everything, and Amazon certainly do when it comes to book sales.

I really love Abigail’s Summer, the characters are probably not what you expect from me, but they really are wonderful, so much so I reached the end of the first book, and knew I could not walk away from them, and so wrote another four stories that took them from their first glorious summer together, right through ten years of life, friendships and troubles. What is now the Curio Chronicles will come out over the next few years, I was lucky, I wrote all of them before the first was even published, so they are done, apart from a few tweaks.

Working hard with VCP at the moment, I am working to make sure I never get hit in the face again. Abigail’s Summer will be available world wide and with a fast delivery to ensure anyone who wants to read it will do, it will take a few weeks to get it set up, but that is ongoing as I write, and in future I will not bother what Amazon does, as I will promote the hell out of the VCP links and do it myself.

To those of you who have stood by me and supported my writing since 2009, I would ask, that if you do read Abigail’s Summer, (If you actually get it before Summer ends) and you do enjoy it, because it is very different from HTTK, please help, share the links, talk, tell your friends, and encourage them to buy it or download it. I am one guy sat at a desk who loves to write, and create great stories, but at the moment that is threatened, as without sales, I will not be able to make it through, and will ultimately have to stop writing. I am working 18-hour days to get this book known and out there.

My story is not a lone one, as other authors have reached out with the same story, and I am helping them to follow my lead and build websites with their own delivery distribution worldwide built in. No one should bend to a bully, and Abigail’s Summer shows that, and I will back up my words in the book 1000%. There is a line in it that feels so appropriate at the moment, and you will find it in chapter thirty-two, and it simply reads.

ADULTS BULLY TOO!

My thanks as always to those who have supported my writing, I hope you all have a peaceful Summer.