Hello All

Great news coming out of this weekend. I had a meeting with the one and only Steve Crisp. That’s right, THE Steve Crisp, he of Richard Laymon and Stephen King cover fame. I’ve been a fan of Crisp’s work since I was a child and I first got my tiny hands on a Richard Laymon novel. Since then, I’ve admired the work for years (see an example to the right) and I’ve always been enthralled with his talent. Some weeks ago, I approached Steve expecting to be rebuffed. I mean, surely if he’s covering art for the greats like Stephen King, he’ll be too busy right?

Wrong. Steve emailed me back immediately, we bantered and negotiated, discussed and conversed and that’s when I discovered that only does he have time to concept my cover but he also would do it straight away, once he read the manuscript. Needless to say, I still can’t believe how smooth the discussions went.

Which is also when I found out he’s local. Steve Crisp resides 30 minutes from where I grew up. All that time and I thought he was based elsewhere. Only on discussion with him did I discover this and we exchanged emails for some time before organising a meeting yesterday in Kent. The meeting went very well and was over all too quickly. It would have been easy to spend hours in his company, the man is so humble and patient and extremely talented, we could have chatted for hours. He provided me several concept arts (which are now a prized possession) and I was asked to think it over.

So, this afternoon, I selected my artwork choice and locked it in. The meeting with Steve was a true bucket list moment. Steve has been an inspiration to me for many years. He was polite, professional, very funny and so grounded and down-to-earth that I wondered if this was the man who truly terrorised many a Laymon fan in the 80’s and 90’s. He terrorised me and he was my first choice as an artist if I ever managed to get this far with my novels. And here we are, several years later…I still can’t believe it.

I may still be cooped up in my ‘amazed fan’ bubble for many days to come.

If you want to see Steve’s work, his link is below. When the art is done, I will post here and rave about it. After all, it’s a dream come true for many reasons.

http://www.crispart.co.uk

Hello all

This week I was proud to take part in an interview for Ginger Nuts of Horror. The topic of the interview was The Book That Made Me.

Now, anyone who reads my website will know the story behind this anyway, it’s plastered on my bio page. However, this interview allowed me to go deeper on the explanation of why Richard Laymon’s Flesh was truly the Book That Made Me.

Check out the interview below!

http://gingernutsofhorror.com/10/post/2014/04/the-book-that-made-me-stuart-keane-on-richard-laymons-flesh.html

Hello all.

It’s been two weeks since The Customer Is Always… was released. The past two weeks have been the busiest I can remember for sometime (possibly ever). Here is a progress report of this very busy, yet productive time.

1. So far, the novella has thirty-two 5* reviews across Amazon and Goodreads. Added to this, I’ve had several readers approach me through email, Facebook and Twitter to thank me for writing the book. This sort of personal feedback is excellent and very humbling. I always swore that if I could entertain one person with a book it would be a success. It seems I’m doing that. The reviews speak for themselves.

2. It charted at #11 on the Amazon Bestseller list for Horror/Suspense in its first week. In the second week, it dropped out and came back into the Top 20 in the same list and also touched on the Top 100 for Crime/Thriller. It may not read as amazing to some people but for me it shows my book is selling. Thank you to everyone for buying the novella and the support.

3. I have met some amazing authors through Goodreads and Facebook. In doing this, I have shared my work with them (and they returned the favour) and become part of several very friendly and productive author groups. Goodreads in particular has opened several opportunities for me. When All or Nothing is finished with the editor, I can make the most of those opportunities.

4. All or Nothing, my debut feature length novel is currently being edited. This week, I got in touch with a very exclusive cover artist who is currently producing the cover for All or Nothing. No name drops (some of you know who he is) but he’s produced art for Richard Laymon, Stephen King and a few other horror writers. I’ve been a huge fan of his work for years and it’s a bucket list moment to be negotiating this with him.

5. Finally, I’ve taken part in several interviews and competitions since the novella was released. Competition results are pending but needless to say, I’m very much enjoying being a published author. My days are eighteen hours long at the moment with my day job and several hours of writing/researching/reading rolled in too. Exhausted? A little, but I’m enjoying every second of it.

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. I’d like to thank everyone for the support and praise, feedback and otherwise. Of course, you can follow all of my updates on Twitter/Facebook and Goodreads. Feel free to get in touch.

The Customer Is Always… is currently being promoted at $0.99 on Amazon.com and £0.79 on Amazon.co.uk. Follow the link on the novella page through this site to get your copy now!   

Morning ladies and gents

A bit late on the uptake here, my first Author Interview went live a few days ago on Book Reader Magazine. Another great moment in a fantastic week!

A bit of self-promotion never hurt anyone. Check it out and spread the word please!

Check the link here for the full interview.

http://bookreadermagazine.com/featured-author-stuart-keane/

Hello everyone.

Well, it’s official. The Customer Is Always… is a week old. First published last Friday (well, Thursday really, 12 hours earlier then expected) I was entering the publishing world for the first time. I didn’t know what to expect but this week has been a real eye opener.

First of all, the book has twenty-two 5* reviews across Amazon and Goodreads. Excellent news! Not bad for one week.

At one point, I was ranked #11 on Amazon Bestsellers for Horror/Suspense. That, for me, is a huge moment. It was particularly special because I was above my idol James Herbert. Let’s hope I can do this again.

Today, and this was very humbling, I had a young lady Facebook me to tell me that the book was amazing. She left a review but she has personal praise and took time out of her day to thank me. She downloaded the Kindle App on her PC specifically for me. That, ladies and gentlemen, makes me feel so happy. If I could even impress one person with my words, I’d be happy. And I did. So thanks to everyone for their awesome support.

Finally, I joined Goodreads this week as requested by a good friend. Best thing I could’ve done. I’ve met some wonderful people, joined some good groups and already made some fellow author friends.

So a productive week. Here’s to many more. The Customer Is Always… is available on this website or on Amazon.

Thank you!

Hello All

I only posted yesterday but I just received some amazing news. If you shift your eyes to the photo on the right…

That’s right. The Customer Is Always… is ranked #11 on Amazon Bestsellers for Horror/Suspense. #11! You can’t see it on the photo but I’m above James Herbert, one of my all-time idols. Dean Koontz is just above with Odd Thomas. Seeing stuff like this is amazingly humbling and the praise and support I’ve received since doing this is overwhelming. Thank you soooo much for all the kind words and feedback.

Now, I can return to my second novel knowing I have made some people happy. It makes it all worth it. Thank you again!

The Customer Is Always… is available on Kindle. Jump over to the title page on the link below and nab your copy!

http://www.stuartkeane.com/the-customer-is-always/

Hey again

To be honest, I’m quite flattered with the reception my novella is getting. The Customer Is Always… is available now on Kindle and so far has thirteen 5* reviews across Amazon and Goodreads. I’ve heard good things through email and direct chats about the novella too.

To have this reaction is humbling. Thank you all for the support.

I also joined Goodreads this week. What a site this is. Connecting with my fellow authors and sharing hints and tips and experiences with hundreds and thousands of people in my field…this is going to be a great experience. As of now my Blog now appears on Goodreads too, so hopefully people will be visiting the site on the back of this.

The Customer Is Always… is available on Kindle. Pop over to the page on my website (http://www.stuartkeane.com/the-customer-is-always/) to click the Amazon link or download direct to your Kindle. You can also download the Kindle app on your phone, tablet or PC.

Hello all

Well, The Customer Is Always… has been on release for four days now. So far, the buzz is promising. It’s selling steadily and the reviews are trickling through. Seven 5* reviews on Amazon and one 5* review on Goodreads. Excellent. I still can’t believe it though.

If you haven’t got your copy yet, head over to the book’s page on this site. There’s an Amazon link right there to get your copy.

Thank you for anyone who’s bought it so far. The support is really incredible and I still can’t believe I have a book published.

I’m now off to work on my third novel after a relaxing weekend away. Let’s hope I can get a lot done with six days off (from my day job) this week.

Hello all!

Imagine my surprise this morning when I saw my debut novella on Kindle. A day early.

That’s right, The Customer Is Always… is now available on Kindle. Only on April 3 not 4.

I was surprised and ecstatic all at the same time. The entire day was spent shaking and smiling at the jubilation of being published, a dream I have followed for nearly twenty-five years. I shared it with my friends, called my family members and when I returned home today, jumped straight onto Twitter and Facebook to share the news.

And what news! I even sold a few copies.

So its official, I am a published author. As I am aware, the slow crawl upwards starts here. All that means is that I’ve time to work on my second novella (a third done), my second full novel and, when it returns from the editor, prepare All or Nothing for release.

An exciting few weeks ahead. Thank you to anyone who has purchased the book. If you haven’t and enjoy a tense, suspenseful thriller, its probably your cup of tea.

Hey guys and gals

It’s been an eventful day and I’m happy to announce that The Customer Is Always… is FINALLY complete and ready for publishing. And who knew, it’s actually a novelette after the editing process and many rewrites reduced the word count. Not a bad thing, I feel the story is taut and solid now.

I have goose bumps!

As all authors probably know, this is a huge moment for me. So I’m also happy to announce that the release date has been moved up to April 4. That’s right. My first novelette is being released THIS Friday. The original date was scheduled for April 21 but because everything is complete and in place, the novel can be released early.

When ready, I will post the relevant link to purchase the novelette through Amazon Kindle (which can be downloaded via tablet, phone, PC or Laptop). Happy days!