Welcome to my monthly blog where I feature an Indie Author. My guest today is the lovely Kim Nash, author, blogger and Social Media and Publicity guru. Grab a cup of coffee – or the tipple of your choice – make yourself comfy and let’s get chatting to Kim!
Welcome to my blog, Kim. It’s lovely to talk to you today. Your first two books were published by Hera Books, but your other two books are self-published. Can you tell us the pros and cons of self-publishing as opposed to traditional publishing?
Self-publishing means that you are in control of everything that happens, so you can decide on your cover, blurb, metadata, subtitle etc. You can decide when you want to change something that you think might work better. You can decide on price promotions, what price to set and when to do that. You get to see daily sales via your KDP dashboard (although I’m sure that turns you into an obsessive paranoid checker which I’m not sure is a good thing! LOL)
On the flip side of that, is that all the cost is yours too. To self-publish well, and to compete with other brilliant self-published authors as well as publishers, you still need a professional cover designer, editor, proof-reader and then if you want to run Facebook and Amazon ads, then the cost of those is yours too.
But obviously, your royalties are all yours to pay for all of that above and to invest in your publishing business.
I’ve read all your books, really enjoyed them and the covers and titles are great. How do you decide on the cover and titles?
I suppose title and cover wise, I try to find something that both fits the book and fits the market commercially. Moonlight over Muddleford Cove was called Book 4 for ages until I knew I had to have a cover designed and obviously couldn’t do that without a title. On that particular instance the fabulous Jessica Redland and I did a brainstorming session. I knew I wanted Muddleford in the title and it was originally called Muddleford Bay, but I changed it to Cove because someone else had a very similar title and their cover reveal took place before mine. I messaged that particular author to say that I’d had mine designed and she was really cool about it. Sunshine and Second Chances just came to me one day and I think it perfectly sums up the book and is a summery title which fits the market.
What was the inspiration for your latest book?
Muddleford is based on Mudeford in Dorset which is a place that I visited when I was a child. My Aunty lives there and my sister and I used to spend all our school holidays there with my Nan while my parents were working. I used to love the beach there and always longed for one of their very expensive beach huts. I have such happy memories of there and dream of being able to afford a house there, and wanted to set a book there and give Nellie, the protagonist, the choice to change her life dramatically and revisit memories her childhood sweetheart.
Have you ever been to any of the countries featured in your books?
The Algarve in Portugal is one of my favourite places in the world. Sunshine and Second Chances is set there, around Vilamoura, Albufeira and Quarteira. If I was ever rich enough to have a second home in the sun, it would definitely be around that area. The food is divine, the weather amazing with nearly 320 days of sunshine each year, the beaches gorgeous (although the sea can be a little chilly!) and all that and it’s less than 3 hours away on a plane.
Is there something you would really like to write but haven’t attempted yet?
There is! I would absolutely LOVE to write a cosy crime. I couldn’t write a full-on thriller. I can come up with ideas of extraordinary things happening to ordinary people, things that would happen in real life, but then I’m a bit stuck after that. I think a cosy crime in a nice little village location would be more fun to write.
That sounds a great idea. I hope you write that up!
How much of your day does writing and writing-related activities take up?
As my day job is as head of publicity over at Bookouture, I’m constantly working on everyone else’s books and I find it very hard to switch off from that and switch on to doing my own. But when I finish work I try to take a short break and schedule some tweets, some facebook posts, do the odd Instagram post if I remember because I’m a bit rubbish at Insta. On a Tuesday night I interview a women’s fiction author who has inspired me over the years of being a reader and a wannabe writer and hopefully they’ll also inspire others and I love the fact that the people who watch the shows, discover new authors. After all that I have to factor in some time to get my own creative juices flowing too. I am a binge writer, so when I do get time, I can write/type really quickly and if I can sneak in an hour or two before work in a morning that works perfectly for me. I also love a writing retreat where I can just go away and think about nothing but writing all weekend.
What are your hobbies when not writing?
I run a real life book club (when Covid allows!) and we’ve recently had our first meet up for over a year which was fabulous. I have an English Setter who loves a walk over our local forest. My son, nearly 14 keeps me on my toes, he loves football so we like to go and see our local team play and watch lots of footy on the TV too. I’m a member of my local WI group – and no it’s not all jam and Jerusalem! I love a spa day! Sometimes with friends and sometimes alone, when I need to just recharge my batteries and sleep.
Oh and I love to obsessively check my KDP sales dashboard frequently throughout each day!
We authors can’t resist checking our rankings, can we? Lovely to talk to you, Kim. Wishing you lots of success with your books.
Kim’s Latest Book
Moonlight Over Muddleford Cove: amzn.to/2NXKaJ7
With red-rimmed eyes, Nellie dials the number on the thick solicitor’s letter. When she hangs up a minute later, she’s not sure whether to laugh, or start crying again. All she knows is that her life has changed forever…
Nellie can hardly remember a happier time than the summers she spent at her aunt Lil’s colourful beach house in the tiny seaside town of Muddleford. She has treasured her memories of the sea glistening beyond the sandy cove, and of a stolen kiss with a boy called Jack. When her life comes crashing down in spectacular fashion, followed by the discovery that she has inherited everything from her aunt, suddenly Muddleford seems to be calling her home…
She hasn’t been back for twenty years, not since her mum cut off all ties with Aunt Lil, but as soon as Nellie returns she’s welcomed back by the town. And she learns that everything really does mean everything – as well as getting used to gossiping with the locals over wine with sand between her toes, Nellie must adjust to life with her aunt’s excitable poodle.
And Nellie isn’t the only one who’s grown up. She’s shocked to find Jack still in town. Now a devilishly handsome vet, he has the local pet owners – and Nellie – swooning over him, and as they become close once more, she’s sure she can feel sparks flying. But just as she thinks she might be able to open her heart again, she learns a secret about Jack that changes everything.
Now Nellie has a painful choice to make. Should she sell the house, forget about Jack, and the mystery of why her mother and aunt parted ways? Or should she take a big risk on the life, and love, that Muddleford has to offer?
An utterly uplifting and heartwarming summer read about learning to trust yourself and of finding love and friendship in the least expected places for fans of Carole Matthews, Nicola May and Milly Johnson.
Kim’s Other Books
Buy Links
Sunshine and Second Chances: amzn.to/3n70CDQ
Escape to Giddywell Grange: amzn.to/3cKUWdM
Amazing Grace: amzn.to/34dZ1DF
Karen King – Writing about the light and dark of relationships.
Amazon Author Page: https://tinyurl.com/y2q5audb
Website: http://www.karenking.net/