Impact of Guernsey Sales

As Guernsey downloads in the USA topped 11,000 in February, over 6,000 in one day, Rachel's Shoe and The Causeway continue to attract their own customers.

Hundreds of copies have been selling every month for around a year and the sales have increased steadily, especially in recent weeks. The titles attract different customers, some of whom want to try Rachel's Shoe first and then go on to purchase The Causeway, others jump straight in with the slightly higher priced Guernsey.

Although paperbacks are still selling, Kindle sales now dwarf all other formats.

http://www.amazon.com/Guernsey-Rachels-Story-ebook/dp/B0074B5X32

Guernsey released in USA

A new volume has just been released in the USA that brings together Rachel's Shoe and The Causeway !

Guernsey - Rachel's Story is 434 pages and will also be available on Kindle very soon. The UK edition of the paperback will be published in 2012 but UK customers can still order it via Amazon for delivery here if they can't wait until next year! I hope you enjoy the complete story in one novel. 

Latest news on the sequel and progress on TV series

Guernsey is once again the main setting for the sequel to Rachel's Shoe although the other Channel Islands also get a look in! Without giving too much away, I can also reveal that my namesake 'Lihou Island' will feature in the story which takes it's name, The Causeway from the 'sometimes' island.


I'm currently working on Chapter 7 and making good progress now that I've given up the day job to focus on writing. The cover picture is still being worked on but should turn out quite similar to the image on the shown above. I had hoped to complete the sequel this summer and that may still be possible but I have a house move to deal with in the meantime so please bear with me, I will do my best!

This week script writer Ron Blicq is in Guernsey and we hope to finalise the first part of the TV screenplay for Rachel's Shoe before he returns to Canada. He has done a splendid job in bringing the characters to life in his interpretation of the novel.

Last week I was very pleased to meet two of my customers from Hungary, two from the USA and one from Scotland along with her husband. It is always a great pleasure to meet, share a coffee and converse with people who have enjoyed my novel and I would like to pass on my best wishes to them and say a big 'thank you' for looking me up.

Acclaimed Books Publishing has now taken over all the printing and distribution of Rachel's Shoe from Libros International (the former publisher) and will also publish The Causeway which will ensure the minimum delay once the manuscript is completed, in making it available through the usual outlets. Initially, this will be Amazon and by direct order from any book shop.

That's all for now, I'll keep you posted with the progress.
Pete

Happy New Year from Guernsey!

2010 starts with a bang as the collaborative novel project concludes its creative phase and the sequel to Rachel's Shoe once more claims the lion's share of my writing time. I have been impatient to get back to the story and the many twists and turns I have in store.

However, there is still a great deal happening with the original as the award winning play writer Ron Blicq is working hard on the script at his home in Canada ready for submission as a TV serialisation. You can imagine, I'm sure, how I'm looking forward to reading the script.

I will, of course, keep you posted on the progress but in the meantime I thought you might like to know about one or two of the 'factional' threads in Rachel's Shoe. Did you know, for example, that the raid on the Casquets Lighthouse by British Commandos really did take place? Further, whilst authors often preface their story with a disclaimer about characters being fictional, Reiner was based upon a real person who worked in the kitchen of the Royal Hotel after the war and was believed to be ex-Gestapo.

Rachel's Shoe is full of accurate details but also includes a little artistic licence for the sake of the story - I'll leave you guessing what that might be!

Pete

Season's Greetings!

It's now just a few days over one year since Rachel's Shoe was published and copies have gone out over the months to the far corners of the World (not that the World has corners!).

It's been highly rewarding to receive the positive feedback I have been given and this has encouraged me to work on the sequel as well as investigate a screen version of the novel. I hope to bring you news on both of those initiatives in the New Year.

So to everyone who has read my debut novel, a huge thank you and may I wish you a very happy Christmas and New Year!

Pete

Amazon stock update

The initial stock order for Amazon has finally been placed this week and should be with Amazon in a few days - hopefully the 26th but if not, soon thereafter.

February should be a busy month with a Newspaper, Magazine and Television interview already scheduled. Two hotels are stocking Rachel's Shoe, the Braye Beach Hotel in Alderney and the Fermain Valley Hotel in Guernsey. At least one more hotel is likely to take stock this summer.

Three local bookshops are taking stock and I am hoping to see copies on sale in Herm.

Interest in writing a screenplay has come from two independent sources and over the coming months we will be exploring this. As you can imagine, I would love to see a movie of the story!

Feedback from the customers who ordered last year directly from my website has come back and thankfully it has been very positive. As this is my first novel, it's especially reassuring to get this.

A sequel is already underway and I will keep you posted about the progress.

Also under way is a major collaborative writing project. This involves 18 people from around the world who have never met each other but are writing a novel together! For more go to www.AmazonClicks.com/portal and follow the link to the Blog.

Thanks to all of you who have purchased Rachel's Shoe directly from me or from the online shops.

Pete

In Stock!

Orders placed on this website

The parcel finally arrived this morning with my initial stock so all advance orders will be posted to you this week. Our local post office advice on how long it 'should' take to get to you is as follows;

UK - 3 days
Europe & USA - 1 week
Australia, New Zealand & rest of the world - 2 weeks

Please note these are only approximations as a lot will depend on the regional services at your end.

Each copy will be signed and will include a complimentary book mark.

Amazon & other online orders

As the initial print run has been completed these should be available soon although today they are still saying 'In stock soon'. Once they are showing as 'available', the turnaround on outstanding orders should be swift.

Thank you for your order and I hope you enjoy my debut Novel!

Pete

PS I will be posting other news on 'Rachel's Shoe' here so do keep visiting!

Purchase Here !

Rachel's Shoe Available !

Orders can now be placed on Amazon and stocks are being set up for distribution around the world 'by all good book stores'!

If they haven't got it in stock, they can get it!

The sequel is under way and without giving too much away, it will feature more danger as the story continues, in addition to beautiful local settings like the Gouliot Caves in Sark, more on Alderney and breathtaking scenes in most of the other islands.

It is a sequel though, so it is best to start with Rachel's Shoe.

Thanks for visiting!
Pete

Amazon listing

Rachel's Shoe was officially published today (December 10th) and the full distribution and stocking arrangements are now under way.

The listing appeared on Amazon.co.uk yesterday without the cover image or their initial stocks but they are now taking advance orders and the full details are currently being loaded. It took less than a week for their listing which I think is pretty good considering the volumes they must deal with.

Full credit to my publishers 'Libros International' for their part in this.

Initial print runs are under way so all advance orders will be dispatched in the coming days. Thank you for your patience.

Whilst we wait for 'bricks and mortar' book stores to stock up, copies can be obtained from Rachel's Shoe at Amazon or if you would your copy personally signed, go to the 'Contact' page on the Rachel's Shoe website.

I hope you enjoy reading Rachel's Shoe and tell all your friends about it!

Pete

Rachel's Shoe Blog

On the left is the cover for Rachel's Shoe - now complete thanks to the design skills of Kelly Walsh at Libros International!

We are finally in the last stage of production as Rachel's Shoe has been 'uploaded' to the printers. They will now produce a full proof of the whole book and Libros senior editor Carol Cole will check this when she returns from vacation on the 16th of October. Hopefully all will be OK, in which case a few days later the first print run can be done and it will appear for sale on Amazon.

If you have placed an advanced order, your copy will be in the first print run and posted to me shortly after. So around the end of this month I will be signing and posting your copies out to you. Many thanks for your patience with the publishing process.

In the worst case, if the proof is not correct we may need to wait a little longer whilst it is corrected and a proof printed again. Let's hope that doesn't happen and copies are available in a few weeks (I seem to have been saying that for ages!).

If you haven't placed an advance order but would like to, you can do this on the www.rachelsshoe.com website on the 'Contact' page.

Looking for another book around the same era? Why not buy 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' from Amazon at the same time as 'Rachel's Shoe'? It is quite different in style but an excellent book if you are interested in the German Occupation of the Channel Islands, in particular Guernsey.

I will post the latest news here, thanks for your interest!

Pete

Peter Lihou
Author, Rachel's Shoe
peter@rachelsshoe.com