Business author Simon Middleton takes self publishing route for first foray into children's fiction.
Norwich, Norfolk, UK (PRWEB UK) 24 July 2013 -- UK brand and marketing author and consultant Simon Middleton, author of three commercially published books, has joined the growing band of authors who are choosing the self-publishing path, with Graveyard Kings, his first children's fiction project.
The author, whose books about branding 'Build A Brand In 30 Days' and 'Brand New You' appear regularly in the Amazon bestseller charts, has used Kindle Direct Publishing, a division of Amazon, to self-publish Graveyard Kings, which he describes as a 'determinedly old-fashioned' children's novel.
Middleton has published the book under his fiction pen-name S. R. Redfern.
"I've had three non-fiction books commercially published, two by Capstone and one by Hay House, and I'm currently working on a fourth non-fiction book which will also publish by the traditional route. But I also wanted to write fiction, and particularly to be free to write the kind of book that I used to enjoy when I was aged anything from ten to fifteen," Middleton explained.
"My non-fiction agent doesn't deal with children's fiction. The children's literary agents that I showed it to, although they were very complimentary about the book, felt that it wasn't commercial enough for the contemporary marketplace, because it is slower paced, more 'wordy', and a bit more demanding than most contemporary children's fiction.
"The self-publishing route, particularly online of course, is so attractive in this situation, because I can get the book out there without having to satisfy anybody's commercial imperatives, and without any hangups about whether it sells in large numbers," Middleton added.
"Whether there is a 'market' for the book becomes irrelevant. The book will be judged by readers."
Graveyard Kings is a full-length novel which is the first part of a three volume sequence. Middleton describes it as a 'ghost story of a sort' for children and adults.
"It's an old fashioned supernatural adventure, inspired by writers like Alan Garner, John Gordon and Philip Pullman. Part love story, part ghost story, and introducing a parallel world that coexists with our own, but just out of sight, Graveyard Kings is the kind of book that I loved as an older child, and actually still do to this day."
Set in the rural fenland of East Anglia in 1969, Graveyard Kings features a schoolboy hero, Robyn, who is isolated and bullied by the Brenyon brothers and their dim but dangerous gang. When Robyn encounters the strong-willed Mo after almost killing her beloved dog with his bike – not to mention encountering long-dead circus owner John Valentine and the murderous Hieronymous Pale Blades – Robyn realises that he now has more friends, and more enemies, than he had ever hoped for.
Graveyard Kings is currently available exclusively via Amazon.
The second book in the Everyday Life Amongst The Dead series, Graveyard Refugees, will appear in 2015.
BIOGRAPHY
Simon Middleton is the author of three business and self-development books: Brand New You (HayHouse, 2012); Build A Brand In 30 Days (Capstone, 2010); What You Need To Know About Marketing (Capstone, 2011).
He is founder and managing director of specialist musical instrument business The Great British Banjo Company, and is one of the UK's best known independent brand strategy advisers, consulting and speaking internationally.
Simon Middleton, The Great British Banjo Company, http://www.thegreatbritishbanjocompany.com, 01603 305800, [email protected]
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