Who or what is Cheekyseagull?

Maybe the question should be where does the name come from? A comment from a fellow Commonwealther to this blog said the name piqued her curiosity and she re tweeted the post of the 9th February - Just to let you know, so there's a small piece on the home page at cheekyseagull  a touch less of the book plugging, but not entirely free - unlike Iceline which is now free on all the distribution channels on the left hand column. There will be more to come, the piece on the home page is just a part of it...

Just to let you know

Check out http://www.cheekyseagull.co.uk/ for the latest news about Iceline, the first of the Grange novels. Now available free at Apple. Barnes and Noble, Smashwords and Kobo. Pull yourself a download and enjoy!

Sony reader store to close

A post at the Smashwords blog unfolds the details of Sony's announcement to close the Sony Reader store in the US and Canada. Purchasers of Smashwords distributed books should follow the links http://www.kobo.com/sony and  http://blog.sony.com/2014/02/the-future-of-reader-store/ for information on how to migrate their Sony Purchasers to Kobo.

However large or small the market share of the Sony reader store it was valuable, it gave a choice, a dash of variety to a world that seems bent on channelling everyone down the same route and crowding everyone inside the same store, be it bricks and mortar or digital. It was an essential part of the ebook publishing revolution, an early player in the field for ereaders and ebooks and had its part in bringing authors like myself to a wider audience in the partnership with Smashwords. Sony was there before Amazon and the Kindle but couldn't keep up with the competition. In the relentless struggle of Store Wars there will be those who fall, and others who build on the foundation that they set in place. The ebook revolution is changing the way we read and the way we access that reading, and Sony's contribution to that shift should be noted.

There have always been independent authors and publishers, what was massively underestimated was the number looking for a way to be heard. Sony, and Smashwords played a part in that. The closure of the store will mean the end of a partnership, but the story goes on. The indie author is here to stay, working alongside the traditional author and publisher, but doing things their way and long may that be so.

A few months ago I posted a question; who`s the hero? In the rapidly changing environment of publishing the heroes and villains of the ebook revolution have yet to be determined, though we all have our own. Whatever your choice may be a new country needs its pioneers and that will be Sony's contribution to the ebook and the ereader: pioneers. Thank you.

Good News

February kicks in, tomorrow is Candlemas, or Groundhog Day, depending on your inclination. A key day in how much winter is still outstanding. Shadow or not,  more cold or an early spring, that's tomorrow's care.  To mark the day Iceline has gone to free at smashwords. Click on the link to stay with the action.