Summer Special Offer ~ "Lush Ice Cream without a Machine"

I didn't make a big thing of this in my last post so I'd just like to mention it again.  As the weather was so good for a couple of days last week (and rumour has it the sun will be out next Friday - yippee!) I have reduced the price of my ebook "Lush Ice Cream without a Machine" to £1.98 which is about the same price as a carton of ice cream and much, much cheaper than an ice cream machine. You'd better see here and get a copy so you'll be ready next Friday!

This method makes rich creamy dairy ice cream quickly and easily, I promise you, and the reason I wrote the book is that it's so simple and foolproof that I felt it would be a shame not to pass it on. 

Here is easy peasy Clotted Cream Ice Cream, one of the first recipes in the book, as part of a twist on traditional Cornish Cream Tea. 

Incidentally and regardless of the above photo I hope everyone now realises that the Cornish have always been right - it is jam on first, topped with cream.  See here for the maths!  

Showing off a bit - sorry!

Look what I saw in Wadebridge.

I know for most people this is not very exciting but this is the first time I have seen my book in a real, live book shop and, not only that, in the window and, not only that, above Rick Stein!!!

Tomorrow I am giving a talk to a local craft group on getting published.  This is the first time I'll have done this too but presume that if I just chat along giving useful info I've picked up together with some jokes and anecdotes I should be OK and they have promised coffee and biscuits.

One of the things I am going to stress is how much work the publicity is, I feel I could sit here on my computer till the end of time pitching magazines, blogging, tweeting, commenting on Linkedin, posting on Facebook, emailing and so on and so forth. I don't mind at all, in fact I enjoy it but at the same time it is a) frustrating (magazines take ages to reply if at all) and b) there is so much to do I keep forgetting what I am doing.  Serves me right for being so old, I suppose.

And for visitors to Cornwall ... 

A bit surprised by the Writer and Artists Yearbook

I have been eagerly awaiting my 2013 Artists and Writers' Yearbook so that I could research magazines I'd like to pitch now I have the strength of a published book behind me.  I have already written several articles for Vegetarian Living but was surprised to see they are not mentioned in the yearbook. 

Soon after that I was surprised to see that Cook Vegetarian was not in there.  My third surprise came when I decided to try Great British Food - not there!  These are surely 3 of the leading UK foodie mags (after Delicious, of course, and some of the Beeb's magazines).  Eat In? - no.  Easy Food - no. Good to Know Recipes? - um, no. 

That's about it for food magazines, I haven't fully researched other subject matters but I would have thought the above magazines would all have been bigger sellers than, say, Picture Postcard Monthly or Music Teacher.  Not that I in any way mean to disparage these two magazine, rather I wish to parage the food magazine mentioned above, if paraging is something one can do.

I'm still glad to get the Yearbook and there's lots of useful info in it (I found my lovely agent Jen Christie of Graham Mae Christie through an earlier edition) but does anyone know how they select which publications to include?  

Thank you,

Suzy Bowler

Now writing for CCN!

Things are hotting up for me ... I think, it's hard to tell!  I have received copies of my book and it is a strange and pleasant thing to hold a real bona fide book with my name on the cover.

The book can be ordered from Amazon at quite a good discount (at the moment the cover price is 12.99 but Amazon who always discount anyway have a special offer on it - £8.31) and for ease of ordering I have added a widget to my other website, Sudden Lunch!  It's in the sidebar and looks like this ..

Having the widget on my other blog does mean you have to click twice instead of once but it's still easier peasier than having to go to Amazon all by yourself!  I'd add a widget here too but Amazon only allows one site to be widgetted (new word!) per person and Sudden Lunch at the moment is getting over 20,000 hits a month which this one is not!  Early days! 

I am writing for CCN!

I like that headline!  CCN of course stands for Cornwall Community News and they have asked me to contribute a weekly-ish article and Cornish foodie stuff.  Myfirst, on lovely Cornish Gouda, can be seen here. 

CCN gave called me "the chef of leftovers" which title I'm pretty sure I shall adopt.

Reviews, Amazon and Goodreads

If by any chance you should read and enjoy my book (or indeed anybody's book) it is a real help if you then review it on Amazon, I am trying to remember to do this myself with writers I like.  Goodreads is another great place to not only rate or review books but also to find things you'd like to read - I have started an online shelf of books I am going to look out for. I have, incidentally, heard that Amazon have purchased Goodreads so they may now be one and the same thing!