Hello Frog Fans!

Well, what a week it's been.

Hardly a week since the release of Jumbo Giant Sausages.. and I heard back that it had been reviewed by Reader's Favorite. I had entered the book for their yearly awards competition, and normally you can expect to get a review from a reviewer on their site within about three months of submission - and before they announce the results of the awards in September.

Well blow me down, I wasn't expecting to get a review after a week... and it was a good one too. Achieving a 5-star review means that I can use the 'medal' in connection with promoting the book, and the review as well - now uploaded to the Amazon book pages. See below the product details on the US and UK Amazon pages to read the review.

It's not the first time we've had an award for Reader's Favorite, Bradley and the Magic Carpet was entered last year and won the 5-star seal too. However, this time, we didn't drop a single point in any of the six categories. (BMC dropped one point !).

Well, if that wasn't enough to make my week, there have been further goings on.. with @paigntonlibrary hosting a readathon event, with fabulous authors each reading their book. I particularly enjoyed Tracey Courderoy reading Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam. Which is your favourite? Check out their events page to watch all the videos, including Neil Gaiman who did an introduction for the event.

Well.. I was originally due to read my books at the library event back in March, but of course it got cancelled.

In the meantime, as you probably already know if you follow our pages, the Amazing Rob Pudner of @entertaininglydifferent has read our books several times and done such a fantastic job of it, that I asked him if he would mind doing a reading for the event.

If you missed it, here it is! Rob did such a great job, don't you think? Please post comments on the video if you watch it...

Whatever you're doing.. have a great weekend.. and don't forget Rob's Rise and Shine Show tomorrow morning.. if you're looking for something that's really fun to entertain the little ones.. and not so little ones!

Yes... finally!  The book I wanted the first time around.

Haha.. they say though, that love is lovelier, the second time around.

I am so excited and thrilled I could burst. Not to mention mildly ready for a rest!

But no.. no time for that.. the Sausages have escaped the drawing board (literally) and I just wanted to let you know, for those great die hard fans who follow this blog..(thank you all for following) that JUMBO GIANT SAUSAGES is actually finished. Yes, finished I tell you... and available to buy on Amazon right now.

For the US click here.

For the UK click here.

Now.. this is, strictly speaking, not the LAUNCH of the book.. oh no.. there's much work now that only BEGINS. I'm just letting you fans know early, that the book is live on Amazon and you can buy it .... and.....

I DON'T EVEN HAVE A COPY YET. (but it should arrive by next Wednesday)

What does this mean? Well, I've dotted every i, crossed every t.. painted every eyebrow and mouth, shaded every corner, wet sponged, charcoal lined and resized my brush a ten thousand times since this book was first published last July. To bring a second edition to the world.. and if you ask an author friend of mine.. this is probably what the first edition should have been.  Big thanks go to Jana Broecker of Cranky Cat fame.. because she suggested I may have been a little hasty with the first edition. Thanks Jana if you're reading!!

However in my defence... I had set myself a goal.. could I publish a book, just one year after writing it? Including doing all the pictures myself? Whoah.. that was a challenge.  Well I managed it.. but realised as well that I could achieve more...beyond what my original watercolours looked like.  So what is available now, has had almost another six months of work added to it. (Ok.. so maybe I should set the goal at 18 months next time, hahaha).

Now comes the good bit. Now I'm really proud of this edition. and feel I can say.. yup! I did this.. and "Take a look, what do you think?".  I did not really market the first edition, or promote too much, because I pretty much started on the second edition, the moment it was out there, I knew I needed to wait a little before promoting it fully.

I will say, to all those who bought a first edition - thank you for your support. No one left a one-star review at least! The story hasn't changed... but I think it looks a whole lot better now. You are very lucky.. there is less than a hundred of you.. way less. That first edition will not be available again.. unless you sell your copy! 

Anyway.. before I go, fans... a funny story... 

So I've submitted this story to Reedsy - a fabulous site.. and I recommend any of my author friends go join it now. But it's also for people who love reading books too. Perhaps a competitor to Goodreads... but their interface looks fab. Check out my page here where you can see some sneak peaks of the book. Nice looking, huh?

Anyway. I found a great article on launching a book on this site.. so I opened it .. and it begins..'What to do SIX months before you launch your book...'  , 'What to do FIVE months before launching your book'.

Er.. well...., the book's available NOW.. not in six months time..! But I will be following some of their tips...(and fortunately some of the stuff I've already done).

So, check out the sneak peaks.. or get an early copy (I promise if there are any small tweaks, I may have to change the file on Amazon again..) so you might have another collector's item on your hands if you buy now.

When you start to see adverts on Facebook or Instagram for the book, please share.. please tell your friends and family.. and lets see if we can hit a six for self-published authors!

The book is already entered into this year's Readers Favorite competition.. and awaiting reviews on Reedsy.. so fingers crossed people like it!

Dino Wishes...

​Julian

Anyone for lashings of ginger beer and slabs of ginger cake?

Greetings Dinofans,

Well, where does the time go to?  Without mentioning the dreaded you-know-what, I'm sure that you're all, as we are, finding a new routine.  Maybe your week and weekend has different routines and rituals to before the you-know-what?  

I know that we've been tuning in to Rob Pudner of @entertaininglydifferent every Saturday to watch his energetic, madcap and entertaining genius that is his Rise and Shine Show...Already Rob has read all three of my books in one of his shows or other.

Well, it seems the books have been enjoyed by Rob's fans.. and he has another show, (perhaps) the slightly calmer 'Snacktime Stories', where he reads children's stories from local authors. I'm writing to let you know that Rob's going to be reading both of Bradley's adventures in this coming Friday's show.

To celebrate.. I'm offering Bradley and the Dinosaur for free download on the day, May 8th - so you can read along with the little ones. I'd say up to age six or seven is perfect.. (but I once read the story to some ten year olds at the Jurassic Centre in Seaton.. and they seemed to enjoy it too - I guess it depends how much of a dinosaur fan, or child at heart you are!).

Check out our How to get a book page on the day to get your free copy. The book becomes free at 12 midnight PDT, which I think is around 8 am in the UK. So enough time to download it before the show.

New reviewers needed
What else? We had a great month for sales, beating our December record. Over 120 people bought a paperback copy of Bradley and the Dinosaur and there were at least ten kindle sales as well. So thanks to all of you who are new fans. We really appreciate that you took a ride into uncharted territory to buy the book.

Without expensive marketing campaigns and reviews in newspapers we really do rely on word of mouth for this book to become more widely known, so please share your experiences with others, and if you can write a review, or leave a star rating on Amazon that would be fantastic.

I've added a link on the review page, so for any new readers who want a super quick way to leave a review or star rating, just click here for a US review, or here for a UK review.

More sausages!
Finally, the time is nearly here.. after a hiatus over Christmas, and the New Year.. I've been working on putting some finishing touches to all of the original artwork I did for Jumbo Giant Sausages.. and hope that very soon, a new Second Edition will be available. Most of the artworks have been done now, I just need to do the 'endpapers' or inside covers. I'm hoping that within a month or so, the new version should be available.  This will probably be the version I would have done first time round, if I'd had a little more time before the first publication date.

Don't worry, if you'd bought the first one. Any original owners of the first edition will have something of a rarity on their hands in years to come.. as once the new edition comes out, it will be retired.  Not that I'm suggesting you go out and buy it now! No.. wait for the new edition, But if anyone does have a first edition lying around, maybe we can sort out some sort of competition for you guys :). 

Once the new edition is out there, then I can get on with sharing the next story with you!

Dino Wishes!

Julian

Great news Carpeteers and Singing Frog fans!

No doubt, like me you've been brightening your Saturdays these last couple of weeks by tuning into Rob Pudner of Entertainingly Different, for his Rise and Shine show, streamed LIVE from his own back garden.

No? 

Well, you're not too late to miss him. His shows have been overwhelmingly popular with families at home through the region, and already we've been thrilled he has read both Bradley and the Dinosaur and Jumbo Giant Sausages as part of his last two shows.

The show has been gaining tremendous popularity and attention, with his own energetic, fun and thrilling, nay, hilarious brand of family entertainment. So much so, that his show tomorrow is going to be streamed live on Devon Live, Plymouth Live and Cornwall Live all at once.

This means the audience tomorrow will be reaching around thirty thousand people for sure.  So... Welcome! If any of you were watching and found our website through Rob's shows.

Rob's a good friend, and a great supporter of local arts and authors and small businesses alike, many of whom (myself included) he's invited onto his radio show. So it's with a happy heart we'll be watching tomorrow, as he's going to read Bradley and the Magic Carpet - the sequel to Bradley and the Dinosaur - as part of his LIVE show.

I hope you'll tune in - from 9:30 am, 18th April 2020 on Facebook, live-streamed either from his Entertainingly Different facebook page - or through the Devon Live/Cornwall Live or Plymouth Live FB pages.

Thanks again to all the new readers and supporters... Bradley has been riding high this week, peaking at #62 in the top #100 Dinosaur books on Amazon (#43 in Kindle) a ranking of #8,184 overall.  Please please do leave a review if you've bought a book in the last few weeks..please share, and help us to nudge Bradley up the charts into the top #50!

Have a great weekend, whatever you're doing and hope you'll be watching Rob tomorrow with us. Bring on the Penguin Race!!

​Julian

Greetings Dinofans! 

Well, it's with a happy heart that I can announce that today sees Bradley get to his highest ever position on the charts at Amazon, at a ranking of #8,184. This puts him in the Top #100 Dinosaur books at #69.

So I want to first start by saying a big Thank You to all the new readers. Singing Frog Publishing relies on word of mouth, and friendships and exposure to others who help to promote the book either through their social media pages, or in the case of Rob Pudner of Entertainingly Different - by reading the book on his 'Rise and Shine' show last Saturday. (Check out the link there, if you didn't see it!)

If you know someone who you think would like the book, please share the website or Amazon details... every extra sale now will help nudge Bradley towards the top 50... and the more likely it will stay in the charts and gain some wider recognition. 

So what's news? I've finally got back to working on upgrading the remaining artworks for Jumbo Giant Sausages.. and hope that a second edition of the antics of these naughty sausages won't be far away.

Once that second edition is out there, I will be able to start work on the next book!

These are very strange times, and kind of makes you do things differently to normal. It's surprising how much reading we're doing at home at the moment. Only today I very much enjoyed reading One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and also I Wish that I Had Duck Feet this morning with Emma.. both by Dr Seuss. Love them!

I hope you'll check out Rob's new show, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m GMT... just visit the link to his Facebook page above there in the text.

Dino Wishes,

Julian

Well hello all you Dinofans.. and Frog fans, Carpeteers everywhere!

But not naughty sausages... we'll get to them in a minute.

A very warm greeting from us here at Singing Frog Publishing.  Apologies that it's been a while since my last blog, but, you know how it is!

I guess you  do. I was thinking about this the other day, and the legions of people at home with their kids and thinking... what is there to do we haven't already done??

So I thought, even though we've only just done a freebie a couple of weeks ago - we'd do another one, RIGHT NOW! No time like the present they say... the kids need some entertaining NOW.. not next month!! So we're offering Bradley and the Dinosaur again for free - for your Kindle, Tablet, PC or phone... just download from the Amazon store TOMORROW. (Remember it's not free till April 1st - and that's no April's Fool).

Can you imagine?! With almost the whole world at home tomorrow (and a HUGE thank you to all those who aren't, carrying out very necessary tasks for the rest of us) just how many April's Fool pranks are there going to be?? I don't know, maybe it's not a thing in other countries like it is in the UK!

So yes, we're adjusting to life with a changed set of rules for the time being.. and I thought it was the least we could do to offer a freebie copy of this again. So please, tell your friends.. and anyone you know with kids of 6 or 7 or under about Bradley and the Dinosaur. 

Ok - so with that news out of the way.... I'd also like to talk about the fabulous books we've been reading too. My daughter is three, as you may or may not know.. so I now have the thrill of reading her books with her.

Current favourites are from Doctor Seuss - Wacky Wednesday, Fox in Sox, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop and Ten Apples Up on Top. We also love the beautifully illustrated 'Oi' series from Jim Field and Kes Gray - Oi Frog, Oi Cat, Oi Puppies.. and the fabulous Oi Duck-billed Platypus. (Not to forget Quentin the Duck either). Lena, Paul et Nanou by Anja Rieger we only have in French.. so that's a bit of a test, but Emma loves it. We also love Cannonball Coralie and the Lion by Grace Easton.. and she got With my Mummy by James Brown and Cally Johnson-Isaacs from Emma for Mother's Day.. that's also a lovely read. Not to be left out.. we also love Daddy and I by Lou Treleaven and Sophie Burrows.

Now I should point out I don't have any associations with any of those books or authors just mentioned  (though I follow Jim Field on Twitter!). However, another couple of books are worth a special mention, from friends of mine... Jason Rhodes who has written Imagine Eating Lemons - a wonderful book about children coping with anxiety (I'll bet it's flying off the shelves at the moment!) and also Jana Broeker has written the fabulous Find Cranky Cat and Not Like the Others, both fun spot the difference books.

Well, there should be plenty there to keep you busy!

Dino Wishes,

Julian

P.S. Yes.. what about those naughty sausages?! Well, I'm very close now to being able to have the time to finish the second edition of Jumbo Giant Sausages.. so more news on that soon.

Good news Dinofans!!

From tomorrow, for the whole weekend, you can download a Kindle copy of Bradley and the Dinosaur from Amazon - ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Yes, that's right.. all those little dinofans could be having a new bedtime story tomorrow, you can download it for nothing - for your Kindle, your tablet, smartphone or PC.

Find out what happens when Bradley finds a dinosaur in his own back garden and travels to Dinoland... but be sure to be back in time for tea!

Check out the How to get a book page for links to US and UK copies of the book. All Amazon markets should have the book for free though - so tell your friends!

Remember - it's not available for free until midnight tonight for Eastern Pacific Time USA. So don't go paying for it now by accident - wait till tomorrow!

Can you wait?!?!

Dinowishes,

​Julian

Greetings Dinofans!

How lucky are we to have libraries?

I know we are also lucky to have Kindles and a wealth of online choice.. in fact Bradley and the Dinosaur exists out there far more in electronic downloads than it does in paperback - mainly because of the occasional ability to offer it for free in this format.

However - can anything replace that feeling as a young child, walking into a library, that first time you set eyes on a colossal WALL of colour and run to it, to explore the hundreds, if not thousands of books offered to your hands if you only reach out and pull one from the shelf?

A bit like pubs, and petrol stations and , well, some town centres, we think we can do just fine by using alternatives, and then one day we turn around to notice they are gone. Erm... can we put that back? Not likely.

I've already done one event at Paignton library, back in December, and it was a lot of fun. So really pleased to be going there again to read my stories... Libraries are just fab, aren't they? I'm also fans of Deepings Library, and Singing Frog Publishing has donated books to Totnes, the Scilly Isles, Buckfastleigh and Paigton libraries - and all copies of our books are now lodged at the British Library - so they will be around for perpetuity now!

What a fabulous service libraries give us. How great is that energy of kids running around and gawping wide-eyed at a book they've never seen before, or gazing intently at one they've read a hundred times already?

Anyway.. I'm sold on libraries...and hope you are too. I'm going to be going down to Paignton Library on the 21st March to read my stories and enjoy the atmosphere of our local library. They have a whole day of events. See our facebook page for the event details - come along, bring your kids and enjoy yourselves! There'll be plenty of things to do and the staff there are just wonderful.

While you're at it, why not bring a handful of change and donate it, and keep this wonderful library there for future generations to enjoy as well?

...and if you don't live near Paignton, why not take some time out this weekend to go visit your local library and get a book out? If you haven't done it for a while, it might rekindle fond memories!

Dinowishes,

​Julian

Good news Frog Fans!
 
Had a Roarsome time with @entertaininglydifferent 's Rob Pudner on his fortnightly show 'Artz4U' with SoundArt radio.

Along with Carrie-Ann (@carrieannoliveira_28) and Hannah Jackson (@hannahjacksonthenakedpsychic) I was very lucky to get my picture 'taken' by Kevin Rye of @rye_smile_caricatures.
 
Not just taken, but drawn hand drawn with speed and unfaltering accuracy by Kevin.
 
I tell you, in the time it took him to draw my picture, I would have probably got my pencil set off the shelf and just about managed to prize the lid off, spilling the contents on the floor.

By the time I would have picked them up, Kevin finished his work of art.

Kev's work is so good, he's often to be found a weddings and corporate events making people smile with his accurate portrait caricatures.
 
I was quite lucky too, as I'm only currently sporting a beard as 'Winter Sport'.. so it has now been immortalized in sharpie! Who knows, maybe the picture will one day make it to the inside flap of one of Singing Frog Publishing’s books, or the back cover.

Who knows?
 
Also joining Rob was Carrie-Ann, a very talented actor and singer studying at Plymouth Uni (you're going to go far, Carrie!) and the uncanny Psychic Medium, Hannah who had wisdom for us all.
 
The show was a blast, and maybe you heard some of it? Always worth tuning into Rob, he brightens any Monday morning with his fun and engaging show (well every other Monday at least!).

I was having such a good time, I even read some of my new story... what did you think??
 
So if you didn't hear Rob this time, why not tune in again on the 3rd Feb for more fun and thrills - and great music too!
 
Also, why not check out those other Instagram pages, they are some very talented and lovely people.
 
Julian

2020. Already!

A Happy New Year to you, readers and Singing Frog Fans...

This is great isn't it? 2020. Not only does it look great on the page.. but we are surely into the realms of Sci-Fi years now. If you think 2020 sounds futuristic, wait till we're saying, 'In Twenty-Twentyone I'm going to...'

But that's a way off yet. To now, for more immediate horizons, we're kicking this year off early, as I've been invited back on Rob Pudner's 'Artz4U' show. He always has great guests on there, so I'm really looking forward to meeting some new people, finding out what they do, and generally having a good time talking to Rob in the studio.

Apart from all the Turkey consumed at Christmas, and reading 'Oi Puppies!' the new book by the great Jim Field and Kes Gray (over and over again to Emma my daughter to wonderous delight). There have been stirrings in the Singing Frog Stables... mainly connected with working on a second edition of Jumbo Giant Sausages - so I'll be talking about that, and maybe some hints as to what the next book is going to be.

Not only that, but there's a psychic and a caricature artist on the show, so I'm looking forward to hearing all about their works as well.

Join us if you can. You can listen online at http://soundartradio.org.uk/ . The show only goes out live - but you can listen from anywhere.

Hope you can join us!

​Julian