Archive for category Successes
Amazon Ratings
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Markets, Successes on December 15, 2025
As we approach Christmas and the end of the year, I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you for your continued support. Most of the time, the writing life is a hard slog. Having people ‘on side’ makes a massive difference to the morale. Thank you!
The Interior of Waterstones in Bradford
At the beginning of December, Out of Control received its 1000th Amazon rating – which I think is cause for celebration. Little Museum of Hope has 1035 ratings and Waiting for A Bright New Future is creeping up behind them with 809 ratings. Thank you to anyone who has read and rated or reviewed any of my books – it makes a difference in several ways: a positive rating or review gives the author a boost and helps the book gain visibility on Amazon, which in turn may increase sales and sway a publisher into re-signing an author for further books.
The lovely people at Farnham Literary Festival have asked me to remind you that the closing date for their ‘First Five Pages’ competition is 31st December 2025 and it’s fast approaching. There is a first prize of £1000!
And here is a submissions opportunity for the New Year. Bending The Arc, a Thrutopia Magazine, will be open for submissions from Monday 12th January until Sunday 1st February. The magazine wants stories, poems, and essays which ‘bend the arc of the possible towards a thriving future on earth’. Their Substack account has more specific details.
I’ve mentioned the New Street Authors’ Collective before. They have produced a Collection of Beginnings. This allows readers to try a new author or genre without monetary risk and it’s available free of charge. The opening to my psychological thriller The Promise can be found by scrolling down to page 10, if you fancy giving it a try.
A couple of weeks ago I was in Bradford for the weekend and finally got to visit the town’s branch of Waterstones. I’d seen many pictures of the store’s interior on social media and it didn’t disappoint in real life. And it’s got a cafe where you can peruse your purchases! What more could a reader want?
Finally, I’d like to wish you a very happy Christmas and a healthy 2026. See you in the New Year!
Bedsit Three – 10th Anniversary
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Competitions, Successes on October 26, 2025
Today is a landmark day for me, so I’m doing a bit of my own trumpet-blowing. Drum roll, please!
My first novel, Bedsit Three, was published ten years ago, on 26th October 2015.
Applause please!
It won a small competition and the prize was publication through Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. It was also shortlisted in two other competitions. That book is still selling (only 99p on Kindle!) and also being read by those with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Bedsit Three is a thrilling ‘why-dunnit’ and the competition organiser, Michael Barton, said this: “This novel is well-constructed and well-written. But it’s also far more than that. It’s a book that elicits emotional reaction, drawing the reader into the story and placing him or her in the middle of the action page after page. Be prepared for a sleepless night, because you won’t want to put it down until you get to the end.”
Publication of Bedsit Three was a tiny, hardly noticeable happening in the publishing world but it was a real confidence boost to me and since then I’ve had a further four novels published.
The Promise was published in 2018 in partnership with the Book Guild. When the rights reverted back to me, I independently published it on Kindle. A limited number of paperback copies are available directly from me.
In autumn 2022 I signed a 3-book deal with Choc Lit (which became part of Joffe Books six months later) and they published my next three novels: Little Museum of Hope, Waiting for a Bright New Future and Out of Control. These are all uplifting women’s fiction with a mature main character and a little bit of romance.
Earlier this year I signed a further 2-book deal with Choc Lit/Joffe and the first of those will be out in 2026.
I owe a huge thanks to Michael Barton and the other organisers of the Ian Govan Award for choosing Bedsit Three as their competition winner and thus giving me the confidence to continue along the path to become a novelist.
Note to other writers: Never underestimate the power and benefits of entering even the smallest competition.
Excitement and Nerves
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Events, Lifestyle, Successes on June 16, 2025
Have I got news for you!
Choc Lit Authors before the Joffe Summer Party
My publisher, Choc Lit (an imprint of Joffe Books) has signed me to write two more novels!
Both books will feature a later-in-life romance as part of the storyline. The first book has a working title of Because You’re Worth It and follows Michelle, who inherits a mysterious fortune from her mother. Michelle must embark on a journey of self-discovery and learn that it is never too late to trust her heart. All being well, this will be published in summer 2026. The second book, which currently has no plot and no title, will follow in summer 2027.
This has made me extremely excited but also slightly anxious. I have to provide my editor with the manuscript for the first book by 1st December this year and I’ve never written to a deadline before. It’s like being back at school with that pile of homework that needs to be done always at the back of your mind.
Watch this space for how I get on!
In other news, last month I went to the annual Joffe summer garden party in London. The picture above is me (second from right under the window) with several of the other Choc Lit authors in the pub beforehand. It’s the second time I’ve been to the party. This time I was more confident and made a point of searching out everyone in the Choc Lit/Joffe team who’d had a hand in making my books a reality. I got to meet the lovely Kate Ballard who, along with Becky Slorach, the head of Choc Lit, gave me great editorial advice on Out of Control, which was published earlier this year. I also spoke to the lovely people who deal with marketing and social media and those who format both the Kindle books and the paperbacks. It really does take a whole team to make books happen!
Final bit of news: My second short story collection, Hit or Miss?, was chosen as a June Amazon Monthly deal. This means the Kindle version is only 99p until the end of June, so now might be the time to indulge yourself (!) The book challenges the reader to decide which of the short stories were competition or magazine hits and which failed to land on the right editor’s desk at the right time.
7 Interview Tips for Authors
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Promotion, public speaking, Successes on April 25, 2025
I’ve had an exciting time since the launch of Out of Control in mid-March.
My bestseller flag!
The Kindle version achieved one of those little orange bestseller flags in the UK Kindle Parenting and Family Humour chart! Quite a niche chart, I admit, and the flag might not still be there when you read this but, for a short while at least, I basked in the glory of being a bestselling author!
Also, over the past month I’ve chatted on two radio shows, West Wilts Radio with Chris Penhall and Black Country Xtra with Lee Benson (to air 18/5/25). I featured in a quickfire video interview with Joffe Books and was invited to write a guest post on publishing for the Pounds and Sense personal finance blog, which is aimed at the over 50s and therefore fits very nicely with Fiona, the new retiree in Out of Control.
The prospect of being interviewed, either for radio or video, strikes fear into the heart of many of us! So I’ve listed below the strategies that helped me sound reasonably (I hope!) coherent rather than gabbling. Full disclosure: The interviews that I did were all pre-recorded so I knew anything that did go wrong could be edited away.
- Ask in advance if there are any particular questions or topics that the interviewer would like to cover and get your material ready.
- Prepare (and practise!) the elevator pitch for your latest book or whatever you are publicising. People won’t be persuaded to buy from an author who can’t succinctly describe his plot and characters.
- If you are asked to choose music as part of a radio show, have a reason why you’ve chosen a particular track. Does it remind you of a particular event or person? Do the words of the song mean something special to you? Does a character in your book dance to this tune?
- If you are being interviewed remotely via a video conferencing app (as I was) ensure that the house will be quiet (ideally empty!). Close windows and doors to avoid a sudden siren or traffic noise spoiling things. Put your mobile on silent and take any landline off the hook.
- If it is a video interview be aware of your background. It might be appropriate to have a bookshelf in the background with a display of your books. I had a canvas of my cover art on the wall behind me.
- If you have ‘iffy’ wi-fi, position yourself where you get the strongest signal. And make sure your laptop camera and microphone are working.
- Enjoy yourself! It’s rare to get the opportunity to talk about yourself and your books to your heart’s content.
I Missed My Publication Day
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Lifestyle, Promotion, Successes, Travel on March 18, 2025
Tuesday March 11th was a big day in the literary world: My third novel for ChocLit/Joffe Books hit the Amazon shelves!
But I was away from my laptop and most of social media. I was in Athens on a trip booked long before the publication date for Out of Control was announced. Being on holiday was a happy, lovely experience which I’m grateful for but it did mean I missed my chance to do much proud shouting about my brand new book. So I’m going to make up for it now! (Close your eyes or look away if you’re averse to a bit of book publicity).
Out of Control was inspired by my (winning!) entry for the 2023 RNA Elizabeth Goudge Award. The brief had been to write the opening chapter of a novel with the theme, Absence Makes the Heart grow fonder. I created the character of Fiona. She’s sixty years old and enjoys seeing Joe, her man friend, just once a week. She doesn’t have to do his washing, put up with his snoring or tolerate any of the other annoying things that run alongside living with a partner. His absence for six days a week makes her grow more fond of him. Then he turns up on her doorstep with his suitcases – his house is flooded and he needs somewhere to live. Soon after, Joe’s daughter turns up eight months pregnant with nowhere to go. Fiona has no choice but to let them both stay. Suddenly Fiona has a full house and is way out of her comfort zone. But just as she starts to regain control, an unexpected revelation shakes everything she thought she knew about life and love.
Now Fiona must decide: does she stay in control, or surrender to the chaos of love?
Out of Control is billed as a later-in-life, feel-good, friends-to-lovers romance. And it’s currently only 99p on Kindle (it will go up but I have no control over when) or free if you have Kindle Unlimited.
P.S. There are also book group discussion questions in the back of the book if that helps to persuade you that its worth downloading!
And here I am on publication day!
Cover Reveal plus a Free Book
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Promotion, Successes on February 21, 2025
It’s an exciting week: the cover for Out of Control, my third novel with Choc Lit/Joffe Books is now in the public domain and the Kindle version is available for preorder at only 99p. 
Plus Little Museum of Hope is available on Kindle for FREE for today only (Friday 21st February 2025).
Out of Control is about learning to loosen the reins of life, trying to go with the flow, learning to trust and letting others in. Three decades ago Fiona was married to a man with a gambling problem. He lost everything they had and the stress this caused may have played a part in Fiona’s miscarriage. Fiona divorced Rob and vowed never to let anyone else get too close to her again. She keeps that promise. Fast forward to the present day. Fiona is on the verge of retirement. She sees boyfriend Joe only once a week – which she loves because she still has her own space and complete control of her life. Plus absence makes the heart grow fonder!
Then Joe turns up on her doorstep with his suitcases: his house has been flooded and he needs somewhere to stay. He’s swiftly followed by his heavily pregnant student daughter who has nowhere else to go. Fiona’s ordered existence is suddenly out of control. Will her relationship with Joe survive? Can she cope with the presence of his daughter and the reminder of the baby she lost?
Out of Control will be published on March 11th 2025 and can be preordered now for only 99p on Kindle!
And if you missed out on reading Little Museum of Hope – now is your one-day only opportunity to grab it for FREE! (That means you can get two of my novels for a combined price of only 99p – don’t miss out!).
A Birthday Relaunch and 2 Book Competitions
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Competitions, Successes on April 30, 2024
Little Museum of Hope was published in April 2023. To celebrate its first birthday, Joffe Books have given it a fantastic new cover. Don’t you love the little cat staring into that beautiful, positive blue sky? 
I feel like that cat is a metaphor for all of us who are looking for a better future after a difficult time. And that is what Little Museum of Hope is all about: shedding reminders of broken relationships and tough times so that we can find renewed enthusiasm for life.
If you want to dip your toe into the Museum, the Kindle edition is currently only 99p! (I don’t know how long that offer will last).
By the way, that new cover matches very nicely with that of Waiting for a Bright New Future. I’m beginning to feel a bit like a brand!
And talking of books – I have a couple of free book-related competitions for you:
Marlborough LitFest is running its annual Love Books Competition. They want to hear about your favourite book, poem or play in 750 words or less. Explain what you love about your chosen read, highlighting key areas of interest, and why you think others should try it. Entry is free. The winner in each age group receives £300 and the runner-up receives £100. The closing date for entries is Friday 28 June 2024.
My publisher, Joffe Books, is running a competition to celebrate its tenth birthday. Tell them in no more than 50 words your favourite Joffe book of the last ten years. The best entry will win a year’s worth of books (in the form of a £500/$600 Amazon voucher)!
RULES
*The 50 words (well-expressed/heartfelt) can be about any book published by Joffe/Lume/Choc Lit in the last ten years.
*Entries must be a maximum of 50 words. And submitted by email to: readers@joffebooks.com. The email subject should be: “Win a year’s worth of reading” plus your name.
*Entries can be made between 23 April and 31 May.
Happy Reading!
A Commercial Break
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Successes on December 5, 2023
Drum roll and trumpet fanfare!
A massive thank you to everyone who has preordered Waiting for a Bright New Future – it will have landed on your kindle in the early hours of today. Hooray!
If you missed the preorder, you can buy now with instant delivery. Plus the paperback should be available very soon too.
The NetGalley advance reviewers have been busy reading Waiting for a Bright New Future and the response has been favourable (phew!)
“I loved the characters in the book and the humour thrown in amongst the sadness and how the main character was a man in his 50s discovering his life again after the death of his father and starting over again.” Helen A.
“I love that it wasn’t a simple ending but it fit perfectly with how each of the characters were set up.
Definitely a book I recommend.” Reviewer 1028737.
“This book makes you feel everything, the joy, the sadness, the anger, all the emotions you can think of, bundled up together and woven into such a perfect story.” Reviewer 810933.
According to my publisher, ChocLit (part of Joffe Books), this book will appeal to lovers of books by Jenny Colgan, Mike Gayle, Jill Mansell, Sue McDonagh, Laura Pearson or Beth Moran. I can’t believe that they’ve slotted me into such good company!
Still wondering whether it’s worth squandering the grand sum of 99p on Waiting for a Bright New Future? Here’s the blurb:
Is it ever too late to start living for the first time?
Florence is buoyant and colourful, an ageing tribute band singer who’s full of life. And the complete opposite of staid Stuart, her new landlord.
Stuart’s not sure about having a lodger. And he’s not used to the singing and dancing that now fills the house. Nor the pairs of voluminous knickers left to dry on every spare surface in the bathroom.
Florence is everything Stuart has never allowed himself to be: bold, fearless, unabashedly herself. He’s spent his life putting everyone’s needs ahead of his own, avoiding risks and hiding from chances.
Soon Florence is persuading Stuart to dance with her in the kitchen. And when his childhood sweetheart shows up again, it’s Florence who encourages him to make his move.
Florence can see how much he’s changed, even if he won’t admit it. But Stuart has changed. He’s no longer the timid man he was when they first met.
Life is about to give Stuart a second chance, if only he has enough courage to grasp it . . .
Waiting for a Bright New Future falls into the UpLit (Uplifting Literature) genre and will leave you feeling hopeful and positive for the coming of 2024.
Little Museum of Hope – FREE on Kindle!
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Promotion, Successes on November 17, 2023
Just a very quick post to let you, my faithful followers (thank you – I do genuinely appreciate your loyalty) know that ‘Little Museum of Hope‘ is currently (for a limited time only) free on Kindle. Please, fill your boots while you can!
What the reviewers say:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ’Fascinating, often emotional, addictive reading. Recommended.’ Coco
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ’Something special that’s bound to intrigue.’ Isabelle D.
And don’t forget that my next book for ChocLit/Joffe Books, ‘Waiting for a Bright New Future‘ is only 99p on preorder.
If you order it now, it will drop onto your Kindle on December 5th. A paperback will be out too for those of you who love a real book to handle.
End of commercial break and I’m headed back down that Nano rabbit hole!
Waiting for a Bright New Future
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Successes on October 25, 2023
‘Waiting for a bright new future’ – does that describe you or someone you know?
We’re all guilty, at some point in our lives, of hoping that something will turn up out of the ether and improve our lives. It might be a better job, a new relationship or big win on the lottery. As we get older, we learn things like that rarely happen unless we take positive action ourselves in order to turn our lives in the direction we’d like them to go.
Stuart Borefield is the middle-aged hero of my new novel, Waiting for a Bright New Future. The death of his father and the selfish attitude of his older brothers mean that Stuart will soon be homeless – unless he takes positive action to chase after that bright new future which has eluded him for decades. As in our lives, things aren’t plain sailing for Stuart. He has to find himself a job, decide how he feels about his new lodger and take on commitments that, on the surface, he’d rather not. The most difficult thing is finding the confidence to pursue these things. Simply waiting for that bright new future isn’t going to produce results for Stuart, just as it won’t for the rest of us.
Waiting for a Bright New Future will be published by Joffe Books on December 5th 2023 and is available to preorder on Kindle now for only 99p.
I hope you grow as fond of Stuart as I did while I was writing about him and throwing obstacles in his way.
And remember: sitting back and waiting for that bright new future doesn’t work – you need to go out and grab it!
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