'Stop the beer duty escalator' is the appeal in a new e-petition to the UK Government's Treasury department.
The petition says -
Every year, the beer tax escalator increases the tax on beer by 2% above the rate of inflation, thus adding considerably more pressure on the British pub, the cornerstone of many of our communities.
Removing the beer duty escalator at the next budget will help keep beer more affordable and go a long way to supporting the institution that is the great British pub.
Going to the pub is a core British tradition and so is enjoying great beer.
If you want to continue enjoying your fresh pint in your local pub, then its crucial that you support our campaign to grind the beer duty tax escalator to a halt.
If we dont show our support for the great British pub, we risk losing more pubs and more jobs within our local communities.
Support great beer in the great British pub and sign our e-petition now... British Pubs Need You!
Link to e-petition
WELSH WRITER JEAN GILL WINS HISTORICAL LITERARY FICTION AWARD
Jean Gill's Song at Dawn has won the Global Ebook Award for Best Historical Literary Fiction (medieval) category, at the Awards Ceremony in Santa Barabara last night.
From the Amazon Song at Dawn page:- " Historical thriller/love story set in Narbonne just after the Second Crusade. 1150 in Provence, where love and marriage are as divided as Christian and Muslim. On the run from abuse, Estela's musical talent finds a patron in Alienor of Aquitaine and more than a music tutor in the finst troubadour of the age, Alienor's Commander of the Guard. Weary of war, Dragonetz los Pros uses Jewish money and Moorish expertise to build that most modern of invntions, a papermill,drawing the wrath of the Church down on his head. Their enemies gather, ready to light the political and religious powder-keg of medieval Narbonne. "
We have reproduced his Wikipedia entry below
Come and celebrate the birth of this remarkable Welsh American at the West Coast Eisteddfod in Portland , Oregon on October 13th at the Multnomah Arts Center.
Meriwether Lewis
This picture shows Meriwether Lewis discovering Earth and claiming it for the United States. In the background you can clearly see Mt St Helens. He is believed to have landed in the vicinity of Pioneer Courthouse Square just outside the present day Nordstroms. The footprints in the photo are believed to be those of the long lost tribe of Welsh speaking Indians he was tasked to find by President Thomas Jones. (ed. needs more factual citations ) .
One of the most powerful and dramatic scenes ever committed to print so ingrained itself upon the human psyche that it has become a metaphor for a specific type of human behaviour we all recognise.Confronted by fanatical religious forces and constrained by political expediency Pontius Pilate washes his hands as a symbolic gesture of his innocence. He is not to blame as he condemns an innocent man to the most horrible of deaths.
Pilate got it wrong but did he ever live long enough to realise the man he abandoned would become the greatest figure in human history, and for many people much more?
Sadly, every day aspiring authors around the world are afflicted by 'The Pontius Pilate Syndrome'. Having laboured long and hard on their 'art and sullen craft' they simply abandon it to the forces around them. Many of them will never know if their lovingly crafted novel could have become something great with the power to move hearts and minds.
Let's be honest , the most committed agent in the world does not care for your book the way you do. No Publishing House is as hungry for it to succeed as you are. But the truth is 'Big Issue' sellers do more book promotion than the majority of aspiring authors. There is a tendency for us not to want to dirtyour hands with the commercial aspect of things. When all is said and done, we are artists are we not? Yes, but even artists and their families have to eat and pay the bills so maybe it's time to get serious. Sometimes pictures can paint a thousand words:
If you want to move from aspiring to established there is one thing you have to do and that is take responsibility for marketing your own book. There are literally hundreds and thousands of aspiring authors publishing on Amazon, Smashwords and whatever. You have to try and stand out from the crowd. NO! That's the wrong way to think, because actually there's plenty of room for everybody. What you have to do is create your own crowd of readers and fans who can't wait to read your next book.
The obvious question is HOW?
To be honest it has never been easier because of the amazing phenomena known as social networking. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest are just the dominant tip of the social networkingiceberg. Savvy authors, marketers and large corporations utilise their awesome potential to reach and engage with prospective readers, customers and clients to great effect. You must do the same . Hold on, you say, I'm an author not a social media expert, I don't have want to waste my energy and lose my focus.
Granted, many of these large companies employ social media experts to promote their business. I do not claim to be a social media guru. My main focus is writing educational material but in the process of doing thatI discovered unless I dirtied my hands promoting my own stuff no one else was going to do it for me unless I paid them. That is why when Google+ entered the social media arena I sat up and took notice. I missed the boat a little with Facebook, I sure wasn't going to make the same mistake with Google+.
The beauty of Google+ is it is so easy to set up and get started. The learning curve is much less steep and in no time you can have access to thousands of prospective readers. It is still in its infancy and nowhere near as big as Facebook. . . yet. That is exactly why now is he time to establish a presence and begin to build your fan base. How much of an incentive is it knowing you already have an audience waiting for your new novel to be published? If that doesn't motivate you to write nothing will! Make no mistake about it Google is committed to ensuring the success of Google+. It is set to become huge.
The main reason I took time out to write Google+ eXplosion was to give a non techie leg-up to aspiring authors struggling to get themselves noticed as quickly and easily as possible.
Now remaining on the subject of promoting yourself and your books each week I intend to feature three of my Twitter Followers. They will be selected at random.
This weeks authors are Serena Akeroyd, Michael K Rose and Madison Woods.
Serena Akeroyd
She describes herself as a fledgling romance writer. Serena also designs very impressive book covers. Here are a few:
Rick Sullivan is wanted for murder. Agent Frank Allen, assigned to the case, soon finds out that there is more to Sullivan-and his actions-than he ever could have imagined. As Allen pursues Sullivan across the known galaxy he begins to questions his own beliefs and loyalties. Will Allen be able to stop Rick Sullivan before he kills again?"
...a very entertaining sociological and political thriller, set in the future, with top notch, well fleshed out characters, and great action scenes."
- Steve Umstead, Author of The Evan Gabriel Trilogy
"With sharp prose, delicate and--at times--stabbing dialogue, scene setting that is on par with the best of the fiction writers of the past, Rose delivers a one-two punch to the gut that makes this reader want more and more."
- Benjamin X. Wretlind, Author of Castles: A Fictional Memoir of a Girl with Scissors
"Gritty, hardcore sci-fi with a fascinating twist, guaranteed to please!"
- C.L. Withers, Author of Castle Cape
Madison Woods
Good luck to all our featured authors.
Next Week: Does My Genre Look Overcrowded To You?
