October Author of the Month, Peter Perry, offers unique advice for new authors, as well as a FREE COPY of his new book.
What do you know about pure evil, the kind that makes you fear for you life? Peter Perry can tell you all about it. He lived in London, Ontario, during the killing spree of one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers, the Bedroom Strangler. It was a terrifying time there between 1974 and 1978. Russell Maurice Johnson, a.k.a. the Bedroom Strangler, was scaling apartment buildings, sometimes up to fifteen floors, and sneaking into women’s rooms at night to assault them and take their lives.
This is truly what nightmares are made of, and Peter Perry was there for it all. Peter and Johnson would lift weights together at Vic Tanny’s Health Club, a place where, unbeknownst to Peter, Russell selected most of his victims. Co-authored with Geoff Hart and Kathleen Sumpton, ORIGEN: A True Story of Evil, takes us through the rise and fall of one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers, told by someone who was closest to him.
We caught up with Peter to find out how things are going with his book since it launched earlier this year, and he had lots to share with us! Among other unique marketing activities, Peter and Geoff are in the process of pitching the screenplay of Origen to Netflix and Amazon. We wish them the best of luck!
You can get a free copy of Origen between October 27 and November 17!
That’s right, everyone, Peter has teamed up with other talented true crime and thriller authors to offer a round-up of some of the best new terrifying reads. Starting October 27, you can download a free e-book copy of Origen. Not just a free chapter, the whole book! Justclick here and select the book cover for Origen to download your copy. You have until November 17!
Peter Perry, author of Origen: A True Story of Evil
Author of Immigration, Race and Survival Cecily Alexander was featured in The Caribbean Camera!
This memoir is a collection of many journals she has kept over the years. She uses journalling as a way of working through feelings and emotions and of learning from her experiences. She has had a career as a dietitian for over forty years. Her career has included academic writing, and she has one previous book publication: a book on nutrition and weight loss called “Just Eat Less: Easier said than done.” She has a master’s in business administration specializing in organizational behaviour in addition to her nutrition degree from the University of Guelph. She has taught at both the university and college levels. She lives in Southern Ontario.
🖤 Find the cover of Country Hearts & Willow’s Ridge 🖤 Select your choice of digital review copy 🖤 BookFunnel will send you your free download right after!
Tellwell book-cover designer Benjam Mosquera has been a valued member of the Tellwell team since 2018. He has ten years of book-design experience and is passionate about creating covers that draw people in at first glance. Read on to learn Benjam’s favourite book cover-design trends and hear his advice to authors working with book designers for the first time.
What inspired you to become a book-cover designer?
I began my book-design career working as an interior book designer. I was really inspired seeing beautifully created cover designs by my teammates, in bookstores and online. It led me to learn how to artfully create book covers. I have been enjoying creating book covers for a decade now.
Where do you draw creative inspiration from?
I am often inspired by film posters. I’ll search for the designer’s name and look through their work for more inspiration.
What advice do you have for authors working with a book designer?
Clear instruction is really key. If an author has a specific vision for their book, then it’s important for the author to relay detailed instructions for the cover designer. That allows the designer to more easily visually interpret the instructions.
We are also creative individuals who love taking a concept and running with it. So if authors don’t have a clear vision for their book cover, that’s OK. That’s why we are here, to put in our professional touch and create magic. Showing covers that you love and want to emulate also go a long way.
Fall has officially arrived, and with it our excitement for Halloween! In honour of the spooktacular holiday, the Tellwell team pulled together our top spine-chilling, hair-raising reads for October! 🎃
From horror books with demons and plagues to psychological thrillers with a thirst for revenge, we think you’ll love these eerie excerpts below. 👻
The Plague by Ryan L. Canning
She turned and ran. There was no end in sight. The bodies, the tents, the smell, they went on for miles.
The apartment filled with sounds from another world. Screaming, shouting, music with an unearthly twisted tune played out of the walls. A chorus of suffering, a background of nightmares and fears. It was angry, insulted and outraged.
Poppy Seeds on a Grave: A Collection of Short Stories by Mirko Markovic
Every ounce of blood in this man’s body drained from his skin and he froze in time, a statue paralyzed by the shock of what he had just seen.
– Mirko Markovic, Poppy Seeds on a Grave: A Collection of Short Stories
Get your copy of Poppy Seeds on a Grave: A Collection of Short Storieson Amazon.
The Book of Nodd: The Dreamwalker by B.S. Thompson
Suddenly he heard a snap and an electric bolt of pain shot down his arm, but the cottage did not stop rocking, and it would not be much longer before it collapsed on him completely.
– B.S. Thompson, The Book of Nodd: The Dreamwalker
Get your copy of The Book of Nodd: The Dreamwalker on Amazon.
Chains by M Todd
Before him, strewn about throughout the cavern from ceiling to floor, placed within the bluish rocks, were hundreds, or thousands, of human bodies. Men and women, their faces contorted in masks of horror and pain, frozen like macabre cadavers in a monster’s freezer.
Without thinking, I knew what I had to do. I tugged my sister out from behind me and moved her around me until we had switched places, me behind her with my hands on her shoulders. “Take her,” I said, and gave her shoulders a little shove forward.
Squinting, he focused with laser-like intensity to see what he could of the corpse below. He marvelled at the kaleidoscope of colours and textures the mangled body had created all over the urban canvas.
Was my mom a criminal? Did she know something or do something that helped ruin this man’s life? Did Mathis know? Was it even true? There was too much to think about all at once.
Blood and Silver won its second major award this year, taking home top honors for the Young Adult category at the 2021 New York Book Festival! Vali Benson previously won first place in two categories at the San Francisco Book Festival in the same year.
Carole Aldred’s I Call My Grandma Gigi, a book about celebrating the special relationship between grandmothers and grandchildren, received the Canada Book Award.
It’s hard to know if you’re “doing” social media right. I mean, yes, you post unique content, you respond to comments, and you regularly engage with other accounts in your niche by liking their posts or leaving comments in relevant threads. But is it working?? By working, we’re referring to people liking your posts, following your page, clicking your links and/or visiting your website.
To know if you really are using social media to benefit your brand as an author, you can track your success using your social media insights. That is, if you’ve signed up for a professional profile like the Facebook Business Page or Instagram Creator Account, which offer you tons of added benefits for building your brand. Once you’ve created your Facebook Page or Instagram Creator Account, experiment with posting for a couple weeks and then venture into the world of your social media insights.
Find your Insights on Facebook:
And on Instagram:
Alright, now take a look at three key ways to measure your success on social media using your social media insights!
Follower Count
Having a high follower count makes a good first impression, but if it isn’t growing week-over-week you need to change up your strategy. A steady increase in followers means your account is reaching more people organically as well as getting new people’s attention.
If your follower growth rate is only increasing by 1% a month, re-evaluate your content strategy.
Content Interactions
Tracking your content interactions, i.e. how many likes, comments or saves your post and stories get is important. It lets you monitor just how interested your audience is in the content you are creating.
Your social media analytics will show your overall interactions as well as the interactions for each post.
Here’s what industry standards tell us:
Less than 1% = low engagement rate
Between 1% and 3.5% = average/good engagement rate
Between 3.5% and 6% = high engagement rate
Above 6% = very high engagement rate
How can you get from 1% to 3.5% or higher? We share a few tips for updating your social media content strategy below.
Advice from Doug Allan, Tellwell’s September author of the month and author of A Fighting Chance: The High School Finance Education Everyone Deserves
Doug Allan, accountant and author of A Fighting Chance: The High School Finance Education Everyone Deserves
Vancouver-based author and accountant Doug Allan believes financial literacy is fundamental to success and should be part of our high school education system. To help parents fill that educational gap, he wrote A Fighting Chance: The High School Finance Education Everyone Deserves. Allan’s book was released in early 2021, selling hundreds of copies, and earning thousands in book royalties.
He has had some notable moments which includes appearing in The Globe and Mail, CTV News, The North Shore News and the MapleMoney podcast. He was also asked to speak at various high schools in his region on money topics he covers in his book.
The Tellwell author highlights a special moment chatting with David Chilton of The Wealthy Barber. Read more to learn the key steps Allan took to ensure his book’s success.
What inspired you to write Fighting Chance?
As a CPA, CA and a parent of two young children, financial education is near and dear to me. Over my career in finance, I have accumulated an immense amount of knowledge which I have, in turn, applied to my personal finances. Without the benefit of a financial education, most people do not have the opportunity to properly learn how to manage their money. The unfair advantage I have gained, as it relates to managing my personal finances, over those without formal financial education and experience inspired me to write down my knowledge as the book I wished I was given as a teenager.
What do you hope readers will get out of it?
I am hopeful that readers can learn one or two things within the pages of the book that gets them excited about their finances and the opportunities which are out there. I don’t expect everyone to finish the book and instantly be a financial expert, but if certain foundational lessons like the time value of money can be absorbed, readers will be much better prepared to manage their money. After reading my book, it is my hope that readers will advance to more complex financial topics and continue to learn.
In your book, you state that governments and school boards are failing our children by setting them up for financial failure once they enter the workforce. What steps would you like to see schools take to better educate youth about making and managing money?
So you made the decision to create an author website – FANTASTIC! A website functions as a modern online business card, and not having one can impact credibility. You will use your website to share information and news about your book, let people know where they can buy it, and offer other ways of connecting with you by including your social media links. Ultimately, your website is the foundational building blocks of your brand! But, what should you be doing with it and how can you help get traffic (views) to the site?
Unless you are creating regular content in the form of a blog, uploading new resources, or doing something unique on your site, it can be hard to drive people to visit your author website frequently or at all. So what should you be doing?
Here are 4 key elements to follow to get the most out of your author website:
As we enter into the digital age, the key to success seems to be developing a strong online presence. By connecting with your audiences online, you have the potential to reach hundreds, even thousands, of potential readers with the click of a finger.
Picture this: you’ve just started your author Instagram profile! You’ve set up your Creator profile, you’re sharing fun and engaging content about your book, and you’re using a variety of hashtags to reach as many people as possible (#bookstagram and #indieauthor being some favourite of ours!). Suddenly, your direct messages are flooded with reviewers; all of them telling you how much they would love to read your book and how they can help you gain followers and awareness through their promoting – all for just one simple fee. But, who is a reviewer, and who is a “reviewer”? Who will actually deliver, and who is really just looking for an easy scam?
