Viv's Mountain - Free!

Download for free at Amazon. Starts at around 8 am and ends late tomorrow.

FREE PROMOTION THIS WEEKEND

 

 

 

Saturday and Sunday, 1st and 2nd of December my ebook will be free

Please download it, pass it on to friends and family. If you enjoy it please review it and if you can

please make a donation to Shelter, it doesn't matter how little, it all helps.

 

You will be able to download for free at the weekend here:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_14?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=viv%27s+mountain&sprefix=viv%27s+mountain%2Caps%2C320

 

Thank you

 

A Relunctant Runner

I woke up rediculously early this morning, no idea why because I was exhausted. I was working by 8 but so tired, I had no intention of running at lunch time but then Madi wanted to go and as she's working most of the rest of the week I thought we probably should. I walked down the drive very reluctantly and we began to run. We did a complete circuit and didn't stop at all. For the first time in a while Madi was leading the way and she was getting further and further ahead. She finished some way ahead of me but I managed to keep her in sight. I think maybe as we begin to get fitter she will get quicker, that's youth for you!.

It was ok though, I felt a lot brighter when I got back, my head had cleared and the world seemed lighter. I was glad we had gone.

A Windy Day!

Woke up this morning to a howling wind and my first thought was 'I'm not running in this' there's only one thing worse than running in the wind and that's running in the wind and the rain!. Andrew managed to manoeuvre the running machine in front of the TV and I ran to A Place in the Sun, home or away. It worked quite well and I managed to do a total of 65 minutes. I walked for nearly 3 minutes, then I ran until 50 minutes, walked for 5 and then ran for another 10. In total I did 6.7 km - just over 4 miles. I know, you can walk faster, I don't care, it really doesn't matter. I have to build up the stamina then surely I will get a little bit quicker!.

I have just finished a couple of hours of ironing and could very easily fall asleep right now, I'm shattered. I have to make a start on the Christmas Shopping though but I'm struggling to get into it, oh, and I'm going to make a cake for Charlie, he's 21 on Tuesday - where in the world did that go?.

I am getting just a little concerned at our fund raising task too. So far we have raised around £330.00 of our £3400.00 total. I haven't even managed to sell all 50 squares of my bodyshop fundraiser and I'm going to have to draw it soon and accept only half the amount I was hoping to raise for Shelter. Since launching my new cover not a single ebook has sold. The trouble is that if you are like me every failure simply confirms what you always thought you knew about yourself and the way other people feel about you. It gets harder and harder to get out there and try because every time you do you simply endorse your worst fears. I need to get beyond the groups of people that I know, but how? how do you do that when you don't have huge funds to invest. I guess that's the question every business grapples with daily. Maybe over Christmas we'll come up with some idea's possibly away from Diss, maybe I'll have a bit more luck somewhere else, or maybe I need something really dramatic to get noticed - I could shave off my hair, walk over burning coals or throw myself off a tall building in one of those flying suits - do you think that might do it? ..... no, me neither!.

Anyway, off to do a bit of baking, this is becoming a bit of a habit!

much more me .... a new cover for my ebook

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D341689031&field-keywords=viv%27s+mountain

 

only £1.96

 

50p to Shelter, 50p to the Association for International Cancer Research from each ebook sold.

 

Please buy my ebook if you can and help support two brilliant charities - thank you

 

And another thing - #??????

I have also spent several hours trying to work out what the # key on twitter is for and if using it might actually help promote my blog and my ebook.

If anyone has any idea's or can put me out of my misery I would love to hear from you.

Technology is passing me by!

I think I am going ever so slightly mad. I have been searching for days now to find on line ways of promoting my blog in an effort to find a wider audience and hopefully sell some of my ebook's in order to raise more money for Shelter and the Association for International Cancer Research. I'm not sure if it's a 'time of the day' I'm trying to do this thing or if it's an 'age' thing or maybe it's just an 'I'm so stupid' thing but I keep hitting brick walls. If I hit the wall within a few minutes it wouldn't be such an issue but the wall's (yes, many more than just the one) come after hours and hours of trying. I have, a few hours ago - well the length of time it took Manchester City to go out of the Champion's League - ago, stumbled upon a widgety app or a gadget called NetworkedBlogs on facebook. I appear to have set it up and I'm now following 7 blogs?, I also appear to have registered this blog but there are certain things that I could do for which the widgety app/gadgety thing is asking for some permissions - well, do you think I can allow it to do whatever it wants to do? - of course I can't. Think I might have to come back to it tomorrow with a slightly fresher head, or find someone a little more qualified in these technical things who can help.

In the meantime, the book has arrived, Jane Tomlinson's The Luxury of Time, couldn't put it down last night - brilliant!

Got out at lunchtime on a very grey, damp day. The coach came with me and it was good but I was tired, I stopped 2 or 3 times but I got going again. Need to start building up the miles now. If only there was another way, I'm sure I could enjoy this marathon lark!

If you would like to buy my ebook which is the story of my first marathon, there is a link to Amazon on the right hand side of this page. It's only £1.96, Amazon take a percentage of this, of the rest, 50p will go to our charity for next years marathon, Shelter and 50p will go to the Association for International Cancer Research. If you do buy it, when you have read it, I believe you can now lend it to a friend and there are payments for each 'lend' which will go to the 2 charities.  Thank you x

Searching for Inspiration

Yesterday was, a good day. It was a beautiful, sunny Autumn day, the kind of day when I remember Malcolm and wish he could have been here to see it. I managed to get out and run for a short time, felt good once I had got out the door. An old familiar pain came along to say hello again which was .... well, familiar and a little worrying - it's too early!.

I spent the afternoon cooking along with two of my favourites, Andrea Bocelli and John Barry which meant that I ended up cooking in tears! which I guess is better than my cooking being responsible for bringing everyone else to tears, although very often it does. I'm searching at the moment to find some inspiration from somewhere, nothing is flowing, nothing is coming naturally and I'm struggling to find a way through right now. This time last year everything was new and the 'not knowing what was to come' meant it was all a bit funny but this year I know exactly what's coming and I just can't see funny anywhere.

Later on, as we sat infront  of the fire after dinner I had a brainwave, I have ordered, and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of 'The Luxury of Time' by Jane Tomlinson, if this amazing, couragous lady doesn't inspire me then there isn't a hope!

This has been playing on my mind?

I have been giving this a great deal of thought. My ebook, it's not selling quite as well as I had hoped but I think I really need to put in a little more effort to promote it. So far I have sold 8 and somewhere around 80 have been downloaded on my free promotional days.

The sales, I believe, possibly naively, will come. My concern  is this, as I've said 50 pence from the sale of each book will go to Shelter. This is our charity for next year's marathon and between us we have such a huge target so it's really necessary to fund raise for them at every opportunity. It doesn't take long to work out that to date, my ebook has raised £4.00 for Shelter - not great, but it's a start!. I have though for some time felt that the ebook began because of my brother and his short battle with cancer and because of the wonderful people at the hospice where he finally died, Shelter is quite a long way removed from what it's about. For that reason I have decided to donate another 50 pence from the sale of each book to AICR, the Association for International Cancer Research. Cancer is one thing that spans the world and I thought that as my blog has an audience from all over the world it needed to be a charity that included us all, I like the idea of us fighting this disease together and this charity funds innovative research from all around the world.

Until mid-night tonight you can download for free. At some point tomorrow morning it will be available at a new price of £1.90. Of the profit I receive from Amazon, 50 pence will go to Shelter and 50 pence to the Association for International Cancer Research for each book sold. Hopefully one day very soon it will have a new cover too!.

Viv's Mountain is the story of my first marathon experience from the day I won a ballot place, who I ran for and the reason I chose them, the hours I spent pounding the pavement and finally the marathon itself. My hope is that it will move, amuse and inspire and ultimately that it will raise a lot of money for two very special charities.

Please share this link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vivs-Mountain-ebook/dp/B009UETRQU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353183978&sr=1-1

Note to self ........... you're *..!? at fundraising!

Well, it wasn't my greatest hour!

Having arranged over 50 cupcakes in cellophane and ribbon, made a large poster, blown up a dozen balloons, fought with yards of cling-film and written and re-written price-lists to accommodate a long line of differing opinions, spent virtually our entire weekly shopping budget on raffle prizes and baking ingredients, we battled through the rain to get everything in the car and then unload it at the other end where I ran around the hall like a headless chicken for over an hour before it was time to open the doors, then ......... nothing!.

A small trickle of people came in throughout the morning and the people who came were, thankfully very generous. In all we made £168.00 which could have been worse but was in no way reward for the hours of work, the lost two days of my precious holiday, the effort and the worry that had gone into the preperation.

Worst of all I didn't get out and run today, I had two days of house cleaning, washing and ironing to catch up on before it's back to work in the morning so I just couldn't spare the time. It was a beautiful day too and would have been perfect for a run.

Difficult not to take my failure personally but I know I really shouldn't. Possibly I just don't have the personality to motivate masses of people into getting behind me. I just need to find a different way of going about this, a way that is more me.

Also, must add, I don't have a huge number of friends but the one's I do have are absolute gold dust, thank you to all of them.

Here's hoping!

Well, the baking is done and I think the end result has been a little more productive than I had thought it might be. There were only a few bits that ended up in the bin!. Just hoping some people will come along and support Shelter. If you are anywhere near Diss tomorrow please come along and say hello.

Bakeathon - Day one

Well I've been on my feet all day mixing, whisking, greasing and baking, I look like a pillsbury dough boy, I'm floured, salted, sugared and iced, the kitchen looks like a scene from a detective drama just before forensics start their work. No cutlery, saucepan or baking tray is in it's rightful place and dinner didn't happen for us tonight. The nett result of this mayhem?, a couple of trays of rocky road and 47 cupcakes.

I will commence early again tomorrow in an effort to complete my mission though supplies are running low as is my enthusiasm!

We did get out for a quick run up the road between 'batches' it was a welcome break but then I think a couple of rounds with a sumo wrestler would have been a 'welcome break' today.

Please, please buy my ebook, I really don't think I'm going to cook my way to our target!

So Looking Forward to Sunday!

Well it feels as though it's been a good day but I'm not too sure why really. Confidence levels are quite high and again ... not really too sure why. Haven't run today, no major fund raising achievements but feeling quite optomistic and hopeful about Saturday though very nervous, just hoping a few people come. This must be the first week that I am so looking forward to  getting out and running on Sunday, it will be so wonderfully simple and peaceful, I knew I would find a way to make this running business fun!.

I've just placed the order for my 'bakeathon' at the end of the week. Just hope it all goes to plan and I end up with a few moderately edible items that we can sell. Baking, well cooking in general really, isn't quite my thing!.

Viv's Mountain - The ebook

Madi and me got out today at lunch time, we didn't go far but for now just getting out is a victory, was incredibly muddy underfoot but I enjoyed it. I think I have found the key to this running - you do something else alongside it that takes up so much time, so much energy and makes you just a bit nervous, that way the running becomes a piece of cake (well for a couple of miles anyway!).

Slightly amazed, I have just looked at my stats for yesterday and I had 68 page views, I think that's the most since my marathon report. It's very encouraging when I see stats like that so I think I will take this opportunity to plug my ebook. You can buy it for kindle at Amazon, costs £2.32 which I know is a daft price but you have to put it in as dollars and then they convert it!. I'm not sure quite how much of this I will get so for now, at least 50p from each book sold will go to Shelter. I would also like, if I sell a few, to give a donation to the hospice, after all that's where and why this all started. If you want to buy my '5 star' rated book you can do so using this link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D341689031&field-keywords=viv%27s+mountain

I know, the cover isn't great, I will get onto the graphics department (Oh, that will be me then) and change it just as soon as I get a spare moment.

Coffee Mornings and Fair Weather Running

Well all seems to be going well in 'Coffee Morning World' I feel it's now coming together and there may actually be a few people in attendance and there may be the odd cake for them to purchase!.

Had a slight nightmare moment when I made my posters, I read it through, read it again and then read it once more then I put it all over facebook, several people shared it and I also put it on here. Just before I was off to bed very late last night I looked to see if anyone had commented on it - they had - my sister in law - who had pointed out that I had put Decmber and not November on the poster. There was a very mad moment when I was scrambling about trying to correct it and change it on all the places I had put it - not sure what it is but my brain just seems to switch off for short, often crucial, moments.

I have got all my recipe's ready for the 'bakeathon' at the end of the week and am about to embark on the second shop of the week, only hope I make a little more than I have actually spent otherwise I might just as well have cut out the middle man and given a donation.

I'm sure, I'm really hoping it will be fine and lots of people come along.

Oh and I managed a whole 50 minutes on the machine today, it was tipping down with rain and I have decided that until after Christmas I'm going to be a fair weather runner.

The Coffee Morning Saga!

Well I think my trek into 'Coffee Morning World' will be my last, give me a gentle little 26 mile lope any day. I've now lost my bag lady so down to just the 4 stalls and at the moment the coach is on the rota to work all day so going well then!.....

Feels a bit like trying to dig a hole in the sand with the tide coming in or plate spinning - again!.

For anyone who would like to come along here are the details:

Coffee Morning

In aid of Shelter

Saturday 10th November

10.30 to 1.30

Bodyshop

Pheonix Cards

Jewellery

Face Painting

Cake Stall

Raffle

Free Entry

Any donations of cakes or raffle prizes would be very gratefully received