The blog yesterday achieved 324 readers, not an all-time record but close. 145 people made comments or "liked" the content on Facebook. That is a record.
I feel a but chuffed at that.
I smile at myself when I think back to when I first started the blog a year ago, how I struggled to build an audience, I was for ever saying I am not of the right generation to use social media. Now my facebook is always in the top 2% for activity across the country, with days like yesterday I am secretly hoping for January it would be in the top 1% !
If only my book sales were the same not only would my publisher stop nagging me to promote the books a bit more but I would be significantly better off !
Do you recognise the lady in my lead picture ?
ENID BLYTON - writer of Noddy In Toyland, The Famous Five and The Secret Seven.
When her books were constantly at the top of the best selling lists she was despised and ridiculed bu teachers, academics and those who knew everything but understood nothing
She was accused of being sexist, racist of including characters in her stories drawn only from the middle-class. Excuse me, what is wrong with being middle-class ?
RUBBISH spoken by narrow-minded fools ! That lady achieved more for children by way of her writing than any author before or after her. Roald Dahl can not match her. J K Rowling may be a multi-millionaire but Harry Potter has not done what the Secret Seven did and he never will.
As a child I had this Secret Seven book. It did for me what Enid Blyton did for so many, many children - it INSPIRED me to write my own stories.It that inspiration to write their own stories, the inspiration Enid gave to her readers, that makes her the best childrens' writer ever.
I write now under the name of Max Robinson but used to use the pen-name of Jonathan Flie. When my first book was published - Peter's Magic Fountain Pen - I said I wanted to be like Enid Blyton and inspire, in my case teenagers, to write their own stories.
Later, when I began publishing e-books I said I wanted to be regarded as the Enid Blyton of adult fiction, I wanted to inspire people to write their own stories.
Currently, this month, my top selling e-book is The Autobiography of Billy Hardcastle. Even if it continues at its current sales pace it will fall way, way short of the readership the blog achieved yesterday.
FORGET MY BOOKS, can The Enid Blyton of Adult Writing inspire you to launch you own blog ? It's easy but not simple to do.
You have got to write on a regular basis if you want to build an audience, I write a blog every day.
Many of my readers will pick up my blog first thing in the morning before they begin their day. I must, therefore, have it published no later than six o'clock.
A blog has to be positive even when times are not good. The writer must always find something good to draw out of a bad situation.
A blog must be wide in content and tell of more than one aspect in the writer's life. There must be something in every page that writers can regognise in their own lives.
The blog must be inspirational.
I have had, since I began the blog, 22,361 readers. In December I had 4,557. You can see my blog is developing. If I can achieve that number every month in 2018 I will have a total of 50,127, I would be well pleased with that number. If I could achieve yesterday's readership every day I would hit 118,260 readers.
Can David Enid-Blyton Ashford inspire you to start writing a blog ? If today's blog inspires you to do that I would be proud to help you in any and every way I could.
Let's play some music, let's have something to inspire you this Monday morning. Something from my YouTube channel.
Yesterday I was putting together a playlist for my part on Secklow Radio's Time Tunnel next week when I report on Saturday's Roadshow. I have chosen this song for the lovely ladies from Jo's Hope. You ladies inspired me big time on Saturday.
I have had an e-mail from Amazon telling me the CD I ordered to play on Tony's Time Tunnel for Suzzana, Asda's Community Champion, will be delivered today.
Suzanna told me a few weeks ago that other supermarkets and shops were starting to copy Asda's green token community programme.
NO Suzanna they are NOT copying you, you have INSPIRED then to do what you do so well.
Freddie Mercury, by the way, appears in one of my books, a collection of short stories, in a chapter called The Great Pretender. You remember Freddie's choice of language, never a sentence without the F word included. That is just how he speaks in my book so this is not a
Freddie inspired me to write that story. If you read it you will see that Freddie is not actually dead.
If you did want to read any of my e-books you can find them listed - CLICK HERE
I want to spend a lot of my day today working on my latest book THE BRIDGE HOUSE. I want to finish the text, if I can, by the end of the month then move into the editing stage ready for publication in May.
The Bridge House has been inspired by my grandmother Lily who is the central character.
Nan, you were the matriarch of our family and an inspiration to us all. I hope you like my book.
I used to write newspaper and magazine articles, made some good money from it in actual fact. A number of my articles were gathered together in a book celebrating the developing NEW city of Milton Keynes.
I found a copy of Not The Concrete Cows, the title is meant to convey there is much more to the developing city than concrete cows, on e-bay. I got it as a gift for Secklow Radio's presenter Tony Ingeldow. Inside the cover I had autographed it all those years ago it for a member of my class. The lad had then asked all of the class to autograph the book. I am not going to say the student;s name as he is a friend on facebook and I would not want to embarrass him. I will, however, ask him here WHY DID YOU SELL IT ? Obviously it did not inspire you lol !
Yesterday Maureen and I took the dogs for a walk. We were not far from something that is included in NOT THE CONCRETE COWS. I insisted we divert our route so I could take a photograph of The Tattenhoe Oak, the oldest living thing in Milton Keynes.
As soon as I have finished writing The Bridge House I am going to write a squeal to NOT THE CONCRETE COWS, this book will be called LEGENDS OF A GREAT CITY and I will be asking my friends throughout Milton Keynes to help me write it.
The idea for the book has been inspired by Mayor David Hopkins, a man who has inspiration oozing from every pore of his body. I have arranged for him to appear on Secklow Radio two weeks today. Listen to him and I know you will be inspired.
David has given me the inspiration to write this book. I am looking now to my LEONITE friends to put the pressure on me to finish it in as short a time as possible. I want, also, to include my Leonites in writing the book. I want you to inspire me with your thoughts, your ideas and your memories of the times when you grew up in our developing new city.
NO Leonite Rachel my shoes DO NOT qualify as a Milton Keynes Legend. And by the way The Gerriatric DJ is not older than The Tattenhoe Oak !
I am bringing this blog edition to an end. While I have been writing I have been debating in my mind if I should include this or not. I have decided I will.
Leonite Dianne has nominated me in the 2018 Milton Keynes Inspirational Awards. When I found out I shed a tear and tears are pricking my eyes now. I am sure there are many far more deserving nominees than I but your loving kindness in making that nomination has inspired me so much. THANK YOU - THANK YOU.
When I appeared on Secklow Radio's My Inspiration programe presenter Frabk Scarito, himself a Leonite, asked me for my most inspirational song. I did not hesitate in saying BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER. Let me end today;s blog by playing it. I hope it inspires you as it does me.
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