What is From Goats Gruff to Glory?

‘From Goats Gruff to Glory’ is one of the funniest books to appear in 2013.  (Click the link to find it on Amazon.com).  It appeals equally to adults and children and is already being hailed as the next big thing in literature. A sequel to the traditional Troll and Goats tale that conjures up a saga making ‘Harry Potter’ pedestrian and has been described as a turbo-charged version of ‘Lord of the Rings’ and the worthy successor to ‘Beowulf’.

This is a quote from the 'New York Times' or was it 'Time' Magazine? (Or perhaps it was me?).  Anyway, so far there are THREE five star reviews plus TWO four star reviews on Amazon.com.

Find out how lazy, stinky Eric the Troll is discovered by a female troll more formidable than the Iron Lady herself, is forced into marriage, uprooted from his bridge, and transformed into a successful citizen and a local hero.

This is the latest cover

This is the original Cover thrown together by  Rik

Here you’ll discover an exotic world full of strange characters from Boris the Spider with a head for PR and copyrighting to ‘Cheesy‘ Spread, a chimpanzee with a whole raft of dodgy business enterprises including a media empire that aspires to rival News International. And don’t forget Roger a young goat with a personal fortune built on a goat sponsorship scam, and you have a book you just can’t put down.

The seeds of this book began when my own children demanded spontaneous bedtime stories. If you have children or care for other people’s and you dare to tell them stories, then you quickly learn what works and what doesn’t.

Children are surprisingly creative and quickly build their own narratives but rely on the adult story teller to be the custodian of their imaginings.

“Tell us about the Magic Time Trousers or Eric the Troll,” they scream at you when you try to say goodnight and tuck them in.

They adore stories that are linked to their own popular culture. They love hearing about other children who are in dysfunctional families, go to school, have parties or go on holiday. If those children happen to be animals or live on a different planet, it doesn’t matter a bit as long as the listeners can identify with the experiences of the characters.

The first few lines of the second book

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

Boris the spider squatted contentedly, peacefully dozing in his huge web, over the stove in the kitchen of Eric and Erica’s home Shangri-La.  Little did he know that within months his whole world would come crashing around him and he would find himself no longer welcome at the Windyweather's home.  The dark clouds were gathering and Eric, Erica and Cheesy Spread were right in the path of the approaching storm. 

So what am I doing at present? (when not doing my day job!).  

1. Working on this website.
2. Putting together my FREE download with lots of stuff relating to both books.  As soon as I have completed it I'll post a link on this site.
3. Mounting a twitter campaign for the book and this site.
4. Putting a link in book 1 to this site and the free download.
5. Working to finish book 2 and get it published.

Here to finish is an extract from Boris the Spider's profile:

Boris began life as an egg left in a crack in a rock at the foot of the Windgybingy mountains in Wangatanga.  Most of his siblings were eaten by birds but Boris was too deeply buried in the crack to be devoured.  When Boris emerged into sunlight there was little competition for food so Boris quickly built a web and caught his first meal.  Boris found life as a spider solitary and dull.  He found to his cost that seeking out other spiders for a chat was not welcomed and he narrowly escaped death when he reached out the hand of friendship to a particularly aggressive neighbour.  Boris was very smart and found building webs and catching food easy so he spent the first part of his life doing a lot of thinking.  Life improved for Boris when he was able to find occupied buildings to move into.  Boris taught himself the basics of business and marketing by simply observing the mistakes of others from his vantage point on the ceiling.

What Next in the World of 'Eric the Troll's Incredible Journey?'

I've begun to write a sequel to From Goats Gruff to Glory with a working title of From Ruin to Renaissance.  Hopefully I'll come up with something much better before I publish it!

I have 3 chapters written and intend to offer at least 2 chapters, plus character back stories and other background information as a free download for those who buy the first book.  What with the current price of book 1 being 99c (75p), free days on Amazon and free downloads I'm giving it all away!

I have some interesting marketing plans for Goats Gruff but it is tricky marketing a book and finding time to write another at the same time.  I also intend to share here any FREE book marketing ideas that work for me.  As I'm giving everything away a key criteria for anything I do marketing-wise is it must cost nothing!

I've already introduced some interesting new characters in book two.  There is Chrissie, like Eric, a lowland troll who hails from Australia and used to run a nail bar in Sydney.  Chrissie is very 'rock and roll' and 'in your face' and is currently lodging with a room full of Kangaroos in Wangatanga - her 'roo-mates'.  Chrissie scares the living daylights out of Eric but they both enjoy hanging out in the Swamp Bar.   Eric hopes Erica will never meet Chrissie.  But Erica has other ideas.

There is also Elizabeth the Elephant's Child who is highly critical of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories and many other famous children's books.  Stand by for a darker story with betrayal, disaster and a Bond-like villain!