Saturday 9 February 2013

Vickie Johnstone Author Spotlight


Hi! I live in London, UK, and I’ve loved stories since I was little. When I didn’t have my nose in a book, I was daydreaming. I was the type of kid who walked into lampposts, saw monsters in the curtains at night and imagined I could talk to my pets! The earliest story I remember writing was at Primary School. We were reading The Adventures of Miss Pepperpot and the homework was to write your own version. So I did, starring all the kids in class. The teacher read it out and my classmates laughed, and I realised that entertaining people with stories was fun. 

Growing up, I became distracted by other things, although I still read a lot and wrote poems. Then in my 30s, in 2002, I was made redundant and suddenly had a lot of spare time. I found a poem I’d written about my cat, Kiwi, who died in 2000, and I started imagining a story about felines – a whole bunch of them living in a place called Cat City. Of course, the heroine was my Kiwi. I went to bed thinking about it. Inspired, I started writing. A few weeks later, I finished it. It was my first proper book. 

I loved writing the book and felt so happy when I finished. Unfortunately, I sent it to one publisher who rejected it. I gave up and Kiwi in Cat City sat in various drawers, unread... until my boyfriend read about Amazon KDP in January 2011. Out popped my book, and off it purred on to Smashwords and Amazon. I also trailed through my poetry books and compiled a collection. 

I think of March 2011 as the time I started thinking about writing seriously. I made time for it and I met many authors who inspired me. I’ve written 10 books since then and I love it. I hope I never run out of steam again. I think it’s the best time to be an indie. 

Besides writing, I love watching films, rock music and dancing to it like an eejit, walking in forests, being by the sea, hanging out with friends, nature, animals, Milky Bar, Baileys and sleeping! I work as a freelance sub editor (magazines) and editor (self-published books).


Vickie has self-published the following books: 

Kaleidoscope (poetry); Travelling Light (poetry); Life’s Rhythms (haiku); 3 Heads and a Tail (comedy romance); Kiwi in Cat City (magical cat series for middle grade readers); Kiwi and the Missing Magic; Kiwi and the Living Nightmare; Kiwi and the Serpent of the Isle; Kiwi in the Realm of Ra; Kiwi’s Christmas Tail; Day of the Living Pizza (comedy detective series for middle grade readers), and Day of the Pesky Shadow. The Kiwi Series has illustrations by Nikki McBroom. 

Author links: 

Blog 
Kiwi in Cat City


Kiwi in Cat City is the first in a series about a magical, black cat who takes her two human friends, Amy and James, on adventures to Cat City and other places inhabited by animals. To do this, she changes them into kittens. It is suitable for kids aged 9 up, teens and adults. 

One dark night, Amy cannot sleep and she looks out of the window into the garden to see her cat, Kiwi, transfixed by the moon, which is glowing brightly like a cat's claw. Waking her brother, James, Amy suggests they follow Kiwi to see where she goes... whether it involves a hunt for mice or something else. Little do they know that, with a flick of her tail, Kiwi is going to magically change them into kittens and lead them on the adventure of their lives to a land they never knew existed in their wildest dreams. In the blue-lit world of Cat City, the budding detectives help Inspector Furrball to solve the mystery of the missing catizens and find out what happened to Madame Purrfect. 

There are five more books so far: Kiwi and the Missing Magic; Kiwi and the Living Nightmare; Kiwi and the Serpent of the Isle; Kiwi in the Realm of Ra; and Kiwi’s Christmas Tail. The series is illustrated by Nikki McBroom. 

My other books are: Kaleidoscope (poetry); Travelling Light (poetry); Life’s Rhythms (haiku); 3 Heads and a Tail (comedy romance); Day of the Living Pizza (comedy detective series for middle grade readers), and Day of the Pesky Shadow. 

Kiwi in Cat City buy links: 

Ebook price: $99/77p 
Paperback price: $7.50/£4.86 

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for hosting Vickie today, Kate.

    I hope your readers enjoy the spotlight. I can fuly recommend 3 Heads & a Tail (one of the coolest dogs ever in Glen) and the magic that is Kiwi in Cat City.

    Thank you so much for your incredible support and commitment to us both with this tour.

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  2. Thanks Dave!! Much appreciated. And thank you Kate for hosting us on the tour and for your huge support of indies :))) Have a lovely day! :)

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