Triskele Books launch their brand new boxset
A Time & A Place
Recently I have collaborated with six other authors to produce a seven-novel limited edition boxset, Outside the Box: Women Writing Women. Two months into the three months of its availability, I was keen to catch up with Triskele Books and compare notes about their new release, A Time & A Place Boxset: Boxset from Triskele Books
Your experience must have been very different to ours at Outside the Box: Women Writing Women. Triskele was already a well-established author collective. You all know each other’s work and what you bring to the table. Each of you has a different and distinct role. So my first question is why has it taken you so long to produce a boxset? And why did the time feel right now?
JJ: The boxset has been on the agenda since the inception of Triskele, but something more pressing takes priority. With a batch of projects on the go, it usually takes one of us saying ‘Right! This is going to happen!’ for something to happen. Gilly said ‘Right!’ so it happened.
How did you arrive at the title Time and Place and what would you like this to suggest to readers?
LP: When we initially founded Triskele Books in 2011, we thought Time and Place most aptly illustrated how each book evokes both a particular location and a specific time period. We also like the literal sense for readers: there’s (always) a time and a place for reading books.
– Ancient Palmyra to fight alongside a warrior queen– Modern-day Anglesey on the trail of a psychopath– WWII France to resist occupation and fall in love– Coventry – a 1980s crucible of racial tensions– Charleville and the poetic voyage of a manuscript– Post-apocalyptic Wales, surviving with a rat pack– Contemporary Zurrich, where everyone has a secret“Come on a journey.
We’ll take you to another place.And tell you a story.”
Is it intended to be a taster of what Triskele offer?
LP: Yes, definitely, to demonstrate the eclectic range of genres we offer readers, as well as the high publication standards we set for every book.
What came first – the title or the choice of novels?
LP: The title, since it’s been our logo from the beginning, and still perfectly describes the range of different books in the box-set, as well as our brand.
Save for the fact that you’re members of the same author collective, are there any common threads running through the novels in the box-set? And if not, how do you intend to market it?
LP: There are no common threads at all to the novels, and it’s this great variety of style, genre and time-period that we’ll use to market the box-set as containing “something for everyone” and as an affordable means for readers to discover new genres.
Jill and Gillian have also launched their own box-sets this year. What do you think the main appeal of box-sets are?
JJ: Individual author box-sets are a different beast. People read Book One and want something similar. One neat little package delivers the lot, satisfies the reader and engenders a certain loyalty and familiarity. Whereas the collective box-set is aimed at the adventurer; come in and discover a portal to another time and place.
Click here to Look Inside or Buy
Pricing of e-books is extremely sensitive at the moment. Like us, you settled on a price of $9.99/£7.99. How did you arrive at that figure and why?
JJ: Seven books for just over a pound each is a brilliant bargain. We’ve never been shy about saying we write high-quality fiction and charge accordingly. This set contains some of my favourite books in the world. I wanted to charge fifty quid.
Why a collective rather than a small publishing house?
JJ: We live in three countries, one of which is not in the EU. None of us wants to spend time circumnavigating legal systems, hiring lawyers and financial advisors or filing three sets of accounts (I just dozed off while writing that sentence). We’re writers, editors, publishers and surprisingly after four years, still friends. So a collective it is. We operate on trust.
You’re an all-women collective. Was that by accident or design?
LP: Completely by accident, but we’re finding it works well since we’re all from Venus, and there are no Martians aboard to pirate the efficiently-steaming SS Triskele.
JJ: We have allies and colleagues across the board. The core team functions as a tight group who happen to have a couple of chromosomes in common.
Do you have one lead person in charge, or do you all have an equal say/equal workloads?
JJ: We play to our strengths. There’s a leader on each project with a second pair of eyes. Plus we all use our natural abilities: Jane’s a designer, Gilly’s got a head for figures, Kat’s a community builder and so on.
Have you found that you have more influence/sway as a collective than individually?
JJ: Without a doubt. A diagram of how we connect with readers, writers, publishers, collectives and industry professionals would look like a beehive. With constant effort, we produce quality content and raise our profiles via events such as London Book Fair (more on this below), Chorleywood Litfest, WriteConZürich, Byte the Book, Bristol’s CrimeFest, IAF@Foyles, Writing at the Castle and so on. One of the best connections we’ve made is with other collectives.
What would success look like for you with this collection?
JJ: A steady stream of sales, a route for readers to explore beyond their usual zones, and Triskele being recognised as the stamp of a damn good read.
Plus sponsorship by Majestic Wines.
Giveaway news!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Triskele Books are the brains behind Indie Author Fair, which takes place this Friday, 17th April, at Foyles, Charing Cross Road from 4.30pm – 7.30pm. But if you can’t be there in person, you can still enter. Just click on the red link above.
a) there are a total of 40 books on offer
b) Outside The Box: Women Writing Women have contributed three fabulous digital swag bags to the prize draw. These contain an ebook by NYT bestselling author Joni Rodgers, an amazing album by the multi-talented Jessica Bell and a host of inspirational memes and other goodies that you won’t want to miss. For more chances to win, visit our website.
c) you can enter the draw for the different books by clicking on the little circles in the giveaway box
d) unless otherwise stated, paperbacks are only posted within the UK, but there are also plenty of ebooks to be won.
e) entry is not completed until one of the suggested ‘tasks’ has been done.
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One comment
Fascinating Jane. Thanks for that blog.