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Merry Christmas, One and All!

As well as celebration, Christmas is a time for reflection and looking forward to the year ahead, and so here is my (small fanfare)

Not quite the 12 Days of Christmas. 

1 Book Award (An Unknown Woman, Writing Magazine’s Self-Published Book of the Year.)

1 book shortlisted for Book of the Year (An Unknown Woman, Book Viral)

1 new release. (My Counterfeit Self, 1 October 2016)

2 book cover awards (An Unknown Woman, designed by Andrew Candy based on a concept by Jane Davis)

An Unknown Woman final

#4 highest ranking on Amazon.

5 authors discussing historical fiction. (Chairing the historical fiction panel at Triskele Lit Fest)

25 books given away for World Book Night.

35 beta readers!

36 books read.

48 authors interviewed.

130 new 4 and 5 star reviews from happy readers. (Thank you so much if yours was among them.)

557 copies of I Stopped Time given away to newsletter subscribers.

33,000 copies of A Funeral for an Owl given away in a single day. 

 

Thank you for being part of my year. Every email, comment, download, purchase and review meant the world to me. I couldn’t do it without your support.  

A Christmas Offer

 

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I received an invitation to a Blue Christmas service at my local church last night. It is aimed at ‘those for whom, Christmas, this year, is sad and they are finding it hard to celebrate.’  An Unchoreographed Life is my Blue Christmas Novel and I have reduced the price to 99p/99p until 6 January.

‘The whole novel had a compelling honesty; I never doubted that things happened exactly as described, right to the very last word. I have discovered a new favourite author.’ ~ Jean Gill, Author and Photographer

‘Davis is a writer at the pinnacle of her craft. A damn good read and, dare I add, important.’ ~ Linda Carol

‘Beautifully written, engaging & heart-breaking. I loved every minute of it.’ ~ S M Spencer

‘The child’s character was so cleverly written that I felt I knew her.’ ~ Amazon Reviewer

‘Best book by a country mile I have read for a long time.’ ~ Sue Darnell, Reader

 

I was a reader long before I became a writer. Here’s what I’ve been reading in 2016

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  1. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
  2. Last Night in Montreal, Emily St. John Mandel
  3. Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  4. Palestinian Walks, Raja Shehadeh
  5. Human Croquet, Kate Atkinson
  6. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout (read twice)!
  7. Nora Webster, Colm Toibin
  8. The Secret River, Kate Grenville
  9. Hampstead Fever, Carol Cooper
  10. In One Person, John Irving
  11. Mulgrave of the Marshes, John Peel
  12. Cinema Lumiere, Hattie Holden Edmonds
  13. How to be Both, Ali Smith
  14. The Crimson Petal and the Rose, Michael Faber
  15. Our Endless Numbered Days, Claire Fuller
  16. Stoner, John Williams
  17. The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas
  18. The Glorious Heresies, Lisa McInerney
  19. Who’d Have Thought It? Christine Webber
  20. Haweswater, Srah Hall
  21. My Name is Lucy Barton, Elizabeth Strout
  22. The Bitter Trade, Piers Alexander
  23. Where the River Parts, Radhika Swarup
  24. Beach Music, Pat Conroy
  25. Aurelia, Alison Morton
  26.  How to Paint a Dead Man, Sarah Hall
  27. Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
  28. The Universal Theory of Everything, Adam Bethlehem
  29. Ali Smith, The Accidental
  30. Jules et Jim, Henri-Pierre Roche
  31. Flaubert’s Parrot, Julian Barnes
  32. Crow Lake, Mary Lawson
  33. The Green Road, Anne Enright
  34. Abide With Me, Elizabeth Strout
  35. That Still and Whispering Place, Kathy Shuker
  36. Haven’t decided yet!

How did I do on my targets?

23 books by women – v.g.

6 indie titles – could do better! 

Over to you

What was your favourite read of 2016?

And what are your targets for 2017?

Virtual Book Club will be back in the New Year. Meanwhile have a safe and peaceful Christmas. 

 

2 comments

  1. Hi Jane,

    Well done on all your accomplishments for 2016. It looks like you’ve had a terrific year. I’m not sure what my favourite read of 2016 is, although this was the year I discovered Val McDermid’s books and she’s now one of my top authors. I also read some first-rate non-fiction such as “Never Had it so Good” by Dominic Sandbrook. My target for 2017 is simple to say but hard to do – write more books! Wishing you all the best for Christmas and the New Year!

    Margarita.

    Comment by Margarita Morris on December 14, 2016 at 4:46 pm
  2. Well done you and I hope you have a happy Christmas not a blue one.

    Comment by Josa Young on December 15, 2016 at 8:35 am