Ever wanted to know what it’s really like to live in Glastonbury, England’s most magical, and oddest town?
Well, I can’t speak for everybody, but since accidentally starting this blog, I have spent the last four years writing about what it’s like for me. I’ve at last polished up the best of these essays and compiled them into an eBook, adding some new work that even my most loyal readers won’t have seen before.
You’ll find humorous observations and funny maps, an illustrated ABC of Glastonbury, a timeline of significant events in Glastonbury’s history, essays on social issues, some satire and a short story and a couple of pieces about Glastonbury Festival and its relationship to the Town.
Normal For Glastonbury : Life in England’s Most Magical Town is £3.99 from Amazon (you can find out more details by clicking on the cover or the link). You can buy a copy as a gift too. Presents are on my mind, as I’m launching the book on my birthday!
Glastonbury author and educator William Bloom was kind enough to write me a foreword for the book, he’s written rather a lot of books himself and has just been named as No 36 on the 2020 list of the ‘100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in the World’, so I’m really rather chuffed that he likes my writing!
Kindle books can be read on Kindle eReaders (obviously) and any other device on which you can download the Kindle App (which is free). The Kindle app is available for download on iOS, Android, Mac and PC. You can download the same book to several devices simultaneously, so you can read wherever you are.
You can read the book for FREE with a free trial of Kindle Unlimited!
If you are a subscriber to Kindle Unlimited you can read Normal For Glastonbury the eBook for free. If you aren’t yet a member of Kindle Unlimited you can sign up for a free 30 day trial by Clicking Here or on the ‘Read for £0.00’ option on the book’s listing on Amazon. You can then cancel at any time. Kindle Unlimited membership gives you a wide range of titles to read absolutely free, some even come with free narration so you can listen to them for free too! (My book does not currently come with narration).
At the end of the 30-day Kindle Unlimited trial period, membership will automatically be renewed in a paid subscription for £7.99 per month. Customers can cancel their subscription at any time from their Amazon Account by adjusting the membership settings.
Why am I telling you how to read my book for free?
1. Each page you read of my book on Kindle Unlimited earns me a tiny amount of royalties.
2. If you go to my book’s listing and sign up to Kindle Unlimited by selecting ‘Read for £0.00’ (or using this link) I earn a £3 bounty! That’s actually more than I make from selling a copy of the book, plus you get to read and listen to lots of other books.
3. I’m hoping that you’ll like the book, give it a good review, recommend it to your friends, even gift a copy or buy a paperback version when I get these printed.
3. I actually think Kindle Unlimited is pretty good. It’s not only fiction, Kindle Unlimited titles cover all different genres – you can read travel, cookbooks, self help books, even popular magazines like ‘Spirit and Destiny’ and ‘National Geographic’ . Yes, I know it’s Amazon, but I signed up out of curiosity at Christmas, planning to cancel within the month. However, I’ve actually discovered quite a few new authors and read more books than I have done in ages so I’ve kept my membership going.
4. Amazon is giving me a much bigger reach to tell people about Normal For Glastonbury and the sales of the book will help me carry on promoting the Town and it’s wonderful creative community, much of which I do for free!
Lockdown Lethargy
At the time of writing, the UK is two months into lockdown as a consequence of the Corona Virus. The lockdown is having curious psychological effects, certainly on me anyway. The main thing I’m noticing is a real difficulty concentrating. I find myself flitting around on the internet, reading endless statistics and opinion pieces. I have several eBooks on my phone and tablet, but I’d only manage to read a couple of pages before I’d lose interest, before I knew it I’d realise I was checking social media again. I got hold of a secondhand Kindle e-reader and I’ve found it helps, I put my internet devices on the other side of the room and promise myself I will read a book. I’ve managed four all the way to the end. I’m now in the middle of three, as none of them are quite holding my attention. I’d like to say they are heavyweight works of literature, but one is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
If reading is difficult, writing is nearly impossible.
Normally I’d find inspiration for new posts by going out to events in the Town, or anticipating those that were coming up. Otherwise, I’d bump into friends and readers who’d give me ideas or suggest I cover a particular subject, visitors would write in asking questions about travel to the town, or I’d interview a fascinating local character. Obviously, I have none of these sources of inspiration presently, so beyond creating posts that aim to be of some practical assistance in our present circumstances, it’s difficult to come up with anything new.
I’ve been thinking about publishing a ‘best-of’ Normal For Glastonbury collection for a while, and had a couple of unpublished things ‘waiting in the wings’ as it were to add to it. So lockdown has at least presented a good opportunity to polish up these 30 plus essays and add a couple more.
The book is only available on Amazon at the moment. Yes, I know, Amazon. However, if reading and writing are difficult, researching technical stuff, like how to format, sell and market a book on multiple platforms, is about as daunting as launching a rocket to the Moon. I realised it was a case of get it out now on the one platform that made it simple enough for me to get my head round, or spend so long in it that it quite likely never happens at all! I’m hoping that being on Amazon Kindle also means I get more readers for the blog.
Obviously I’m not getting much in the way of commissioned work in lockdown (and I’ve realised all of the projects I am involved in are dependent on people coming to the Town) so purchasing the book will help support me to carry on writing about and promoting Glastonbury. Currently I’m getting involved in efforts to work out how we can most safely open our doors again to locals and visitors as the lockdown is released.
If you enjoy the book please do consider leaving me a review. This will also help the book reach more readers. Just click this link to find out more: Normal For Glastonbury – The eBook.
Enjoy this post?
Then you’ll love my books – ‘Normal For Glastonbury: Life in England’s Most Magical Town’ (the new fully illustrated edition is now available) and my ‘Crap Views of the Tor’ Postcard Book. There’s more in my Online Shop too.
My readers support this blog to keep it independent and ad-free, so I can continue to write about and photograph Glastonbury Town and its wonderful creative community.
For more of ‘this sort of thing’ join the We Are Normal For Glastonbury membership site, for exclusive content, a comprehensive guide to making the most of your visit to the town, a personalised membership certificate and more. Membership is only £20 a year.
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Hi I have just bought your book as I am visiting Glastonbury soon. Will start reading now and hopefully finish it while I am there. Looking forward to learning about life in Glastonbury and my upcoming visit too of course 🙂 thanks
Hope you enjoy it Wendy, please write a review when you’ve finished it. Have a great visit.