Hands In The Dirt - Notes From a Vegetable Garden: From March 2025 (Extract)

A few early Spring entries from my 2025 gardening journal, Hands In The Dirt — Notes From a Vegetable Garden. Now available on Amazon.

Monday, 10th March 2025

My Garden Food Bank

I’ve had this self-sufficiency garden dream since watching the BBC comedy, The Good Life back in the 1970s. The idea of growing my own food, being self-sufficient, and saving money appealed. Now, I have a chance to do it.

Once summer arrives, the garden will be my own personal food bank. Here in England, with the cost of living rising, food inflation high, everything more expensive every year, there’s a simple pleasure in being able to grow some of my own food.

Seeing the price of fruit and vegetables in the supermarket makes me appreciate it even more. For the cost of a few pence in seeds, the garden will supply most of what I need for several months. And while it’s mostly vegetables that I grow, that’s still a big help.

Fruit, on the other hand, I find not so easy to grow. It often requires higher temperatures, and British summers aren’t always reliable. I’ve had some luck with strawberries, and I’m fortunate to live close to where wild blackberries grow. Very close, actually. At the bottom of my garden, a neighbour’s large blackberry bush spills over the fence, so all I need to do is pick.

Then there is a country park near where I live. Everywhere you look, there are blackberry bushes. For a couple of months in late summer, there are more than enough berries to go around. The best part is, they’re free.

It’s as simple as going for a walk and picking blackberries!

Tip of the Day: Use the garden (or part of it) to grow your own food and save money!

Tuesday, 11th March 2025

The Raised Beds

This year, I’ve been working on building three new raised beds in the garden. They’re fairly big (twelve by four feet, approximately), and I’ve been sketching out plans to split them, one half into a large section, and the other half into four smaller plots.

This plan might change, though, since some crops, like potatoes, will need more room. They do tend to need more space.

When it comes to the garden, I try to recycle where I can. The wood for the sides of the beds came from an old fence that was falling apart. It has seen better days, but the planks are perfect for giving the beds shape and structure.

Tip of the day: Don’t forget to rotate crops in the garden. Recycle wherever possible.

Thursday, 13th March 2025

No-Dig Gardening

Self-Publishing: Amazon's Dominance in the Book Market - What it Means for Self-Published Authors

 

 

When Amazon first launched in 1995, it described itself as “the world’s biggest bookshop”. In 2026, that description is not far from the truth. The company has grown into the most dominant player in the global book market.

It has totally changed the way that books are published, discovered, and sold.

For authors, especially those like myself who self-publish, Amazon created an unprecedented opportunity. Today, the unknown writer can see their work published alongside best-selling, big-name authors. And if your book sells, it can be life-changing, like winning the lottery.

However, while Amazon makes the process of submitting a book for publication a relatively straightforward process, it has also introduced new challenges in what has become an increasingly crowded marketplace.

The Numbers That Powered Amazon’s Book Market Dominance

The scale of Amazon’s presence in the book world is remarkable. Today, the company takes approximately 37–38% of global book sales revenue (SmartBuy). It is the largest bookseller in the world by a wide margin.

The dominance of Amazon is even bigger online. Across the world, the majority of readers buy books through Amazon. It has become the online go-to place for those looking to buy a book. In the UK, around 68% of book buyers report purchasing from Amazon in the past year (Statistica).

The platform also dominates the digital reading market:

• They sell around 487 million Kindle e-books annually (Marketing Scoop).
• Kindle takes about 67–68% of the e-book market. That number increases when subscription services like Kindle Unlimited are included (About E-Books).
• Amazon lists more than 32 million titles online (The Small Business Blog).

When it comes to self-publishing, Amazon is the first place many writers will go to. Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) dominates the self-publishing sector. Estimates suggest it controls over 80% of the self-publishing market (Gitnux).

Around 31% of all e-books sold on Amazon are self-published (Marketing Scoop).

The Opportunities for Self-Published Authors

In the past, writers had to persuade a traditional publisher to take them on. This can be a difficult and lengthy process. It is also one where you have to have a “thick skin”, as rejection is the norm. It can take years to be accepted, and even then, it might never happen.

The truth is, you not only need to be an excellent writer but also get lucky. Traditional publishers can be, and are, picky. For them, it is an investment, and they don’t always get it right. Many a bestseller was rejected by a traditional publisher before finally being accepted.

I chose to go the self-publishing route for one reason alone — my age. To put it simply, I don’t have the time left in my life to go chasing the rainbow of a publishing contract. I’m not against the idea; I would love to be offered one! There are obvious advantages to it, but I couldn’t wait.

Self-Publishing: Amazon's New Update for Kindle Users: From January 2026, Readers Can Download DRM-free Kindle books

 

In January of this year, Amazon made an important change to how books could be downloaded from their online platform. It's now possible to download EPUB and PDF versions of selected DRM-free Kindle books.

What’s New?

If you purchase a qualifying title where the publisher has opted out of Digital Rights Management (DRM), you will now be able to download an EPUB or PDF directly from your Amazon account. This means that Amazon is providing an official way to download Kindle content outside its usual platform.

Details to Consider

• DRM-Free Titles Only: This feature will only apply to books where the publisher has chosen to forego DRM. It’s likely that the vast majority of Kindle books still come with DRM, so many users won’t see a change.
• Self-Published Works: Most of the books eligible for these downloads are self-published titles from authors who prefer to leave their work DRM-free. For these authors, their readers now have an unrestricted EPUB or PDF version option. This can be used via the Manage Your Content and Devices page.
• Authors Have to Confirm: If an author published a book before December 9, 2025, they must confirm that they want their book available as an unrestricted download. There is now an option for the author to allow EPUB or PDF downloads.

What This Means for Self-Published Indie Authors and Readers

Now Available on Amazon: Hands In The Dirt - Notes From a Vegetable Garden - How To Grow Your Own Food

 Hands In The Dirt — Notes From A Vegetable Garden, publication date, 2026.

Gardening and growing food, like writing, is a passion of mine, so I put the two together. I turned my gardening journal, the notes I made as the 2025 growing season progressed, into a book.

Hands In The Dirt — Notes From a Vegetable Garden, is the end result.

For those who enjoy gardening and growing their own food, Hands In The Dirt offers insights and practical tips that can enhance your gardening journey and help produce a fruitful harvest.

Here’s the introduction.

Hands In The Dirt is about a vegetable garden, but it is about more than just growing food. It plots my progress through the gardening year, 2025. The planning stage, the Great British weather, learning from mistakes, and slowly building confidence in what the garden can provide.

I Don't Have An Amazon Kindle - Can I Still Read Kindle E-Books? (Yes, You Can!)

You don’t need an Amazon Kindle device to enjoy Kindle books. Learn how to read Kindle e-books on your phone, tablet, computer, or web browser — all completely free and easy to set up.

No Kindle? No Problem!

Actually, I do have an Amazon Kindle — a very old one which once belonged to my mother. After she passed away, it was given to me in a box of old technology. I recall it was full of old mobile phones, calculators, various other devices, and a Kindle. I just thought it was a tablet, until I saw the name.

Once I figured out how to turn it on, I noticed that she had an extensive collection of mostly crime fiction books. She liked a good detective story. I did read a few chapters of my own book on the Kindle!

Having written a book, an e-book that is available on Amazon (The picture, top right of page), I sometimes get asked.“But I don’t even own a Kindle… How do I read it?”

It was a good question, one that, at the time, I didn’t have an answer to.

So, I looked it up.

The good news? I discovered that you don’t actually need a Kindle device to read Kindle e-books.

Amazon has made it easy to access Kindle books from almost any device — smartphone, tablet, laptop, or even straight from your web browser. These are the main alternative to Kindle device options.

1. Use the Free Kindle App on Any Device

Surprise, surprise, there is an app for it. The easiest way to read Kindle books without a Kindle is to download the free Kindle app. It’s available for iPhone and iPad (App Store), Android phones and tablets (Google Play) and Windows PCs and Macs.

Once installed, sign in with your Amazon account, and your Kindle library, showing the books you have bought or downloaded for free, will then appear.

2. Try Kindle Cloud Reader — Read in Your Browser

Son of My Father - A Story in Twenty Chapter Headings

The memories of a sixties’ child. Everyone has a story to tell. Here’s mine in twenty chapter headings.

Chapter One — Just a Small Funeral.

Chapter Two — The Mysterious Cyprus Album.

Chapter Three — Mam and Dad.

Chapter Four — Life at Number Thirteen.

Chapter Five — Tina.

Chapter Six — Little School.

Chapter Seven — The Little Old Lady Next Door.

Chapter Eight — The Divorce.

Chapter Nine — Son of My Father.

Chapter Ten — Big School.

Chapter Eleven — Related to a Film Star?

Chapter Twelve — The Family From Hell.

Chapter Thirteen — The Girl With Beautiful Eyes.

Chapter Fourteen — A Face From The Past.

Chapter Fifteen — Holidays In The Sun.

Chapter Sixteen — The End of Big School.

Chapter Seventeen — Making Plans For…

Chapter Eighteen — Exit Door.

Chapter Nineteen — Whatever Happened To…

Chapter Twenty — Frank.

Available on Amazon as an e-book, or if you are a member, it is “free” to read on Kindle Unlimited.

The link: Son of My Father

 

 

A New Look For the Blog.

So, yesterday I decided to change the look of the blog layout and theme, and I think it now looks better. It has a cleaner look to it, no background picture. 

I also simplified the Son of My Father page, along the lines of chapter headings telling the story of what the book is about.

Here's a sample.

Chapter Nine — Son of My Father.

Chapter Ten — Big School.

Chapter Eleven — Related to a Film Star?

Chapter Twelve — The Family From Hell.

Chapter Thirteen — The Girl With Beautiful Eyes.

I also managed to write 2300 or so words yesterday of my new WIP (Really getting with it now, it does mean Work in Progress, doesn't it? Doesn't it?). 

I'm sure that one day I will be a real writer.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas - Day Three: The Author With A Billion Kindle Unlimited Reads and 9.5 Million Books Sold

Just to say right at the start of this Christmas post, the billion reads on Kindle Unlimited does not refer to my book. I wish! No, it refers to a tweet I came across on Twitter X yesterday (I'm still going to call it a tweet regardless of what Elon says). 

Here's the tweet.

That is over one billion reads, which is remarkable. Even at a fraction of a penny that Amazon pay per page, that has to be a decent return.