cost of living

Over the past few months we’ve watched energy bills, petrol prices, and food costs rising dramatically. It’s affecting everybody. Last week, our blundering idiot of a prime minister responded to the story of a pensioner riding buses all day to keep warm by trying to claim credit for bringing in free bus passes (spoiler alert: he didn’t) which is par for the course from a man who would struggle to run a bath, let alone a country.

We’re in the business of selling books. Of publishing great stories we hope people will enjoy. And over the past several years, you have, in your hundreds. But when you’re facing a cost of living crisis, shelling out money on books may end up being a luxury you decide to cut back on. We love books, but even we’d have to admit that we’d prioritise food and heating over shopping for new ones.

Here at Ignite Villas we’ve puzzled over how to make our books more affordable for people. Firstly, a reminder that most of our titles are available on Kindle, or as digital downloads on platforms like Smashwords, and that either of these options are considerably cheaper than a physical book. Secondly, check whether your local library has our books in stock or is willing to order copies in – yes, we know library services face their own budgetary challenges, but it’s worth a shot – so you can read But after the gig… or City Baby or any of our other titles for free.

Thirdly, we’ve taken the decision that from now till mid-summer (June 21st) we will meet the costs of postage for our customers in the UK. This means someone in Dundee buying a copy of Dogged will now pay £10 rather than £13. A copy of thirty-one small acts… sent to Prestatyn will be £7.50 rather than £10. Our hope is that this will make it a little easier for folk to treat themselves to some top-notch writing at a time when we all need it.

We’re sorry that we can’t extend this offer to shoppers from outside the UK. The cost of doing so would be prohibitive. And post-Brexit customs charges have made shipping books into Europe pretty untenable anyway (thanks for nothing, Little Englanders). If you don’t live on this tiny island with an inflated belief in its own importance, but you’d like one of our books, email us at ignitebooks@gmail.com and we’ll see if we can shave a few quid off the cost of buying one.

Because every little helps, as our PM famously never said.