Time for one last blog from us here at Ignite before we take our leave of 2015 and wave it a fond goodbye. As years go, this has been another exciting and successful one, although it’s fair to say it hasn’t been without its difficulties too. 2015 proved to be the year where social media – and Facebook in particular – made a series of changes to the way it worked, all of which made it far more tricky for small businesses like ourselves to keep in contact with the people who support us and buy our books. To be honest, we haven’t yet found an alternative which quite fills the gap these changes left (cue an opportunity to remind you we do send out a newsletter every couple of months, and you can sign up to that here). But we’re working on it, and we confidently expect to get something in place sooner rather than later.
Highlights of the past twelve months at Ignite Villas have been, first and foremost, the publication of Kiss & Make Up, the delightfully outrageous and candid memoirs of make-up artist to the stars, Carl Stanley. With reviews from Marc Almond, Toyah, and Lorraine Kelly (among others) this was always guaranteed to be a sizzling read. The launch party in Soho was everything you’d hope it would be, and Carl’s readings at Polari on the South Bank in London and MAC in Birmingham were evenings to remember, making Kiss & Make Up a superb addition to the Ignite roster.
In the autumn, the US edition of our best-selling City Baby – published by our friends at Bazillion Points – finally went on sale. These things always take longer than you imagine, but the adage that good things come to those who wait was never more true: with a re-designed cover, additional photos, and an explanation of some of the more impenetrable Brummie slang for punk rock fans across the pond, Bazillion Points have put their own distinctive twist on an already fantastic book. If you live in North America and want to get your hands on it, you can do that here. On top of that, as we sit writing this, we’ve all but sold out of the latest print run of the original edition of City Baby, and have literally just a handful of copies left. We don’t have hands like shovels either. This means that one of our first jobs in 2016 will be to order the fourth – yes, fourth – print run of City Baby. An amazing achievement. Our thanks to everyone who’s bought a copy, told us how much they enjoyed it, or recommended it to their friends. You rock. As, indeed, does Mr Ross Lomas.
While we’re at it, an honourable mention should also go to Steve Pottinger’s book of poems more bees bigger bonnets. Published in May, and described as ‘hard-hitting, human, and humorous’ by Attila the Stockbroker, it ended the year being mentioned in The Times Higher Education supplement as one of the two books of the year chosen by economist Richard Murphy (here’s the link) because it ‘delivers hope’. A fine accolade for any book. And one we’re particularly proud of.
And finally… we didn’t just spend the festive season knocking back the advocat, munching mince pies, and eating our own weight in sprouts. Amongst all the frenetic eating and drinking we found time to do a little work on the digital versions of some of our books. This means two things. One: we can happily announce that the kindle edition of City Baby now includes many of the photos found in the print version (it took us a while to work out how to do it) and you can buy it here. Two: there is now, for the first time ever, a kindle version of Kiss & Make Up on sale here. And very nice it is too.
***To celebrate the creation, arrival, and launch of this digital Kiss & Make Up, we will – for one week only – lower the cost of printed copies to match it. From Jan 1st to Jan 7th, a book bought via our website will cost just £6.99 inc p&p. Be sure and tell your friends!***
2016, and we’ll be hitting the ground running, because that’s what we do best. We hope the coming year brings every one of you much love, laughter, and happiness. Life is too short for anything less.
