A while ago, my blog was moved to a new location, and since then I’ve been fixing small issues here and there. Broken links, missing images, and similar problems. One of the content-related things I came across involved our little book, Thomas and Valentine. It was written together with Ana when Alex had just been born. Just a small hobby project.

For fun, I even created a small online shop for it. If I remember correctly, we actually sold one copy. Since then, however, the book has been available on my website as a free download. Yet there were still a few old posts where I’m trying to sell the book. That’s why I’m publishing this new post, with direct links to the different versions.

Thomas and Valentine. English. Paperback, ISBN 978-1-4478-1373-6	ePub	eBook	PDF
Thomas en Valentijn. Dutch. Paperback, ISBN 978-1-4478-4261-3	ePub	eBook	PDF

The end of the year is nearing, and I was suddenly surprised by the revenues of our book that I received. I will give 99.5 percent of the revenues to a good cause, an ONCE stand near my home in Las Palmas. I’ll even double the revenues and make a donation into our son’s college fund. The revenues were not so impressive though, just a mere EUR 5.02. Just enough to buy a Spanish scratchcard.

Today I suddenly received the notification about the profit made from our book, ‘Thomas and Valentine’. I was amazed because I did not realize it was still being sold, but apparently Amazon is managing to sell a few copies. The numbers are even improving… last month a total of 3 copies were sold. In the entire year almost 10 copies were sold!

Publishing a children’s book is one thing. Nowadays with all the help you find online, anyone who does a little bit of research can do it. The problem is to generate awareness. This is where I have not succeeded. The past ten days, the digital version of our book could be downloaded for free, which resulted in a grand total of one download.

Apparently I need to make people more aware. Maybe experiment with a promotion. Google Adwords regularly sends me offers of 75 euros for a marketing campaign and who knows, maybe that will have an effect. I will have to give it a try when I feel our book is perfect.

Our new book is also available in an electronic format and because we are celebrating we offer a 100% discount until the 4th of September if you get the book in the webshop. The only thing you need to do is use the coupon code ‘ALEX’ when you complete your order, and you will get the 100% discount.

The available e-books are ‘Thomas and Valentine’, the Engels version and there is a Dutch version, ‘Thomas en Valentijn’. All versions are available in ePub, eBook and PDF format.

978-1-4478-1373-6
978-1-4478-1835-9

A seasoned book freak will probably recognize the numbers above. They are ISBN numbers. These numbers however are not just regular ISBN numbers, they are my ISBN numbers. Who would have ever thought. I have become an author! Just send the tickets for the book ball to me.

Ana and I have written a children’s story and today is the first day you can buy the book. On the website of Lulu you can find the paperback version of the book (ISBN: 978-1-4478-1373-6) which can be purchased for only €8 plus shipping and handling.

Dutch: Thomas en Valentijn
English: Thomas and Valentine

There are also digital versions available for only €3.50. Especially for your Kindle, Nook, eReader, PC, laptop, tablet, etc. These can be found in my own online store in Dutch or English. For owners of an iPhone or iPad there is an English version available in the iBookstore (ISBN: 978-1-4478-1835-9).

With this book you come into possession of the heartwarming story about Thomas, a brave young farmer who builds a friendship with a strange unknown animal. … But his wife has other plans.

A story about loss, intrigue, love, despair and happiness. A new classic for you to read to your children which they will want to hear again and again. An elegant, traditional story that will make you wonder why it has not been written before.