Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase has launched!

Well, I've been a published author for almost a fortnight. The launch party was on Friday 28 February and here are a few pics from the night...

Doing my little thank you speech

The beautiful display table, minus a few copies sold on the night

Chatting to family/friends/guests

Signing!

Still signing... the best part of the evening, once my speech was over :)

Our hosts for the evening were the lovely staff at The Old Hall Bookshop in Brackley, Northamptonshire. I used to work there and it provided the inspiration for my fictional Old and New Bookshop in the novel. 

It feels great to be a published author and I get a thrill each time I spot my book in a shop. Here are a few more pics!...

Foyles, Charing Cross Road

Waterstones, Piccadilly

Daunts, Marylebone High Street

This whole blog post feels like a great big mum-boast, so I'll shut up now. If you're a writer seeking publication, don't ever give up, it really is worth all the perseverance to see your darling out there in the big wide world. There's nothing quite like it.

And the winner is...

I had 28 entries, thank you all so much for entering.

I put the names in a hat...

...mixed them up and got my husband to pull out a name...

... and this is the winner

Jenny Ashcroft

Congratulations Jenny, please DM me on Twitter or on my writer's Facebook page to give me your address and I will send Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase off to you post haste

xx

The eagle has landed... and a giveaway

My finished copies of Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase arrived this week. They look so beautiful and I am really enjoying signing them and sending them to various friends and family members.

The author with a hardback, a trade paperback and a silly grin, sorry, couldn't help myself :)

One of  the two boxes delivered on Wednesday

I thought I'd do a giveaway. If you would like to win a first-edition, signed, hard back copy of Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase, please comment on this post, and I'll pick a winner at random (names-in-a-hat method) on Friday 21st February, one week before publication. I'll post anywhere in the world. 

Bon chance! xx

New Year, New Books

A belated happy new year to you. I hope Christmas was what you wanted it to be. Ours was crazy and fun!

I got these beauties for Christmas:

So far I've read The Things We Never Said and really enjoyed it. There have been comparisons with Maggie O'Farrell, and I think that's a fair comparison. Lots of story to get your teeth into, and characters you grow to really care about. I'm looking forward to Susan's next novel very much.

84 Charing Cross Road was from my mum. Last year we had a day out together in London and we walked around a lot. We wandered along Charing Cross Road and Mum asked me if I'd read the book. I hadn't, I said, but had always meant to. So it was a sweet surprise to unwrap this lovely old second hand copy on Christmas Day, thanks Mum x

My own novel will be published next month. It's been mostly well reviewed so far on Amazon and Goodreads, which is a huge relief. I've done an interview for the Booktrust website, I'm going to be featured on a few blogs I think, and on Lovereading. Exciting times!

My current read is an oddly absorbing novel called Angel by Elizabeth Taylor. It's a shining example of a very unlikeable protagonist who, nonetheless, is compelling and, well, likeable. Funny, witty and even moving, it's a novel that I'm itching to finish.

 

What are you reading at the moment I wonder? Do share :)

PS, there's a giveaway of a proof copy of Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase over on Beadyjan's blog if anybody is interested...
http://beadyjansbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/book-giveaway-mrs-sinclairs-suitcase.html#comment-form

Goodreads giveaway

Just a quickie to let you know there are 50 proof copies of Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase up for grabs in a Goodreads giveaway. There has been a re-print of the proofs and they are bigger and sparklier, literally :)

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/74766-mrs-sinclair-s-suitcase

I'm so sorry not to have blogged for so long, like most of you I'm sure, I'm pretty caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season!

Very good luck if you enter and win the giveaway, do let me know what you think when you've read it.

XX

More proofs!

I received my allotted five proof copies of Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase today. Picture above (sorry about the bright green table). As publication day creeps ever nearer, I'm getting nervous and excited... lots of doubts... what if people don't like it? What if they don't read it?? Most people won't read it (especially Noel Gallagher!), and that's the way it is for all novels. So I'm just going to try to enjoy everything surrounding the publication and try not to worry.

I won't do a "giveaway" for a proof copy (I'll wait for the hard back and do one then) but if anybody would like a proof, let me know.

The proof of the pudding ...

I have a proof copy of my novel! Yes, they're printed and getting out there... so now I'm getting nervous, because "real" readers, with no bias or affiliation, no axes to grind, and with no personal connection to me, are going to read my story... and say what they think. It's a scary moment for any writer, as well as an exhilarating one. It's really happening... and actually, it's a privilege to be where I am right now, and I won't forget that.

The funny thing is, I'm still working on edits... the USA copy edit came back to me last week, so I've been busy with that. That edit has thrown up a couple of errors in the UK edition, so there will be a few changes by the time the hardback is published here in February. Such a convoluted process, I had no idea... but fun, a lot of fun, and a steep learning curve for me... I keep having those "next time I'll do things differently" moments. 

My baby born at last...it's been a long gestation