Paperback Launch at Steyning Bookshop. How Did it Go?

Have you ever had one of those posts that you can't wait to write? Well this is one of them and the reason? I've just had my first ever paperback launch at my local independent bookshop, The Steyning Bookshop. A dream come true.

Proud? You bet!

The bookshop was established in 1984 just three years before I moved to the town from Brighton, heavily pregnant with my first daughter. Being an avid reader, it was one of the first shops I ever went into and I spent many a happy time with my children in the reading area. Once the children had grown up, I continued to visit with my three grandchildren.

Over the thirty years or so I’ve been living here, I’ve been to many author events organised by Sara the owner: several book launches and a number of talks by inspirational authors such as Debbie Howells, Elly Griffiths, Michelle Paver… even the fabulous Mary Berry. What I couldn’t have predicted is that one day I would be having a book launch of my own.

But why was I celebrating the launch of my second novel, rather than my first? The simple reason is that when my debut, What She Saw, was published, I was scared. It was my first novel, I was a new author and I had no idea whether anyone would want to even read it, let alone like it. But to my amazement, What She Saw went on to become a Kindle bestseller not only in the UK but also in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and sales in the three months since I’ve been published have topped 40,000. It was the validation I needed to help me feel I'd earned my right to be standing there with a novel in my hand.

In the weeks leading up to my paperback launch, I'd posted on various Facebook author groups, asking for advice for the evening. How long should my speech be? How many pages should I read from the book? How could I stop myself from panicking? I received a lot of sound advice but one that stood out for me was 'just enjoy yourself'.

The evening started at 7.30 p.m. with guests arriving for nibbles and Prosecco (there was also wine and soft drinks). The bookshop held a maximum of fifty people and that was how many people I had! A wonderful mix of family, friends, writers and representatives from all the local activities I take part in: tap, badminton, ballroom, Pilates and choir. With everyone under strict instructions to arrive at the start, the room quickly filled up and the sound level rose several octaves.

After twenty minutes of socialising, the guests were ushered into a seated area of the bookshop. Sara introduced me and then it was time to ‘do my bit’ (a talk of around eight minutes consisting of a welcome and thank you, a little about my path to publication, a summary of We Were Sisters and bit about the location, as it’s set in the local area). The bookshop had even organised a sound system so I could be heard at the back! Now, having been a teacher, I’ve been used to speaking to large numbers of people but that had been children, not adults. Would I be able to deliver something that wasn’t rambling? Would I stumble and stutter? Not trusting myself not to blank, I wrote my speech down and decided to read it, but once I’d warmed up, I felt confident enough to ad-lib in parts which was liberating.

Next was a seven minute reading from the novel followed by a roving microphone in the audience for questions. And what great questions they were.

The formal part of the evening was over. I could breathe, have a glass of Prosecco, sign some books and relax while my guests ate my fabulous ‘book cover’ cake.

Then, too soon, it was 9 p.m. and the book launch had come to an end. Sara and her husband, Rob had looked after us so well. As the last guest left, I looked around me at the table of my books, the remnants of the cake, the empty Prosecco bottles. A room that had been filled with the support and love of so many people.

The whole event should have been daunting, scary even, but it wasn’t. It was exhilarating. And that was because I’d taken the advice I’d been given and enjoyed every moment of it. But the evening wasn't quite over as I popped over the road to join my friends in the pub to carry on with the celebrations and wet the baby’s head.

You could say, the paperback of We Were Sisters has been well and truly launched!

Eight days and Counting

I can't believe that in just eight days time, What She Saw - my debut thriller set in the Lake District - will be published! 

In my last post, I mentioned I was getting nervous. Little did I know that a week later something would happen to make it all the more real.

This happened...

Yes, (on my birthday no less) a large box arrived and it was filled with beautiful paperbacks. What a birthday present! I took them out. I sniffed them. I stroked them. In fact, I did everything an author is meant to do when her book baby is finally in her hands. How proud I felt. Bursting with it, in fact.

But yesterday, I was even prouder when I was finally able to give a copy of What She Saw to each of my children and step-children at a family BBQ (even though all of them have already pre-ordered their own copies). One of my daughters started to read it there and then and was so engrossed in it she didn't move from the swing chair. She finished the book this morning and messaged me to say how much she loved it (she's a Katerina Diamond fan, so I'm chuffed). This was swiftly followed by a message from my step-daughter, telling me her husband had taken the book to bed with him and had woken her up this morning with the words, 'This book is really good'.

I've had over sixty reviews on NetGalley to date, and am delighted with them, but most book reviewers are women. I love that a guy likes my novel too!

The other thing that happened is that I received a fifteen minute clip of my audiobook to listen to. I just love the narrator. The strange thing was, it was such a different medium that it felt as though I was listening to someone else's book. When I came to the end of the clip and wanted to hear more, it was a huge relief. Imagine if I'd fallen asleep!

Last year, I was at Horsham Library listening to a talk by Katerina Diamond and her audio narrator Antonia Beamish, as part of Love Audio week. You can read about it here. I was brave and had a go at narrating when they asked for volunteers, but never did I think that a year later, it would be my own thriller that would be narrated. 

My next post will be after publication day. Apologies in advance for any over excitement!

Nerves are Good... Right?

I'm trying not to panic. Why? Because in three week's time, my debut psychological thriller, What She Saw will be published.

I've been waiting for this for a long time but now that it's getting closer I'm starting to get nervous. What if people don't like my book? What if no one buys it? Silly thoughts, I know, as my editor is really pleased with how the pre-orders of the ebook are going and already I've had a favorable response to it on Goodreads, but I just can't help it.

The problem is, as an author, it doesn't matter how many lovely 4 and 5 star reviews you have, it will always be the others you focus on. That's human nature I suppose. I was given the advice not to look at my reviews... but it's hard not to. Also, if I hadn't looked, I'd have missed out on the reviewer who said my characters were 'meh' but also missed out on the one who said, 'I've read many thrillers but this one blew them all out of the water'.

The whole process is nerve-wracking but exciting too.

There have been three other exciting things that have happened this week. The first is that I've seen the paperback version of my novel is now available to pre-order. Yippee!

The second is I've spoken to the owner of my lovely local independent bookshop (Steyning Bookshop) and she's happy to stock my novel on publication (I'm hoping that anyone who lives locally and wants to buy a paperback copy will support this wonderful shop).

Finally, I've been told that the London studio has been booked for the audio of What She Saw. I've listened to a clip of the narrator on Audible and I'm delighted with my publisher's choice. I can't wait to hear it!

Everything's happening so fast that it's no wonder my stomach is doing somersaults.

What She Saw can be pre-ordered here for just 99p!