The last few weeks have been quite full-on for a variety of reasons. For those who’ve been paying attention, there was, of course, the launch of Borderline. In the aftermath of that, I had the dawning realisation that there were several things I hadn’t got around to doing. A blog tour was one and time has been spent putting that right – though it won’t happen until September. It also occurred to me that I hadn’t updated my website, so there’s currently a big gap where there should be a page about the new book.
In short, I’ve had some adminny (that’s a word, right?) things going off, most of which are still being worked on.
At the same time, there have been some opportunities to get out and mix with other writers. The same week Borderline was released, I got to host a Crime Panel at the Book Festival in my home town. Before the panel itself, I met up with authors William Hussey and Jacqui Rose and we had a meal together with a local bookshop owner (and my ever-present partner). For over an hour, a lot was talked about that we decided wouldn’t be prudent to share on a public platform! Still, if you bump into me over the coming weeks, I’ll be happy to answer any questions – as long as you understand that I’ll deny all knowledge if challenged.
When we headed on to the venue (a recently refurbished Methodist church), we had another hour of chat in front of a delightful audience. The focus was on the guests, of course, and it was great to be able to get them to share their thoughts and experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and William and Jacqui claimed to as well. Those members of the audience that I got to speak to afterwards also seemed to have had a good time. The only complaint I got was that they didn’t learn more about me. I’ll take that as a win. And, in spite of not sharing much about me, I still managed to sell a few books.
A couple of weeks later, I attended the Sykehouse Film and Writers Festival. On this occasion, it was as a delegate. I’d only heard about it earlier this year, and didn’t know too much about it. However, it was less than an hour’s drive away and, having met one of the organisers at a previous event, it almost felt rude to not go. I am so glad I did, though.
To say the schedule was packed is an understatement. Indeed, if I had one suggestion for next year’s event, it would be to have fewer panels – but only so there could be a gap between them so you could take a break and not feel like you were missing out. There were a few authors there that I’d met before and at least one that I’d been wanting to meet for a while now. As is ever the case, though, you end up meeting others that you were either only vaguely aware of or had never heard of, and learn so much from them.
Yet again, I feel as if I’ve made some new friends, and I’m looking forward to meeting them again at some point. With any luck, I’ll see a few of them at Harrogate next week. In the meantime, it’s Newark Book Festival this coming weekend. Newark is a short hop away from where I live and I’ve volunteered there a few times over the years – these things don’t happen without volunteers. I’ll be back helping out on Saturday and Sunday. Along the way, I’ll hopefully get to meet some more authors and, just as important, avid readers.
I’ll be based at the Tudor Hall in the National Civil War Museum most of the time, but hopefully I’ll get a chance to roam around. There’s a range of authors at the festival over the next few days (it starts today, Thursday). If you want to know more about what’s going on, check out the programme below. Alternatively, you can go to the website here.
Look out for TM Logan, Sue Moorcroft, Trevor Wood, Cathy Bramley, Evie Smith, Sophie Hannah… and so many more. It is going to be a packed weekend.
I’ve got a feeling I’ll be ready for a long lie down at the end of it.
If you make it there as well, please come and find me. If I’m not at the Tudor Hall, you can look me up on Facebook or Twitter and send a message. It’d be great to meet, and it’s always good to share the book love!