Pub week whirlwind… and those reviews!
Suffice to say, this week has been AWESOME.
My book was published this Tuesday, a deliciously hectic day trying to keep up with social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It turned out to be one of my most enjoyable publication days ever (am I finally learning to chill and embrace uncertainty??) and culminated in a Zoom launch for Silenced and The Dark Side of Christmas – Hobeck Books’ seasonal anthology (royalties going to the Scottish charity Streetreads, which helps homeless people to start getting their lives back together through the power of reading). I didn’t know how this would go and was quite worried when I couldn’t get into event (I blame two user names on Eventbrite) five minutes after it had started – was panicking, thinking I was going to miss my own party…
But it all went OK in the end. I read out a short chapter, videos were played and questions were asked. I even sipped from a glass of Prosecco while messaging friends who’d joined the event from Scotland and Sydney.
The blog tour started on Monday with the two of the most amazing reviews I’ve ever clapped eyes on, and continued in much the same vein. You’ll have to imagine a string of appropriate gobsmacked emojis, given this is posted from my computer. I’ve listed all the reviews (I hope) from week one of the tour – trad blogs, Instagram and Twitter – on Silenced along with author Liz Mistry’s review in The Crime Warp. Seriously, I deeply appreciate the time and effort that quite a few bloggers have directed towards reading and reviewing my tome of a book (it is 500+ pages). Book bloggers are the best!!
(Please note: Cathy Ryan, Between The Lines, is now at the end of the tour.)

Then on Thursday I had the pleasure (in between anxiety attacks) of chatting on Zoom with Donna Morfett for her fast-becoming-an-institution Facebook author interviews. As I was somewhat nervous, I rambled on rather and hesitated even more than usual.


Maybe I’ll stick to writing
Silenced is £2.99 for the ebook (http://viewbook.at/silenced and £9.29 for the paperback on Bookshop.org/£9.99 on Waterstones.com. Or order at any bookshop (stocked at Highgate Books in London, N6 – they have several copies and one in the window with a local author sticker! – and some Waterstones branches).