If you missed it, after eight years, I finally have a new book! Yes, THE FRIDAY GIRL is finally loose on the world. Check back on some previous posts to learn more about this book, but let’s just say that my return to publishing has been so much fun — with special thanks to my publishers, Black and White for making the experience brilliant!

The book launched two days early at Waterstones, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, where I was in the very capable hands of not just the brilliant booksellers (Special thanks to James for making sure everything ran smoothly on the night!) but also being interviewed by Scotland’s finest journalist (He didn’t make me say that!), John Dingwall. John made his name interviewing musicians, but his passion for all forms of entertainment is incredible, and as an interviewer he makes you feel very comfortable even when he decides to ask the cheekiest questions he can think of…

John prepares himself to hear my “dramatic reading”…Being grilled by Mr Dingwall…About to tell another very very bad joke…Doing a big of signing here for some of the brilliant people who came out….Look at that! Books! Books for me to sign!The not-at-all intimidating sight of the chairs ready to be deployed…James from Waterstones Sauchiehall introduces us…

After the event, a few of us went on to the amazing THE LAST BOOKSHOP for some post-launch drinks. Its a stunning wee bar in the centre of Glasgow, situated in what was once a John Smith’s bookstore, and the place is decked out with books, as you might expect, creating a great atmosphere to have some cocktails.

After this, I went on a small tour of Glasgow, signing in some great stores including Waterstones’ on Byres Road and Argyle Street, and the excellent (unrelated) Bigglestones in the Merchant City, which is a superb independent bookstore you should definitely be supporting!

Booksellers at Bigglestones were excited!D From Waterstones on Argyle Street hauls out copies for me to sign!It’s still on the promotion at the time of posting!Caught in the act of sneakily signing!Told you Bigglestones Booksellers were excited!A customer caught in the act at Waterstones Sauchiehall Street (actually a dear friend, but still…)

But we all know that THE FRIDAY GIRL isn’t a Glasgow book, even though I’m resident here — which is why the tour moved to my original stomping grounds for a great evening with masterful James Oswald (also launching his latest!) at Waterstones in Dundee.

It was a fantastic evening, with some surprise guests (including the former landlord of my old drinking hole, The Phoenix Bar) made even more special by the fact that Waterstones, Dundee, is where I worked for about eight years as a bookseller, specialising in — you guessed it! — crime fiction!

I think… I think one of my jokes made James laugh…A surprisingly healthy turn out of wonderful readers…Getting ready to sign…“And here’s why Godfather III is actually way better than you think it is…”

From Dundee (after a lovely night catching up with friends) it was time to head off to signings in St Andrews, where Waterstones and Toppings provided excellent hospitality, and a quick side trip to Broughty Ferry’s The Bookhouse (a brilliant wee independent store!) revealed that — shockingly — everyone in Brought Ferry had been out the night before and bought copies! But I’ll be back there again soon, I know it!

Toppings served me proper coffee and everything (and not just cos one of the booksellers there is my ex-boss!)The brilliant THE BOOKHOUSE in Broughty Ferry is a proper and brilliant indy bookstore…At this point in the tour I was losing my grip on reality, judging by that expression…A lovely till display in Waterstones St Andrews… but the sign was changed soon after due to a wee typo… a wee typo made by someone I used to work with, too!

So that was a lot of work! But totally worth it, especially when the tour was punctuated by a lovely interview with The Courier in Dundee (by a local journalist I went to school with!) and a superb review in the Herald newspaper…

By the end I was so tired I needed a little lie down, which is partially why my next appearance was a few weeks later in the brilliant Waterstones Kirkcaldy, where Bookseller James does incredible events for a loyal and enthusiastic army of Fife Readers…

Kirkcaldy readers are brilliantly friendly…Trying to remember how to spell my own name…James asks brilliant questions, to which I ramble incoherent answers…Whatever it looks like in this image, I am not snorting anything…

It was a delight of a mini-tour. So many brilliant readers, so many superb booksellers, so many great reactions. And there’ll be more to come over the years with some festival appearances (including a south of the border trip to Chiltern Kills later in the year, as well as others I’ll be able to mention nearer the time) so I hope, dear reader, I see you at some of these…