It’s Publication Week!

I might have to pinch myself that it’s here already, I might be a bit tearful as I realise that I’m a published author again.

And today marks the start of a busy week. I’ve got the Liverpool launch on Tuesday evening, then I’ll travel down to London on Thursday morning. I’ll be in HarperCollins’ headquarters all afternoon, being interviewed by bloggers and staging a ‘Twitter takeover’ at one point. Then it’ll be off to my hotel and getting ready for the London launch (my shoes are a bit special). As well as that, I’ve guest posts and interviews to complete for blogs, cake to buy and people to meet. I’m full of butterflies.

So, I guess now’s the time for me to ask for your help, if you’re willing or able:

• Obviously, buying the book would be fabulous. Asking at your local bookshop for them to order it in would be very ace. Or failing that, it is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback editions. For those of you not in the UK, The Book Depository will ship abroad free of charge. Or, if you’re quick, you can place an order for a personally-signed copy from Forget-Me-Not Toys and Books (by Tuesday) or Belgravia Books (by Thursday).
• Come to a launch. I don’t get out much, come and say hello in real life.
• Tweets, RTs, mentions online, all of it helps, if you’re that way inclined. I know this is a big ask, but any mentions will be appreciated.
• I am available for blog interviews. I’m staggering these over the next month, so do let me know if you want to feature me at all.
• And, finally, if you’ve read ‘The Drowning of Arthur Braxton’ a quick review on Amazon would be very helpful. I know this is time-consuming, but even a two-line review would be ace.

I think that all of this sounds cheeky (possibly desperate), but it doesn’t mean to be. I am rubbish at asking for help, some have suggested I’m far too stubborn. But the simple fact is that I want to give this novel the best possible chance in an overcrowded market place and I can’t do that alone.

I know how important word of mouth is these days. The bookselling world has changed in the 3 years since my last paper novel was published. This will be the first of my novels not on a ’3 for 2′ promotion in a bookshop or a ‘buy one get one half price’ offer and there are no plans for press coverage. I don’t even know if RTs help sell books anymore, as Twitter is overrun with people promoting their novels. So, I guess, in an overcrowded market I’m asking for help and I’m hoping that some new readers will find ‘The Drowning of Arthur Braxton’ and give it a go.

But, for now, I wish my fifth novel a safe journey into the big wide world. Oh, and, (prepare for my ABSOLUTE hard-sell) perhaps you need to think about this initial sale as an investment, that getting of a first edition copy. Because, you know, if (WHEN!) the film is made that copy could be collectible…