Phew! Let's look back on launch week...
Seven Deaths of an Empire launched this week and it has been something of whirlwind for me. On Tuesday 22nd June the book launched in the US as a Hardback and everywhere as an eBook. On Thursday 24th June it launched as a hardback in the UK and as an audiobook everywhere. The whole week was a little bit of terror with a lot of excitement!
On the Tuesday, I had a reddit r/fantasy AMA booked in! Now as a debut (traditionally published) author with the book just out in the US (and people not having had a chance to read it) I was worried no one would turn up... or, more likely, I'd make a total tit of myself by typing something stupid/socially awkward or so British that no one across the sea (any sea) would understand.
In the end people did turn up and ask questions. Yay! I did my best to answer them and for a few hours I was typing like a mad-thing - hunched over my keyboard, fuelled by coffee, and tip-tapping away. I tried to give an account of how I got published in the first place in one question and in others talked about my love of RPGs!
Wednesday was... to a degree "normal." Woke up, got up, got children ready for school, wrote a bit of book 3 -and had twitter on the screen with all the tweets and likes and good wishes. They in themselves were worth their weight in gold!
I still find it a strange thing to release a book and this time it was backed by a publisher so I had already seen reviews from the ARCs, on Netgalley, and comments on social media. A lot of those folks (and thank you so much to all of you!) reposted their reviews and encouraged others to read the book! Even so, seeing so many tweets, retweets and lovely comments was good food for the soul! (Just need to seem them all migrate onto Amazon, iBooks, and elsewhere).
Thursday was London - Goldsboro books and Forbidden Planet. Both stores had asked me to come in a sign some copies; Goldsboro did so a few months ago which was a massive boost to the ego and my confidence - this world renowned First Edition bookshop wanted little me to come in a sign one hundred copies! Wow! That pile is massive (or I am very short).
Forbidden Planet got in touch a little later and asked if I was available to come in and sign! Wohooo!
So I signed, and talked and talked through nervousness until they were all done and the shop staff were just nodding along with my rambling. Twenty of the Goldsboro books have a quote in, but all are signed and dated - and there were no spelling errors! Such a relief. The Forbidden Planet books were signed a little later and I had a few moments to look around the shop - there is so much good stuff there that I wanted (the eight foot Enterprise E is top of that list!), but there wasn't much time to stop and shop!
Last stop, before heading home, was the pub for a meal, and drinks, and family and friends. A good, but very tiring day.
If you're reading this (which clearly you are), I really appreciate the support and your time! Thanks (now go buy, review, and tell all your friends about the book - and thanks for doing that already!)
Buy now: