In the City...

And not just one city, but four to be precise...

The beginning of the week took me down to London.  Yes, little old me headed down to the big smoke on a fact finding mission; or more to the point, to meet up with the fabulous Susie Tullett (same name purely coincidental) of Susie Tullett PR. Not that it was a formal business meeting I have to say, but more a chat over a coffee in the heart of London's theatre land, affording me the opportunity to pick the brains of a rather good public relations expert.  Not that I needed to pull out my scalpal and expose anyone's grey matter in the end either, which was just a good job considering some customers were still enjoying their lunch.  Oh no, thankfully Susie showed herself to be incredibly helpful on all things marketing et al, without my even having to ask.

Then came the trips to Lancaster and Preston - hosts to my nearest Waterstones booksellers.  And with policies of supporting their local authors, staff at both branches weren't just more than happy to ensure Going Underground had a place on their shelves, both were keen to organise book signing events as well.  Of course, as a debut novelist these are things of which I have absolutely no experience.  But fear not, I've since done my research and it seems an element of coercion is the key to success.  And as a result, on the days in question I won't just be armed with a few extra biros should my pen run out of ink, (thanks to the advice of a fellow author - yes, Margaret, you know who you are!) I plan to have a mountain of chocolate in the offering as back up.

So should you wish to come along and satisfy a sweet tooth or two, I'll be at Waterstones, King Street, Lancaster on the 30th July, from 11am onwards.  Then at Waterstones, Preston on the 6th August, at 11 am too.

And finally, with regards to the past seven days or so, I may not have landed in Lille, France quite in person, but it seems Going Underground most certainly has. And thanks to Yann Viseur and members of Splinters, my book is presently taking pride of place on Yann's fantastic blog... Oh yes, it seems the fruit of my literary labour is currently nestling comfortably between Paul Weller and Booker T Jones... And quite frankly, I can't think of a more satisfying position...

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