Deborah Swift's Blog, page 57

London Lunch

On Monday (12th July) I will be in London to sign books at Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court. Many famous names (and quite a few Macmillan New Writers) have been through their doors to put their name to their first editions. I will no doubt pause on the threshold to imagine the other more famous writers that have stood there before me. I will be really happy to have a chat with anyone who might come along, as being a northener, I know hardly a soul in London. I will be there from about 12.30 for...

Giveaway of The King's Mistress by Emma Campion

You can enter this giveaway free at Passages to the Past

Undressing a book

My post about covers and costume design can be found over here

Winchester Writers Conference

Imagine if you will, a massive exam hall, lofty, lit by fluorescent strip-lighting, and containing 60 small square desks set out in rows. Now put a nervous writer in front of each one, holding a sheaf of paper or a dog-eared manuscript. Behind each desk sits an agent, an editor or other industry professional. For fifteen minutes they talk - or should I say shout, before the chairs scrape back, the writers reluctantly leave and are replaced by another eager batch.
The noise is the first thing t...

Publicity, Book Signings and the Birth of a Book

Apparently if an author organises a signing in a place where they have no personal connections, then the average number of copies sold is 6, according to Will Atkins, my editor, who was talking to delegates at the Winchester Writers Conference. (More about that in the next post when I have had time to process it all! Highlights from this great event included an address from Terry Pratchett who described writing as "moving through a valley full of clouds")

I have two signings about to happen - ...

How to Sign a Book

For all you debut novelists out there who are about to be published, you need to decide how you will sign your books. I was given several tips on the day of my book launch, all of them too late to prevent my ad hoc signing!


Here are my tips:

Top Tip - It helps if you can spell your own name.



1. Use indelible ink (some people read in the bath or while standing in the rain at bus stops)

2. Take your time, nobody likes a mis-spelled dedication or a  crossing out, and you can't get Tipp-ex in shops a...

Dressed to Impress (The Impress Prize)

In 2007 I was lucky enough to be shortlisted for The Impress Prize for Fiction with The Lady's Slipper. Also on the shortlist was The Courtesan's Choice by Gabrielle Kimm. Quite by chance Gaby and I were staying in the same B&B in order to go to the Awards at Exeter University. We got chatting over eggs and toast, and then again at the awards evening when we realised we were both historical fiction writers. We have kept in touch with each other's progress since then.
Neither of us was the luck...

The Lady's Slipper - Giveaway

You can enter for this draw to win a free book, and read my article on "Why I love to write about Shoes" here at Historical Tapestry.

And Eliza has interviewed me about the book on her blog here.

An interview with Eliza Graham

Eliza's new book, Jubilee, published by Pan, has the same publication date as mine. What's more Eliza started her writing career with Macmillan New Writing, so it seemed like a good chance to congratulate her on her new book and find out a bit more about her writing process, now she has three books already under her belt.
It's the Queen's Golden Jubilee, and Rachel and her aunt Evie are celebrating with the crowds on the village green. The scene is tranquil, but Rachel and her aunt can never...

My book is on my shelf!

The moment all writers hope for - my book is actually on my own bookshelf, alongside all the others I am currently reading. I am on the same shelf as Ruth Padel, Philip Pullman and Ian Mortimer! Of course I could have placed it next to something like "Plato's Republic" or "War and Peace" but unfortunately I don't own either.
And I have to say Macmillan's designers have done an absolutely gorgeous job inside and out and I couldn't be happier with the look and feel of it.
What is really strange i...