Robin Stevens's Blog, page 10

Two reviews for Ministry!

I’m delighted to say that Ministry of Unladylike Activity got two wonderful reviews last weekend – Imogen Russell Williams picked it in her Guardian children’s round-up, and Nicolette Jones selected it as Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week!

‘A new crew of resourceful children takes the helm in Stevens’s follow-up to the bestselling Murder Most Unladylike series. In war-torn 1940s Britain, young would-be spy May Wong contrives to get herself evacuated to a smart manor house along with her new pal, Eric. Their mission is to investigate its owner – but they don’t expect to stumble across a murder along the way. Meticulous, lightly worn research and sharp character observation will please 9+ newcomers and longstanding fans alike.’

Imogen Russell Williams, the Guardian

‘Household secrets emerge in this emotionally involving, enjoyably logical and engaging narrative. The sense of place, time and voice are carefully created, and whether you solve the mystery before May, Eric and Nuala or not, you will make the 400-page journey – despite deaths on the way – with a spring in your step.’

Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times

Ministry has been arriving in stores in the UK and Ireland this week – if you’ve been able to find a copy, I really hope you enjoy it!

Read the first two chapters of The Ministry of Unladylike Activity now!

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here: PUBLICATION WEEK for The Ministry of Unladylike Activity!

The official release date is the 29th, and that’s when pre-orders will be sent out, but if you’re very lucky you MIGHT be able to spot early copies in stores in the UK and Ireland from today. (If you live in another country where the Puffin edition is published, like Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, you’ll have to wait another week or so – but I promise the book is on its way!).

But if you just can’t wait a second longer to start reading … you’re in luck! I’ve got a link to the first two chapters of the book, the beginning of May’s story. You’ll find out how she runs away from school to become a spy, and who she finds when she gets all the way to London …

If you want to find out more, you’ll just have to buy the book (or borrow it from a library! I really recommend doing this if you can – it’s free!). And if you want to be the very first to know about exciting things like this, as well as new tour dates, and updates on Book 2 when I begin working on it, remember to sign up to my newsletter.

If you want to see my current tour dates, they’re here – and I will have a few more virtual sessions to add, as well as one more Irish signing date, very soon.

And if you want to pre-order Ministry, this is one of the last days you can do it! Get a signed copy from Waterstones or WH Smith, order from Easons or Dubray if you’re in Ireland, or support indie bookstores with Bookshop.org.

Thank you for all of your support … and roll on Thursday!

Ministry of Unladylike Activity – autumn tour 2022!

Huge news, Detectives – my autumn 2022 tour is now LIVE and available to book!

Drumroll please … here we go!

Saturday 1st October – Bath Literature Festival talk, 2:30pm (NO signing after this one due to venue restrictions)

Saturday 8th October – Cheltenham Literature Festival talk and signing, 10:15am (tickets on sale 7th September)

Sunday 9th October – Easons Dublin signing. Details TBC!

Sunday 16th October – Sevenoaks Bookshop signing, 12-2pm (ticketed entry, get yours asap!)

Saturday 22nd October – Waterstones Altrincham signing, 10am

Tuesday 25th October – Waterstones Piccadilly, St James’s Church talk and signing, 12pm

Saturday 29th October – Waterstones Birmingham, the Glee Club talk and signing, 2pm

And that’s all … for now! Please note that this is NOT final, there are at least two more events in the works, one of which will be virtual for everyone who isn’t able to travel at the moment.

If you’re sad that I’m not visiting your town or city this time around, I really am sorry. This tour has to be shorter than usual because of my baby, and also because I’m still not back to normal after covid. I can promise, though, that when the paperback comes out in May 2023 I will be doing another tour, to places I haven’t managed to get to this time around – and (hopefully) you’ll also be able to spot me at festivals throughout the year in 2023.

A few more things:

We’ve taken the decision to limit the number of books I’m signing for each person to two. This is to keep me from getting too tired while I’m still a bit unwell, and to keep the lines moving! The only exception to this is for the Bath event, which has NO SIGNING because of timing restrictions at the venue I’m speaking in.I’m trying to make this tour as covid-safe as possible. This is to try to do everything we can to make sure I can actually do every event on the list! I’ll be wearing a mask at the signings and we encourage you to do the same – we really want to avoid cancellations due to covid!

And I think that’s it! Exciting news all round – I’ll be back here again with more updates when I can. Publication day is almost here!

Ministry of Unladylike Activity – cover reveal!

Hello detectives! I’m sorry I haven’t updated this site much recently – I got covid just as I was finishing work on the book, and I had to take time away to recover. But the good news is that Ministry is DONE and off to the printer’s, ready to hit shelves on the 29th of September.

And the even better news is that today I get to reveal the cover!

Illustration by Jan Bielecki, copyright Puffin Books 2022

We wanted to create a look that reminded readers of MMU, but also felt fresh and exciting – and also fit into Ministry’s World War Two setting. This series has not two but THREE main characters, and they’re all featured on the cover.

There’s May Wong, who you’ll all know very well. She’s fierce, she’s determined and she’s sick and tired of not being listened to. She wants to help end the war so she can get home to Hong Kong, and she knows she’d be an excellent spy if anyone would let her. Now she just needs to work out how to prove herself to the Ministry …

Then there’s Eric. His full name is Hans Erich Schlossbauer, but you can call him Eric Jones while he’s undercover. He fled from Germany to London with his family before the war began, thinking he’d be safe in England – but now his beloved Papa has been interned by the British Government. Eric’s run away to help the war effort so he can get Papa back – and that means joining the Ministry. Eric’s kind, sweet and sure of himself. He loves animals and cracking codes, and he’s the heart of the new Detective Society. If you thought Beanie was adorable, you’re going to love Eric …

And finally, meet Fionnuala O’Malley. You’d better not call her Fiona. Half Irish, half English and brought up in an American theatre company, she’s totally out of her element in a posh English mansion. Shy, lonely and wrapped up in her own fantasy world, she feels trapped with her cold English family. But when two evacuees turn up who are clearly hiding something, Nuala realises that she has to become a detective to work out what they’re up to. Could they be … spies? And what does their mission have to do with her home?

So those are my detectives – and I can’t wait for you to discover their first mission! You can pre-order Ministry from the following online stores, among others – and of course, you can also ask your local independent bookshop to order you a copy. They might even be able to get you a signed one!

Amazon UK

Blackwell’s

Bookshop.uk

Dubray (Ireland)

Dymocks (Australia)

Eason’s (Ireland)

Waterstones

Waterstones SIGNED EDITION!

WH Smith

WH Smith SIGNED EDITION!

June update!

Hello detectives! I can’t believe it’s already June.

June is, of course, Pride month (hooray!) – here’s an article I wrote in 2018 about Daisy’s coming out scene in Death in the Spotlight, which is still one of my favourite moments from the whole series.

June is also National Crime Reading Month, and I’m delighted to be one of the CWA’s reading ambassadors this year – here’s a new article I’ve written for their blog about the importance of reading crime fiction.

I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to be here as much as I used to be – I’m working really hard on The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, and I’m delighted to say that I’ve just handed in my comments on the copyedited version. This means that I will only see the manuscript TWICE MORE before it becomes a published book, to iron out the final tiny tweaks to the story. It’s really almost done!

The book will be out in hardback in the UK and Ireland on the 29th of September, in Australia and New Zealand on the 5th of October (and in all other territories where the Puffin edition is sold, including India and South Africa, around that time – check your local bookstore for details!). You can pre-order it NOW both online and in stores! It’ll also be coming out in paperback in the UK and Ireland in spring 2023, and in the German language at some point in 2023. Other languages are being added, and I’ll let you know as soon as I can about more editions!

I’m also working hard on the US edition of A Spoonful of Murder, which will be out in the US and Canada this fall, with more of the series following next year. And this summer we have another treat for US readers – a box set of the first five books in the series! I’m so pleased to see more of my books coming to America! No word yet on an American deal for Ministry, but keep on buying the Murder Most series, and who knows what might happen!

I’m only doing one event this summer, before the launch of Ministry, and it’s at Barnes Festival in London on the 25th of June. You can buy tickets now – please note that it’s the day of the national rail strike, so you’ll need to think about alternative routes to get there! Also note that this event won’t be streamed online – but I am going to ensure that as many of my Ministry events as possible are livestreamed this autumn. I know a lot of you are still unable to come back to in-person events, and I completely understand that – plus, I know a lot of you are not in the UK or Ireland, and you still want to hear me talk!

Finally, I know that comments are still not enabled. I’m still working on ways to get them up again, but while I do that, please do feel free to email me or write to me at the addresses on my contact me page if there’s something you’d like to tell me!

First event announcement of 2022 – I’m coming to Barnes!

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to offer any in-person events, but I’m delighted to say that I’ll be back face to face with London fans at Barnes Children’s Lit Fest 2022!

I’m appearing on Saturday 25th June – the exact time hasn’t yet been announced, and you aren’t able to buy tickets yet, but if you visit their website and sign up for alerts you’ll be told when tickets go on sale.

This will be the only event I’m doing before the launch of Ministry in September – I will have lots more announcements about events in the autumn, so don’t worry if you can’t make this one. I’ll mostly be talking about the MMU series in this event, but there will be a small Ministry teaser section to get you even more excited about the new book!

There will be a signing after the event, but due to many factors (mostly, I need to get back to see my baby at some point that day!) we will have to cap the number of books each person can get signed. I’m hoping this means that everyone who wants to will get to say hi – a win for us all!

I’ve really missed not being able to meet fans, so I hope you’re looking forward to this as much as I am. See you in June!

May update!

Hello detectives! I’m sorry I’ve been quiet here lately, but there’s a very good reason: I’ve been working as hard as I could on the fourth draft of The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, and I’m delighted to be able to say that it’s now finished and with my editor!

This doesn’t mean that the book is done – not at all! It’s now going to be copyedited (a process where a specially-trained editor who hasn’t seen the manuscript before takes a very careful look at it for inconsistencies and mistakes), and then I’ll have it back for a few more changes before it’s turned into a format that looks like the final published book. I’ll be able to see it twice more, checking it for spelling mistakes and tiny problems, and then it’ll go away to be printed, all ready for publication in the UK and Ireland on September 29th.

This fourth draft was also the point where I input a lot of feedback from my first group of sensitivity readers. I started using readers on my fifth book, Mistletoe and Murder, and I now use them as standard. They are basically experts on particular topics and experiences – if I want to make my world as diverse as I can, almost as diverse as the real world, I need to write about people who have different backgrounds to me, and sensitivity readers help me make sure that my research has got all of those backgrounds and experiences right. Readers make my writing so much more thoughtful and interesting and realistic – I wish I’d known I could hire them before! The feedback for this book included:

More insight on the background of one of my new main characters, including a clearer version of their father’s story, and better understanding of the relationship between their parentsInsight on the motivations of one of my secondary characters that led to a breakthrough about the resolution of their subplotSuggestions about ways to make one of my most important set-piece moments even more vividSuggestions about the mechanics of the murder itself that’s made it even sharper than it was beforeConfirmation that my WW2 research was (mostly!) correct, as well as reminders about ways I could use it even more fullySuggestions about appropriate pet names!A question about the reason for my inclusion of a particular plot that made me realise why I’d written it, and how to resolve it

As you can see, sensitivity readers are awesome!

While I wait for the next round of Ministry notes, I’m going to keep working away on responding to all of the letters you sent me during the pandemic. It’s taking me a while, but I will get to all of you … eventually!

I’m also preparing to announce a lot of exciting things, including the cover of Ministry (there’s a really fun story behind it that I can’t wait to tell you about!) and my tour list for this autumn. I am not going to be able to visit everyone who wants me for various reasons, but I can promise that there WILL be several in-person events and signing opportunities in more than one country. So stay patient and stay alert, I’ll have more news soon!

Also, I know that a lot of you are disappointed that this website still doesn’t have comments open. I am working on this problem, but it’s possible that we just may not be able to get them back. I know this is upsetting, and I’m sorry, but my first priority is being able to keep you all safe online – they won’t return until I’m confident the new system will do that.

Welcome to 2022, Detectives

Hello Detectives! I’m back at last!

Thank you so much for being patient while I was on leave. I’m doing great, and so is the baby. I’m really enjoying parenthood, and I feel so lucky to have been able to take time away from writing to be with them while they were tiny. (By the way, I won’t be mentioning them much online from now on, or giving out details about them – we don’t know if they’re going to be the kind of person who wants to have an online presence, and so we’re waiting until they can tell us what they’d prefer!)

I’m now going to be in the office part time for the next few months. I will be here as much as I can, and posting on Instagram and Twitter again, but my priority whenever I sit down at my desk has to be The Ministry of Unladylike Activity. And the good news about that is that the third draft is going really well! There’s always a moment when the story really clicks for me – sometimes that happens in the second or even first drafts, but this time it’s taken until now for me to feel really excited and confident about what I’m writing. The time I’m spending on it is paying off, and so I hope you’ll understand why I’m around a bit less than I would usually be.

I’ll be able to share more about Ministry later this spring – I’ve seen early versions of its cover, which I LOVE, and I’ll also hopefully be able to talk more about its new main characters. So stay tuned for that!

The next part of what I want to write is a lot less fun. I’m sure you’re all very aware of the war in Ukraine. This is a scary and confusing time, and I am thinking of everyone affected, especially my lovely Ukrainian publishers Nebo Booklab, and all of the Ukrainian members of my Detective Society. It is hard to know what to say, and harder to know what to do, and no one has all the answers, especially not a murder mystery writer. But there are a few things that help me to remember them, and that I hope can help you if you are feeling worried and powerless.

Reading and watching scary things can make us feel as though we are in imminent danger. But most of us, most of the time, are not. Take four deep, calming breaths (in for a slow count of four, out for a slow count of eight each time) to remind your body that you are safe right now. Once you have done that, you’ll feel more strong, and that’ll make you more able to be helpful and kind.Find an adult you trust, and talk to them about your questions and worries. It might seem scary to say the things you’re afraid of, but talking often really helps. Make sure that the person you choose really listens to you, and really responds to what you’re saying. Remember that there are a lot of bad people in this world, but just as many good ones – and remember that there are a lot of good people working on solutions to this problem. We can all do something. You just need to find your thing to do. This could be writing to your MP (or TD or equivalent person). You could donate money, if you have it (or fundraise it, if you don’t!), to a reputable organisation you like the work of. You could go to a rally or march if you are able to. Or you could do something else! It’s up to you. Only you know what’s appropriate for your circumstances. But I think deciding on something active will make you feel less helpless.And finally, you will see a lot of people comparing this situation to other ones in the past. But it’s really important to remember that although there are always similarities and useful parallels, history never actually repeats itself. It just doesn’t! And I say this as someone who does a lot of historical research as part of my job. No one ever really knows what’s going to happen next, I promise you – so please don’t listen to people who are making wild predictions right now.

So take heart, Detectives. You are wonderful, and you have more power than you think you do. Just remember to be kind and thoughtful – and if you have a chance to help someone in difficulty, please do it.

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One more thing: you’ll notice that comments are not enabled on this post, and they won’t be on posts going forward. This is because one commenter has been persistently posting things that don’t meet the standards of this website. My team and I have worked as hard as possible to make sure the rest of you, who have been abiding by the rules and being wonderful to each other and to me, don’t lose your posting privileges, but it’s now clear that comments need to be closed for a while. I’m sad about this, and I’m looking into ways around this, but for now this is what I have to do.

Happy publication day, The Very Merry Murder Club!

Hello Detectives! Robin here. I’m still away on leave until February, but I couldn’t forget that today is a very special day – publication for the anthology of short stories I co-edited, The Very Merry Murder Club!

The Very Merry Murder Club is a collection of 13 wintery mystery stories by 13 amazing children’s authors: Abiola Bello, Annabelle Sami, Benjamin Dean, E.L. Norry, Elle McNicoll, Dominique Valente, Joanna Williams, Maisie Chan, Nizrana Farook, Patrice Lawrence, Roopa Farooki, Serena Patel and Sharna Jackson. I wasn’t able to write a story because I was so busy this spring – but in a way I think it’s better that I’m able to step aside and introduce you to 13 new and brilliant authors!

The authors were chosen by me and my co-editor Serena Patel (she writes the Anisha, Accidental Detective series that you might have heard me talk about before) because we thought that they’d create 13 brilliant and unique mystery stories – and we were right! I love seeing how each person has responded to the brief (write a mystery story set in the winter or around the holiday season). Each story story is clever, unique, exciting and deeply mysterious. You’re going to love reading them!

Cover by Harry Woodgate

The collection is illustrated by Harry Woodgate, who’s also created the beautiful cover. The Very Merry Murder Club is out now, from all good bookstores – hopefully you won’t be able to miss it when you go into your local bookshop!

Once Upon a Crime – thank you for all of your support!

Once Upon a Crime has now been out for just over a week – and I’ve been so thrilled at all of the support I’ve had from it from bookstores and fans.

I’ve loved seeing your photos of it, and hearing what you think of it. It’s so wonderful, when I’m not able to travel!

And on Tuesday I found out that Once Upon a Crime was NUMBER SIX in the full children’s and YA charts in the UK (making it the number one children’s paperback!) and NUMBER TWO in the full children’s charts in Ireland. An incredible first week for an anthology of stories!

I’m now stepping away for the rest of the year to go on leave. I’ll be back in 2022, excited to finish work on the Ministry of Unladylike Activity and share lots more news about it with you.

While I’m away, this website and all of my social media accounts will be looked after by my social media support Kat, while my author website will be monitored by my publicity support Fritha. Please be patient with, and nice to, them both – I’m so grateful that they’re able to help out!

If you’d like to hear me talk about Once Upon a Crime, I recorded my Instagram Live Q&A, and you can watch it here.

I also did an interview with YouTuber Gavin Hetherington, and you can watch our chat below:

Oh, and don’t forget to pre-order the Very Merry Murder Club kids’ crime fiction anthology I co-edited with Serena Patel – I didn’t have time to write a new story for it, but I did help choose each of the authors who are in it, and I know that their stories will be perfect for you if you love my books! It’s out in October, and I’m very excited about it already.

Be kind, be thoughtful, be curious and brave – and I’ll be back in 2022!