Robin Stevens's Blog, page 10

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.

*

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!

Book Recommendation Video for August 2021!

I’m about to head off on leave – but before I go, here’s one last YouTube recommendation video of all the books I think you might be interested in reading while I’m away! They are:

Show Us Who You Are by Elle McNicoll (8+)

Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston (8+)

The Secret Detectives by Ella Risbridger (8+)

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (13+)

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna (15+)

I also mention the Very Merry Murder Club, an anthology of 13 wintery mysteries which is coming out on the 28th of October, and which you can pre-order now!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this video – it feels very strange to be saying goodbye for the rest of the year, but I know the time will fly by, and I’ll be back in 2022 with loads of exciting Ministry of Unladylike Activity news before you know it!

Once Upon a Crime – timeline and case list!

If you’ve already got your copy of Once Upon a Crime, you may have noticed some lovely extra material at the back of the book: a timeline and a book checklist!

A lot of you have been asking for downloadable copies, and I’m very pleased to say that they’re available now over on the Activities page:

Murder Most Unladylike timeline

Cases I Have Cracked With the Detective Society

I’m so pleased to have them up on the site – enjoy, Detectives!

Happy publication day, Once Upon a Crime!

The wait is finally over, Detectives! I’m so pleased that my book of Murder Most Unladylike short stories, Once Upon a Crime, is out TODAY!

To celebrate, I’ve made a new video that you can watch now on my YouTube channel. I talk more about the stories, and I also read from the very beginning of ‘The Case of the Uninvited Guest’, the story of what happened at Uncle Felix and Aunt Lucy’s wedding.

It’s been so wonderful to hear from so many people who are already buying and reading the book, all over the world – I feel incredibly lucky to be finishing this series with such dedicated, thoughtful and kind fans. Thank you!

I’m going to be doing two more events before I head off on maternity leave at the end of next week: an Instagram Live on my Instagram account on Sunday 8th August at 4pm BST, and an interview with YouTuber Gavin Hetherington on his How To Train Your Gavin channel on Friday 13th August at 5pm BST. Both are free, and Gavin’s YouTube interview will stay up afterwards if you miss it when it’s first being aired!

I really do feel so proud to be able to say goodbye to the Murder Most Unladylike series this way. It’s wonderful to be taking a break knowing that my first series is finished – and my second, The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, is on the way next year in 2022!

Once Upon a Crime is Winstone’s Children’s Book of the Month for August!

I’m delighted that Winstone’s independent bookstores have chosen Once Upon a Crime as their Children’s Book of the Month for August!

It’s been reviewed by Grace in the Sherborne Times, too – thank you so much, Grace, and thank you to Winstone’s!

One week until Once Upon a Crime – read an exclusive extract now!

It’s true! Once Upon a Crime publishes in just SEVEN DAYS in the UK and Ireland – the wait is nearly over!

You may start seeing copies in stores from Monday 2nd August – there’s no embargo (a fancy publishing word that just means ‘hold’) on the book, so booksellers can put it out on display any time during publication week.

I’m working very hard to get everyone’s Round Table Books pre-orders out to them before publication day – orders will close on the 1st August (Sunday) for the rest of the year, so if you haven’t pre-ordered yet, this is your last chance! I’ve sent out copies to readers in Hong Kong, India, UAE, Hungary, Australia and Spain (among other countries!), and over the next few days I’m going to make a start on books to Ireland – and then the HUGE pile of books for UK fans! It makes me feel so proud and happy to know that even though I can’t travel myself at the moment, my books are going all over the world to reach their readers.

If you’d like to watch me talk about Once Upon a Crime, there’s a very special publication day virtual event with Waterstones and Elle McNicoll – you can buy tickets here, and they’ll be on sale all the way up until the 5th itself. And if you can’t make it, or you can’t pay for an event, don’t worry – there’ll be more ways to hear from me that I’ll announce soon.

And if you’d like to get an exclusive sneak peek of one of the stories in Once Upon a Crime, you can read the beginning of May Wong and the Deadly Flat here! This was sent out to newsletter subscribers last week – if you haven’t signed up yet, it’s the best way to get news from me straight to your inbox, even before it hits this website.

I’ll be back soon with a lot more Once Upon a Crime news – I’m so excited to see it get out into the world, and to talk to you about it!

Once Upon a Crime virtual event announcement!

Once Upon a Crime‘s publication day is just around the corner (August 3rd in Australia and New Zealand, and August 5th in the UK, Ireland, India, South Africa and most other territories where the Puffin edition is sold) – and I’m very happy to announce an event to celebrate it!

I’m not able to do any in-person events for this book, but I will be doing a few online events instead. I know lots of you would love to meet me in person – and I really do miss being able to meet fans – but I think it’s really nice that this way of doing things means that fans have equal access to events, wherever in the world you are!

The first Once Upon a Crime event will be at 11am UK time on the 5th of August. It’s hosted by Waterstones, who have been so supportive of me and the Murder Most Unladylike series, and I’ll be in conversation with brilliant children’s author Elle McNicoll. Elle’s first book, A Kind of Spark, just won the Waterstones Prize, and I’m a huge fan of her writing, so this is very exciting for me!

You can book tickets at the link above, or here – this event costs £5 per screen, or £10 for a ticket plus a copy of the book. The £5 ticket is available to anyone, anywhere in the world, but the £10 book and ticket is only available to fans in the UK. But don’t despair, non-UK readers – until the 1st August anyone can still order a signed copy of Once Upon a Crime from Round Table Books. They will ship anywhere in the world for the cost of postage and packing!

I’ll be announcing more events in the coming weeks, so don’t worry if you can’t make this one, or you don’t feel able to pay.