Robin Stevens's Blog, page 60

Murder Most Unladylike events – Autumn 2015

It’s almost the end of summer – time for a new school year, and a new programme of events. I’ll be out and about all over the country this autumn, talking about my books and meeting as many of you as possible. Below is a current list of my festival and bookshop appearances – more will be added as they are confirmed! Please do keep checking back.

6th September – 1pm, York Waterstones. I’ll be at York Waterstones to sign copies of my books. There will also be some exciting detective activities to work on – solve a puzzling wordsearch and design your own detective societies! This is a free, public event.

3rd October – 10am, Guildhall, Bath Festival. I’ll be talking with fellow Mystery Girl Elen Caldecott, author of the Marsh Road Mysteries, about how we write our mystery novels – and inviting you to help us create a brand new story. Tickets are £6 – book using instructions on the website.

11th October – 2:45pm, Little Big Top, Cheltenham Festival. Along with my mystery pal Katherine Woodfine, author of The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow, I’ll be talking iced buns and detective intrigue at Cheltenham Festival. It is a ticketed event – please book using instructions on the website.

24th October – 12pm, 1pm and 3pm, Roald Dahl Museum. I’ll be kicking off the museum’s Vermicious Villains Week  with an event filled with murder mysteries and dastardly villains. I’ll be reading from my new book, talking about my inspiration for the series and helping you create your very own detective agency. Tickets are £3 plus museum entry fee – book using the instructions on the website.

8th November – 12:30pm, Little Star Writing Festival, Weybridge. I’ll be joining fellow authors Abi Elphinstone and Guy Bass to talk about the way I write, and to help inspire you to create your own books. Tickets are £8 per workshop – please book via this link.

A First Class Murder launch

First Class Murder is finally out in the world! Its gorgeous orange cover has steamed into shops across the UK and Ireland, and on Saturday 1st August I held a launch event for it at Waterstones in Cambridge.

In preparation I baked some excitingly bright orange train-shaped biscuits and a coffee and walnut cake (in honour of Hazel – I’ve decided that the 30th July, official publication date for First Class Murder, can double as her birthday), and bought some bright orange cups and napkins, as well as the beautiful new bookmarks that my publishers have created.

Beautiful orange train biscuits, all ready to go!

I’d heard that quite a few people would be there, but I wasn’t quite prepared to arrive at a quarter to three and find . . . this.

First Class Murder readers all ready to go!

The turn-out was incredible – lots of people came from London or even further away, and one fan, Florence, came from Amsterdam with her family. I was signing for a very long time (we actually sold out of copies of the book – apologies if you were one of the people who didn’t manage to get a book signed, but book plates will be on their way to you soon!), and it was amazing to talk to everyone. So many of you are genuine fans of the series, now – I’m so honoured that this is a book that you’ve been waiting for, and that you’re excited about.

Working on activity sheets at the First Class Murder launch

Thank you to everyone who came – here I am with fan and blogger, Sophie, who did a lovely write-up of the afternoon on her website.

With reader Sophie

And here I am with my very own Wells & Wong pillars!

With my First Class Murder pillar!

The Cambridge Waterstones booksellers were incredible – thanks especially to Sylvie and Jess, for staffing what was a very busy event. They’ve been such supporters of the series from the beginning, and I love working with them.

So here’s to a happy day, and a wonderful launch for First Class Murder. Thank you so much for coming, if you did, and if you didn’t get the chance to, don’t worry – I’ll be announcing my autumn events line-up soon. Keep checking this site!

Murder Most Unladylike will be published in Italy!

What’s Italian for bunbreak?

Dellightfully, I will learn soon, because I’ve just heard that Mondadori Ragazzi will be publishing my first book, Murder Most Unladylike, in Italy! The book will be out in 2016 or 2017, so a little while to wait, but it’s most definitely on its way.

This is amazing news, and means that we are up to five territories now for the series: America, France, Germany, Taiwan and Italy. Daisy and Hazel are taking over the world!

New Statesman review for First Class Murder

Amanda Craig at the New Statesman has included First Class Murder in her summer round-up! She says:

‘Robin Stevens’s addictive Wells and Wong detective series introduces Hazel’s Chinese Old Etonian father in First Class Murder, a rumbustious reworking of Agatha Christie’s Orient Express caper.’

Happy publication day, First Class Murder!

It’s a strange thought that, fourteen months ago, I was getting ready for the publication of Murder Most Unladylike. I wasn’t sure what the world was going to make of my book, and of Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong – and I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this.

Here I am, just over a year later, and I have somehow become the author of three books, with another on the way, and my series is sitting on tables (sometimes on tables of its own), and Murder Most Unladylike won a Waterstones Prize and is going to be published in France and Germany and Taiwan (and is already published in America, as Murder is Bad Manners). And, more important than any of that, Daisy and Hazel have jumped from my brain into yours, and it seems like you want to keep them there. I’ve said this several times, but I can’t help but keep on being amazed (and a bit alarmed) by what’s happened to my life. I think this is probably a dream – but a very nice one, which I hope will last a while longer.

Today is the official publication date of First Class Murder – it is now absolutely and irrevocably a book, and you can find it in any good book store. In their world, Daisy and Hazel are half a year older than they were in Murder Most Unladylike, (probably) a little bit wiser, and also (in Hazel’s case) a little bit braver. They’re on their summer holidays, and Hazel’s father has decided to take them on a railway adventure across Europe on the Orient Express. But, of course, wherever Hazel and Daisy go, death seems to follow, and in this book they have to face not only a dead body, but an impossible murder and an international spy.

With First Class Murder at last!

I went to see the book in store on Tuesday, in Oxford Waterstones, and it really does look fantastic. The orange cover is completely unmissable, and totally insane in the best way. The three books look so great together, too – so much thanks to my design team at PRH and my illustrator Nina Tara, as always.

The display at Oxford Waterstones!

My series on a table together!

I had an amazing time writing First Class Murder – I think it’s my favourite book of the series so far – and I can’t wait to hear what you think. I’m only a little nervous. So send me an email, or a tweet – bonus points if you include a photo of you with the book, or the book and a nice bunbreak. I had an extremely upgraded one in celebration – and there will be more celebrations in order today! Happy birthday, First Class Murder. Here’s to many more!

Eclairs and fizz for First Class Murder!

Arsenic for Tea reviewed in the Literary Review Summer Round-Up

Arsenic for Tea has been featured in the Literary Review‘s summer children’s round-up! Philip Womack says:

‘It is refreshing to see the presence of so many rambunctious young women in children’s books, and none are more so than the protagonists of Robin Stevens’s Wells & Wong Mysteries, which see two girls solving murders in the 1920s. Arsenic for Tea (Corgi 352pp ￡ 6.99) brings the terror right into Daisy Wells’s house, when an annoying, adulterous guest is murdered and her entire family falls under suspicion. Hazel Wong, an uber-rich Hong Kongite, throws the habits of the British upper classes into relief. Stevens brings psychological depth to the classic Christie crime; she does not shirk the unpalatable consequences.’

Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books review Murder is Bad Manners

The Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books have reviewed Murder is Bad Manners! They say:

‘Thirteen-year-old Hazel Wong and her best friend, Daisy Wells, students at Deepdean School in 1930s England, aspire to be detectives. To that end they have formed a secret Detective Society, practicing their observational skills by snooping on their peers and teachers and memorizing license plates. When Hazel discovers science teacher Miss Bell dead in the gym one evening, and the corpse then disap- pears before anyone else can witness it, the society has a real case at last (much to Daisy’s delight and Hazel’s trepidation). The pair put their deductive skills to work as they seek to solve the mystery of Miss Bell’s death, and gradually they begin to whittle down the suspect list, discovering a connection to a Deepdean student who “accidentally” died the previous year. Stevens’ story, narrated by Hazel, is a first-rate homage to English boarding school adventure and period murder-mystery tales. Hazel’s astute observations as a cultural outsider (she’s a native of Hong Kong) add an interesting layer of depth to the narrative while also making it more accessible to non-British audiences (a helpful “Guide to Deepdean,” provided by Daisy at book’s end, amusingly sheds more light on specific terminology). Spot art at the beginning of each chapter features Daisy and Hazel in silhouette and sporting flashlights, a satisfyingly correct period detail. Middle-schoolers with a taste for Agatha Christie (and perhaps PBS costume or mystery dramas) will eat this up and ask for more.’ JH

Murder Most Unladylike author events – June 2015

It’s summer in the city, and that means only one thing . . . First Class Murder is almost here. It’ll be steaming into shops on the 30th July, and I’ve been preparing for its release by getting out and about all over the country to talk about Daisy & Hazel’s adventures.

On the 21st, I visited the beautiful St-Annes-on-Sea to be part of wonderful indie bookstore Storytellers Inc‘s first ever Midsummer Mystery festival. Five of the Mystery Girls, the most cunning and crime-obsessed MG authors in the business – Katherine Woodfine, Helen Moss, Kate Pankhurst, Elen Caldecott and myself – came to give presentations about our detective books, eat bunbreak, and take part in an absolutely baffling mystery. As well as being authors, we were all suspects in the Case of the Missing Manuscript, the theft of the latest crime novel manuscript from noted local author Davinia Carruthers-Henley.

I really do think that the future of detection in England is bright – I met a lot of really brilliant sleuths who were extremely keen to solve the mystery, and uncomfortably close to the truth very quickly. Suspicion fell on Elen and Kate in the beginning, but those were just red herrings. I’m dreadfully ashamed to say that at the end of the day I was revealed to be the dastardly thief. I’m terribly sorry – as always, I just wanted to read the book before anyone else . . .

Sunset on the beautiful St-Annes-on-Sea beach

My hotel came with a CONCIERGE DOG.

Mystery Girls ready to go!

Kate Pankhurst, Helen Moss and Katherine Woodfine plot our next crime.

A Midsummer bunbreak!

Celebrating a most mysterious day!

On the Monday after the festival, I went with my detective pal and partner in crime Katherine Woodfine, author of The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow, to visit Heyhouses Endowed Church of England School. We had a great time telling the kids about our books, and I have to say, doing events with other authors might be my new favourite thing. I love being part of a team, and I love hearing about how other authors create their books.

Ready to go at our school visit!

Katherine Woodfine reads from The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow

James reads along!

On the 28th June, I travelled to Bedford to be part of the Bedford Bookfest. I managed to sneak into the event before mine, by a certain new children’s laureate, and I now know that Chris Riddell’s commute is way quicker than mine. While I spend every morning sitting on a train floor, wedged between a seat and a bin, he . . . walks down his garden to his writing studio. I’m extremely jealous, though I do wonder if I’d ever write anything in such comfort.

Chris was a hard act to follow, but all the same I think my event went well, and I hope I inspired the audience to write their own detective stories, as well as read mine!

Chris Riddell and his commute

With UNBELIEVABLY giant books!

Remembering my youth at Bedford.

Signing Libby’s book after my talk.

And with fab bookseller Emma Turner!

And finally, about First Class Murder . . . On Wednesday this week I got a very special delivery: the first advance copy! I keep expecting that this moment will mean less to me, the more books I write – but meeting my third book for the first time turned out to be just as fantastic a moment as seeing my first.

I love this book – it might be my favourite of the ones I’ve written so far – and I am delighted with how it looks. Huge thanks to my illustrator, Nina Tara, and my designer Laura Bird (with help from Janene Spencer). It’s going to look incredible on shelves – you won’t be able to miss its orange glow! Only three weeks left . . .

With First Class Murder for the very first time, on the hottest day of the year!

Happy audiobook birthday, Murder Most Unladylike and Arsenic for Tea!

It’s book birthday time again! Not for First Class Murder (not quite yet, anyway – the countdown clock is at t – 42 days and I’m already planning my baking for the launch on the 1st of August), but for the audiobooks of the first two books, Murder Most Unladylike and Arsenic for Tea.

They’re read by the wonderful Gemma Chan (of Sherlock and Fresh Meat fame, and currently being seen on Channel 4’s excellent Humans), and having listened through to both I can confirm that they’re delightful. Actually hearing my books as words out loud was so strange that at several points I forgot (for about the first time ever) that I’d written them. During the denouement of Murder Most Unladylike I got very concerned about Daisy & Hazel’s safety and had to go pacing around the house in a state of great nervousness.

The audio versions are available for download from today, and I’d definitely recommend you do. First Class Murder is currently being recorded, and should hopefully be available not long after the physical book is released.

So here’s to Hazel being given a voice!

With Gemma Chan, the voice of Hazel!

Author adventures – May and June 2015

It’s been a busy few weeks! I’ve been out and about in schools, bookshops and libraries – below is a round-up of my latest author adventures.

On the 8th, I  put on my editor hat and did a talk with my friend Non Pratt (author of Trouble and Remix, and also someone whose day job used to involve editing other people’s books). We spoke to a group of new and upcoming authors about what to expect when you’re expecting a book, and how best to run your author life after you’ve been published. Here we are below with our fancy BatNon & Robin logo, and also our frog pens (because all good superheroes need frog pens). Check out the #BatNon hashtag on Twitter if you want to read more about the event, and find out about our (hopefully useful) tips.

Partners in crime – photo by Katie Webber

On the next night, for a complete change, I gave a talk at Waterstones Hampstead with adult crime writer (and author of the authorised new Poirot novel The Monogram Murders), Sophie Hannah. We spoke about Agatha Christie’s influence on our lives (we’re both equally obsessed, and we even have oddly similar origin stories – both of us were first given second-hand copies of a Poirot by our fathers aged about age 11) and how much we’re in debt to her as authors. The event was given a fantastic write-up by Sophie, aged 9, who I’m pretty sure is going to take over publishing and/or authoring one day very soon.

Me, Sophie and Sophie Hannah at Hampstead – photo by Sophie’s mother Tanya

On the 12th of June, I had the amazing and extremely odd experience of being invited back to my old primary school, the Dragon, as an author. Everything was much smaller, but otherwise strangely the same – same uniforms, same bunbreaks, same buildings and even (strangely) some of the same teachers – only now, those teachers just turn out to be other grown-up humans. It felt a little like being on the other side of a mirror. I gave two workshops to the pupils there, and helped them come up with some amazing murder mysteries – one involving a secret robot dinosaur, one about a murderous sidekick, and one where the murder weapon was a trained monkey.

My old library! Scene of much lunch break reading.

A Dragon School staff room bunbreak.

The bunbreak bell!

Workshop in progress!

Beautiful school grounds.

In the afternoon, I went to the ever-brilliant Story Museum to help a group of girls from Didcot Girls’ School with the plot and script for their awesome Gothic murder mystery, Night at the Asylum. It’s taking place on Friday 19th June, and I can guarantee that it’s going to be terrifying. If you’re in Oxford, and you can go, you absolutely should. If you can handle it, that is …

Having fun at the Story Museum’s Reading exhibition after the workshop

And finally, on Saturday 13th, I visited Oxford Central Library – which was another time warp moment. I grew up in central Oxford, and I went to the Oxford Library almost every single week. It’s where I discovered Terry Pratchett, and L M Montgomery, and so many more authors who I’ve been in love with ever since.

Coming back as an author was incredibly weird and wonderful – and I also got a very special surprise when I discovered that three of the girls in the audience had actually dressed up as Deepdean pupils. We did detective activities (and we all wore Detective Society badges, courtesy of librarian Jo) and I answered everyone’s questions about me and my books.

Ready to go!

Author in the Library.

Activity time!

With my three Deepdean girls!

So there you go – that’s my author round-up. I’ve had a brilliant time over the past few weeks, and I hope that if you came to see me at any of the events you had as much fun as I did.