Robin Stevens's Blog, page 68

MMU in the news!

That title is slightly misleading. Murder Most Unladylike has not been in the actual news. But it has had some absolutely wonderful mentions online and in print in the past week.

First, Murder Most Unladylike was featured in this week’s Saturday Times as its children’s book of the week.

The reviewer didn’t even guess whodunit (which is incredibly pleasing to me. I love how many people I’m foxing).

And reader Amy (one of the first people to actually read the book, way back when it was nothing more than a proof copy) has had her review published in Scotland’s Daily Record. Amy is a brilliant and very discerning young reviewer, and her opinion means a lot to me.

For extra fun, here’s Amy’s Golden Retriever Shimmer beautifully modelling the review as it appeared in the paper.

I feel so lucky to have had two such wonderful mentions in newspapers – it’s a sad fact that very few children’s books are given space in print media, so this is an amazing thing to happen.

Murder Most Unladylike has also been given some fantastic blogger reviews this week.

Liz Filleul reviews it on her blog storyspinnerliz.wordpress.com, saying:

This is an absolutely gorgeous book, from the cover, through the map of Deepdean School and cast of characters, to the mystery itself. It’s a genuine detective story, crammed with clues, red herrings and motives . . . The denouement is particularly gripping and I stayed up late to finish it, feeling at the end like I’d been playing a really enjoyable game of Cluedo.

And Cicely Wynne reviews it on ciclovesbooks.blogspot.com, with possibly my favourite piece of praise ever:

I just adored it, and I think it is impossible not to. If you don’t adore this, then you are just weird.

A huge thank you to everyone who’s take time to talk about Murder Most Unladylike – I’m so grateful for your words!

And now, I leave you with a picture that I particularly love, my friend Sarah reading Murder Most Unladylike in Cusco, Peru. Daisy and Hazel are travelling the world!

You are invited to the Oxford launch of Murder Most Unladylike!

If you happen to be in the Oxford area on Saturday the 28th of June, may I suggest that you attend my launch?

The wonderful people at Blackwell’s Oxford are letting me hold an event in their children’s department – free, and open to all! Come along to meet me, hear me read from Murder Most Unladylike, and partake in amusing activities such as a test to find out whether you are more like Hazel or Daisy. Bunbreak will be provided, as well as lashings of ginger beer.

Doors open at 7, and the password is (of course) bunbreak.

I hope I’ll see you there!

Oh, what a lovely launch!

On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to launch Murder Most Unladylike at Trafalgar Square Waterstones. Masterminded by the wonderful Sarah, the launch took place in the children’s department, and I do honestly think that it was one of the best evenings of my life. Stacey at theprettybooks was kind enough to be the official photographer for the evening, and below are a few of the best pictures.

The book, on shelves at last!

Me and my book!

And that cover wasn’t just on the books. Thanks to the graphic design skills of fellow Team Cooper member Julienne, the wine we drank was actually Murder Most Unladylike Merlot.

Book wine!

Delicious death

Don’t worry, it wasn’t poisoned. Probably.

And, of course, I couldn’t have launched Murder Most Unladylike without a bunbreak. Tiffin by me, cake by my friend Boadicea, books from Ruth Fitzgerald and buns from . . . er . . . Tesco’s.

Bunbreak!

Fun was had by all (I hope).

Greeting my awesome editor Nat

What a fantastic location!

Anna James and Isobel Russell Williams

Signing a book for Katy Cannon

More book signing

Book selfie with Edward Cox

MORE book signing!

With Caitlin Lomas

With blogger Daphne and her autograph book

Murder Most Unladylike is everywhere!

Actually, the best thing about this book is the map. Thank you, Nina Tara!

And then there were the speeches. My agent, Gemma, read from the book and gave an absolutely glorious and touching speech.

Gemma Cooper giving her speech

And then I said some words and made some weird faces. I think I might need to practice my public speaking. I also need to practice my signature – many apologies to those who got my early efforts, which look like a horrid dying spider.

It really was a brilliant event. I had so much fun, and I was so touched by all of the kind things people said and did. Some of my friends took time off work and traveled halfway across the country to be there, I was given so many thoughtful and lovely gifts, and my absolutely awesome agent even painted her nails to match the book cover. I’m a very happy author, and I want to thank each and every one of you who were there.

What a launch!

Murder Most Unladylike nails

Booktrust review

Agatha Christie meets Malory Towers in this 1930s-set mystery, which will delight fans of boarding school stories. Debut author Robin Stevens deftly blends plenty of old-fashioned ‘jolly hockey sticks’ spirit with a contemporary sensibility that will ensure this lively romp has plenty of appeal for young readers today. Neatly plotted with plenty of surprises and an especially endearing narrator in Hazel, this is a gloriously fun first outing for schoolgirl detective duo Wells and Wong.

(Katherine Woodfine, Booktrust)

Authoring: Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of Murder Most Unladylike‘s official release – and I couldn’t have had a better one. I didn’t just get to see my book on shelves, I got to see it sitting on the bestseller shelf in Blackwell’s Oxford. Thanks to all of you Oxford natives (and especially my mother), Murder Most Unladylike is currently top of the Blackwell’s Broad Street bestseller chart, and so when you go into the store, it’s sitting proudly on a shelf of its own.

On the Blackwell’s Bestseller chart!

I’m so delighted – what an incredible thing to happen! I just stood and stared for a bit. It was also on a table in the Children’s section – look at the amazing company I’m in!

Then, as if that wasn’t exciting enough, I did my first ever author signing.

Signing!

Blackwell’s Oxford is being so supportive – they’re hosting a launch for me on the 28th, in fact, to which you are ALL invited – and I’m very glad to be able to say that they are now in possession of a VERY LARGE number of signed copies of Murder Most Unladylike. If you are anywhere near Oxford, do stop by and pick one up – and tell them I sent you!

Signed copies in the window!

If I stay up on that bestseller slot for another week my face is going to be even more excited than this:

With bookseller extraordinaire Rebecca

 

Tea-Time Treat: Arsenic for Tea has a cover!

I’m delighted to be able to share with you a special publication day present from my wonderful publishers, Random House – the cover of the second book in the Wells & Wong Mystery series, Arsenic for Tea!

Isn’t it glorious? In real life, it will be a very fresh, zingy lime colour – perfect for afternoon tea!

There are so many gorgeous details – the tea cup! The watch! That bottle of poison! – but my absolute favourite thing is the dog. I am completely beside myself with joy at the fact that I will be an author of a book with a dog on the cover.

And in case you were wondering what the book was about apart from dogs, here’s the official description . . .

Schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy’s home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Daisy’s glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for Daisy’s birthday, and Daisy’s eccentric family are all invited.

Then one of their party falls seriously, mysteriously ill – and everything points to poison.

With furious storms preventing anyone from leaving, or the police from arriving, Fallingford suddenly feels like a very dangerous place to be. No one at Fallingford is what they seem – and everyone has a secret or two. And when someone very close to Daisy looks suspicious, the Detective Society must do everything they can to reveal the truth . . . no matter the consequences.

You can even pre-order now from Blackwell’s, Waterstones or Amazon. How exciting!

Welcome to the world, Wells & Wong!

It’s official! Murder Most Unladylike is out in the UK and Ireland today, and I am a published author.

With the book at Waterstones Piccadilly

I had my first sighting of the book in the wild yesterday, at Waterstones Piccadilly. It was on a table, and on the shelf, and seeing it (and watching my friend buy a copy) finally made it seem real. It’s an object! It costs money! You can purchase it!

Quite obviously, if you do feel moved to buy a copy today (or tomorrow, or any day) you’ll make me a very happy author. You’ll make me equally happy if you buy the print or the ebook edition – to me, it’s all the same words on a page.

The window at Blackwell’s Oxford

But if you do want to get a physical copy, it would mean something extra-special to me (and to the whole book industry) if you went out and bought it from a real, honest-to-goodness bookshop. We all – readers and authors – need bookshops. A good bookseller is worth a hundred tailored mailings, and the discoveries you can make while you’re standing in a real bookshop can never be replicated on the internet. If you love reading, you should be supporting places that give books space and time. And it’s not as though you can’t pick up good bargains in bookshops. I know for a fact that Murder Most Unladylike is currently on 3 for 2 in Blackwell’s – and if you need some books to go with it, may I suggest some of the other excellent titles out today?

So quick! To your local bookshop! And if you happen to come upon Murder Most Unladylike – or if, even better, you buy a copy and have a #bunbreak with it – I’d love to hear from you or see your pictures.

In the meantime, I leave you with this – an exclusive Wells & Wong short story on the We Love This Book website. Can Hazel and Daisy solve the Case of Lavinia’s Missing Tie?

Happy 5th of June!

Murder Most Unladylike Goes Down the Rabbit Hole

On Tuesday, Down the Rabbit Hole, a new half-hour radio show entirely about children’s and YA books, aired on Resonance FM in a regular slot for the first time. Presented by Melissa Cox and Katherine Woodfine and featuring special guests Susie Day and Tom Percival, the three books discussed were Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes, Lobsters . . . and Murder Most Unladylike.

I’m utterly bowled over that the book was chosen – and that it was such a big part of the show. Susie read an extract from it, the whole panel discussed it, and they even mentioned bunbreak. It’s the most amazing pre-publication present I could have been given.

You can listen to the show in full via SoundCloud, below. And you should!

In other news, I can finally confirm that Murder Most Unladylike is 100% IN STOCK at Blackwell’s Oxford – fetchingly modeled here by ace children’s bookseller Rebecca.

It’s also on offer at 3 for 2 – so if you’re in the area, stop by and tell them I sent you!

Countdown to Bunbreak: Ten Days!

Hello!

Good news first: Murder Most Unladylike will be out in TEN DAYS.

TEN DAYS. That’s less than two weeks. I couldn’t even hatch a duck egg in ten days. Ten days is PRACTICALLY NEGLIGIBLE.

In fact, for some of you lucky people, I’m hearing that the wait may already be over. Sources* (*acclaimed sleuth and Mystery Girl Kate Pankhurst) have told me that certain bookshops have begun to sell Murder Most Unladylike. I think this is still fairly rare – although it’s not embargoed, most stock won’t have been delivered yet, and even if the book is in, most shops like to hold back on new titles until a few days before release – but if you ARE lucky enough to find a copy of Murder Most Unladylike in the wild from now on, I want to hear from you.

Take a picture of yourself enjoying a bunbreak with Hazel and Daisy, email it to me or tweet me @redbreastedbird (tagged with #bunbreak of course), and I’ll feature the best on this site. I’ll also be eternally grateful to you because you’ll basically be giving me the best present a writer could wish for: proof that someone out there is actually reading my words.

And talking about people reading my words  . . .

***

My Countdown to June 5th interview at the Cait Files is now up! Follow that link to find out all about my research process, my favourite children’s books and what I’d pick for my ideal bunbreak. And if you’re interested in reading interviews with the others fantastic authors involved in the project (you should be!), go to countdownya.com for the very latest round-up.

***

I’m also greatly honoured (and overwhelmed, and amazed) to be able to say that Murder Most Unladylike has been reviewed in the Financial Times by Suzi Feay. A shortened version of the review is up in the reviews section, but here’s photographic proof of the article in all its glory:

And there was also an amazing mention for Murder Most Unladylike the Oxford Times. The article speaks the truth: Blackwell’s Oxford has a lot to answer for. In fact, they’re so nice that they’re letting me have a launch event at their Broad Street store on the evening of Saturday the 28th of June. Please stop by if you’re in the area!

So, that’s my round-up! The next time I post on this blog I think I might finally be a published author.

I’m excited and very nervous, but trying to stay calm by reminding myself that, when it all seems too much, I need to just stop and have a bunbreak. It’s what Daisy and Hazel would do.

The Financial Times review

‘Stevens’ novel, set in the 1930s, is a skilful blend of golden era crime novel and boarding school romp, with a winning central relationship between plump, anxious Hazel, a new girl who has arrived from Hong Kong, and the super-confident, blonde English rose Daisy Wells. The novel works both as an affectionate satire and an effective mystery story, and Stevens can go places Enid Blyton never dreamt of, with lesbian teachers, drunkenness and hysteria amid the hockey sticks and buns. Top class.’

(Suzi Feay, The Financial Times)