COUNTDOWN TO LAUNCH – 4 WEEKS TO GO

Less than a month to go. Gulp! And my book is a THING. I saw a picture of it last night. My editor sent me a photo and there are now people in the world who have touched it. I’m not sure how long it will take a copy to reach me but it is safe to say I am ridiculously over-excited at the idea of holding it, so there will soon be lots of ‘me with book’ shots appearing on the website For now, here is a ‘book with other books’ shot:

With the launch fast approaching, that also means the deadline for the first draft of Book 2 is looming, so I’ve been working hard this week. But it’s difficult to focus on writing a new book when my head is so wrapped up in the excitement of ‘The Case of the Exploding Loo’. At least they’re part of the same series. I don’t know how people manage when they are promoting one thing and creating something entirely unrelated.

I managed to convince myself that the secret to a successful week’s writing lay in my new writing dungarees. I’ll put these on, I thought, and suddenly I will become efficient and committed to The Case of the Unfinished Second Book. Hmmm. Not so much. I was as easily distracted as ever, but now I was dressed as an oversized toddler.

I had a fun meeting with the lovely Sam at the Dolphinarium on Monday, where I discovered all sorts of things about the amorous exploits of Dolphins I hadn’t known previously! We discussed the possibility of me doing a book event there in October, which would be fab. I considered asking if horny dolphins could be trained to re-create the effect of an exploding toilet. But, then again, perhaps not.

I went to the launch of A4 on Monday night, which is a new ‘dynamic space . . . in the heart of the most prominent arts district . . . for writers, designers, artists and all creatives alike to work within . . . the hub for arts & creativity and a connecting space for those starting out to meet the experts of the creative world’

Okay, so that doesn’t sound like the natural home for a woman in dungarees. And, indeed, it was full of beautiful people with bonkers shoes and interesting hair. But it is a lovely space and the bit that really appealed was their mission to create within it ‘a book collection built by the people, for the people.’ Everyone was asked to bring along a book of their choice and explain why they wanted to donate it. Chris Fraser, from 7 Days, asked for my suggestion, so I popped into the launch with my lovely friends, Annabel and Heidi, to drop it off –

Yesterday I had the first glimpse of the kids’ author interview that the lovely Alice Potter did with me last week. She is a whizz and it made me laugh (as well as cringe at the weird twitchy faces I seem to pull – I need keeping-face-still lessons if anyone knows someone who teaches that as a skill). So hopefully I’ll be able to post that soon too. So much excitement, I may explode.

All that’s left for this week are the thank yous. Thank you to Alice, who is a whizz and a wonder and to whom I owe several decades of babysitting. Thanks to Reem for all the help and the school introductions. Thanks to the Boy Fitzhammond and Nick Stearn for creating such a photogenic cover. Thanks to Rachel M for leaping into the editor’s shoes so brilliantly. Thanks to Sam for getting me excited about book events and educating me in the way of dolphin shenanigans. Thanks to Annabel and Heidi for accompanying me on my travels. Thanks to Tracy for being my poster-related-issues sounding board and to all the lovely people who convinced me turquoise was best. Thanks to Tatum for entertaining me with tales of demons and boneheads and being such a wise crit partner. Thanks to Jodie for always looking interested long after Dylan has wandered off bored, and thanks to my sister Debbie for being the queen of the walruses (and that’s a bigger compliment than it sounds!)

And the biggest thanks of all to those of you who’ve pre-ordered, or are considering buying ‘The Case of the Exploding Loo’. I’d love it to be a success – because then Simon & Schuster will let me write Book 3 and Book 4

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