Countdown to June 5th

The countdown on the Waterstones website doesn’t lie: there is just ONE MONTH left until Murder Most Unladylike‘s official release. I feel unbelievably excited, and also slightly ill.

In a recent bit of rather exciting news,  Murder Most Unladylike was featured in the Telegraph‘s book review section yesterday, as part of Lorna Bradbury’s pick of the best crime fiction for children. I showed the piece to my mother, and she said, “I’m hyperventilating,” which is how I feel too.

Now, to calm my nerves and help pass the time until June 5th, I’m taking part in the fantastic Countdown to 5th June project from YA Yeah Yeah, which matches authors with books coming out on June 5th with bloggers to talk about their books. There’s new content every day from a huge number of awesome authors (the best way to find it is to follow the @countdownya account on Twitter) – if you love kidlit, it’s a must-read. I’ve been paired with Cait Lomas of The Cait Files, and the interview I did with her will appear on her site on Saturday 24th May.

I’ll also be appearing in various exciting places across the internet to talk about the book in the run-up to its release date – I’ll post links once the interviews are up, so keep checking back here throughout May!

And now, to celebrate the fact that it’s a Bank Holiday, and my book comes out in ONE MONTH, I have a competition for you. Up for grabs is one finished copy of Murder Most Unladylike – the actual book that will be in shops on June 5th.

Murder Most Unladylike is a murder mystery, but it’s also a school story, and to celebrate that fact I’m asking you to leave a comment for me, below, to tell me the strangest nickname you and your friends gave to a teacher when you were at school.

The competition is open now, and will close at noon on Monday 12th May, when I’ll pick my favourite. Unfortunately, it is only open to readers in the UK and Ireland (not because I don’t love my American readers, but because there will be a US edition next year, and I’ll be running another one of these giveaways specifically for the US at that point). I will also not accept any entry that is actually offensive (slightly rude is fine; bizarre is positively encouraged).

So, what are you waiting for? Comment! And roll on the 5th of June.