March-June 2009
Spring was dominated by the publication of Secrets in May. Leading up to a book’s launch, the author commits to all manner of publicity and marketing. This can range from writing articles commissioned by mags and papers in return for a plug (of the book, not of the bath…), to interviews across the media (tv, radio and press) to events up and down the country, plus signings in book shops and finally, undertaking daft things to secure any publicity going. In fact, all authors become a little shameless in giving their new books a leg-up! As you may remember from my blog, the leg-up for me came in the form of a ladder propped against a bus. It was fantastic to don a hi-viz jacket and physically fix one of the amazing posters to the side of a London double-decker!
The shenanigans that take place around publication can be as exhausting as they are fun - and the rewards are always well worth it. You must remember, we authors spend most our year in utter silence in the company of people who don’t actually exist - so I for one find it a real thrill to be out and about, meeting the people who really matter (you lot who buy my books, the staff who ensure the shelves are well stocked, the journalists who take shorthand while I gabble nineteen to the dozen, the producers who let me witter on and on, on radio and tv….)
March-June were packed with commitments ranging from writing my first short story for radio (entitled Fish & Chips, for BBC Radio 4 - I’ll see if I can post it up here, in due course), to appearing on the Matthew Wright show on TV. I also turned the airwaves blue-ish with Claudia Winkleman, but then I turned the airwaves silent on the Robert Elms show when I promptly lost my voice! I signed books up and down the country - me and my trusty felt pen (a Pilot Liquid Ink Sign Pen - in either pink, mauve or blue, since you ask…) and spoke at length to journalists from the nationals as well as regional papers. I also did a number events in the North East - which is of course where Secrets is set. How much fun it is to return ‘for work’ to a place so close to my heart. I even managed to organize at ‘working lunch’ with a journalist…at one of my favourite eateries in Saltburn, Virgo’s!
There were fantastic evening events in Whitby, York and Middlesbrough too - it was great to meet so many readers, old and new. I must make mention of one lady, Colette, who has been writing to me for years and years. It was such a thrill to finally meet her when she journeyed from Leeds to York for the talk there (tork in york? talk in yalk?). At the event in Whitby, a certain Sharon Stone was in the audience (yes indeed. No, not that one). Well, a few weeks later, she took a day off work and decided to drive north for an hour to read Secrets on the beach at Saltburn… and she was strolling along the vast sands at pretty much the same time as I was being frowned at for not having a copy of my book on me for a local photo call (doh!). Sharon to the rescue… Perhaps the event I enjoyed most was the final one on my schedule. Middlesbrough was organized by my great friend Jennifer Garton who has a cameo in Pillow Talk. The evening was a sell-out. Raucous, spirited a fantastic giggle…with a great curry afterwards in Stokesley and a fantastic night’s sleep at Crathorne Hall, my favourite hotel ever.
All in all, I enjoyed every exhausting minute - I know Secrets is my 10th novel, but the thrill of seeing my book in the shops, in the pages of a magazine or in the hands of a reader is as much a thrill now as it was way back in 1996 when Sally was first published. Secrets enjoyed two months in the UK Top Ten and is my fastest selling and biggest selling novel to date. A massive thank you to all who have supported me. It’s been emotional!
