Tag: Filles Vertes Publishing

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My Double Life: Fifty-One Book Launch

It seems a long time ago now (been a bit busy!), but the UK book launch for Fifty-One was such great fun that I can’t neglect to post about it.

We were hosted by Blackheath Bookshop, who do a fantastic job promoting local authors and books with local connections. The venue was apt because (as those of you who have read it know) a large part of Fifty-One takes place in Blackheath and neighbouring parts of south London, both in the 1940s, when London was at war, and in the 2040s, from whence my time travelling protagonist comes.

The shop very kindly laid on drinks and snacks, and pretty much handed over the whole shop to us for our event. The net result was a crowded and happy bookshop on a lovely summer evening, with lots of books signed and sold and (I confess) many of us ending up in somewhat ‘cheerful’ condition in a local pub!

Mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan, Laura Cunningham and Chris Barnham

It was lovely to see so many friends and book-lovers, and I was immensely honoured that our fantastic newly-elected Mayor, Damien Egan, came along to say a few words – particularly praising the bookshop for their support for local writers.

Damien also referred to my double life – as local councillor and writer. It is a strange existence: a lot of the time, I operate in a world where it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s fantasy; where no one can be certain that the rules of reality apply; and where people can choose to believe the most unlikely things.

The rest of the time, I write science fiction.

(Missed the book launch? Never mind, you can still buy Fifty-One, including here. )

 

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Now in Physical Form for UK readers: Fifty-One

Fifty-One is of course available through various channels – Google Play, Amazon Kindle, and so on.

But I’ve found that I’m embarrassingly old-school: it’s only when I see the actual, physical book – preferably in an actual, physical bookstore, among other lovely books – that I admit to myself the book properly exists.

So I’m really pleased that the book is now properly available in paperback in UK bookshops.

A reminder of what the book’s about:

Jacob Wesson is a timecop from 2040, sent back to 2nd World War London to stop the assassination of Winston Churchill. The assignment plays out with apparent ease, but the jump home goes wrong, stranding Jake in war-ravaged 1944. Jake’s team, including his long-time girlfriend, is desperate to trace him before something else goes wrong.

Stuck in the past, Jake must pull from his training and blend in. He clings to the one familiar face he can find, Amy Jenkins, a war widow whose life he saved during the assignment. Drawn to each other by their loneliness and thrown together amid the terror of war, Jake and Amy look to a future together.

But Jake’s future cannot let him go. And when his bosses finally find him in 1944, Jake faces a terrible choice: risk unraveling the modern world, or let Amy die.

To celebrate this moment when Fifty-One becomes fully available in the non-digital realm in the UK, I thought I’d bring together in one place all the ways you can now get it, should you choose to do so. Take your pick below:

Amazon UK (Kindle or paperback)

Amazon US (Kindle or paperback)

Google Play (ebook)

Waterstones (paperback)

(And, if you’re in the USA, consider doing independent publishing a favour, and ordering from … Filles Vertes Publishing ebook and paperback)

For me, there’s no substitute for finding books in bookstores, so I’ll be giving a plug on here to any stores where I spot it on sale. And look out for a launch event, coming soon, appropriately in a place that features in the story.

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Fifty-One: UK Publication

Of course, Fifty-One has been available on ebook for a few weeks now. And lucky folks in the USA have been able to buy the ravishing paperback.

But there’s nothing like having an actual physical book, available in your local bookshops. So, I’m just a tiny bit excited that the UK paperback is now at the printers, and should be available by Easter.

I certainly hope it is, because I’m planning to take a few boxes up to Harrogate, Yorkshire, for FollyCon – this year’s 69th national British Science Fiction Convention.

Really looking forward to it. If you’re there, come and say hello.

Buy a book!

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Q & A with CL Rose

The marvellous CL Rose at Filles Vertes Publishing has just put up on her blog a Q&A she did with me a short while ago, to tie in with the publication of Fifty-One.

Here’s a short extract:

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring authors?

A: I’ve spent most of my life thinking the great SF writer Robert Heinlein had three rules of writing, and I’ve tried to follow them. I remembered them as:

  1. 1. Write
  2. 2. Put it on the market
  3. 3. Keep it on the market.

Recently I discovered he actually had two more – finish what you start, and don’t rewrite except to editorial order. I’m glad I didn’t know about that last one: I think rewriting is hard but important.

Raymond Chandler

Q: If you could meet any author, dead or alive, who would you want to meet and why?

A: Raymond Chandler. His prose style is often imitated but, while it seems simple, it’s deceptively hard to do well. Although he lived in California, he went to school in south London, so we’d have things to talk about other than Philip Marlowe.

You can read the whole interview on CL’s blog.

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Special Delivery

Postie’s been today, and delivered a most exciting package!

These are US paperbacks, to fill a gap until the UK version hits the streets.

You can get yours (physical or electronic) from:

Filles Vertes Publishing (buy from here and help an independent)
Amazon US
Amazon UK

And now also Google Play

 

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Valentine’s Day – Is it all that?

Maybe that should be Valentines’ day (apostrophe after the ‘S’) – because Wikipedia tells me that there was more than one St Valentine matryred in Roman times, and honoured these days with roses and heart-shaped chocolate.

Whatever, I confess I haven’t taken St Valentine’s Day too seriously in the past. Not since that time I booked a romantic meal for two and arrived with Laura at the restaurant to find they had hopelessly overbooked. (We bailed out and went home with a bottle of champagne and takeout fish and chips, all consumed in bed!)

Did I mention I loved the cover?
Courtesy of Kate Cowan, Broken Arrow Designs

But now – to my surprise – I have a romance novel, published only two days ago, so maybe I need to treat this festival with respect.

All right, I admit it’s a romance novel between a man born in 2010 and  woman who dies in 1944. And there’s time travel, and flying bombs. But nevertheless, there’s a love triangle and romance in there!

It’s a been a strange and hectic couple of days since Fifty-One was published on Monday. And there’s no end in sight. As a writer, what I really want to do is hide away and write another book. But there are promotion duties to be done!

If you haven’t encountered Fifty-One yet – whether you’re seeking a Valentine’s treat or not – you can get it here:

Filles Vertes Publishing
Amazon US
Amazon UK

And you can still enjoy the book trailer. I do!

And I’d love to know what you think.

[Main photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash]