It's launch week. The guest list has topped 100, speeches are
written, the wine merchant has delivered, the food is underway,
manicure and final facial are both booked and, most important of
all, (thanks to Emma R, the finest personal shopper on the planet)
I have a dress that will ensure I out-glam my kid sister.
I've got to say, I didn't put this much effort into my wedding.
In fact, so tied up with party preparations am I, I'm in danger
of forgetting what this week is really all about. My latest book,
the culmination of two years' work on the part of author, agents,
editors and publicists, not to mention the sales and marketing
people, is about to hit the bookshops. (Actually, it's been
in Waterstones for a few days now - my friend Sandra bought a
copy)
So, two years after starting the planning and research, probably
a decade after I first had the idea, Blood Harvest is
going to be read. And judged. It will be compared to the last two.
Reviews will appear in the newspapers (if I'm lucky). They'll
certainly appear on Amazon and they won't all be kind.
In publishing, I've learned, you're only as good as your last
book. And my third book is different to my previous two. Two years
ago, when I started it, I was feeling brave. I'm not sure I
am any more.
In Blood Harvest, instead of one central female
character, the point of view is shared between three people, one of
them a young boy, another a bloke. It's written in the third
person, a style that doesn't come so naturally to me. And instead
of fairly relentless action - something else I've become known for
- this book deals much more with relationships. It even has a love
story. It also feels like the darkest book I've written to date,
dealing as it does, with young children in danger and the grief
experienced by parents who lose them.
I honestly don't know how it's going to be received. Life is
going to be a bit tense around here for the next couple of
weeks.
Blood Harvest, a rollicking Pennine tale of murder,
mayhem and moonbeams, is published on the 1st of April
by Bantam Press.