A publication day to remember
Tuesday was paperback publication day for A Second Christmas Wish. It was first released as an ebook last Christmas, but because it’s just come out in paperback I get to celebrate all over again. You won’t get any complaints from me. And actually it is a celebration, because though the release of a new book is exciting, there is something very special about seeing a book make it into paperback. Only ebooks that sell well are published in paperback, so there’s that. But also as an author you’re given a few paperbacks to use as promotion, so you get to see them, touch them, smell them. Photograph them next to baubles…and reindeer.
There is something much more real about seeing your name on a paperback.
So there I was, happily fiddling about on social media in the middle of morning, basking in the glory of my publication day (book bloggers, fellow authors and readers are very kind) when I saw an email from my publisher land into my in-box with the heading URGENT.
Heart in my mouth, I opened it up. BBC Radio Berkshire were happy to have a quick interview with me at 1.40pm. Could I make it.
Here’s the thing. While I love to talk (!) I’ve never been interviewed on the radio before. But I pulled on my big girl pants as they say (I believe JR Ward actually said panties, but she’s American. Brits don’t have panties, thank God). Where was I? Oh yes, pulling on my pants and agreeing to be interviewed live on radio. There was an added complication in that I had to pick my son up, who was dependant on the tube, and if all went well we’d only be back at 1.30pm. If all didn’t go well…but thankfully it did, and by 1.35 I was sat in my office, shitting bricks.
At 1.40 I received the call. There was about a minute left for the end of the song, and then Bill Buckley would be chatting to me.
Somehow I got through it. He was lovely, which certainly helped, and actually by the end I did almost think Bill and I were just having a chat. Maybe we were. Maybe nobody else was listening…
So there you have it. A publication day to remember. My first Christmas paperback. My first radio interview. Did I celebrate that evening with a large glass of wine?
You bet I did.
And then I fell asleep in front of the telly.