THOMPSON
Yikes!
The end of the month crept up on me like Kreacher, and suddenly here I am,
packing up to head off to the West coast and trying to write to you at the
same time. I’m late, I’m late with my newsletter!
SUMMER
Anyhow - what’s to say that hasn’t already been said in myriad blogs? Rain stopped play for everyone in June, except on the last day, when we finally had our one day of ‘summer’. Thank God for all things Harry Potter to distract from the freakish elements – but I am really, really sorry for those of you in the UK who have had such a hellish time. My sister-in-law lives near Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, and she says that life will never be the same again in that pretty town, so I guess we in Ireland have been let off lightly. Even so, it’s been horrid not to have had any sun. I spent the month escaping from grey skies and the all-pervading gloom by reading book after book after book. I texted my daughter, Clara, in Thailand to say ‘Ha ha. I have H. P. and the Deathly Hallows’, only to get a text back saying ‘Ha ha – so do I!’ A friend visiting the island where C is staying had brought a copy in Dublin airport, so C & I were able to exchange pithy critiques such as:
‘Nooooo! :”0 on p.385.’
WORK
Clara’s working hard – and playing hard,
to judge by the photos on her
Bebo. She’s getting up at 5.00 in the morning to get dive boats ready,
assemble scuba gear, and assist instructors – as well as studying for all
the myriad spec courses she has to complete in order to become a dive
master. She’s well more advanced than I am, now! Me, I am barely working at
all (i.e. writing) - and how I hate not writing! I’ve been obliged to
concentrate on the business end of things with my new company, Mischief
Publishing, and with Love Lies Bleeding. I’m
spending a lot of time sending out the first 25 chapters of the novel via
e-mail and the (pretty, pretty!) Clandestine Chapters via snail mail,
and wondering in what direction my writing should go next. I have
something brand new ready – but that will have to remain an enigma
for the foreseeable future. An enigma! Sounds intriguing, doesn't it! I was
going to put 'veiled in mystery', but that sounded even more pretentious :)
However, I will let you know that the new book ain’t a continuation of the
Deirdre/Rory saga. I love that pair to bits, and I love all their mates
(Daniel and Madeleine and Jethro and Dannie and Sam and even the redoubtable
Colleen and Margot), and I find it really gratifying that - to judge by your
lovely, lovely letters – you love them all to bits too. But if I’m to
continue their story, I need to know that you really, really want to read
on. You might let me know by writing to me at
kate@kate-thompson.com You’ve been so extremely generous with your
feedback in the past: the excerpts from your letters bear testimony to that.
(Click here to read.) Now I’m asking you for more feedback, so that I can give you,
the readers,
what you really, really want. Would you like another
Pixie Pirelli book, for instance? Or
might
you be interested in an historical novel? Some of
you have told me that you’d like to see more of Ella and Ferdia from Going
Down. And of course, as mentioned above, there are those of you who can’t
get enough of what are known as the Mischief books.
If you go to the Love Lies Bleeding
site,
you’ll see that you really are in a privileged position because you are the
ones with the power here. Not the marketing men, not the big international
publishing behemoths, not the conglomerate bookstores. You are the ones who
decide what you want to read. As you know, I took a huge risk with Love Lies
Bleeding - and I’m glad to say it paid off - but there are only so many
risks a gal can take. And the bottom line is that I am an author, not a
business person, and I miss my real job :”( I need to start writing
again!
BOOKS FOR GOOD CAUSES
I have been editing, which I suppose is the next best thing. Last month I told you about the compilation of short stories – Mum’s the Word - that New Island will be bringing out in autumn to raise money for research into cystic fibrosis. Well, shortly after that, Poolbeg press will be announcing publication of their short story collection which is to raise money for another good cause – the Irish Hospice Foundation. It’s called With a Little Help from My Friends, and it’s the brainchild of bestselling author Melissa Hill. I’ll post more info on it – and on Mum’s the Word – nearer the time.
PANIC STATIONS
I’m sorry - gotta go, gotta go! I have a big list of things still to be done before our pilgrimage to the hallowed West coast. I’m not a list-maker by nature, but when we head off in the car to that glorious place on Clew Bay, we spend the first hour of the journey smiting our foreheads with our fists and going ‘Oh, fiddlesticks! -’ (except we don’t really say ‘fiddlesticks’) ‘- I forgot the binoculars/my i-Pod/the sun cream.’ (The sun cream is being a bit optimistic, I know). So I’ve taken to making a list, and trying to pretend I’m a model of organization. Now… Oh, 'fiddlesticks!' Where is that list?
*For details on how to order Love Lies Bleeding, please go to:* www.loveliesbleedingthebook.com
THANK YOU
Thank-you so much as ever for taking the time to read this, and a million thanks for your continued support. I swear, if it hadn’t been for you, I’d have given up yonks ago.
♥♥♥
from
Kate
PS
By the way, if you do take the time and trouble to write, please bear with me if there is a delayed response, since we will be sans Broadband while we are away, and I may not get an opportunity to reply until we are back in Dublin. Thanks again, and I do hope the summer picks up for you in the UK.
PS: ORDERING BOOKS
to buy
By the way, while Sex, Lies and Fairytales is available to buy or to order in all good bookshops in Ireland, the UK and the Commonwealth, its companion piece Hard to Choos is available to buy direct from booksellers only in Ireland at present. Should you wish to buy the book from Amazon, clicking here will take you straight to the sales point. You can also order Hard to Choos from Pixie's site. Lots of you are wondering where my backlist can be purchased. Amazon is good, of course, but my Transworld titles are also available - with free P&P in the UK - at Bookpost. (Just key in the title name in inverted commas - ie: "More Mischief")
to buy
© Kate Thompson, 2007
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