Today’s the day and ‘Opera’ is let loose upon the world. There are, already, plenty of posts on social media – Twitter mainly, but Insta and old favourite, Facebook, too – I haven’t ventured into the unknown territory of Book-Tok or the dragon-lands of Twitch and Discord ( no, me neither ). Kelly Lacey at LoveBooksTours has organised the virtual book tour, which started today on Instagram. Lots of lovely book bloggers, Bookstagrammers and Goodreads users are tweeting and retweeting about it, mainly congratulations, for which many thanks.
So far, people are saying very good things about the book and getting it’s title out there, something which is especially important to writers with no, or very small, publishers. Print reviews so far are limited to the
Clapham Society Newsletter (circulation about 1,400) though I know there are a number of print critics who will be reviewing the book. These are in the regional press, or in literary publications, no national dailies ( without a prize listing or a shed load of publisher’s support, i.e. money, that is unlikely ). There are regional and local broadcast interviews lined up too, starting with Radio Tamworth ( Tamworth Books ) on Wednesday and following up with local radio here in south London.
There are plenty of online events arranged and ‘Opera’ and I should be reaching audiences from Devon to the north of England, through regional library networks, like Devon or Staffordshire Libraries. I’ll also be doing some Festivals, live as well as virtual, not just the Clapham Book Fest, which takes place in October, but also Newcastle Noir ( 9th – 11th December ) as well, as, potentially, a number next year. Indeed my diary for 2023 is already being filled with online talks and discussions and live events, some of them for societies and clubs which I have visited before with ‘Plague’ or ‘Oracle’. I never imagined I would be doing quite so much.
Quotes from bloggers reviews include ‘If you are interested in political crime thrillers, this is a series you do not want to miss.’ and ‘I was going to read a bit of this book before I went to bed and ended up staying awake and finishing it.’ Both very good recommendations. A number also ask whether or not there will be a Cassandra Fortune Book IV. If you have enjoyed the series so far I can tell you that I have already mapped out the likely storyline for the next book, but there is something else I will be working on first ( watch this space for more news when it’s ready for the world ).
So, time to thank individuals, from Katie Isbester at Claret Press to my trusty beta readers, Miv, Annette,
Helen and Sue ( they know who they are ). Also to my fellow authors who have been kind enough to wish me well on this Publication Day and to the bloggers and supporters, who, unpaid, contribute so much to the life of books. Finally thank you to my longsuffering husband, who cooks the meals and makes the tea while I am away in my head concocting yet another mystery.
Onwards and upwards!
Julie Anderson 