London Book Signing

The days are growing short before my big London trip, and I am having difficulty containing my excitement. Every day seems to bring a new teaser tidbit to keep me psyched, like the spanking new hardcover and trade paperback copies of the book that Voyager sent me a couple of days ago (pictured above, along with my US & UK ARCs), or e-mails from my publishers setting up meetings, interviews and signings. I also just got my first review on Amazon! 5 stars!

My second review, however… ouch.

It’s all starting to feel very real.

For those of you in the UK, here is my basic plan for the trip:

  • Leaving JFK International Airport on Thursday night (August 28) at 6:10PM. I had better sleep on the plane.
  • Arriving at Heathrow airport in London 6:30AM and meeting my friend and webmaster, David Wenk, and friend and fellow author US Coast Guard Ensign Michael Cole at the airport and proceeding more-or-less immediately on a hike to Stonehenge.
  • Saturday and Sunday we will hit the town in London, alternating between pubs and museums.
  • MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1 IS BOOK LAUNCH DAY! Look for me lurking around London bookstores and watching people browse. It is also the birthday of UK editor extraordinaire Emma Coode, so I will have to buy her a pint (or twelve).
  • Tuesday Sept. 2 I am doing a video interview for Amazon.com. It will be my first live interview, and filmed, to boot! What the heck should I wear? Good thing I got a haircut, or my mom would be cross with me.
  • Wednesday Sept. 3 Ensign Cole and I take the Eurostar to Paris to meet Stephane Marsan, my editor at Bragelonne, who will be publishing The Painted Man in France next year. We will also eat at least one croissant, sit at a sidewalk cafe, and see several priceless works of art.
  • Thursday Sept. 4 I have back to back book signings
    • The first is a private signing at Goldsboro books, where I will be signing and numbering 200 books stamped in groups of 25 with the character avatars I designed.
    • The second will be my first public signing! I will be appearing at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore from 6-7PM. Already a few people have promised to show up, even though I am a new author that very few people have heard of.
  • Friday… I dunno. I guess we’ll get drunk or something. Aaaannnnd…
  • Saturday Sept. 6, I fly back to NYC in the afternoon. Theoretically, I will immediately go to someone’s bachelor party, but my lovely wife and perfect baby girl might have other ideas…

So please, if you’re in London on the 4th, stop by the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, between 6-7 and keep me company!

Posted on August 26, 2008 at 2:59 pm by PeatB
Filed under Events, World Traveler, Writing
10 Comments »

10 responses to “London Book Signing”

  1. Bon Voyage Peat! And congratulations–this is only the beginning of the BIG–enjoy every minute of it, you’ve earned it!

    Posted by Nancy, on August 26th, 2008 at 8:36 pm

  2. Best of luck Pete! The trip sounds amazing!! I wish I could be at Forbidden Planet to show my support at that signing.
    The book shelf with your new copies looks awesome. We already let one of Fo’s cousins borrow our ARC as we were telling him about it over dinner he had to leave with it.
    This is a very exciting time. I look forward to hearing all the details!!

    Posted by jayf, on August 26th, 2008 at 8:43 pm

  3. Hey Pete, lovely to see some other versions of “The Painted Man”, I’ve read the advance copy in Australia as I work at a book store, I loved the book and look forward to the rest of the series.

    Posted by Scott, on August 26th, 2008 at 10:19 pm

  4. This all sounds really amazing Peter, best of luck on the tour! 🙂 You know the link to this post is going up on my blog! 🙂 Enjoy it!

    Posted by Dave-Brendon de Burgh, on August 27th, 2008 at 3:11 am

  5. Hey Peter, here’s another great review of The Painted Man by Graeme. 🙂 http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com/2008/08/painted-man-peter-v-brett-harper.html

    Posted by Dave-Brendon de Burgh, on August 27th, 2008 at 11:11 am

  6. All very cool. We’re proud of you.

    But find out if FP ordered the Division 18 trade — and if not, call them limey wankers. (They hate that!)

    Posted by matt, on August 27th, 2008 at 11:23 am

  7. Joan and I are wishing you the best on your London trip (and to France, too – good croissant with good wine!). If you send us tickets, we’ll be part of your entourage and cheering section! Congratulations on your five star reviews on Amazon. Good work, good writing (read part of “Mom’s” copy while in NY). Great success and good fun!!! Joan and Christopher

    Posted by Christopher, on August 27th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

  8. I promise that neither maritime ice, pirates nor misplaced buoys will impede your progress.

    Posted by Myke, on August 27th, 2008 at 7:52 pm

  9. Cassie & I are proud of you and will miss you! Have fun, and don’t forget to bring back Lion bars!

    Posted by dani, on August 27th, 2008 at 9:20 pm

  10. I don’t know what a Lion bar is, but it looks like now 4 of 6 Amazon reviews are raves with some nice reactions from the Vine People.

    Posted by JABberwocky Joshua, on August 27th, 2008 at 10:35 pm