Harper UK Visit
Sunday night was interesting. Went to a Thai pub in Belsize Park with my friend the Brad, but it closed early because people of breeding and sense go to bed Sunday nights, that they might join the civilized world at a decent hour the next day.
Needless to say, we went wandering for another pub, and ended up at a sleazy kebabery at 12:30am, eating meat of questionable origin, surrounded by other drunks with nowhere else to go, listening to an aged and inebriated Elvis impersonator play bad Johnny Cash songs while I waited for the launch of my first fantasy novel the next day while my wife and newborn daughter had dinner half a world away.
It’s times like this, you tend to reflect on your life’s path, and how it can bring you to unexpected places.
But morning came, as it always done, and the sun banished the drunken demons back to the Core for another day. I scoured myself, put on dark glasses, and headed out for the Harper Collins UK/Voyager offices in Hammersmith. After a great many e-mails and phone calls, I was eager to finally meet the lovely and talented Emma Coode (an acquiring editor with very good taste), who was celebrating her 25th birthday (give or take), and the equally charming Alice Moss, who has set up most of the promotion during my visit across the pond.
I made it to the HCUK offices, walked in the front door, and was stunned.
As you can see, they readied the office for my visit by filling the gigantic bookshelf in the building lobby with copies of The Painted Man. It was heart-stopping. I’m sure the security people at reception were wondering just who the nutter staring at the display in glee was.
I went up to the Voyager office, and had a glass of champagne put in one hand, and a pen in the other. Most of the staff (and some of their friends and family) had read the book, and everyone wanted a signed copy. They all apologized as if I were being put upon, but I was so gratified by the attention and the sheer number of people who had read and enjoyed my work that I could have signed all day and into the night.
After a lovely lunch at the Gate, I went back to the Voyager offices to sign more books for giveaways and the like, and then headed to Picadilly Circus to stalk bookstores. The Waterstones flagship store had ordered a whopping 20 copies, but they had not arrived yet. It was frustrating, but how could I complain when they had ordered so many? I then went down the street to the historic Hatchard’s Books, where I signed the shelf stock, and had a great talk with the clerk, who marked the copies with “signed” ribbons as an added incentive to shoppers.
Went back to Camden Town and further stalked myself on the internet. My Amazon UK sales rank went from 104,308 this time last week to 1,176 today. I have no idea how many books you have to sell to make that jump, but I was pretty stoked to see it. I am also up to an even dozen reviews, with half of them 5 out of 5 stars, and the worst of them still pretty good.
Tomorrow is my first video interview. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Wow. That is kick ass. I’m so glad to hear you are enjoying yourself. I can only imagine how surreal it feels. It’s one thing to have the first ARC in your hands but another thing to see the shelves stocked and your ranks jumping on Amazon.com.
Amazing, that’s all I can say. I am so happy for you. You deserve it.
The spear in February, now this. Wow! Ecstasy is having friends and acquaintences like these, but I’ll try not to get too jealous.
That’s really cool Peter, I can’t imagine how cool it must have been to see that shelf so packed! You deserve it. 🙂
I didn’t know you had a pig army, too! You’re my hero.
I guess it goes without saying that I’m kvelling so much I might plotz!
Happy launch day! Awesome!
. . . and pretty much every bookstore we go into has between 4-12 copies prominently displayed. I’m sure Peat’ll post more photos later – but holy crap. I feel like I’m pulling security detail for a rockstar.
Plotzing is appropriate right about now.
That’s so awesome, I’m speechless. What am I saying.. OMG OMG OMG!! I’m so happy for you man. Whatever plotzing is, i’m in!
Er… Jon, just so you know, “plotzing” is shitting yourself. With an newborn at home, there’s enough of that in my life already.
I’m sure you were just as stoked to be sitting in the UK office signing copies as you were to see copies of the book in book stores there. Bravo! This is very exciting stuff. We’re all very proud of you (that includes our visiting Greek cousins):-)
I think that’s one of the coolest things ever. SWEET!!!
Congratulations on the more-than-enthusiastic UK reception! I’m still jealous that I can’t get my hands on a copy yet. Please keep the Pig Army away from me. I fear their awesome force… and they’re stinky, too.
Oh, and Jon-from-comment-number-7, you might want to use a last initial. For the record, this Jon is not into plotzing.
Now, now. What’s a little plotzing between friends? It’s the only appropriate reaction to excessive kvelling that I know of.
Plus, it’s onomatopoeic.