Julia and the Book Factory

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On Friday I went with Sam Eades, my lovely publicist at Headline, to Clays printers in Bungay, to see Every Vow You Break roll off the presses. I had been told by David Headley at Goldsboro Books and S J Watson that it was an astounding day out (‘like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for book nerds’), and that the sandwiches were very good. They were right on all counts.

After those remarkable sandwiches at Cambridge House, a beautiful Georgian building where the company started and which they now use for hospitality, We were shown around the massive factory by the lovely Vicky Ellis and Phil and Steve, having a peek at every single part of the process.… read more

Mein Gott

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Great news from Ullstein, my German publishers. ANGSTHAUCH (German translation of CUCKOO) has gone into the German paperback charts at 24 in its first week of publication. Here’s an amazing TV ad they put out. It probably helped more than a bit…

If the writing goes tits up…

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I’ve just had the most enormous fun making a trailer for Every Vow You Break. For me, writing is like running a movie in my head. So, it seems, is making a movie.

Last week, on a bitingly cold but brightly sunny day, I wrapped up so warm that I could barely move and set off into the wilds of Stanmer Park with YoungSon’s fancy schmancy camera. After half an hour of fiddling, I worked out how to switch it on, and I set off into the woods.… read more

A gamble

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Some of the bare bones of novel #3

After a busy Christmas and New Year, I knew I had to buckle down to the second draft of novel #3, which I had spent most of December planning out on my Scrivener virtual cork board. A stretch of quiet, concentrated time was what was needed. I also had a bit of location research to do in Tankerton and Whitstable.

OldMan has had a few weeks of working from home – a rarity in his line of business – and he has been saying for a long time that, as he’s around to hold the fort, why don’t I just take myself off for a week and just write.… read more

Just a few tiny amendments…

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Well, the WONDERFUL bound proofs of Every Vow You Break came through, and, as you can see, like me, AgentSimon thinks they’re fab.

But, really, publishers. Let a writer loose on her book before it’s published? When it looks like a real book? ‘Dear Lovely Editor. I’ve got just a few teeny weeny amendments to that bound proof.’

Is there a florist on the Euston Road that does deliveries, I wonder?

Still, it’s worth it if the final result is a DLP (Dead Letter Perfect) published hardback version on 29 March.… read more

Happy Holidays!

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Time for a well-earned break for everyone.

Break? I’ll be cooking, cleaning, shopping, wrapping, and preparing the house for a large family Christmas.

But I’ll love every minute of it, mind. My chance to be a ‘proper woman’ for a couple of days, before I revert to lackadaisical true form. Hope you have a lovely time, too.

Every Vow You Break – the photographs

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Visuals are so important to me when I’m working. Here are some photographs that I had up on my wall throughout the writing of Every Vow You Break. I took them while we were staying in upstate New York as part of the wonderful Franklin Stage Company a few years back. We have had the best of times as a family in Franklin. Unlike the poor Wayland Family in the the fictional Trout Island in Every Vow You Break…

Click on a photo to see it in full.… read more