Wow, has it been a busy old year or what?!
As you might have guessed, that’s really me making excuses for not having blogged for, er, well, rather a long time. Sorry!
I’ve been up to loads of things. Here are a few highlights:
DarkIsle - I set up Strident Publishing to produce books not just by me but by others too. Our first book, DarkIsle, by D A Nelson, was published in hardback in September 2007 and has been a huge hit. And not just in the UK. Even before it was launched here it was bought by parts of Random House in the USA, Germany, Italy, Spain and Korea. RH Japan have since come aboard and it’s being looked at it lots of other territories. 70% of the UK hardback first edition (first print run) books sold in just 8 weeks. If you haven’t already bought, borrowed or otherwise read this book, I strongly recommend doing so. It’s a great adventure story, inspired by a dragon sculpture in Irvine (west of Scotland) that is 40 metres long and 3 metres high. The author used to clamber on it when she was a teenager. I’ve now clambered on it too! If you’ve already read DarkIsle then the good news is that there will be a second book in the series in Autumn 2008, and a third a year or so after that. www.darkislethebook.co.uk is the website to check out. It even has phots of the dragon scupture.
We didn’t just have one launch for DarkIsle, we had 3, all at locations mentioned in the story. The first was at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow (many thanks to Margaret Houston for all her help), the second at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine (huge thanks to Melanie West and Alison McAllister at North Ayrshire Education Resource Service for dedication beyond the call of duty) and the third at Park Primary School in Oban (hi to all the pupils and staff and thanks to the ‘headie’ for inviting us). And from me a special thank you to Alison Stroak and Graham Watson. Alison did loads of work to organise the launches, while Graham edited the book. Both did brilliantly.
The King of the Copper Mountains - this is an award-winning book by a Dutchman, Paul Biegel. For some reason it hasn’t been available in the UK for about 25 years. No idea why because it’s a fabulous story. So we’re putting that right. The Strident version comes out in late February 2008. The last UK version had that tiny print that makes your eyes go funny when you try to read it. It also had some rather old-fashioned illustrations. We’ve changed all that, using a print size you can actually read and commissioning completely new illustrations by Sally J Collins. I have to say that the illustrations are brilliant, as is the new cover. Take a sneaky peak at www.stridentpublishing.co.uk.
School visits - I’ve been a little quieter on these of late because I’ve been doing lots of Strident stuff, but come the new year I’ll be back on the trail. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been to any schools in the last 6 months, just not the usual 100 or so that I regularly cover in that period. So hi to everyone at the schools I have visited. One particular experience I must mention was being interviewed on ‘The Reading Bus’ at Kittybrewster School in Aberdeen. The bus is great, you could go on your holidays in it! And on 12 February 2008 I’ll be back on it again, this time presenting. I’ve presented in a field before (with a cow joining in with the audience of school pupils; strange or what!) but never on a bus, so I’m looking forward to that.
Pink hair - it’s not compulsory, but it does make you easier to spot in a bookshop. Susan Sloan, the creative genius who put together my website and that of D A Nelson, and who also works for Waterstone’s at Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh, has very pink hair. But she may recently have been outdone by Lynn Henderson at Waterstone’s in East Kilbride (my local store). Lynn used to have black hair, but she doesn’t any more! I promise that I don’t go around tipping pink dye on people’s hair….
Well that’s a start for a catch up. Doesn’t really do justice to the second half of the year, but hey ho, there you go.
2008 will be just as busy. Spending a week in Ireland and visiting a few schools and libraries in Galway City and County Galway. Love it over there, so can’t wait for that trip. Then back to Scotland for Preston, Elgin , Aberdeen, Leeds, a wee place near Dumfries, bits of North Ayrshire…If you’re in any of those places then I’m very much looking forward to seeing you. If you’re not, then you clearly haven’t nagged your head teacher enough to get them to book me up!
Bye for now. Have a great Xmas, and may 2008 see you realise yet more of your ambitions.
Keith
