Writing from the Blue House
Hurrah for Amity & Sorrow, out now in paperback with Little, Brown. I’ve spotted it on the Barnes and Noble site, Amazon, and even my family’s shop in South Pasadena (that’s my mom in the chair, there). It will be on the shelves at Target next week. If you spot it, do let me know!
In this month of self-loathing and abstinence, I, too, have succumbed to dieting. Digital dieting, to be precise. Pop over to the Booktrust blog to see how Morgan McCarthy and I get on with limiting our internet usage while trying to write through this long, dark month. Can we do it? 
This month, I’m on the Booktrust Blog taking part in a “writing diet” with fellow Tinder Press author, Morgan McCarthy. How are we getting on with our pledge to write 1000 words every day, rain or shine? Why not pop over and see?
What a wonderful book event! If I were King, I’d order one of these for every town and city centre! The Firestation Book Swap takes all of our favourite things (books, readers & cake) and turns them into the loveliest book chat ever – with people pitching books they love to swap and take home. (And did I mention there was cake?) Big, big thanks to organiser Scott Pack and his glamourous assistant for the night, Sarah Franklin. There were lots of friendly faces in the house and the lovely Morgan McCarthy beside me, on the “author sofa”. We were very dainty with the plate of macaroons offered to us – no undignified scrum over the cake plate with us two! The next Firestation Book Swap in Windsor is in January, and you can also “like” them on Facebook or find them on Twitter. Rumour has it, next year will feature Book Swaps in London. Just try to keep me away! (Will there be cake?)
Below, here is a portrait from the evening of Morgan and me, answering readers’ questions from the metal bucket of joy. It was sketched by Cynthia Barlow Marrs and it was a lovely souvenir of a most wonderful evening. Thank you very much!
For the paperback release of Amity & Sorrow, I have been thoroughly spoiled – and I’ve loved every minute of it! Lovely booksellers have gathered their book clubs together for cake feasts in Wallingford, for themed cocktails and canapes in St. Anne’s, and for wine and great chat in Lytham. The lovely librarians of Lancashire and Canterbury have moved all their shelves around and unfolded their chairs to host reading and discussions for their readers. This coming Thursday, the wonderful Firestation Arts Centre in Windsor is hosting a Book Swap with me and Tinder author Morgan McCarthy, an evening of book chats, homemade cakes, and the opportunity to swap books you love with other readers. Again and again, I am delighted and impressed by the creativity and enthusiasm of book people, from the owners of splendid independent shops that are at the very hearts of their communities to libraries, big and small, finding innovative ways to reach readers. The press is full of doom and gloom about books, but I don’t see it. I see rooms full of readers, buzzing about books. I see passion and drive in the people who order books, who sell them and shelve them. I see great initiatives like “Books Are My Bag” – and they sure are mine.
Books are only hunks of paper if they’re not being read – it’s reading that turns them into stories. Special thanks to Storytellers Inc., St. Anne’s; The Wallingford Bookshop, Oxfordshire; Plackitt & Booth, Lytham; Harbour Books, Whitstable; Lancashire County Council and the lovely libraries of Kirkham, Thornton, Ansdall, and Canterbury Council and The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge for inviting me in to meet your readers. I am one grateful and happy writer.
In celebration of the paperback release of Amity & Sorrow, I’m delighted to be packing my bag and hitting the road. Come up and see me!
Tuesday 24 September, 7:30 pm: Wallingford Bookshop Book Club, Oxfordshire. Tickets are free to book club members. You can tweet Wallingford Bookshop @wallingfordbook for more info.
Wednesday 25 September, 7:30 pm: Kirkham Library, Preston, Lancashire. Free tickets available from the library.
Thursday 26 September, 11:00 am: Thornton Library, Lancashire. Free tickets available from the library.
Thursday 26 September, 3:00 pm: Ansdell Library, Lancashire. Free tickets available from the library.
Thursday 26 September, 8:00 pm: Cocktails, Canapes & Cults: The Crossover Bookclub at Storytellers, Inc. St. Annes-on-Sea, Lancashire. Tickets £9, which includes copy of book. Email info@storytellersinc.co.uk to reserve a ticket.
Friday 27 September, 7:00 pm: An Evening with Jenn Ashworth & Peggy Riley, Plackitt and Booth Booksellers, Lytham, Lancashire.
Today, I’m on the Our Book Reviews site, talking about Amity & Sorrow, the nature of cults, and writing in general. Why not pop over and have a look? Many thanks to Mary Mayfield for a lovely chat!
Today, I’m on the Waterstones blog, in happy anticipation of Thursday’s paperback release of Amity & Sorrow, talking about the role of women in faiths – and cults. In an era when women are being told to “lean in”, just how equal do we want to be? Here’s the link to the Waterstones blog:
Peggy Riley