Over the years, I’ve attended many literary events, both on my own and as part of author groups, but I had never had an official book launch for any of my books. That all changed with the publication of the fourth in my DI Sterling series, Rage and Retribution. Until this point in my writing career, my books had been released by some of the smaller publishers. Being with one of the big five meant I went up a gear in marketing terms.
Naturally, I was excited about the idea of taking over a book shop for the launch, but it didn’t take long for the doubts to kick in: what if nobody turned up? I had nightmare Bessy No Mates images in my head for weeks ahead of the big day, but when people started accepting the invitations, I was able to relax.