Blood, sweat, tears, time and effort - turned to paper.

Last week I moved from imagining the moment of holding my first novel in my hand as a ‘real’ book to experiencing it in physical form. The proofcopies of the paperback version of As the Sparks Fly Upwards arrived from IngramSpark. The book is finally in my hand, this tangible, weighty, conveyor of the story is actually here. I find my Kindle very useful, but there is something about a physical book that is a more satisfying experience.

First impressions? I love the silhouette front cover, with vivid orange and yellow set against a matt green background (designed by Aisling Locke). The book seems thicker than I expected, but the story runs to around 117 thousand words, so I should have expected that.

So, on to the next stage and that is to prepare for the launch. The book is already ‘up’ on the Amazon, Apple Books and Kobo platforms, thanks to IngramSpark (and you can pre-order it), but there is a lot to get ready for the ‘Launch Date’ of 19 November.

We are planning a celebration at a local coffee shop, L’arte, next to Bournemouth Universities. I am hoping that there will be a good group of people with us to mark this special occasion; the arrival of the first book in the Tom Tyler series, a series that sees our hero and his two friends, Bathsua and Effra, live through the most tumultuous times in our country’s history.