Once again, David's been out Axe-spotting:
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David writes:
A couple of pictures of the US paperback version of Axe at the biggest local bookstore, the Huntington Beach Barnes & Noble, which is a building about the size of the Pentagon.
Being in the New Mystery section is a good thing, an honor conferred on few paperbacks, but they only had one copy. On the other hand, they don't put you face-out in the New section if they only ordered one copy, so that implies they only had one copy left. That also seems like a good thing.
A young lady who worked in the store asked me, politely, what I was doing with the camera. "I know him," I said by way of explanation, pointing at your book, "he's from London. I'm going to send him the pictures." She seemed suitably impressed by one or more of those three facts, and stood by while I got on with my photos.
He was even kind enough to devote a whole post on his own blog to the paperback edition of The Gentle Axe. I share his frustrations with American amazon.
Nothing to do with me or my books (hey, come on, David!) his latest post on Oregon place names is hilarious.
All I can say is thank you David, for all your sterling work.
In the meantime, there was a review of A Vengeful Longing in The Telegraph on Saturday, alongside (well, just underneath) a review of my fellow NLHCW* Lee Jackson's The Mesmerist's Apprentice.
Apparently I have "a knack for showing the dark side of the city", which "bristles with depravity and deception, lunatic bureaucracy and melodrama..." Nice to have a knack for something.
*North London Historical Crime Writer
6 comments:
Hi, Roger--
I'm serious when I say you really ought to have a word with those Penguin-Putnam folks and get them to kick Amazon in the butt.
Amazon needs a good butt-kicking, but us civilians can't do it. A publisher probably can.
"Lunatic bureaucracy": history repeats itself today in the UK!
Great review, Roger.
Hi David - I did alert the P-P crew to your blog. Don't be surprised if you get some hits from the Putnam Corporation. They were very grateful to you and are getting on to Amazon. It doesn't seem to have changed the situation so far.
Hi cfr, nice to see you in these parts! There's a phrase 'bureaucracy gone mad' but I can't help thinking bureaucracy is always mad to begin with - it can't be any other way.
Roger, I took a photo of A Gentle Axe in the window of Whitcoull's in Christchurch yesterday on my phone. Trouble is I have no idea how to get it from my phone to my computer! If I work it out I'll send it to you.
Hi Roger,
Good to see you at Bodies in the Bookshop!
I don't know if you read comments this far back, but I was just perusing your blog and discovered this very cheering photo of 'Axe' on sale in the US... with 'Medicus' also in shot (the US edition of 'Ruso and the Disappearing Dancing Girls'). What good taste those folk at Barnes & Noble must have!
Hi Rachael, great that you spotted it - and in a window! I don't even have a camera phone, so no worries there.
Ruth it was good to see you too. And I agree about their good taste!
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