Another American sighting.

My thanks to writer Alicia Gifford
for this snapshot taken in the Mystery section, Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, California. Not bad for a mobile phone picture.

It's the kind of shot, like the ones taken by David Isaak that lifts a lonely writer's spirits.

Something else that lifts the spirits is to see A Vengeful Longing listed by The Sunday Times as one of the 100 best holiday reads. Amazingly, I happen to know two of the other authors similarly favoured - my fellow North London Historical Crime Writers, Frank Tallis and Andrew Martin.

Photo of my forehead.

My daughter thinks my 'big' forehead is hilarious. She took this picture of it to show just how big, and hilarious, it is.

Had a nice bookseller review of A Vengeful Longing on the Waterstones website. Apparently, the book has been 'criminally' overlooked by the buying public. Hopefully, Nicholas Cunliffe-Jones, the reviewer, will help to put things right, at least in Maidstone. Thank you, Nicholas.

Check out the new Faber site. If you look hard enough, you might find me.

Rachael King on lists.

Fascinating post from New Zealand novelist Rachael King on how she uses lists in the creative process.

Her novel, The Sound of Butterflies, is absolutely wonderful, by the way (see my review on her amazon page). And now available in paperback.

Vengeful Longing in America

I've just realised I let the US publication date of A Vengeful Longing go by without remark. It was last week, the 12th. What did I do to celebrate? I went to London Zoo with my daughter's school trip. It was exhausting, but Claire said it was 'the best school trip ever', so it was worth it.

Anyhow, luckily for me, David Isaak was not so inattentive. True to his usual generous form, he was out book-spotting, despite being, as he puts it, in the middle of nowhere. More pictures, and other news of what David's been up to, on his blog.

Oh, by the way, I have no idea who those lovely people holding copies of AVL are. If they'd like to identify themselves, I'd be more than happy to send them a signed bookplate each.

Have your say.

The CWA have set up discussion forums for this year's CWA Duncan Lawrie Dagger shortlisted books. Why not pop over and join in the debate. Well, actually, start the debate more like, as no one has said anything about my book yet.

Off to the British Library tonight...

... to get a plaque for being on the CWA Duncan Lawrie shortlist. The shortlist is supposed to be announced at the event, but there was an article in the Times on Saturday by Natasha Cooper reviewing the shortlisted books. So it seems the cat is out of the bag.

Ms Cooper found AVL a little "too impressed with its own cleverness", apparently. Which is weird, because the last time I talked to it, it told me that it wished I had made it even cleverer.