Happy Birthday!
Autumn, the season of mists, mellow fruitfulness and birthdays. For whatever reason we have a bunch of family birthdays squeezed into a roughly four week period at this time of year. It's a month or so of frantic present buying, cake baking and dinners.
This year also happens to be another birthday, dearer to me than all those family members who have enjoyed countless birthdays and cakes (I jest, family members who read this newsletter). This birthday is special as it is a first. A celebration of one year of life.
The baby can't sit, gurgle, cruise, stand and has a concerning lack of interest in everyday objects. It doesn't drool or giggle or refuse to go to sleep when it is tired. It doesn't wake up in the middle of the night, in fact it just lies there doing nothing. The only upside is that I don't have to change its nappies. Should I be worried?
No, of course not, because my baby is a book. The apple of my eye. The fruit of my...never mind. It is supposed to just lie there. Hopefully not in a pile of remainders with a badly creased spine, but on the bookshelf of a reader of taste and discernment (such as yourself). There it will stay, an asset to the wit, good looks and charm of the owner. Occasionally, as when the owner has guests over, the book will be taken down from the shelf and placed on a coffee table in order to impress friends, family and other freeloaders. It will spark conversation and inspire compliments as to the keen intelligence, fragrant allure and magnetic charm of the owner.
I am speaking of the book birthday of The Book Tour. The beautiful, bouncing book whose birthday it is. It was released amongst great pandemic uncertainty a year ago today. And, according to the grandiloquent words of the English language publisher, “remains a steady seller”. Might have to take the triumphant tone down a notch or we will open ourselves up to accusations of hyperbole.
Naturally I am delighted that sales remain steady. It is a success for any book to maintain momentum following the weeks of its release, even more so to go back to print several times. To still be selling copies a year later is a definite win.
It also picked up a few award nominations along the way (I celebrated a clean sweep of winning absolutely none of them). And since the English language release (it was first published in France by the always wonderful Éditions çà et là) there have followed Polish, Spanish and Italian editions. In the first half of next year there will be a German version from Schaltzeit Verlag.
Our little international family is growing. I am so proud of my polyglot brood. Forgive me if I grow sentimental, but I am pleased by how it has made its way around the world.
Only last week Hollywood put out feelers...but then they do that. Media machinations rarely lead anywhere. I will put it out of my mind until The Book Tour washes up on a streaming service near you. Unrecognisable from the source material, but I will be $3.26 better off and wear my 'crew jacket' (that I had to buy on eBay) to every convention I attend forever after.
Three cheers for success! Three cheers for The Book Tour!
Oof. I am quite exhausted after such a thorough round of back-slapping and self-congratulation. I have just enough energy left to note that every week I post a new story (amongst other gems) to my Patreon. Here's a taster of what kind of nonsense I get up to there:
Can you believe you are missing this kind of wry, observational, domestically-based comedy gold every week?
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I have books out in the world, Kerry and the Knight of the Forest & the previously mentioned ad nauseum The Book Tour. Support my efforts through my store – digital comics – patreon or by leaving a positive review online.