MEETING MY PUBLICIST and DOUGHNUTS!

The amazing experiences of working with the Bloomsbury team towards publication of The Coward’s Tale continue apace. Yesterday, it was my turn for publicity planning, so I was off for a smashing lunch at Patara in Greek Street (go, it’s lovely!) with Anya Rosenberg, Head of Publicity at Bloomsbury, UK.

So I walk in with a box of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts... and had fish cakes with a cucumber and sweet chilli dip, salmon fillet in a wonderful, light jus, fragrant rice, jasmine tea in a glass pot with flowers floating...

Oops, sorry. Got carried away there.
Anya knows that I do a lot here online and elsewhere, myself – but we spoke about the launch of the book, whether to hold the launch at a bookshop or somewhere private, and the implications of both decisions. We spoke about what happens with review copies when they come in (mid-September!), who she sends them to and what happens next. We spoke about literary festivals, about readings, about website stuff, about blog tours, about possible features here, articles there.
But the most extraordinary thing, too. One of the happenings in ‘The Coward’s Tale’ has echoes of an important Jewish tradition. Anya wanted to know if that was deliberate? And the answer is, although I am fascinated by Judaism for personal reasons, no. It is a coincidence, not there deliberately at all. And a lovely one – that makes me very happy. Here's a clue:

Planning and lunch, over, we repaired to the Bloomsbury offices, where the doughnuts were delivered to Helen, Erica, Alice, Holly and of course now, Anya – Erica’s been posting about cakes and Bloomsbury – another rich tradition that needs to be upheld!