MARCH 2007
OK, now I'm getting excited!!!
My new baby is almost here - poised for publication - ready to drop.
‘THE NIGHT FERRY’ is printed and ready. The jacket is agreed (stay tuned and I’ll post it on the site) the publicity is being planned and some of the early magazine reviews are starting to surface.
Now those of you on this side of the room - ie the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa, you’ll get to read it on May 3. For those of you on the other side of the room ie, America, you’ll have to wait until June 12. Not much longer - only a few weeks - which is a lot better than in the past when the publication dates were 12 months apart.
Early in February I flew to Amsterdam for the Dutch-language launch. If you’re wondering why the Dutch get a head start it’s because they’re so proficient at speaking and reading English that unless the translation comes out early it loses sales to the English version.
My wonderful Dutch publishers organised a launch party in the Voc Café on the edge of Amsterdam’s famous red light district. The location was particularly apt because parts of THE NIGHT FERRY are set in this area of Amsterdam.
My Dutch Editor Pieter Swinkel gives me the very first copy printed of NACHTBOOT
Some of the readers who turned up to the launch.
What was particularly nice about the launch was the presence of so many readers. Crimezone, a crime and mystery website in the Netherlands, ran a competition for readers to come to the launch party and get a signed copy of the new book. Some people drove up to four hours to be there, which was very gratifying and I hope they had a good time.
The fact that the book was partially set in Amsterdam guaranteed a lot of media interest. The thing always astounds me about journalists in Europe is how well prepared they are. Some of the questions were far more insightful and intelligent than I could possibly answer.
Gert Jan de Vries of NRC Handelsblad, a daily newspaper, interviewed me while we walked through de Wallens, the red light area, with snow tumbling down. When it came to take a photograph, the snapper wanted to get some of the famous ‘windows’ behind me, with the working girls displaying ‘their wares’. The women, for obvious reasons, don’t like being photographed, but the photographer eventually convinced one to co-operate (a 50 euro note seemed to ease her concerns).
Imagine the scene. Snow is gently falling. It is almost dark. Your’s truly, dressed in my trusty trench coat, is leaning against a wall beside a door in which a scantily clad prostitute is shielding her face but very little else. The photographer is happy. The lighting is perfect. He raises his camera. Suddenly, an old guy walks directly between the camera and me, rapping his knuckles on the window and begins negotiating a price with the women.
‘She’s mine,’ I explained.
‘Yours?’
‘Yes.’
‘You pay for her?’
‘No, he pay for her.’ I pointed to the photographer.
‘Why aren’t you inside?’
‘We’re taking pictures.’
He suddenly made me feel like a pervert who should be locked up immediately.
The photographer intervened and settled the issue. The old guy then hung around impatiently until we were finished. You got to love Amsterdam!
A publicity poster in Amsterdam. Only in the Netherlands do
my publishers imagine that my ugly mug will sell a book.
For any of you who want a sneak preview of THE NIGHT FERRY, I’ve included a link to the opening chapter. Click here. (pdf format)
The early Dutch reviews have been all I could have hoped for. Oene Kummer from Spits (a national free daily) described ‘THE NIGHT FERRY’ as ‘thrilling right to the last page’ and Boek has given it 4 stars out of 5 saying, 'it has all the qualities to become a bestseller.’
An early review from Bookseller and Publisher magazine in Australia ended as follows:
‘Robotham’s books are relentlessly fast-paced and he has a gift for fleshing out the character of a likeable and multifaceted protagonist in the midst of a narrative that starts at a sprint from the first line and doesn’t flag until the last. If excellent characterisation, deft plotting and a light touch count for anything, Michael Robotham is a name that should be on all of our lips.’
OK, right now I’m blushing. Truth is, it doesn't matter what the critics say, it's all about you guys. I’ll give you a heads-up closer to the launch dates, so you put them in your diary. Any questions or comments and you can reach me on : mailto:michael@michaelrobotham.com
OK, so what else is happening? I am hard at work on the next novel, which will be out in May 2008. I would love to tell you what it’s called but not all of my publishers have signed off on the title as yet and I really want to avoid having different titles in different territories which gets very confusing.
What I can tell you is that I’m going to break the habit of a my short writing fiction career and go back to one of my early characters to take the leading role. Professor Joseph O’Loughlin, (I hope some of you remember him), is coming back along with Vincent Ruiz. These guys make a great team and I’ll post the opening chapter later in the year.
In the meantime, I hope you’ve all had a great start to 2007 and I look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible in my travels to promote THE NIGHT FERRY.
Happy reading,
Michael
WHAT I’M READING:
THE ROAD - by Cormac McCarthy (Read it. Honestly, you’ll be blown away.)
INDEPENDENCE DAY - by Richard Ford.
ECHO PARK - by Michael Connelly
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE - Jonathan Lethem
WHAT I’M WATCHING:
HOUSE (Hugh Laurie - what a star!)
THE WEST WING - it's almost over for the best President America never had.
GREY'S ANATOMY - although Meredith is starting to annoy me. McDreamy? McVet? Who the hell McCares?'
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO:
'LIVE AS I'LL EVER BE’ - Chris Smithers.
'THE SOUNDTRACK TO HAPPY FEET' (my kids play it constantly)
You can view my old newsletters by clicking here