A SPY LIKE ME out now in paperback!
To mark the occasion, watch my fastest ever interview (150mph on a race track) + Edinburgh Festival & online event cancelled
Dear Reader,
Today is publication day for the UK paperback of A SPY LIKE ME!
To mark the occasion, I’m releasing my fastest ever interview, which took place at over 150 miles per hour on Thruxton race track.
Watch the first clip here, as I tell racer Peter “Snowy” Snowdon how I came to write James Bond while he rockets me around the track in 003’s Alpine. The track experience was filmed with a fish eye camera on the dashboard, so you’ll see us both in the car and the track ahead – and my foot jammed casually into the door to keep me upright…
For the rest of the interview, head over to my Instagram, where I’m releasing the rest of the clips today!
For paying subscribers of girl with the golden pen, there’s a bonus clip below where Snowy gives me a history lesson on the Aston Martin.
Speaking of subscribing, a warm welcome to all you new readers! I’m thrilled to have you here. If you’d like to upgrade from free to paid for £7 a month or £70 a year, you’ll receive exclusive content like today’s bonus video, plus creative writing tips and videos, and insights into my process as I edit the third book in the Double O series. There are three subscription tiers to girl with the golden pen – free, paid and founding member.
If you’d like to become a founding member and receive a personally dedicated and signed copy of A SPY LIKE ME in paperback (plus future proofs and hardbacks), subscribe now for £150 a year. I’m packaging them up next week!
It’s incredible to hold the paperback in my hands. This ride sure is going fast. If you spot A SPY LIKE ME in your local bookshop, let me know!
Online launch canceled
I’m sad to say that the celebration planned for Saturday has to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances – I’m so sorry to miss the chance to say hello to you! But I’m planning another event for autumn, and in the meantime if you had a burning question you were hoping to ask, please pop it in the comments below or ask me on Instagram!
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Speaking of things moving fast, it’s been about a week since we came home from America (more on that soon) and we hit the ground running with Edinburgh International Book Festival. This was my fourth time appearing at the festival, and I feel incredibly grateful to the programmers for supporting all of my novels, from my debut TESTAMENT to my Double O series.
It was exciting to discover the new venue at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, where the festival staff made the Author’s Yurt feel like a home, as they always do – thanks so much for welcoming us and Pat!
I was lucky to catch the festival in its original iconic home, Charlotte Square, where the Author’s Yurt was still a literal yurt. I remember waiting there for my event, sitting on a hay bale between Ali Smith and Jeremy Corbyn, and thinking things had taken a surreal turn. The magic has just kept coming, and it feels extra special to feel so at home at a festival that’s literally in my home city now.
Another joy of the festival is reuniting with photographer Chris Close, who first took my picture here in 2018, and again in 2023.
This time around we had props! One very fast, very beautiful prop. Here is my first official portrait with Pat, who joined our family after retiring from racing and has already made mine and Nick’s lives so much better. This was Pat’s first book festival, so of course he wore his special collar from the Ian Fleming family, which has a gold tag reading Agent Pat OOK9 – naturally.
In the next picture, I’m posing with Nick’s camera. If you’ve read A SPY LIKE ME, you know there’s an important scene with a camera, which was inspired by Nick’s collection.
It’s really fun meeting up with the same photographer every year, and I love these pictures – thanks Chris!
And I loved every minute of the festival. It was a joy to talk James Bond both on stage and in the signing queue – thanks to everyone who came and waited afterwards! It felt especially meaningful to celebrate the Double O series here, as back in 2022 I interviewed Anthony Horowitz at Edinburgh Book Festival about his final Bond novel, before the release of Double or Nothing and the start of my journey. Taking the baton from one of my childhood heroes is about as special as it gets.
I love chairing at the festival, and this year it was my honour to interview Tony Birch and Zoe Strachan about two important and beautiful books, WOMEN & CHILDREN and CATCH THE MOMENTS AS THEY FLY.
Already counting down the days until next year!
Shelfie
Here’s A SPY LIKE ME in UK paperback on my James Bond bookshelf. If you grab a copy, tag me in your shelfie!
And remember, upgrade to become a paid subscriber and enjoy a bonus clip from me and Snowy below.
From Kim, With Love x
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