Amor Towles, Charlie Higson and a Giraffe all Walk into a Newsletter

Festivals, editing + Venice locations in A SPY LIKE ME

Dear Reader,

It’s been a while since I’ve written – literary festivals, family events, dog emergencies and the lurgy have made the last three weeks a matter of moving from excitement to crisis and bed to bed (eight in total) across the country. Let me take you back to the 24^th of May, when I interviewed American bestseller Amor Towels, author of The Gentleman in Moscow, for Toppings bookshop here in Edinburgh.

I was excited to have the opportunity as an admirer of Towles’ writing, but my adrenalin tipped into stress when we discovered our greyhound Pat needed emergency dental surgery! Pat dealt with it all like the stoic ex-racing champion he is, but you can imagine my racing heart as I left him and Nick for the event. My heart rate rose as I reached the church hosting the evening and discovered we had an audience of 500 people! Luckily there wasn’t much time to get nervous, and the evening was a joy from beginning to end. Amor has a brilliant mind and tells a fantastic story: chairing the evening reminded me of chairing Anthony Horowitz – it’s like keeping a bullet train on the tracks, and boy the ride is worth it.

Then it was time for a literal train, as I boarded the night train to London, now not with Nick and Pat as planned, but solo. I reached Bath Spa station early the next morning for the Bath Literary Festival. I was there to deliver a creative writing workshop, something I’ve done for the festival since 2018. As I walked to the venue, an unknown participant recognised me, and I thought, well, this is new. Usually I start workshops by introducing myself, but this time around I realised most of the participants were there because they’d already read my books. I’m finding this at more and more events, and it’s really exciting to reach this stage of my career, meeting people who might have been moved by Testament, or love Bond, or adore historical adventure and were excited to discover A Wild & True Relation. Huge thanks to everyone who came along. It’s also the first time I’ve done a writing workshop in a spa!

The next day, I joined up with my partner in crime Charlie Higson for a discussion of all things 007. I adore Charlie and always look forward to spending time together. This was no exception, as Charlie made me laugh for the full hour we were on stage. It was also an opportunity to meet a founding member of girl with the golden pen, who’d come all the way from the States! Thanks so much for joining us in the Green Room to say hello!

If you want to become a founding member and receive signed proofs, first editions and merch, plus have the opportunity to meet, sign up below. If you’ve already signed up as a founding member, let me know in the comments if you’d like a signed and/or dedicated copy of A WILD & TRUE RELATION in paperback!

After Bath I went to London for a week, where an exciting run of meetings (that I can’t tell you about it, but one day will!) resulted in the lurgy and exile in random Air BnBs. After my recovery, and Pat’s recovery from surgery, I joined Nick and Pat at my parents-in-law for a wonderful few days, during which Pat even met a giraffe. Why wouldn’t you take a super-fast dog with a high prey drive to a wildlife park, I ask you?

Back in Edinburgh, I was delighted to give a talk to the Writers’ Forum about my journey so far. Then it was time to dive into heavy teaching prep – a bit like when you come back from holiday to find a full inbox, only here the holiday was a cold, so nothing like a holiday. And I’ve been editing Book 3 in the Double O series – more on that below. Meantime, the Euros have kicked off – COME ON ENGLAND! It’s coming home, right? Right??

Let me leave you with a roundup of places to find me, online and in real life.

• Visit Trip Fiction for a rundown of the Venice locations in A Spy Like Me, featuring incredible photographs by my sister, brilliant artist Rosie Sherwood. Here’s a couple to give you a taste!

• Visit Crime Reads for my essay on Women in the World of Bond

• Join me at Golden Hare bookshop here in Edinburgh for a talk on adventurous women

• Join me at Harrogate Crime Festival on 20^th July, where I’m thrilled to be sharing a stage with Mick Herron and other spy writing luminaries

• Join me at Edinburgh International Book Festival on the 16^th of August for a special Double O event

Portrait by Rosie Sherwood

Photograph by Rosie Sherwood

And for paying members of girl with the golden pen, there’s a creative writing video below on my process editing Book 3 plus tips for editing your manuscript. I hope you find it helpful! If you’d like regular bonus content like this, sign up now as a paying subscriber for £7 a month. Huge thanks to everyone who’s recently joined the mailing list, it’s amazing to have you on the adventure with me.

From Kim, With Love x