Dear Reader,
I’m writing to you from a train on the way to Leipzig Book Fair, where I’ll be promoting the German publication of Double or Nothing (or „Doppelt oder nichts“) on the 2nd of May. This month started with Double or Nothing coming out in the States, and time seems to have stretched in-between. Far from being the cruellest month, April has been the most bountiful.
Double or Nothing is my first experience of a novel coming out in America and in so many languages around the world. On US publication day, I went down to the water to wave hello to Bond fans over the pond (though I was really waving at Denmark). It was great fun to appear on so many NPR radio stations around the States, plus podcasts and, of course, another great chat on The Bond Experience. Thanks so much to everyone who sent pictures of the book in shops – it made me feel like I was there! If you see it in the wild, or if you’re now reading it for the first time, let me know!
April also saw the seventieth anniversary of the publication of Casino Royale. On Thursday 13th, James Bond’s literary birthday, the Flemings threw a bash at The London Library. Sometimes, my Bond journey begins to feel normal, because it’s my day-to-day life. And then there’s days like this. Arriving just in time (thanks to an angelic taxi driver who beat the traffic with the craftiness of a getaway driver) to the Ian Fleming Publication offices to appear on the radio, I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of Double or Nothing on these glorious shelves next to Casino Royale. It hit me again, just how amazing this all is. Then it was time to don my gown and get to the ball.
A party in a library is automatically the best kind of party, but a party in a library with archival gems is literally my heaven. The London Library curator had dug out first editions, Ian Fleming’s sign-up library form, along with the signatures of Cubby Broccoli, and first head of MI6, C, signed in his famous green ink. Incredible to think of Fleming researching and making notes for Casino Royale in the very room where we were toasting his astonishing legacy.
It was also, by coincidence, the room where I found out I’d got the gig to write Bond. I was there for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year prize-giving in 2019, and my agent whispered the good news in my ear. When the prize went to brilliant poet Raymond Antrobus, I probably seemed like the world’s most gracious runner-up!
It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces and make new friends, including folk who’d flown in from the Ian Fleming Foundation in the States, and the authors who keep the Crime Writers’ Association so criminally cool. I was especially excited to meet the founder of Forbidden Planet, and tell him how many hours I spent reading comics there as a teenager, and how much seeing Double or Nothing in the shop meant to me. I also got to hear a little about the process behind On His Majesty’s Secret Service from Charlie Higson, and I can tell you that you’re in for a treat…
Another stop-in-my-tracks moment came at the Authors’ Club dinner for Casino Royale, hosted at the Liberal Club, where I delivered a talk introducing Double or Nothing. Each table was assigned a Fleming novel, apart from mine, which was flying the Double or Nothing flag. It was a lovely touch, and again brought home the company I am now keeping. Amazing. The menu was inspired by Bond and Vesper’s meal and the champagne was flowing. I think Fleming would have approved.
April brought another milestone, this one in our personal lives. Nick and I bought our first ever home! It’s a Victorian house with a garden in Edinburgh. It feels like a dream. I’ll share some pictures with my next newsletter, once it looks less like a building site…
Looking ahead to May, I’ll be appearing at Quay Words Festival in Exeter for A Wild & True Relation, and Bath Literary Festival for both A Wild & True Relation and Double or Nothing. At CrimeFest in Bristol I’ll be toasting Ian Fleming’s ghost. You can find details on my website. I’d love to see you there!
If you’d like to check out some of my recent media appearances and pieces, do take a look at my Twitter and Instagram. I’m also delighted to have published an essay on the power of being raised by a single mother and how this shaped A Wild & True Relation for Harper’s Bazaar on World Book Day, which you can check out here.
Paid subscribers, I’m exploring adding some virtual events to our Zoom Book Social, where I’ll appear in conversation with other authors. Anyone you’d particularly like to have join us? Let me know in the comments! Paid subscribers will also find below some thoughts on creative spaces, and my new writing room…
For now, Belgium is sliding by the window. We caught the sleeper train from Edinburgh to London last night, hopped on the Eurostar to Brussels this morning, and now we’re speeding towards Germany, where we’ll arrive in time for dinner. Bond was absolutely right. Nothing beats crossing Europe by rail.
From Kim, With Love x
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