We Have Lift Off

Launching Double or Nothing

Dear Reader,

I am writing this on the train, climbing the eastern coast of the United Kingdom on our return to Edinburgh. I feel dazed and dazzled. After all the excitement, nerves and anticipation, Double or Nothing is finally out in the world. A friend suggested I write down everything that happened so that it stays with me. Though there will be three Double O novels, there will never be another first: my first novel writing in the James Bond universe, the first time I’ve seen my name printed beneath Ian Fleming’s, the first time I’ve spoken to packed rooms about my new Double O heroes. When I was a teenager, I met Sir Tony Benn and he gave me excellent advice I never followed: write down everything that happens to you. I’ve never been all that good at keeping a diary, but somehow this chance to write to you helps me absorb all the wondrous moments of the past week.

What I see or feel is flashes of particular moments. I was interviewed by so many national newspapers and BBC Radio stations and podcasts that I almost lost my voice. I don’t know if you’ve been interviewed live on the radio by remote link, but what happens is this: you log on and listen to the few minutes leading into your interview, the producer checks your sound quality, and then you are patched in. Those quiet minutes were fun because each radio station played the James Bond theme and then the host said ‘Sherwood, Kim Sherwood…’ – gifting me a quiet giggle to myself before the interview. We set up HQ at my cousin’s house, and between interviews I darted out of the study to hug friends and family I haven’t seen for years as they seemed to appear magically at the door.

My nerves were high ahead of the press and media launch at the News Building – but it’s amazing how much a sports car will calm you down. I was excited to introduce a new car to the James Bond universe in Double or Nothing. Johanna Harwood, 003, drives the Alpine A110 S in matte thunder grey. Earlier this year, a race car driver even took me out in the Alpine to help me with the chase scenes! And this week they helped me arrive to the press and media launch in style, with a stop at the beautiful gold-foiled and bullet-pocked Double or Nothing billboard in Vinegar Yard. It was utterly surreal to see the gigantic book with my name – so hard to take in that the lovely HarperCollins team had to remind me not to gawp in the direct path of oncoming traffic. I had a LOT of fun doing the Sean Connery Aston Martin pose with this stunning car, and generally pretending I own the Alpine, gadgets and all.

A sensation somewhere between zen and Cheshire cat came over me in the car and remained for the rest of the night. Huge thanks to Vip Patel from MI6HQ for making the interview so fun, and to everyone who came along and stayed to chat. The signing queue took something like an hour! I used my beautiful MontBlanc pen with my name on it, a very special gift from my mother that anchored me in the moment, told me this really was me meeting all these kind people and signing all these books. My awareness stretched to the circumference of all the guests and no further, so it wasn’t until I looked at photographs later that I realised quite how magical the sunset was from the seventeenth floor. Huge thanks to the Ian Fleming Estate and everyone at HarperCollins for making it so special, from the martinis to the music. The best part though was meeting people from the James Bond community, folks I’ve got to know through social media, podcasts and YouTube in the past year but never had the chance to meet in person. You were all so supportive and brought so much joy into the celebrations, I can’t thank you enough.

Photograph by Nicholas Herrmann.

My nerves returned for the public launch at the British Library, where I was interviewed by the one and only Charlie Higson. The British Library is my favourite building in the world and this was my first time returning since the start of the pandemic. Luckily, stepping foot on the terracotta-tiled piazza had the same soothing effect as a sports car. The marble stairs, brass fittings, glass column of books protecting Shakespeare and Chaucer, the registration room where I became a member on my 22nd birthday, the lockers, the artwork I nod to like old friends: I was home. But somehow eras were colliding because I was, simultaneously, a teenager who loved James Bond and longed to be a writer who could walk into the reading rooms, and a Double O author about to speak to Charlie Higson in front of hundreds of people while sitting atop the vaults containing first editions Ian Fleming. The eras met as I took a few moments with my family before everyone arrived to wander about in my stockinged feet and take it all in. I’m hugely grateful to Charlie for making it such a special and flowing conversation, and to everyone who came along. We actually kept the British Library open past closing hours because the signing queue was so long, and every single copy of Double or Nothing left the building. Many thanks, also, to the BL for shaking cocktails and creating magic.

The signing queue, where a kind stranger gifted me the original ornithology book by the real James Bond!

Afterwards, I went with friends and family to a bar for yet more martinis and a chance to celebrate with the publisher and Flemings, where I received a gift that knocked me off my feet. A golden Cross pen inscribed ‘The Girl With The Golden Pen’. I can’t thank the Flemings enough for this unexpected and overwhelmingly beautiful gift. I was so overflowing with joy and adrenalin at the point I actually felt the beauty of it like a physical sensation and the only thing that stopped me crying was that you can’t cry on a Fleming. (This isn’t an official rule, but somehow felt very important in the moment.) It was a shining end to a shining week in London.

But the magic wasn’t over yet. On the weekend, Alpine Cars kindly invited me and Nick to the Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace, the UK’s most exclusive motor show for super and hyper cars (and yes, I had to ask for the definition of a hyper car). This was not your average book event. Everywhere you looked there was a work of art in car form, and if there wasn’t a work of art in car form there was a helicopter for sale. Besides helicopters, you could also buy private jets, rifles and Panama Hats. In other words, it’s tailor-made for an action sequence and I expected Tom Cruise to arrive at any moment – or James Bond, for that matter… We chose the Alpine for Johanna Harwood because it’s a French make and Harwood’s mother is French, and drives the classic sixties version. I had a blast reading the novel’s main chase scene in the company of the car itself to what must be the world’s most appreciative audience for chase scenes. Thank you to Alpine for making us so welcome and treating us to such a special day. I felt very Bond – or perhaps Bond villain – pretending the Platinum collection was mine. The most incredible part of the day was the gentleman who bought four copies of the book, the Alpine A110 S itself, and ordered a licence plate with the numbers 003. An unfathomably brilliant end to an unfathomably brilliant week.

Photo courtesy Alpine

Photographs by Nicholas Herrmann.

And the fun continues. On Thursday, we’ll be celebrating the Scottish launch of Double or Nothing at the University of Edinburgh. Tickets are sold out, but if you’re keen to come to an event in Scotland I’ll be appearing at the Edinburgh West End Waterstones on September 13th, and at Bloody Scotland in Stirling on September 17th. You can see the full six-week book tour itinerary on my new website.

Finally, a huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who bought the book, waited in signing queues, chatted with me, posted online – and to my family and friends, thank you for making this week so special because I was sharing it with you.

From Kim, With Love x

PS: The limited Waterstones special edition is selling fast, so if you’d like one, do order now…