STANDING ROOM ONLY AT UNSPEAKABLE BOOK LAUNCH

“Things turned really creepy when the overhead lamp starting swinging on its own.”

So here we are; the day after the scary night before.

And what a night.

I started with a transformation of one of England’s most ancient churches. And when I say ancient, I’m talking before 1086.

The space was lit by a cold, moonlit blue. Candles flickered in a runway line down the aisle and across pews while a mysterious fog slithered from the altar and crept along the stone floor. In the distance, like a call to prayer, the mournful whistle of a passing train filled the still of the October night.

Then, at around 7 pm, they began to arrive.  The first guests of the Unspeakable book launch were checked in by members of the TM crew, given complimentary drinks and escorted to their seats while creepy music echoed around them.  Then the next group, then another and then another.  Before long, all of the pews were filled and the event became standing room only.

Gulp.

Me, signing books as fast as my hand will allow.

There are momentous moments in every author’s life. Such as a plot breakthrough, book release, seeing your novel made into a movie. But, I don’t think anything truly equals coming face to face with your readers.  That is something else.

So, it was only when I peeked out from my hiding space at the back of the altar to see a sea of ghostly faces stared back at me that I realised that it was show time.

So, I emerged from the gelid mist, that by this time had had eerily enveloped the place, to a rapturous applause.

Then, when the room fell silence, I lifted a paperback copy of UNSPEAKABLE to my face and thought, Oh…..crap! The book light isn’t working properly.  Oh well, there was no going back.    “It was a time of war, ” I said, in my best  movie trailer voice.  Everybody laughed. Phew.  I was going to be okay.  I then went on to say that it wasn’t a time of war at all, but, but a rainy Monday morning in London.

My eerily echoing voice, a dog barking somewhere in the distance, only added to the atmosphere,  so when somebody at the back of the building dropped something, I think the whole congregation (including me) jumped out of our skins!  And it was in that moment that everybody turned to see a creepy figure with

The packed church waiting for the event to begin.

glowing blue eyes  glare at them from the upstairs mezzanine. No, I don’t think they were expecting Ben (one of the characters from Unspeakable) to join us. 😉  Things turned really creepy when an overhead lamp began to swing back and forth unaided. “Do not be alarmed,” I said. But I think a few of them were. And, that was it, they were hooked (or they seemed to be). And I was delighted to look up from reading occasionally to see  all of those faces watching me, truly captivated  by the story.

Yet, before long,  the reading  was over and it was book signing time. Only, I was at the other end of a church packed with people. And it was pretty much mission impossible as I crawling under and climbing over things to finally take my seat at the writing desk.

I have to say, the line was long and people waited very patiently to get their books signed. It was both delighted and humbled  and extremely grateful. And, what a lovely bunch they all were.

Some of the crew. The hostesses, to whom I’m most grateful, were busy seeing guests out and taking these pictures.

Needless to say, the UNSPEAKABLE book launch was a major success, and I met so many wonderful people. My only regret was that  I couldn’t spend more time with them, but the line (and patience I’m sure) was stretched and I know some people like me were eager to get out of the darkness and into the light.

Everybody ‘bought’ generously, which meant that we were able to donate generously to the upkeep of such a beautiful building and I can only hope that I’ll get the opportunity to host another event there sometime soon because, of course, given the success of the evening, a mini book tour has been suggested, but it’s early days.

UNSPEAKABLE is NOW AVAILABLE from Amazon, Audible and iTunes.

Until then, there’s nothing else for me to say other than to thank the fantastic members of the TM crew. All of whom went above and beyond the call of duty to take very good care of guests, some of whom had traveled hours to be at the launch. THANK YOU so much for making the journey. It meant a lot to me to actually meet you all.

I’m look forward to working with everybody again soon and, of course, possibly meeting some of you once again.

UNSPEAKABLE is available from Amazon for Kindle, Paperback and Audiobook – chillingly narrated by Matt Addis.  If you fancy listening to a creepy excerpt from the audiobook, head on over to Unspeakable page by following the link above or heading over to Amazon.

If you would like to see more pictures from the evening, head on over to my official Facebook page by clicking here. If you would like to see some of footage from the evening, click below.