Europe
/ USA
24 March 2008
An author's relationship with his or her book changes every time a new edition comes out. The fist publication is usually in the home market - for me, the UK - followed by (if you're lucky) a bewildering pot-pourri of translations and English language editions in different countries.
In the past month, I've been lucky enough to have two foreign trips. The first was to Antwerp, then Amsterdam, for Dutch language publication. As always, it was great fun and very stimulating. The quality of interviewing is incredibly high and much more focused on writing and the book itself than in the UK, where gossip and sales figures tend to dominate the questions!
Two weeks later, it was to Greece with the British Council and to see my Greek publishers, Kedros, who did a fabulous job publishing Labyrinth and the same translator is working, now, on Sepulchre. Despite a general and wholesale transport strike - which meant we had to drive from Athens to Thessaloniki rather than fly - a rubbish strike, which had resulted in piles of bin bags on every street corner, and even power cuts too, the trip was such fun. The - predominantly - Greek audiences were engaged, passionate about reading, thoughtful and enthusiastic.
Next, the big one, in terms of time spent away and numbers of cities to visit - the USA.
I love America, enjoy meeting US readers and answering questions, and hope that some of the readers who've emailed, might even be able to come along to the events and introduce themselves in person.
The US edition looks absolutely beautiful - designed to look like a 19th century book - and I am visiting bookshops and libraries that I first went to a couple of years back, before Labyrinth had even come out. So, it's both a chance to renew old friendships and to hear about what's changed in the US book scene since I was last there.
The countdown has begun …. And since I'm visiting cities on the West Coast, I'm hoping for a little sun to make up for the crazy English Easter weather!
THe door of the Sepulchre is open.
