Promotion choices, events, recommendations

Friday 10th September was World Suicide Prevention Day. For me, this created somewhat of a conundrum. As a first-time author looking to push his book, the instinct is that any related chance to promote the book should be taken. It is, as I’ve observed before, a tough old time for the debut author. Given Playtime’s Over‘s central construct, any discussion around suicide seems like a natural tie-in. However, given the subject matter, the idea of using that specific Awareness Day as a chance to sell my book felt all kinds of off.

Interestingly, one of the good folk at the Book Hive made the connection as well and messaged me in the afternoon to ask if I wanted them to put something out about the book, tying it in, though they too weren’t convinced of the wisdom of doing so. In the end, we decided against. I did put out a blog that day about the subject, mentioning the book, but I avoided any suggestion of people buying it, merely referencing it. Instead, I talked briefly about my experience, said I was thinking about those who’d lost their lives to it, and posted a link for additional help/resources. It felt right to me to mark it but I couldn’t bring myself to use it as an opportunity.

And that is the challenge around the subject matter. While I’m not averse to tying the promotion of the book to Mental Health stuff – I still believe that there are important discussions to be had that the book may shed some small light on – to use World Suicide Prevention Day as a marketing tool is clearly beyond the pale. It’s just not an appropriate thing to try and make money off the back of. One of the additional factors in considering promoting a book with these themes is when and how it’s appropriate to do so. I’m balancing the need to put the work in to assist my publisher where I can with sales against the need to be sensitive. Not a complaint, or something I hadn’t considered before, but there it is.

In other news, a brief email exchange with my editor/publisher has confirmed that he has submitted my book for the East Anglian Book Awards. In and of itself, nothing to get carried away about – submitting is a straightforward affair, we now just sit and wait to see if we get a sniff at the shortlisting. I’m told that if the panel react to the book as well as the public have, we are in a good position – positive feedback continues to come in and I’m told that recently we had a customer come back to purchase no less than ten copies! I’m assuming somewhere there’s a book group with an interesting meeting coming up. But certainly keep an eye out for the nominations when they’re announced and keep your fingers crossed for us.

I’ve also been invited to my first London Literary Event! Terribly excited about this, I’ve been invited to Deixis Press‘ Launch Party. You may remember that back in May, I was asked to give a quote for one of their books, Richard Gadz’ The Workshop of Filthy Creation. Not only was I happy to get my name out there, I was also more than happy to endorse the book, as it’s a cracking read. I’m also currently enjoying Sion Scott-Wilson’s Some Rise By Sin, another really well-written book that they’re putting out this year. An imprint to keep an eye on, for sure. Anyway, as a result of making that connection, I now get to go down to that there London and rub shoulders with other literary types. As regular readers might be aware, the idea of a party would usually make my skin itch but I’m facing this as a professional opportunity for James Kinsley the author, rather than as a social one for old uncle Kins. Hopefully that will get me through it. If nothing else, at least I have an excuse now to catch the Paula Rego exhibition at the Tate Britain, which my wife tells me is excellent.

Elsewhere, the two horsemen of the current mini-apocalypse*, Br*xit & Covid-19, are causing potential issues for the book industry, as supply chains are hit. How/whether that effects us , I don’t know. I’m not imagining we’re looking at a second print run just yet, so probably not much, but if you haven’t bought one yet, QUICK! DO IT NOW! DON’T WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE!

Delighted this weekend to have had the chance to see Emma Raducanu make history at the US Open. The extent of her achievement cannot be overstated. For a qualifier to win a major is unprecedented; to do so without dropping a set and with the complete absence of nerves she displayed is nothing short of incredible. However, those of us who watched her at Wimbledon this year won’t be surprised perhaps as much as we should be. The young woman has formidable written all over her. Perhaps less enjoyable was seeing the likes of Nigel F*rage, who in 2014 stated in a radio interview that he would be ‘concerned’ if a Romanian family moved in next door, hypocritically express delight that a Chinese-Romanian immigrant had won the title for Britain. Seems there are some migrants we can welcome to this country, instead of trying to drown at sea.

Couple of recommendations for you. Admittedly, I have yet to read Elisa Victoria’s Oldladyvoice, but it arrived this morning as part of my And Other Stories subscription and it looks fantastic. Given And Other Stories’ track record, which I believe I’ve spoken of before, and the enticing blurb, I’ve no doubt this will be an absolute gem. It’s due out on 5th October – hopefully I can get it read before then and give you a proper heads up. The other is my film choice for this week, Tiger Bay. Child performances can, as we know, make or break a film. In this, Hayley Mills (13 at the time, playing younger) absolutely makes it as the young girl witness to a murder who ends up trying to help the murderer, a sympathetic Horst Buchholz (The Magnificent Seven‘s Chico). There are, admittedly, a few questions that would legitimately be asked today about leading an audience to sympathise with a man who kills his former lover for no longer wanting him, but the film at least doesn’t go so far as to let him off the hook. Nevertheless, the connection between Mills and Buchholz is tangible and convincing, and the plot is genuinely tense at times with no outcome entirely clear. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me, showing my ignorance, is the multiracial portrayal of Cardiff in the 1950s, especially as it’s not something explored in the plot, just presented as the backdrop the story plays out against. In any event, if you get a chance, I’d very much recommend it.

* hyperbole acknowledged

Photo credit: my wife (I was stuck for an idea for the featured image this week)