biking to the sorting office instead of taking the Alfa to Cannes

My thanks for the various emails and wishes associated with the imminent publication of 'The Triangle'.

This morning saw me spin across to the sorting office with a backpack of the books. I've started to send out some reviewer copies and this was the second tranche.

The rest of today is taken up with other activities, so I knew if I didn't act immediately, it will probably be next weekend before I have any more time. I'm not expecting full page advertisements in the weekend supplements, so the marketing will need to be self-generated.

I should make a special 'Thank you' to one individual for helping me get this far with this. Fellow blogger Debra and I met together in Amsterdam quite some time ago, after I'd waited outside the rather dubious looking 'Mellow Yellow' koffie shop.

Debra had then shown me to an ironically altogether more mellow establishment where we'd sipped drinks and talked about each others attempts at writing. We agreed to swap fledgling manuscripts and have been cheerfully critiquing what one another has been doing. In the meantime, Debra has moved country and published a rather excellent photography project whilst I've struggled on with the novel in stolen minutes.

The origin of my writing was one of the annual NaNoWriMo competitions which run every November, during which I cranked out most of the original words, largely based upon the actual places I was visiting at the time. For example, there's a scene in the novel in a rather plush hotel room, which is completely based upon a random hotel upgrade I received at the time.

I can't claim any biographical elements in the story, but I have featured a number of places that were part of my world at the time of writing. So whether its London, Normandy, Cannes, Riyadh or Washington, I was flittering through these places and the various settings whilst writing. Probably only the novel's character Brophy can spot the laser point on this sign above my hotel suite. The New York scenes will have to wait for the sequel.

But for now, back to the weekend shopping, and no, I don't have an Alfa.