Hi Everyone!
First of all, a huge welcome to everyone who has recently joined my Readers' Club. I hope you enjoyed my free book, I Used To Be A Midwife. Do email and let me know what you thought of it.
Please rest assured I won't be bombarding you with endless emails. As a very busy mum, granny, and writer, I do my best to share a quick update once a month or so, but sometimes life gets in the way.
I was absolutely thrilled to win an award for The Last Midwife, which gained the first prize in the Medical Thrillers Category in the National Indie Excellence Awards. I've got an awards ceremony coming up in July, so time to get my glad-rags on! Thank you so much for all your amazing reviews and feedback which have helped make The Last Midwife such a stunning success.
Lots of you have said The Last Midwife would make a great movie, and I agree, of course. One of my tasks for the next few weeks is to submit the book to film and TV agents. Please wish me luck!
I had a fabulous couple of days recently at the Self Publishing Show in London, where I met some of my favourite authors, and got loads of input and ideas about how to write and publish more and better books. One thing I am excited about is creating a luxury hardback edition of The Last Midwife. This would have a foiled cover, decorated page edges, maybe artwork on the endpapers - a real collector's edition. I'm going to be chatting to my designer about this, and I'll be looking to fund it via Crowdfunder.
Do please let me know if you might be interested in a luxury edition, as it would really help to know if this is something that people want. I know I want one, so I'm hoping some of you do too.
On the domestic front, Adrian and I have recently enjoyed a family wedding in beautiful Northumberland. Martha has finished school and is getting ready to start her new chapter at the wonderful Aurora Foxes College in Somerset. We have all survived the recent heatwave, and are looking forward to travelling to the Alps next month to watch the final week of the Tour de France.
One quick cultural recommendation: Last week I visited the Zurburan exhibition at the National Gallery in London. I found it visually stunning and deeply moving. Think big, dramatic paintings, depicting passionate saints, gorgeous still-lifes, and meditative crucifixions. I'll drop the link here in case you are interested. It finishes in August, and, in my opinion, is not to be missed.
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/zurbaran
Thank you so much for all your support. Wishing you a sunny, happy, and not-too-hot July.
Love,
Karen x