Book of the Month

Just a quickie to say that TELL TALE has been chosen as Book of the Month over at the brilliant Crime Files website. I've been getting some amazing fan mail from those who have already read it - mostly from the southern hemisphere as it came out at the end of last year downunder.

And a reminder of a review that went up at the excellent Book Club Forum a little while ago...just to give you a taste of the book without giving too much away - something I always find hard to do at talks!

Only 9 days to go!

Count down to TELL TALE publication!

Two weeks today and the paperback of TELL TALE will be out there in the shops. The best places to buy it will be Asda, WH Smith, Waterstones and Amazon as well as your local indie bookshop. If they don't have it, ask!

To celebrate, Headline's wonderful Crime Files blog have put up a short story I wrote recently called A Place at the Table. It's a little shocker! (haha, I hope!) Why not have a cuppa, have a read, and let me know what you think.

Also, there's a short video clip of me at home talking about TELL TALE over on my website. If you click on books, then the TELL TALE cover, then toggle through the pages, you'll find it. It's such a hard book to describe without giving too much away but I hope it gives you a bit of a taste! I've had great feedback from those who have read it so far...do let me know what you think.

There are quite a few things happening around publication time and one event that I'm really excited about is a talk at Birmingham Library Theatre with Sophie Hannah. I love Sophie's books and met her a little while ago at another talk she was doing. She's very entertaining and I'll try to be, too! We'll be doing readings, talking about our books, and answering audience questions. There'll also be a chance to buy our books and get them signed. Do try to come alone as I'd love to meet some more readers!

Meantime, I've begun work on my new book (next but one after TELL TALE!) I have a title, I have a detailed synopsis, I have a very accurate plan of where each chapter is going, I have character sheets and backgrounds...wow! How unusual. I did plan my previous four novels to a certain extent but thought I'd try something a little different this time. I wanted to see if it had any bearing on the actual time taken to write the book. I suspect it will have as so far, knowing exactly what I'm writing about each day, is making it fly along.

More soon!

Sam xx

Finished!

So I went to meet with lots of journalists at the Groucho Club last week for a 'sparkling evening' hosted by my lovely publishers Headline (who have a snazzy new website, btw). Well, it all made a rather nice change from my local caff. Anyway, I was under strict instructions from both my She-Devils to keep an eye open for the Rpattz or, at the very least, rub my hands on lots of door handles, not wash them before I got home, and make sure I passed on the hopefully collected - what, skin cells, DNA? - to the She-Devils. How odd.

I came to the conclusion, apart from meeting a very lovely bunch of journos from all kinds of publications - everything from weight loss magazines to the Telegraph to Soap mags to the glossies - that they are all incredibly young. And beautiful. And clever. My publicist Sam Eades (who is also those things) worked tirelessly with the rest of the Headline team to make sure the evening was a success and that the eleven female authors invited were circulated in a dizzy cocktail of champagne and ideas for features and articles. It was fun. As I always say about these nice events, it gets me out the house. It gets me in a dress.

In other news, New Novel is finished. It's printed. It's in the mail. Of course, a novel is never really finished at this stage, but it's now over to my editor to work her magic and make me see things that will no doubt have me believing I've been blindfolded this last year. As ever, I feel a little odd parting with the characters and not messing with their lives on a daily basis. It (title to be revealed soon) was a harrowing book to write yet, as ever, the intention with my novels, apart from hopefully being gripping and entertaining, is that they hold a message that makes my readers think, consider, worry, laugh, and feel grateful for life. Amazon has a blurb up and also says the hardback is available on September 2nd. I'm proud of this one and can't wait to see the cover, which I'll put up here in due course.

Meantime, TELL TALE paperback release day is getting closer. This is good news because, not only do I get to see another book in the shops, but it also means that spring is here as the publication date is March 18th. Of course, the hardback edition has already been available for a couple of months and reader emails tell me that it's being very much enjoyed - all over the world! I was alerted to a nice review in Canada's Globe and Mail recently by a well-respected crime reviewer and also saw it in the Bookseller listed in the key paperbacks for 2010 section with 'top-notch sales potential'. That's fine by me. The wonderful Book Club Forum also has a review up as well as an interview with me about the novel.

So now what? Well, on with the next book! I have had a number of readers email me over the years asking if I can 'write faster'. I will certainly try! The idea is there (several of them queueing up, actually) - and, even if I say so myself - this one's a corker (I shouldn't say that, should I?!). But I really can't wait to get started. A few admin tasks to catch up on and then a week or so planning, research and digging...and then write. Although...I bet I start writing tonight.

Sam x

PS. I seem to have been persuaded to give the whole twitter thing a go. Readers - come find me and see how sensible I am! @samhayes

That Monday Morning Feeling

I actually quite like it. No, I love it. No doom or gloom or wishing it was Saturday morning again here. (I do love the weekends, too, of course, and just spent a lovely one with my dear Dad, who I don't get to see often enough). But a whole week ahead is like a pile of blank paper. Now that makes it sound as if I have nothing to do, far from it, but I still like the potential of five working days and don't want to waste a minute. Apart from in the hairdresser's at the end of the week. (It's been a while.)

The Bookseller daily email had an interesting story this morning. An independent bookshop in Edinburgh - the aptly named Edinburgh Bookshop - is hosting a speed dating evening in the run-up to Valentine's Day. Apparently, again according to the magazine, the indies didn't fair too badly over the Christmas period. Heartening news yet I wonder how bookshop owners would comment on that individually. Each time I walk past our local indie bookstore I hold my breath in case there's a To Let sign up. But the speed dating event promises to match up like-minded literary types over a glass of wine and a few books. Miss Daisy Frost, sharp-tongued blogger and columnist, asks if there will be 'three kisses for the price of two' at the event. I can't help wondering what the discounts would have to be for that to happen.

While straying around a few blogs at the weekend, I came across another heartening story on Neil Ayres and Aliya Whiteley's blog. How cool is this? Still don't understand Twitter, even though I'm sure I should. (Sorry, Neil. I read what you sent me and, through no fault of yours, I don't get how to do it!)

So on with my book. It's finished (Yay!) apart from the many pages of notes-to-self and insightful agent comments that I need to incorporate. I've already done loads of obessive editing, so feeling pretty good in that respect. Hear that big clock ticking? Deadline countdown.

Finally, been getting some lovely mail from readers far and wide about Tell Tale! (Paperback out in March.) Many many thanks to all of you. I will reply.

Sam xx

December Update

It's been a busy time for me recently and continues to be that way. Writing-wise, I'm drawing to a close on novel four. It's a breathless, unforgiving surge to the end and hugely emotional to write. As ever, the characters in the book have become part of my life over the last year and the prospect of leaving them behind (for the time being) is, as ever, strange. It's at times like this I'd quite like to take one or two of them with me and give them another story. But...I already have ideas brewing for my next book and actually can't wait to get started on that next year.

The January edition of Woman & Home magazine is now in the shops and includes me in a rather nice feature on page 62. While I was searching through the contents to find which page I would be on, I didn't immediately notice the little photo of me there among some rather glam women. That's how good the stylist was! Well, he did take four hours to get me ready for the photo shoot. Which took about four minutes! But I'm really very happy with the result and Tell Tale gets a mention, which will hopefully harvest me some new readers.

The Sunday Times Style magazine feature also ran a couple of weekends ago. Typical that it was the one weekend that I didn't buy the newspaper and, when I learnt I was in, all the shops had sold out or sent their copies back! Despite the photoshoot with the Times team, they didn't actually put a pic in with the feature, although there is one on the online version. The piece prompted one comment, I see, with a reader assuming that I must only trust my husband because I go through his receipts. Well, in actual fact, he is quite right. I do go through my husband's receipts. Every month when I do his company accounts. Do I find myself piecing together his movements, what he had for lunch, who he was with? No. Of course not. Because he tells me.

November also saw a nice review of Tell Tale in the Sun. Of course, there were a few jokes from family and friends about me being on page three. I declined that particular photo shoot and opted for the review section instead. Although the lass that day was coincidentally called Sam. The Sun reviewer said Tell Tale was 'a fabulously compelling read'.

Finally, I wanted to mention a writer who I've 'virtually' known for quite some time now. Neil Ayres is not only a lovely, hard-working chap who one day I'm determined to meet in real life, but also damned talented when it comes to putting words together. He's recently released an e-book, which is available for download for absolutely nothing. At this time of year, what more could you want?

His book is a collection of short stories called The New Goodbye and is available here on the Smashwords site for download in many different formats to suit all the gadgety things that we all have these days. The blurb reads:

In this collection of realist short stories, Neil George Ayres details the often overlooked depth of modern relationships. From the self-contained love story of a modern marriage, through to the microcosm of the patrons of a working class public house, all life is here. If you love Raymond Carver or Jon McGregor, you're in safe hands.

I'd thoroughly recommend that you take a look at this collection. I have and Neil's writing sparkles with clarity. The realism and emotion in his words transform chunks of life that we all recognise, reulting in thought-provoking and entertaining tales. It also has a rather classy cover, too. I really wish Neil the great success he deserves.


Finally, if you've emailed me recently and I haven't replied, please do send your message again. Somehow, I managed to lose a huge chunk of my messages yesterday, causing mayhem and many four letter words in my office.

Sam xx

TELL TALE published today!

It's that time again...TELL TALE is officially published today and I can't tell you how excited I am about this book being released into the wild. Of course, it's the hardback edition so will have more limited availability than the paperback when it comes out next March. I hope to see piles in the bookshops and supermarkets, but for now readers can buy my new book at selected stores and, of course, Amazon. And don't forget the libraries. They will almost certainly have the hardback and soon there will be a large print version available, as with my other novels.

In celebration, I just ran a long way on the treadmill and pumped some iron at the gym, but before I left I received the most beautiful bouquet of flowers from my amazing editor and all the team at Headline. Haha, I also received a lovely set of paperback proofs to go through over the next week or two, making any little changes and scouring for errors. Plus my head is well and truly immersed in finishing Next Novel - so much so that I've gone scurrying back to the beginning to read/edit/read/edit before I tackle the big finale. Plus, I've had lots of exciting publicity happenings going on recently - a review is due in the Sun next Friday, I believe, and I also have a couple of short stories to write (which I love doing) and hopefully, any minute now, my new website will be launched to mark the publication of TELL TALE. I do hope you like it.

A couple of weeks ago, I had two days of glamour and excitement being photographed for two big publications. Firstly, the Sunday Times came to town - two photographers and a stylist - and between them they made me look rather glam and shifty/suspicious which, if you read the feature in Style Magazine one weekend quite soon (will be more specific when I know the exact date), you'll see why. I'd already been interviewed by a lovely journalist who is writing a feature on me for a new series in Style, and a photo was then needed. I say 'a' photo...they must have shot hundreds as we searched for the perfect spot around town, my stylist flitting around me with her big make-up brush, people stopping and staring at the big lights and rather large lens!

These pictures were taken by my husband when we came back home - they decided to go for a few regular shots, too. Never work with animals - despite my serene look, the cat had his claws dug deeply into my legs!





The day after and I was in London at a studio with the Woman & Home magazine team, who were also lovely and treated me to a day of styling, photography, and lovely food to go with a feature that will appear in the January edition of the magazine, available in the shops at the beginning of December. I had my hair and make-up done (individual eyelashes, can you believe!) and got to choose what to wear from a wardrobe of rather expensive looking garments with the help of a stylist. Again, very glam and it all left me feeling that my usual jeans and T shirt didn't quite cut it! Still, no one sees me as I sit alone in my study tapping out the words.

If you read TELL TALE then do be sure to send me an email and let me know what you think. I love receiving comments from readers and I get emails from all over the world, which certainly makes it all worthwhile. I think I might have to go and put a bottle of something sparkly in the fridge!

Sam xx

Going Public

It's that time for me again. As every author will know, the run up to a title's publication isn't all about whipping the words into shape and making sure the book has a brilliant cover. So much more goes on behind the scenes, not least in the publicity department.

I've had the pleasure of dealing with some lovely publicists during my time with Headline (I'm trying not to worry that I'm now on my third!) and have recently been swapping ideas and brainstorming pitches with my new champion, whose job it is to get me out there, in front of my readers and potential readers for free. Easy then.

I've recently given a 'big' and very exciting interview, which is soon to be followed up by a photo shoot in London. Already I'm worrying what to wear, will they be able to airbrush out the wrinkles, how will I come across in the feature...although I know I needn't worry as the journalist concerned writes fantastic pieces. It's an unusual angle, not least because I once had a very unusual job.

I have some more pitches to write for potential articles - from women's magazines to specialist publications, some short stories to get written, a new website in the making, and a very exciting double-act talk with a huge name in crime fiction to look foward to next year. And I'm sure there'll be lots more besides. There's an art to going public, getting an author 'out there' and the Headline team are tireless at their job.

For an author, though, there burns the question througout the process: How far should I go? I don't mean this in a selling-yourself-to the devil way, rather how much of an exsposition should publicity become, how deep should the author drill to achieve a successful publicity campaign, and at what price?

If it means the difference between being a bestseller and a talked-about name suddenly thrown into the controversial limelight that is more usual for brattish musicians and actors, should authors cast caution to the wind and expose their soul even at the risk of alienating friends or family? Odd, that to achieve potentially thousands of new 'friends', i.e. readers, the real thing might be shocked into oblivion when they discover their female writer chum was once a man, following a flourishing career as a pole dancer in Budapest. (No, I'm not trying to tell you anything.)

I think the best route is honesty. And, if you can manage it, an interesting but not damning life. As I get older (and wiser, ha!) I feel much more able to use my past to light the way for my future. And in doing that, I think I grow as a writer. As humans, it's inevitable that so many things happen to us - even if we think they don't - and how, if we are meant to learn from them then we will do just that. I am thankful that I have many 'real life' stories to tell.

So bring it on. Let's go public. Tell-Tale is out on November 12th and I want everyone to know about it.

Sam xx

Writing under the influence...

No, not what you're thinking, although over the years I admit, I have written some pages while under the influence of one or three glasses of wine. And then promptly rewritten it all again the next morning. It's true that loosening up the brain cells can lead to thoughts and words that may not otherwise have hit the screen, and that's fine as long as in the cold light of day those words are whipped into shape. Wine is not a great writing buddy.

So what is? Cigarettes, I admit most shamefully, used to be a source of comfort and inspiration. There's nothing quite like sucking on a Marlboro and pondering the next chapter. I really believe that smoking helped me concentrate (it's proven, isn't it?), which in turn must have made me a better writer. Than what, I now ask? A writer who doesn't have lung cancer? I gave up that disgusting habit a long time ago now and have yet to find a healthy alternative.

Food, sadly, is next in line and nibbling on 'stuff' all day long might help concentration in a weird way, but doesn't do much for my waistline. So I'm strict. Only black coffee, herbal tea, a bit of salad and fruit passes my lips while I'm writing. It all sounds a bit grim, doesn't it?

To offset the effects of such a sedentary job, I occasionally drag myself to the gym. Or I go out on my bike. And I listen to music on my ipod. And I get inspired. And knackered. I dream up all kinds of plots and twists and characters, plus it helps pass the dreadful time that is exercising. And now I've started listening to music when I write, something I don't generally do. Just really quiet in the background. And when I'm stuck I whack up the volume. At the moment I'm playing Amy MacDonald to death. This song in particular. I've been writing the relationship between two troubled teenagers. It's heartbreaking and uplifting, tragic and real. I also have some music on my ipod from my own teenage years, to get me in the mood. I was a huge Pretenders fan. This is 1981. See all those well-behaved kids? I was fifteen at the time and so are the characters whose lives I am currently tearing apart. It's a funny job.

J is for Jealousy

I realise the title of this post could lead to all kinds of misconceptions about its content, so let me say from the off that in no way do I mean jealousy in a mean-spirited way. What I'm referring to is the awestruck 'I wanna be like that' way - except that didn't begin with J and neither does envy (nothing much does in publishing, actually, hence the absolute age it's taken me to post about J). Secondly, it's about what I'm awstruck about, rather than the other way around. I doubt very much that anyone wants to be exactly like me right now as I sit in track pants and T shirt, with rather bad hair, my fingers sore from typing manically all day, wondering what I can rustle for dinner after already having rustled last night.

It was a little while ago now, when I was at the wonderful Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge taking part in their annual 'Bodies in the Bookshop' event that I was chatting to a couple of other authors about what 'J' could be in my series. Jealousy was mentioned, amid rather loud laughter and, as I'd already considered it, I thought I'd write a few words on it.

My jealousy began a long time ago, when I first wanted to be a writer. It started about age ten and went on for nearly three decades. It's still going strong. I suppose that jealousy could also be described as the burning desire to write, to not be left out of the amazing party that is publication. I admit, I was envious beyond belief when a thirteen year old girl was interviewed on Nationwide by Frank Bough. She'd written a novel and it was going to be published. At thirteen! I can't tell you how much I wanted that to happen to me. I can't tell you how green with envy I was. So much so that I bought a new notepad from the corner shop and started scribbling immediately. I was a girl obsessed and even wrote to Penguin to ask what I had to do to get my book published.

A rumour spread around my school that the 'new kid' had written a novel. My ears pricked up and my hackles raised. I was the one who was going to be a writer. My stories were the ones that got read out in class. I eyed this girl very suspiciously for a long time, not enjoying the competition. She was far more popular than me, far more likely to get published, I believed. The jealousy simmered. I never did find out what she'd written, but I know now that her career couldn't be further away from being a writer.

As an adult, but before I was published, I got to know a few people in the business, went to a few literary events, joined clubs and groups, met some authors, some editors from independent presses, other aspriring writers...and, of course, I was 'jealous' - in the awestruck way. They were all doing what I wanted to do - making books one way or another. I believe that my awe/jealousy took me closer to my goal. I truly believe that mixing with the right people, by surrounding myself with like-minded people, listening to their experiences and learning from their mistakes I was able to move, step by step, closer to being published.

Now, writing my seventh novel, with my third book for Headline soon to be released, I'm still awestruck by other authors. Just how many books can James Patterson write in a year? Can Anita Shreve's prose become any more beautiful or Ian McEwan's future words top those of 'On Chesil Beach'? When it comes to all books and authors that I'm 'jealous' of, well the list would be far too long. But it's certainly true that I, and I'm sure many authors will think it if not admit it, suffer from a little of the green-eyed desire monster when it comes to other people's writing. It might just be an occasional sentence. It might be an entire novel. It might be the author themselves - their glam lifestyle, their looks, their fame - but I believe that without jeal...desire, we wouldn't improve as writers at all. It's a bit of healthy competition.

So the upshot of this little musing is that I think I'm quite an ambitious person. Having become a published author, I'm now 'jealous' of those who have sold rights in thirty languages, have conquered the States, have sold film or television rights. There's plenty of jealousy left in me to achieve all this, I hope...plenty of awe to sit back, whistle through my teeth that one day I might sell this many books.

A little bit of jealousy never hurt anyone. Did it?

TELL TALE update

I have several friends who are married to builders. They sometimes grumble that DIY jobs don't get done around their homes. Is it like this with writers and blogs, I'm wondering now, hands up in guilt as mine has languished somewhat untouched for the summer months? I spend so much of my time writing words - made up words - that when it comes to writing about real life it suddenly seems very daunting. But this made me think. Real life. That IS what I write about - hence the newly updated title of this blog. A little slogan. Very soon, my website will be transformed (again) and Real Life Fiction incorporated. Actually, it reminds me very much - and I hope she won't mind - of the title of my niece's beautiful album Real Life Computer Game. I am very honoured to have this very talented lady and her musician boyfriend staying with us at present so the house is full of even more music than usual.

During the last few months, I have finished writing TELL TALE. The blurb on the back reads:

The chilling new international bestseller from Sam Hayes is a story of three women bound together by a shocking secret...

WHAT DO YOU DO?

A woman stands on a bridge, the water rushing below. In a few seconds she will jump, plunging more than two hundred feet to her death. Who is she? And why is she desperate to take her own life?

WHEN THERE'S NO WAY OUT...

Nina Kennedy, a wife and mother, is afraid. A man is following her, threatening her family, toying with her sanity. What does he want? And how long will it be before he strikes?

AND NOWHERE LEFT TO HIDE?

Eight-year-old Ava sits waiting for her daddy. But, like the others in the children’s home, she knows her father will never come. The home is a place of whispers and shadows. But no one dare tell the truth. Until now...

I loved writing this novel. The idea came to me from several corners. I was deeply moved by the alleged abuse that went on at the Haut de la Garenne children's home in Jersey, yet I was also fascinated by the building itself and the secrets it contained. Having been a school, a youth hostel and a children's home it would have absorbed decades of human emotion. Hopefully, amongst all the alleged tragedy and abuse that went on, the building saw happier times and was, for some, a respite from their troubled lives.

In TELL TALE, Roecliffe Hall is a Victorian Gothic mansion built initially as a family home in Yorkshire. It's a magnificent piece of architecture, typical of its period with huge ornate fireplaces, stone mullion windows, follies and towers and, of course, many Pugin-esque arches. In modern times, Roecliffe is taken over by the local council and turned in to a children's home. Its most endearing features are stripped out or covered with linoleum and paint. The huge rooms are suddenly filled with metal beds rather than oak four-posters and the many twisting, ever-changing corridors are hiding place for the scared children that inhabit the building during the nineteen-eighties.

The second source of inspiration for TELL TALE was the internet and all the associated friend-making that goes on among young people. It's no secret that modern-day paedophiles have a much easier time of stalking and harvesting their prey. Social networking sites are not infallible and are just as much a hunting ground nowadays as were the corridors of Roecliffe Hall two and a half decades ago. I wanted to bring the two scenarios together, take a look at the differences and, more shockingly, the similarities.

I won't give too much away but do hope you decide to buy or pre-order a copy because I'm very proud of this book. It's a frightening look at a modern day family, how seemingly perfect lives can so very easily become nightmares and - a favourite of mine - how secrets from the past always catch up with the present. The hardback is out in the UK in November, and the trade paperback edition will be released in Australia at the same time.

I also love the cover for this novel (see above). My publishers worked very hard on getting it just right and I think they've done a cracking job. The little waif on the front reminds me so much of one of the characters, it brought a tear to my eye. Anyway, I'll give more updates and info nearer release date.

Meantime, I've been working away on my next book. It's as yet without a title but I'm a good half way through writing this one and I'm loving the characters! It's always hard in the long stretch of summer holidays to devote quite as much time to writing each day as I'd like, but then nothing beats spending time with the kids. I say kids in the loosest possible way as my eldest turned eighteen last week with the others not too far behind. Scary indeed, but (even if I say so myself!) our son is a credit to us and, as a token of my huge respect and love for him, TELL TALE is dedicated to him.

Finally, (and as ever) I'm going to try to be a little bit better on the net. So many authors are committed to updating their blogs and Facebook thingies that I really think I should be one of them. So if you want to add me on Myspace or Facebook, I'd love to be your friend. I have been known to add writerly (or not!) thoughts to these pages as well as rather random musings when the book words won't flow.

I hope to hear from lots of readers...see you on the dark side.

Sam xx