After almost three years I will finally be heading out on book signing duty with WHSmith this weekend as I start a short promotional tour for my new title in the DS Thoroughgood Series: ‘The Hammer.’
As the poster below reveals I will be out and about at four of the retailer’s stores in May and June, starting at the Thistles Centre, Stirling this Saturday, May 7 from 11am to 3pm.
Over the years I have done quite a few tours with WHSmith and back in 2017 my Scottish tour in support of ‘The Shadow of Fear’ set a sales record for the retailer for such a tour with 1388 books sold from a marathon 30 dates.
While last time out in 2019 my tour in support of the previous Thoroughgood title: ‘The Blood Acre’ also broke the 1000 sale mark in just 18 stops.
But as you know things have changed an awful lot since 2019! At long last we are just getting back to a new normal with many people still electing to wear face masks and understandably nervous about engaging with other folk.
So that is a big consideration ahead of this taster tour which will see me, thanks to Matthew James Publishing, provide every customer who purchases a copy of my back catalogue books with a free three-chapter taster booklet of ‘The Hammer.’
In this respect, while I don’t intend to sport a mask, I will be sanitising my hands before I sign a book, while I very much intend to remain seated as much as possible…except when I need to stretch my legs to stop rigor mortis setting in!
Below is a picture from this week’s Stirling Observer with myself and Dee, the CM for Stirling WHSmith, promoting the signing and I’d just like to thank my local paper for their continued support in this respect.
So what can we expect of ‘The Hammer’? Well the book and especially the taster booklet picks up from the end of The Blood Acre…so in many ways you get the answer to the previous cliff-hanger…almost…before embarking on the new adventure which my good friends at MJP have confirmed is likely to be out at the very end of September.
Without giving away too much ‘The Hammer’ will see the newly promoted DC Thoroughgood seconded to an undercover unit in Manchester as he looks to play his part in bringing a notorious Scottish criminal, who has gone to the Northern Powerhouse to broker a multi-million drugs deal, to justice.
But as usual with Gus…things get complicated…and crimson soaked while you have my personal guarantee that doubleX, betrayal and, naturally, heartbreak are all present!
I hope to see some of you on Saturday!
Adios!
RJM
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