The Final Frontier

BY any stretch of the imagination it’s a big week for me!

Tomorrow in my home city of Stirling I will complete my short four week WHSmith signing tour of Central Scotland on the build up to the final of The People’s Book Prize, which is held on Tuesday, May 23, at the Stationers’ Hall in London, with the voting for the final closing on Sunday, May 21.

‘Write’ now I need to say a huge thanks to my friends at WHSmith and especially their Central Scotland stores co-ordinator Garry Torrance who has been instrumental in giving me the platform to meet people all over Scotland, the North Of England and London and with it the chance to get folk voting for my novel ‘The Shift’ which has made the fiction final of The People’s Book Prize.

Without the support of WHSmith and the opportunity they gave me I doubt very much I would have made the final.

But you never know what you will get from a book signing!

Last week in Paisley as the rain poured biblically down outside, a lady who claimed to be on a mission from the lord professed to save me after a protracted talk about Christian’ theology’….and quite an experience it was too!

Pictured below WHSmith GM Dee makes sure I know who is the boss!

Earlier this year in Durham I was chastised by a silver haired lady in Durham. Meeting her snooty dismissal of all things crime fiction with an entirely innocent enquiry asking if she preferred ‘Mills & Boon’ I was blasted as a ‘misogynist’ and advised loftily that she was a double first from Cambridge!

While in Hamilton three days before Christmas after wishing a middle aged man a Happy Christmas, I was hit for six by a tirade in which the guy advised me his wife had just died and I was a sarcastic pig….or something like that!!

My crystal ball never seems to be working when I need it!

Anyway enough of all that! It’s now all about Tuesday night for me and I must admit I’m looking forward to making my first final.

As such I have a wee competition question for you!

The first person to provide the correct identity of the tartan trews I will be wearing on my big night out hobnobbing with Freddie & Co will receive a signed copy of ‘The Shift’ in the first class post….so answers on a postcard please!

But I will finish with one last ask!

Voting for the final closes at 5pm on Sunday May 21 so if you haven’t yet then please click  http://www.peoplesbookprize.com/book.php?id=1448 and vote RJ Mitchell…you never know it might even put a smile on my face!!!