February was always going to be a short month, but this time around it came and went before I managed to do a post here!
Nonetheless, it was full of a lot of book excitement in the run up to publication. The month started off with the awesome news that Peach Blossom Spring was one of the Book of the Month picks for February. This meant that subscribers were able to get an early, special edition copy ahead of the 15 March US publication date. How exciting to see posts on Instagram of people reading the gorgeous US edition with its red, gold and pink cover. Here’s a glimpse of some of the beautiful photos people took with my book! Even more exciting was starting to get initial feedback from early US readers. Much like their lovely UK counterparts (via the Tandem readalongs), I had people reach out telling me what the story meant to them, sharing the book with friends, and giving me such an overall boost. It was amazing to see my book start to find its first US readers.
Over here in the UK, pre-launch publicity has continued with being a guest on two radio shows. The good news is that they were recorded and you can listen to them! I loved chatting with Anna Burtt of the Brighton Book Club, and I was honoured to be in conversation with Rana Mitter and guests on Radio 3’s Free Thinking episode about China, War, Freud and Sci-Fi. I’m also going to slip in the link to a wonderful conversation I had with Singapore-based Elaine Chiew on her IG Live show, Books Bual Bual. Elaine is an award-winning writer herself and asks the most thoughtful, insightful questions. It was a delight to talk with her.
AND, the big moment in February for me was the one in the video below. It really needs no explanation, so I’ll just leave you with this short video and a handful of images.
I’ll be back soon with more March news and links. As of this writing, publication is 8 days away in the US, 10 days away in the UK. There are loads of events scheduled, both virtual and in-person. Check out my events page to see if you might be able to join in. It would be so lovely to see you there!