Cuckoo Book Launch

16/11/2018

Cuckoo is about to spread her wings! It's been almost exactly two years since I started writing the book, and now Cuckoo launches in barely two weeks. It's officially on sale from Thurs 29th November and can be pre-ordered from various places, including Waterstones and Amazon.

To celebrate, on Wed 28th November there will be a book launch party at Waterstones in Derby, 6.30pm. The event is open to the public, but we do ask anyone planning to come to drop me a quick line at info@sophiedraper.co.uk, or put a comment in the comment box below - that way we can plan numbers. There will be a Q&A with myself, kindly hosted by author of The Devil's Dice, Roz Watkins, a short taster reading from Cuckoo and a chance to ask me any questions and buy an early signed copy of the book. Fizz, nibbles and the wonderful atmosphere of Waterstones in Derby, what more could I ask to celebrate my first book!

I have a few more events coming up this month:

On Tues 20th November I'm at Markeaton Primary School in Derby, doing workshops around the story Hairy Toe - this was one of the first traditional stories that I told as a professional storyteller, to which I added my own particular twist and it's become a bit of a signature dish. So lovely to be asked back to the school where I have visited now for several years.

On Fri 23rd, I'm at Tissington Hall, sharing stories with the children of the local brownies - I did this last year and this wonderful old Derbyshire house was stunningly decorated along the theme of Beauty and the Beast. This year the theme is Neverland, and one of my favourite childhood tales, Peter Pan. I can't wait to see what they've done to the house this time!

On Sat 24th, I will be taking part in SledgeLit-4, a day of author panels and workshops at QUAD in Derby. I'll be talking about finding an agent and planning intrigue into your novel and also running a workshop on putting the psychological into 'psychological thriller'. There will be a few early copies of Cuckoo on sale and a chance to chat to me too - I'd love to talk to anyone who taps me on the shoulder!

There's a blog tour for the book too, over the first two weeks immediately after the launch. I'll post the schedule as soon as it's made public, and a few articles that I've been asked to write. I'll post more details as and when things go live on my Twitter feed and Facebook page.

I've also just finished the first draft of my second book! So, it's been pretty full on, but now I have to dive in and start my second draft, which is to me the most exciting stage of writing, when I get to know the characters so much better and tease out the drama and backstories.

Hope to see some of you at the launch party!