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agents cuba getting published Joshua Files readers

themgharris.com is launched…

 
Look what Redhammer made me!!!

Well, what do you suppose a newly launched debut author does in the first week after her book is out…?

About a year ago I imagined I’d be walking around rather light-headed, visiting bookshops and placing my book somewhere more prominent… And the rest of the time sort of basking in a glow of happiness.

Well, guess what?

I actually AM doing quite a bit of that! (Although they’ve done really well with the book placement – it’s on tables and face out everywhere that I’ve seen. Yay!)

But my hard-working agent is also seeing to it that I’m not entirely frittering away my time eating cream scones, bagels and ice-cream and watching TV. He’s had me thinking of and writing articles for the super-whizzy new fan site that he’s developed at www.themgharris.com

Why did we call it that? Cos mgharris.com is taken and there is more than one MG Harris…

(although I bet there isn’t another Maria Guadalupe Harris but, yanno…drat, I just checked and there ARE!)

So check it out and maybe even join up!


In other news, in Cuba Fidel Castro has ‘resigned’ as El Presidente For Life, Glorious Dictator and Supreme Revolutionary Commandante (or some such overblown title). I guess we’ll have to wait until he checks in by phone with one of his best buddies like French movie actor Gerard Depardieu, to find out if he’s really still alive at all.

He’s put his brother Raul Castro in charge. Cubans have been waiting a long time to see Fidel die or stand down. They have a lot of patience, those people.

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getting published Joshua Files readers

What time is it? It’s JOSHUA time!


Friends from the Official Joshua Files Facebook group at Krispy Kreme on Day One

Forgive me bigging up my own novel but today is the day!

I’ve been receiving lovely emails from all my friends who are finally reading ‘The Joshua Files: Invisible City’. They’ve been very positive so far. The former Chair of Governors of the school where I’m a governor sent me a lovely email this morning, saying that he would read it by Friday and give me his opinion then…’Ok so far’ he wrote. Ooer…

Most of the events the publishers have organised will take place over the year, starting next Tuesday with the fab launch party in London’s La Perla Mexican restaurant and bar. (We loved Mestizo but needed a more central location).

But this week we do have a few things coming up:

1. Party at Krispy Kreme in Oxford (4pm-5.30pm)
The doughnuts are on me! Bring along your copy of TJF for me to sign! This has been organised via the Official JOSHUA FILES Facebook Group.

2. Wed 6th 4pm-7pm BBC Radio Oxford – I’m the co-host on Bill Heine’s drivetime show.
Bill and I are meeting first at Costa where the secrets of doing his show will be explained to me in about 20 mins…
You can listen via the Web http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/local_radio/

3. Saturday 9th 3-4pm Blackwell’s Oxford
Yay, my first book signing. For goodness sake, if you live in shouting distance of Oxford please come along to this! Or it’ll just be me and a stack of books… Afterwards we can all go out for afternoon tea. Sound good? C’MON!

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Joshua Files readers

“The Joshua Files – Invisible City”: book and Website

Specially for Lukas, who wanted to know what the book looks like without the slipcover.

Ooh it’s dead good how the slipcover glows at the edges. The effect works best in a dimly lit room. A photo just doesn’t do it justice but I’ve tried to capture the effect here:

Don’t the design people at Scholastic totally RULE?

Meanwhile the official Joshua Files Website is now up and running! It’s got a sample chapter and cool desktop wallpapers to download.

My little 6-year old has been talking the book up in her primary school, bless her. And yesterday I told her to go choose a new book to read from her bookshelf, but instead she went and found my one copy of ‘Invisible City’ and presented it to me very shyly. “Are you sure?” I said. “It’s a bit grown-up for you.”

But she was adamant. So I started reading it to her. It’s going to take a while because I have to explain things as we go. But if our neighbour can read ‘Northern Lights’ to her four-year old, then dammit, I’ll really try to help my little daughter to enjoy ‘Invisible City’.

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readers

Doughnut Time

Doughnut TimeOriginally uploaded by mgharris

No New Year diet for me!

Can you believe we blew off the weekly visit to the pool in favour of a trip to the temple of doughnuts…?

And you know what else? I’m not even going to feel guilty about it.

Because it turns out that I actually lost a couple of pounds over the break. There weren’t all that many bloatation opportunities after all.

I’m in a ridiculously good mood.

My best friend just texted me from Havana, where she’s having a great birthday with her Cuban boyfriend.

And the Waterstone’s website has ‘The Joshua Files: Invisible City’ listed in their ‘Coming Soon’ selection.

The only downer is that the Oxford Krispy Kreme plays non-stop 80s’ music. Well, I didn’t like it much the first time around.

Next to me a crowd of Spanish women are having a grand old gossip. They haven’t worked out that I’m listening to every word. Muahaha.
Emailed from my BlackBerry®

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Joshua Files readers writing

Hey Danny, where are you?

Last summer whilst playing with my five-year-old daughter in the local playground I came across a family of children playing with their grandparents, with whom they were visiting.

One of these children, aged 10, was named Danny. Whilst playing on the roundabout we discussed Man United’s upcoming game, his school’s extra-curricular lessons in detective skills, and eventually he asked me what I did for a living.

I told him I wrote children’s books, but that none of them had been published yet. He seemed very interested, asked to know more. I told him about ‘The Joshua Files’. He was even more interested, even excited. “When can I read it?” he asked. Then I had to explain a bit of the publication process and the painful fact that he might never read it because it might never be published.

Agent had had the script for 3 months and I’d heard nairy a peep…

As we departed, I told Danny that he could find news of my book on the little Website I was knocking together for the book.

Danny – if you ever read this – guess what, “The Joshua Files” is going to be published. I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait until you’re at least 12 to read it!

Would you like a free signed copy of the book when it arrives in spring 2008? If you write to my agent, tell him what town you come from and which football team you support, then we’ll know it’s really you. I’ll see that you receive a copy asap.