World Book Day and a review

On Saturday evening, I took part in the nationwide celebrations of World Book Day, giving a talk and hosting a performance of my Victorian murder mystery event at Timperley library in the borough of Trafford. And it was all very enjoyable.

There was a very good audience and I like to think that it was not just on account of the book giveaways that were part of the event this year! I have written before about the valuable part that libraries play in their local communities, and this was very evident on Saturday, as the library also hosted a talk and film show about the history of Trafford. The film was fascinating, and although it only dated back 80 years, it seemed to portray a totally different world.

I know there is a lot of debate about whether it is a good idea for vast numbers of books to be given away free. Most readers are surely bound to welcome this kind of initiative, but some booksellers worry about it, while some writers may fret that it keeps the spotlight was on the bestsellers who do not really need publicity as much as new and mid-list writers. The concerns strike me as reasonable, but on the whole it seems to me that any initiative that encourages readers, and fosters an interest in books has to be a good thing.

On Saturday also I was pleased to see the first advance review of the forthcoming US edition of Take My Breath Away. Kirkus said "Edwards spins a rattling good yarn, rich in incident and plot twists", and who am I to argue?