Tuesday 14 February 2012

Come On Over ....

Well, it's here at last. My farewell post to this blog. But the good news is that I am moving to my new blog on my new-look website - still katefurnivall.com - which goes live on Thursday 16 February. So I do hope you'll join me there.

I want to thank all of you for hanging out with me here. I've enjoyed all your comments and your support has meant a lot to me. It's good to know you're out there!

My new book THE WHITE PEARL is published on 16 Feb 2012, so head on over to my new website on Thursday to read more about it. There will be loads of extra info and interviews, as well as a fun competition to win a copy of the book.

In addition, a whole new world will be opening up to me with my new Facebook Fanpage which also gets going on 16 Feb - so check it out.

Looking forward to seeing you there. Happy reading!

Sunday 29 January 2012

February 16


Less than three weeks to go. A date for your diaries! February 16 - publication day of THE WHITE PEARL in the UK by Little Brown. I am impatient now to see that gorgeous cover casting its green shadow over the bookshelves.

The last couple of weeks I have been busy doing PR for magazines, websites, book forums etc - one of the joys of being an author in the digital age - and I am always interested to see what questions they come up with. Of course there are the usual stock-in-trade ones such as: 'What inspired you?', 'Why Malaya?', 'What research did you do?' and 'What's your favourite book/author?' These I answer with grace and honesty and even try to insert a degree of variation here and there, to entertain myself as well as my reader.

But every now and again, a curve-ball comes winging out of the blue and smacks me right on the head. It was an Australian magazine that tossed out this question: 'What is the worst criticism you have received as an author?'

A real sneaky one. My secret lies hidden away in the darkest recess of a drawer, cowering from prying eyes. It's a newspaper cutting from The Times, UK. But today, prompted by that pushy Australian, I will dust it off for you, hide my blushes and reveal all. It is a review written about my first book, THE RUSSIAN CONCUBINE.

"If books were food," sniped the reviewer, "this would be a Mars bar."

Well, we all know that a Mars bar is not proper food and that if you devour too much of it, it will make you sick. Needless to say, I was mortified.

But as the book went on to hit the New York Times Bestseller list and to sell into 20 languages across the globe, I reckon the world must be mighty fond of Mars bars. I wait with narrowed eyes to read what that reviewer has in her arsenal for THE WHITE PEARL.

In the meantime, get ready for my new-look all-singing website which is cooking up nicely in preparation for Publication Day on 16 February. It might even tell you who my favourite author is!

Sunday 1 January 2012

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. Come on, let's make 2012 a good one, despite all the doom and gloom spilling like black treacle out of the media.

Here are my 10 New Year resolutions for 2012: I, Kate Furnivall, resolve to:-

1. Endeavour (yet again) to eat less chocolate, to take myself off to the gym with greater alacrity and to clip my cat's claws more often before she turns my stair-carpet into shagpile.

2. Regard my computer as my friend, rather than my taskmaster.

3. Get scenes down on paper immediately, instead of concocting them in great detail in my head and then finding that they have drifted away while I trotted off in search of that essential cup of coffee or just made a quick phonecall.

4. Make lists. And lists of lists, if necessary. That way my desk might stay tidy.

5. View each difficulty that trundles across my path as a challenge that will stretch me, make me stronger and give me a chance to open new doors.

6. Meet my publisher's deadline.

7. Meet my publisher's deadline.

8. Meet my publisher's blasted deadline.

9. Lunch less. Quaffing merlot with author-pals does not count as research.

10. Writing is huge fun. Remember to enjoy it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

ps. Nothing I do will persuade this blog font to match previous entries, sorry about that. I have wrestled it to the ground and still lost. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that preparations are in place for my new all-singing website and this one is sulking!