The Weird and Wonderful Life of a Working Writer
Hello there, it’s me again, Sam Blake, this time to talk about the paperback of Your Every Move which is out on 5th November, although it feels a bit strange to be talking, eleven months later, about a book that originally came out in January. That first outing was in trade paperback (the big airport size), but for UK readers, this smaller paperback edition could be the first time that you’re seeing it because this is the size that’s popular with UK shops and readers (and anyone who doesn’t want to lug around an airport sized tome.)
Wonderful News!
Also in very good news, the AUDIO BOOK of Your Every Move will be released at the same time as the paperback, so hold onto your hats audio lovers!
Your Every Move went straight to No 1 when it came out originally (thank you, lovely readers), and The Guardian (no less) said: This zippy chick lit/psychological thriller mashup with a dash of romantic suspense is just the job for a long winter evening.
And The Sun in Fabulous Magazine said: A fast paced thriller that will get your heart pumping!
Woo hoo! There are never any guarantees with any book, and as writers we worry about every single one – whether people will like, it whether it’s good enough…
Your Every Move
Your Every Move was one of my favourite books to write – it’s set in London and on the Lizard in Cornwall – and features Irish estate agent Rosie Kinsella, who absolutely loves her job selling high-end properties in London. But when she’s targeted by a mysterious stalker her amazing life is turned upside down.
‘Michael’ seems to think he and Rosie are in relationship – he know where she lives and where she works. And somehow he’s managed to take photos inside her house.
Rosie’s colleagues and friends rally round to protect her. But who can she really trust?
Rosie has a popular instagram account @RosiesParisLife (she left Paris because an estate agent with red hair disappeared…if you’ve entered the Blakeaverse and read The Killing Sense, this will sound familiar) but when Rosie decides to post about being stalked, things begin to blow up. And when Michael sends Rosie those photographs of her house, each one is getting closer and closer to her upstairs flat’s front door…
The Inspiration Behind Your Every Move
I’m always fascinated by the inspiration behind books, and when I started thinking about how vulnerable estate agents can be when they are showing property (while binge watching ‘Selling Sunset’), I started thinking about the Suzie Lamplugh case – Suzie was an estate agent who disappeared in the UK in July 1986. She went to show a house – in the days before the internet, mobile phone and CCTV on every corner – and she completely disappeared.
Forty years later, she still hasn’t been found. I can remember watching her parents’ appeal on the TV news so clearly. My mum met Suzie’s mum, and the work her parents did in establishing the Suzie Lamplugh foundation is incredible.
Rosie’s story is very different to Suzie’s but through the book Rosie posts about stalkers and the psychology behind stalking, as well as red flags to look out for. Like all my books, there’s a big twist at the end – and a little one at the very end, the sting in the tail. Often I don’t know what that’s going to be until I finish writing the book, but I always try and add one, so that the story is a really satisfying read.
This Weird and Wonderful Life
The reason that this piece is entitled The Weird and Wonderful Life of a Working Writer, is because, as a commercial fiction writer, I write a book every year, which means that at paperback launch time (every year!) I actually have three books in my head…right now that’s:
- Your Every Move: coming out in paperback in Audio on November 5th
- Kill Lane which is my next thriller, which will be hitting the shelves on New Years Eve this year, a bit earlier than my usual early January publishing date, but just in time for you to use those book tokens (or even better, pre-order it and you can curl up with it after the fireworks 😊)
- And the book I’m actually working on now (perhaps that should be wrangling with) The Woman on Flight 738 (set on Lake Garda in Italy) which is due out in January 2028.
The Wonderful Year Ahead
In story terms I work a year ahead, but this means that the events I’ve been doing recently have been focused on Your Every Move, while early readers are all talking about Kill Lane. (Everyone loves Rosemary, and for a split second I had a who’s Rosemary? moment – writers aren’t supposed to admit that obviously – but I DO love Rosemary.) There’s also another dog in Kill Lane who is proving popular (a labradoodle called Toffee.) There’s also astrology, a little bit of tarot, some numerology and a lot on how influenced we can be by things like online content…
One City One Book
On top of that Something Terrible Happened Last Night is Dublin’s One City One Book read this autumn alongside Leon Diop’s brilliant memoir Mixed Up, and I’m doing workshops all over the city to talk about Frankie, Sorcha and Jess, and the cast of characters in my (award winning – yay!) teen duology.
Writers Ink
All of this is a wonderful situation to be in, I adore writing and reaching readers with new stories, but it is a little weird to have all these people living in your head at the same time.
When I’m talking to the writers in the Writers Ink coaching and mentoring group that I run with mindset coach Maria McHale, I’m always encouraging them to focus on one story at a time. As writers we only have so much creative space and we need to give our all to the project we’re working on to make it the best that it can be.
As a new writer you have the luxury of time to get your story right – use it, and start writing the next one as soon as you’re finished the first one (and by ‘finished’ I mean 20 drafts later when you’re so sick of it you never want to see it again), because that extra bit of work you do now, will stand you very well if you sign a two book contract and have to suddenly write a book a year.
A Wonderful Job
What is still quite astounding to me, thirteen books in, is that I get to call this my job, and even more astounding, is that each one starts with a blank page and becomes a whole world. Let’s hope I can do it again!
If you haven’t read Your Every Move (possibly one of my cleverest titles, although I think The Dark Room takes the crown) now’s your chance! Thank you for supporting Sam Blake. Without people buying our books, we can’t keep doing this, and writers appreciate every single reader, reviewer, blogger, bookseller and librarian SO MUCH!
© Sam Blake
FEAR
P.S. For anyone who is interested in Kill Lane, my short story in the Fear Anthology, 32 Twisted Tales from Ireland’s Leading Women Crime Writers, is a little teaser – a segue between my teen books and my next adult thriller. There’s something in that collection for everyone, and it’s also the perfect end of term present for that impossible-to-buy-for-teacher (really!)
About Your Every Move:
YOU THINK YOU’RE SAFE. BUT SOMEBODY’S WATCHING…
Irish estate agent Rosie Kinsella loves her job selling high-end properties in London. But when she’s targeted by a mysterious stalker her amazing life is turned upside down.
Who is ‘Michael’, and why does he seem to think he and Rosie are in relationship? How does he know where she lives and where she works? And how has he managed to take photos inside her house?
Rosie’s colleagues and friends rally round to protect her. But who can she really trust?
Order your copy online here.
