I've saved this till after midday as, despite appearances, it's not an April Fool. Amazon UK really have knocked down the price of all 8 full-length Medicus novels to 99p each (!) on Kindle until 30 April, and I'm told that they're $1.49 each on Amazon.com/au this month, too. That's a whole series* for £7.92 … Continue reading Kindle bargains for UK and Australia!
Quick! Grab a 99-cent bargain!
The good folk at Bloomsbury USA have gone positively wild celebrating the release of 'Caveat Emptor.' They've now made the second Ruso adventure, 'Terra Incognita', briefly available in e-book form in North America for a mere 99 cents. Sorry I don't have the links but I'm assuming it's the same sources as before - Nook, … Continue reading Quick! Grab a 99-cent bargain!
A blessing, a curse and a warning
A blessing upon: the good folk of Lancashire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire, who apparently borrowed more Ruso books from their libraries than anyone else in the UK in 2008-9. This isn't really a fair comparison, since I got the figures from the PLR (Public Lending Right) website and they only include the sample libraries chosen for … Continue reading A blessing, a curse and a warning
The thing I hadn’t realised about maps…
...is how political they are. Call me naive (although I'd rather you didn't), but I'd always assumed that a map just - well, showed you what's there. Or what used to be there, when it was drawn up. But no. Choices must be made. This first began to dawn on me when the publishers wanted … Continue reading The thing I hadn’t realised about maps…
Thanks, Tony.
The smiling chap is the excellent Tony Kesten, a fellow-excavator at Whitehall Roman Villa. Tony happens to be a friend of the librarian at Monticello, NY, and managed to pull off a publicity double-act last week by giving copies of all three Ruso books to the library and having himself photographed with them while modelling … Continue reading Thanks, Tony.
It’s out!
Ruso and the Demented Doctor (the British edition of 'Medicus 2') is finally on sale in paperback, under a smart cover featuring a lady with a large knife - see right. Somebody asked me last night whether a paperback gets a 'launch'. Nope - just a quiet smile and an entry on the blog.
Books, books and more books…
Three very different bookshop experiences yesterday. First, Oxbow books - the history/archaeology specialists. The hub of their postal sales empire has an atmosphere that combines bookshop, library, and warehouse. The display is practical rather than decorative and you have to squint to read the titles in the shadowy regions of the lower shelves - … Continue reading Books, books and more books…
Divided by a common language
I've recently posted the copy-edited version of Persona Non Grata/Ruso and the Root of All Evils back across the Atlantic to Bloomsbury. Although the books are the same on both sides of the pond, a kindly American copy-editor revises my spelling and suggests amendments for anything which makes no sense to readers across the water. … Continue reading Divided by a common language
What lies beneath?
Just one of a collection of sad pedantic photos stored on the Downie computer, most of which mean nothing to anybody else. Yes, it is a large empty field with a few lumps in it and a row of houses on the horizon. (Click on it for the larger version and you can see the … Continue reading What lies beneath?
The book that isn’t really there
Waterstones recently saved me from myself by selling out of the new Sony reader before I got to the shop. One of the reasons I didn't pursue it was that the reader itself is scarily near to £200 and, apart from the free classics (many of which we already have mouldering away in the loft) … Continue reading The book that isn’t really there
Ruth Downie 