Mistletoe and Murder at Cheltenham Festival!

October 17, 2016

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The Mistletoe and Murder tour has officially begun!

Yesterday I spoke at Cheltenham Festival to a really wonderful audience. I love Cheltenham because it’s where Daisy and Hazel came from – as I explained in my talk, ‘Deepdean’ is really my own school, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, and my characters were built from my memories of the real friendships I made there. I was introduced by two girls from College, who both did a fantastic job of public speaking. I think they were less nervous than I was!

I read from the book for the first time, and explained where my ideas for it had come from. The Festival had been allowed to sell Mistletoe and Murder early, so there was a fantastic signing queue after the event. I loved talking to every one of you, and would like to thank each person who waited to meet me!

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My beautiful table of books in the festival tent!

Special highlights included seeing Rebecca, who I met for the first time two years ago at one of my first ever events for Murder Most Unladylike when she gave me a beautiful book cover and wrote me a story about Daisy and Hazel in Egypt. She’s still a fan, and I love knowing that readers are sticking with the series. I also very much enjoyed meeting Lauren, who brought along a special guest – Doris the pug!

Thank you to Cheltenham Festivals for inviting me, Cheltenham Ladies’ College for sponsoring my event and Waterstones Cheltenham for organising such a lovely signing.

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Posing for a picture with Lauren and Doris!

There’s now less than a week to go until the book’s official release date. Mistletoe and Murder will arrive in all good British and Irish bookstores on October 20th. It may be in some stores a little earlier, though, so I’d advise constant vigilance. Please report any sightings to me immediately!

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More posts to explore

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I am doing two festival events this spring: one in Dublin and one in London. They are: International Literature Festival Dublin, 16th May, 12pm – a talk followed by a signing London Children’s Book Festival, 28th June, 3:30pm – a talk followed by a signing
I’m partnering up with the National Archives for their first ever school event, a free online event on Wednesday March 25th at 1:30pm.
I’m delighted to announce that I have something for schools who’d like a visit from me – I’ll be appearing in a virtual schools event on the 20th March at 1:30pm in partnership with my publisher Puffin.
I’m delighted to say that I’ll be visiting Lincoln in February to talk about my books! I’ll be at the Engine Shed on Saturday 14th February at 3pm – tickets are on sale NOW and include a book with the price of the ticket.
If you missed out on my pre-order campaign with Daunt Books … it’s back for a limited time only! From today until the 3rd of December, you can order a signed and personalised copy of A Stocking Full of Spies from the Daunt Books website.