It’s official: Thirst is published and out in the wild!

Actually, it’s been out for about a fortnight now. I’ve only just managed to find time to throw a blog post together. It’s been a frantic couple of weeks.

Since time’s still pretty tight, I’m going to cheat and allow photos to do most of the talking. So without further ado, here are a few pics from Thirst‘s launch night at Nottingham’s favourite indie bookshop, Five Leaves.

Needless to say, it was magical to have family, friends and book folk together in one place to celebrate. And since that delicious night, I’ve been signing books in shops; talking Thirst, folklore and river-hags in schools and at festivals; and popping up here and there for interviews (here are some from Teen Librarian, United by Pop and Nottingham’s legendary Left Lion).

Early reviews have been grand so far, with lots of readers commenting on how creepy Thirst genuinely is, on how much it’ll appeal to teens, and on how it’s a perfect autumn read as spooky season draws in. Many readers are picking up not only on its themes of choice and sacrifice, but also on how these themes relate to our contemporary lives.

Which is nice.

If you fancy dipping into a some reviews to get an idea of what Thirst‘s all about, you could do worse than start with these pieces from ReadingZone and Books for Keeps. Reviews are also still coming in on NetGalley and across the internet, and I’m particularly chuffed with the very kind words I received from adult folk horror novelist Jodie Matthews. If you’d like to treat yourself to a copy of Thirst, don’t let me stop you.

Here’s a slideshow of pics from various post-launch activities for you to flick through – sadly free of explanations, because Life’s Too Short.

I’m going to be running around like the proverbial chicken over the next month or so, as there’s still plenty of Thirst-malarkey to come. But if you’d like to catch me on my travels, I’ll be at Lincoln Book Festival on 4 October. You can find details and book your place here. It’s free, so come say hi!

One final note. If you’re a teacher or librarian and are planning to get Thirst for your classroom or library, let me know and I’ll post you a signed bookplate, Thirst bookmark and some promotional wild seeds to go with your copy. Because you deserve it.

Tara for now,
Darren