DJ,

Is name dropping a good thing, especially if it opens doors that otherwise would’ve remained shut?    Still trying to push the book out but not making much headway, so decided to follow-up on the idea of having a PR person.  Sam from Henry’s house, (found them on the internet) never got back to me, so I took it that: a. she didn’t pass on my details, b. she did and the person wasn’t interested or c. We all know what C. is, it’s too horrifying and traumatic for me to even write down.  Seeing as they’re not the only agency in the UK, I decided to look for someone else.  Let’s face it, whoever I do end up with, is probably going to do a better job than me.  Anyway, moving on swiftly ‘cos I don’t like to dwell on my own inadequacies.  I was reading Scott’s blog and he said the Friday Project uses a PR agency.  I wasted no time picking up the phone and calling them, shamelessly dropping Scott’s name and saying they were recommended by him.

Good thing Tony, one of the 3 directors, couldn’t see my Pinoccio nose. However, name dropping did help. The fact that Scott, who he holds in high esteem thought my book worthy of publicity meant that the book must be good so he was willing to have a read and take it from there. Despite this, he was brutally honest with me, with Imagine This not in the shops, any PR they do is bound to be a waste of money. It’s not good enough for it to be on Amazon and my website, readers want to be able to go into a shop to touch, see and read extracts before making a purchase. So if they can’t get hold of the product… I’m sure you can fill in the blanks.

HARRY POTTER MANIA
I’ve yet to go out and buy the 7th book, and at some point I will. Once all the hoopla has died down and bookshops aren’t packed with crazy fans. In the meantime, I’ve re-read the Half Blood Prince to refresh my memory. Being the kind of person who skips to the end of a book to see how it ends, I’ve spent most of the morning searching out reviews to see who dies and who survives, which was a big mistake ‘cos now I want to read it properly and see how JK Rowling has fleshed out the story. Whatever the case, I know I’m going to love it because in the end good triumphs over evil and everything is as it should be in Harry’s Universe.