Friday 4 January 2008

PAPERBACK DELAYED TILL OCTOBER

The UK paperback of Hand Me My Travelin' Shoes: In Search Of Blind Willie McTell will now be published (by Bloomsbury) on October 6, 2008, and not in July as originally planned. There is no reason for this delay beyond its theoretical sales & marketing advantage.

So instead of waiting for the paperback, why not buy that hardback now?!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Michael

I was fortunate enough to find your book in my Christmas stocking this year, lucky me! I'm enjoying it immensely.
I believe you were my English Lit teacher at school (briefly?) back in the 70s - St Agnes Grammar.

You were a breath of fresh air as a teacher and congratulations on your successful career as an author.

Margaret Newman

Michael Gray said...

Hi Margaret! VERY good to hear from you, and you say such kind things, too. Yes, that was me. I was only there a year, and didn't get the job till the August (and term started in September, of course) so the school and I had both left it a bit late. The nun headmistress and I looked at each other at the interview and knew we'd have to put up with each other. (Sister Ingrid, was it?)

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the classes: you were all a pleasure to teach . . . and it was all very enjoyably non-national-curriculum - but when I heard that I'd got an American publishing deal for my first book (Song & Dance Man) I gave up the teaching and turned into a freelance writer.

And you? What do you do? Glad you still receive Christmas stockings, anyway.

And thank you again for bothering to write: I'm pleased you did.

Anonymous said...

Hello Michael,

Yes, Sister Ingrid it was! I do remember her peering through the glass in the classroom door sometimes, usually the moments when you had your feet on the desk!
I also remember your beautifully wry comment on an essay of mine, which turned into something of an epic as I got carried away.."brevity is a virtue"...

Anyway, I carried my love of english literature into my A levels and degree, and I worked in the arts for twenty years, programming and running venues and then, with the lottery funds, I seemed to fall into a niche of managing building projects for arts organisations. I now know more than I ever wanted to about types of concrete...
Still, I did get to commission some artworks in amongst dealing with the construction industry!

Now I act as a consultant, having picked up my MBA on the way. My writing is confined to reports, funding bids and planning documents!

It was so kind of you to reply - any thoughts on the next book/project? (No pressure, I know writers hate that! )

Margaret

Michael Gray said...

Margaret
If you'd like to let me know your e-mail address, we can continue this in private, which would be nicer . . .