An Unusual Way To Spend A Birthday
Hurrah, we’ve made it to Friday, and what a week it has been. Thank you to all those who have sent supportive messages about my shop news at the beginning of the week – I’ve discovered a lot can change in a few days in the world of commercial letting so I will update you when I have more news.
But in the meantime, a short newsletter from me today. Yesterday was my birthday and I spent it on the telly. I had planned a day of sunny Tunbridge Wells dog walks but then our publishers, Bloomsbury, emailed to ask if Wendy Mitchell and I would be available to appear on Lorraine instead.
For those who don’t know, I am Wendy’s ghostwriter/co-author, and our second book WHAT I WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT DEMENTIA was published in paperback last week. When it was published in hardback it was an instant Sunday Times Bestseller, and we’re always keen to do publicity in the hope the same might happen in paperback.
So off we headed to what used to be BBC Television Centre where most studios are situated these days, including Good Morning Britain. We settled into our dressing room, then went off to have make-up, then Lorraine came to meet us in the dressing room before the live show…
Lorraine absolutely loved the book and said she had already sent the copy she had at home off to her mum. But what surprised her, she told us, was just how much hope we’d packed into its pages.
Wendy was brilliant, as usual, reminding people that hope is the one thing that doctors forget to hand out along with their diagnoses, and so it was important to write this book and remind people that there was a beginning, middle and yes, an end to life with dementia, but so many moments to be lived in the meantime.
Wendy epitomises that and whenever she is interviewed on telly her positivity comes across and yesterday was no different, both WHAT I WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT DEMENTIA, and our first book together, her memoir SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW stormed up the charts.
So much so that we had an email from our publishers later that day to tell us that Amazon had sold out. Now, regular readers will know I am not a fan of Amazon, and so I am happy to report that where Amazon fail, independent bookshops can came to the rescue and there are still plenty of copies available with us.
In fact, you can order here and here. Not only that, but if you’re in Tunbridge Wells, chances are you’ll receive your order the very same day thanks to my Doggy Delivery Service, and elsewhere you should have it within 24-48 hours.
See, who needs Amazon?
And if you would like to catch up and watch us on the show, you can do so here, we’re on just after 9am:
https://www.itv.com/watch/lorraine/1a9360/1a9360a3287
More soon!