Back to Square One

On Saturday, I went out on my doggy deliveries dropping off orders to houses across Tunbridge Wells. Those of you who have been ordering from my website who live further afield sadly don’t get to benefit from my dog attempting to dash into your house as soon as you open the door – so embarrassing! We are working on it!

‘Helping’ me write my newsletter on Sunday…

Anyway, each house I arrived at, I was greeted with the same question: Is there any news on the shop?

And yes, there is news on the shop, but I’m afraid it isn’t good. You may remember last week that having been forced to turn away from the shiny shop in town, I had thrown my hat into the ring to be considered for the shop up in St John’s. Sadly though, I must report that the landlord did not choose me and instead plumped for the beautician/hair extension business.

It was disappointing, especially as I’d had an eye on that place since before Christmas. I know the former tenant and had even discussed popping up with them, they knew I was interested and yet they hadn’t tipped me off so I could get in with the landlord before he put it out for tender. It’s strange, isn’t it? But it seemed to me a sign that it was just never meant to be. Because if that shop had been meant for me, the previous tenant would have tipped me off, the landlord would have just handed it to me – he would have probably been pleased to spare himself the hassle of meeting with lots of potential tenants.

So here I am, back at square one, and wondering where and when I will find another home for THE BOOK ROOM.

It’s hard sometimes to pick yourself up again after a disappointment, even if you know that it was obviously not meant for you. But I do believe that when it is right, the stars will align and the right shop will make itself apparent.

Until then, do keep an ear close to the ground for me. Perhaps another pop-up is the way forward?

In the meantime, I am rather busy. I have a book that needs to be delivered to Transworld in April, and then Wendy Mitchell’s third book coming out a couple of months after that – perhaps the universe knows I’ve got enough on my plate!

Oh, and something exciting is in the offing, themed writing retreats from THE BOOK ROOM. I’ll tell you more in the next couple of weeks, but the first two are taking place in May and June at a beautiful venue just outside Brighton.

You see, I really have got enough to keep me busy!

On a more positive note, February has been a great month for online orders, so I really appreciate everyone who has supported THE BOOK ROOM up and down the country, as well as locally, by ordering books from me. It really does make a difference and gives me the confidence to keep going.

What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Before I opened my pop-up shop, another bookseller warned me that the worst thing about owning a bookshop is that you don’t have time to read. So at least this time of being online only means that I have had time to catch up with some of my reading.

One book in particular that I was longing to get my hands on when I had the pop-up was THE GIANT DARK by Sarvat Hasin, as recommended by Jennifer Saint in her Greek Myths curation. This book turns the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice on its head and this time the Orpheus character is a female rock star called Aida, and Eurydice is her lover, Ehsan. It’s such a clever book and so well written, and the chorus appears dotted throughout as Aida’s fans. I am about 65 pages from the end and longing to get back to it in the hope of a resolution.

If you would like to order THE GIANT DARK, you can do so here.

What I’ve Been Watching This Week

Speaking of the chorus being dotted about, last Monday I attended the opening night of Medea at the (almost) brand new Soho Place Theatre up in London. In this production, the chorus were again dotted throughout the stalls which gave the audience a sense of being one of them.

The brilliant Sophie Okonedo was in the title role, but Ben Daniels playing all male parts almost – almost – stole the show for me.

I love the original text, there are so many lines in it that are so relevant today, you wonder how that could possibly be when it was written by Euripides all those centuries ago. But then, that is the point of good fiction, eh?

You can buy a copy of MEDEA here.

Oh, one last brag, my most exciting moment at the theatre on Monday was the fact that I sat next to the wonderful historian Mary Beard at dinner beforehand, and somehow I managed to keep cool and not be all fangirl and embarrassing — though I did tweet about it afterwards, and she replied!

• Thank you to all who have been ordering from my online bookshop in the last week. Remember you can still support THE BOOK ROOM while I am waiting to open my physical store again by shopping online, in fact now I would appreciate the support more than ever. I can order ANY BOOK for you and you will receive it within 48 hours. It has never been a more important time to support both writers and independents bookshops, and by buying from me, you are doing both and contributing to a vital ecosystem.