A couple of months ago Unbound sent me some very exciting news: Crow Court had been picked out by the Festival du premier roman in Chambéry, France and I was being invited to attend the 35th festival, this year.

It has taken quite a while for the full scale of this to become clear, and I am absolutely over the moon with this opportunity. The festival celebrates first novels in Europe, inviting…

In  a couple of weeks, I’ll be putting in an appearance at Farnham Literary Festival. I’ll have the wonderful Rachael Kerr introducing and then I’ll be talking about Dorset dialogue, Crows and the end of an era that came with the arrival of railways in rural Dorset. It’s not always easy to describe these topics without sounding like a GCSE exam question on the industrial revolution, so I shall be…

On Wednesday 16th June, I shall be appearing at the Sturminster Newton Literary Festival 2021, talking about Crow Court, characters, dialect and dialogue. I’ll be focusing on the different characters that crop up in Crow Court, how they are differentiated by the way they talk—and the way they think, and I’ll cover some of my favourite expressions from the Dorset characters. 'Going up Stur!'

7:00…

It is now almost two months since the official publication of Crow Court and this is how it is going:

“This vivid historical drama, set in 19th-century Dorset, begins with suicide and murder before spiralling out to tell a dark tale of justice covered up.”

Sarah Hughes ‘75 Best Books of 2021’ iNews January 8, 2021

“Over 14 intricate, interconnected chapters Charman’s clever, elegantly constructed…

If you backed Crow Court by signing up for a physical copy, you should have received yours by now. If a copy hasn’t landed on your doormat, it is most likely because you’ve not yet confirmed your mailing address, so please log onto the Unbound website and confirm your address soon. If you encounter problems, contact someone at Unbound via support@unbound.com.

I’ve had from some wonderful feedback…

Dear Subscribers,

Crow Court continues to edge towards publication. I believe everything is still in train to have copies with you in the Autumn, although the official publication date remains January 2021. We’ve been through the final copy-edit which was an education in how well some blatant typos can hide from view; I also learned that I am unnecessarily mean with commas and have an aptitude…

Dear Subscribers,

I hope you—and all those dear to you—are well and staying safe and comfortable.

This is a brief update about some new pledge levels. I know you have already pledged in support of Crow Court, and we are very grateful for both your support and your patience, but I wanted to let you know about the new pledge levels and new rewards, and to explain the reason for adding them at…

Dear Subscribers,

As the first days of March pass us, spring is finally beginning to make an appearance. Evenings are little lighter, daffodils litter the roadsides and there is even (sometimes) a little warmth in the air. It’s a time for new life and re-growth; vicars up and down the country are composing their sermons accordingly. Not to mention marketing executives working similar themes…

Some really exciting news: Crow Court is now 100% funded. This is a thrill, a relief and an enthralling prospect because it opens the pathway to being fully published. Many thanks to everyone who has backed the project so far, it has been really encouraging to receive such solid support.

This is, I hope, just the beginning. Crow Court will now go through editing, typesetting, layout design, marketing…

Hi,

It seems about the right time for a quick update about Crow Court. Funding has now reached 84% so I’m hoping it will be complete by the end of the month. With this in mind Unbound are offering a 10% discount on pledges, so if there’s anyone you think might be interested, please pass this on. The discount code is ALMOST.

I’ve learned a great deal over the past few months, some aspects of which…

It has been two months since we started crowd-funding Crow Court. We've already reached 14%, which is fantastic, and the level of support from everyone has been amazing. It is so impressive to experience such generosity.

There have been some large pledges that are remarkably generous and there have been pledges from people who are stretching their budget just to contribute. They are equally gratifying…