Dear friends, 

The first advance copies of Song are out... and I have one in my arms. 

I'm surprised how good it feels. After numerous to-and-fro pdfs and attachments and loose-leaf manuscripts, I thought holding the book would be only mildly satisfying. LIke it is when I've edited a magazine. But it is nothing like that. I fell quiet. Smiled. Nodded. Held it close. Relief, perhaps, was the greatest emotion of all. That's not very sexy but it's true. 

Further copies arrive in a few more weeks and will be sent out to literary critics and the press. If anyone's connected to a reviewer, I'd be hugely grateful for a lead. 

Supporters' copies should be a few weeks after that. I'll be going into the Unbound offices to sign copies as soon as they're in. 

I've just written a piece on travel writing for Boundless, Unbound's online magazine: https://unbound.com/boundless/2018/04/12/travel-writing-more-than-a-gentlemans-pursuit/

And in the Telegraph on the kindness of strangers on the road:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/the-kindness-of-strangers/

And just back from Chad where I was doing a story on anti-poaching for the BBC: 
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hv05j

These odd features might not seem relevant to Song, a work of fiction, but there is such a strong sense of place to the novel that I feel my day job really informs the way Song has turned out... so I'm sharing anyway, in case of interest. 

More news soon. 

Thank you -- Michelle x