Just had to share these. The Sunday People featured Ian and his family last weekend, and these are some of the wonderful pictures they took. If you’ve read the book – or even if you haven’t yet – it just seemed a great opportunity to give you the chance to put up to date faces to all those names!
Some weeks just hit the spot, don’t they? Leaping into this one with the warm glow that always happens when a book I’ve been involved with appears on the bestseller lists (last week Mum’s Way, this week Nigel Holland’s 50 List) I was thrilled but not in the least surprised to find out that my amazing agent, Andrew Lownie, has been nominated for The Bookseller Literary Agent of the Year. It’s an impressive field (of six, so the odds are pretty exciting) but if there is any justice in the world, to my mind, he should win.
Yes, of course I am completely biased, but at the same time, along with my fellow authors and ghosts, can also be objective. He has an incredible eye for a story, a gift for spotting talent, and is a brilliant negotiator (and part-time rottweiler when required) and uber-professional industry professional. Most of all, he is a passionate and persistent advocate for any book/author/story he gets behind. I haven’t seen him give up on one yet.
On a personal level, i admire him hugely. I also owe my ghost-writing career to him, in a zillion ways, and really, really hope he gets the prize. Go Andrew!!
Shortlists for all the 2013 Bookseller awards
It’s so good to be able to report that Mum’s Way is now at no 7 in the Sunday Times non-fiction chart, and that it is already receiving its first great reviews. We also now have a dedicated facebook page, so if you fancy stopping by to say hi to Ian, let us know what you think or share your own experiences, we’d love to see you there. Ian’s also busy compiling a list of useful websites for anyone looking for help and support with any aspect of living with cancer or dealing with bereavement, so if you have anything to contribute it would be especially good to hear from you.
Come and visit the Mum’s Way page by clicking here
If so, you might want to head across to www.andrewlownie.co.uk for a fascinating insight into what it involves. Several of his stable of ghostwriters (though the collective noun for ghostwriters just has to be a haunting, doesn’t it?) wax lyrical about what it means for them – me included.
Talking of fascinating (well, in the hope of being so, at any rate), this seems a perfect moment to formally alert the world to the forthcoming TEDx talk I’m giving, at King’s College London on Saturday 13th April. More details soon but, in the meantime, go visit their facebook page in any case – the line-up really IS fascinating. As, of course, is TED.
