American Pie

If there's one question I get asked more than any other, it's to inquire when The Gilded Seal is coming to the good ol' US of A.

Actually, that's a lie. The question I get asked most often is whether I want to buy some cheap Viagra. The answer is no. No I don't want any. And no, even if I did, I don't want it cheap. I'm sure that, like Champagne, I would enjoy it more if it was very, very expensive, because I wouldn't allow myself to spend that much money and not have a good time. And while we're at it, I don't want a perfectly crafted luxury timepiece either for $39.99 plus P&P - same argument applies.

So let me rephrase. The question I get emailed more than any other by my 'army' of devoted readers is to ask when The Gilded Seal is coming out in the USA. So I thought I'd answer it. After all, it's not that often I can find an excuse to post a picture of three blond triplets covered in body paint - yes, look closely, that is body paint. (I know what you're thinking - why even claim to need an excuse?)

So here you go. The Gilded Seal is being published by Harper Collins in America in ... the Summer of 2009. Yes, I know it's a hamster's lifetime away, but such are the vicissitudes of the publishing industry.

Why the delay? Well I have to say, the whole American experience has been a rather mystifying one for me. When I was writing The Double Eagle, I was convinced that if the book was going to work anywhere, it was the US. Ex CIA agent, beautiful FBI officer, a forgotten slice of American history, glamorous locations... And so it proved initially, the book quickly selling to Harper Collins for a decent advance who then found themselves on the receiving end of a huge amount of interest from independent booksellers who are so critical to the US market and a (at the time unprecedented) 100% recommendation rating from HC's 'First Look' panel. Emboldened by this, they spent a lot of money on PR and marketing, even flying me out for a whistlestop tour of a couple of major US cities, which for a first time writer is pretty rare. And I even struck PR gold when ten Double Eagles showed up the week before publication.

And then ... well not a lot really. The book came and went, in both Hardback and Paperback, and everyone was left a little ... underwhelmed by the sales numbers. Worse than that, HC were left, I think, feeling a bit bruised, because they had got little real return on their investment and effort. When it came to publishing The Black Sun, therefore, I don't think their heart was really in it (although they would argue differently I'm sure) and they certainly weren't going to risk throwing a lot of money behind it again and without money - well you can see how a vicious cycle can begin.

Why didn't it work as well as everyone thought it would? To be honest, I'm still not sure. The easy option might be to blame Hurricane Katrina - the book was published the week it struck New Orleans and at the time people were more worried about gang rapes in the Superdome than they were interested in buying a book. I could blame the book itself for not being up to the notoriously high standards demanded by the most voracious and demanding thriller readership in the world, but then I get such positive emails from those of you who have bought the books that I can't be that far off the mark, especially when you remember how well the books have sold here, Germany, France etc.! Maybe it's because I'm here and they're there and it's the old 'out of sight, out of mind' problem. Or it could just be that as many people have found before, the US is just a very, very difficult market to break.

That's probably as it should be, to be honest - the prize is so large that the bar needs to be high, and I'm certainly up for the fight. I do sometimes wonder though if a bit like like that great Mercedes 'Lucky Star' advert, you need to somehow get all the traffic lights to turn green at the same time to really have a chance - or have Simon Cowell get you onto Oprah.

All of this meant that when it came to offering me a new contract, HC were a little, how can I put this, slow. Especially after my editor decamped to pastures new. It took six months in the end and Jedi mind tricks from my US agent George Lucas to swing it my way. (yes that is his name. Can you imagine how excited I was when he first ever called and left a message for me? Holy shit - George Lucas has called ... It was hard not to sound just a little bit disapointed when I realised that the jet was quite yet being fueled for a trip to Skywalker ranch to sign the contracts on the movie deal!) The upshot of all this is that with everything having taken so long, we have missed all the slots for this year, so 2009 is now the only the option. (Although you can buy it from Amazon Canada or a specialist crime bookstore if you can't wait.)

All of the above is probably a little too honest, but then I can't just share the silver linings with you and not show the occasional clouds. Writing is a tough business, which is just as well or everyone would be doing it - actually sometimes I feel they already are! And to be honest, I know I shouldn't complain - I've got a deal, which is brilliant and more than many. Harper Collins are an excellent publisher and there's a lot of you out there who have read and liked the first two books and are spreading the word. And I've got a new editor and a new slot and probably a bit more humility having appreciated the scale of the challenge.

Who knows, you might see me on Oprah yet ...

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PS Some of you have asked about Book IV - well this is what I'm prepared to share at the moment