Yesterday – 25th April – my debut novel, The Silverblood Promise, was published in the UK by Arcadia.
It’s been a long journey some twenty-five years in the making. Stephen King reckons the road to hell is paved with adverbs, but for me it’s abandoned manuscripts. The Silverblood Promise itself took the better part of six years to write – three years for the first draft, then another three to knock the whole mess into something resembling a novel. I must have done a dozen passes on the book, pouring my heart and soul into it, finessing and polishing every sentence, every word. When that was finally done, I waved a teary farewell to the manuscript as it bravely marched into the submission trenches.
And was ruthlessly shot down by every major publisher.
It was sobering, to say the least.
But a huge meteor-sized chunk of good fortune landed in my lap when Anne Perry at Arcadia took a chance on the book. Two years later, the beautiful UK hardback edition of The Silverblood Promise has published to rave reviews, and is now available in all good bookshops (and hopefully the not-so-good ones, though I’m not sure such things even exist). North American publication will follow on 7th May.
It’s been a hard road. All my love to everyone who has supported me on the way, and my deepest thanks to all the readers who have pre-ordered the book and shared their excitement for it with both me and the wider world. Your enthusiasm means everything and I’m hugely grateful.
Sometimes dreams really do come true.
James Logan 