I’ve been feeling a bit sorry for myself recently. I know, I’m so much luckier than so many & I feel ashamed of even feeling hard done by. But you can’t help how you feel & the truth is I’ve been cursing the loss of half of #InvisibleWomen’s @Waterstones book of the month

All those high street windows. All those tables piled high with copies of my book. The posters in railways stations that no one will see. And book sales have taken a significant hit, like so many industries have.

But I also recognise how lucky I am. Yes I lost two weeks that I will never get back. But I was book of the month for March. What about book of the month for April? That book will never get that lost boost back. What about someone unknown releasing their first book in April?

I can’t stop thinking about the unfairness of it. The loss of your big chance after all your hard work and all the excitement and build up. To be met with silence and failure because of forces entirely out of your control.

So I want to do something for those writers. I’m not entirely sure what. But I feel like we could brainstorm and come up with something. Something to push their books given they’ve had such shitty luck?

Ps @Waterstones book of the month for April is On Chapel Sands by @LauraCummingArt. You can buy it here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/on-chapel-sands/laura-cumming/9781784708634

For the meantime, if you have a book that came out during lockdown, or where your promotion was cut short by lockdown, tweet at me and I’ll tweet it out. It’s not much I know, but better than nothing x