Better late than never: photos from the launch of Thomia

In early March, around the time Thomia was launched, ESL got back in touch with a request for an in-depth interview about my motivation for writing the book, how I set about research, and so on. So Jennifer and I met again, over iced coffee and pastries at the Dutch Burgher Union...

Send me a photo of yourself, or someone you like, with your copy of Thomia...

I won’t pretend I’m anything but delighted about all this...

...we have to do them in batches for reasons of practical logistics: there’s just Lionel the Cat Herder and me to carry these 3.3kg bricks..

This is where the rubber hits the road; Thomia is out in the wild at last.

Tuesday 4 March 2025 sees the official launch of Thomia at the Barefoot Garden Cafe

On the Launch Pad

Thomia: the first finished copy

The pages – that is, the book itself – have all been printed and are now halfway through the binding stage...

I’m just back from the press, where Chanishka and I were invited this morning to view the proofs of the new dust-jackets before...

Yesterday, I sat down once again with the printer and Chanishka our book designer to discuss changes and improvements based on the...

‘Gosh, it’s real!’ That was my lovely wife’s reaction when she saw the first digital proof of Thomia , which arrived from the printer...

I was hoping to post this in time to wish you all Merry Christmas, but for various reasons it’s proved impossible to get it out until...

On 1 December, I posted on this blog with an announcement that Thomia was at last available for advance purchase at a special...

It’s been a long, weary journey, and more than once I feared that neither I nor my book would make it – but here we are at last. I am...

My last post (‘ Delays, Disappointments & Decisions ’, 7 November) received a very heartening response: more than thirty people contacted...

I’ve been getting quotes from printers, and what I have learnt is this: I can’t afford to finance the cost of printing myself.

Following Robert Louis Stevenson: ‘nothing should be done in a hurry that can be done slowly.’

I was surprised and excited to hear, only a few days ago, that Thomia has made the Gratiaen Prize 2024 Longlist! I entered the manuscript...