The Wolf-Finder General really is coming out soon.
See? I have proof!
Note: author semi-conscious at time of blogging. Quality of jokes should not be taken as indicative of level of comedy in the Wolf-Finder General which is actually very funny and available for pre-order now.
Ahem.
Comedic asides about comedic asides aside,* my proof copy is here and it's something of a mixed blessing.
On the one hand, I get to hold an actual, physical copy of my book in my hands, and bask in the knowledge that this thing is really, actually, finally happening.**
On the other, beautiful as it is, a proof copy is really just a new and exciting way of asking myself "What can possibly go wrong?"
And then I have to screw up my courage to go and check.
What could go wrong, it turns out, is quite a lot.
Like the absence of the entire introductory section, to begin with.
Or rather, not to begin with. Because it isn't there.***
Then there are the inexplicable vagaries of kerning, the minor staggers from one line to the next; all the things that I'd caught once, but that somehow managed to slip, minnow-like through the gaps to arrive on the printed page.
Little things. Easily fixed.
And then there's this.
Blank Space might have been a hit for Taylor Swift, but I suspect it would be a whole lot less popular here.
Fortunately it was fairly easy to fix, so when the official copies finally go on sale on the fourth of June, they should not inadvertently re-traumatise swathes of hapless GCSE survivors with a pitiless recreation of This Page Intentionally Left Blank.****
All they should have in their hands is a light-hearted, sometimes serious, mostly silly, generally enjoyable book.
With an absolutely stunning cover.
I mean, just look at the thing.
Except you can't, really, because there's a ruddy great "Not for Resale" ribbon running right through the middle of it, but trust me on this; it's gorgeous.
And the rest of the book's not bad either.
You can see for yourself in June.
*I told you I was tired.
**I feel as though I've been telling people that this book was coming soon for several eternities. When I bother to look the date up, it seems that The Vicar Man came out less than three years ago. Time can be an odd thing, it seems, when you're a writer. ***Please see previous disclaimer re: sleep and comedy.
****Or unintentionally in this case. No, this note really wasn't worth reading, was it? I do write such utter drivel when I'm short of sleep.