Taking a Dark Ride in the Owl Bookshop

Action shot: me buying a copy of Dark Ride

On Wednesday evening I returned to the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town for the launch of Caroline Green's debut, Dark Ride. I met Caroline for the first time at Miriam Halahmy's book launch last month (Yeah, I know, a writer's life is just one party after another). When Caroline told me that Dark Ride was about a girl who meets a strange boy living in an abandoned fairground, I knew I wanted to read it. Seaside towns, especially out of season when the piers and fairgrounds are deserted and desolate, always feels like they are full of stories, and this one sounded great. 

Miriam Halahmy with chocolate!

Once again the bookshop aisles were packed with people. I managed to catch up with a few friends, including fellow 'Edgar', Miriam Halahmy, and was able to present her with the chocolate I owed her for the interview she did here last month. However, collect too many writers together in a room lined with books, and strange things start to happen. When I found myself standing with Candy Gourlay, Nick Cross and Sue Hyams, excitedly developing an idea for a picture book about a sheep serial killer, I knew it was time to leave – but not before getting my book signed. The line was long and unruly, but it meant I got to meet the queue-jumping Anthony McGowan, and discuss tea and ukuleles while we waited.

Nick Cross and Candy Gourlay, before the serial killer moment

Caroline, still smiling at the end of the queue!

I read the first four chapters of Dark Ride on the train home and was so engrossed I almost missed my stop – the sign of a good book I think. But don't take my word for it. Check out the trailer and read an excerpt here. 


Dark Ride is available now, published by Piccadilly Press.

Hidden book launch at the Owl Bookshop, Kentish Town

Launching a ship involves smashing a bottle of champagne against the hull. This is usually accompanied by lots of cheering as the impressive feat of human engineering slides down the slipway into the sea. In all honesty, it would be difficult to apply the same technique to launch a book (though it might be fun to try). But a book, like a ship, takes a long time and a great deal of human effort to complete, so maybe there is mileage in the comparison.

However, the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town has a lot more literary ambience than your average shipyard. On Tuesday evening a good crowd gathered to squeeze between the aisles and cheer, as Miriam Halahmy metaphorically swung her bottle of champagne against the hull of the good ship Hidden (the first of the Hayling Cycle fleet) and launched it into the world. Given that the sea plays a crucial role in the story, perhaps you'll forgive the analogy, especially as Miriam herself said in the opening of her speech, "It's great to have you all here, to launch Hidden off the beach of Hayling Island. It's floating out to sea and it's got to make its own way now." 

Some of those gathered on the quayside: Bex Hill, Miriam, Christina Vinall, Nick Cross, Savita Kalhan, Caroline Green and some bald bloke in a seventies leather jacket.

If you don't know the background to Hidden, then check out my interview with Miriam. In it, she talks about her writing process and the inspiration she found on Hayling Island, as well as offering a sneak preview of the next two books in the series. Better still, grab yourself a copy, lay back in your hammock and settle down for an exciting voyage. 
OK, OK … I'll stop it now.