Waterstones Piccadilly; a little love story.
It
was the summer of 2015, when I first went there. I was not long out
the woods after my second brain surgery – in fact, that very day
I’d had an aspiration intended to remove the excess CSF fluid that
was leaking through my skull and into my face, mmm – and I was in a
pretty foul mood, generally, as I’d been signed off work and was
genuinely missing making coffee every day for customers who would
normally irritate me no end with their requests for skinny milk but
extra whipped cream, or a wet cappuccino with no chocolate on top.
(source)
No,
I was not in the best place, physically or mentally. I had very few
things to get excited about, so maybe that’s why the idea of
attending a book event thrilled me so much? Or maybe it was because
I’d never seen a panel of authors – some of my favourites, at
that – discussing their novels before, for an audience, in a
bookshop. Or perhaps it was because the bookshop this event was
taking place in was the biggest in Europe, and the one I’d only
ever been to once many years before, on a school trip.
The
‘New Day New Normal’ tour was my introduction to book events, and
my first one at Waterstones Piccadilly. I’ve been to about a
hundred since, in various bookshops, but Piccadilly events will
always feel like the biggest deal – that shop sits on the throne,
with Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street perched on either side of
it. I have its events page bookmarked, and regularly tweet them with
queries, anecdotes and love notes.
So
imagine my excitement when I was asked to chair a panel there at the
end of this month – and not just any panel, one with three
of my favourite UKYA authors,
the main theme of it being friendships
within the online world…!?
I
am still pinching myself. And
mentally selecting the perfect outfit. So yeah, if you get the
chance, dear readers, I’d love it if you could grab a ticket HERE
and support not just me, but some of the best UKYA authors there are
on the scene right now. Hopefully it will be the first of many events
I get the chance to do there – and maybe someday I’ll be on a
panel myself, being interviewed…
Keep an eye out for another post coming soon with reviews of the authors' latest books!
Keep an eye out for another post coming soon with reviews of the authors' latest books!
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