Friday, December 30, 2011

2011

2011 was a year of surprises. Most of them pleasant. The third book in the Ryan Lock series, Gridlock, was published in hardcover over the summer, and so far it seems to be performing even stronger, especially in e-book, than the first two books in the series – a good omen for this summer when it's released in paperback.

Initial sales of the paperback of Deadlock were, per the usual sophomore slump, a bit down on Lockdown's numbers but it still made the top 50 in its first full week on sale and its sell-through (the percentage of copies sold in relation to numbers that went into stores) was as good, and, in the cases of the big supermarkets, even better, than before. It also had staying power and hung in there well enough that it made the top 1,000 bestselling books of 2011 (see the link below - it's No. 886).


In my professional life, there were a few goodbyes, including a parting of ways with my agent, Luigi Bonomi. A lovely man and rightfully voted Agent of the Year, I wish him all the very best. I also said goodbye to my editor, Selina Walker, who left Transworld to head up the Arrow and Century imprints at Random House UK. No one in publishing was more deserving of such a promotion, and those close to me know just how much I admired and valued Selina's advice and championing of my career.

But alongside those departures came some exciting new arrivals, including the very talented Transworld editor Simon Thorogood, and my new agent, Scott Miller of Trident Media in New York. CAA in Los Angeles also came on board to help the doughty Luke Speed at Marjacq in London with film/TV rights to the Lock series.

Fans of the Lock books will be glad to know that I also signed a deal for one more book, which will be published in August 2012. It's being edited as I write and I am at work on a new thriller, also set in the States.

I wish everyone who has supported my work a happy, healthy and productive 2012.