We were delighted to welcome the former Secretary of State For International Development Clare Short to the launch party for Diane Chandler's The Road To Donetsk last night. Clare read an early draft of this impressive novel and, as well as making a hugely supportive speech, kindly gave us
permission to use her endorsement on the cover. Backing from such a well-respected public figure is priceless to an author just setting out (and to a young company like us)
and we are extremely grateful to Clare for making time in her busy schedule to come to Chiswick, west London to raise a glass to Diane.
Diane Chandler is a former pupil of Susan Lee Kerr's creative writing classes at Richmond College and it was Susan who suggested us to Diane as a possible publisher. Susan, along with many other west London writers, came to wish Diane well. The Pimlico Kid author Barry Walsh was there, along with Blackbird's own Susie Kelly, Tim Salmon and Diana Morgan-Hill. It was also great to meet Bridget Osbourne of The Chiswick Calendar and Torin Douglas, Director of the Chiswick Book Festival (10-14 Sept 2015).
This was our first ever Blackbird event. As we continue to evolve, as publishers must these days, we hope the first of many.
We are all set to launch three more special titles in the coming months: The Modigliani Girl by Jacqui Lofthouse, Love & Justice by Diana Morgan-Hill and Travels Around My Kitchen by Susie Kelly. Tanya Bullock is busy writing her second novel. Her first novel, That Special Someone, is still to be discovered by a mass readership, which is one of the reasons why that will be that for this year as we call a halt on title expansion to concentrate on promoting all the great books and authors we have been lucky enough to procure. Read Chapter 1 of The Road To Donetsk here.