A week has passed since the publication of The Young Survivors … and what a week it has been!
A few days before launch day saw the beginning of my blog tour, where a group of dedicated book-lovers were kind enough to review The Young Survivors on their blogs. Thanks to The Shelf of Unread Books, What Cathy Read Next, From First Page to Last, The Holocaust Reader and Books Life & Everything for taking part. I am in awe of how you manage to read so many books!
On launch day (last Thursday) I had the most marvellous socially-distanced celebration with friends and family in the garden.
On Friday there was a wonderful feature about my research and writing in The Jewish News.
On Saturday I recorded a five-minute video for the Tertulia Bookshop in Ireland introducing The Young Survivors - yup, took me about two hours to get it right!
On Monday I was invited to talk about my book for the AJR Book Club, where I am sometimes the interviewer, but this time the interviewee!
On Tuesday I went to the stunning Books on the Hill in St Albans to sign copies and see my book for sale in an actual book shop, which felt amazing.
On Wednesday I participated in a talk with Dr Toby Simpson, director of The Wiener Holocaust Library – a little nerve-wracking as I knew some friends and family were tuned in – but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
On Thursday I did a talk for a local synagogue for their group of ‘independent retired enthusiasts’ (love that!) which was great fun.
And today, Friday, I am reading through the most wonderful 5-star reviews for The Young Survivors which have come through this week. You can take a look at Goodreads, NetGalley and on Amazon, but here are a couple of quotes which are just incredible:
"An absolutely beautiful, yet haunting book. The author did a wonderful job of telling the stories of these children without being maudlin and yet making you feel attached to them. Beautiful job!"
“I thought I would read a few chapters one afternoon but once I got started I stayed up the whole night reading. I had to know what happened to each child.”
“I could not put the book down once I started it and felt drawn into the emotions and events of each child in the family. A must read.”
Thank you to everyone who has supported The Young Survivors during its first week. I'm so excited to see what happens next!