December 2019: Tibet and Tintin

OK. Guess what’s on my Christmas list. Yep, you’ve got it. BOOKS! Oh, and some decent weather, please. It’s rained every day for as long as I can remember, but the good news is that it’s been great for writing, and I’ve just finished the copy-edit of The Snow Thief, for March publication.

This is the book which has been germinating for around a decade thanks to its controversial nature… It’s set in Tibet and told through the eyes of a Chinese police officer and poses the question of what might happen after the death of the Dalai Lama.

Help get the launch off to a great start by pre-ordering here!

I’ve had two 5-stary reviews already, so I’m really chuffed.

“An extraordinary, tense, clever thriller”
Frost Magazine

“Eye-opening, brilliant and utterly gripping”
Mystery People

It was my mother who first introduced me to Tibet, and encouraged me to go there, but there was something else in my childhood that inspired me.

TINTIN!

I must have read and re-read Tintin in Tibet a hundred times as a child. I longed to see a yak, meet a Buddhist monk and track down the yeti. When I eventually travelled through Tibet I saw lots of yaks and many monks, but sadly never spotted a yeti.

Because The Snow Thief means so much to me, I’m having a book launch party in Bath, so if you fancy coming along and meeting me and celebrating publication day, it would be great to see you!

It’s being held at Mr B’s in Bath at 6:45-8.30pm, Thursday 12th March. Hope to see you there and raise a glass or two – it should be a really fun evening.

Other writing news is that I’m working on a first draft of a thriller set in Wales. Why, Wales? I hear you ask. Well, I was flying up to Anglesey and the Menai Strait in our gorgeous aeroplane and looking down and looking at, well… nothing. Just mile upon mile of moorland, forests, rivers and hills. I thought: you could hide an awful lot of something out there. And thus, an idea was born.

As always, I love getting stuck into research. This time, I’m studying PTS, Post Traumatic Stress, which is a truly horrifying outcome of a traumatic event and extremely debilitating to some. There are, however, ways of combating it, and if anyone knows of a sufferer, do get them to read PTSD, Understanding and Recovery by Rosalind Townsend. It’s straightforward, easy to read and has genuine accolades from a huge variety of people, including surgeons, Gulf War veterans and paramedics. It really is a must read for those in need.

On the subject of books, I have three on my Christmas wish list:

Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas, by Adam Kay. I loved his first book This is Going to Hurt, which is now a bestseller, and have no doubt this one will be as heartbreaking and as funny as his first.

Black Sun by Owen Matthews. This is a highly reviewed thriller set in Soviet Russia and looks like the perfect accompaniment for curling on the sofa by the fire over the Christmas period.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 29. I love these books. I have half dozen or so that I go back to, and it’s not just the pictures I enjoy but how each photographer took their photograph, how long they had to wait to get the perfect shot (usually in terrible conditions) and what inspired them to photograph that particular animal or insect. Fabulous.

I really hope Father Christmas brings you lots of books, and that you have some brilliant reading over the holiday period when it gets here.

Have a fabulous festive season, and an even more fabulous New Year.

Warm wishes

CJ

© CJ Carver 2019