Before anyone reaches J. K. Rowling status life as a writer can be a real pain in the ass. What with agents, rejections, struggling to get published, rejections, endless shameless self-promotion and rejections, you can easily loose sight of why, other than avoiding an honest days work at all costs, you let yourself get sucked into this racket in the first place.
But occasionally there's a highlight, a milestone in one's career, like when someone comes along and asks you to give things away. Like your books.
I was approached after speaking at a book club by the 2nd Assistant to the Vice Director of the 3rd Sub-Branch of the local library system asking a favour. With credentials like that, how could I refuse?
The library system in question is located in a quaint, sleepy little village on the east coast of Ireland. They call it Dublin.
The 2nd A.V.D. of the local S.B. passionately explained as I pretended to patiently listen, that due to the 'B' word they were restricted to buying only half dozen copies of my latest novel to service all their twenty-one, inner-city branches. Complaints had been registered, she eloquently cajoled, at several of the branches that there were not enough copies in the system. Ever since a glowing write up by Hilary White of the The Independent, a reputable broadsheet, Operation Underworld has been almost as popular as that Sex In The City episode where Kim Cattrall bared her breasts.
Knowing how many times Kim's introduced the gruesome twosome to the shores of America and beyond, (having heard strictly through second hand knowledge mind you), I was flattered.
There's always plenty of free, cheap white wine at such functions so through my encroaching drunken stupor I sensed what she was sniffing around at. In my most authoritarian yet not too condescending voice I said I'd see what I could do. Promptly three or four days later I used the Inter-continental Bat Phone to ring the good people at Legend Press and a week later the Dublin Library System's stock of Op Underworld was doubled.
So herein good readers and faithful followers of all things Legend are a few snaps of Paddy Kelly in a rare public excursion out of his hole to sign and donate some more copies of the first in his four novel series, Building of Empire.
Book II is right behind.
Paddy
