One week till launch! The wait is almost over…
At last! The paperback of The Waiting Rooms will launch NEXT WEEK, on July 9th. For the US and Canada, I’m afraid it’s a bit longer: October, but the limited edition, signed hardback is available right now from Goldsboro Books who ship!! And for those who preordered in the UK through Amazon: ignore those delay messages. The books are there. They will be shipped!
“Chillingly close to reality, this gripping thriller brims with authenticity ... a captivating, accomplished and timely debut from an author to watch.”
I do hope you can join me for the live Twitter Q&A at 6.30 BST on Thursday 9th July. Not quite the cosy chat over wine at the glorious Goldsboro Books we had envisaged, but the good news is everyone can come, no matter where you live, and no matter what timezone! Just follow me @evecsmith & my wonderful host, @annecater to join. If you can’t make it, send us your questions beforehand and we’ll get to them. In fact, you can send us your questions ahead of time even if you can make it! You don’t need a Twitter account to join, just google our Twitter handles above and follow #TheWaitingRooms.
It’s hard to describe the excitement of finally see your novel going out into the world, and being read. I have been blessed with an incredibly supportive network of bloggers, who have been posting their reviews over the past month during my blog tour. Many people think bloggers get paid: they don’t. They do it out of love for the books, and squeeze in blogging alongside jobs and family commitments. They are a treasured resource for all authors, debut or established.
For me, this is the real high point: knowing the book is in the hands of readers. Seeing comments about how it made people think or feel. I’ve been genuinely overwhelmed by some of the reviews, from bloggers and readers of the ebook. I know the novel’s dystopian vision can feel uncomfortably close during these unsettling times, and it takes a certain kind of reader to relish a thriller about a pandemic during a pandemic.
A speculative thriller whose near-future world, whilst always possible, should never have felt this real, this soon. So thank you, to those who have ventured or are about to venture into this world: I trust it gives you hope, as well as fear. That we can survive and adapt to even the worst situations. And come out with humanity the other side.
A very excited me signing the limited edition hardbacks at Goldsboro Books.
Another highpoint last month was travelling to Goldsboro Books to sign the limited edition hardback. I may not have been able to host a physical book launch, or attend festivals, but signing my hardbacks gave me a real buzz. As did being back in this iconic book shop, able to ogle real books on a shelf: you realise what a privilege it is after being denied such a pleasure for many weeks. In The Waiting Rooms, book shops and libraries don’t make it, due to the ongoing infection risk: everything goes digital. Physical books become a titillating rarity. I am so very relieved that this will not be the case here.
Below are a few links to reviews from the blog tour, which is still ongoing, so that if you are considering The Waiting Rooms, you can see what others have to say. I wish I could include them all, but that would be a rather long list; you can catch more on my website or via Twitter: see their details on the Blogtour poster below. My sincere thanks go to all the bloggers who took part. Despite the challenges of lockdown, you made, and continue to make, a debut author very happy. Thank you.
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“Thought-provoking and terrifyingly plausible, this is one of those stories that is just impossible to forget... The Waiting Rooms turned out to be one of the most captivating books I’ve had the pleasure of reading during all this lockdown craziness. A thoroughly impressive debut from Eve Smith and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. Highly recommended!” Novel Delights. Full review here.
“Multilayered, exquisitely told and tightly plotted, the novel weaves through different timelines to tell the story of the Crisis and our three narrators. As long-buried secrets are slowly unearthed, the full picture emerges to a shocking conclusion.”
Emma’s Biblio Treasures. Full review here.
“Part mystery, part love story, part tale of family sacrifice, this thought-provoking story forces us to look at the manipulative ways of governments and big business, and reminds us that, in the end, disease shows no respect for age, creed, colour or wealth. The great leveller revealed in a story which, perhaps as much because of current circumstance as in spite of it, held me rapt from first page until the very last.”
Jen Med’s Book Reviews. Full review here.
“For a debut novel, it has to be said that the writing is absolutely superb. It is eloquent, vivid, and contains such a degree of depth. The pace of the story never falters, neither does its complexity.” Stephen Writes. Full review here.
“Whatever issues Smith raised, however close it all seemed, what you had to admire was the storytelling, the ingenious mix of science and human emotion, of real characters faced with everyday dilemmas, of living through the extraordinary and wondering if they would emerge unscathed on the other side.
I have to congratulate Eve Smith on this amazingly brilliant debut and await with baited breath for her next novel.” Amanda Duncan. Full review here.
“It’s a book that scared me. One that made me think. One that made me appreciate all the small things I have and can do. And although it’s not for the faint-hearted, I would urge anyone to go out and read it.” The Shelf of Unread Books. Full review here.
“For me, the best kind of speculative novel is one which develops a future that is just beyond our experience - one that is so realistic we can almost taste it - and Eve Smith has most certainly achieved this here, in her debut book.” Brown Flopsy’s Book Burrow. Full review here.
