» The Slow Train has arrived!

The Slow Train has arrived!

September 13, 2013, 7 Comments

It’s a wonderful feeling to hold your own book in your hands for the first time. Something every writer dreams of. And today I got that pleasure when my advance copy of Slow Train to Switzerland arrived in the post. After almost three years of research, travel, writing and re-writing, the finished product finally exists in physical form. And it’s beautiful, but then I’m as biased as any new parent.

Books are often referred to as writers’ babies, although in this case the gestation period was far longer than any mammal on earth. But they are in fact the reverse of a baby. I’ve put in all the hard work and now comes the fun part, whereas babies begin with the fun part and then all the hard work comes once they are born.

But of course just having a book doesn’t mean it’s going to sell. There’s still a lot for me to do in the next few months: interviews, book signings and readings, answering emails and all the time wondering what people think of my creation. Writers spend months labouring over every word and then send their ‘baby’ off into the outside world without knowing who will read it and what they will think. It’s definitely a strange profession.

Slow Train to Switzerland will be in the shops in about a month’s time, which gives me the perfect opportunity to take a holiday before the whirlwind of promotion starts. You can already pre-order it online (various options including Amazon listed here) or at your favourite local bookshop, and if you want to get a signed copy, the public events coming up are listed below.

My family of books is getting larger. Three now in English, or five if you include the German and French translations of Swiss Watching. Definitely time to sit back and take a break. See you next month.

Slow Train to Switzerland events. Please contact the bookshops concerned for more details and/or tickets:

12 November, reading at Waterstone’s, Peterborough
14 November, reading at One Tree Books, Petersfield
18 November, reading at Waterstone’s, York
25 November, reading in Nyon (more details to come)
27 November, reading at Stauffacher, Bern
2 December, reading at Thalia, Basel
8 December, signing at Orell Füssli English Bookshop, Zurich
14 December, signing at BooksBooksBooks, Lausanne

There will also be a launch party on the evening of Wednesday 13 November at Daunts Marylebone in central London. If you would like to come to that, then there are some free tickets available so just email Ruth Killick, who is organising the event. First come, first served!

7 Comments on "The Slow Train has arrived!"

Paul Duthoit Friday September 13th, 2013 at 01:07 PM · Reply

Good luck with your new book, Diccon. Can’t wait to get my hands on it via Amazon. When will they have it?
- Diccon Bewes Friday September 13th, 2013 at 01:29 PM · Reply
  
  Thanks Paul. Not sure when Amazon will have it exactly. It should be sometime in October although the official publication date is 4 November.
Lanz Ursula Saturday September 14th, 2013 at 10:32 AM · Reply

Hi Diccon

I am looking forward to reading the October quiz. My students always appreciate it very much.

Best regards

Ursula
- Diccon Bewes Saturday September 14th, 2013 at 08:43 PM · Reply
  
  It will be a little late this year. I am going on holiday tomorrow for a month!
BJ Friday September 27th, 2013 at 04:02 PM · Reply

I love your book SLOW TRAIN TO SWITZERLAND – just reading it… (it is available at amazon.de), especially as I have just been travelling in Basel, Lucerne and Zürich.
Kind regards
Björn
- Diccon Bewes Tuesday October 8th, 2013 at 05:50 PM · Reply
  
  Hi Björn. Thanks for the lovely comment – my first reader feedback on the new book!
  Best wishes
  Diccon
Jon Reed Tuesday October 15th, 2013 at 12:05 PM · Reply

Back in 2010 I chose to follow Switzerland in the World Cup finals in South Africa, mainly because I couldn’t get a ticket for England. However I went out to South Africa, on my own, and watched the Swiss play against Spain, Chile and Honduras. I then went on to follow Spain all the way to the final in Joburg. BBC Sussex found out before I left and I reported each day from South Africa. I was also given a camera by BBC South East to make a video diary, which I did. Sadly it was never used. Anyway I’m trying to write up my experiences and wondered whether you had any advice. Is it worth doing? Will anybody be interested in reading it? How do I go about trying to get it published? Look forward to hearing from you. I wish I’d read your book before I went out there.