For reasons, mostly due to my son spending the week in hospital (he is back home now but I was worried for a while), I released a new book with somewhat less fanfare than usual and somewhat earlier than planned…

Yes, I do try to plan these things.

Basically I needed to occupy my mind to prevent me dwelling on things I could not control by doing something productive, creative, and over which I had complete control. Its a well practiced technique I use to look after my mental health. Normally this would have involved a splurge of writing or some other creative enterprise (or obsessively playing some video game or another.) But as luck would have it I did have a complete and ready to press anthology, which I had planned to release in Mid-October. So I threw my energy into typesetting, final tweaking of covers, final proof editing and everything else, then set up the publishing and let it out into the world.

And so, a little earlier than planned the ponderously entitled ‘Cheesecake, Avarice & Boots’ has been unleashed upon the world, with far less fanfare and planning than is normally associated with a new release.

To explain what I mean, normally I would have had several things in place, including goodreads listing , bookbub promotions and a few dozen other promotions sites. A month of pre-order on Amazon. Advertising and other bits of hype building sorted out. Instead I just published it with barely a whisper. Just how much difference this would all make is debatable, but all the same this has been a very understated release…

All that said, ‘Cheesecake, Avarice & Boots’ probably suits an understated release. It’s an anthology that consists of mostly previously published stories. Combining the stories from A Scar of Avarice, and the stories published in the various Harvey Duckman Anthologies over the last couple of years. The main reason for the books existence is to bring together the Hannibal Smyth short stories into one volume, and as I was doping so all my other published shorts as well. Hence an understated release suits the book. Which is not to say i don;t want people to buy it, merely I don’t want they buying it unaware that all but one of the stories appear elsewhere. It’s aimed at new readers, and Hannibal readers who have not read the Harvey Duckman Anthologies. Something I have made sure to highlight in the amazon blurb and elsewhere.

Of course, if you have read all the stories else where and want to buy the collection anyway, the scribe will be eternally grateful 🙂 If your entirely new to my novels its also a great entry point, as it contains stories that cross over two universes, Hannibal Smyths steampunk ministries and Esqwiths Passing Place. Indeed all the stories in the anthology could have easily graced the Passing Place at some time or another. Lyal the barman I’m sure would be happy to tell the tale of ‘The Strontium Thing’ (though he would not have understand why it was funny). The grey man would listen with fascination to ‘The Ballot’. While Harry Smith has been known to drop by for a pint and a bag of pork scratching more than once. As for that stranger at the bar who is dripping wet with brine, I am sure he has a story to tell….

So anyway, an understated release, seems to suite ‘Cheesecake, Avarice & Boots’ and now its out there I am happy that it is. More importantly I am happy my son is back home and well, and I can turn my hand to other things like the next Hannibal novel that is half written and I originally planned to release in October alongside this anthology… (which was never going to happen , but it was the plan, and I expect it to come out early next year now at the earliest.) Instead, this collection of tales will hopefully amuse and delight some readers in the mean time…