One year as a published author

Today, Friday 12th September, marks exactly one calendar year since my debut novel, A RELUCTANT SPY, came out in the UK.

It's also the first day of Bloody Scotland 2025, so I'm currently on my way to Stirling for an incredible weekend of books, panels, ceremonies and, possibly, some karaoke.

The last one of these updates that I wrote was after I'd been published for six months (before that I wrote a one-month update and a two-month update). I'd expected, when I wrote that six month update, to be giving a few more details about events, how the paperback had done and other tidbits from the writing and publishing life I lead now. But, er, quite a lot has happened since March!

As before, I'll break things down into a Q&A format, with a couple of new questions added to reflect the unexpected delights of the past six months.

What have been the highlights of your first year as an author?

I've already talked about a few of them in the previous instalments linked above. The launch, of course, as well as going to Bloody Scotland last year, doing a whole bunch of podcasts and signing several hundred copies in a warehouse in Brighton.

But when it came to highlights, the second half of my debut year has been an absolute doozy.

In April, I had my first bookclub visit which was fantastic fun. I'd love to do more of these, so if you're a reader who'd like to speak to your book club, virtually or in person (within travelling distance of Edinburgh), please do get in touch.

April was also the month when I learned that A RELUCTANT SPY had earned out in its first three months of sales, which was an incredible feeling and a relief. I felt like I could relax into my debut year a lot more and enjoy it, because I wasn't quite so obsessive about sales figures.

In May, I chaired my first ever event with Chris Whitaker, the million-selling author of ALL THE COLOURS OF THE DARK. It went incredibly well and was a wonderful experience.

June was an absolutely wild month. My paperback came out, I was shortlisted for the McDermid Debut Award, I was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, I went to the Bloody Scotland programme launch in Stirling and I appeared on my first ever panel at Capital Crime. I was very, very glad I had a break planned to Sweden to decompress after all of that.

July was slightly less frenetic (as there was only one big in-person event, the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival) but it was no less incredible, because, well, this happened.

It's been nearly two months now and I still catch myself jumping when I spot the award on my shelf. The new edition of my paperback showed up with the McDermid Debut Award roundel on it last week and it was another real pinch-me moment. We also got to announce the second book in July and it was really lovely to see how many readers of the first book were excited to hear that a sequel was on the way. June 2026, mark your diaries!

In August I was having a 'quiet' month, which meant no big festivals or events, but I was working on edits for SOLITARY AGENTS and trying to get around as many bookshops as I could. I did a little tour of Fife and surrounding counties with Gareth Brown in early August, then hit a few bookshops in Glasgow later in the month.

Now it's September and Bloody Scotland starts today. And I'm up for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize tonight. Wish me luck!

What else have you been up to?

A bunch! Probably the best thing to do is take a look at my Media page, which has all of the interviews, podcasts and videos that I've done over the past year. It's a lot! But I've had such an amazing time and there's more coming.

I've also, somewhere in there, been writing more books.

How's the book doing?

It is doing very well!

Once I've got a full year of sales I'll get my second royalty statement which will tell me how much the book has sold since the advance was earned out back in April. Everything works on a 6 month delay, so this is really the first time that I'll be seeing actual numbers.

I get ad-hoc sales updates from my editor when we speak, but the royalty statements are where the rubber meets the road, because that's when returns, discounts, platform fees and all of the other variables are properly factored in. All I can be sure of right now is that it's not going to be a negative number, but all the indicators I have access to are pointing in the right direction.

How are you feeling?

Pretty good! It's funny, a lot of the really exciting stuff happened much later than I expected, basically when the paperback came out. Which, if you think about it for more than five seconds, isn't really all that surprising. Paperbacks are much more widely ordered and available and a lot of people will only really buy paperbacks.

So as an author, your paperback release is when you start to be reasonably sure you'll find your book in the shops when you pop in and when large numbers of readers start to find the book. That also coincided with the award nominations (and the win), so the latter third of my debut year has really been waaay more fun that the earlier months, especially after the relief of earning out.

If I could go back in time to myself in September last year, I'd definitely tell myself to chill out a bit about the first few months. But I'm sure I'll forget that just in time for the second book.

Where can I get the book?

It's now available in all formats (hardback, paperback, eBook and audio) worldwide by export order, though the local US paperback release isn't until the end of September. But by the end of this month the book will be available in whatever format you want, wherever you want.

The hardback is now quite hard to find new, though you can still get the Goldsboro Crime Collective edition on their website. For other editions and retailers, check out my links page.

What about a sequel?

It's been announced! The sequel to A RELUCTANT SPY will be called SOLITARY AGENTS and it comes out on June 4th 2026. We should have a cover fairly soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

Any news on the TV show?

Nothing I can talk about, except to say that progress is being made. And I remain both very excited about it and trying not to get my hopes up too much.

What else is going on?

I'm waiting for the copyedits and proofs on SOLITARY AGENTS and beginning to think about approaching folk for blurbs. I'm also waiting for editorial notes on PROJECT SHARD, which is very exciting, though I can't talk about what's happening with that yet in any more detail. I have a book out on submission and I'm writing another one. Basically, writing a load of books, talking about a load of books. It's books from start to finish round my way.

Has your first year lived up to your hopes?

It's absolutely exceeded them. But it was heavily backloaded in terms of excitement, after the incredible buzz of the TV auction pre-publication.

I listened to Richard Strachan's interview with the In My Good Books podcast (part of a series with all of the Debut Prize shortlisters) on Wednesday and when he said 'the first couple of months after the book came out were really hard and depressing' I was instantly very, very glad it wasn't just me. Because it's true! You put a lot of time and energy and emotion into those first couple of months and then it feels like shouting into a well, because hardbacks are expensive, there are hundreds of books coming out every month and everything feels incredibly high stakes. Plus, of course, you haven't learned not to look at reviews yet.

But wow, for me at least, the second half of my debut year has made up for that rocky start. It's been the best year of my life, even with the low points.

What does Year 2 look like?

Another book, announcements, very likely a bunch more events and festivals. I'm already booked in for three events in early 2026 so it's just going to keep coming. Being a working writer is just writing and talking, talking and writing, forever. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am also hoping to make a fairly exciting change next year, but I'm waiting to see if some numbers and timings line up before taking the plunge. Stay tuned for more on that front.

And that's it! A full year since I achieved a lifelong dream and became a published author. It's so, so easy to move the goalposts in this life and forget to acknowledge how far you've come, so I'm very glad that I have this website to take stock and keep a record of all the incredible things that I have to be grateful for. And my debut year has definitely been full of those.

Onward to Year 2, and beyond!