I thought I’d tried every possible channel – The Emails, The Twitters, The Texts – even very briefly rejoining The Facebook – but I still keep hearing from friends that ‘[so and so] says they didn’t get an invite to Thursday’s launch party. Are they not invited?’

Gaaaaah. Just when I think I’ve reached everyone I wanted to – it turns out I haven’t. It’s borderline infuriating.

So here’s my last ditch attempt – The Blog.

As a good rule of thumb, if you’re surprised/offended not to have been invited to the party, then you almost certainly should have been. I probably just sent your email invitation to the wrong address; or I couldn’t find the right one; or it bounced; or you don’t have one. Email me or send me a direct message on Twitter and I’ll make everything better.

If you’re mentioned in the book and the idea of being in the same room as me doesn’t feel either of us with nausea, you’re probably invited. Again, give me a shout.

Ok – I’ve done all I can. The venue has limited capacity, and RSVPs are already over that, but I don’t want to miss anyone out who should be there. If you’re in any doubt, email me. If you should be there, I’ll squeeze you in.

For those of you who don’t have the dubious pleasure of knowing me IRL, this blog will pay host to the virtual launch party on the night – Flickr streams, Twitter stuff, a web cast or two and more. Bookmark it, innit?

…

Oh! And while I’m here, I’ve had quite a bit of mail from people asking when the book is going to be available a) in the UK and b) in other places. The answer…

a) The official publication date was going to be 31st July but that was when it was coming out as an ebook a few days before the dead-tree version. For a variety of reasons, the ebook is now coming out after the print edition, so the actual in-shops date is a bit hazy. Start keeping your eyes open from next week. First one to spot it in shops wins – um – something. Unless I see it first.

b) No idea. W&N are only publishing it in the UK but I’ve had loads of interest from the US/Canada (and not least because of The Lacy’s endoursement) so hopefully I’ll have more news on that front soon.