The Spy in the Tower... Printer Delays

The Spy in the Tower - front cover
(from The History Press)

This publishing adventure is quite the roller-coaster ride!! Get all excited over a 1 May publishing date... book trip to London to be there for the release and... now we've got delays at the printer... so it's due to come out on 13 May at this point. Sigh.

I can't say I'm completely surprised as fellow author, David Tremain, experienced similar delays with his book on The Beautiful Spy: The Life and Crimes of Vera Eriksen. It was slated to come out in February 2019 and was repeatedly delayed... but finally hit the bookstores on 5 April. So that is the good news... it does eventually make its way through the maze!

I've heard rumours that the problem is Brexit... yep... that the printers are on the continent and shipping containers are being held up at the border. Who knows... just keeping all fingers crossed there aren't any more delays!

And...

• I have some promotional appointments whilst in London... going to be on the Robert Elms show (BBC Radio) on May 10 at 10:30 am.
• I put the publisher in touch with some contacts at Historic Royal Palaces (oversees the Tower of London gift shops) and Royal Armouries (gift shop in the White Tower)... hoping to get the book into their shops.
•  I am hoping for a book signing on 15 August at the Tower... stay tuned...
• I am also hoping to be at the Ramsey 1940s Weekend... August 17/18 in Ramsey (Cambridgeshire)... fingers crossed

Other than that... have been sending all my contacts news of the book coming out...

Website Review - All That's Interesting (2019)

Came across an article about Josef on the All That's Interesting website.

It's actually pretty good (all things considered) that summarizes the story of Josef quite well.

They reference my interview with the RadioTimes back in 2012, and this seems to be their primary resource.

There are only a few minor errors:

• Josef was arrested in 1938 (not 1939)
• he fired his pistol (not his revolver - although this is a forgivable error since even the MI5 files use the two terms interchangeably).

The Spy in the Tower - pre-orders for non-UK readers

The Spy in the Tower - 1 May 2019
by Giselle Jakobs
(The History Press)

Good news... readers outside of the UK can now pre-order a copy of the book (if you want to...) via the Book Depository site. They have free world-wide shipping!

UK readers can still order via Amazon.co.uk.

The marketing department of The History Press is also looking at setting up a book signing event in London in early May (when I'm over there). At this point, we're still looking good for a 1 May publication date. More details as I have them (this is becoming a standard phrase of mine).

As an aside... I thought researching and writing the darn book would cover the lion's share of the work but... I'm learning something new every day! I believe the real work is just beginning.

Whilst in London, I'm also planning to visit some of the sites associated with Josef's time in London and filming some vignettes for each. Bit of the history of each, Josef's time there, and my own impressions/thoughts of each. Sites would include:

• Cannon Row Police Station - where Josef was brought upon arrival in London
• HM Prison Brixton - Josef was incarcerated here twice during his recovery from his broken ankle
• Dulwich Hospital - where Josef was hospitalised for almost two months
• Latchmere House (or what's left of it) - MI5's secret wartime interrogation centre (most of which is now a housing estate)
• HM Prison Wandsworth - where Josef spent the last three weeks of his life
• Duke of York's Headquarters - where the court martial took place on 4/5 August 1941
• Tower of London - site of the execution
• Tower Bridge Mortuary - site of the post-mortem
• St. Mary's Cemetery, Kensal Green - final resting place of Josef

Planning to create an exclusive access "goodie-bag" for readers who purchase the book... more details later. 

The Spy in the Tower - T minus 30 days (and counting)

The Spy in the Tower is slated to come out on May 1, 2019 (in the UK) and so far, all systems are go. I've spent the last month or so reviewing the first proofs, then the second proofs and indexing the whole thing. It's been a bit of a marathon and rather all-consuming. The second proofs had some errors introduced in making the corrections from the first proofs. And so I read everything with a fine-tooth comb... Hoping it all goes smoothly with the second proof corrections and the index... fingers crossed! There's a lot of room for hiccups with the index...

The History Press has also sent me a mock-up of the full book cover with dust jacket flaps and a back cover...

The Spy in the Tower - by Giselle Jakobs
front cover and inside flap - The History Press

And the back cover... with inside flap

The Spy in the Tower - by Giselle Jakobs
front cover and inside flap - The History Press

Folks in the United Kingdom can pre-order via the Amazon link on THP website... North American audiences may need to wait... more details as I have them.