I've written another book!

Time for the JULY NEWSLETTER and there's only one news item...

Hello you lovely lot,

I’ve been holding this news in for so long it’s honestly a wonder I haven’t burst. This book has been a slow burn and it’s also very personal, so it is with a particularly heightened sense of excitement and trepidation that I introduce you to my next book, Rough Patch, which will be out on 6th February 2025 with Little, Brown.

Is it another cookbook?

Well, there are recipes in it, but no it’s not a cookbook like my first book, From the Veg Patch, was. It is (brace yourselves for some oversharing) a memoir, of sorts.

What’s it about then?

It’s about how I discovered that growing veg was a powerful restorative, and the grisly tale of why I need restoring in the first place. More on that here:

How Vegetables Saved my Life

Rough Patch includes recipes, a journal of goings on in the patch, and life lessons learnt in from getting back to the land. Along the way there are tales of marauding pigs; how planting a leek taught me to live better; why a radish seed is worth staying alive for; and, recipes for an unchecked courgette glut.

Here’s the full spiel, written in the third person for added self-importance (and also because it’s lifted from the press release):

Nice paintings you’ve got there

Aren’t they just! The cover art and title text is by the infeasibly talented Rosie Ramsden who I met when she styled my first book, From the Veg Patch. More to come inside. All I can say is, move over Charlie Mackesy, there’s an altogether classier lady in town.

So you want me to buy it when it comes out?

Actually, I’d like you to buy it now please. Yes, I know it’s more than 6 months until publication, but pre-orders are everything. Basically, it’s a virtuous circle (or vicious cycle depending on how it goes). Here’s why:

• Because the world is bonkers a book is already a success or failure before it comes out. All retailers, literary festival organisers etc decide whether to stock or feature a book based on pre-orders.

• I stand more chance of getting a Bestseller badge* because all pre-orders count towards the first week of sales. Given that I’m not Insta-famous, haven’t been on Love Island and don’t have a TV show, pre-orders are my best shot at this.

  (*Even if it’s ‘#1 in Memoirs about growing vegetables by people called Kathy’ on Amazon, we’re having a party.)

• It makes the marketing and PR very happy. And happy marketeers give you more attention so you sell more books.

If you do order now, then please save your receipt because I’m planning some extra goodies for lovely folk who pre-order and you’ll need proof of pre-order to claim them.

A big birthday gift

This newsletter is one year old this week - another reason to celebrate! You’ll find a free party menu here, I’ve got the fizz chilling, and a here’s a whacking great birthday gift from me to you:

For more on what an annual subscription includes see here.

HOW IT WORKS: sign up as an annual paid subscriber by Sunday night then message or email me with the name and email of the person you’d like to gift the other subscription to and I’ll add set them up.

And finally…

Books and birthdays - that’s more excitement than I can handle. Hold my fizz, I’m going for a lie down. But before I go - thank you. I’m really, genuinely more grateful for your support than I can properly articulate.

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