I absolutely love my Kindle and read most books as ebooks but there’s a special feeling that comes with holding (and stroking) a paperback I’ve written that I don’t quite get from seeing it on my Kindle. And the one thing that beats that is seeing a book I’ve written in a book shop.

I’ve been so grateful and honoured this year to have had two of my books go into The Works. The Secret to Happiness appeared in June shortly after we came out of the first lockdown and Making Wishes at Bay View appeared in September. I thought that would be it until 2021 so I was both surprised and delighted to get an email from Boldwood’s lovely CEO, Amanda, advising me that The Works had taken delivery of Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow last month, making it three books in The Works in the space of five months. Eek!

Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow appeared on The Works’ website about a week ago. For the other two books, it took about a fortnight from appearing online to the books appearing in stores. With the announcement at the weekend that England would be entering a 4-week lockdown from Thursday, I suspected I wouldn’t see the hedgehogs in my local branch of The Works until we were the other side of lockdown but I’m delighted to say I was wrong!

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I met my daughter off the school bus in town yesterday so she could get a copy of the book she’s studying in English – A Christmas Carol – and pick up a few other bits and bobs. We took a trip to The Works.

I didn’t actually spot the hedgehogs at first because there was a fresh batch of Making Wishes at Bay View on the shelves smiling at me. They’d sold out of them very quickly – perhaps helped by them being signed – so it was lovely to see them re-stocked. Then the munchkin pointed out that Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow was on the shelves too, right next to Making Wishes... How could I have missed it?

So out came the pen and I signed them all. Several copies of Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow had obviously sold already as there were only six left out of the ten that they’d been sent. That was quick! The munchkin had been in with her grandparents at the weekend and the hedgehogs hadn’t arrived then and I know from asking before that book deliveries come on Tuesdays! So those hedgehogs definitely proved popular on their first day on the shelves.

Both books are available on the website which you can access here but The Secret to Happiness sold out online a few months ago. There may still be some copies loitering in some stores.

There are lots of amazing books available from Boldwood authors (and lots of other authors too, of course) so why not treat yourself to some lockdown reading and perhaps some Christmas shopping (so you don’t have any postage to pay)? They’re £2 each or 3 for £5.

If you do see a copy of any of my books out in the wild, I’d love to see a photo shared on any of my social media – a shelfie – telling me which store you found it in. Equally, photos of books bought online are fabulous to see.

It’s still a bit surreal imagining that there are people out there reading or listening to my stories, making friends with my characters, snarling at a couple of them, and immersing themselves in Whitsborough Bay or the Yorkshire Wolds.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for making this possible and to the lovely staff in The Works for being so welcoming each time I pop in.

And a final thank you to everyone who has shared their love for the hedgehogs so far. At the time of writing, Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow is still in the Top 300 on Amazon and has a whopping 595 reviews/ratings, 93% of which are 5-star or 4-star. Seriously delighted author here!

Big hugs

Jessica xx