Happy Angel's Game Day!

Good Morning Flower!

I've waited. I've been patient, used my time wisely, cleaned my plate and now the moment has arrived. The new novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the author of "The Shadow of the Wind", is here. It's called "The Angel's Game" and it goes on sale today.

Excited?

I am. I was working in independent bookstore when "The Shadow of the Wind" came out. I adored it. It was magical. One of those leave your life on hold and climb in kinds of books. Even loving it, it was a tough sale in hardcover. It was big (496 pages), had a uninspired cover and was written by a Spanish author being published in the US for the first time. We sold it OK, but not as well as we wanted to. And then came the paperback. In paperback, "The Shadow of the Wind" was huge.

It's such a great feeling when a book that you are in love with sells like the old house a fire. There's the making money for your business, great. There's the kick of keeping the bookselling community strong, great. The delight in discovering a new author to follow and read, super great. The real thrill though is knowing that you have successfully forced your opinion on more people. Seriously. There's nothing like it.

So? Will I or won't I be trying to force "The Angel's Game" on people? ....Oh indeed I will my friend.

I'll delight you by telling you that "Game" is prequel to "Shadow", but I'm not going to give you plot chunks. What drives this train is a young writer being offered a fortune to write a book that will change people's lives. To in effect create a new religion. Is it the Devil making the offer? Is the writer the villain? The victim? Yeah, I'm not telling. Not telling either about the 200 other fascinating characters, the wonders of Barcelona, how many times failure is snatched from the jaws of victory or whether or not we revisit The Cemetery of Lost Books.

Zafon's writing is lush and descriptive. Turn away if you don't like a well upholstered novel. However if you want storytelling, if you want the brilliant and beguiling, to be swept into a dark and fascinating world then find a comfy chair, put the kids up for adoption, turn off the phone and climb aboard.

Happy

P.S. As always (nag, nag) "The Angel's Game" and millions of other fab-o books are available in independent bookstores everywhere.