I’ve just come back from a book tour of New York organised by my US publisher, Tin House. I’ve been to America before, but never New York and I had an amazing time. So many lovely people, so many cool things, so many surprise and wonderful meetings.

I met my Tin House editor, Masie Cochran for the first time in real life (we’ve Skyped a lot). And I took my husband, Tim for his invaluable map reading, subway negotiating, stamina-keeping-up encouragement.

In four days I visited 11 bookshops, had 3 telephone interviews, 1 face to face interview, 1 Facebook live interview, 1 reading and Q&A event, 1 secret writing thingy (all will be revealed in March), lunches and dinners with lovely book people. Here are some highlights:

• Being interviewed by Jenny Offill (author of Dept. of Speculation) at McNally Jackson bookstore. She is as lovely and funny as I imagined.
• Being in The Mysterious Bookshop, and meeting a bookseller from Wisconsin who had blurbed Swimming Lessons, and just happened to be in New York and in the same bookshop as me at the same time.
• An old friend from England, who I hadn’t seen for about 15 years turning up unexpectedly at my reading.
• Meeting lots of fabulous booksellers.
• Meeting Daniel Magariel (author of One of the Boys – being published soon – look out for this book).
• Meeting the women from Book of the Month Club (Swimming Lessons was one of their December picks).
• The coolness of the ACE Hotel.
• Seeing my librarian husband look right at home in the New York Public Library.

Signed copies of Swimming Lessons can now be found at:

• McNally Jackson
• Greenlight Bookstore
• The Word, Brooklyn
• Three Lives and Company
• Barnes and Noble, Union Square
• The Mysterious Bookshop
• Book Culture, Columbus Avenue
• Corner Bookstore
• Barnes and Noble, Fifth Avenue
• Main Point Books, Wayne, Pennsylvania (she came into New York for me to sign copies)
• Community Bookstore
• Barnes and Noble, Tribeca

My second novel, Swimming Lessons, is published in the UK, Canada, and the USA, and Germany. Click on the country links to buy.