Heat Seekin' Again!

Plasticine beaver

Welcome UK readers!

 I was thrilled when my publisher released The Lost Daughter (known in the US as The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes) in the United Kingdom last year. It was embraced by so many new-to-me readers and made #1 on the Heatseekers’ Chart. The Heatseekers’ Chart in the UK contains books by up and coming authors who have yet to appear on the bestseller list there. I hope one day to climb  into that rarified atmosphere, but for now I’m excited to be exactly where I am.  My second book released in the UK is The Bay at Midnight, which was published in mid-December. After four weeks climbing the Heatseekers’ Chart, it too reached the top spot this week. I feel so lucky!

Those of you who’ve been reading my blog a long timebay in the garwick london airport know that The Bay at Midnight has a special place in my heart, since the setting was my childhood summer home. I wasn’t sure how the book would translate to a UK audience. Sure enough, one of the reviews mentioned certain  American  cultural references, such as Leave it to Beaver, 81 year-old Maria working at a McDonald’s, and the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore.  Yet the reviews have been great and my readers across the pond seem to enjoy the story even  if they’ve never heard of Wally and The Beave. The world feels so small sometimes, doesn’t it?

Before the Storm and Secrets She Left Behind will also be published in the UK this year.  It’s so much fun to see these books get a second life. Thanks, UK readers, for taking my stories into your hearts.

(Thank you, British reader Diane Beharrell for snapping this photo at the Gatwick London Airport!)

4 Comments

  1. Joann on January 24, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    “I feel so lucky!” I take exception to your calling of luck! You have worked so hard for so many years with such dedication and love of your craft you deserve all the credit you can get. I know I’m prejudiced but it’s true! Rock on! Jo

  2. Diane Chamberlain on January 24, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    Hi Jo, you are so right that I’ve worked hard (and that you’re prejudiced!). It always takes hard work to get anywhere in the arts, but I believe it also takes some luck. . . some amazing bolts of lightning, such as Target selecting a book to feature as a book club pick. And so much of it depends on reaching the right agent and right editor on the right day. I’ve learned that the only thing in my control is what I write.

  3. brenda on January 25, 2010 at 6:32 pm

    One of my students (who is now a senior in high school) told me that I could pass on this to you. She is being interviewed at a college this next week. One of the questions is her favorite book “OF ALL TIME”…She is going to tell them BEFORE THE STORM…yes…

  4. Diane Chamberlain on January 25, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    Brenda, that’s so cool! Please tell her that means so much to me. I’m glad the story touched her.

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