Dear friends,

So Summer is upon us, and with it another newsletter wings its way into your inbox. You may have noticed that I spared you a Spring edition. That wasn't me being charitable and cutting down on your junk mail! That was me being busy finishing off all the edits and proofing of The Gilded Seal, the third Tom Kirk adventure, and just not getting round to sending one out. Not a great excuse, I know, but go with me on this one.

Anyway, it's finished now and I really am pleased with it. You can see the cover below together with the marketing blurb they've stuck on the back. I've got some proof copies in front of me and they look great. It's out in October so pre-order your copies now.*

On the foreign language publication front, there has been little to report, although The Double Eagle did make it into the Spiegel Online bestseller lists which was fantastic news. I also had a great write-up in the Daily Telegraph where they named me as one of their top 6 thriller writers. Believe me, no-one was more surprised than me!

Apart from this, the more observant amongst you may have noticed that I have launched a new website. It's got more on it, is better laid out, and even contains a "trailer" for The Black Sun which I made to try and justify the eye-watering amount I had to pay for a new iMac. And of course, I mustn't forget my new blog. Yes I know everyone has one and it's insufferably presumptuous of me to think that anyone would ever want to read it, but it's actually quite fun to write and for those of you (apart from my mother) who do check in every so often, it means there's always something new to read, whether it's me moaning about the lack of fiction reviews in the press or explaining how I spend half my time moving my books to the front display tables in every book shop I go into.

In a week's time I'm speaking at the Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, the largest crime and thriller writing event in the UK. I have to admit I'm absolutely s*****g myself. I'm on a panel talking about Daphne du Maurier, who I haven't really read since I was about fifteen. Basically I've got a week to absorb her collected works to get myself up to speed. So if you want to come and see me being humiliated in front of an audience stuffed full of DdM afficianados, or help me drown my sorrows afterwards, come to Harrogate and join in the fun.

On a completely different note, I've just got back from Malta. What an amazing place. So much history, from the Romans to the Knights of St John and Napoleon and the Nazi blockade in WWII. It actually got my creative cogs turning as I think ahead to Book 4 which I think is going to be set in Italy. I've actually got a far less precise idea of what I want to do in this next book which is quite exciting but a little scary.

Many of you have asked how the girls are getting on and the answer is they're growing up fast - Jemima is desperate to start walking so she can pull even more things on to the floor; Amelia is desperate to push her over whenever my back is turned. Imagine what they'll be like when they're teenagers!

Happy reading


www.jamestwining.com

* If you're in America, you'll have to buy off Amazon UK I'm afraid, or use a specialist dealer, as I'm not sure when The Gilded Seal is being published there yet

The Gilded Seal - revealed

Seville. Holy Week. As hooded penitents march their shimmering floats through the cobbled streets, a man runs for his life, determined to keep a secret that has lain hidden for 200 years. When the end finally comes it is slow and agonizing, his attackers crucifying him to a door.

Determined to avenge his friend’s death, former art thief Tom Kirk abandons his enquiry into the theft of a priceless Da Vinci and begins his own investigation into the gruesome murder. The evidence points to Milo, an old rival with a sadistic streak whom Tom discovers is about to commit the most audacious heist in history.

Meanwhile in New York , the stakes have never been higher for Special Agent Jennifer Browne, as her supposedly low-key forgery case threatens to explode into a scandal that strikes at the heart of the global auction business. With the bodies piling up around her and an unscrupulous tabloid reporter dogging her every move, she follows a lead to Paris, where a chance meeting brings her face to face with Tom.

Realising that both cases are connected, Tom and Jennifer find themselves swept into a conspiracy that dates back to Napoleon and survives in a series of coded messages concealed by the Emperor himself. Messages leading to a secret so shattering that some are prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure the truth is never revealed. A secret that lies deep inside the Paris catacombs and amidst the pulsating streets of Havana.

A secret that brings death in its wake.

Click here to pre-order

Extract from Daily Telegraph

"If you want a damned good, traditional, commercial thriller in which a handsome, cleft-chinned hero with unusual gifts solves problems with the aid of an effortlessly beautiful FBI babe, then Twining, 34, is just the ticket.

In The Double Eagle, his hero Tom Kirk teamed up with an FBI agent Jennifer Browne to track down golden coins, stolen from Fort Knox. In The Black Sun, Kirk was after stolen Nazi gold, a missing code machine and a concentration-camp survivor's amputated arm. In The Napoleon Seal (due out this summer), he will be chasing a missing Da Vinci painting."

Click here to read more

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival - 19 - 22 July 2007

Providing I can get a bit of reading done in the next few days, I will be appearing on Friday 20th July at 6pm on a panel discussing the life and works of Daphne du Maurier!

DAPHNE DU MAURIER CENTENARY PANEL - 20 July (6pm)
CHAIR: Margaret Kinsman
PANEL: Kate Saunders, Philip Gooden, Laura Wilson, James Twining

See you there!

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