Christmas in July

Well, it feels a little like Christmas today because Santa, a.k.a. the Hodder publicity department, has sent me a nice new hardback of The Corporal’s Wife and a copy of the paperback reissue of Harry’s Game. They will look very fine on my Gerald Seymour shelf.

20130711-181929.jpg

And suddenly the 1 August release date for The Corporal’s Wife does not seem that far away. In fact it’s just three weeks from today.

By the way, if you haven’t already done so I recommend you check out the official Gerald Seymour Facebook page where there are weekly updates from the man himself.

The Corporal’s Wife Review

20130222-231631.jpg

I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reading copy of The Corporal’s Wife from Gerald Seymour’s publisher Hodder books and I am very pleased to say that after thirty books there is no sign of a drop in quality of his writing. Indeed it is one of his strongest books in recent years, even rivalling the exceptional A Deniable Death (2011). You can read my full review on the new page for The Corporal’s Wife.

A Deniable Death to be adapted for television and Reissue News

Hodder books released the following press release today confirming the publication in August of the new novel The Corporal’s Wife. There is also news of the acquisition of the backlist of twenty-five novels from the previous publisher Transworld. The new editions will be in the larger ‘B format’ paperback and Kindle fans can rejoice that they will be available as e-books.

However, look to the bottom of the press release for the surprise news (to me anyway) that A Deniable Death is to be adapted for television by ITV. I do agree that if a recent Seymour novel was to be adapted then it should be this one as the story was outstanding.

Press Release

Hodder and Stoughton announce a big year for Gerald Seymour.

Hodder and Stoughton see 2013 as a landmark year in the career of leading British thriller writer Gerald Seymour and their association with him.

In April, they will publish the mass-market paperback edition of his highly acclaimed novel THE OUTSIDERS, followed in August by a new thriller, THE CORPORAL’S WIFE, an intensely suspenseful and topical story set largely in Iran, acquired by Nick Sayers from Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis Brown.

In addition, Hodder have acquired the rights to the backlist of twenty-five novels from Transworld. The programme of their publication will be directed by Assistant Editor Laura Macdougall.

Nick Sayers said: ‘I have worked with Gerald over many years and I am delighted that we now have all of his novels together in one place. Surely no other thriller writer could boast such a tremendous backlist of such consistently high quality, and what really excites me is that his new novel, THE CORPORAL’S WIFE, which we are publishing in August, is as good as any that he has written. He’s a phenomenon!’

Laura Macdougall said: ‘Gerald Seymour is consistently acknowledged as one of the best thriller writers of our times and is also a wonderful author to work with; I’m really excited to announce our forthcoming publishing programme. Starting on 6th June 2013 with HARRY’S GAME, the ground-breaking thriller set in Belfast at the height of the Troubles, Hodder will publish the titles in B format paperback with stunning new covers and will also make the books available in digital format for the first time.’

Hodder will publish in BCN, including Canada and with exclusive rights in Europe.

In further good news, Curtis Brown have announced the sale of Seymour’s A DENIABLE DEATH – a Sunday Times bestseller in both hardcover and paperback for Hodder in 2011/12 – to ITV for production as a major television serial.

Inquiries to: Kerry Hood at Hodder and Stoughton on 020 7873 6173 or Kerry.hood [at] hodder.co.uk

Title and cover image of next book The Corporal’s Wife

A visit to Amazon UK tonight yielded the title and cover image of the next Gerald Seymour novel. The book is currently titled The Corporal’s Wife and the cover image can be seen below.

20130222-231631.jpg

No blurb yet but the cover features the following “tag line”:

He will tell MI6 the secrets of Iran. If they can get his wife out. And that’s impossible.

Interesting. I am immediately reminded of The Contract.

The publication of the book is still set for August. That’s a good long way away so don’t be surprised if the cover and title change in the meantime.

The cover image itself is interesting as it harks back to the “character” covers that Transworld used from The Untouchable onwards.