I was sad to learn today that, after a brave battle against illness, my literary agent Dot Lumley has passed away.
Throughout the past twelve years, Dot gave me constant encouragement and support. She had a way of cutting through my author’s angst with devastatingly simple questions like, ‘Have you ever thought of writing short fiction?’ or ‘What do you feel about ghost-writing?’ When she liked what I wrote, she told me. When she didn’t, well, she told me that too. She got me writing contracts I’d never have secured otherwise. Everything I’ve published since 2001 has had the benefit of Dot’s kind, firm, professional touch.
In 2014, Solaris Books will publish a book that’s very special to me. It’s the first novel I’ve had published under my own name for twelve years. And, of course, it was Dot who brokered the deal.
Thank you, Dot. I’ll miss you.
