START YOUR CLOCKS!
Crunch time for Takeshita Demons is getting closer: just 36 days left! Apparently I have a final printed copy in the post…yee ha!

How old is a piece of string?
Like any procrastinating author, I like to Google the name of my book in the days leading up to its release. (Did you know there are now more than 12,000 mentions of Takeshita + Demons online?)(ah, but not all of them are mine; it just sounds good ;-))

Many of these Google hits lead to on-line bookstores, and — bizarrely — not all of these bookstores seem to be stocking the same book.

Well, they’re stocking Takeshita Demons, alright, but although most think it’s a book for kids aged 8-12, others suggest readers aged 6-12, or readers aged 5-9, or readers aged 9-11. At least none of them are recommending Takeshita Demons for adults 😉

But what’s going on with this age bracketing? How do they decide?

I think it depends on the child: Are they reluctant readers? Or do they read everything they can lay their hands on?

As a guide: I wrote Takeshita Demons with the 8-12 age bracket in mind, aiming to excite readers and non-readers alike, hoping to encourage children to chew through an adventure where — like the adventures I read as a child — nothing bad really happens and the goodies win in the end. YAY!

And the reviews say?
There are now 14 reviews on Amazon UK, and I’m still scared to read them. (I think I need to grow a thicker skin!) Still, the worst thing they’ve said so far is that Takeshita Demons is a fast, easy read that children will love. To date most of the reviewers (all?) have been adults, so I’m looking forward to hearing some reviews from the kids. Fingers crossed!

Hovering around the mail box…
I’ll let you know when that magical first copy arrives. Very. Surreal.