come one, come all

My publishers have finally decided to formally launch Jet City Woman, three months after it was let loose on an unsuspecting public. It's so far sold about a thousand copies out of its first print run of two thousand copies. And with a bit of help from you it should go into a second print run.

The launch will be a short affair: 4p.m. on Wednesday the 6th of February 2008 at the Rupa & Co. stall during the 18th New Delhi World Book Fair. Come in through Entry Gate No.5 at Pragati Maidan and head for Stall No. 95-114 in Hall No.1F. The book will be "released" by K. Natwar Singh, the "eminent politician and diplomat". Somehow he seems suited to releasing this book. Please turn up at the launch: you might see yourself in the next day's papers!

The prolific blogger Jai Arjun Singh has reviewed JCW in the January issue of the Business Standard's Gateway magazine (not available online). Amitabha Bagchi mentions it in the latest issue of Time Out Delhi (the January 25 - February 7 'books issue'); register at timeoutdelhi.net to see it. And The Asian Age's p.age literary supplement dated 3 February has a Q&A with me for the Bibliofile section where i mention various books to show how well read i am. Example: Q. Who is your favourite literary character? A. Mr Jones, the conman and drifter from Graham Greene's The Comedians.

My enthusiasm for Iron Maiden meant that i missed out on a great chance for some further self-promotion. NDTV Metronation had a shoot on 1st February for a programme on 'first-time novelists' (almost like a caste or tribe, that term); I had to give it a miss because i had to be in Mumbai that evening watching Bruce Dickinson and Co. open their 2008 world tour. Of course, there were many in Mumbai who had other things on their mind than a heavy metal concert. The Metronation correspondent, Shruti Arora, has said she'll inform me when the programme goes on air.