Through the window of my study in Washington DC, the once green leaves of the trees outside are turning red and gold. In the neighbouring streets – and to the excitement of my small children – cascades of pumpkins descend along porch steps, cloth ghosts and skeletons sway on strings. There are scattered bones, witches’ hats and synthetic spider webs.

For me, time has flown since this summer, when I was back to the UK for the publication of A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing. I find it hard to believe that Halloween is almost here, and that publication day for the North American print edition is just around the corner.

If you live in Canada or the USA, the print edition of A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing will be out on 10 November, and is available for pre-ordering now.

For readers based in the UK, I also want to mention that Amazon is running a deal for Kindle, which allows you to grab a copy for the bargain price of 99p! But the offer lasts for only three more days (from the time this newsletter goes live). If you’d like to take advantage of it, you have until the end of 31 October.

The novel is already available in ebook and audio versions in the US and Canada, as well as the UK and beyond. But knowing that it will soon be out over here in print too, makes me very happy. As an author, I’m aware that everyone has different reading preferences – often dictated as much by life circumstances as personal choice – and so it’s important to me that my books can be experienced in as many different formats as possible.

In terms of my own likes, my favourite way of reading remains the print book. I love curling up in a quiet corner, ideally with a cup of tea, and letting myself become completely absorbed. I like the feel of the paper in my hands, and the creak and rustle of the pages. If I’m reading an old book, its slightly musty scent can be comforting.

Having said that, if I only ever read under those idyllic conditions I would not get much reading done.

The fact is that, having a five and seven-year-old around the house, sitting down quietly with a book is often not an option. There are the hours when my son and daughter are at school, but those tend to be taken up with writing and related work, plus the many other tasks that are difficult to accomplish with my kids around. Although I’ll find a bit of time to read a physical book in the evening when they are in bed, during the day it’s generally more convenient to have an audiobook playing while I’m running errands or doing housework.

I feel thankful for the technology that lets me keep up with books in this way even when I’m doing other things. Without it, my days would be so much emptier. This way, it remains an activity woven into my life.

As it happens, the subject of reading as a habit has been on my mind a lot this month. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I recently sat down with Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone of the Hypothetical Bookshelf podcast to talk about five books that have influenced me as a reader and writer. Listening back to the interview, which aired in early October, it was interesting to notice some of the patterns in my reading choices over the years, quite a few of which I had not been particularly aware until my discussion with Rebekah.

If you’d like to hear me enthusing about, among other things, Haruki Murakami’s nonfiction, the evergreen humour of Barbara Pym’s novels and the Victorian sensation fiction of Wilkie Collins, you can listen to the recording here.

I look forward to a future time when I can introduce my children, both keen readers, to some of these titles; and also to the day – hopefully not too far off – when we can all regularly sit down together, immersed in our own books but in the company of each other.

A Tiny Speck of Black and then Nothing is published by Manilla Press in the UK and is available from Blackwell’s, Waterstones, Bookshop.Org, Amazon or your favourite independent bookshop.

The US paperback will be published by Open Road on 10 November and is available for pre-ordering from Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.Org, Amazon and independent bookstores.

The novel is also available as an ebook and as an audiobook, narrated by Jacqui Bardelang.

I recently appeared on episode 9 of The Hypothetical Bookshelf.

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