Another great review for Alveridgea and the Legend of the Lonely Dog!

This is so exciting! The computer beeps. Another Google Alert. Another great review for our new novel, Alveridgea and the Legend of the Lonely Dog.

I love how this one picks up on Stu Duval's exquisite word smithery! Check it out here....

http://bobsbooksnz.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/alveridgea-and-the-legend-of-the-lonely-dog-by-ivan-clarke-and-stu-duval/

Alveridgea and the Lonely Dog gets a life of its own.

The book launches were amazing in both Queenstown and Auckland. Both galleries were packed. And everybody loved the way the book looked. Whew! 

The books are now in book stores right around New Zealand. (If your local has already sold out, they are able to re-order if you request it.) 

And finally, people are commenting on the story. After working on the story for 18 months it is hard to view it clearly any more. We are just too close to it. We have done our best, and love it, but are far from objective! 

It was great when my mum rang me to say that she absolutely loved the story. But she would! Bless her. It has been incredibly rewarding to begin to hear from friends and acquaintances that they also have loved the story. Phrases like "I could not put it down." "A real page turner." We love comments like those. 

The reviews are now starting. So far, every single one of them extremely positive. Here is one sample...

http://paranoidparents.hcibooks.com/2012/07/reading-kids-alveridgea-legend-lonely-dog-classic/

A couple I know are reading it out aloud to each other. 

It is seriously so rewarding to read these reviews and hear stories of people's enjoyment. 

Now it goes from strength to strength as more people hear of it and the media begin to review it. 

Keep an eye out for an appearance on Good Morning on TVNZ, hopefully later this week. 

Alveridgea and The Lonely Dog - People love it!

What a whirlwind few weeks! Everything seemed to happen at once. The much awaited book finally arrived. Gallery launches planned. Hundreds turned out to get their hands on copies of "Alveridgea and The Legend of the Lonely Dog" in Auckland and Queenstown, and to have them signed. 

The book has turned out even better than we had hoped for. It looks beautiful. It feels great when you hold it. And when you open it, it is simply magical! Labouring over the design was well worth it. Using off-white, rather "toothy" paper has given the book an old world feeling - exactly what we were after. Ivan's sketches look amazing, soft and elegant. The maps let the reader know very early on that this is a fully realised alternate reality. 

And the comments we have been getting on the story! Can't put it down! A real page turner! Here's one I particularly love ... 

"I have been feeling rather ill with the flu. When I have picked up a little energy over the last two days, I have also picked up a book. And struggled to put it down, even though I should have, and got more sleep. What an AMAZING story! I'd always been intrigued by Lonely Dog, but had not fully grasped him and all the array of activity around him. What a powerful story, images, characters and all. Allegory, anthropomorphism, black, blues. One of the best books I've never written in a very long time!"

I really loved this comment as it is from an author who knows a good book or two! How thrilling when others love the story too. Makes all the hard work worth it. 

You can see pieces of it on our website. Their is even a selection of a few pages to give you a taste for the book. 

www.lonelydog.com