Just finished ASLM and once again really enjoyed Sherwood’s work. 003 is a terrific character, though with the multiple story threads I feel she gets a bit short changed. This is a busy novel with more moving parts than we might be used to in our Bond fare, which may put some folks off. I was surprised by the sense of scope and scale the narrative style lends to the story. This feels like a massive adventure and a step up from the previous book, particularly in that regard. I have my specific hopes for book 3, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how she brings this series in for a landing.
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Some highlights from Kim’s Girl with the Golden Pen email:
And I’ve been editing Book 3 in the Double O series – more on that below.
Visit Trip Fiction for a rundown of the Venice locations in A Spy Like Me, featuring incredible photographs by my sister, brilliant artist Rosie Sherwood. Here’s a couple to give you a taste!
Visit Crime Reads for my essay on Women in the World of Bond
Join me at Golden Hare bookshop here in Edinburgh for a talk on adventurous women
Join me at Harrogate Crime Festival on 20th July, where I’m thrilled to be sharing a stage with Mick Herron and other spy writing luminaries
Join me at Edinburgh International Book Festival on the 16th of August for a special Double O event
The last event might be something special.
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Some interesting articles. She is truly a fan.
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I’ve seen her curating author interviews in Edinburgh, and she was brilliant.
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From Kim’s Substack Email.
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Scottish Crime Book of the Year
A SPY LIKE ME becomes the first Bond continuation novel to be listed for an award + genre debates, my James Bond bookshelf & writing talismans
KIM SHERWOOD
JUN 28 ∙ PREVIEW 
Dear Reader,
I’m thrilled to say A SPY LIKE ME has been longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year!
I’m honoured to appear on a list with crime fiction legends like Val McDermid and Chris Brookmyre, plus my pal, the marvellous Charles Cumming. It’s especially exciting to see A SPY LIKE ME here as this is a series I’ve dreamed of writing since I was a kid and first fell in love with James Bond.
We think A SPY LIKE ME is the first 007 continuation novel for adults to be listed for an award, something I’m very proud to contribute to the James Bond legacy. (Though as a Bond continuation novelist I’m in illustrious company, so we might well be wrong, let me know if a prize has slipped through the net!)
Thank you Bloody Scotland, the crime writing festival behind the prize, and all the booksellers, librarians, bloggers and broadcasters who helped shape the longlist. You can read more about the prize here.
Get your copy of A SPY LIKE ME
This means that my novels have now been listed or won prizes for literary fiction, historical fiction and crime fiction, which is pretty mind-blowing.
It’s also a nice thought because when I was studying creative writing, I was told it would be impossible to write across so many genres: I’d need a pseudonym, I was too-this or too-that, I’d never find an agent that way.
I’ve always admired multi-genre authors like Kate Atkinson, Michael Chabon, David Mitchell, Kazuo Ishiguro. A genre is made up of a set of conventions, whether it’s literary fiction or science fiction – partly constructed for the purposes of marketing, and partly a genuine set of expectations readers share, enjoy, and like to see refreshed and subverted. I also love writers who make a genre their own, like Elmore Leonard (though even he moved from westerns to crime) or Georgette Heyer – authors whose voice becomes its own genre. But as a reader whose bookshelf spans from Lee Child to Virginia Woolf, it’s exciting to have found the freedom to cross (and cross-pollinate) genres as a writer. I’m so grateful for all the support from readers who have got me here.
What’s your favourite genre? Do you read across genres? Do you have any genre bugbears – get annoyed at snobbery, or frustrated when sci fi and fantasy are mixed onto the same Waterstones shelf? Let me know in the comments!
Speaking of bookshelves, in my last creative writing video for paying subscribers (about the editing process), you may have spotted the bookshelf behind me. Long-term subscribers will know we bought our first house last year, and I designed deep forest green shelves in my study. A bookshelf is never finished, but I thought I’d share my current Bond shelves with you, and some thoughts on setting up a writing space, below. To read on and gain access to bonus content like this, upgrade to become a paying subscriber for £7 a month or £70 a year.
girl with the golden pen is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
It’s wonderful to see so many new subscribers here, I love having you on the adventure with me!
From Kim, With Love x…
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Struggled a bit to find a copy, struggled a bit to bother to complete it, but it was better than the first one that was far too eager to please. It’s ok.
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A SPY LIKE ME out now in paperback!
To mark the occasion, watch my fastest ever interview (150mph on a race track) + Edinburgh Festival & online event cancelled
Kim Sherwood
Aug 29 ∙ Preview
Dear Reader,
Today is publication day for the UK paperback of A SPY LIKE ME!
To mark the occasion, I’m releasing my fastest ever interview, which took place at over 150 miles per hour on Thruxton race track.
Watch the first clip here, as I tell racer Peter “Snowy” Snowdon how I came to write James Bond while he rockets me around the track in 003’s Alpine. The track experience was filmed with a fish eye camera on the dashboard, so you’ll see us both in the car and the track ahead – and my foot jammed casually into the door to keep me upright…
For the rest of the interview, head over to my Instagram, where I’m releasing the rest of the clips today!
Watch the rest of the interview
For paying subscribers of girl with the golden pen, there’s a bonus clip below where Snowy gives me a history lesson on the Aston Martin.
Speaking of subscribing, a warm welcome to all you new readers! I’m thrilled to have you here. If you’d like to upgrade from free to paid for £7 a month or £70 a year, you’ll receive exclusive content like today’s bonus video, plus creative writing tips and videos, and insights into my process as I edit the third book in the Double O series. There are three subscription tiers to girl with the golden pen – free, paid and founding member.
If you’d like to become a founding member and receive a personally dedicated and signed copy of A SPY LIKE ME in paperback (plus future proofs and hardbacks), subscribe now for £150 a year. I’m packaging them up next week!
girl with the golden pen is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
It’s incredible to hold the paperback in my hands. This ride sure is going fast. If you spot A SPY LIKE ME in your local bookshop, let me know!
Online launch canceled
I’m sad to say that the celebration planned for Saturday has to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances – I’m so sorry to miss the chance to say hello to you! But I’m planning another event for autumn, and in the meantime if you had a burning question you were hoping to ask, please pop it in the comments below or ask me on Instagram!
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Speaking of things moving fast, it’s been about a week since we came home from America (more on that soon) and we hit the ground running with Edinburgh International Book Festival. This was my fourth time appearing at the festival, and I feel incredibly grateful to the programmers for supporting all of my novels, from my debut TESTAMENT to my Double O series.
It was exciting to discover the new venue at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, where the festival staff made the Author’s Yurt feel like a home, as they always do – thanks so much for welcoming us and Pat!
I was lucky to catch the festival in its original iconic home, Charlotte Square, where the Author’s Yurt was still a literal yurt. I remember waiting there for my event, sitting on a hay bale between Ali Smith and Jeremy Corbyn, and thinking things had taken a surreal turn. The magic has just kept coming, and it feels extra special to feel so at home at a festival that’s literally in my home city now.
Another joy of the festival is reuniting with photographer Chris Close, who first took my picture here in 2018, and again in 2023.
Left: my first portrait by Chris, 2018; Right: my 2023 portrait by Chris
This time around we had props! One very fast, very beautiful prop. Here is my first official portrait with Pat, who joined our family after retiring from racing and has already made mine and Nick’s lives so much better. This was Pat’s first book festival, so of course he wore his special collar from the Ian Fleming family, which has a gold tag reading Agent Pat OOK9 – naturally.
Photograph by Chris Close, 2024
In the next picture, I’m posing with Nick’s camera. If you’ve read A SPY LIKE ME, you know there’s an important scene with a camera, which was inspired by Nick’s collection.
Photograph by Chris Close, 2024
It’s really fun meeting up with the same photographer every year, and I love these pictures – thanks Chris!
And I loved every minute of the festival. It was a joy to talk James Bond both on stage and in the signing queue – thanks to everyone who came and waited afterwards! It felt especially meaningful to celebrate the Double O series here, as back in 2022 I interviewed Anthony Horowitz at Edinburgh Book Festival about his final Bond novel, before the release of Double or Nothing and the start of my journey. Taking the baton from one of my childhood heroes is about as special as it gets.
My smile probably says it all
I love chairing at the festival, and this year it was my honour to interview Tony Birch and Zoe Strachan about two important and beautiful books, WOMEN & CHILDREN and CATCH THE MOMENTS AS THEY FLY.
Already counting down the days until next year!
Shelfie
Here’s A SPY LIKE ME in UK paperback on my James Bond bookshelf. If you grab a copy, tag me in your shelfie!
And remember, upgrade to become a paid subscriber and enjoy a bonus clip from me and Snowy below.
From Kim, With Love x
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https://www.instagram.com/p/C_fWVfzsm9C/
Is ASLM is the first Bond continuation novel to get a major award nomination?
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Off the top of my head I don’t remember any other continuation being on any kind of long/short list for an award. Then again, awards have become much more numerous than they used to 20, 30 years ago; also including oftentimes a wide spectrum of subcategories to cater to any and all tastes.
Sooner or later one’s got to hit you if your publisher is halfway up to snuff. 
That said, any award is always a huge thrill for the writers and quite an honour in its own right. Congratulations and fingers crossed!
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Kim’s Substack email:
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Scottish Crime Book of the Year finalist
Plus: a flashback to 2010, and making your creative space work for you
Kim Sherwood
Sep 5 ∙ Preview
Dear Reader,
I’m thrilled to share some exciting news – A SPY LIKE ME is a finalist for the 2024 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year!
It’s an honour to appear on a shortlist with the Queen of Crime herself Val McDermid, and to be in the company of Chris Brookmyre, Abir Mukherjee and D.V. Bishop. Plus, I’m delighted to learn I’m Scottish now!
The winner will be announced on Friday 13th (naturally) at the opening of Bloody Scotland festival.
A SPY LIKE ME is the first adult Bond continuation novel to appear on a prize list, something I’m so proud to contribute to the legacy of Ian Fleming.
It’s incredibly gratifying and surreal to find myself on a crime prize list. Here I am in 2010, midway through my degree posing outside a bookshop because of a sign we spotted in the window:
I posted the picture on Facebook fourteen years ago with this caption:
Obviously, being shortlisted for a prize doesn’t make me the Queen of Crime Writing – but to be on a list of luminaries like this, including the actual Queen Val, blows my mind. A girl can dream.
I was on BBC Radio Scotland on Tuesday celebrating paperback publication and it was very hard to keep the shortlist to myself, as it was embargoed until the next day. But you can probably hear the happiness in my voice. Listen here from 2.45pm onwards.
A while ago, I wrote about making the ideal creative space for yourself. For paying subscribers, there’s an update below on decorating my study and finding the mental and physical time and space to write. I’d love to hear how your space is developing!
girl with the golden pen is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
From Kim, With Love x…
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If I’m not mistaken, Nobody Lives Forever was some best lists of 1986. I could be wrong. Congrats to Kim. This could be the boost that IFP needs for more Bond books.
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Kim Sherwood’s Monthly Newsletter
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Let The Good Times Roll
Turning 35, celebrating 15 years together + delivering Book 3 & the Best Scottish Crime Writing party
Kim Sherwood
Oct 16 ∙ Preview
Dear Reader,
Welcome to all new subscribers! It’s great to have you here. It’s been a bumper month so far and I have so much to share with you – from a 35th birthday/15 year anniversary extravaganza to delivering Double O Book 3 and attending the Scottish Crime Book of the Year prize-giving!
girl with the golden pen is a reader-supported publication that gives a window into my writing life. Each newsletter is free, but there is additional bonus content for paying subscribers – in today’s issue, paying subscribers can find out what happened when I met Richard Armitage and watch an exclusive early release of a video where I talk about how to continue another writer’s legacy. The newsletter is made possible by the support and encouragement of free and paying subscribers alike, but if you enjoy what you read here, want access to exclusive content and to help ensure I can keep it up, please consider upgrading today to £7 a month or £70 a year. For £150 a year, founding members receive signed first editions and proofs of my latest novels!
girl with the golden pen is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Bon Anniversaire
On the 4th of October, I turned 35. On the 5th of October, Nick and I celebrated 15 years of being a couple and 5 years since our wedding day. Yes, we got married on our 10 year anniversary/Global James Bond Day, a pure coincidence – if you believe in coincidences…
So we gathered together friends and family and forayed into the Highlands for a weekend of good food (cooked by the greatest chef there is, my mum), good music and good people.
It was a taste of what it’s like to have a front and back staircase, so many living rooms you keep losing them and four fridges that I knew of – and reader, let me tell you, it’s not terrible. It was also a chance to catch up with friends from house-shares in student days and folks who now live overseas and over dale who have become family over the past 15 years. Together, our chosen family and our closest kin – those who could make it and those far away – have been central to our relationship since day one and it felt fitting to pop champagne together, listen to Nick & Mike get the old band back together (long live Late Arrivals Club) and introduce people to our latest family member, Pat.
Not only Pat, we also had Gem, my mum’s sheepdog who kept Rosie company on the drive up from Cornwall to Scotland in Rosie’s converted van! To read all about Rosie’s adventures, check out her substack A Nomadic Rose.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice Pat and I wore matching black velvet, naturally. Pat sported a collar gifted from the Fleming Estate, with a gold tag reading OOK9. While I wore my wedding dress – because if you get married in black velvet, it will never go out of style.
Speaking of Fleming-related gifts, this year I was as excited as a school kid to receive a Dr. No lunchbox from Nick – I always wanted one of these! And Nick gave me his special edition Live and Let Die Swatch from his school days. There’s a reason we’ve been together for 15 years.
Draft 2, Book 3
I was determined to submit the latest draft of Book 3 in the Double O trilogy before the celebrations commenced, and I managed it in a long dark teatime of the soul – otherwise known as pulling an all nighter for about two weeks to the repeated soundtrack of ‘Non-Stop’ from Hamilton. With Draft 1, I felt like I was inviting my editors to eat a meal I was halfway through preparing. With Draft 2, the meal is ready but the menu could still be refined before the big banquet. Let’s see what our visiting judges think. (If you watch The Great British Menu, this metaphor will make a lot more sense to you.)
Criminally Good
A Spy Like Me was a finalist for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2024, the first Bond novel to be nominated for a literary prize. The gong ultimately went to Chris Brookmyre for The Cracked Mirror but it remained a sterling night in Stirling as I had the chance to meet my fellow finalists, the grandees of Scottish crime writing, including Queen of Crime herself Val McDermid.
Get Your Copy of A Spy Like Me
After the prize giving, there was a bagpipe procession through the city, because, Scotland. These events can be a little awkward: you clutch your wine too long and end up holding a warm glass as you wall-flower in a crowded room of strangers. But the best bits are the serendipitous moments. I was reunited with Stig Abel over dinner, who was the first person to ever interview me on radio – for Front Row in 2018 with my first novel Testament – and it was lovely to thank him for a special moment and catch up on everything that’s happened since. And, best of all, I met Richard Armitage. To find out if I managed to get out a coherent sentence, become a paying subscriber now and read on!
girl with the golden pen is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
From Kim, With Love x…
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