THYME RUNING OUT - Now Available!

"THYME RUNNING OUT" (The Tartan of Thyme, Part 2) has now been officially released - so for all those who couldn't make it to the Cotswold Booklaunch, it is now at last available throughout the UK. Please head into your local book shops and get them to order your copy ... and while you're at it, you might suggest they order a few of the new JUSTIN THYME paperbacks for stock!

If you'd like to find out more about TRO - I've just discovered an excellent review of it over at Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books Blog - (scroll down to September 15th). Thank you, Mr R - I'm glad you enjoyed revisiting Thyme Castle after the long wait!

Book Collectors' Database

News for book collectors ...
The JUSTIN THYME web site now was a Book Collectors' Database. This will ensure collectors get accurate information about the Tatan of Thyme books ... editions, print runs, dates, signatures, doodles and bookplates ... as well as full details of promotional items available for both the Inside Pocket imprints of JT and TRO, and the original Interrobang JT.
To access the database simply enter "book collector" at the password page, or click here.

TRO - The Bookplated 100

As with the original edition of JUSTIN THYME, the first 100 copies of THYME RUNNING OUT have now been bookplated and numbered.

The bookplate designs are new, but, like the previous bookplated 100, are all double-signed by Panama Oxridge and one of the author's anagram pseudonyms. These are also fingerprinted and stamped with a letter (all 100 spelling out a mystery message).

There are nine different bookplate designs, each limited to a prime number (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19 and 23 - totalling 100). So, for example, the five bookplated copies featuring Eliza the Gorilla are obviously rarer than the twenty-three showing Nessie.

Each book comes with a matching double-signed bookmark and postcard.

The #1 copy has all 100 anagram signatures, plus a photo of "Panama Oxridge" concealing the author's real name and signature hidden beneath.

If you're interested in owning one of these unique copies, they are available from Anderida Books - although it appears they're selling out quite quickly.

More news for book collectors coming later this week ...

TRO BOOKLAUNCH REPORT

On Friday morning, still half-asleep, I found myself waiting at the village station, ready to start my two-day TRO adventure. I'm not overly fond of travelling through the single dimension of space, (spatiotemporal transport is more my style) - and, to make matters worse, my reserved seat just happened to be next to some abandoned luggage, creating a delay while "security" examined and removed it! Otherwise, the journey went smoothly, and Tony (from the Cotswold Bookstore) was waiting to collect me.

I arrived at the shop about 3.30 pm. After chatting with Nina and David, who'd been finalising the preparations, I went up to the stockroom and began working my way through the pre-ordered copies needing to be mailed out a.s.a.p. I signed almost continuously until 8.30 in the evening, then stopped for a well-earned cup of tea!

On Saturday morning, the TRO Booklaunch was due to start a 11 am - but when I arrived at 10.30 there was already a queue running the length of the shop, so I decided to get busy right away as it was rather drizzly and I didn't want anyone having to wait outside again like last year.

Signing your name a gazillion times isn't the most fun a person can have - but what makes a signing event special is meeting fans of the books. First in line was Arthur, who, like many of the people I met, I remembered from last year; determined to get the very first copy, he and his sister, Nia, had been waiting since nine o'clock! I also met Josh, (winner of the recent JT competition), so I was able to hand over his prize doodled copies in person. Another young man brought in a sheaf of notes detailing the various hidden clues he'd found ... something that always brightens my day! I wish I could've talked to him for longer.

Another thing that pleased me enormously was the amount of people who'd been loyal fans of JT since the original 2006 "Interrobang" version, some of whom had travelled long distances to get their long-awaited copies a few weeks early. I enjoyed chatting to them all, and regret being unable to spend more time with them ... but the queue didn't seem to be getting any shorter.

I said goodbye to the last customer about two o'clock, after signing for over three hours non-stop. I then dashed upstairs to sign some spare copies in case any late orders came through. By the time I finished, all of Mrs Kof's Banana & Chocolate-chip Cake had vanished, (I blame Eliza), and we all decided that the wonderful Clock-Cake was simply too nice to cut into! Once again, there wasn't enough time to chat to Nina and find out what clues she'd found ... or discuss her theories as to what will happen to the Thyme family next. (After a few years of studying JT's "hidden clues" in microscopic detail, she's now scarily good at deductions (or fluke guesses, as Tony calls them!) Maybe she's starting to see how my brain works ... or perhaps a future version of me has travelled into her past and loaned her book three!

At three o'clock, my time in the Cotswolds was over. I caught the return train "just in time" (with barely 10 seconds to spare) ... and a few hours later I was safely back in good old Drumnadrochit!

I dozed for most of Sunday ... but it was nice to think of all those people busily reading their copies of "Thyme Running Out". I hope they're all enjoying themselves!

My thanks to everyone who came to the event - and extra-special thanks to the entire team at the Cotswold Bookstore; it was a day I'll never forget!

COMPETITION THYME ... The WINNERS!

Thank you to all the book-bloggers who hosted clues, and to everyone who took part in the JUSTIN THYME competition. I was thrilled by the enormous amount of entries ... far more than I'd imagined.

The names of all those who emailed in their answers were put into my trusty panama hat and Burbage picked the winners out at random. Here's the result:

First place - Josh - winning the hardback doodled copies of JT & TRO.
Runner up - Kim - winning a signed paperback copy of JT.
Bookmark winners - Simon and Kathy.

Eliza has kindly donated both of her bookmarks too ... so I'm pleased to announce a further two bookmark winners : Aleksandra and Hannah.

I'll be emailing you later today to check your snail-mailing addresses!

COMPETITION THYME ... Time Running Out!

The "Justin Thyme" Competition closes at midnight tonight (Wednesday) so if you haven't entered already you have just a few hours left to find the clues! So, get busy ... the links you need are in the previous blog-post immediately below this one ...

COMPETITION THYME!

To celebrate the paperback release of "Justin Thyme" I'm running a special week-long competition (open to all blog-readers worldwide), with signed/doodled copies of both "JUSTIN THYME" and forthcoming sequel "THYME RUNNING OUT" as the first prize.

It's a sort of SCAVENGER HUNT! All readers have to do is visit the participating blogs, (links to them all below), note down the letters and numbers on the Justin Thyme Bookmarks, (see photo above - click to enlarge), then rearrange the letters in numerical order. This spells out a secret message, (Justin's description of himself).

Email your answer to me at panamaoxridge (at) btinternet (dot) com - (but don't put it in the comments where everyone else can see it!)

The competition will close on September 7th, when a winner, (picked at random from the correct entries) will be announced (on the 8th).
Here are the participating blogs you'll need to visit:

1) The Tartan of Thyme Blog
Great! You've found the 1st one already

Your letters/numbers are:13-J and 9 - U.

2) Bellebooks

3) A Little Sun Shy

4) Bookzone 4 Boys

5) Readaraptor

6) Floor to Ceiling Books

7) The Cotswold Bookstore

8) Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

9) Lizzy's Literary Life

10) My Life in a Scrapbook

11) The Justin Thyme Website

12) Book Angel Booktopia

13) Eliza's Banana Blog

14) Booktastic Reviews

15) Panama's Flickr Page

16) Teen Librarian

17) Above Average - Below Special

18) Ink Scratchers

19) Comacalm's Corner

20) Inside Pocket Publishing

DON'T PANIC - you have a full week to visit them all!

Here are the prize copies - they have original colour artwork added to the title page. This is a signed hardback copy of "Justin Thyme" ...
And this is the (as yet unreleased) hardback of "Thyme Running Out" ...
The winner's books will be mailed out on September 8th ... so you'll get your copy of "Thyme Running Out" ahead of absolutely ANYBODY!

I also have two of the bookmarks to give away - winners of these will be picked at random out of a) anyone who submits a competition answer, and b) any Clan Member (blog-follower) ... so click to follow the Tartan of Thyme Blog and you'll double your chances of getting a bookmark! Above all, have fun exploring blogland looking for all the clues! Why not leave comments and say "Hello" to the bloggers you visit?!

Competition Disclaimers

Competition open worldwide.
Neither the publisher nor I will be held responsible for prizes/bookmarks lost in the mail.
I reserve the right to end the competition before its original deadline without prior notice, or disqualify an entrant should I see fit.
The winning entrants will be contacted by email after the close of the competition, and will have 48 hours to reply with their postal address. Failure to do so in time will result in another winner being randomly selected.

COUNTDOWN TO "THYME RUNNING OUT"

With the release of "Thyme Running Out" now one month away (or just 10 days off if you order your signed copies from the Cotswold Bookstore Launch), this is an excellent time to finalise your theories about what happens next.

Longterm readers of "Justin Thyme" may already have recorded any clues they've found in the special notebook section at the back of the book. If not, now would be an ideal time to reread JT, because all the clues and codes you need to know what happens next are right there in book one!

If you're new to the Tartan of Thyme, and have only just ordered your paperback copy of JT, you still have plenty of time to make your deductions. Get reading ... then swap your theories with friends, discuss the various suspects ... and don't forget to keep a careful note of all your ideas at the back of "Justin Thyme". There's an abundance of clues ... why not see if you can crack them now ... and be one jump ahead of genius Justin!

JUSTIN THYME - Competition Time!

To celebrate the publication of "Justin Thyme" in paperback, there will be a special competition open to ALL blog-readers. The competition will open on September 1st (publication day), running for one week - and many regular book-bloggers will be participating by hosting clues (LETTERS and NUMBERS). To win, simply find all the letters by visiting each of the participating blogs in turn (links will be posted here at the TOT blog) and then rearrange them in numerical order!

First prize will be special hardback copies of both "Justin Thyme" and forthcoming sequel "Thyme Running Out". Each book will include original colour artwork which I've added to the title page, along with a hand-written quote from the book and, of course, the customary author's signature.

Further prizes (of signed limited edition JT bookmarks) will also be available at this blog and at other participating book-blogs throughout the week.

There will be just 40 of these signed/numbered bookmarks, each coming in a hand-decorated presentation card. Each card is stamped on the front with an hourglass design which I've edged in gold and colourised; inside, I've written the first line of the story and even added my fingerprint!Each participating blogger will be sent one of these bookmarks as a gift - along with another to offer as a "give-away" prize to their readers. All the participating bloggers need to do is to upload a photo of their bookmarks on September 1st, making sure the LETTERS and NUMBERS are clearly visible, (or I can send bloggers a photo by email if that's easier!)If you are a book-blogger and would like to take part in this unique competition, email me at panamaoxridge (at) btinternet (dot) com ... there's still just a couple of places left!