We did it! I am now back in the building site home after a whirligig week releasing Hurricane Room into the world.
More thank yous than an Oscar speech
Thank you so much to all of you who pre-ordered from Portobello Books: walking into their subscriptions room to see an entire wall of books was such a brilliant start to proceedings it actually made me stop and exclaim, ‘Wow!’ Of course Pat was on hand to help me get through the signings. Thanks to all those Stateside and elsewhere who joined that evening for the online Thriller Mavens launch!
Thank you to everyone who came out the next night for the Edinburgh book launch, especially those Bond super fans who travelled from afar, it was really special to see so many familiar faces. Chaired by fabulous Sara Sheridan, the launch was held at the Royal Scots’ Club, bedecked in Union Jacks and chandeliers, very Skyfall. And Bournemouth dropped points to Man City, meaning by the time I got off the stage Arsenal had won the league. EUPHORIA. Thanks Mikel!
The next morning I was dragged reluctantly from bed to board the train to London, which ground to a halt halfway down the country. Stress levels rising as the delay ticked to one hundred minutes, I began to think Charlie Higson was going to have to launch Hurricane Room without me at Waterstones Piccadilly. But we made it with five minutes to spare and thanks to my mum speedily steaming my dress, neither my zen nor my frock were noticeably disturbed. Thanks mum for all your mum superpowers, including reading drafts in twenty-four hours.
Waterstones Piccadilly is Europe’s biggest bookshop with eight miles of shelves and six floors. It’s Bookshop Mecca and I’ve never had an event there, so I was both excited and nervous – what if no one came? You can imagine my delight then when I followed Charlie on stage to discover we’d sold out – thank you to everyone who packed out the launch!
Over the past four years Charlie has become my favourite person with whom to share a stage. This was no exception. I am so grateful to Charlie for the care with which he read Hurricane Room, his thoughtful questions and the joy and laughter he brought to the launch. He made the evening truly special, as did all of you – we even sold out of books!
It was so wonderful to see more familiar faces in the signing queue, thank you for your kindness, the James Bond socks, the Fleming first editions!
Waterstones Piccadilly launch
We celebrated at Brasserie Zedel on Sherwood Street, naturally; thank you to friends and family from as far away as California for coming on this adventure with me!
Finally, publication day, and we marked it with a book signing at Goldsboro – thank you for pre-ordering signed editions from this gorgeous shop! Even if their signing chair is very tall and proved a challenge to climb at eight months pregnant…
Goldsboro Books signing
Thanks as well to those who ordered signed editions from the Flemings!
Thanks so much to the Fleming Estate, my agent and my publishers for making my dreams come true.
It was special to be in London for a few days, revisit my childhood neighbourhood, chant ‘ARSENAL!’ with taxi drivers, celebrate with Nick and my mum. Then we hopped a(nother delayed) train to Bath with our American friend Kate, where we all once lived, and visited old pals at Mr B’s Bookshop, where I signed a few more books! That’s possibly why I now seem to have developed carpal tunnel syndrome as my third trimester weird pregnancy side-effect…
Then it was time to travel to Hay Festival, otherwise known as heaven on earth, which draws over 100,000 people every year to this tiny book town on the border of Wales and England. Thanks toAnn Hill, the first female Master of the Vinters, and her husband Keith, we were staying at Clifford Castle, poised over the River Wye straddling the two nations.
That’s when the heatwave struck and I spent much of the festival elevating my legs and trying not to go into labour. Thanks to all the festival staff and volunteers who provided ice water, cushions and fans. I was reassured to learn a midwife works in the bookshop, so that’s all good then…
Thanks so much to the organisers for the fabulous food, artist party, serendipitous green room reunions and all the cake! So. Much. Cake.
I was delighted to start the week by chairing Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita about their book Convent Wisdom, a fascinating account of the radical lives of sixteenth century nuns. You know when you meet people you’d be best friends with if only you lived in Madrid and studied nuns?
It was a treat to interview Ardal O’Hanlan (Father Dougal/My Hero himself, who was so lovely, humble and funny) and Liz Nugent (sharp, wicked and generous) about their new crime books. It turned out both had sheep smuggling in their pasts.
Thank you to David and Antony Lowbridge-Ellis for joining us despite David having to peel himself off Hadrian’s Wall after a brutal charity trek. The best thing about this Bond journey is the friends made on the way and it was so special to share this time together. We recorded a spoiler-alert podcast in the sweltering media centre –if you’ve finished Hurricane Room, check it out here! Thank you both for all your kindness and time.
Make Hay While the Sun Shines
Then it was time for my last Hurricane Room event (pre-baby, anyway). I’m so grateful to Ava Glass for chairing me and Vas Khan so beautifully, it was a glorious way to cap off the week, and so grateful to all of you for making it! The signing queue went all the way out the tent, amazing.
Hay Roses
What made it even more special was receiving a Hay Rose made by my sister Rosie on stage – thank you Rosie for always being there to cheer me on and for being my constant creative companion!
I felt full of emotion on stage, saying goodbye to this trilogy, thinking about everything that’s happened in our lives since I was commissioned: we got married, moved city and country, bought a house, adopted Pat, we lost my mother-in-law, my grandmother and my father, we lost a baby, and now I’m a few weeks away from giving birth. I came off stage and put my arms around Nick – thank you for being with me every step of the way, up and down.I couldn’t do it without you, and wouldn’t want to.
James Bond, Johanna Harwood, Joseph Dryden and Moneypenny have been with me every step too. It’s sad to say goodbye but also elating, a sense of completion and victory. As we collapsed into deck chairs and ate ice cream while the sun set, I crowed with happiness.
The next morning, Nick, David, Antony and I all jumped in the River Wye and swam to Wales in the early morning sun. As book launches go, it doesn’t get more magical than that. Thank you.
The reviews are in…
… and I’m relieved to say they’re good: Hurricane Room was chosen as a top thriller of the month by The Times and The Financial Times!
Sherwood rounds off her trilogy in assured fashion with a finale that’s dominated by its mix of love story and mole hunt, but is also stuffed with fight scenes, psychological case studies and geopolitical manoeuvrings.
– The Times
Sherwood once again writes with confidence. The taut story moves at warp speed as Bond and his colleague Johanna Harwood, 003, flee across Russia.
– Financial Times
Hurricane Room is… an absolute stunner…. A number of writers have worked in the Bond universe, but readers should rank Sherwood near (or perhaps at) the top of the list: her novels feature superb writing, brilliantly conceived stories, and a Bond unlike any Bond we’ve seen before. A magnificent conclusion to a wonderful trilogy.
– Booklist
The last word
Charlie and I talked about the many different interpretations of Bond on page and screen and he asked which one was right – I answered, ‘Mine, obviously.’ I was grateful to Crime Reads for the opportunity to write about how I constructed my version of Bond – you can read the essay here.
girl with the golden pen is a reader-supported publication. It was amazing to meet some of you in the signing queues! Paying subscribers can read on for a pre-baby update. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
From Kim, With Love x
I will miss her cheerful personality when it comes to Bond. We are lucky to have her.
Comments
That's great. Congratulations to her. She was overdue some good news.
https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/james-bond-hurricane-room-excerpt
Hurricane Room First Chapter. It's all about James Bond himself.
I got my copy of Hurricane Room today! It'll be awhile until I read it, though.
Kim’s (possible) last Bond letter.
Mission Accomplished
Hurricane Room publication week
Kim Sherwood
Jun 01, 2026
Dear Reader,
We did it! I am now back
in the building sitehome after a whirligig week releasing Hurricane Room into the world.More thank yous than an Oscar speech
Thank you so much to all of you who pre-ordered from Portobello Books: walking into their subscriptions room to see an entire wall of books was such a brilliant start to proceedings it actually made me stop and exclaim, ‘Wow!’ Of course Pat was on hand to help me get through the signings. Thanks to all those Stateside and elsewhere who joined that evening for the online Thriller Mavens launch!
Watch the launch conversation here
Thank you to everyone who came out the next night for the Edinburgh book launch, especially those Bond super fans who travelled from afar, it was really special to see so many familiar faces. Chaired by fabulous Sara Sheridan, the launch was held at the Royal Scots’ Club, bedecked in Union Jacks and chandeliers, very Skyfall. And Bournemouth dropped points to Man City, meaning by the time I got off the stage Arsenal had won the league. EUPHORIA. Thanks Mikel!
The next morning I was dragged reluctantly from bed to board the train to London, which ground to a halt halfway down the country. Stress levels rising as the delay ticked to one hundred minutes, I began to think Charlie Higson was going to have to launch Hurricane Room without me at Waterstones Piccadilly. But we made it with five minutes to spare and thanks to my mum speedily steaming my dress, neither my zen nor my frock were noticeably disturbed. Thanks mum for all your mum superpowers, including reading drafts in twenty-four hours.
Waterstones Piccadilly is Europe’s biggest bookshop with eight miles of shelves and six floors. It’s Bookshop Mecca and I’ve never had an event there, so I was both excited and nervous – what if no one came? You can imagine my delight then when I followed Charlie on stage to discover we’d sold out – thank you to everyone who packed out the launch!
Over the past four years Charlie has become my favourite person with whom to share a stage. This was no exception. I am so grateful to Charlie for the care with which he read Hurricane Room, his thoughtful questions and the joy and laughter he brought to the launch. He made the evening truly special, as did all of you – we even sold out of books!
Get your copy
It was so wonderful to see more familiar faces in the signing queue, thank you for your kindness, the James Bond socks, the Fleming first editions!
Waterstones Piccadilly launch
We celebrated at Brasserie Zedel on Sherwood Street, naturally; thank you to friends and family from as far away as California for coming on this adventure with me!
Finally, publication day, and we marked it with a book signing at Goldsboro – thank you for pre-ordering signed editions from this gorgeous shop! Even if their signing chair is very tall and proved a challenge to climb at eight months pregnant…
Goldsboro Books signing
Thanks as well to those who ordered signed editions from the Flemings!
Thanks so much to the Fleming Estate, my agent and my publishers for making my dreams come true.
It was special to be in London for a few days, revisit my childhood neighbourhood, chant ‘ARSENAL!’ with taxi drivers, celebrate with Nick and my mum. Then we hopped a(nother delayed) train to Bath with our American friend Kate, where we all once lived, and visited old pals at Mr B’s Bookshop, where I signed a few more books! That’s possibly why I now seem to have developed carpal tunnel syndrome as my third trimester weird pregnancy side-effect…
Then it was time to travel to Hay Festival, otherwise known as heaven on earth, which draws over 100,000 people every year to this tiny book town on the border of Wales and England. Thanks to Ann Hill, the first female Master of the Vinters, and her husband Keith, we were staying at Clifford Castle, poised over the River Wye straddling the two nations.
That’s when the heatwave struck and I spent much of the festival elevating my legs and trying not to go into labour. Thanks to all the festival staff and volunteers who provided ice water, cushions and fans. I was reassured to learn a midwife works in the bookshop, so that’s all good then…
Thanks so much to the organisers for the fabulous food, artist party, serendipitous green room reunions and all the cake! So. Much. Cake.
I was delighted to start the week by chairing Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita about their book Convent Wisdom, a fascinating account of the radical lives of sixteenth century nuns. You know when you meet people you’d be best friends with if only you lived in Madrid and studied nuns?
It was a treat to interview Ardal O’Hanlan (Father Dougal/My Hero himself, who was so lovely, humble and funny) and Liz Nugent (sharp, wicked and generous) about their new crime books. It turned out both had sheep smuggling in their pasts.
Thank you to David and Antony Lowbridge-Ellis for joining us despite David having to peel himself off Hadrian’s Wall after a brutal charity trek. The best thing about this Bond journey is the friends made on the way and it was so special to share this time together. We recorded a spoiler-alert podcast in the sweltering media centre –if you’ve finished Hurricane Room, check it out here! Thank you both for all your kindness and time.
Make Hay While the Sun Shines
Then it was time for my last Hurricane Room event (pre-baby, anyway). I’m so grateful to Ava Glass for chairing me and Vas Khan so beautifully, it was a glorious way to cap off the week, and so grateful to all of you for making it! The signing queue went all the way out the tent, amazing.
Hay Roses
What made it even more special was receiving a Hay Rose made by my sister Rosie on stage – thank you Rosie for always being there to cheer me on and for being my constant creative companion!
I felt full of emotion on stage, saying goodbye to this trilogy, thinking about everything that’s happened in our lives since I was commissioned: we got married, moved city and country, bought a house, adopted Pat, we lost my mother-in-law, my grandmother and my father, we lost a baby, and now I’m a few weeks away from giving birth. I came off stage and put my arms around Nick – thank you for being with me every step of the way, up and down. I couldn’t do it without you, and wouldn’t want to.
James Bond, Johanna Harwood, Joseph Dryden and Moneypenny have been with me every step too. It’s sad to say goodbye but also elating, a sense of completion and victory. As we collapsed into deck chairs and ate ice cream while the sun set, I crowed with happiness.
The next morning, Nick, David, Antony and I all jumped in the River Wye and swam to Wales in the early morning sun. As book launches go, it doesn’t get more magical than that. Thank you.
The reviews are in…
… and I’m relieved to say they’re good: Hurricane Room was chosen as a top thriller of the month by The Times and The Financial Times!
Get your copy
Sherwood rounds off her trilogy in assured fashion with a finale that’s dominated by its mix of love story and mole hunt, but is also stuffed with fight scenes, psychological case studies and geopolitical manoeuvrings.
– The Times
Sherwood once again writes with confidence. The taut story moves at warp speed as Bond and his colleague Johanna Harwood, 003, flee across Russia.
– Financial Times
Hurricane Room is… an absolute stunner…. A number of writers have worked in the Bond universe, but readers should rank Sherwood near (or perhaps at) the top of the list: her novels feature superb writing, brilliantly conceived stories, and a Bond unlike any Bond we’ve seen before. A magnificent conclusion to a wonderful trilogy.
– Booklist
The last word
Charlie and I talked about the many different interpretations of Bond on page and screen and he asked which one was right – I answered, ‘Mine, obviously.’ I was grateful to Crime Reads for the opportunity to write about how I constructed my version of Bond – you can read the essay here.
girl with the golden pen is a reader-supported publication. It was amazing to meet some of you in the signing queues! Paying subscribers can read on for a pre-baby update. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
From Kim, With Love x
I will miss her cheerful personality when it comes to Bond. We are lucky to have her.
A great contribution to the world of 007.
Wishing her the very best for the future.
An excellent writer.