I love a story with a happy ending, especially when it's an unexpected happy ending -- and to my surprise, THIS is one of those stories!!

Last month I was idly checking the comments on Goodreads for Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds (the first book of the series), to see if anyone had commented about it recently. To my shock, I saw a post from translator in IRAN who said they had translated the book and that it had been released there -- which was the first I had heard of it!!

Sadly, Iranian pirate copies of my books are nothing new. Publishers in Iran have been stealing my work since Cirque Du Freak first came out, and paying me nothing for them while they've sold in very high numbers there. It's the way the system works there, and loads of other authors have suffered the same fate as me. I tried over the years to get publishers to come to the negotiation table to agree a deal, partly so that I could get some of the money that they were making, but also so that I could officially acknowledge the publications and lend them my backing. (I have lots of fans in Iran, completely unaware that they've been reading stolen works, and not sure why I never mention the Iranian copies on any of my online channels.) But they refused to have anything to do with a legitimate deal, all the while telling readers in Iran that they DID have the rights to translate and publish. Thieves AND liars!!!

My efforts did eventually pay off, when a publisher agreed to buy the first two books in my Zom-B series (although they then proceeded, as far as I'm aware, to publish the rest of the series behind my back, without paying for the other ten!), but it seemed to be an isolated incident, and I breathed a heavy sigh when I saw that the Archie books were now being stolen from me too.

Since it wasn't the translator's fault, I replied to their Goodreads post, saying I was disappointed, but didn't hold it against them, and I hoped they'd been paid well for the job. (I wasn't being sarcastic.) To my surprise, they responded, told me the publishing industry in Iran is in crisis, and that the book would have a very small print run. They said they were going to report my comment to the publisher and ask them to get in touch with me, to try and agree a deal that would make the work an official publication. I thanked them, but figured that would be the end of the matter.

But it wasn't! The publisher DID get in touch, and we HAVE managed to agree a retroactive deal, giving them the rights to officially release the first three books in the series. Which means I'm here today to tell you that Book 1 is already on sale and it has my full blessing and support!! I've attached a few pictures of the cover, which I must say looks absolutely splendid!

I'm not sure how many stores in Iran are physically stocking the book, but if you can't find it on the shelves of your local shop, you can order a copy online from the publisher, at a 20% discount of the cover price. AND the publisher has also set up a special additional 10% discount until the end of July for fans who use the following code when buying the book: darren

This is the link to where you can order the book on their website: https://vidapub.com/product/archibald-book-1/

Don't you just LOVE a happy ending?!?