Some books are sleepers. Michael Morpurgo told me that years ago (if you’re not familiar with Michael’s work take a minute and google him). It’s not that I put any less effort into what I call my sleeper books. They take as much effort as any other novel; some come together relatively quickly and others take a long time to jell. But sleeper books start out quiet. They don’t generally make a splash out of the gate; in fact, they might never make a splash. That doesn’t reflect on their quality. They’re good books but quieter ones, often modestly reviewed, rarely gathering much attention or getting nominated for awards.

Those sleeper books, however, have staying power. And Hannah’s Touch is a good example. Hannah’s Touch was first published in 2009. It received moderately good reviews but no real fanfare. A year or two after its first release, it was translated into German, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian. Then an audio version became available. Today it continues to sell, and well enough that the publisher just did another print run.

Thank you Orca Book Publishers. And thank you readers for keeping Hannah’s Touch out there in the world.