As an author, I love meeting people, especially if they want to buy my books and want me to sign them.
\n\n
Book signings
\nMind you a signing event can be challenging. My first had a steady queue for 2 hours and I sold loads of books. The second one wasn't as successful with only two books sold! Mind you it was Ladies final day at Wimbledon. Not a good choice. After that I tended to pick and choose ... you soon learn!
\n\n
Talks
\nLike many authors, I like to talk about what I do, whether that's as an author, or publisher.
\nI give talks in schools, colleges, universities and libraries as far afield as Swansea to the West and Horsham in the East. The talks are tailored to whatever year group I'm talking to and whatever the organisers require.
\nSubjects I cover are :-
\n1. How to write a book
\n2. The life of an author
\n3. How to publish a book
\n4. The challenges of an author and publisher in the digital age.
\n5. Paperbacks, Kindle and Audio books. The future in a digital age..
\nExpenses and a coffee are always welcome!
\nI even gave a talk to the Royal National Institute of the Blind about the importance of audio books.
\n\n
Workshops
\nI give workshop sessions to schools, usually years 5,6,7 and 8 ... though occasionally years 9 and 10.
\nThe content contains :-
\n1. The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How questions that all fiction books should answer.
\n2. I use my first book Leap of Faith to illustrate each of these points.
\n3. If appropriate I provide prop clothes to involve the audience
\n4. Still using the W,W,W,W,W and H rules I ask the students to give me ideas for each of the elements
\n5. Using their input I then get them to help me build a short story.
\nThen .....
\n6. The final element is for me and the students seperately to write up the short story, usually over the next 2 to 3 weeks, and for us to meet again and read out the resulting work.
\n\n
My books
\nMy books are aimed at Young Adults of all ages! Although they are fantasy adventures, they all have a good measure of humour in them and are enjoyed by people of all ages above 8.
\n\n
Subject matter
\nAs members of a temporal detective agency, my characters have travelled to Ancient Rome in the time of the emperor Domitian, Cleopatra's Egypt, Shapespeare's London in 1605, South Wales in the year 1734, Valley Forge in the American War of Independence and Springfield, also in America (nothing to do with the Simpsons) where they saved the future President Lincoln.
\nHistory therefore is a mainstay of my stories and each adventure has been well researched to maintain the integity of the books.
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Book 1\r\nDiscover what happened after Camelot!\r\nWhen King Arthur and the lovely Merlin (in reality a young, ambitious and good looking woman), the two cousins, Tertia and Unita, join forces to ceate the detctive agency in Merlin's old wizard's cave.\r\nTheir first adventure takes them to the Gower Peninsular in South Wales, where they battle shipwreckers and smugglers, most of whom are led by the evil Black Knight from Camelot. They are helped by an old friend Sir Gawain and his son Bryn. They also discover that the Leap of Faith is a sheer cliff where those that displease the Black Knight are thrown into the sea.","isbn":"9780993518300","cleanIsbn":"9780993518300","asin":null,"cleanAsin":"","authorId":3683,"listOrder":1,"bookTypeId":20,"bookType":{"text":"Fiction for young-adults","listOrder":10,"id":20,"createdOn":null,"createdOnDisplay":"","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"","createdBy":null,"modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]},"bookTypeDisplay":"Fiction for young-adults","image":"/images/books/28-09-18-16-5746-book-.jpg","imageDisplay":"/images/books/28-09-18-16-5746-book-.jpg","imageOnExternalSite":false,"imageWithoutFilePath":"28-09-18-16-5746-book-.jpg","authorsLink":"https://www.rhardie.com/my-books","quantityAvailable":0.00,"allowDecimalQuantityAvailable":false,"price":0.00,"priceDisplay":"£0.00","retailPrice":0.00,"retailPriceDisplay":"£0.00","showRetailPrice":false,"weight":0.00,"taxable":false,"ableToBuy":false,"redirectUrl":"https://www.rhardie.com/my-books","publisher":null,"publishedYear":0,"pages":0,"language":null,"coAuthors":null,"id":5746,"createdOn":null,"createdOnDisplay":"","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"","createdBy":null,"modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]},{"title":"Trouble With Swords","titleAsUrl":"trouble-with-swords","blurb":"When Arthur’s sword Excalibur is stolen the Temporal Detective Agency is called in to protect not only Arthur and Merlin, but to stop a very clever and cruel person from destroying Camelot itself. To make things worse, this time the TDA has no idea who they’re fighting.\r\nMarlene’s plan takes Tertia and Unita to Rome, Egypt and even to a meeting with Shakespeare, before confronting their enemy in the Coliseum.\r\nBut first, if the Agency is to succeed, Arthur must die.... and Merlin and her King have to agree. If they don’t, Camelot will be doomed and History itself could be changed.\r\nThat’s the trouble with swords!","isbn":"9780993518317","cleanIsbn":"9780993518317","asin":null,"cleanAsin":"","authorId":3683,"listOrder":2,"bookTypeId":20,"bookType":{"text":"Fiction for young-adults","listOrder":10,"id":20,"createdOn":null,"createdOnDisplay":"","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"","createdBy":null,"modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]},"bookTypeDisplay":"Fiction for young-adults","image":"/images/books/28-09-17-21-5747-book-.jpg","imageDisplay":"/images/books/28-09-17-21-5747-book-.jpg","imageOnExternalSite":false,"imageWithoutFilePath":"28-09-17-21-5747-book-.jpg","authorsLink":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trouble-Swords-Temporal-Detective-Agency/dp/0993518311/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Vm3fJ1","quantityAvailable":0.00,"allowDecimalQuantityAvailable":false,"price":0.00,"priceDisplay":"£0.00","retailPrice":0.00,"retailPriceDisplay":"£0.00","showRetailPrice":false,"weight":0.00,"taxable":false,"ableToBuy":false,"redirectUrl":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trouble-Swords-Temporal-Detective-Agency/dp/0993518311/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Vm3fJ1","publisher":null,"publishedYear":0,"pages":0,"language":null,"coAuthors":null,"id":5747,"createdOn":"2024-12-28T21:08:54.7567301","createdOnDisplay":"Saturday, 28 Dec 2024","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"28 Dec 2024 21:08","createdBy":"hardie01uk@yahoo.co.uk","modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]},{"title":"Remember Remember","titleAsUrl":"remember-remember","blurb":"Having rescued Arthur in Ancient Rome, the Temporal Detective Agency gets together in Remember Remember for their most dangerous adventure yet.\r\nTertia, Unita, and their boyfriends’ holiday plans are ruined by the mysterious Mr North, from the Federal Bureau of Infinity, asking them to help stop two American presidents being kidnapped for ransom. However things are not as they seem. The Agency starts on a time travelling adventure that takes them to 19th century America and to the American War of Independence, as well as to 17th century London where they get mixed up in one of the most famous conspiracy plots of all time.. On the way, they get help from people such as H G Wells, Thomas Edison, the Three Witches from Macbeth, General Custer and amazingly Al Capone. Once again Tertia tells the story and together with Unita her cousin, she takes the Agency into a time travelling rollercoaster minefield of an adventure that nearly ends in a Big Bang ... twice!\r\n","isbn":"9781916062696","cleanIsbn":"9781916062696","asin":null,"cleanAsin":"","authorId":3683,"listOrder":3,"bookTypeId":20,"bookType":{"text":"Fiction for young-adults","listOrder":10,"id":20,"createdOn":null,"createdOnDisplay":"","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"","createdBy":null,"modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]},"bookTypeDisplay":"Fiction for young-adults","image":"/images/books/28-09-16-17-5748-book-.jpg","imageDisplay":"/images/books/28-09-16-17-5748-book-.jpg","imageOnExternalSite":false,"imageWithoutFilePath":"28-09-16-17-5748-book-.jpg","authorsLink":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/Remember-Temporal-Detective-Agency-Novel/dp/1916062695/ref=sr_1_2?crid=TIQOYLQQ61JT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Vm3fJ1M8BZVrVXiEZ6X__kCW","quantityAvailable":0.00,"allowDecimalQuantityAvailable":false,"price":0.00,"priceDisplay":"£0.00","retailPrice":0.00,"retailPriceDisplay":"£0.00","showRetailPrice":false,"weight":0.00,"taxable":false,"ableToBuy":false,"redirectUrl":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/Remember-Temporal-Detective-Agency-Novel/dp/1916062695/ref=sr_1_2?crid=TIQOYLQQ61JT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Vm3fJ1M8BZVrVXiEZ6X__kCW","publisher":null,"publishedYear":0,"pages":0,"language":null,"coAuthors":null,"id":5748,"createdOn":"2024-12-28T21:14:26.6016825","createdOnDisplay":"Saturday, 28 Dec 2024","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"28 Dec 2024 21:14","createdBy":"hardie01uk@yahoo.co.uk","modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]},{"title":"Board in the City","titleAsUrl":"board-in-the-city","blurb":"An anthology of short stories and poems with all revenue going to the Board in the City charity","isbn":"9781739958176","cleanIsbn":"9781739958176","asin":null,"cleanAsin":"","authorId":3683,"listOrder":4,"bookTypeId":15,"bookType":{"text":"Anthologies","listOrder":3,"id":15,"createdOn":"2018-02-18T16:51:51.747942","createdOnDisplay":"Sunday, 18 Feb 2018","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"18 Feb 2018 16:51","createdBy":"Seed Method","modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]},"bookTypeDisplay":"Anthologies","image":"/images/books/12-01-57-48-6071-book-.png","imageDisplay":"/images/books/12-01-57-48-6071-book-.png","imageOnExternalSite":false,"imageWithoutFilePath":"12-01-57-48-6071-book-.png","authorsLink":"https://www.rhardie.com/my-books","quantityAvailable":0.00,"allowDecimalQuantityAvailable":false,"price":0.00,"priceDisplay":"£0.00","retailPrice":0.00,"retailPriceDisplay":"£0.00","showRetailPrice":false,"weight":0.00,"taxable":false,"ableToBuy":false,"redirectUrl":"https://www.rhardie.com/my-books","publisher":null,"publishedYear":0,"pages":0,"language":null,"coAuthors":null,"id":6071,"createdOn":"2026-03-12T13:53:37.6954776","createdOnDisplay":"Thursday, 12 Mar 2026","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"12 Mar 2026 13:53","createdBy":"hardie01uk@yahoo.co.uk","modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]}],"bookTypesDisplay":"Anthologies, Fiction for young-adults","organisations":[{"text":"Society of Authors","listOrder":0,"authorId":3683,"organisationUrl":null,"id":2001,"createdOn":null,"createdOnDisplay":"","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"","createdBy":null,"modifiedOn":null,"modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]}],"engagements":[{"authorId":3683,"date":"2026-03-05T00:00:00","fullName":"Natalie 'Bagheera' Jeffery","fullNameAndDate":"Natalie 'Bagheera' Jeffery : Thursday, 05 Mar 2026","fullNameAndOrganisation":"Natalie 'Bagheera' Jeffery (4th Eastleigh Cubs)","firstNameAndOrganisation":"Natalie (4th Eastleigh Cubs)","organisation":"4th Eastleigh Cubs","organisationOrNameIfNull":"4th Eastleigh Cubs","email":"natalie@4theastleigh.co.uk","address":"6 Kestrel Road","postcode":"SO50 9LN","fullAddress":"SO50 9LN","fullAddressOrEmailIfPresent":"natalie@4theastleigh.co.uk","phone":"07870927826","contactDetails":"e: natalie@4theastleigh.co.uk p: 07870927826","engagementClientType":null,"engagementType":null,"curriculum":{"code":"KS2","text":"Age 7 to 11","codeInBracketsIfNotNullAndNotEqualToText":"(KS2)","textAndCode":"Age 7 to 11 (KS2)","listOrder":3,"id":3,"createdOn":"2018-02-18T17:16:22.925584","createdOnDisplay":"Sunday, 18 Feb 2018","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"18 Feb 2018 17:16","createdBy":"Seed Method","modifiedOn":"2018-04-08T08:19:51.737931","modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"08 Apr 2018 08:19","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]},"message":"Hello, our Cubs session runs each Thursday from 6.30-8pm at the Nightingale Annexe of the Pavilion on the Park, 1 Kingfisher Road, Eastleigh SO50 9LH. I will be working with the Cubs so they cna acheive the Book Reader badge but would love a visit from an author to kick the momentum off. We haven't done the programme for the Spring 2026 term so any date to suit you would be wonderful if World Book Day itself isn't free for you as I realise their local schools might well do something similar. So perhaps around Feb half term to get them reading your book over the half term! \r\nWe would of course love to know your appearance fee as this will help to decide if we organise the event to invite parents to pre-order a signed book Ns we may subside some of the cost from our section budget to encourage them to take up the offer of purchasing your book. \r\nLook forward to hearing from you.","enquiryOnly":false,"engagementConfirmedDisplay":"confirmed","oppositeEngagementConfirmedDisplay":"unconfirmed","ipAddress":"145.40.158.204","responseDateTime":"2025-10-21T19:04:57.4549823","feedback":"Amazing! It's been enlightening and wonderful to have Richard join our Cub pack twice. First visit he inspired the Cubs with his story characters and explained how he wrote and came up with ideas. The pack then gave Richard some key words and a month later Richard returned with a short story to read to the Cubs on World Book Day! We dressed up and acted out some scenes and all the Cubs went home with a purchased book from Richard's Trilogy The Temporal Detectives.\r\nIt was a pleasure and we are so grateful as it's also inspired some of the Cubs to continue and compete their Book Reader Activity Badge.\r\nThank you for this service as we couldn't have been introduced to Richard otherwise.","feedbackFromClientOn":"2026-03-11T15:26:01.3401847","bookingConfirmationFromClientOn":"2025-10-28T08:33:24.6994191","showFeedbackOnWebsite":true,"showFeedbackOnAuthorsProfile":true,"organisationUrl":null,"hideFromAuthor":false,"id":10659,"createdOn":"2025-10-21T19:04:44.7587721","createdOnDisplay":"Tuesday, 21 Oct 2025","createdOnAndTimeDisplay":"21 Oct 2025 19:04","createdBy":"62378138-c745-4f6c-af79-61d42ae967c6","modifiedOn":"2025-10-21T10:45:25.0045839","modifiedOnAndTimeDisplay":"21 Oct 2025 10:45","modifiedBy":null,"brokenRules":[]}],"authorInShortList":false,"booksIntroduction":"I have written a number of books, though most recently the three books in the Temporal Detective Agency series. The fourth will be published in 2026, and a fifth is in my head!\r\nAs the MD of a publishing company (Authors Reach Ltd) I have also published over 80 books by other authors, including an anthology of short stories from which all royalties go to a charitable drop-in cafe called Board in the City.\r\nAll books published by Authors Reach Ltd are distributed through Gardners Books and are therefore available in bookshops as well as on Amazon.\r\nMy own books are available in paperback and eBook format, while the first two are also available on Audible.","twitterName":null,"facebookName":null,"instagramName":null,"blueskyName":null,"amazonName":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=richard+hardie&crid=RKNP80J1MTDJ&sprefix=richard+hardie%2Caps%2C544&ref=nb_sb_noss_1","waterstonesName":"https://www.waterstones.com/books/search/term/richard+hardie","publicEmail":"hardie01uk@yahoo.co.uk","publicPhone":"07740 509064","media":[],"calendarEvents":[],"ourInterviewUrl":null,"showBooksAsList":false,"bookedForWorldBookDay":false,"inactive":false}