PRE-LAUNCH: MARCH – MAY 2026
- Cover reveal across all social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
- Advance review copies (ARCs) sent to book bloggers, crime fiction reviewers and key media contacts
- Goodreads listing goes live – encourage early adds and want-to-reads
- Pitch to The Irish Times, Irish Independent, RTÉ and The Irish Examiner for features and interviews
- Begin building Cormac's author profile on Instagram and TikTok – behind the scenes, writing life, Lough Derg location content
- April
- Crime fiction podcast outreach (Irish and UK)
- Bookseller preview copies to Hodges Figgis, Dubray, Kennys, Eason and independent bookshops
- Amazon pre-order campaign launches – push for early sales velocity
- Author Q&A on Mercier Press social channels
- Blog tour launches – 10 book bloggers across two weeks
- Sunday Independent and Irish Times review submissions
- Lough Derg and Dromineer tourism board outreach – local tie-in promotion
- Countdown content across all platforms – 30 days to launch
Launch Event – Hodges Figgis, Dawson Street, Dublin
- Evening launch with readings, Q&A and signing
- Invite media, booksellers, book clubs and local press
- Wine and Cheese– themed around the Midsummer Ball in the novel
- Photographer and videographer for social content
- Instagram Live or TikTok Live from the event
- Local and national press in attendance
- Summer Tour - Dromineer, Mountshannon Arts Festivals, Murder One, Spike Island
- Book Club Out-Reach
- ONGOING SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Instagram
- Weekly content: location shots from Lough Derg, behind-the-scenes writing life, reader reviews, quote cards from the novel
- Reels: cover reveal, author introduction, extract readings, festival appearances
- Stories: daily during launch week, event countdowns, reader polls
TikTok
- BookTok campaign – target Irish and UK crime fiction community
- Author videos: Cormac reading extracts, talking about the setting, the Jack Myers character
- Duet and stitch opportunities with crime fiction BookTok creators
- Target: @crimebookclub, @thebookishtype and Irish BookTok community
Facebook
- Mercier Press page: all major announcements, events, reviews
- Targeted ads to Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and Graham Norton reader groups
- Book club groups outreach – Irish Book Club, Crime Fiction Fans Ireland
Hashtag Strategy
#MurderOnLoughDerg #CormacQuinn #MercierPress #IrishCrime #CosyCrime #BookTok #IrishBooks #DebutAuthor #LoughDerg #ReadIrish #CrimeFiction
All journalist Jack Myers wants is a relaxing Irish holiday. Retreating from his demanding job as a foreign correspondent, he thinks he's found the perfect escape – the stately St Peter's Manor, perched on the edge of Lough Derg in County Tipperary, just in time for Ireland's longest heatwave.
But when a mysterious drowning occurs during the annual Midsummer Ball, Jack's instincts tell him something isn't quite right.
Asking questions politely but persistently, he uncovers intriguing whispers: a commodore who vanished a decade earlier, a tight-knit group of childhood friends harbouring old secrets, and motives as tangled as the lakeside reeds.
As an unprecedented heatwave presses down on this tranquil corner of Ireland, tensions rise, and Jack's summer escape has become a deadly puzzle. In a small village where everyone has something to hide, the truth may be the most dangerous discovery of all.
A bold new cosy crime mystery from debut author Cormac Quinn, perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and Graham Norton.
