The official publication of Foul and Fair on July 28th is still a couple of months away, but thanks to the skilful production management of safe-hands Dan at The Book Guild, the first edition run has already been printed and delivered to their warehouse, as you can see from my lovely box of advance copies, pictured above. It’s available for the public - you! - to buy online now, either directly from the Book Guild or via your usual online options, but it’s also available for bookshops to order – please try to support your local bookshops if you possibly can.

I’ve also got my first endorsement quote from an early reader – head to my Foul and Fair page to see what grassroots coaching guru Martin Dighton (he'll hate that I'm calling him that!) made of it. 

To celebrate the early availability of the book and to launch it into the world, I’ve planned a book tour with a difference: throughout the month of June I will be taking copies of the book to sell at several grassroots football tournaments, bringing Foul and Fair to its natural environment and – hopefully – getting it into the hands of some of its natural readers. Now, I know from my own time as a grassroots coach that people don’t go to football tournaments expecting to buy a book, so I’m not entirely sure what to expect in terms of sales (but fingers crossed that I sell a few). If the worst comes to the worst, at least there will be plenty of football for me to watch.

Here's where I can be found over the next few weeks:

1st-2nd June: Highcliffe Hawks YFC Tournament

8th-9th June: Grange Athletic YFC Tournament

22nd-23rd June: Bransgore YFC Tournament

29th-30th June: Lymington Town Sprites YFC Tournament

If you’re at any of those, please find me and say hello.

This month has also seen me finally join Instagram as @stevecouchauthor, and my next reel is going to feature the unboxing of my advance copies of Foul and Fair, accompanied by some highly appropriate music from one of my favourite singers. Why not give me a follow? You know you want to.