Short Independent Stories

Bakewell Bookshop (see link left) have sent an e-mail over to say they are now stocking The Secret War – and better still, they’ve invited me to talk at the Bakewell Arts Festival in August. I’m in the process of confirming a date and I reckon the format will be a chaperoned talk followed by a Q&A and informal signing. This will coincide with (I hope) the completion of the follow-up to The Secret War, so I may even do a reading from the new book. However, in this lark things have a habit of falling through (like the “e-sheaf” thing – just in case anyone else asks about this, no I’m not sure what happened there either) – so once the talk is confirmed I’ll post a date on the blog and the website.

And as we’re on the subject of independents, the wedding in Dumfries last weekend allowed a brief encounter with another supporter of the book – the owner of Fordingbridge Bookshop (see link left also) in Hampshire. They’ve been stocking The Secret War since it was published and it was nice to finally meet up – albeit at the end of the wedding and quite briefly (I was dashing out to catch the coach back to the hotel). However, that fleeting and slightly inebriated chat will be rectified come July – I’ll be popping in on the way to Bournemouth to have a natter and sign any stock they have…

…Which leads to a slight change of tool bar. I’ve grouped The Secret War retailers under “Stocked Where?” just in case this blog inspires curiosity, and curiosity turns to…

Well, you get the picture.

And finally

Just thought I’d sign post the non-regular Grumpy Old Bookman readers to a new writing competition. GOB has this link over on his blog-site, but rather than go round the houses, it’s basically “how do you solve a problem like a writer” or “Richard and Judy’s Writing Competition version 2 (but not for Channel 4)”. My career benefited directly from such a competition, so I think it might be a good thing – if handled well enough.

If you’re interested, click here.

Like GOB I would like to choose who I was mentored by (Jeffrey Archer or Joan Collins are offered), but I think the prospect would be terrifying and exciting in equal measure.

Okay, I confess it would be more the former…

No really, I’m still here…

It’s been over a week since I last blogged; a week that saw a funeral, a wedding, the setting up of a summer event (more of that later in the week), further house hunting, and of course – more writing. And it’s almost 6 months since The Secret War was published… a revelation that had me laughing over the bank holiday weekend, and then despairing…

…I mean, where the hell has those 6 months gone?!!

I suspect most of the 6 months is on the laptop, encompassing one and a half drafts of the new book. There’s 6 months on this blog too (and another shit-load of words), not to mention 6 months in some degree on the promotional stuff, like radio interviews, a travel piece in the Daily Telegraph, a school visit, a very successful book launch and trips to independent bookshops and high-street chains across the country. And I’m painfully aware there’s been little time left-over for what life lies outside of my writing and the chore of the day-job.
Scant time for myself and Sarah – which I shoe-horn in when I can.

Luckily, this weekend we had more time together than usual. This weekend was the wedding - in Scotland - of two good friends, Toby (a childhood friend) and Mel (who also happens to be my web-designer). It was a cracking do, despite the "inclement" rain during the outdoor ceremony, and one that will linger in the memories of those in attendance.
However, as a sign of the times, I couldn’t switch off that writing brain. Not only did I write a couple of thousand words on the third draft (which I am now half-way through), I’ve come up with another story called The Black Hours – again a historical novel, this time set at the end of the 19th century with London under quarantine from a new virulent and devastating strain of the Black Death. Add to that the impeding doom from a lunatic with an armada of experimental zeppelins threatening London with mass destruction, and a secret agent who couldn’t care less whether London collapsed in flames or not, and you have an adventure story that could well be my next project come the Autumn.

Perhaps.

There’s still four months to go before I make a decision, so that means at least another half-dozen novel ideas to bubble up from that fevered brain o’mine.

(At some point, I must really teach my imagination to switch off from time to time… Either that or become a full-time writer - there’s just not enough years in one life-time to write down all these stories).

Wächter der Schatten

Well, I was most pleased to see that Amazon.de has printed details of the Goldmann edition of The Secret War. Translated by Michael Nagula (if I've got that right!), the book comes out this November under the title Wächter der Schatten:



I’m quite impressed with the cover – kinda like James Herbert meets Alexander Kent. I’m trying not to be too excited about it (but it’s difficult – especially when your name takes up a good quarter of the artwork!).

In terms of royalties, I suspect I won’t get a penny beyond the lump sum paid to both myself and Macmillan in September and then next April, but I’m not bothered about that. Just the idea of being published in Germany has me grinning from ear to ear. The German’s are voracious readers and love their Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror, so should Wächter der Schatten do well… then I think it bodes very well for the follow-up…

…Which I still need to complete…

…And still requires a title…


Back to work then...

Allies, Titles and Tags

Last things first – Grumpy Old Bookman has provided a damn fine summary of the whole Macmillan New Writing venture thus far over on his blog. G.O.B. has always been a great ally of the whole initiative, from his lengthy blog entries on the matter, to even turning up to the launch of the imprint. That apart, he is one of the top industry commentators, so to have that kind of support can only be a good thing.

…Despite the negative comments hurled its way from its inception, Macmillan New Writing has been largely a success. So the likes of McCrum et al must be wondering why they were so wrong. I don’t have the answers, though I suspect the success so far has been down to the optimism of the writers, the quality of the books, the hard work of the editorial staff, the support of a major publisher, and finally the faith of the book buying public…

What G.O.B. doesn’t mention in his blog entry is also the camaraderie between the writers on the list. We are all new at this game, hence why it feels like we are struggling together, sharing experiences from one blog to the next. Some suspected this camaraderie would not last beyond the first year of the imprint – yet the likes of David Isaak and Faye Booth have carried on the tradition of exposing pretty much all thought and feeling on this – well – special adventure on their blogs.

So for those nay-sayers such as McCrum, and to quote a non-literary source - Bruce Campbell as it happens (in the role of the enigmatic Ash):
“That’s right! Who’s laughing now!”


What’s in a name, again…

Okay, it’s “title time” once more. I’ve mentioned before that I’m none too keen on the working title of the follow-up to The Secret War. The Secret of Mhorrer just doesn’t do it for me, perhaps because it leads to a third book having “secret” in the title (which it won’t – the title of the third book is pretty much set in stone). And I’m not a big fan of having a fantasy name in the title – which “Mhorrer” clearly is.

So I have a few choices, and some of them stand out, and some of them don’t. I’ve listed those choices below, including previous titles that have straddled this hefty tome:

The Secret of Mhorrer (current working title)
The Burning Sands of Time
The Valley of Fire
The Eyes of Fire
Warriors between Darkness and Light
The Immortal Horde

I’ve done a quick Lulu Titlescorer rating of the titles, and of this list Warriors between Darkness and Light and The Burning Sands of Time came top, while The Secret of Mhorrer and The Valley of Fire are the weakest according to this less than scientific product. I’m obviously not going to be base my final decision on Lulu’s Titlescorer, but if anyone has an opinion on the best and the worst, please tell me!

You've been Tagged

Lucy has tagged me. I can’t blame her, and I think it’s really Faye’s fault for introducing this to the MNW lot! Still, I’m not old enough to grumble and moan convincingly, so I’ll answer the questions once I’ve completed the 3rd draft and give it some thought. Could be a few weeks though… and I’m not sure I know five other writers who have not been tagged already. Anyone here want to give it a go?
I have a couple of writers in mind…

Anyway, I must depart… The third draft beckons: 6 chapters down, only a poultry 18 more to go!

PS: Apologies for the various versions of this blog entry that have appeared in the last hour or so - if you want to point fingers, point at Google. New Blogger my arse!

Progress

It’s handy to have a deadline. I’ve given myself to the end of the summer to complete the follow-up to The Secret War, and late June for the end of the 3rd draft of the book. It means completing around 4 chapters every two weeks or so, which I consider a challenge in view of other disruptions in my life right now.

Yet I’ve managed to complete 4 chapters in a week which is close to miraculous – and needless to say, I’m quite chuffed about it. But it’s come at a cost. I’m utterly fucked – mentally and physically. I feel rundown for the first time in years and realise I have been pushing myself a bit too far too quickly. Not surprising, I guess, with having two full-time jobs. The day-job is twice as demanding as it was 12 months ago, and the writing… well there’s the intense writing regime of a 450 page book coupled with promotion of The Secret War – and even though the latter has been scaled down, I still find myself doing radio shows and promising my services, not to mention writing this blog. Weekends don’t really exist for me at the moment, nor do evenings. And spare time seems to be a thing of the past.

I’m not really complaining about this, because I think feeling a little knackered is a worthwhile price to pay for being published; I just need to slow it down and scale it back, and I think the promotion side of things for The Secret War will be the chief casualty.
Apart from a gig in September (which I’m setting up) the two other planned gigs are going to be scrapped. They sit right in the middle of the final draft of the book, and it’s too inconvenient, not to mention distracting.
Last weekend kind of optimised the distraction, when I appeared again on BBC Radio Sheffield for an hour-long discussion show. It was in the morning, and my brain was fried from two days of intense drafting. That I managed to string together a coherent sentence on air was surprising, that I managed to do it more than once is fiction. I just couldn’t think straight. My arguments were in a mess, my mind fractured on other matters. I was told it went well, though I’m not so sure it did. I felt drained, cranium-fornicated and needed a holiday.
But I won’t get one until late summer, maybe even September.

So, harking back to “why we do what we do”, I’m concentrating less on the promotion side of things for the time being, and more on the writing. I’ll still blog - it’s cathartic – I just need to get these drafts done before my mind turns to porridge.

Fare-Well to the Flesh… Hello Prague 1822

This week I waved goodbye to Peak District villages consumed by slavering, gluttonous folds of pink flesh - and welcomed back the follow-up to The Secret War:
I took a day off work and began The Secret of Mhorrer for a third time - once more being thrown into the smoky surrounds of a 19th century tavern in the city of Prague.

In terms of preparation, theme and general approach, the two writing projects could not be further apart. A Well in the Flesh was basically a modern-day horror novella, while The Secret of Mhorrer is an adventure novel with horror-fantasy trappings set in 19th century. The former was written on a whim with no preparation – not really any story in mind from the moment the first paragraph was typed out. The latter has been meticulously planned, researched and re-written.

I must admit, A Well in the Flesh offered a certain freedom that I enjoyed, but there was no risk attached to it. It was created in a vacuum of responsibility, something I just sat down to write because it looked like fun.

The Secret of Mhorrer is a book that I take more responsibility for. It’s a book that I care about, and something I will take care in writing. I’ve been looking to write this book ever since completing the first draft of The Secret War. So it’s not something I’m approaching half-arsed.

It’s also a book that will either keep my published career going, or halt it prematurely: it’s my second novel for Macmillan New Writing.

Draft 3 will inevitably see more changes – one of them being the title (which I’ve been playing with over recent weeks). Characters will be fleshed out more, details will be added – the inclusion of light and shadows, splashes of metaphorical colour and historical atmospherics. Irrelevant asides will be chopped, distractions removed, the pace tightened and while not all rough edges will be smoothed, the most barbed will be pruned.

But drafting by nature is protean, isn’t it?
So hand me my clippers and let the bell toll for a mutable round 3…