Old Brain Juices

Right, I'm about a quarter of the way through the first draft of 'Water's Deep,' which is about 23,000 words for those who like stats. This book, so far is writing itself, and at the current rate I should have it finished by mid-April. However, I want a holiday with my good lady wife and I'm flying to Hong Kong tonight and then on to Australia and New Zealand this evening, so there I will leave it. Whilst away I'll get the old brain juices ruminating on plot issues and characters and keep my writing hand in by penning the odd article for Edinburgh Libraries and make some ground on my comic book idea.

I'll see you anon, or on the road if you're going my way. I'll send in the odd photo and blog post when I get time. Look after each other.

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Rant by Chuck Palahniuk

Apart from never really being sure how to pronounce his surname (is it Pala-nee-uk or Pala-newark?) I’m a big fan of the few works of his that I have read. This is literary fiction, but a type that never forgets its genre roots. His work is experimental, but grounded in a style that is both readable and enjoyable. You never quite know what is going to happen, but you can be pretty sure your first impression will probably be wrong.
Rant is about many things. He is first and foremost a young man with ‘issues.’ Buster ‘Rant’ Casey is attracted to the intoxicating effects of spider and animal bites, and seems to carry within him a virulent strain of rabies which turns him into one the most successful serial killers in American history. Unless that is a lie made up by others to discredit him. Rant is also a shout and a scream from the part of an urban society forced underground, or into darkness anyway. Nighttimers are the waifs and strays, forced to work the graveyard shifts, and it’s is to this section of society that Rant graduates. They entertain themselves with Party Crashing, driving around the city, decked out in wedding gear, identifiers on the car roof as they crash into each other, in a mini destructive demolition derby.
The book is written as a series of oral histories, eye witness accounts from people who knew the boy, or have heard of him through hearsay and rumour. Some tell the truth, others just make it all up. Or do they? The truth is hidden deep in this work and it is stranger than you think. Some of if might be the truth, or then again, perhaps not.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

If you think ‘Rant’ is confusing, try reading this massive 700 page plus tomb which is a work of fiction, written as a treatise on a missing film that might be a prank and not even exist.
‘House of Leaves’ is an academic work by a dead man called Zampanò with additional notes added by Johnny Truant. Johnny might once have briefly met Zampanò, he is certainly living in his old apartment. It’s there that he finds the manuscript and starts to read it. The work is about a film called ‘The Navidson Record,’ a documentary made by a famous photographer that purports to record the lives of his family in a house in the country. A house where walls move and a passageway to a labyrinth is discovered. This labyrinth seems to exist in a space outside of the norm and changes size and shape regularly. It might also contain a fabled beast. Several people die in its exploration including Navidson’s own brother. Some say the documentary exists and is an accurate representation of what happened. Others claim the whole thing is a scam. At the same time Johnny reads the work and adds his own comments about his waste of space life, a life that becomes dangerously unstable as the book influences his decisions and actions.
The book is experimental. Sometimes it’s written in straight forward academic prose, other times the whole text fragments to represent the maze. Footnotes and endnotes send you off in different directions throughout the book, pages of appendices instruct you about characters past lives, there are photos to decipher, poetry and collages. This is metafiction, a book of contradictions and multiple interpretations. It’s a horror story, a love story, an academic satire and a reaction to the possibilities of the printed word.
This book came out in 2000, before ebooks made it big and readers were readily available. It would be interesting to see now how this book will translate into a virtual text. The possibility of the book/internet melding into one.

Best of all, MONSTERS

A good start to "Water's Deep." I've been writing all week and the characters and situations are coming together. At this early stage the book sort of evolves organically. I let it take me where it wants, introducing plot points and characters as the book demands. This sounds a little chaotic, but I find it best to let the story do the work. If there is a novel in the idea, the characters will find it as I build a world around them. Only when I get about half way through the book will I then go back and redraft and be a bit more rigid in the story I'm trying to create.

This is the fun bit. I get to create an English town, a family out of their depth, a flood, environmental scientists and best of all, MONSTERS. I looooove creating them.

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I was asked yesterday to do some small articles for Word UP, a mail newsletter featuring contributions from Edinburgh's reading and writing community and produced by Edinburgh City Libraries. In the UK all libraries now need assistance and help as the current government has decided in their (misguided) wisdom decided to cut budgets and slash services.

As a child growing up in a Midlands village, the weekly trip to the local library was something I looked forward to. It was in that small building that I first was introduced to comic books (mainly Asterix and Batman), music (because you could take out albums and tapes), not to mention all the new authors I was able to read. 

Libraries are precious and should be protected like endangered animals. Once gone, they are almost impossible to replace.

Not sure what I'll write about yet, but I'll put something down whilst away Down Under and let you know when they are online.

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I've got another week of writing and then I pack up and leave for Australia and New Zealand. Can't wait. In preparation for that I decided it was time to get the hair cut. Being in India I let things get a little out of hand. So I went from this:

 To this:

Much better. Don't want to look out of place in those swanky Sydney and Melbourne bars.

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I'll try and update from the road and perhaps get some photos up. If not you can follow me on Twitter @middlemanlost

See you when I get back.

Super-Active, Timey-Wimey, Hyper

Finished Doctor Who (new) Series 2 last night. Really enjoyed seeing Tennant's new super-active, timey-wimey, hyper Doctor after the more serious dark Doctor of series 1. Below are my tweets from the series.

• Dr. Who s2 ep1: New Earth: the Dr reborn as a saviour for all humanity and the longevity of those people.
• Dr Who s2 ep2 Tooth & Claw: The birth of Torchwood. Britain protects itself from the strange universe.
• Dr Who s2 ep3 School Reunion: Sarah Jane Smith & K-9. The universe seems so small after travelling with the Dr.
• Dr Who s2 ep4 The Girl in the Fireplace: The Doctor and the monsters go hand in hand
• DrWho s2 ep5 Rise of the Cyberman: Parallel worlds but the same old problems. The UK, one step away from going wrong.
• Dr Who s2 ep6 The Age of Steel: Emotions are what make us what are we are. Take them away and ... 
• Dr Who s2 ep7 The Idiot's Lantern: Light relief after the loss of Micky with a clever and witty @Markgatiss special. 
• Dr Who s2 ep8 The Impossible Planet: a truly adult Who; the mythos complicated with the concept of religion.
• Dr Who s2 ep9 The Satan Pit: conclusion the universe is more complicated than even the Dr can understand.
• Dr Who s2 ep10 Love & Monsters: the silly episode about those left behind, those that get a whiff of the Doctor.
• Dr Who s2 ep11 Fear Her: The power of children and imagination. The fear of being alone. The coming storm.
• Dr Who s2 ep12 Army of Ghosts: The beginning of the end for Rose. Classic storytelling with Cybermen and Daleks.
• Dr Who s2 Ep13 Doomsday: Goodbye to Rose. An epi that takes all those loose strands and ties them in a neat bow.

Waters Deep

I start writing a new novel tomorrow. A fresh start, a clean page, a new voice. This is part of my plan to write two novels in a year and maximise my time in India. It's exhilarating and just a little scary. Plus it's a reminder to myself that I've already used up seven months of the year and that time is short to finish another book (a problem compounded by trips to Australia, New Zealand and the UK - not that I plan to give them up).

The new book already has a working title. 'Waters Deep'. Whether I use this as the final title, it's far to early to tell, but I like to have a project name when I'm discussing work, so Waters Deep it is. The book is YA as I want to make my agents life easy for the time being, but its not sci-fi. This work is probably best described as YA Eco-Horror. I'm a big fan of the works of John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos etc) and the suspense of Hitchcock and horror films that take a more mature approach to the genre (rather than simple blood and guts), and it is this vain that I plan to write the book.

Now I need my blog readers help. I've had a quick look online (a very quick look) and I can't really see anything in the YA Eco-Horror vein. So I'm asking you readers and lovers of books to suggest works to me that might be similar. I'm not interested in any of the supernatural romance type horror books (no, Twilight type lit - I'm sure its good, but it's not what I'm writing), but books that appeal to teens that pray on their darkest of fears and horrors. If you know of anything please let me know, either in this blogs comments, or via Twitter (@middlemanlost). Your help will be much appreciated.

Not Nice, Evening Dress Wearing Vampires

Because I've been travelling and then ill I was able to get a little bit of reading done. Three book reviews to follow:

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I really enjoyed ‘The Shadow of the Wind’. It is one of my favourite books of the last few years. So I was interested to read this work which is older but written for the YA market. It’s a very simple black and white story about old debts coming back to haunt those that made them, wrapped up in the vivid gothic Spanish countryside. I would say that it’s more of a children’s book than one for teens who might find it a little too simplistic.
Young Max is moved by eccentric father and family away from war torn Madrid to a wooden house on the coast. He is befriended by Roland who in turn is attracted to Max’s older sister. Exploring the house and its environment Max learns the sad story of the previous home owner whilst noticing strange goings on that will soon threaten him, his family and friends.
Whilst not a scary book, there are several moments of dread in the classical sense and a creeping unease that purveys throughout the work. A simple, elegant piece of storytelling.

The Osiris Ritual by George Mann

The second in the ‘Newbury & Hobbes Investigation’ series and better than the first. The original book felt a little clunky in places, with Sir Maurice Newbury coming across as a bit of a stupid toff. This book improves the character dramatically, giving him more depth and turning him into a dashing, heroic character, even if some of his comments sound a little forced at times.
A steampunk London where death can be cheated, Newbury finds himself on the tail of a rogue agent, whilst his very modern companion, Miss Veronica Hobbes investigates the disappearance of several young ladies. The two stories are of course linked by the unveiling of an Egyptian mummy and a curse.
Good, high spirited fun which builds on old characters and sets both up for a third work.

The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Like the first in the series, this has TV/Movie adaptation written all over it. I imagine the only reason Del Toro doesn’t turn it into a film is he’s too busy with Hobbits and Frankenstein to make it.
Picking up immediately after the first book finishes the heroes, Eph, Setrakian, Fet and Nora are stuck in New York as hell descends and hordes of vampire rule the night. Not nice, evening dress wearing vampires, either. Their attempt on the life of the master has failed and now they must get out of the city as quickly as they can.
An action packed horror with lots of visceral elements, fast paced and punchy. It’s a fast food kind of novel, but that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes I like fast food.

Multiple Smallest Rooms

I suppose it had to happen eventually. Everyone told me that spending large amounts of time in India will result in stomach 'issues.' That no matter how I protect myself, eventually I will fall foul of what has been called for good reason; Delhi Belly, Ghandi's Revenge and The Rangoon Runs. I tend to have a very good constitution, but the moment my father left on Wednesday morning I knew something wasn't right. I've just spent three days on the couch and in close proximity to the bathroom. Madame Vin, soooo glad we have multiple smallest rooms, has been sympathetic to my general inability to want to do anything or go anywhere.

Anyway, with out dwelling on my darkest hour (sorry), I'm now feeling much better and a lot lighter. I've just had two great weeks of visiting India seeing places as diverse as the backwaters of Kerala (all these photos are my own work):

The tea plantations of Ooty:

and of course this place:

I'll add this photo in as well, as sunsets don't get much better than this:

I'm never going to see all of India, it's such a vast and diverse place, but I at least feel I've seen enough of India to get a good understanding of it. I really need to knuckle down and get some work done now, or else this year will have been wasted.

The plan was to finish work on 'Stigma' this week but that all got pushed back when I had to spend inordinate amounts of time in the bathroom. Instead I'll start tomorrow with the hope of getting it finished by the end of the week and picking up 'Waters Deep' next week. This leaves me two weeks to get it going before I jet off to Australia for some well earned R&R.