A Man on the Moon by Paper Aeroplane

It’s my last Friday in India. I’ve had an interesting eleven months, filled with enough images, experiences and smells (I’ll never forget those smells) to fill several books. However, this period between jobs was always going to be about the writing and I’m proud that in that time I’ve been able to prove to myself that I have the heart and fortitude to spend all my time writing. If nothing else, it has allowed me to get a lot of the gunk that fills up my brain down on paper and write two novels and edit another. They are:

Juvie. 

A YA science fiction novel.

A town stranded in the Green, isolated, ruled by the Laws of the Governors; a community reeling from pain and tragedy, where nothing is taken for granted. Not a great place to grow up, not a great place to be a “juvie.”

Ben Hewitt is missing a brother. He has stopped taking his Inhibitors. He has found the gun. Now he is scared. With only a few days until the Anniversary, the musors are after him and sinister strangers have been seen in town. On the run, unable to trust anyone, Ben must learn the black secret hidden in the heart of Greenville’s residents if he is to survive. 

Time is running out.

Stigma

The follow-up to Juvie

Life in the Enclave is hard and brutal, a life lived in squalor, the decrepit block houses cramped and unsanitary, the people slowly starving; each day is nothing less than a fight for survival. Sarah thought she understood. She is Drose, tattooed with the Stigma Servitude, her short life already mapped out and beyond her control. She is destined to finish her days either on the labour battalions or at the hands of the ‘zombie’ Stigmata Guards.

When her Grappa receives a package from the Plush black marketeer Drohodo, Sarah discovers that her life is not as simple as she first thought. Now, with only a few days left before she is made Legitimate, she must discover the truth about her peoples confinement.

What is so important inside the crumpled brown paper package that so many are willing to die for it? Who is the boy from outside the walls, who talks about Governors and life in the Green? Why are her people so despised? And what of the whispers of another city, outside the Enclave, a place where freedom exists.

Waters Deep

A YA Horror novel

Something wakes in the North Sea. Creatures from myth, best forgotten. The storm rages, and the surge bares down on the English East Coast, and in the waters the creatures follow.

Joe doesn’t like Barton, it’s small town and he’s a London boy. Lincolnshire offers him very little, and he blames his family for the disastrous move. When the storm hits, he just wants to flee like everyone else, but chance transpires against him.

The town is swamped by the incoming surge, but something worse than the icy cold sea water inhabits the hidden depths of Barton. As Joe searches for his lost father, other people are spotted in town, but if they’re not part of a rescue - who are they?

A new ongoing series of YA cryptid-horror novels

Now - the first two books are with my agent, but have not been taken up by a publisher, though he assures me there is plenty of interest. I don’t know if they will sell. Today’s market is harsh for new writers and getting anything out in print (I mean as a real paper book) was almost impossible before the upsurge of electronic publishing, now it’s akin to getting a man on the moon by paper aeroplane. If it doesn’t happen with these books, then I’ll shift attention to the new horror series and try them instead (Waters Deep is finished as a first draft, but will require another six months worth of work to be complete). If that doesn’t work then I might look at just going it alone. At least the books will then see the light of day, if only read by those who prowl the self published e-book lists.

The Small Stuff

Working on bits and bobs at the moment. 'Stigma' has gone out to beta readers and whilst I've had one return already, I'm not expecting the others back until next week. I've got several things on the go that I'm trying to get into a state so that I can pick one of them up after I finish any re-writes on 'Stigma'. I want to get input from my agent on these, as at the moment I'm thinking it's only worth working on projects if they are commercially viable. I know that this sounds a little like selling out, but to be a writer full time you need an income and at the moment I don't have one. If the 'Juvie' series gets published I'll still need several more works published before I get anywhere close to that.

The small stuff is a short story idea that doesn't seem to want to go anywhere and I might just forget about, an amusing essay on 'The Pros and Cons of Being a Writer,' that I might send out to a writing blog, two novel concepts and I've also got this weird comic book idea I want to do, but I need to hook up with an artist.

My father is coming out to India a week tomorrow and we plan to do a little more travelling. I want to see the Taj Mahal and Delhi (because I don't think you've seen a country until you've been to the capital) and visit some of the countryside south of Chennai. After that it's Australia and New Zealand.

What Cool Air Feels Like

With 'Juvie' finished and back with my agent I need to turn my attention to work on the second book in the series, 'Stigma.' Before I do that however, we managed to fit in a small break to a part of India called Kerala. We stayed on a lovely Cardamon plantation up in the mountains where I was reminded what cool air feels like. We also spent a night on a boat travelling the back waters and ate large prawns from the sea.

Pictures are here.

When travelling like this I pack light. A pen and a small moleskin notebook and an iPad are my only writing tools. As I try and write every day I need somewhere to jot down ideas. I prefer to work on shorter pieces whilst holidaying as I don't want to start ripping apart a novel when I should be relaxing. Every year I write a small Christmas story to give to friends and family. I was able to start it whilst watching the kingfishers diving into the dark water. I'll edit it later this week and get it out before I return to the UK. Check your inbox.

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A quick 'how is everyone?' to friends back in the UK, particularly Scotland, where they have been having some very unseasonable early snows. I hope everyone is well and warm.

Their Weight In Gold

I'm just about finished on the final (final, final) rewrites for "Juvie". Once completed the typescript will be sent to my agent who in turn will send it out to those national and international publishers who have shown an interest. Having just had another would-be writer staying with us for a weekend I'd like to say one or two things about getting an agent.

There is a concept in publishing that writers 'need an agent to get published, and agents only take on writers who have been published'. A 'chicken and egg scenario' if ever there were one.

However, this isn't necessarily true.

A writer can submit direct to publishers without ever using an agent, and likewise an agent will take on unpublished authors. Both routes have pros and cons.

1. Going direct means that your novel will go straight to a publisher and save you a percentage of any money you make from a sale, but chances are without an agent the novel will start on the slush pile awaiting the eagle eye of a junior to pull it from obscurity.
2. The second route ensures your novel gets seen by the right publisher at the right time; a publisher with an interest in your themes and novel. However, if a sale happens (and only when a sale happens - never before. If anyone takes money off you before, they are cheating you), you pay a percentage.

A good agent is worth more than their weight in gold. 'Juvie' has been sent backwards and forwards between Edwin and myself about five times. This is to ensure the novel is perfect before being submitted. I thank him for this, because I know that the book is far better now than when I originally sent it in. A good agent will take their time with a first time writer, telling them where they are going wrong and what works. What is good form, what is bad. They understand that they make money if your book is a success, so they want it to be a success. A good agent is patient and sees your career as an investment.

How to get a good agent? Well, that is the million dollar question. Like everything in writing and publishing it requires skill, luck and patience. Lots and lots of patience. I know from personal experience that writers want to finish a work and then see it in print a year later. This doesn't happen. You have to persevere as much with your writing as you do with finding the correct agent for yourself. You need an agent who understands the landscape, has good contacts, spends their own money promoting you to publishers and only sends your work out when its in a the best state it can be in. A good agent should make the publishing process that little bit easier for you.

There are reference books out there that list all literary agents, but don't choose one at random. You need an agent who can work with you and you with them. Find a local agent, someone you can meet face-to-face. Go and see agents at local book events or literary salons. Talk to them, find out what they are looking for and then approach them with your novel.

With a bit of luck, you'll find the right agent for you.

Travels Over, Work Required

I'm back in India after a week in London. I had a great time, walking around Hyde Park in glorious end of summer sun:

Seeing the Dave McKean exhibition at the Pumphouse Gallery, entitled Hypercomics. The full set of photos can be seen here:

I met my new niece, Orla, who didn't talk much, unlike this man, who did.

And then we went to a wedding in sunny Eastbourne:

And now I'm back at work.

I'm going off line for a few days as I've got to review the line edited version of 'Juvie' and put together a full synopsis for 'Stigma' as my agent is at the Frankfurt book fair next week. That means lots of work and concentration which is going to be interesting since I'm ever so slightly jet lagged and plan to move into a new apartment this weekend. 

This blog should also be appearing somewhere 'new' soon. I'll let you know details as soon as I hear more.

Right, now - work.

Starting Over

Page 100 of 'Cell' didn't happen as I've decided to re imagine the work. I am now back on page 5. Yesterday I realised that the current incarnation just wasn't working. It didn't feel like it was part of the 'Juvie' landscape that I so carefully built up in the first novel, so I've gone back to the beginning and started over. I want to get it right, so I expect this might happen several times.

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"Researchers at the University of Leeds have employed a robotic yellow submarine to fund and begin documenting a massive river under the sea, known as a submarine channel -- the first ever directly observed." From Engadget.


Probably one of the best sci-fi songs I've ever heard. "This sweetly horny tribute to the work of Ray Bradbury, starring Rachel Bloom as the girl who wants to fuck "the greatest scifi writer in history," is sure to put a smile on your face."

India Tomorrow

So I'm off to India tomorrow morning. That happened a lot quicker than I expected. 'Juvie' is in and my agent likes it. That doesn't mean a publishing deal is guaranteed but it's a step in the right direction. Over the next year I want to concentrate on books 2 and 3 in the same series and start the new version of 'The Park'.

I'll keep this blog updated with my travels, work and news, and perhaps the odd photo of India.

It's gonna be one hell of an adventure.

See you on the other side.

Quick Break

Enjoying my new writing life and trying to get all sorted out for the big trip to India. My father's coming for a few days over the weekend but I hope to get the current draft of 'Juvie', plus a synopsis for the three book series to my agent before I go.


The past written on top of the present through photography.


Apparently, I'm a 'selfish elitist' for owning an iPad. I've been called worse.


A quite scary robot talks German and demands fruit.


The cheap and useful Indian computer for under $35 has its critics. This would be great if they can get it off the ground. Lets hope it's not dead in the water just because hardware companies impose high price structures.  I think we should have something similar world wide. Get everyone online, turn it into a real democratic cyber world, with a everyone participating. That's what the internet is all about, freedom. I'll follow this story with interest whilst in India.


Good website Design Mind with interesting things to say.


And I leave you with the Doctor Who Themes. All of them, showing both the continuity and the increase in tempo over the years.

RED and TED

New York was great. Thanks to all our friends, new and old, for making it such a great week.

New York from Tash's window in Brooklyn

So the idea of India is percolating around my head as I consider the options open to me and all of the time I'll have for writing. I want to maximise the opportunity and get as much work done as possible with minimum distractions (apart from a whole continent to explore of course). I want to work on both book two and three of the 'Juvie' series and make in roads on the idea that I have mentally entitled 'The Park' (something I've been working on and off for several years). I also have an idea for a short story around the idea of augmented reality as well as the comic book idea 'Icons'. As I plan to do some photography whilst there and plenty of reading I imagine that lot should keep me busy.

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Language Deciphered by Computer
"The lost language of Ugaritic was last spoken 3,500 years ago. It survives on just a few tablets, and linguists could only translate it with years of hard work and plenty of luck. A computer deciphered it in hours."


RED
The first trailer for the Warren Ellis based comic book RED - looks good.


Augmented Reality
"Property developers won’t be wasting money on fancy architects if they can throw a skin around their building and flog the exterior to Coke. Particularly not if half the passers-by aren’t seeing their building -- lost in a reality constructed by a Belgian design studio and distributed via Specsavers."
A world we would all see differently depending on our subscriptions and opt-outs.


TED
"It's a bit like YouTube, but instead of featuring cats falling into lavatories, it has short, cutting-edge talks by the world's leading neuroscientists, behavioural economists, video artists, philosophers, particle physicists, rocket scientists, endurance athletes, Aids researchers… you name it, it's been at TED."
If you've never looked at the free lectures on TED you should drop what you're doing and go there immediately.


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Garth Ennis is  favourite comic book author and his Preacher series is one that garnered plenty of press in the last few years. Proud Americans looks at the Reverend's relationship with his friends as he goes after the captured Cassidy. The second part of the book looks at how Cassidy became a vampire and is the better of the two halves. 


The Affinity Bridge is the first in a series of books in the Newbury & Hobbes series from small press Snowbooks. It's a steampunk adventure in an alternative London where Queen Victoria's Empire has been elongated beyond her death and enhanced through technology. It has magic, risen dead and robots. I would say that the two lead characters aren't fleshed out as much as I'd like, but I imagine this is remedied in the later novels.


Haunting Museums is a non-fiction work about artefacts around the world that have strange or inexplicable stories attached to them. A sort of believe or not Warehouse 13. The essay are hit and miss and a US slant. Mildly interesting. 


Read this week:


Preacher: Proud Americans by Garth Ennis  & Steve Dillon
The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
Haunting Museums by John Schuster

Missing, No More

I’m suffering from a cold which might be partially the fault of strong Belgian beer and the lack of sleep I’ve had over the last few weekends. Anyway, as I spend my Sunday snotting and hawking up the odd lung, you’ll be glad to know that, “Juvie” is now with my agent and I’m waiting to hear back.

As is the way of many small publishers, Libros has gone into liquidation which means copies of ‘The Missing’ are now no longer available. If you have one you hold something quite rare. That said I think I know where I can get hold of six remaining copies. So if you don’t already have one, drop me a line and I’ll see what can be arranged.

I’ve spent most of this week sketching and writing my brother’s best man speech in time for the wedding next weekend. I might need to sacrifice some more virgins to ensure travel (I’m running low in Edinburgh).

Links galore:

Free novels on the internet

Behance Gallery's

Online magazines with Zinio and Yudu

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And Another Thing is the Eoin Colfer written part six of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s not bad, but (and this wasn’t a surprise) it’s no patch on the original. It’s like the concept was passed through an Adams-o-matic machine. It’s essence of Douglas, and I’m not sure whether anyone should have bothered. Colfer is a pretty good author in his own right, but Adams was something else, a once in human history writer.

The Road is one of those books that I’ve been meaning to read for a long time but never got around to it, which is a shame as it’s brilliant. Beautifully written, sparse, with an undercurrent of approaching sorrow. Sci-fi in the sense it’s set in an unnamed future after something terrible has happened that wipes out most of the human population, the world turned grey in a possible nuclear winter, it tells the continuous journey of a a father and his young son. A mesmerising work of art.

Pandemonium is the new Hellblazer, set in the difficult and challenging world of Iraq, sucide bombers and insurgents. Delano is one of the best Constantine authors around, with tight scripts that bring the old weathered magician to life. The art work by Jock is almost worth buying it for in the first place.

Read this week:

And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Hellblazer: Pandemonium by Jamir Delano & Jock

Easter Eggs

I've spent the Easter weekend knocking about the 'Juvie' manuscript. I'm making several significant changes, several structural revisions and adding in new scenes. This is going to take some time so I haven't seen much of world this weekend. However here's a list of stuff I recommend:

Dr Who - new series with Matt Smith looks good, really good (which is a relief). Moffat seems to have a good handle on the darker character led stories and Smith looks suitably alien in the role.

Great writing music to download from Ithaca Trio. Ambient and calming when all the world is in uproar. Download their new album Tesla Versus the Night.

If you haven't already make sure you sign up to the Open Rights Group and help stop the Digital Economy Bill. It's not ready yo be released yet and in it's current format it will mean innocent people (such as yourself) being cut off the internet without any trial or recourse. This can't happen. The bill is being voted on tomorrow so you don't have much time. If you can, email your MP.

And if you want a chocolate brownie sent straight to your front door order them from my friend Emily at Sugarmonkey. She kindly sent over some scanned photos of us on holiday. I've barely changed to be honest.

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Finally got around to reading some Philip K. Dick. Everyone knows Bladerunner (and if you don't - be ashamed of yourself) but Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep differs in several ways from the film. Familiar traits still exist but Dick's world is perhaps not so futuristic as dingy and decaying whilst humans just want to get ahead in life on a dying world. Deckard is more of company man than a shrewd detective and the replicants more confused as to why they exist. That said the book is good and feels only slightly dated having been written back in 1968.

Mesmo Delivery is quick read about an ageing Elvis impersonator and a tough delivery guy and what is in their truck. It's violent and funny and has art work to die for. Whilst the story is slight it's the scribbly lines and sepia tints that keep you enthralled. All written and drawn by Rafael Grampa who is going to be big.

Read this week:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

Mesmo Delivery by Rafael Grampa