THE PEN IS MORE PORTABLE THAN THE SWORD
Time To Play The Game... Almost
I always know when things are going well because time I usually spend writing things for here is swallowed up by writing things that will appear somewhere else. To reveal very little - I'm a third of the way through the first draft of novel that didn't exist two months ago. The idea came fully formed and wouldn't go away - not that I wanted it to.
Running, running, running... not fallen over yet and neither am I running with scissors. Just a fountain pen that's proving to be quite the work-horse. Here's a thing that I've learned over the last few weeks: when you buy a sexy notebook to work in, such as a Moleskine type-thing, you will want to write sexy things in it neatly and make it into the sort of notebook that looks like del Toro created magical wonders in there. Who knows, maybe one day an important library might want to archive it because you rocked so hard.
But what you really need to do to get rolling when you're nowhere but standing on a cliff with your face to the wind, is buy a negasonic truck-load of yellow legal pads on which to hammer your words out without worrying about messing up your sexy Moleskine... and when you are done and have typed all your words up, you can burn them in the garden because The Dead need stories to relax at night too.
This is what I have learned to be my truth - and if you try it out, I think you might find it's yours as well.
Talking of The Dead needing stories too, I got wind of this coming down the line in the next few months. John Connolly's work is such a massive buzz for me, its one of the rare occasions I take two days off work to 'do it'. This one will be no exception - and so far, the man has never let me down.
The Independent quote on the cover does not lie, but like I say every year, if you're going to do this, you have to start at the beginning (which is Every Dead Thing).
I got nothing else to add right now. Busy doncha know.
The Purge - Prologue
I re-read what I had written in my first piece about minimalism on Saturday morning and decided to purge myself of around 100 books before the day was out. I know it will get harder as I get towards a sensible amount - but 100 were gathered and redistributed to a good home. I don't seem to have made much of a dent but it's a start.
They have gone somewhere other people can also read them and I guess some of them will become favourites, some will be passed further down the line and some will no doubt sit around doing not very much just like they did here but who knows what may happen when you let Paulo Coelho, Carlos Castaneda and Nick Kent out into the world together...
On the writing front, earlier this week I figured I should be submitting my work to literary magazines instead of - or as well as - stockpiling them here for publishing my own collections, I took to scouting around online for likely suspects and found this poster for the 2016 Raymond Carver Short Story Contest:
You can hit the poster image for more details on the comp. I post it here mostly because I love Raymond Carver and I need no other reason than that but it did lead me to think that maybe I should contribute a little more to the writing community by posting other such things here. It's tough out there. File under pending.
Meantime, on Thursday this week - April 7 if you're lost in space - the man I consider to be the greatest thriller writer on the face of this planet right now (and for some years), unleashes A Time Of Torment:
Which means I need to carve out a huge chunk of space to chew it up. I know it's not necessary to chew up a book like somebody might take it off you at any given moment but Mr Connolly is my exception to the rule.
Rather coincidentally, I find myself acting as a taxi driver for small person and friend on that very evening. It's Five Second Of Summer at the O2 - but you all knew that already right?
This is the first time I haven't bought myself a ticket to accompany her to such a thing - actually reads: "Do you have to come with us?" - so I figured I would find a corner somewhere that sells coffee and do some work, but now I have a much better idea. I'll share my corner and my coffee with Charlie Parker and hope that 5SOS over-run.
(Thank you J.C. - your timing this year is very much appreciated. If One Direction get back together next year, I'll mail you tour dates and maybe we could figure something similar out.)
Footnote:
If you're unfamiliar with Charlie Parker - and yep, I say this every year - go back and start at the beginning with Every Dead Thing. This is known as Time Not Wasted. If you're already with me on this, you can read the first chapter of A Time Of Torment right here.
Footnote 2:
Charlie Parker does not feature as part of The Purge. Some things need to stay where they are for obvious reasons.
Eight Grams And Other Tales of Darkness
There's a lot going on here this week. I found myself in a poetic place for one thing and filled a good portion of a new notebook with some quality work. It's all a little continuation of the poetry I've worked on before...which means work like this:
I'll be putting this out by myself through Bad Hare - and it shall be called Eight Grams, which according to popular science is the weight of the human soul. Now I've written that down, I get the feeling I may have mentioned it somewhere here before- apologies if I did. Then again, attention spans ain't what they used to be right?
I seem to have work backing up behind me like there's no tomorrow but something new will come out soon, I promise - and if it all happens to get finished around about the same time, so be it. I'm not looking anymore - I'm just 'doing it'.
Anyway, I was on a roll this afternoon and just when I had gotten to a part that was worth stopping over to make more coffee, I fumbled getting the pen back inside the cap, and dropped it on the floor: nib first.
It couldn't have landed any more vertically if I'd thrown it.
Hot damn, that was the best pen I had for writing. Super-fast flow and everything - my finger tips have even shaped themselves to its body.
Which is probably why a samurai always carries two swords... but when I picked up my second sword, I found that I haven't used it for so long, the ink had dried up inside of the nib. There are probably other crappy pens around the house I'm sure but it's not the same. It's like deciding to drive a few hundred miles in somebody else's car.
Some time later, I discovered that you can buy replacement nibs. Why didn't I know this before? If replacement nibs are available, I'm thinking that the smart thing to do is to get two fast flow nibs and then I'll have two sharp swords to head into battle.
That my friends, is a thing known as 'A Plan'.
Or as my mother would say: "If that's all you have to worry about, things are probably OK."
On the other work-table right now, I'm talking to Robert Borbas and somewhere amongst all of the talk, we should come up with a feature article of some worth. I love what this man does. If you made me point a finger at somebody I thought had the future of his world in the palm of his hand, he would be it. When you're putting out work like this, you don't have to answer to anybody:
Off skin, his work is just as fine:
If you're in the market, you can find him right here - though I guess you might have to wait a while.
OTHER PEOPLE'S STUFF:
If you're in the mood for a movie that will raise your spirits and not crash it brutally onto the rocks towards the end, I've just watched The Dark Horse - and it's a wonderful and beautiful piece of work. You can find it for rent in the iTunes store but that was the extent of my lust to find it - if you're not an iTunes kind of person, it's likely around somewhere. More importantly, who knew a movie about chess could stop you from hitting the pause button, stop you from making coffee and hunting down snacks... or even blinking for that matter.
Away from the beaten track of the multiplex and the industry wheels that make you watch things you didn't really want to, there's magic happening if you choose to look.
In other news of things to buoy your spirits along the way to a watery grave, the new Sixx AM album - Prayers For The Damned - is coming down the line (though not fast enough for my liking) - it's available as a pre-order at your usual pre-order places with the track 'Rise' already out in the world for your delight and testimony. I love it. When it lands, it will look like this:
Meanwhile, over at the place in which you used to hide under the blankets with a torch into the early hours of the morning, John Connolly's new Charlie Parker novel - A Time Of Torment - is also coming and due to land April 7th. The cover looks like this... and for the record, the comment on the front from The Independent does not lie:
With the two things I really look forward to in any given year both out around the same time, the world had better get its act together or it could be a long, desolate summer leading into a long cold winter.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“If you set yourself to it, you can live the same life, rich or poor. You can keep on with your books and your ideas."
George Orwell | Down And Out In Paris And London
Best Books Of 2012:
A fine list of the best books I've picked up through 2012.
Or rather, the best books that I read during 2012. Some were still hot from the delivery truck when I picked them up, others could possibly be from 2011 and sat on the shelf for longer than intended. Hey, it wouldn't be a list that I made if it was well organised would it: 1. The Tooth Fairy - Graham Joyce
OK. Having done my research for this post, I see that The Tooth Fairy came out originally back in the mid nineties. Too bad. It's still the best book I've read all year. It's kind of what you think it might be like, but then it goes and does so many different things and walks so many unknown paths that it really is difficult to describe - and it's wonderful on all those levels. I've seen some rough as hell covers for it though. Ignore them. It's an out and out giant slayer.
2. Up Jumps The Devil - Michael Poore
I picked this up at the airport in Colorado (a woman from Derby sold it to me who pinpointed my birthplace accent - I thought I had lost that long ago) and I stripped it down on the plane, train and an automobile. Obviously not whilst driving. Great character, great time spanning story, a slick sense of humour (an American that gets irony - totally worth the entrance fee) and generally a brilliantly fun - dare I say - laugh out loud novel to lose yourself in for hours on end. Great cover design - bonus!
3. The Lighthouse Keeper - Alan K. Baker
This sounded like every book I would never read. A book about a lighthouse? Written by somebody who sounds like he might be a news-reader? Be fooled no longer. This one is a stealth bomber. Weird as hell. I didn't have clue where it was going, not even on the last page and that's because although it's about er... weird shit that goes on at a lighthouse, the book is more about the keepers themselves and therefore more about human nature and as we all know, when humans are trapped on a rock with a lighthouse and weird shit occurs, anything can happen. And does. Almost as bad a cover as Tooth Fairy but not sure what I would have done differently if faced with the task...
4. Say You're Sorry - Michael Robotham
Sometimes, you simply need a book in which people get bumped off and you can't figure out who it is or why. This is my crime pick of the year because I read it one day and that's a good enough recommendation as you'll get. With a superb lead character who's not a copper or damaged in the way that coppers normally are, the whole Joe O'Loughlin series is worthy of a lot more attention that they're getting. Get off your sofa, go find some and read them in order. No comment on the cover of this - professional "look at me I'm a crime novel' design going on here. Which is what's called for. Michael... write more... faster please.
5. The Wrath of Angels - John Connolly
Well. There's no show without punch and I still say Connolly is the best writer in the country. I think this deserves to be higher on the list but circumstances meant that I picked it up day of release which wasn't necessarily conducive to me paying the best of attention. Thus, it took me a while to get started with it. My fault, not his. If I started it again today it would be a different story. If you're not familiar with Charlie Parker, best go and log onto janetandjohn.com or lookatmepetthedog.com because you're no reader friend of mine. The best crime series, let me think... since McBain's 87th Precinct plus added supernatural elements that mean... well, I still haven't figured out what they mean but it doesn't matter. 'Fucking incredible' is as good write up you'll find. The covers? Pretty good - when the series started they were different and I had never seen anything like them but they brought them into line for the 'stupid people'. I'll let it pass simply because what goes on inside the pages is so damned good.
6. Manhood For Amateurs - Michael Chabon
My latest flame. Currently reading his entire catalogue one after the other. Something I've never done with anybody before. Chabon is phenomenal but something of an acquired taste. This particular book is a collection of essays on being a father - which is as far from as dull as it sounds as I can get. Quite honestly, Chabon is the kind of writer that makes me wonder why I even entertain such dreams but he's so good that you can't help but hand out large plates of respect. He's probably a great guy as well. Bastard. Nice selection of covers on both sides of the Atlantic - which makes a change. He also has out of control hair. I think we should be friends.
7. Gods and Beasts - Denise Mina
Is Denise Mina still the UK's best kept secret? I see a pattern emerging with myself for detective fiction in which nothing is the same as it has been for far too many years with regards to UK crime. Anyway - I'm not going to say anything about this. Go discover her for yourself. There are too few surprises in life without me taking the few that remain. Nice covers too. I can spot a Denise Mina at fifty paces. That's a good thing.
8. Falcons of Fire and Ice - Karen Maitland
I really mean this: Karen Maitland is not for everybody. You'll have figured that out during the first paragraph of any of her books. But if she strikes the chord with you, each and every one of her books comes as some kind of gift that fell off a godlike cloud. Totally unique. I have never read anything like her stories and I adore every single one for all the right reasons. Stellar stories with massive amounts of thought goes into the production right down to the paper and the typeface - and the covers... what can I say about the covers? Among some of the best work ever laid on a cover? Without question. I'm talking hardback here, you don't get the same effect with the paperbacks. Why isn't this at number one on the list?
9. Every One Loves You When You're Dead - Neil Strauss
Strauss returns which a collection of interview snippets with seemingly everybody in the whole world. Strung together with a loose theme, this is one for pop culture guzzlers to get their teeth into (and it serves Klosterman right for not writing something I could put on the list). The guy writes so well, I'd punch him in the mouth if I didn't want to shake his hand for setting the standard the rest of us culture types to attempt to live up to. Like Chabon, he's seems like a genuinely great guy too. I shall not however call him a bastard because he has no hair at all and has therefore suffered enough already. Cover? Not great. Good job I didn't judge it from the cover or it would still be on the shelf.
10. The Prisoner of Heaven - Carlos Ruis Zafon
Zafon. At this point in the run, I'm hardly likely to be able to talk you into loving the man and his work, so if you've been playing the 'Shadow' game, you'll already have been here and nodded sagely to yourself. If not, see the advice at the end of number five. I like these covers even though I think I shouldn't. That means they're working. Ignore me. I'm just bitter than nobody asked me to have a go at them.
•••
An interesting list. I need to tidy it up some thoughts. Nesbo didn't make the list because I didn't think The Bat was very good (for obvious reasons if you're a fan). Rankin returned with Rebus and I made the mistake of going for it on audiobook from audible - where it's read by the most annoying Scot on the planet. Truly dreadful but it's Rebus so I'll return to that one by purchasing something with pages in it. Shit cover. All the Rebus redesigns are shit. I hate them. True fact. That's a lot of hate for a set of book covers but they look cheap and disrespectful. Clive Barker's Abarat: Absolute Midnight nearly made the list but I'm just waiting for another instalment of something that isn't bloody Abarat to be frank. Me and the rest of the world. It will come. Gaiman has been a bit quiet. Was the Graveyard Book this year? That was a good read, but I've read so many kids books this year that I thought I might do a separate list... not that it was strictly a kids book I guess.
It's not right of me to actually name the worst book of the year is it but I think it was Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I made it through maybe a chapter and then decided to wash my hair instead. Sorry. That's the way it crumbles sometimes.
What did we learn here? Two things I think. 1. Brilliantly written original books need great covers so that people will be inclined to pick them up and investigate more. 2. People called Michael write really good books.
Le Fin.
Publishing: A Game of Thrones.
The weekend came and went without incident - more or less. I'm not sure where those days went though. Nor yesterday. Probably in a haze of copy-editing, proofing, scratching the head and hoping that pretty soon, like the schedule says, this issue of the magazine will finally go to print. Work continues to get this site figured out before the end of the year. For those that missed it, many months ago, I moved here and built the site straight out of my head, live onto the page so that I knew when things weren't right and thus would be fixed pretty damn fast out of shame. The idea was - and still is - to call myself out on the projects that are going somewhere and identify the ones that were simply a good idea at the time but didn't have enough legs to take them anywhere special. The stone is being chipped away at fast and things are starting to feel like they're a little more achievable - then again, I did give myself a list from hell.
What's intriguing about this "thing" that I'm doing, is that I'm still torn between doing everything myself or working with a publisher - or rather, starting the long task of finding one. I made contact with an author that I haven't spoken to for about five years yesterday who had a bad experience with a large publishing company and only through being smart, managed to rescue himself and his canon from oblivion. He seems happy now with a much smaller publisher - we must talk further. Insider info can be invaluable. That was closely followed by this article I found, in which a novel, despite great things being said by email from the big guns themselves, appeared to remain in development hell for over ten years. Ten years!
Nobody has ten years to spend waiting around to decide if your book is good enough to publish or not. I don't care who you are or how big - that's nothing more than being shit at your job and you should be handed your papers and told to never come back again. Apart from it being incredibly lazy and oh, the lies you must have spun over that period, that's somebody's life being played with. Which is a good a reason as any to have an agent, but there's nothing written in law to say that the agent will do any better either.
I know a published author who doesn't live so far away from me who can't even get her agent to respond to her emails. Genuinely important emails about touring, money and what the status is of the book she submitted over six months ago. With a little research, we discovered that he was probably sleeping with one of his other female authors who is selling books at a good rate. Which all goes to prove one thing regardless of where you stand in life. When you're on the up, everybody wants to know you and be associated. When you're on the way down, they scatter like crows. The solution so far as I can see, is to do everything yourself (and I mean everything) and remember not to be a dick to anybody whether you, or they, are on the up or down. Nobody will ever care about your product as much as you do. Somebody will always take a bigger cut for the privilege of working on it than you will and you will forever be wondering when the axe will fall when your new one sells a little less than the last one.
It's harsh out there.
Then again - having your book in front of millions of shoppers every day is damned priceless. Such is the need for a publishing company - actually, that's not true. "Such is the need for a distribution company" would be more like it. It will change. I know it will because I know how the distribution points work and in a digital age, the stores are struggling to make it work on a daily basis. I just don't know when.
Now, you're probably feeling like I am. Sitting there thinking that yes, "Smith is correct. I must do it all myself because nobody else cares but me" - but the idea of selling a ton of books via a real store never goes away. Maybe that's a good thing. I'm just going to keep moving forward as best as I can - that's all any of us can do.
Also noteworthy out there this week is the appearance of Rowling's new book which has replaced 50 Shades as the "item of the week to pimp to death" in all stores across the land. No idea what it's like - it's not about a boy who is a wizard so I don't really care, but if you're a published author who wants to sell millions, that's what you're up against. I haven't even seen James Herbert's Ash in that many places since it (quietly) appeared last week - and The Wrath of Angels from John Connolly in even less places. That's sad - but not as sad as being a moth eaten hare on the end of a couple of sticks:
COMMERCIAL BREAK:
Talking of making it, which we kind of were, I'll leave you with the trailer for The Runaways movie. Much under-rated, highly enjoyable and if you've not seen it already, please go and sit in the corner.