Did I mention I have a new book out next month?
And other less surprising updates
NEWS:
I’ve recently put together a list of five books for book recommendation site Shepherd.com, on the theme of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. That’s going to be live on Monday, so I’ll come back and drop the link in then.
I’m also going to be recording an episode of the Worldshapers podcast in June, so keep an eye out for that.
All this is, of course, part of the promotional push for Parallels, which is now just under four weeks away from publication. So not too late to give it a boost by pre-ordering it direct from Deixis Press.
It’s now just three weeks until my first book fair at Norwich Forum. It’d be lovely to see you there, but if you can’t make it and want to help out a little, I’m soon going to be ordering the rest of the stock. If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter and want to show your appreciation…
ON WRITING:
My dad called me at work yesterday to tell me he’d just finished reading Parallels and that he’d really enjoyed it.
Obviously, parents are supposed to say things like that, but I know my dad well enough to know that he meant it, and it means a lot. It’s sci-fi, so it’s his genre, but it’s still good to know that he got a kick out of reading it. When you’re as close to something as a piece of writing or art that you’ve created yourself, that moment when someone else looks at it for the first time can be really scary. We don’t always trust ourselves to know when something we’ve written is good.
Having others tell you your book’s good is an awesome feeling. It’s not just getting a compliment, it’s about that huge wave of relief that comes from knowing you’ve not just spent however-many-hours tapping away at a stinky pile of garbage.
Taking care of your mental health as a writer is both important and, at times at least, difficult. You invest so much of yourself in this project that, anyway you look at it, takes a huge amount of time. Taking that final step to put it in someone else’s hands is a huge act of trust.
There are other ways it can impact you. Both Playtime’s Over and Greyskin were well received, so I didn’t have the issue of bad reviews to worry about. Nevertheless, publication for both of them was followed by a solid few weeks of depression for me. You’ve built yourself up, the book appears and then… Back to work the next day. Nobody reads it straight away, so you don’t even know how it’s going down. And if you’re traditionally published you’re probably at that point a few months away from knowing whether anyone bought it. There’s a blank void of time there which, certainly for me, was a real test.
IRL job uncertainty means I’m already a little wobbly at the moment, so I need to be extra aware of the potential for a crash come May 22nd. I’m hoping that part of the issue before has been a “what next” thing because, if so, we’ve already got that one covered with It’s Hard to Tell You This in Sept. And hopefully by then, I’ll be knee-deep in the next book. But there’s every chance the next couple of months could be rough.
Knowing that, being aware of the pitfalls, is a positive step, though. Forewarned is forearmed etc And this is true for all of us, connected to creative pursuits or not. We should take as much care of our mental health as we do our physical, and not just by treating it when it goes wrong. Living well to prevent those bad spells, or at least minimise them, is important for all of us.
I have enjoyed:
Vengeance - BJ Novak’s directorial debut caught me by surprise. Watched it on the off-chance and was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it. Novak also wrote the movie and stars as Ben, a New York journalist looking for material for a podcast. He finds himself in Texas attending a funeral of a girl he barely knew, whose family are all convinced he was the love of the girl’s life. ‘Shallow city type finds himself when forced to interact with good country folk’ is a familiar trope, but Novak executes it perfectly, and it’s not the only thing going on in this unpredictable and surprisingly moving film.
“If you’ve any ideas for amusing captions, I’d love to hear them.” Alanis Morissette - As a treat for my fiftieth, we bought tickets for one of Morissette’s UK shows in the summer. Ironically1, aside from the ubiquitous Jagged Little Pill and the follow-up Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, I didn’t know any of her more recent stuff, so as homework for the gig2, I splashed out on four more of her albums3 this month. Turns out she’s made a lot of good stuff. Looking forward to the gig more than ever now.
“This one’s a song about my ex…” Now Barabbas - This 1949 prison movie has an absolutely outstanding ensemble cast. Richard Burton, William Hartnell, Kenneth More, Leslie Dwyer, Kathleen Harrison, Dandy Nichols… the list goes on. Richard Greene plays a man condemned to hang and through the movie we learn, via flashbacks, how several of the prisoners found themselves inside, all the while with the clock ticking down to the execution. Profound, engaging, comic at times, it’s an impressive gem.
I’ve not idea what Trotsky’s doing there, mind.
I have not enjoyed:
JK Rowling’s grotesque delight in the Supreme Court’s decision to ruling on the definition of a woman. Personally, I’m staunchly in support of transgender rights but am aware that we are a society painfully finding its way into a new reality, and that this is an incredibly complex conceptual dilemma. If your response, however, to this ruling is to post a picture of yourself on the deck of a yacht smoking a fat cigar and quoting the A-Team, it’s just confirmation that your concerns have never been about the safety of women4 and all about punching down on the marginalised out of your own prejudice.
Isn’t it time we stopped polluting the oceans with our garbage?
Purchase Greyskin (Deixis Press) and Playtime’s Over (Propolis) direct from their respective publishers, as well as from all the usual places, online and off.
Pre-order either of my upcoming titles from Deixis Press.
Ray Adams’ self-published books are available online.
This newsletter is currently free but obviously takes time to produce. If you’d like to support an indie author still finding his way, I have a Buy Me a Coffee account. Your call.
I also review books on my website, most of which are available through my affiliate book shop on uk.bookshop.org - it’s a great alternative to certain online leviathans owned by Trump-supporting billionaires, and supports independent bookshops. Affiliates also get a % of books sold through them, so go have a look.
Is it?
Nothing makes fun more fun than adequate preparation.
Sounds excessive but in HMV I found a bargain boxset of five of her albums for a mere £14. Worth it even though two of them were the afore-mentioned JLP and SFIJ.
I don’t trivialise the issue of women being, or feeling, safe. But nobody’s undergoing gender reassignment just to abuse women. And even the faintest awareness of how much women are abused every day by men who are just living as men will tell you that.