Hey kins, what's new?
Just a little update during a busy week
WRITING:
Heads up, it’s been a funny week in the real world for us, so I’ve been somewhat distracted1. However, I’ve a couple of bits of news to relate and an event to look back on.
News-wise, it’s a game of two halves. We march slowly but more confidently towards publication news for Parallels. I’m not going to jinx anything by jumping the gun, but suffice to say that I’m ever more hopeful of being able to put a copy into your hands at some point in the not so-very-distant future. A good reason to subscribe to make sure you don’t miss any announcements…
On the flip side, my hope that Propolis might be interested in a second novella in the vein of Playtime’s Over has come to naught. While I’m delighted with how Last Call For Sin’s first draft has turned out, Henry’s told me that at this moment in time he’s not looking to publish any new fiction for the foreseeable. Disappointing, naturally, but he’s a man with many strings to his bow and must set his own priorities. I remain utterly indebted to him for birthing Playtime, and therefore my writing career, and for making me a better writer in the process. He’s become a friend and an ally, and if the chance arose to work with him in the future, nothing would delight me more.
What happens with Last Call now, I’m not sure. Backburner while I continue to polish up Parallels and finish the next Ray Adams, for sure. After that, who knows? Maybe now’s the time to think seriously about getting an agent…
Just after my last newsletter, so what feels like an age ago now, I had my book event at Anteros. It was great to sit down with fellow authors and talk books, as well as read from Greyskin. I only hope that the eight people who turned out for it had as good a time as I did.
A disappointing turnout, admittedly, and while part of me accepts that the life of an indie author probably does contain more sitting-in-an-upstairs-room-talking-to-half-a-dozen-people than one would ideally like, there were some aspects around the promotion of the event that I felt could, with a little work, yield better results. Is that diplomatic enough?
It would be deeply unprofesh of me to start whinging here about something set up in good faith, and it would also ignore the reality that I genuinely had a fun evening. But one thing I’ve learned since becoming an author, especially on the self-pub side, is that having a book is only part of selling a book. These days, you need to think seriously about how you go about promotion and not just assume that a good book (or event) will sell itself. It’s a lot of work, and I’ve yet to actually crack that nut, but part of taking something on is committing the time to it.
The line-up for the next Norwich Book Slam has been announced - details here. One of my regrets is that I can only link you to the July event, not a dedicated home online to the Book Slam as a whole; not even a Facebook Page where, once connected, you could continue to receive updates about future slams. One of the improvements I feel would yield those better results I mentioned. Ho-hum.
I will give a shout-out to my fellow panellists. Ali Smith’s The Ballad of Speedball Baby, Time Cooke’s Dark Play and Guy Ware’s Our Island Story all sounded great, and I can personally vouch for Judith Heneghan’s Birdeye, having gone straight out from the event and read it - it’s an excellent novel, I thoroughly enjoyed it2. It was a pleasure to meet them all and I felt utterly out of my depth next to their talent and achievements. Hopefully I didn’t show it.
I have enjoyed:
Charlie Chaplin - I can honestly say that until a couple of weeks ago, I had never seen a Charlie Chaplin movie. Clips, obviously; the little tramp is as familiar an icon to me as he is to everyone, but I’d never sat down and watched a whole film. Thankfully, Sky Arts’3 recent run has enabled me to correct this shocking omission and I’ve recently watched The Kid, The Gold Rush and City Lights. Of the three, I probably connected most with The Gold Rush, though I would admit that City Lights is almost certainly the stronger film. I’m a convert4, though, and am looking forward to Modern Times, The Great Dictator, Monsieur Verdoux and Limelight, which are all on the agenda for the upcoming.
Even if you’ve never seen it, you’ve seen it, right? Seinfeld - Epically late to the party, but the sitcom about the four friends, the least funny of which is a stand-up comedian, is pretty good, eh? Jerry Seinfeld, of course, has been in the news of late for trotting out the old “couldn’t make it now, cancel culture, woke blah blah blah” nonsense. Thank goodness for Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s more measured take. Michael Richards, who effectively was cancelled after a 2006 racist outburst at a club, would presumably also see things slightly differently given how he immediately sanctioned himself, taking responsibility for his behaviour in a way that a lot of people supposedly-cancelled (as they declare loudly from their Netflix specials and to their millions of social media followers) could learn from. Still, the show’s great, even if I find myself baffled every time Jerry makes fun of someone else’s hair.
I’d take Kramer’s quiff or even George’s baldness over Jerry’s bouffant mullet any day of the week. Miranda July - Also on the reading list this week has been July’s new novel All Fours. I’ve written a longer review on my website, but fans of July’s bold, fearless and open storytelling should definitely get themselves a copy. As inquisitive as ever, in her quest to explore how human beings make connections you can draw a straight line from All Fours right back to her debut feature film Me And You And Everyone We Know. It’s good to know she’s out there still asking the same important questions in ever-new and engaging ways.
It’s true. The NHS - Good reason to be thankful this week, and a great reason not to vote Conservative on 4th July. Personally, I’m voting Green.
Greyskin (Deixis Press) and Playtime’s Over (Propolis) are both available direct from their respective publishers, as well as from all the usual places, online and off. You can also support my work by buying Ray Adams’ self-published books, or by simply buying me a coffee.
You can also pay for this free newsletter, if paying for free stuff is your jam.
Annoyingly vague, like your old schoolmate’s Facebook updates, but not really for discussion here. Positive outcome though, so nothing to be concerned about.
For a longer review, check out my website.
It’s a Freeview channel, so even Rishi should be able to see it!
Of his movies. Not so much the predilection for young girls.