I’ll be updating blogs and other randon stuff via the link above. Pop by.
Coming soon
Before I start my report, let me just say that Lidl’s Alesto salted peanuts might be the best peanuts I’ve ever had. Honestly, I could quite (and still might) gobble and crunch the whole bag.
Right. I was recently ‘invited’ to write something for Manchester Contact theatre’s ‘Verbally Challenged’. By ‘invited’, I mean, that I was among a pool of writers to be contacted for the monthly event. I previously submitted a sample of work to be considered for the pool. I got back to them and said no prob, I’ll write something. The brief was rather contrived. We (the other writers too)
had to write our own short play/sketch that would last around ten minutes about two people plotting against each other, and not revealing who was really plotting until the end. Something like that, I recall. Anyway, I didn’t want to limit myself with that so strayed away a little. My piece Psychosis Symphony was about a woman, who thinks some other person in her estate is bullying and harassing her, when in fact, with the help of Mozart, it is the other way around. Kind of. It was dream-like and featured crude secondary characters, including Mozart himself, to reflect my main character’s mind state. And it had some ace dialogue. I had about two weeks to put this thing together.
I did something for Contact Theatre a few years previously in 2003. They displayed an extract from ‘The Travesty’, a full length play that’s still knocking about and waiting for a full scale production.
I set off at 6.30 to beat traffic on the East Lancs road. By rights, I should have arrived just before 7 p.m., but the constant roadworks/fuck-ups (where no-one ever seems to be working) and the extended rush hour meant that it was about 7.28 p.m. when I eventually rolled into Contact Theatre’s car park. I literally reached ‘Space 2’ a small studio theatre space as they were starting. I’m rarely in a good mood when I’ve been rushing. However my baby was with me so I’d be all right. As with the similar showcase from a few years previously, there was a camp compere and about five short plays of which there’d be feedback in between. As before they were performed with scripts in hand, although the reading was impressive enough to forget that the actors were holding anything. Of course there were props, set, music and lighting to give the pieces some sense of atmosphere.
Unlike event years previously the studio space was, or at least felt, smaller. The audience were smaller, not individually, obviously but also not as broad. They were like clones. I’m loathe to use the term ‘hipster’ here but they were certainly more fashion and hairstyle conscious than the audience was a few years ago. Hey, but what matters is what comes out of their mouths during the feeback right? I’ll come to that. Still there didn’t seem to be the sense of occasion or effort as there was a few years ago. The aim of the event was to showcase new writing, and to vote for a winner. The ‘winner’ would ‘win’ £100.00. Essentially the winner, as it turned out, was the person who had brought the most friends.Cynical? As I said the audience was small compared to the full attendance of 2003.
Okay so what were the pieces like Mr. Bitterness? Well you know what mine was like. The actors and direction kind of reached 65-70% of how I wanted it to be presented. I was able to notice certain lines that didn’t work for me. Some of the scene transitions could have been handled more smoothly. Nit-picking aside, the overall performance was okay. The feedback was okay to an extent (those that spoke). I felt that there was an initial reluctance to engage with it. The audience response had been reasonable during the piece and I suppose they didn’t know how to respond, which is kind of what many of my pieces do, but when they work they really draw everyone in. I think also the fact that my piece went first was not really effective sequencing, not when you consider the next four plays that followed. So in a sense the audience hadn’t really had time to warm up.
The next four pieces were theatrical and seemed to hit their target audience. The pieces ranged from stuff about zombies and end of days, to a sleep walking woman who eats food, stressed out office workers who are on medication and a total rip off of Stephen King’s ‘Insomnia’. A total rip off. They also featured knob and toilet gags and LOTS OF SHOUTING! They really felt like spec scripts for E4. Powdered comedy where you just add water. Apart from the subject matter there was nothing in those pieces where you could separate the style of writers. I didn’t really have any feedback to add which would help the writers. They wouldn’t have listened anyway. Also it wouldn’t have felt right interfering as I was one of the writers, so I sort of stayed out of it. I don’t think they needed help as they had reached their audience. E.g. laughs= innovative writing. Did they work as comedies for me? Nah. They lacked focus and most of the characters spoke the same. Almost affected. The compere didn’t help as well, nodding and saying how fantastic everything was. Th audience feedback featured some classic constructive gems. ‘I have a friend who sleepwalks. It’s true, they eat too.’ Hmm.
The standard of the pieces in 2003 were far higher. Even my piece in 2003 was more daring than the piece I knocked together for last night. Many of the writers on that night seemed to be from all walks of life, whereas, last night bar me, and the Stephen King fan, the writers had exactly the same background. Unlike before I wasn’t able to enjoy another piece as much as mine or feel that there was something stronger, that the writers knew their subject and had an awareness of writing for the theatre. My piece suffered as I should have thought about my audience more, waited, gone to a couple of events to gauge the style of plays and the audience. I could have written something which they’d respond more to or to make life easier…just not bothered.
So what have I learned? Well I didn’t know that you could be flashed on the East Lancs Road by a red light camera for stopping at the traffic lights. Someone explain that one to me. That’s a new one. As for the showcase, well… I don’t know. It’s changed from last time. I’m sure, or I hope that this doesn’t represent that all audiences have changed. Maybe my writing, which I think is effortless and accessible, is actually too complex or messed up. I don’t know. I try to be succinct and I can’t bear stuff that has to nanny its audience, or over explain itself, as most entertainments seem to more than ever. The director got what my piece was about so I know I’m not fully crazy. If I have a problem it’s that I over analyse things. Look it was just a small experiment, a night out, not a full scale play at The National. It went down okay and if I’m honest (like I haven’t been already) my piece wasn’t as strong as the last thing I submitted. Will I write something for them again? We’ll see. Probably not. Will this affect my writing or the pursuit of a career? It won’t make a difference.
Sorry, I just don’t buy attractive girls from Greece, Spain and Asia are ‘liking’ posts about publishing. Nah.I always block and report spammers. Good luck x
Influence #4 ‘The President’s Analyst’
If, for various reasons you’re having problems attracting publishers, agents, or that your work doesn’t seem to fit the right niche, maybe it’s best to go indie and do it yourself. Why not? You still might only attract about three readers but it’s what musicians and artists do. Turn it into a virtue, being ‘limited’ is more attractive than being ‘commercial’ or even ‘a sad bastard writer that can’t even find a publisher’. Make an effort though with the work. You still need to do a decent editing job, get trusted people to check your MS for typos.
There’ll be snooty types who will have the following logic ‘Oh no! You’re not a writer! Only proper writers should be published by proper publishers.’ They will deliver this with a huff and a puff. You have to remember that these people are often journalists who have failed to make a career out of their debut novels and resent everyman having a chance. These fuck ups, are the type of people who also might say ‘Bloggers are evil! We can’t be doing with everyone having an opinion. Where will that leave the learned people with valid viewpoints who write coloums in the Sunday broadsheets?’ Really, these people should be shot in the fingers.
Let’s get the distinction right here. Vanity publishing is a form of publishing that rips off people into thinking that they can have careers as professional authors. Often these authors will have to pay lots of money to have their work published and will fail to recoup the costs. The vanity publishing houses will always get something. Only go down this route if you are retarded, incredibly stoopid or your ego is so huge and you’re the type of person who loves throwing your money out of the windows in your house for years on end. No legit publisher wants money from you to publish your work.
Self-publishing or publishing on demand, which via the internet and recent technology makes it easier to publish your own work, still has its pitfalls but these quality oversights are down to the individual author. Such oversights can be avoided. Firstly, you can register on free websites that will allow you to upload your content which then can be formatted and printed. You won’t have to pay anything unless you want your own copies. But via the internet and social networking you can promote your books and sign post people/prospective readers to your content where they can buy the hard copy or digital version, often at a price you have set yourself. Occasionally your work may even be hosted on other book sellers lists. Sounds great, right? Depends. On one hand, you can cut out the middle man and get your work out there. But unless you’re unable to get it proof read or edited by a trusted source or you lack whatever skills, or imagination, or vision, or flair, and, importantly, the promotional tools, the product won’t get the attention the bigger publishing house could offer. This POD market is open (in theory). However those with money could effectively promote their work, no matter how shit it is. If you have a big family or circle of friends you’ll probably sell more copies. If you know how to promote or are willing to pay for extra services you may shift even more copies.
The POD market is filled to the brim with very poor works. Because of this, it doesn’t have a good reputation and could reflect badly on your own publication. Not only can these websites house poor quality, and poorly written and pitched stuff but with loony authors who, because they can set their own prices, will expect Joe Public to pay about £15 -£30 for a book from an unproven author about Cookie Making For Christ or something, all because they want to bump up their royalties. Then they’ll have the audacity to whinge and complain on the POD forums when they aren’t selling anything. Hmm…gee…lemme think! Ironically you’ll find ‘authors’ of guides about how to get published, designed to appeal to the insecure author. Never bought one of these. No point. Not only do they state the obvious I’ve pretty much been discussing on this blog, but they don’t have the answers. How do I know? I read one of these guides in the local library, and by page 14 I decided that not only was it full of shit but I hadn’t actually heard of this so-called successful author of the book. So I would certainly not recommend any bullshit guides like that, and I wouldn’t expect you to buy any guides for real money, and neither, for that matter, would any major writer.
So don’t go the POD route of you’re expecting a career or that the big publishing houses will pick you up. They won’t. I’d use it for the experience and maybe as an inexpensive way of filing your own works on your bookshelf, in the hope that a friend may want to read you work or that you have a couple of spare copies for any networking opportunities. Other than that, forget it. Best thing to do is, if you aren’t precious about money, is to make up an ebook, design a lovely digital cover and give them away to your friends for nowt. That’s what I might do for my mini project next.
The problem I have with POD with this is that you have to do the promotion. So even if you have a title on Amazon it doesn’t automatically translate that 1. everyone will buy your book and 2. everyone will know how to find your book 3. anyone actually knows its on Amazon.com. So from experience this area is OK if you want to get a feel for the novel as a product, as hard copy but if you want to actually sell any copies you have to whore it around and bore people rigid by reminding them that its out, and they might like it. Effectively you have to turn your friends into fans and readers. Which is not on.
My own view is that I’m philosophical about it. I have had some experience with this. One POD (Print-on-demand) publisher didn’t and were under no obligation to market my work, just as shopping sites were under no obligation to list it. I then sent the work to an ebook publisher who was able to have it listed on more or less every major shopping site. Still, I have to market it essentially. Unfortunately I can’t set the price with this publisher, and no doubt, will the shopping sites make the work free or offer it as part of a deal with other products. So how’s it doing? Perhaps it’s a slow burner.
In the ongoing mini-saga that is my novel I am hoping to present my book to prospective publishers and agents before my 40th birthday, which is over a year away. (I made this joke to myself when I was 27. I didn’t laugh then.)
Over the course of this blog I have felt that the book is not only linked to my health but to the work undertaken on the house, to more home improvements, to the consideration of looking for another place and starting the process again. (Read back the older posts to see what I mean.)
The long and short of it is this: The novel is completed. It’s being proof- read and edited. It’s a good novel. I want it better. Tighter. With all the above to consider, it will take a little longer. I will be posting some extracts at some stage, probably when it’s being whored about. In any case it’s hardly being waited on.
In the meantime, while the novel is being edited I have been working on other projects and developing things. These include;
BLOGS. I probably manage too many. Compartmentalisation perhaps. They’re all frivolous.
MEDIA UNFRIENDLY. This is not only a blog but also the name of a collection of fiction I’ve been developing for as long as my novel. I’m going to edit this and get this out on some platform soon.
STIMULI. This is the title of even shorter, pocket book, app-like fiction I’ve been jotting down. Some of the pieces are on the Media Unfriendly tumblr. I’d like to put this collection out for nowt very soon. It’s only small.
I CAN COMPLETE YOU. Ironic title. This is another NEW novel I’m currently writing. The way it’s going it might even be ready before the one featured in this blog. I was going to give a hint about what it’s like but I can’t be arsed. I deleted it.
There’s probably other things too. I don’t have the hours and most of the time, the motivation. Life keeps cropping up. The reality of writing a novel and having NO CONTACTS is that you have to work, pay the bills, deal with things and cope. So it’ll all happen when it happens. If it doesn’t, it won’t.
Music I’ve been listening to: The Field, Erasure (yes, new material) and there’s one by M83 I’ll have to get on with.
Film and TV: Re-watching Forbrydelsen. Generally enjoying the Blue-Ray player. Fascinated that it was able to play an avi. file copied onto DVD, without losing the aspect ratio (or whatever it’s called) The film in question was ‘Seconds’, an influence on the book. Can’t seem to get the DVD over here. Also watched the Icelandic Night Shift/Day Shift/Prison Shift and Bjarnfredersson film. Best series I’ve seen in a long time. So yeah. Scandanavian TV. Much better than UK. Really.
Influence #3
The Prisoner/Patrick McGoohan.
Somewhere in your community a place will exist called a ‘Writers Group’ or ‘Script Doctors’ or ‘Syntax Surgey’ or something. They are often for writers, readers and actors to get together with a view to getting their work read, performed or scrutinised or whatever it is they do these days
Following on from my other articles about finding and agent/publisher, (based on my experience by the way, not by any means the voice of reason) this is an other area you could consider. Many agents and publishers will suggest this also. I’m not against criticism or peer-to-peer appraisals-not in theory at any rate. In these groups you will find writers from various sections of the community, with some interesting mentalities. The feedback and guidance you will find can be helpful, intelligent to the staggeringly wide of the mark variety. For most people they are a good excuse for a piss up in the pub afterwards. I’ve been to these groups before. They’re okay but generally only suited for folk who are highly strung, bordering on the insane. Yet they attract the latter by the pasty shop load. While you will come across some genuine moments of inspirational writing, there’s only so many third rate kitchen sink soap operas or (insert here what genre is trendy at the time) you can stand without willing a stroke.
With regards to feedback of your work people will be too overtly optimistic, banal or vague, for fear of causing tension.This is due down to avoiding conflict but also it’s because many writers lack confidence and security in their own work, and don’t feel somehow qualified to comment on the structure, style and general technicalities of someone else’s work. So the less secure writers will sometimes feel that they have to redraft something which ends up being a strange meld of the dominant feedback, which might not be what’s best for the work. Imagine giving Ritalin to JG Ballard or, for that matter, Prozac to Kafka. Obviously this is a bit of a silly analogy. Still writing groups are okay for ideas and meeting people. Ideas are good. There should be similar groups for builders, hairdressers, social workers, call centre workers, prostitutes and carpet fitters.
Right off for a cup of tea. Ooh, Giorgio Moroder’s ‘Rotwang’s Party’ from the widely slated musical version of Metropolis has just come on.
influence #2
The Vanishing Trailer
What you’ll find more often than not is that you can’t get a publisher unless you have an agent. I don’t have an agent so I might be screwed. But there are authors who do have an agent and they’re still screwed.
You’ll also discover, if it hasn’t been thumped into you, if you aren’t dissuaded by millions of articles and tips from publishing houses, and other public safety warnings, that publishers rarely have time to read anything, that there are tens of thousands of unpublished manuscripts clogging up their drains (if they haven’t been burned or binned, or vomited on), that even if they do get to your manuscript, if it doesn’t grab them within a couple of sentences, if that, it’ll be skimmed across the room, if it isn’t too much of an effort.
What you’re also dealing with, if the impossible does happen and you get your work read, is someone with an agenda. The agenda usually follows ‘Can we make any money from this?’, ‘Is it original?’, ‘If it isn’t original, is there a trend for this kind of crap?’ Although this seems cynical and harsh you can, to some extent, understand it if you consider how many loonies are out there in the world, sending poor Barbara Cartland-esque novels in to any old publisher, thousands of sub-Terry Pratchett, thousands of gothic horrors about teen vampires, thousands upon thousands of books about aspirational young women who love shagging. There’s no end to it. If you don’t believe me just join a local writers group, open mic poetry night or something and try work out the lame ducks for yourself. It also doesn’t help that many of them won’t have heard of a dictionary or even a word processor, or that they won’t pay the correct postage and wonder why they haven’t heard anything for 15 years.
Some advice you may get in the Writers and Artists Yearbook is to get other people to read your manuscript and get their honest opinions, because somehow it will reflect the real reading experience. While this might sound dandy and reasonable it’s not always a good idea. Only YOU know the work more than anyone. Although it’s good to distance yourself and get some outside ideas, YOU will be able to take on board the constructive stuff. Also other readers may be too close to you. Familiy and friends as readers is not a good idea.
Because;
1.They’ll either love it unreservedly
2.They’ll hate it unreservedly.
3.They won’t be arsed reading it.
4.They’ll love it unreservedly to your face (but hate the book and you in secret)
5. They’ll be indifferent
6.They’ll lose it.
7. If they love it enough they may nick it.
Having said that, my girl, is often brutally direct about what she loves and doesn’t love about my work. Anything I disagree with I will defend but after having a think about it, will often come to the same conclusions. In fact if there’s a mistake in this post, a typo or something she’ll let me know.
You might also be tempted to buy or borrow books which try and teach you how to be a writer. These are often cons. I won’t claim for a minute that my experience and opinion on this will get you published. It probably won’t. Such books, often by bitter, failed writers who teach minor modules at Uni, or run night courses, will have tips, will promise the world, will state the obvious and attempt make money from your lack of confidence, from you not actually getting published. There’s tons of books like this, tons of adverts which ask ‘Why not become a writer?’ as if any jerk could do it. Yep, you can teach certain formulas, techniques, styles and structure but you can’t teach imagination. So yes, be original, but be aware that being original or different or techically fantastic might not actually be marketable. Actually being original is not thinking of writing something that’s never been written about because every conceivable subject has been. It just means to really, really, honestly or dishonestly emphaise that special thing that makes you, you. That’s your voice, your style, your tone, your hang up’s, your quirks…That can be difficult if you’re a carbon copy of everyone else, watch the same things, do the same things, go to the same places on holiday, have the same opinions…again, all very difficult in this post-modern day and age. But you know what I mean. You should still have an outlook based on your own experiences, background and observations. This waffling is important as it will inform your writing and perhaps crucially it could be that 1% that gets your manuscript read, rather than filed under ‘Boring. Cliched. Drivel. This writer is a cunt.’ Think like a publisher. To an extent.
The best thing would be to not bother. Don’t waste your time. Get a real job. Seriously no-one is interested unless it’s gonna make them loads of cash. You will have more chance entering writing competitions (some of which are still entered by established authors) or writing for Porn magazines (The latter which is someting I’ve considered.) Wait a minute, I don’t want to leave you feeling negative and worthless. There are ways to get your work read, like blogs, publishing your work as an ebook and getting out there, writers groups, etc. But they have their own problems. Which I’ll write about later.
Right now I’m fucked off because Virgin Media are hopeless. This blog will have to be copy and pasted at a later date because Virgin Media have no idea how to solve connection problems, let alone know how they are caused. I’ve called them three times, had the indignity of having to get down on my knees to connect, disconnect wires, check modem lighting, plug it back in, book an engineer, cancel an engineer because it seemed to work again and now the engineer has been cancelled, this fucking thing, fucks up again.
influence#1
Wild Palms (Oliver Stone)
I saw this mini-series in 1993. Wasn’t too sure about it although I liked certain elements, imagery and it’s oddness. Not as odd as Twin Peaks, I suppose, but I never watched Twin Peaks, apart from the film prequel. Yeah.
By the bridge, where I slapped Marie, is a church. It’s like a church but not a proper one like the church round the corner from our house near the paper shop. Every Sunday you can hear an angry voice shouting at everyone, really shouting. I looked in once to see what was happening and I saw this black man stood at the front shouting things at everyone. The voice is so loud and scary. But for some reason everyone always ends up singing afterwards and they sound happy. One Sunday I saw my friend Marc DeCosta there. He told me that he goes to Sunday school. I don’t know why anyone would want to go to school on Sunday when they don’t have to.
One afternoon when I was coming out from school once there were friendly people giving out posters and badges which said ‘Hi there, be there!’ It sounded like a weekly youth club where there was fun and games and a disco, so I asked my mum if I could go. She wasn’t sure at first but after she said it was okay. It was at that church near the bridge where I slapped Marie.
When I went into the hall I was given a badge which said ‘Hi there, be there,’ on it. Inside there was a stage and some people at the front with guitars and a projection screen with words on it. There were a lot of kids there and the friendly people were sitting at the front wearing bright-coloured t-shirts. ‘Hi there!’ they called out. At first they said how important families were and how they always forgave us no matter what we did. This made me feel good about myself because I often wondered why my family are miserable. Then the friendly people played some songs on their guitars and we joined in with the chorus on the screen, clapping our hands. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and we sang along. Everyone was smiling. The adults sounded like they were from America. I liked this because sometimes I imagined that Bristol was America. They’d shout ‘Hi there!’ and we’d reply ‘Be there!’ After some more songs and some fizzy drinks they played us a film on the screen, but it wasn’t like a real film but slides but we could hear the sound of the people in the film talking. The film was about a dad and his son. The dad told his son that it was time for bed and he had to go to his room. When the dad went upstairs to check the boy was playing games in his room. His dad told him to turn the light off, but his son said that his dad only told him to go to his room. He didn’t tell him anything about turning the light off. I thought that was funny, and we were laughing. His dad shouted at him and he had to turn the light off, but the boy got angry and said that it wasn’t fair and he wasn’t allowed to do anything. So the boy said he was going to move out and took his tent into the yard. He took some food with him and went outside. When it was dark the boy got scared and put the torch on and took out some food but he needed a can opener. When he went to the kitchen it was locked so he went back in the tent. But it was cold in the tent and he was getting scared and hungry. The boy went to sleep, and moaned about his dad. When he woke up he found that he had an extra blanket on him and a can opener. He thought his dad wasn’t so bad after all. He had only tried to look after him. When he went back inside his dad was cooking breakfast and they said sorry to each other. His dad said it was okay but he had to understand that his dad cared about his welfare. He asked his son if he wanted a ‘cowboy breakfast’. (I wonder what a cowboy breakfast is.) If that was me, my mum and dad would be right cheesed off. When we lived with my dad if I was late home after playing out I’d get a clip round the ear and sent to bed without anything to eat or drink. They never worried about me. I’d run away if I knew they’d worry but they’d only get angry and hit me and send me to bed early while everyone else stayed out. When we lived with my dad I was sent to bed early loads of times. Even straight after school. I didn’t like it when it happened in summer because it was still light outside and my friends would call for me and my mum or dad would shout at them and say ‘He’s not coming out until further notice.’ So I would look out of my bedroom window at the kids playing outside and wish I was playing with them. No-one else ever got sent to bed early or hit. That’s why I wished I had a different dad because when he went out to the pub at night I could get up and have something to eat and watch Hammer House of Horror or The Sweeny or Tales of the Unexpected.
I didn’t go to ‘Hi there, be there!’ again because my mum and grandma didn’t think it was a good idea. I told them that there was nothing wrong, everyone was nice and we all sang songs but my granddad said I should listen to my mum. They don’t tell you anything older people. They’re boring and grumpy. I think it’s because they are jealous.
The Writers and Artists Yearbook. Have you ever waded through this thing? This is supposed to be the bible, the network of all networks for new artists and writers. For years budding actors, artists and writers have breathlessly rushed over to the main desk at the library (if they have a desk), their head’s full of stardust (more likely sawdust) about scenario’s that will see their transformation from the ugly, failed duckling writer/actor/dancer/pop star into a beautiful swan of art and literature. (Awful. I’m hungry, and want to press ahead. Forgive the duff imagery.)
Practically/typically they, we and me will jot down some addresses, put some numbers into our mobiles every couple of years and sit back and wait for rejections from agents, theatres and publishing houses. The Writers and Artists Yearbook is also a book about etiquette; how to present your letter, how to format a manuscript, how to approach agents, how to make a phone call. I created a database of publishers, agents, production houses and theatres in the hope that they might match my style of writing and criteria. Did it work for me?
I nearly was successful through this route. A few weeks after I sent an earlier version of my first novella out, Replika, I was contacted by a publisher who called and emailed to say how funny and satirical it was but unfortunately he only publishes erotic fiction and since my book wasn’t actually an erotic work, and because of its style, I should either put it into a blog or publish it myself. After tons of rejections, often many, many months and years of sending them stuff for different things, I found a publisher who would not only publish it digitally, but would be able to make it available almost anywhere, at no cost to me. (More on this later) So write erotic fiction or look into publishing it yourself if you can’t find an agent or publisher. (More on this letter. Even this is an experience in itself)
Obviously it helps if the work is original, fresh, different, well written, aspires to be different and well written and is much cop. (Very good.) Not that these standards stops books selling trillions everyday.
NEXT TIME: Finding an agent/getting published/Still trying…
…my progress of getting, by hook or by crook, this novel into one format or another. It’s been written, re-written, re-worked, lost, torn, burned, redrafted and gone through many facelifts since it’s original short story back in 1994. (I’ve mentioned all of that stuff on here of course, scroll back. It’s illuminating. ) It’ll be published one way or another, even if I place this thing here. So do scroll down and find out more information about the process. I did start this thing last year. (True) Had alopecia for a while. ( Also True) At the moment the book has almost been finished/edited/proofed. Then it’s onto the next thing, which i’m about a third through.
If you have a ‘tumblr’ feel free to follow and I’ll follow back. Unless you’re one of those spammers who look like a a model and bang on about sales figures and things.
So. Yep. Hello.
