Perhaps The Most Valuable £80 I’ve Earned

It’s just struck me that it was almost eight years ago, to the day, when I was first paid for my writing.

I’d been taking writing seriously for a couple of years before that, and I’d had some success, but I’d never been paid and I’d been wondering if I was good to enough to do it properly. So, I’d written a feature for a county magazine. It was about a local beauty spot which was supposed to be where King Arthur and his knights lay in a slumber, waiting for Britain’s hour of need before they’d wake up and, yannow, kick ass. I did a lot of research. I found out other interesting bits about the surrounding areas – the one that comes to mind is how a reputable university paid people to dig up bodies from a churchyard so they could be used by medical students.

So, I wrote it. I worked hard writing it, and it was good. And I pitched it. And I crapped myself when the editor rang me and I made a fool of myself by trying to be funny (‘How long have you been writing?’ he asked. ‘Since I was about five,’ I said. He didn’t laugh). But despite that, in November 2003, he told me he’d like to buy the article from me. I punched the air but there was a huge part of me that didn’t quite believe it’d actually happen.

But it did. In April 2004 it was printed. I think I was 22. And that’s when everything changed. That’s when I knew, when I had actual evidence, that I could be good enough. And if I worked hard and if I was lucky then, I knew, there was no reason why I couldn’t be good enough again.

And I have been lucky since. And I have worked really bloody hard. I’ve had books published (and liked!) and I’ve had short stories published and I had, for a time, other features and bits published too.

And I’m not quite sure what the point of telling you this is. Maybe I’m trying to encourage you to take your writing seriously and to work hard and to know that it only takes one moment, one story, one feature, to give you the confidence to know that you’re good enough. Maybe it’s a lesson in hard work or tenacity. Maybe I’m saying that if I (Mr no English Lit degree, no A levels, no writing courses, no contact with other writers) can do it, then there’s no reason why you can’t either. Maybe I’m wondering where those eight years went. Maybe I’m feeling old. Maybe I’m acknowledging that you can’t stop at just one success – that you have to continue to work hard because you’re only as good as your last work and that it doesn’t get any easier; we just get used to it not being easy.

Or maybe I’m saying – just do it. Because you never know.

(I’m wondering now if I still have the original document on my computer. I think I’d better have a look…)

Freaks! The First Review

Some things never change. You (in this case, we!) write a book, and it’s hard and it’s tiring and you hope that, when you’ve finished, it’ll be good enough to be published. After many months and lots and lots of hard work and worry you finish it and you find that, actually, you think it is good and that you’re actually really, really proud of it. And it gets accepted for publication. By someone brilliant.

And then the worry comes back. You like it, your publisher likes it, but you wonder: will anyone else? Will they get it? You hope so. Very much.

And then it’s all pre-publication nerves, waiting for people’s response. Will anyone read it, you wonder, let alone spend the time talking about it somewhere.

And then they do. They read it. They spend the time talking about it. And they LIKE it. Honestly, having people get and enjoy what you’ve written is one of THE best feelings out there.

This happened yesterday. The first review of Freaks! went up over at Comics Review. They said things like ‘Freaks! is a stunning collection’ and ‘These 47 individual slices of kitchen sink fantasy are written with scathing wit, measured surreality, biting venom and shattering poignancy, all graced and augmented with lavish and plentiful monochrome illustrations by author/artist Darren Craske.’.

It makes me very, very happy. You can, if you like, read the whole review here.

Thanks, Comics Review!

99 Reasons Why

It’s publication day today of the fabulous Caroline Smailes’ eBook only, 99 Reasons Why‘. So, first off – hooray!

Second, there’s something a little special going on. As the book (as I’m sure you’ll have heard) has not one, but a whole load of possible endings, some of them have been made available exclusively on the internet. This, as I’m sure you’ll agree, is both an exceptionally cool idea and something that (as far as I know) has never happened before. If you’re curious, or would like to sample some of the endings, CLICK HERE.

In Which I Recommend Two Films

I wouldn’t consider myself to be anywhere close to being a movie buff. I mean, I like films, I just haven’t, over this past few years, managed to find the time to watch too many of them. I think the last time I went to the cinema was to see the Benjamin Button movie (which I loved), so, there’s a little perspective for you.

Anyway. So as not to bore you. I recently bought Apple TV, and as a result have had more of a reason to watch films. And watch them I have. Two have stood out as being exceptional and, while they’re both very different, I think they’re both well worth checking out.

The first is Restless. I LOVED it. It’s about a chap who attends other people’s funerals who gets into a relationship with a terminally ill girl. Oh, and his best friend’s the ghost of a WW2 Japanese Kamikaze pilot. Brilliantly simple, wonderfully wonky and something really quite special. If you ask me.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7t29dNoTxs]

The second is ‘Sleeping Beauty’. I actually rented it because I thought it was a new take on the Fairy Tale. I was wrong. But I was not disappointed. It’s beautifully shot and acted and it’s, without doubt, uncomfortable. I can’t think of anything that’s got under my skin like it. Certainly not recently. It’s exceptional. It MOVED me, and that’s exactly what great stories do. Here’s the trailer.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CU_gV-8esY]

Do let me know if you watch any of them.

What I’ve Been Doing (With Pictures)

Well, it’s been quite the busy few weeks here at Perring Towers. Things have been happening. Stuff has been done.

MOST exciting was receiving my copies of Freaks!. I have inspected it daily, and I can tell you that it is still VERY beautiful and I’m still impossibly proud of it. And I’m really looking forward to people reading it (and desperately hoping it’s liked!).

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Last week saw the first person complete my online Flash Fiction course, and with superb results. I’m enjoying running this. It’s good. And if people are genuinely benefiting from it (which they certainly appear to be) then that’s even better. So, yes. Hooray.

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Last Thursday, for World Book Day, I went over to Congleton Library (one of my favourites) to be a part of a panel discussing all things books. I listened, I talked, I read, and it was all great. A really positive evening. What, I think, struck me the most was the sheer appetite people have for stories – and that’s EXACTLY as I’d hoped it would be. It means that I’m right in loving what I do so much. (Big thanks to my fellow panel members and to Mike and Daniel for organising the event, and to Daniel for the pic.)

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And I’ve been busy on the editing front too. I’m still busy with The Story Corrective stuff, and THRILLED to see the success that’s coming out of it. I was pleased too, to be involved with the editing side of Caroline Smailes’ ‘100 RPM’ collection – a collection of stories inspired by songs on youtube she’s putting together for the brilliant One in Four charity. And I can tell you, it’s looking GOOD.

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And that’s about it, I reckon. Well, for now at least. Now, I write.

Freaks! Reasons To Be Very Excited

So, this morning the postman delivered a couple of copies of Freaks!. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am with the finished product. Those clever people at The Friday Project have well and truly worked their magic.

I’ll say more at the beginning of the week (like how, if you’ve pre-ordered or do so now, you’ll get your copies very soon). For now: LOOK!

One Step Closer

Two bits of rather splendid news today. The first is that the brilliant Andrew Kaufman (you can see my review of his brilliant The Tiny Wife here – it was also my book of the year, last year) has read Freaks! – and he’s had this to say about it.

“Read it and be amazed! Before you finish you’ll already be thinking of who to buy if for. It’s a circus sideshow made of words: dare to enter and become astonished to discover yourself on stage, in the staring role. I guarantee that by the time you finish reading this book you’re not only recognize your inner freak, but you’ll have learned to love it.”

That, quite rightly, makes me very happy.

The second is that the book has been printed! Our most wonderfully splendid publisher received the parcels today. Here’s a little snap he took from The Friday Project HQ:

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And in other news it’s World Book Day. I did a morning short story session at my local library, and shortly I shower, find some food, and head off to Congleton to be a part of a panel. I think we’ll be talking about books that are significant to us. I think I know which I’ll be talking about. I’d love to know yours…

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So.  I need to eat now. And be excited. More soon.

Tomorrow I Will Be in Congleton

It’s World Book Day tomorrow and I’ll be appearing, as part of a panel, at Congleton library at 7pm. Do pop along and say hello if you’re in the area.

This from their website:

‘On Thursday 1st March at 7.00-9.00pm, we will be holding a readers and writers forum. Local authors including Nik Perring, Elizabeth Lister, Daniel Wood and Rod Hughes will be discussing their experiences of reading and writing. Tickets cost £2.00 from the library.’

Hope to see you there. And if I don’t, have a happy World Book Day anyway.

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And if you have yourselves a little click here, you’ll see a sneak preview of some of the illustrations from Freaks!. Just saying…

Dust. And Sarah Salway

Sarah Salway, long time friend to the blog and top writer, has a new poetry collection out. It’s called YOU DO NOT NEED ANOTHER SELF-HELP BOOK and it’s out now.

Philip Gross says of it: ‘Subtly angled glimpses of love, sex, marriage, which reveal them as they really are: matters of life and death. There’s a quiet sizzling underneath the surface of these poems, which can make you smile and wince at the same time.’

And Will Hermes says ‘Sexy and tragic – my favourite combination.’ 

Which is good, isn’t it?

And to celebrate, I’m thrilled to host Sarah reading ‘Dust’ from the collection. Here it is. Enjoy!

Sarah’s next stop will be here tomorrow. Do have a look.