Tag: author

Why I write

I don’t often get asked why I write as people seem to be more curious about how. This isn’t a query regarding methodology or anything, they’re not looking for a pen or pencil, typewriter or keyboard kind of response, moreso a ‘where on earth do you find the time?’ That’s a fair question, but I think why is much better.

*insert needlessly melodramatic and intense lean forward, hand on chin, probably wearing a beret and looking like a twat moment here*

“I write because I have to”

(yeah, I definitely set myself to dickhead there, but bear with me)

My mind is like a bag of cats on nitrous oxide who are completely aware there’s a brick in the bottom and possibly a near future that involves water and isn’t very long. Even my intrusive thoughts have intrusive thoughts. And I don’t say this lightly. My wife tells me I overthink things other people don’t even think about. Although I should point out this came from a lovely moment of kindness … talking to the kids … “Your dad is the most fair man there is. He overthinks things I don’t even think of”. She’s the Chilli to my Bandit. Anyway, I just assumed everyone’s heads are this busy. As it turns out… some people don’t even have an inner monologue!

Mental. I have about four. And they’re all set to 11.

But I can drown it out. There are ways.

There’s the not-so-healthy mind-numbing scrolling through social media, there’s the definitely-not-so-healthy partaking of ample amounts of booze, there’s the actually-healthy-but-I’m-too-fucking-lazy god-awful exercise, and then there’s stories.

When I get into a story it’s damn near all I can focus on. I can dedicate myself to it… and yes, become slightly obsessed with it. But shaping a story, shaping characters, watching them grow and do things I didn’t expect, even though I’m supposed to be in charge… that’s magic. And then the rare occasion of eliciting a response from a reader… that’s an extra special kind of magic right there.

A lady wrote me a beautiful message this time last year complaining about a character I’d killed. Steve. (Spoilers, sorry). It upset her. The email was lovely. She was lovely. But what utter magic to have written something that can make people feel… to cry, laugh, get angry, scared, a little bit nervous about the kind of man they’ve married and got two kids with 🤣

When I’m writing, even the intrusive thoughts stop squabbling for a bit and pitch in with ideas. 

So, how I write is whenever I can, wherever I can, on my laptop or in my notebook.

But why I write is because I have to.

It gives me an amazing sense of well-being, peace, and fulfillment. And there is something utterly magic about creating a story that didn’t exist before. It’s even more magic if those stories get shared… but that’s not the be all and end all. I have five complete novels and two novellas that haven’t been published or signed, and maybe they never will… but writing them was a dream. And so I’ll keep writing.

Okay, maybe it’s not because I have to… maybe that’s going too far… but it is healthier than falling down an angry rabbit hole watching tiktok videos of Karens arguing with the police.

If I write about the angry Karens… well, I can set the barghests and demons on them.

😁

Thanks for reading.

If you’re a writer, I’d love to know why.

Cheers,

It’s Yorkshire… we’re all a little pagan around here

I have just finished going through the first round of edits for The Sword and the Hounds and pressed send on the old email to my publisher. It is, officially, squeaky-bum time, ladies and gents!

The Sword and the Hounds is the sequel to The Book and the Blade and is due out later this year. I wrote it in a bit of a frenzy during the after-glow of signing with Parliament House Press way back in 2019 (I think… I get some of the dates muddled up). To be honest, that period of a few years (four!) between signing my first book and seeing it in print was probably the most productive of my life. It was like I was in limbo. I had signed a book deal, so that made me an author, right? But no one had read it yet, so there was no chance of anyone saying it was shit and taking it away from me. So, in that glorious liminal period, I churned out as much as I could. I mean, seriously, I wrote non-stop. There was one day where I finished one novel and immediately started the next, because I knew I still had a few hours in me before my brain shut down. That’s not normal is it? But it was fun. I was burning the candle at both ends, while holding a blow-torch in the middle.

And I loved it!

But back to The Sword and the Hounds. To make things easier for myself, I wrote The Book and the Blade (set in York) while living in Richmond, and then wrote The Sword and the Hounds (set in Richmond) while living in York.

Look, I’ve never been accused of being overly smart 😀

Reading through the book this last week was the first time I’ve read it in three years. It was a really cool experience… and also a bit shit in places. My editor is awesome and made some excellent points about changes that needed to be made or parts that needed clarification. There are some things that you just don’t pick up on when you’re writing. I guess it’s a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees. One of my main points was an event that happened in the story, which absolutely would have changed the lives of a great number of people, and then was never mentioned again!

It made me laugh when I read her notes and then read the scene. It reminded me of when the great Conn Iggulden wrote about his editor who once pointed out that he had described his protagonist mounting his horse three times… without ever getting off it!

So, there are parts that made me cringe, but they were easy enough to fix, and the guidance was great. I’ve definitely grown as a writer, but I do absolutely love this story. It’s a very personal story in some respects. If The Book and the Blade is about a man who is lost in the big, bad grown-up world and can’t find his way, The Sword and the Hounds is about the ‘defeat’ of ‘retreating to the safety of the familiar’ but then the… eventual… realisation, that there is no such thing as a backward step. We try our best, and we push on.

That’s vague enough not to be spoilery, right? Which brings me to the quote.

The really fun thing about writing, and the great thing about going back to your own work after so long away from it, is when you come across a line you love. I giggled when I read this…

This is Yorkshire. We’re all a little pagan around here.

The Sword and the Hounds

I won’t give any further context other than to say, The Sword and the Hounds, like its predecessor, weaves a LOT of local myths and legends through the narrative. And it may also play fast and loose with a tale you might all be familiar with, one that took root in Britain a very long time ago.

I can’t wait to introduce you to some of stories from Richmond and the surrounding area, and to let you know how Arthur is getting on. And who knows, maybe some other characters from The Book and the Blade will make an appearance?

Not long now, folks!

Thanks for reading.

I mean, if you live here, of course you’re going to write stories! Absolutely magical!

Aaaaand done… maybe

Well, it only took me the better part of 30 years, but I finished writing a novel today. To be clear, I haven’t been writing for 30 years, but when I tell the story of The Book and the Blade, I always mention how I initially got the idea when I was 18.

For this story, I’ve had the idea since I was 8! Today, I finished it.

To give this a little context, I couldn’t even read when I was 8, but my grandad had died two years prior and like many young boys in similar circumstances, I idolised him in ways I didn’t fully understand.

My grandad; the dog walking, pipe smoking, ever present war hero… was gone.

But his stories live on.

No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world fade away.

Sir Terry Pratchett – Reaper Man

I’m 42 years old now, I live in Australia, and I tell my grandad’s stories constantly. It was about time I wrote them down. I carry his name, you see, passed down to me through my dad, his son. My own daughter and son carry his name also, and the shared names go back even further than those four generations.

But back to the point of this post, I finally finished writing a novel about him. Sgt. Alexander Bedair Finlayson.

Maybe.

I first announced I’d done this on 22nd October 2023… that was the day I completed the first draft. On the 6th April 2024 (two days before writing this) I finished… again.

I think.

The tricky thing about writing a novel about your grandad, when you’re named after him, is you can’t very well use your own name as that of the main protagonist. This isn’t primary school. And to make it even more complicated, I have used grandad’s name in another of my novels. He was a twin. And in the upcoming The Sword and the Hounds, Alexander and Archibald play a key role. So, I sort of shot myself in the foot there.

But the reality is, for some strange reason I don’t quite know, Uncle Arch used to refer to himself as Mickie Finn. When he wrote letters to grandad during the war, he often signed them in this way. So my main character, the one based on grandad, became Michael ‘Micky’ Finn. His brother in the story is called John (another name that runs through the family)… and strangely enough, Alexander and Archibald make an appearance as well.

You might be thinking now… if you’re of a deductive mind… that these few details would indicate I am playing fast and loose with ‘historical fiction’, and you’d be absolutely spot on. This story isn’t historical fiction, not really, it’s historical fantasy, and there’s a very simple explanation…

I’m a coward.

The truth is, I don’t feel good enough to write a straight war story about my grandad. I don’t think I could ever do it justice. I know I can string a few word together and occasionally pop out some entertaining bits and bobs, but this is my grandad we’re talking about! A man who left home just after his 21st birthday in 1939 to enter basic training, and was then shipped out a year later from Liverpool to North Africa. He wouldn’t return home for four and a half years! He fought in North Africa, Italy, Greece, and ended up in the LRDG! How the hell am I supposed to write about that?!

So I didn’t. I spoke to my dad, and I spoke to my uncle, and I basically asked for their blessing to write grandad’s story in a way I know how… with fantasy and horror. And it was this that ultimately made me throw out the first draft… and then it saved the fifth.

I started by moulding the story around Grandad’s Letters (these documents are fully deserving of the capitalisation). They are two long accounts of grandad’s experiences in war that he typed up for Major Forty, who wrote a series of books on the exploits of the 8th Army and the 7th Armoured Division. We have those letters, along with a treasure trove of photographs taken through the North Africa Campaign and beyond. I organised everything as best as I could in chronological order and then I started playing with it.

But there were too many influences. When I first started, I didn’t know what I wanted it to be. I devoured A.R. Channel’s The Fighting Four war novels when I was a kid, then moved up to Robert Westall. After that were Stephen E Ambrose and Ben McIntyre. I’ve watched just about every war movie and TV show you can imagine, from the romanticised movies of the 60s and 70s to the more gritty and realistic showings of Spielberg, Hanks and co. and I’m one of those blokes who is more than happy to watch a documentary on a Friday night (yes, I am that cliched). And, my God, I researched! I researched more for this novel than I did for my Masters.

@alexfinlaysonauthor

I posted this video two years ago on an old account I’ve lost access to. just found it again. #booktok #writing #amwriting #ww2 #northafricacampaign #tobruk #desertrats #8tharmy

♬ original sound – ABFinlayson

But still, that first draft didn’t know whether it was coming or going! Was it aimed at kids, teens, war historians, or horror fans? It was a total mess… and the ‘horror’ was shoe-horned in to try and make the narrative flow. It didn’t work.

In the second draft, I found the voice and tone I wanted.

In the third, I discovered the plot (three drafts to find a plot!)

In the fourth, I ‘killed my darlings’, as the saying goes (and I’m left with a whole file called ‘dumping ground’)

And in the fifth, I found my story. Grandad’s story.

The tentative working title is Shadows in the Sand, but that might change. Right now, I’m exhausted. I’ve spoken to dad. I’ve spoken to my best mate. I’ve spoken to my wife. I’ve come out from under the rock and I’m going to let it rest. What the story needs now is fresh eyes… someone who can see if it works like a story at all.

The beta reading of this one is going to be brutal! I’m not sure I’m ready to let it go.

Either way, I did it. And I’m really proud I did it. Who knows… it might work, it might not. But I’ll push on regardless.

Cheers,

The First One of 2024

Good morning lovely people, and welcome to a random and unexpected blog post… my first of 2024, and let’s be honest, my first in a long time. This poor neglected little website does not get a whole lot of attention and I really ought to remedy that.

So, let’s recap 2023:

  • Reindeer Games did quite well in the Christmas of 2022 and so the start of 2023 saw a number of lovely reviews finding their way onto Amazon and Goodreads. That was awesome, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who read and supported my silly little Reindeer murdery self-published novella.
  • The Book and the Blade was released by Parliament House Press! My debut novel! A dream come true.
  • The book launch took place at Netherworld in Brisbane on my 41st birthday and we had an absolute ball! I met some amazing people there, including some lovely members of the Brisbane Writers Crew.
  • I actually managed to get to a couple of Brisbane Writers Crew catch-ups, which were great, but my attendance was pretty poor at best (not a fan of driving in the city!) I’ll attempt to fix that in 2024.
  • Albert the Great Australian Dragon – illustrated by the wonderfully talented Amy Carter was published at Easter.
  • The publisher who had signed Rock Zombie sadly pulled the plug (well… stopped being a publisher altogether!)
  • Book shop appearance at the excellent Highlands Books in Emerald!
  • Wrote two stories (and narrated them!) for Pleased! A Beatles inspired anthology edited by the awesome Gayle Ramage.
  • Had two stories published in the amazing Australian horror anthology, Nightmare Fuel, courtesy of the wonderful Emma Nayfie.
  • The opening chapter of my comedy/fantasy novel, Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Orcs?! was read out by the exceptional lads of The Failing Writers Podcast.
  • My Christmas ghost story, In The House of Trembling Madness, was also read out in the Christmas special of the same pod, thanks lads!
  • Impromptu book signing at Book Face Orion, Springfield!
  • Reindeer Games 2: Rein Harder with a Vengeance was released for Christmas and did quite well… though not as well as Reindeer Games 1 (for the second year running!)
  • The Sword and the Hounds cover reveal!
  • And I wrote three novels, two novellas, seven short stories, submitted to publishers twenty-one times, got four acceptances (short stories), twelve rejections, and radio silence from the rest…oh, and you know, went to work and earned a living and whatnot (plus moved house…and got bitten by a snake…and went through a tornado…but I did get a full size pool table for next to nothing so happy days!)

Damn. That’s a big year. So, what’s next?

Well, The Sword and the Hounds will be published in April, so I’m very much looking forward to that. If Rock Zombie doesn’t find a home by the middle of the year I’ve decided to self-publish it for Halloween. I wrote myself into a corner with Reindeer Games, so I’m going to have to write Reindeer Games 3: Sleigh by December. I’m also working on a series of Easter stories in the same vein, but that’ll be for 2025. This year I want to finish writing the ‘unnamed WW2’ novel I’ve had on the go for a year, create an Arthur Crazy graphic novel tie-in (to further explain an event that happens in The Sword and the Hounds), and get started on Arthur Crazy #5. I’d also like to find homes for The Dragoman and Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Orcs?! So, you know, nothing crazy 😀

Thanks for reading, folks!

The Reality of Being an International*, Bestselling**, Award-Winning*** Author!

*I’m from England, I live in Australia, and my publisher is American. By default, I have sold books to an international market!

**For one moment of one day, the digital sales of my book got to Number 2 in a very specific category.

***Entirely fictional…I just wanted to use the ‘rule of three’ in the title. It looks better.

So, the reality then, because that’s what we’re left with…is that nothing much has changed at all. In fact, to paraphrase Arnold Rimmer, the thought occurs that we haven’t budged a smegging inch! Well, that’s what it feels like. I know I have a book out there. Two in fact. Three if you include novellas. Four if you include anthologies. But life trundles on as it ever did. Not for me the rabid auctioning off of my rights to the highest bidder…I’m just going to work, doing what I always do, and complaining about not having the time or energy to do what I want to do…what I love. Because I love writing stories. And I want people to read them and to get some semblance of entertainment from them. But lately there has been a little misconception doing the rounds among some family, friends, and acquaintances. It’s quite funny actually, but I think it’s about time I set the record straight, because the misconception, bizarrely, is that I’ve made it! (Whatever that means!)

I’ll admit, from a distance, it might look pretty cool. I released a book, lots of people came to the launch, I did a little happy dance about selling out every copy, then I did a bookshop signing and the same thing happened there, and then I bleated all over social media about the charts, then I bought a guitar (with my earnings), and then we moved house and now live on acreage with the most ridiculous views.

So, I can see the problem. From the outside, it does look kind of impressive, but the other day someone asked me if I was going to quit work and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why.

They thought I was rich!

I laughed so hard I nearly shat! (super special brownie points to anyone who knows this gross but excellent reference).

The reality is I’ve sold a few hundred books, made a few hundred dollars (I get 10% or so of physical sales, it’s not a lot), the guitar was dirt cheap, and we moved house because we’re romantic idiots with more passion than sense.

But there is another side to this somewhat narcissistic tale. I am, indeed, an international, best-selling, award-winning author! Well, two out of three isn’t bad. But I did write a book or two. People have bought them, read them, enjoyed them, and reviewed them. And for one brief shining moment, this happened…

But more than that, I’ve had the most lovely messages from friends and complete strangers, and I’ve made friends because of writing.

Then just last week, I spent a bit of time in the primary school attached to my work (it’s a P-12 college) and a young girl asked me if I was ‘the one who wrote that book’, and I got to say yes! (after I checked that she meant Albert the Great Australian Dragon and not the adult book about a drunk guy seeing dead people!) We had a cracking chat about talking dragons after that.

Look, I’m not saying I’d turn it down if an agent decided to start a bidding war with the Top 5 publishers and it crept into six-digits, but I am genuinely content carving out my own little corner.

Thank you to everyone who has come along for the ride. I can’t promise riches, but I can promise some ridiculous stories.

Cheers!

The Sluagh Sidhe

One of my all-time favourite fantasy novels is The Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell. It is a wonderful alternate historical fantasy about the Rigante tribe facing off against the ever encroaching armies of Stone.

For the historical buffs, yeah, you’re just one letter away from Brigantes and Stone is… drum roll, please… Rome.

But the story is superb and the folklore Gemmell weaves throughout is amazing. In particular, I always loved the Sidhe; a strange, mythic race connected to the land. Not quite fae, definitely not human, but something else entirely.

And now I find myself, thirty years later, putting my own spin on familiar legends. My latest book is an idea I’ve had rattling around the old noggin for about ten years. It started with a simple idea and then a title.

The idea: what if the Roman Ninth Legion did indeed vanish…and the children were left behind?

The title: The Children of the Ninth.

That’s all I had. Literally the idea and the title. I thought about it on and off for years… particularly when we spent a fair amount of time pratting around on Hadrian’s Wall in 2018/2019.

Various iterations (in my head) involved dragons, time travel (thanks, Doctor Who!), underground civilisations, and good old-fashioned brutal warfare, but I never put pen to paper. Until last week.

Last week I started writing. No plan. No idea beyond the basic premise and a nagging thought it should be geared as a middle-grade horror (because there’s very little out there between Goosebumps and Stephen King…and kids love scary books!) I spent bloody ages picking out cool Roman names for my characters then I killed one of the buggers in the second chapter! I genuinely have no idea what I’m doing.

Today, I hit eleven-thousands words and the Bean Sidhe made an appearance, which is really cool because I didn’t know what the hell that was this morning. I just wrote a creepy old hag into the story and then I did some research on Scottish mythology and folklore. The creepy hag became the Bean Sidhe and now she’s about to summon the Sluagh Sidhe, which means ‘host of the sidhe’ or sluagh na marb, ‘the host of the dead’.

These are dislodged souls, or the unforgiven, and they tend to attack in a great flying crescent-shaped horde. I don’t know what I’m going to do with them, but it’s going to be fun finding out.

What was perhaps even more fun finding out was the origins of The Sidhe in one of my favourite novels. I mean, I probably should have known, but until a few hours ago I thought Gemmell himself made it up. Silly me. I’m a little bit disappointed he didn’t use the alternative spelling though.

Sith really has a ring to it.

I wonder if anyone has used that before?

Thanks for reading folks x

The one written at 4am about whatever is rattling around my tired mind.

Well, 343am to be precise. I’m wide awake. Again. It’s a relatively normal occurance but I am getting a little bored of approaching the wee hours from this direction. It was a lot more fun when I was a young man coming home, putting a pizza in the oven, and then promptly forgetting about it as I passed out on the couch. But now I’m just… awake… and thinking.

Here’s a list so far…

1) if the Ninth Roman Legion simply vanished overnight in mysterious circumstances and left all the children behind, what happened to the women in the camp?

2) is there a special place in hell reserved for vanity publishers who masquerade as traditional publishers?

3) what’s that sound?

4) why is that video of Tim Minchin’s Matilda set to Dragula so freaking good?!

5) how much horror is too much horror for middle grade readers? There seems to be a huge gap between Goosebumps and Stephen King, which reminds me of…

6) the time my wife and I were shopping for clothes for our daughter and Kel loudly proclaimed, “there’s literally nothing between princess and whore!”

7) why is an extremely old lady running incredibly fast towards you such a scary image? (Give it time)

And of course, the old faithful…

8) if I fall asleep now how much sleep could I possibly get before I have to get up and function?

That vanity press one though… does my head in!

The one about a work in progress

When we had the launch party for The Book and the Blade, my mate Mitch did an awesome job of MCing, filling any potential awkward silences on my part by asking questions. One of those question was, what are you working on at the minute? The answer then (and still now) is a comedy fantasy called, Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Orcs?! This is a story that came about after a conversation with a friend’s partner (now also friend) the first time we met. We were chatting over a mutual love of Lord of the Rings (of course) and he mentioned the scene from the movies where the orcs shout, “looks like meat is back on the menu, boys!” We talked about the implications of this one small line. Not the cannibalistic tendencies of the orcs as evidenced by the word ‘meat’, but the deeper implications of the word ‘menu’. The idea ran from there and tickled around my brain for about a year. I finally started writing in November 2022 for NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month). I wrote mine and Stu’s conversation down as best as I remembered it as part of a prologue and went from there. In November, I wrote 51k words. Then I didn’t look at it for four months.

For the last two weeks, I’ve largely been bed-ridden, and certainly housebound (which is shit! I’m on holidays!) so there’s been very little else to do apart from think about, and occasionally write about, orcs. We’re now up to 68k words, the prologue has gone, and I think we’re approaching the final act.

The story is a massive piss-take, while also being a love-letter of sorts, to my beloved fantasy genre. It contains every trope you can imagine; from the golden-haired hero to the nefarious dark lord, to elves in forest and dwarves in mountains, to witches, wizards, trolls and unicorns. Speaking of unicorns…

The main protagonist of my story, however, is none of the characters mentioned above. This story is written from the point of view of a young orc called Gary, and his best mate, Frank. They find themselves, as the tropes of their world dictate, pulled from pillar to post across a fantasy-scape that leaves no cliché unturned (or subverted). This, ladies and gents, is what happens when you devour Gemmell, Eddings, Pratchett, Tolkien, Brooks, Jacques, Cornwell et al from a young age (while also developing a sarcastic-prick trait a mile wide).

But I like it. Sure, I get the feeling I might have gone a little “too Alex” with this one, but it’s only the first draft and it isn’t finished yet. Who knows how things will pan out?

Oh, and fun fact, my wife tagged me in this post this morning…

My reply was “are you f*cking kidding me?!”

For those keeping track, a similar thing happened a month after I finished writing Rock Zombie (still, by the way, in some sort of publishing-development hiatus) a story about a zombie and ghost coming from the same dead guy. Kel found a meme shortly after with damn near the same idea!

I’ve decided this demonstrates one of two things – I either have my finger on the pulse in an almost savant-like manner, or I have never had an original idea in my life.

Hopefully, there is enough unique humour and bastardisation of Latin to get me a pass with Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Orcs?! (The dark lord who dies in the very first chapter is called Dark Lord Dominus Tenebris III… translation… Dark Lord Lord of Darkness III. Pratchett, it is not! :-D) And if that isn’t enough, my world has a wall, no one has done that before, right? Look, I’m not messing around here… it’s called The Threshold… you have to cross it to get to the main highway… The Road of Trials.

Additional fun fact; I did something stupid today (I know!). One of my favourite podcasts is called The Failing Writer’s Podcast, and in their first episode of season 3, the fellas put a call out for anyone willing to send in the first three chapters of a work in progress. They haven’t decided what they will do with any they might pick…critique it? read it out? take the piss? review? Either way, I figured, sod it, why not? Nothing might come of it, but it will be fun to find out if I really have gone too Alex with this one. We’ll wait and see.

Anyway, so that’s what I’m up to. I expect to finish the first draft by the end of April. After that, who knows? If you’re working on something yourself, please let me know!

Thanks for reading.

The Book and the Blade | Albert The Great Australian Dragon | Reindeer Games | Pleased!

At least when I write stories I (mostly) control what happens…

It has been an interesting few weeks to say the least… Arthur was published on 28th Feb, we had an amazing book launch on 11th March, I threw Albert into the world on the 26th March, work ended on Friday, and I got sick Friday night (this is like the shittiest version of that Craig David song).

On Saturday, I am heading to Emerald to hang around the wonderful new bookshop, Highland Books, and talk a little bit about Arthur… but this morning, I received notification that Australia Post, in their great wisdom, have decided to delay the delivery of my author copies by a week. No reason. No explanation. Just a mocking little green badge that says ‘On Time’. On time, my arse! So, there’s a very real chance I will be heading to a book signing with ONE copy of The Book and the Blade (the reason for the signing in the first place!) and ten copies of Albert the Great Australian Dragon (the daft, local story I self-published for a laugh).

When I ordered author copies in the past, they have always arrived within a week. This time, I placed the order over two weeks ago… so there is still a small chance it’ll work out… but it’s also Australia Post, so who knows?

For those of you in the UK, Australia Post is basically the same as Royal Mail… in EVERY way.

All I can do now is… wait. What’s that old poem? Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to not jump on Twitter and call Australia Post a bunch of twats…

There is literally nothing I can do to make things work out. So, I might as well write, right? At least I can control the things that happen on the page… but even that isn’t entirely true. Yesterday, a main character in my wip died under my tippy-tappy fingertips and I didn’t see it coming. It is a very strange moment indeed when your brain slowly catches up with the words appearing on the screen and you realise where the end of the sentence is heading. I didn’t plan on killing he/she/it. And I certainly didn’t plan on it happening in such a brutal and sudden fashion (I’m pretty sure I used the words fucking eviscerated). It really works though. It’s a good scene, it made me chuckle, but honestly, it’s really buggered the rest of the story. Where the hell do I go now he/she/it is dead?

So that’s what I’m going to focus on today… where to take a 50k word story now one of the main characters is spread all over the ceiling… you know, the things I can (mostly) control.

But if anyone knows the secret cheat code to make Australia Post work more efficiently, I’d really appreciate a whisper in the ear.

Cheers!

Fly my pretty!

Reflections on launching a book into the ether

At one point on Saturday I found myself sitting on the floor of a raised stage while all around me people I knew, people I’d just met, and people I’d never seen before talked and laughed and drank together. The pub was full, a long narrow hall of arcade machines and graffiti-covered walls pressing folk together to share tables and seats… something that could not have happened a year or so ago. Another book was thrust under my nose by a workmate whose grin told me he thought the whole thing was just as ridiculous and surreal as I did. We both laughed and I took another drink… a pint glass in one hand… a pen in the other. That was my name on the cover. My book.

“Sign this for me, mate!”

“Happy to!”

“Book wanker.”

“Yep!”

Saturday saw the launch of The Book and the Blade, and it was absolutely magic! For a few hours I stood, or sat, or leaned against Street Fighter II in a packed pub and talked about a book I wrote. I was surrounded by amazing people, and we were all there for something fun… and creative. The walls were covered in art, arcade games and pinball machines offered a nostalgic soundtrack, and for a short while I lived a dream.

In hindsight, I should have prepared. The writer should at least have written a speech, right? But I didn’t, and so when my friend, Mitch – our impromptu and excellent MC – introduced me to the crowded room I took hold of the mic in what might have been nervous fingers. But they weren’t… not when I got going… not when it mattered. It felt like the most natural thing in the world and I loved it! My wife and friends had made magic happen! I stood on a stage and looked out at the faces of people I knew and loved… friends and family from all over the country who had made the trip, new acquaintances I met in an online writing group who were even more awesome in real life, lovely guests, lovely strangers, and even a few amazing ex-students. Complete magic! It was a whirlwind. I started by thanking everyone but then gave special thanks to my wife… I read the dedication from the start of the novel and explained the truth behind it… the facetiousness… the tongue-in-cheek-ness.

All the best ideas are Kels. Including, and this cannot be stressed enough, to actually have a book launch in the first place!

It almost never happened.

I’m one of those strange characters who can seem a complete extrovert but will quite gladly do nothing if that is an option. I’d already written the book. Hell! It was already published. Doing nothing seemed to be a viable option to me… not to Kel. Only a month or so earlier to this mad day she convinced me to say yes to a launch. I remember the look on her face when I said, ‘Okay, babe. Make it happen.’ There was that smile I love so much followed by the frown of business and she got to work. She called Amy and that was that… game over, Al. Just turn up and do as you’re told!

(If you were there you would have met Amy! She was everywhere! A total legend! I hear her and Mitch even walked through the airport yesterday carrying a poster, still advertising my book!)

So, I did just that… as I was told. I stood up in a room full of people and spoke about my first novel… and I had a bloody great time! When there were gaps that threatened to spread into awkwardness, they were jumped on by Mitch and others who threw questions at me and the whole thing seemed so natural and wonderful that, honestly, I can’t quite believe it really happened. We sold every book and every single bit of merchandise (we had merchandise! Ridiculous!), we gave novellas away, and I signed my name wrong a hundred times, and it was just bloody lovely. People laughed and smiled and even applauded! (madness!) And then it just kept going… social media exploded (in a safe, localised and contained kind of way) with people saying the most wonderful things, and as much as I’m usually reluctant to write stuff like this for fear of tooting my own horn and sounding like an arrogant twat, I figure there are some instances where it’s okay, right? This was one. It was magic. And I loved every second.

Grant… Brisbane Writers Crew legend!

My little book is in the world now. Officially launched. In the hands of the gods.

Kel tells me I have to stop being so self-deprecating when I finish these things or when I create ads on social media. “Stop saying I hope you enjoy my book… unless it’s shit”. That sort of thing. So, I promised her I wouldn’t. Not this time. This time I will absolutely not end by saying I hope people don’t think my book is shit.

See.

Much love!