The Three Authors You Meet in Heaven

All art is theft, right? I'm thinking it's better to steal off a dead person than a living one, although my moral compass isn't exactly clear about it.

Anyway, the other day on the blog I was musing about how the five people I'd meet in heaven would probably be the people I least wanted to see (forgive me for coming over all Sartre there). And that made me think - what if I could choose? On the basis of wanting to learn something about how they did what they did? So I could become a better writer? Although, obviously, I'd be dead myself at this point and probably not likely to pick up a pen again.

Hang on, that raises another question - would it be heaven if I couldn't write in it? Or would it be heaven if the desire to write was taken away? Blimey. Too many questions. So here's the game.

Name the three authors you'd like to meet in heaven. I'm going for three because I can't spend all day on this. I'm writing a new book, you know.

Rule out Shakespeare. Shakespeare meets you at the gate, okay? In writer heaven, he's Saint Peter. So can you name three dead writers that you think could teach you something about your craft? Who would they be? Here's mine:

1. George Eliot. Because although I'm writing surreal crazy stuff at the moment, and have written crime before, all I actually want to write someday is Middlemarch. How did she create that town, and sustain it, and make us care for every single person in it? I have trouble making the reader really care for one.

2. Dylan Thomas. Because he had the gift of putting music in his poetry. And because Under Milk Wood has the best opening monologue of any play, and I include Henry V in that assessment. How do you write something that makes the readers hold their breath?

3. Graham Greene. Because he made the moral processes of the mind so clear to his readers, when I just get tangled up in a sticky web of emotion when I attempt that. Writing a clear psychological intent through a character without making it obvious, and without deviation - that's real skill.

So there you have it. Who would you like to learn from? And would it be heaven for you with or without the desire and the equipment to write?

The Writerly Lunch at Brown's

Six Macmillan New Writers met for lunch at Brown's in Covent Garden last week. It was lovely to see Frances, Tim, Alis, Aliya and Len. It strikes me that the expression "New" probably doesn't apply to us any more as all of us are entrenched in the writing life, and most of our books have been out for a while.

What was really nice, and proves beyond a doubt that we are all balanced people, was that the conversation was not all about writing. We also managed to cover the ins and outs of Downton Abbey, French condolence letters, and the trials of ageing dogs - all this in amongst ordering our bargain lunch, courtesy of vouchers from Eliza.

We had a great waiter who exemplified service with a smile, he would have fitted nicely into the kitchens of Downton Abbey and helped the miniscule staff of six to run that enormous stately pile.

Here's what I gleaned about fellow MNWer's. Out of the six of us, four of us are writing historicals - me, Len, Alis and Tim. Tim had even brought his research with him and seemed totally fired up with excitement. Len and I have been exploring the same ground, so it was interesting to hear that our visions of 17th century England mostly coincide. Alis is embracing historical crime in between her playwriting. Frances is writing a non-fiction and Aliya is writing speculative fiction/fantasy. I have avoided saying too much about these projects because I don't know how much of it they want made public!

Folks, if you're out there please add more in the comments to tell people what you are working on.

It was great to see everyone. I have tried to do the social network thing via facebook and twitter, and although this breeds contacts, it is definitely not the same as a proper social when you can actually pass someone their drink and see their body language as they talk. Brown's lunch was very good and it would be really nice to see more Macmillan New Writers next time we do this. Just to remind you, here are all our books, now available on Kindle and in print!

The future of MNW

Did anyone else see this article on the Bookseller website today?

Herring on the Nile - interview

I was interviewed the other week by the nice people from Book Fiend's Kingdom (now shortened to BFKBooks) on the publication of Herring on the Nile. If you would like to listen to it, you can do so here.

People's Book Prize

If any of you, over there in the UK, hear any word about the winners of the People's Book Prize, which are being awarded tonight, please share your knowledge. Some of us harbor naive hopes regarding the outcome.

Thanks!

doug worgul

Salt Lake Public Library Readers Choice Award

Two Macmillan New Writers Books have been nominated for the Reader's Choice Award in Salt Lake Public Library System.The Salt Lake County Library System is the largest in Utah, serving over 650,000 residents, through 18 libraries. Twice a year, the Reader's Choice Committee selects twenty or more recently published books that have been recommended by other staff or customers. They say, 'We want to include those titles that are not a "best-sellers" but are so good you just can't put them down--- and when you do finish, you have to tell all your friends!' These books are purchased in multiples and placed on display at each Salt Lake County Library for a four-month period. After reading any of the books on the Reader's Choice list, customers may rate the books using one of our ballot forms.

So I was delighted when I looked at the list to see Ann Weisgarber's The Personal History of Rachel Du Pree on the list of books along with mine, The Lady's Slipper. The full list of nominees can be seen here http://www.slcreaderschoice.blogspot.com

Herring on the Nile

The latest in the Ethelred and Elsie series was published yesterday. This instalment takes them (as the title cunningly suggests) to Egypt. Though I have parodied Christie titles before (Ten Little Herrings, The Herring in the Library) previous books have not really had plots that noticably paralleled Christie’s originals. This time however Elsie and Ethelred board a paddle steamer that is more or less recognisable from Death on the Nile - or as Elsie puts it, "the general picture I’m getting here is the Ritz with a paddle attached to the back". Of course the characters, the motives, most of the action and the solution to the mystery are totally different from Christie's – but then there is such a thing as copyright. And as Elsie herself observes: “how likely is that you’ll get a bunch of murders, spies, writers and other disreputable people on board one small boat? And, if you did, why would you choose to shoot somebody in a place you couldn’t make a decent get-away from?”

It has already received some very nice reviews on It’s a Crime, Milo’s Rambles and Shots Magazine

The formal launch will take place at Goldsboro Books on 5 July.

The Herring in the Library is now also out in paperback, with a new cover to tie in with Herring on the Nile. It was recently reviewed on Lizzie Hayes’ Promoting Crime blog.

"All Paths Lead (to New Wharf Road)"

I guess this blog post is timely considering the recent news of Will's departure from Macmillan, but it's something I was threatening to do last year and something I want to get rolling now in order to get it all published before Christmas. 

If you might remember last year, I mooted a Macmillan New Writers' anthology, noting that there are a fair few of us who are short story writers.  My initial thoughts were to publish a themed anthology, but I'm eschewing this for more of a showcase format, in effect to show off the writers here and the different genres covered.  Then the unifying theme across the anthology will be our link with Macmillan New Writing.

This is how I think it will work:

Each writer wishing to submit a story will also submit an approx. 200 word brief on how they got here (i.e. published by Macmillan New Writing) and what genre they are writing in and why.  This will accompany their short story (which has no word limit, but preferably below novella size) and their writer's biog with a publicity photo. The short story can be in any genre, any topic, and it can be previously published as long as you have permission to publish it in this anthology.

The deadline for the short stories will be 1st November.  I'm offering this not just to the Macmillan New Writers here, but past writers too (I'll be getting in touch with Roger Morris and Michael Stephen Fuchs to see if they want to join in - if there are any others I've missed please tell me or contact them direct).  The anthology has a working title of "All Paths Lead (to New Wharf Road)" and will be offered for free on Amazon through a e-publisher I'll set-up called "Thirst-e-ditions".  If I get the chance, I'll build a website to advertise the book too. 

I'll then bring together the stories, the briefs, the biogs and photos and create the anthology in a Kindle format (and later a format for iBooks and Epub).  I'll also get the cover sorted out unless anyone wants to volunteer. 

What I would really like as well as the stories, are two volunteer editors, to make sure it all hangs together.  Are there any takers?


This might be a fair sized book at the end of the day, if everyone contributes.  Like I've said above, the stories can be about anything, and in fact the more varied the better.  I want it to appeal to everyone, something all readers can dip into, and if it costs nothing then that's all the better.  I'll drum up some publicity through various sites I have contacts with, to ensure it gets a few reviews, and then it's just a case of self-promotion when you're able.  The only down-side is that we cannot use Macmillan New Writing in the publicity.  This is our anthology, and will be advertised as a new writers collection (without the Macmillan).  We can mention the publisher in the biogs and briefs, and I will mention them in the "forward" for the collection, but that's about it.  But I'd like to show that we are all still indebted to Macmillan New Writing for getting us on this road in the first place (as well as a big thank you to the likes of Will and Mike who put so much into that venture).

So… Anyone interested?