Martin writes...

Smashwords' Ebook Week special

2012-03-01T08:40:00.000Z

Smashwords are running their Ebook Week promotion from the 4th - 10th March. During that time, you'll be able to pick up Dark Steps for half-price. I know, I know. There's no need to thank me.

Here's Dark Steps on Smashwords. Buy it now if you like... half-price for a week from Sunday though.

A good time to buy a paperback

2012-02-21T10:22:00.001Z

Any time is a good time to buy a paperback, but now is especially good if you're shopping at Lulu. That's because you can use the promo code SWEETUK305 to get 20% off until the 23rd of February.

So, for example, you could pick up Dark Steps for £2.40 instead of £3.

Really, what are you waiting for?

Non-fiction!

2012-02-15T16:57:00.004Z

A long time ago in ~~a galaxy far, far away~~ another world (it sometimes seems), I was made redundant from a job I quite liked but was never particularly taxing. One of the things I did in that job was develop databases using a Microsoft product called Access and, if I do say so myself, I'd become rather good at it. To the extent that, in the six months I spent bumming around and travelling before I got another job, I actually entered into discussions with a publisher about writing a textbook on the subject - a sort of "build Access databases my way". But then I got that other job, and parked the idea permanently.

Now though, I've sort of revisited it. Because back then, in that former life, I also developed a website full on tips, tricks, code samples and other info for Access developers. Enough info, in fact, to fill a book...

And so my first piece of non-fiction is published: Accessory - the real-world workbook for Microsoft Access developers. I know - snappy title. You can buy it from Lulu as a PDF (the only format that would support embedded hyperlinks), right here.

In the unlikely event...

2012-02-15T09:33:00.000Z

...that you do your e-book buying through Goodreads, you'll be delighted to learn that you can now buy an EPUB version of Dark Steps there. I know - 21st Century living, eh?

I still get a thrill...

2012-01-31T16:03:00.001Z

I walked into my local Waterstone's a couple of weeks ago (sorry, I know they have but I can't bear to dispense with the apostrophe), and what should I see on a big end-of-shelf display but this?

Three books under the heading "Books we want to shout about! Celebrate local writing talent!"... and there was Unthology No.1 from the always interesting Unthank Books.

My short story Waiting Room is in that there book... and it still gives me a thrill, albeit a little one now, more than a year after the book was published, but a thrill nonetheless to know I can walk into this bookshop, part of a national chain, and pick up a book, open it and find some words of mine inside. How must Stephen King feel?

I dream of the day I can go in and find Drawn To The Deep End filed under 'P' in fiction. Guess I'll need to finish the damn thing first though...

For a limited time... get Dark Steps from Lulu with free postage and packing!

2012-01-24T17:49:00.000Z

So, you want to buy a paperback copy of Dark Steps but the high postage and packing costs (over which I have no control, by the way) put you off. Who can blame you? Dark Steps is currently £2.99 but then so is shipping, effectively doubling the cost.

Well, never fear, because until 31st January the nice folks at Lulu are running a "free shipping" promotion. Simply enter the promo code WHOASHIPPINGUK305 at checkout to have your P&P costs removed. Completely! Bargain or what?

Terms and conditions doubtless apply (I think there's a £50 limit but hey, £50 is a lot of P&P) but come on, hurry over to Lulu and buy Dark Steps right now!

Flatlining

2012-01-24T09:45:00.000Z

By a weird quirk of coincidence that might not seem plausible if I wrote it into a piece of fiction, I have sold exactly the same number of Dark Steps every month for the last four months. And I mean exactly. Despite my best efforts at promotional work, and despite getting sales spikes when the book has been reviewed at various places around the Internet, the overall monthly figure remains resolutely fixed.

It would be nice to think I was making progress. And indeed, I thought I was - January started at a gallop, with as many sales in ten days as in the whole of December.... but then none since. January's sales figures are currently exactly the same as December's... and November's... and October's...

Anyone got any suggestions as to how I can break this trend?

A story in ten words

2012-01-17T22:46:00.001Z

Ernest Hemingway famously demonstrated that a story could be written in six words with this:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Okay, so you don't learn exactly why the baby shoes were never worn, but you get enough - the story works.

When I heard that last year's Arts Council-funded National Short Story Day (it was December 22nd - shortest day of the year, see?) was running a competition via Twitter to write a short story in ten words, I thought I'd have a go. I gave it a lot of thought actually - like Hemingway's, my ten words needn't tell the full story but they would have to tell enough for the reader to get something out of it... hmm.

On the 22nd, my Twitter timeline was littered with entries with the #StoryIn10Words hashtag. So many, in fact, that when I found out this week that my entry had been chosen as one of the five winners, I was suitably chuffed. Here's my entry:

She pretended to be asleep when he came to bed.

What do you think? I'd love to hear how other people interpret this, why they think she is pretending to be asleep.

Being interviewed by email

2012-01-17T22:33:00.002Z

A lot of blogs seem to now conduct interviews by email - they send you a list of questions, you mull over your answers, email them back and if the blog likes what you've written you get featured. In theory, it's as simple as that.

In reality, getting your interview featured is every bit as hard as getting reviewed, so I'm pleased to report that my email interview for the Indie Books Blog finally got published this week. Have a look, if you like....

Turn Around Where Possible

2012-01-11T14:51:00.002Z

Hmm. The village is called Grave. Maybe not a good sign?

Last October, I tried to write a Halloween-themed short story. Except, me being me, I disregarded the theme and instead just tried to write a scary story of the "don't go in the woodshed" variety. The rough draft I came up with was entirely silly, but I had a lot of fun writing it. And it turned out okay, I think.

Okay enough that I subsequently spent some time rewriting it. Even though it's not my usual kind of thing - I prefer psychologically unsettling stories to those with axes and blood - it came out well enough, I thought, to submit to One Buck Horror in the hope of actually selling a story to a publication. I know - ground-breaking!

One small snag though. OBH have a 3,000 word limit. Try as I might, I couldn't get the story down below about 3,500, and that was with hacking it to the bone. Since their word limit is completely inflexible (presumably because they pay by the word), that was the end of that little plan.

What to do with the story then? Why, give it away, of course. Because it's not my usual kind of story, I don't see too much point in holding it back for a future collection - it doubt it would fit in too well. Far better to make it freely available, in the vain hope that it helps to draw attention to my other works. Well, it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

Turn Around Where Possible is available as a PDF right now, for nothing, from Lulu and Smashwords. I recommend the Lulu version - it handles the fonts better. Please do have a read, and maybe let me know what you think. Plus, if you can see a way to cut another 532 words, feel free to suggest how!

On getting reviewed (or, the hard slog, the wait and the pay-off)

2012-01-10T12:15:00.001Z

For the struggling independent like me, getting reviewed is hard. Yes, the Internet is awash with book review blogs, journals and websites but once you knock out those that don't accept self-published works and those that don't accept books with less than ten Amazon reviews, you've halved the list. Then take out all the ones that have currently closed their doors to new submissions, usually because they've been inundated, and the list shrinks further. And of course you only want to consider review channels that fit with the genre, theme and tone of your work.

Looking back through my e-mail sent items, seems I've sent out 30 review begs, jumping through whatever hoops are deemed necessary: the book must be a PDF; the book must not be a PDF; links to Amazon must be supplied; send no links or attachments; a recent photograph of the author is required; the author biog must contain inside leg measurement (only one of these was made up). It's been a giant faff, in short... but a faff that is starting to pay off. Take a look at my Media page - reviews for Dark Steps are starting to rack up, and I've just had emails promising me two more imminently. Good news. When it comes to promotion, it really is a case of "every little helps".

I'm starting to accumulate more customer reviews too - three on Amazon.co.uk, two on Amazon.com and, most satisfying of all, my first five-star review anywhere, on Lulu. Happy days.

First review on Lulu... and my first 5-star anywhere!

Books on writing - what's your poison?

2012-01-03T14:03:00.000Z

There's a maxim for writers - if you can't be writing, be reading. Why not take that a step further then, and read about writing? I've wittered on many times about the brilliance of On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King; I also have The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing by David Morrell and The Writing Book: A Practical Guide for Fiction Writers by Kate Grenville in my "to read" pile...

But what about you? What books on writing have you found useful? What would you recommend, and why?

W H Smith's!

2012-01-03T13:46:00.000Z

Finally, Dark Steps is available from W H Smith, thanks to their Kobo tie-in... I feel like a proper writer now!

Has Dark Steps been one of your Goodreads this year?

2011-12-21T10:29:00.006Z

Do you use Goodreads? If you do, you can find me and Dark Steps on there - here's a widget that will help you do exactly that.

Ah, Kobo! At last we meet...

2011-12-15T16:45:00.000Z

After a very long wait (due to a backlog, I am reliably informed), Dark Steps has finally made it onto Kobo. Look - here it is.

I'm excited by this. Not because I expect a deluge of sales from Kobo but because, following their recent tie-up, this presumably means my little book will eventually be available from W H Smith. And this excites me because, as a child, W H Smith was where I did a lot of my book buying - there and in the excellent but now defunct Albion Bookshop. So the prospect of being sold by W H Smith makes me feel more like a proper author. Silly, I know, but true.

Note I said "presumably" though. Dark Steps isn't on the Smith's website yet. I'm expecting another backlog...

New cover art for Dark Steps

2011-12-08T13:05:00.002Z

Dark Steps has new cover art!

The third edition of Dark Steps features the new design, shown right, which hopefully will help the book stand out a bit more.

To ensure a bit of continuity from the artwork from previous editions (which you can see here), I've stuck with a broadly similar palette of colours, and have used the same story from within the book (Waiting Room) as inspiration for the picture, specifically the EARN YOUR PLACE slogan.

So what do you think? Better? Worse? Hopefully the former, as the new cover will start filtering through to various outlets from today, and is already live on Lulu. Experience suggests Amazon will be next, and then all the channels that are fed by Smashwords.

P.S. In case you were wondering about the second edition... it fixed a solitary typo.

Three copies for the price of two!

2011-12-07T09:57:00.001Z

I know, you love Dark Steps that much you want to get copies for all your friends and family for Christmas. Great! Then today's the day to place your orders, because if you use promo code BUY2GETONEUK305 over at Lulu (offer ends at midnight) you can get three copies of Dark Steps (and, indeed, anything else you want to buy at Lulu) for the price of two.

Go! Shop!

Christmas comes early

2011-12-01T14:18:00.001Z

Thinking of buying Dark Steps, my collection of short fiction? Well now could be the time, because from today until Christmas you can use the promo code EN69V at Smashwords to secure a whopping 17% off the price.

That's right - 17%. That's like saying one sixth of the words are free... what are you waiting for?

Note: this code only works at Smashwords, and only for buying Dark Steps, and only up to and including 24th December.

Happy shopping!

Dark Steps reviewed at Sabotage (or, 'on being reviewed')

2011-11-29T12:31:00.002Z

My collection of short fiction, Dark Steps, has been reviewed by Ian Chung for Sabotage. Like all the best reviews, it isn't a breathless love song to the book, neither is it a hatchet job. Ian has written a balanced, fair review in which he, knowingly or otherwise, adheres to the 'feedback sandwich' approach of couching constructive criticism within praise.

Of course all such critiques are subjective. I don't necessarily agree with everything Ian says, but equally he does raise some interesting and valid points. And no, I'm not just talking about the discussion of things in the book that he likes.

Now being the author (and, for Dark Steps, editor, cover artist, agent, promoter, manager, chief cook and bottle-washer), I am naturally going to cherry-pick the best bits out of the review, and use them whenever and wherever I can. Things like:

When the techniques [narrator-reader gap and ending with a twist] succeed, the outcome is masterful.

And:

...the surprise reveal ... forces the reader to rethink the significance of everything that has just been read.

And I'm going to ignore some bits too. You can cherry-pick those for yourself.

All in all though, Ian's review makes for very interesting reading, and I am grateful to him and Sabotage for its publication. Have you read Dark Steps yet? How does the review equate to your impression of the book? I'd love to know. You can comment below or after the review itself, which you can find here.

25% off at Lulu

2011-11-22T10:42:00.000Z

Until 28th November you can get 25% off site-wide at Lulu... and that means you can pick up a paperback copy of Dark Steps for the tiny sum of £2.36 plus postage. Bargain! Just enter the promo code CYBERWEEKUK305 at checkout and Bob's your uncle.

The thing about writing is...

2011-11-09T11:59:00.002Z

I know not all writers will agree with this view, but sharing something you've written with the world is hard. No, not brain surgery hard, or rocket science hard, but emotionally hard. You invest time, effort, energy and yourself into something, struggle to find the time and words to get it down on paper, and then have to sit back while others decide whether it's any good.

There's a line in the excellent Black Swan Green by David Mitchell that captures it perfectly. Our protagonist, Jason, has just shown the eccentric Madame Crommelnyck some of his poetry. And this is his reaction.

I felt giddy with importance that my words had captured the attention of this exotic woman. Fear, too. If you show someone something you've written, you give them a sharpened stake, lie down in your coffin and say, "When you're ready."

And that's exactly how it feels, for me at least. Sticking your head up above the parapet in the full expectation of being knocked down.

Publishing Dark Steps was therefore a big thing for me, a literal dark step into uncomfortable and scary territory. So far, the reviews have been kind. And I'm actively searching for book review websites and blogs that will publish a review of my little book. It's hard though - lots won't take what is, effectively, a self-published book. Others are so swamped with submissions that they've temporarily closed their doors. Others will write reviews for money, and I'm definitely not going there. I have a couple of irons in the fire though, so hopefully something will come good. I need publicity, and reviews can only help!

But back to the Black Swan Green quote. I am a one-man band. I don't have someone to prepare artwork, or edit, or proof-read for me. I don't have an intern tweeting on my behalf. I don't have an agent or a publisher or even someone doing my marketing and publicity. I have to do it all myself. This is difficult, and actually impacts on writing time, but more than that, if showing someone something you've written is handing them a stake and lying prone for them, then trying to do your own publicity is forcing a mallet into their free hand. Go on, world, knock yourself out!

The point of this post? I don't know, really. I do know that Black Swan Green is an excellent read, and I'd recommend it to anyone, especially if you were twelve or thirteen around the time of the Falklands War - you'll love the cultural references. Beyond that... well, I've tried all kinds of things to promote Dark Steps, really forcing the mallet and stake into your hands. I haven't had the success yet that I'd hoped for (and I had very modest expectations)... but then I haven't been staked through the heart either. Yet.

I don't know anyone that uses the Diesel e-books store but...

2011-11-08T09:31:00.000Z

...if you do you'll be thrilled to learn that you can now buy Dark Steps there. Here's the link. Now go, Diesellers, and buy!

So, you've got a Sony e-reader, eh?

2011-11-01T15:15:00.000Z

Then chances are you've paid their e-bookstore a visit or two. Okay, yes, I know the UK version was supposed to launch in October and today's the first of November and it's still not there. But the US version persists. And now, finally, Dark Steps has appeared there - here it is.

Help me out... host an ad?

2011-10-28T08:18:00.000+01:00

I don't have an agent, let alone a publisher. I don't have an intern or a PA. I am a one-man band. On the one hand, this is great - I have full, sole creative control, for starters. But on the other, this can be very hard work - I have to do everything myself. All the promo, all the publicity, every website change or new page you see here, the lot. It's a wonder I have time to do any writing.

So I'm going to ask for a little help... from you, if that's alright. Would you be so kind as to host an ad for Dark Steps? Perhaps you have your own website or blog. Perhaps you tweet about books. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.... would you be so kind? If you could host an ad for the Amazon/Kindle version of Dark Steps that would be truly lovely. Here's the code you would need to embed on your site or blog.

Thanks - you're very kind.

Platform podcast now available

2011-10-27T16:30:00.002+01:00

I promise this'll be the last time I mention that I was on the radio recently. But just so you don't miss it, I was talking about Dark Steps on Future Radio's Plaform arts programme last Sunday. The podcast of that show is now available here - I think my interview starts at about 17:45 in. And don't think I don't cringe every time I hear myself say hello in that "I am on the radio" voice....

Take Dark Steps into the iBookstore...

2011-10-27T16:16:00.001+01:00

At last! If you're an Apple disciple and do your e-book reading through an iPad or iPod, now you can get Dark Steps from the iBookstore. Here's the link.

...today we've got Martin Pond in the studio...

2011-10-25T15:43:00.004+01:00

Following on from my recent phone interview with Future Radio's Kate Roma, last Sunday I went into the studio to do a longer interview with David Eastaugh as part of Future's arts programme, Platform. David is pictured left, holding a preview copy of Dark Steps. I was very nervous but David put me at ease and we had a nice chat about writing, the book and more besides. You can have a listen below - sorry if the sound quality is a bit tinny, but I had to really compress it to beat my host's 5MB file size limit.

Future Radio interview, 23-Oct-2011

Entering the Apple universe...

2011-10-13T10:13:00.001+01:00

If you are an Apple consumer, and by that I don't mean that you eat one a day to keep the doctor away but that you have an iPad or an iPhone, that kind of thing, then I'm pleased to announce that Unthology No. 1 from Unthank Books, featuring my story Waiting Room amongst many other fine stories, is now available from the iBookstore.

For the untold thousands (I can dream, can't I?) who have asked when Dark Steps will also be available there... I'm working on it.

Si vous habitez en France...

2011-10-11T13:48:00.000+01:00

Si vous habitez en France, maintenant vous pouvez acheter Dark Steps (ça c'est-a-dire Étapes sombres) chez Amazon.fr (et je suis désolé pour mon Français écolier...)

More radio!

2011-10-07T17:01:00.008+01:00

The interview on Future Radio's drivetime show, with Kate Roma, must have gone well. They've invited me into the studio on the 23rd October to do a longer interview, live, for their arts programme, Platform, with David Eastaugh. Naturally I've said yes - watch this space, and I'll tell you how it goes. You'll be able to listen live online here and, of course, if you're in the Norwich area you'll be able to tune in on 107.8 FM. The programme will start at 5pm.

Radio ga-ga (or, the Future's bright)

2011-10-05T17:20:00.001+01:00

I've been trying all manner of ways to promote Dark Steps lately, some more successful than others. I've been tweeting relentlessly, for example, and it was by the miracle of Twitter that I discovered Kate Roma, a director and drivetime DJ at nearby Future Radio. Turns out we have mutual friends at Unthank Books.

I emailed Kate explaining that I'm a local author promoting his first collection of short stories and would Future be interested in giving me, or it, a mention. As it happens, Kate suggested a little more than that. She emailed me this afternoon asking if I would do a five-minute telephone interview, to go out live on her drivetime show at 4.30pm today. Yes, today! My first reaction was "blimey" but luckily my second was "yes please". Although I've been interviewed for radio once before, when I was involved in the (unsuccessful) campaign to get The Who a number one single, I was still a bit nervous.

I needn't have been; the interview has just happened. The entirely lovely Kate phoned and explained how she would introduce me. I sat listening to the end of The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen down the phone and then suddenly Kate was saying hello and we were on the air. And apart from one moment when I had a complete mental blank and couldn't think of the word "consideration" (as in "I submitted a story for consideration...") it went pretty well, I think. We talked a little about my writing history; we talked about the case for e-readers; we talked about Dark Steps (obviously), particularly which genre the stores therein might fall into (not horror, just unsettling - tales of the unexpected, perhaps); we mentioned this website a couple of times; and then, all too quickly. it was time to go.

Kate tells me I can get a recording of the interview from them in a couple of days time - if I can I'll try to post it here for your listening pleasure.

Nook-readers of the world, unite and take over

2011-09-21T16:20:00.002+01:00

Got a Nook? Then you might be pleased to know that Dark Steps is now available for you from Barnes and Noble, in addition to Smashwords or direct from me.

I guess you could go to bn.com and search for it, but I'll save you the trouble - here's a direct link.

Alltop? Big deal? Or not...

2011-09-20T09:18:00.001+01:00

My ongoing novel-length blog project, Drawn To The Deep End, has been picked up by a directory-style website called Alltop, and features in their "writing" sub-directory. Admittedly fairly near the bottom, but hey. I don't know whether this is a big deal or not, but I guess it can't hurt.

Talking of Drawn To The Deep End, stop by this Friday for a bumper-length instalment and gaze with morbid fascination at Peter's continued decline...

Another nice review

2011-09-19T12:59:00.001+01:00

One of the hardest things about getting publicity for a new book, especially if you are an undiscovered writer doing his own PR, is having your work reviewed. I mean properly reviewed too, where the reviewer actually takes the time to read the whole book and construct their own opinion about the contents, rather than just cobble together a 50-word summary based on the Amazon synopsis.

Imagine my delight, then, at having Dark Steps reviewed by well-read (in both senses of the phrase) blogger and professional word wrestler Rol Hirst at Sunset Over Slawit.

Not only was Rol very complimentary, he also offers interesting perspectives on some of the stories in Dark Steps that are perhaps different from those you'd get from me. And that's one of many beauties of story telling - each reader adds their own layer of meaning to those intended by the author.

Rol has also added the nuts and bolts of his review to Dark Steps on Amazon.co.uk and given it four stars - result!

First rating for Dark Steps on Lulu

2011-09-05T07:52:00.002+01:00

Dark Steps has received its first rating on Lulu (here) - someone has downloaded it (a bargain for 99p, though I do say so myself) and given it four stars!

That'll go nicely with the review on Amazon.com. Still waiting for the first review on Amazon.co.uk though...

So what's the deal with Smashwords?

2011-08-30T09:01:00.002+01:00

Many (okay, some) people have asked if I could make Dark Steps available on Smashwords. Until they asked, I hadn't even heard of Smashwords! But I took a look and, as it turns out, it seems to be a half-decent way of making books available to the e-readers of the world that aren't Kindles.

So for the many (okay, some!) who have asked, Dark Steps is now available on Smashwords - you can find it right here.

Don't have a Kindle or a Lulu account?

2011-08-26T16:48:00.001+01:00

Don't worry, you can now buy Dark Steps from me directly in a variety of popular e-book formats, over at my somewhat grandly title shop.

Interview on Kindle Author

2011-08-23T08:20:00.001+01:00

Kindle Author is an excellent endeavour by one David Wisehart, its aim being to help you discover new writers. To that end, David conducts interviews by email with Kindle authors, and blogs the results. And he's interviewed me!

You can read the terrible truth (don't worry, it's not so terrible) here at Kindle Author... and observe the fact that I suddenly realised I didn't have an author photo to go with my bio. Oh well.

Dark Steps gets its first review on Amazon

2011-08-18T14:33:00.002+01:00

The great thing about buying and selling on Amazon is that people can, and do, leave reviews.

For someone who's published a book on Amazon, this could be a double-edged sword though. Okay, so nothing is going to appeal to everybody, but what if you get lots of negative reviews? Unhappy days...

Having said all that, I'm pleased to report that Dark Steps has got it's first review on Amazon (here) and it's a good one - four stars and lots of nice comments ("an excellent collection of short fiction", "didn't want to put it down", and so on). Happy days...

Online preview of Dark Steps now available

2011-08-17T12:06:00.001+01:00

I know that Amazon let you sample ebooks on your Kindle, and both Amazon and Lulu now offer preview functions... but in case that's not enough, I've done my own free sample preview of Dark Steps as a kind of online "flipping book" (I know, who thinks of these names?). If I was to slip my IT-guy hat back on, I'd say my preview is more feature-rich than either Amazon's or Lulu's... but then I would say that, wouldn't I?

What not take a peak at the free preview for yourself and make your own mind up?

So you don't have a Kindle but still want Dark Steps?

2011-08-16T21:36:00.001+01:00

Ooh, get you with your "reading a real, physical book" shenanigans. No ebook readers for you, no sir.

But really, I'd still like you to read Dark Steps, I really would. So now, in addition to being able to buy it for your Kindle, you can now buy a real, physical book courtesy of those kind folk at Lulu. Okay, yes, it's dearer (sorry, there's a limit to how much I can do about that) but think of it this way - you, Constant Reader, get some back cover art and blurb. Those Kindle folk have no such luxury...

Does this make me a proper author?

2011-08-16T09:57:00.001+01:00

I have an Amazon Author Page now and everything...

Dark Steps published

2011-08-10T22:08:00.010+01:00

Dark Steps, my collection of eight short stories, is published as a Kindle ebook on Amazon today. Take a look if you don't believe me.

The eight stories included therein are Waiting Room, Dream Feed, Egg, Near-Death Experience, A Bit Christmassy, Resolution, The Inheritance and an extract from the forthcoming novel Drawn To The Deep End.

Near-Death Experience is published in Alliterati magazine

2011-05-18T13:12:00.002+01:00

Another short story, Near-Death Experience, made it into Issue 4 of Alliterati magazine.

In case you wondered, it's here.

Unthology reviewed again - Waiting Room gets a mention

2011-04-04T15:05:00.000+01:00

Unthology No.1 has been reviewed by Ian Chung at Sabotage Reviews. In a paragraph that begins "there are many other points at which Unthology 1 rises to a level that has earned my profound respect", my story, Waiting Room, gets a mention, as follows:

Martin Pond conjures up a near-futuristic world in which a boy is about to take a test, except no one will tell him what it is about, which has disastrous consequences for him.

Which is a neat summary without being explicit praise, but I take it to be an example of something that earned Ian's profound respect. Cheers Ian!

Read the full review at Sabotage, and see if you agree with my interpretation.

The Big Smoke

2011-02-04T13:04:00.009Z

Tonight sees the London launch of Unthology No.1 - it takes places in the rather fantastic Old Bank Of England pub, right where Fleet Street joins The Strand.

Proceedings kick off around 7pm. I'll be reading, as will Deborah Arnander, Karen Whiteson, Sarah Dobbs and Ashley Stokes.

See you there?

Dream Feed is published in Streetcake magazine

2011-01-15T13:07:00.003Z

Another little short story of mine, Dream Feed, is published in Issue 15 of the always-interesting Streetcake magazine.

I'll save you Googling - you can find it here.

On the shelf... but in a good way

2010-12-15T17:17:00.008Z

As you might know, Unthology No.1 launched a couple of weeks ago. The launch itself took place on the 2nd of December, in the upstairs function room of The York Tavern in Norwich. The original intention was to hold it at the excellent Norwich Arts Centre but they had double-booked themselves... a shame, I would like to have "played" such an established arts venue, but never mind, The York is a nice pub and besides, I used to live just around the corner from there, so it felt comfortable.

That's more than could be said for me, of course. Public speaking is not high on my list of favourite activities and before the event I was, in 1980s schoolboy parlance, bricking it. Pulling out was never an option though - after all, my name was on the poster (left)... even so, my nerves were not helped by the fact that the inclement weather (snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures, slippery roads and mirror-polished pavements) meant that, just minutes before the advertised start time there was no-one else there other than the organisers from Unthank Books and three of the other reading authors. So not only was I nervous in the extreme, I was also worried that the event would be a total flop.

As luck would have it, I needn't have worried. All of a sudden there was a sudden influx of people, all rosy-cheeked and swathed in coats hats, scarves and gloves. My personal mini-cheer-squad of friends and family arrived too and, whilst this was reassuring in some respects, they added the possibility that I could screw up royally in front of family and friends. Consider "it" comprehensively "bricked"...

I was third to read, after C.D. Rose and the wonderful Lora Stimson (more of whom later). The compere introduced me by saying that one of the objectives of the book was to give new writers a voice, and so it gave him great pleasure to welcome a previously unpublished author to the stage. The irrepressible paranoid spark at the back of my mind burned a little brighter at that - it felt a little like "ladies and gentlemen, please lower your expectations!" but that's just negative old me being me. It wasn't like that at all.

The first two readers gave little pre-ambles before their readings, so I decided to do the same. My anecdote, if that's not stretching things, concerned seeing Paul Torday give a reading a Latitude a couple of years ago, and specifically how he had looked petrified. I wondered why he had looked so nervous - after all, he is a very successful writer and must do this all the time, I thought. I gave the crowd now filling The York's function room what I hoped was a wry smile and delivered my "now I understand" punchline. This got a laugh, despite not being in the least funny. It was at that point I had the same Damascene revelation that Best Men must have been having for years as they begin their wedding reception speeches - at times like these, the audience wants you to do well. They want you to succeed. It's a nice feeling, and one that made the nerves subside... a bit...

I stood before the crowd, with only a microphone and speakers to hide behind, and read the first thousand words or so of my story. It's only a very short story, so that was about half of it, but if left the narrative at a nice mini-cliffhanger, and brought me in just on the "please only read for five minutes" deadline. Cue warm applause... and then, blessed relief, I was followed by the interval. A friend bought me a pint of bitter, and I could relax.

What happened next was the biggest and, in some ways, nicest, surprise of the night. People bought the book, and then asked me to sign it! I found myself saying things like "who should I make it out to?" and then realising that I had given no thought to what I would write should this eventuality occur. So it was that I found myself writing things like "To Anna, thanks for coming" and then scrawling half a signature. This didn't diminsh the weird and slightly heady thrill of signing books though - it's not something I had ever imagined would happen, so I enjoyed every second whilst it lasted.

After the interval, there were three more readings, from Deborah Arnander (who was lovely and, like me, very nervous), Melinda Moore and Ashley Stokes. And then the evening concluded with live music from Lora Stimson. Yes, the same Lora who'd read earlier! An accomplished writer and, it transpired, equally accomplished singer-songwriter. She played acoustic guitar and sang with the most amazing, soaring voice. It was a nice way to end the evening.... although there was just time to sign a couple more books before I left.

So all in all, it was a memorable occasion, if slightly surreal at times. It might never happen for me again (though there is talk of a London launch event, so you never know), so I'm pleased that I was able to enjoy it and, as you might have guessed, I'm happy to report that being asked to sign copies of your work is every bit as exciting as you might imagine. A couple of days later, the Eastern Daily Press (Britain's best-selling regional daily, no less) reviewed the Unthology; though it didn't give explicit mention to all the stories in the book (there are 17, after all), my little story, written in 24 hours just because I needed something, did get a mention. This is what it said:

...Waiting Room is an intriguing and mysterious Brave New World-type tale set in the near future which keeps the reader guessing right to the end...
Eastern Daily Press, 4th December 2010

That'll do for me.

Oh, and an epilogue for you: I went into Waterstone's last weekend, and there it was, Unthology No. 1, on their shelf. As I said before, this might never happen for me again... so I felt no embarrassment in taking a picture (right).

Unthology No.1 launches

2010-12-02T09:13:00.005Z

Unthology No.1 from Unthank Books, which includes my story Waiting Room, launches officially today! The launch event takes place at the splendid York Tavern in Norwich from 7.30pm.

Yours truly will be reading a bit of his story, along with Lora Stimson, Deborah Arnander, Melinda Moore, C.D. Rose, and Ashley Stokes.

Poems published!

2010-11-08T12:54:00.006Z

I'm much more of a prose writer than a poet. Having said that, I've just had three poems (Despair, Watching Them Go and Idiot [worst kind]) published in this month's Artillery Of Words magazine.

If you want to see why I mostly stick to prose, you can find the magazine here.

Waiting Room will be published in Unthology No.1

2010-11-03T16:58:00.007Z

A short story of mine, Waiting Room, will be published by Unthank Books in their annual Unthology.

You'll be able to buy it here.