100RPM: The Cover

by Caroline Smailes on May 14, 2012

So, I’d decided that it’d be a good idea to put together a collection of flash fiction stories, all inspired by songs on YouTube. And I’d decided that the collection would be published as an eBook on Amazon with ALL money collected going to the charity One in Four (a registered charity which provides support and resources to people who have experienced sexual abuse and sexual violence). The collection is called ’100RPM’, there are one hundred stories included in the collection and Nik Kershaw has written the introduction. Sound familiar? Good…

Well, now we have a publication date of 31 May and an initial retail price of 99p. But, today, the amazing Becky Adams and the fabulous Ifan Bates have created this very perfect cover.

We all know I squealed:

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Something for the Weekend: All about Kapow!

by Caroline Smailes on May 12, 2012

This year’s KAPOW! Comic Convention takes place on the weekend of May 19 and 20 at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London. I’m considering an exciting project at the moment, one that would involve me jumping into the comic book world and that’s a perfect excuse to nip down to London next Saturday.

Kapow! looks to be amazing. In addition to comic-book panels with Marvel, DC, Image and Millarworld, announced events taking place so far include An Audience with Nick Frost, Noel Clarke Q&A with exclusive footage from Storage 24, plus two of Britain’s biggest comedians, Jimmy Carr and Frankie Boyle will also be appearing as will much loved TV personality and comic-book writer Jonathan Ross. Live interviews with huge film, TV and comic stars will be taking place all weekend at the Total Film, SFX and Comic Heroes stage plus a massive cosplay competition with an exclusive must-have prize. And Joe Quesada, who is my MOST favourite, will be there (I’ll not speak to him, I’m not allowed near my favourite people).

I’m especially excited that IGN has teamed up with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring Batman to London’s KAPOW!, as game developer Rocksteady Studios will discuss the story behind its multi-award winning videogame of 2011, Batman: Arkham CityThis was my game of 2011 and the panel will take place on 19 May.  Fans attending the panel will hear first-hand from Game Director Sefton Hill and key members of the team, including Lead Narrative Designer Paul Crocker, Audio Director Nick Arundel and Art Director David Hego. The hour-long session will give insight into how Rocksteady approached creating a game for the much-loved comic book icon and making a game worthy of the Batman legend. I’ll be there.

Tickets for KAPOW! 2012 are only available in advance and there will be no ticket sales on the door – please visit their website to book now. And let me know if you’ll be there, let’s say hello, I don’t know if there will be cake.

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Events: Short Stories Aloud

by Caroline Smailes on May 4, 2012

I’m absolutely thrilled to have been invited along to the second show of Short Stories Aloud, a brand new literary event in Oxford. And I’m especially excited that I’ll get to watch an actor perform a short story from ‘Freaks!’ (will it be one of my stories? Ooooh, the suspense!). The mastermind behind the literary series is the fabulous Sarah Franklin. And I’ll let Sarah tell you more…

Sometimes ideas just won’t go away. Short Stories Aloud was one of those ideas. ‘I should start a literary series for Oxford’, I thought. And once I’d thought it, I couldn’t unthink it. Which is how I found myself in the loft room at The Old Firestation  in central Oxford, laying out plates of brownies and arranging chairs whilst, behind me, two actors were put through their paces.

Short Stories Aloud is a swirly combination of performance and literary chat. It’s very loosely based on Selected Shorts, to the degree that, say, Frazzles are based on bacon. At our first show last week, actors Matt Gibbs and Sreya Rao read short stories from new collections by DW (Dave) Wilson and Roshi Fernando. The stories are astonishingly powerful and the audience sat gratifyingly open-mouthed as the actors brought them into miniature worlds. When they were suitably gobsmacked, we broke for cake and booze before reconvening for chat with the authors. We used audience questions as a starting point to take the conversation all over the place Dave and Roshi were fabulous company; funny, charming, and fantastically honest.

Overall, it was warm and friendly, thought-provoking and fun. Everything you’d want from a literary night; or any night, really. I can’t wait to do it again.

Which is just as well, because we’re doing it again very soon: Tuesday, May 29th, to be precise. I’m, if possible, even more excited about the next event because the authors coming along are friends of mine (and of each other). Caroline Smailes and Ben Johncock will have the pleasure of hearing their stories read aloud before chatting about whatever comes up. And, to match the theme of the evening will be ‘Things Are Not What They Seem’, we’ll be hearing a third story by the fabulous Rebecca Makkai.

Tickets are a mere fiver on the door or from www.wegottickets.com. More info will be on the Short Stories Aloud Facebook page or our Twitter feed: @StoriesAloud. Do come along, have some cake, and listen to some astonishing stories. Then afterwards you get a chance to ask the authors, ‘What were you thinking?’ And maybe they’ll tell you.

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Come, yes do come along! I’m truly excited about this event. Ben and Sarah are both very ace and I know the event will be much fun.

And, to recap, the details of the event are:

Date: Tuesday 29 May.

Time: 7:30 pm.

Location: The Old Firestation, Oxford.

Price: A fiver.

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An Event on June 7: HowTheLightGetsIn

by Caroline Smailes on April 30, 2012

HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest philosophy and music festival, is back in the glorious setting of Hay. It takes place in the first ten days of June including both the postponed May and Jubilee bank holidays. 410 events, 6 stages, 165 speakers, 10 days, 150 bands. And I’ll be there on June 7, talking on this panel:

‘Six Billion Authors in Search of an Audience’

(Caroline Smailes, Ewan Morrison, Scott Pack. Gabriel Gbadamosi chairs)

In an age of self publishing and writers’ workshops, the idea that we all have a novel inside of us has become commonplace. But how essential is writing to individuality? Has the Internet facilitated one of our most deep-rooted desires, or has it opened up the false hope of a readership, a performance without meaning?

Critical theorist, writer and commentator Ewan Morrison, blogger and experimental novelist Caroline Smailes, and HarperCollins publicist and Me and My Big Mouth blogger Scott Pack consider the impact of the internet on a new generation of writers.

Date: Thursday 7 June 2012
Time: 4:00pm
Earlybird price: £4.00
Advance price: £6.00
Full-price: £8.00

Tickets can be bought on the website.

I’m very much looking forward to spending the day at the festival.

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Today’s guest post is all about authonomyTM, a writing community site for writers, readers and publishers, conceived and developed by book editors at HarperCollins. The idea stems from a desire to find the brightest, freshest new literature around and (for an unpublished writer) authonomy is ‘the place to show  your writing on the web’.

And, today, authonomy’s Digital Project Editor – aka ‘the fabulous lass that runs authonomy’ – Rachel Faulkner is talking about the changing face of publishing and authonomy’s first published novel, Mary Vensel White’s (very brilliant), ‘The Qualities of Wood’ (and I’ve 3 COPIES to give away at the end of this post…):

People talk a lot these days about the various negative changes going on in book publishing: lists are getting narrower, the market’s getting tougher, and hardly anyone gets taken out for wine-laden lunches anymore. What is less regularly acknowledged is that digital publishing is an exciting antidote to many of the challenges facing the industry. It’s good for publishers, because they no longer rely quite so much on traditional retail support, and it’s great for consumers, who can now get their hands on almost anything they can imagine without having to leave their house, or even change out of their pyjamas.

To capitalise on this, earlier this year we launched HarperCollins UK’s first digital only imprint with the publication of Mary Vensel White’s novel, ‘The Qualities of Wood’. Since then HarperCollins has launched several others (including this one for erotic fiction, discussions of which are guaranteed to spice up an internal meeting). But why publish Mary’s book as an e-book original? And why choose her novel to launch a digital list? Pretty basic really, it’s a truly good book.

The Qualities of Wood’ caught attention thanks to our online writing community authonomy – indeed, the imprint under which ‘Qualities’ is published is to be dedicated to the crème de la crème of authonomy authors. The novel follows the story of a young married couple, Vivian and Nowell, who take a break from city life to prepare the house of Nowell’s late Grandmother for sale. Nowell leaves first to begin work on his second mystery novel, and by the time Vivian joins him, a real mystery has begun: a local girl has been found dead in the woods behind the house. The death is ruled an accident, but even after this Vivian can’t forget the girl, can’t ignore the strange behaviour of her neighbours, or her husband.

After being ‘voted’ to the top of the authonomy chart by the community, Mary’s manuscript reached the desk of Scott Pack, publisher at The Friday Project of writers such as Andrew Kaufman, and, of course, Caroline Smailes. Scott liked the book a lot, and gave it a rave review, but didn’t feel it was right for his particular list. The manuscript then made its way around various other departments, to largely the same response: great writing, nice concept, difficult market, no thanks. As sadly is not unheard of, a good book was passed over because of the challenges of launching an unknown author into a difficult market.

So, when the decision was made to start an authonomy imprint, Mary’s novel was an obvious choice to publish – and not only because it meant we could take on a book we were unable to place traditionally, but because ‘The Qualities of Wood’ is a great reflection of the quality of some of the manuscripts on authonomy.  Authonomy is a website for aspiring authors that is currently home to more than 11,000 titles.  Given that it’s an open platform, some of these titles are naturally going to be a little – er – rough around the edges, but some of them are great. There are more than a handful of brilliant titles –bestsellers-in-the-making – just waiting to be discovered, and ‘The Qualities of Wood’ is testament to that.

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I rarely read eBooks, but I made an exception for ‘The Qualities of Wood’. I found it haunting, delicate and utterly controlled. I thought it truly beautiful. I loved the use of gossip and rumour and legend that threaded through the narrative, making ‘Qualities’, very much, my kind of novel. I savoured, I slowed down my reading, I absorbed. ‘The Qualities of Wood’ is a strong and convincing debut and Mary Vensel White is one to watch.

And, I have 3 COPIES of ‘The Qualities of Wood’ (epubs and/or kindle files) to give away. Simply leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) April 27, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select 3 winners. This competition is open to all.

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Freaks!: It’s Publication Day

by Caroline Smailes on April 11, 2012

If, when I emailed a short story to Nik in August 2010, you’d told me that it would be published in an illustrated collection of short stories I’d have laughed (loudly). Because writing that story was never about being published, no, it was about me writing again. I’d stopped writing, hadn’t written anything for a year. Writing short stories was to help me to remember why I loved writing, and those short stories did help, more than I can begin to tell you.

But twenty months on, fifty stories later, fifty illustrations later, a ridiculous amount of emails, a silly amount of phone calls, countless pots of tea, too many slices of cake, numerous disagreements and much laughter… we got there.

TODAY ‘Freaks!’ is published as a paperback and as an eBook. And to launch this collection of fifty short stories, each featuring a character with a real or imagined super power (co-authored with Nik Perring, illustrated by Darren Craske), a number of VERY FABULOUS folk are hosting one of the stories and an illustration on their blog (thank you, lovely folk!)

And, over on Twitter, we’re having a bit of a competition:

So, would you like to help us launch ‘Freaks!’ ? And would you like the wonderful Darren Craske to draw you, in all your super glory? Yes? Well, all you have to do is:

  • Tweet one of us ( @Caroline_S, @darrencraske or @nikperring)
  • And tell us your ideal super power
  • And make sure you use the hashtag #FREAKS

And the prize for the BEST ideal super power (I think Mr Pack is judging) is an illustraion of the winner, as a superhero, for them to use as their Twitter avatar! Oh, yes, you will be made super!

Oh, and, Happy Publication Day, Mr Craske. And, Happy Publication Day, Mr Perring. And, Happy Publication Day, Me.

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Here come the Freaks!

by Caroline Smailes on April 8, 2012

This Thursday is the official publication date for ‘Freaks!’, that collection of 50 short stories each featuring a character with a real or imagined super power (co-authored with Nik Perring, illustrated by Darren Craske). And, just like I begged for help with ’99 Reasons Why’, I am AGAIN begging for help, my lovely friends.

Nik, Darren and I are ‘asking’ for bloggers to host one for the short stories from ‘Freaks!’ on their blogs. Timing isn’t crucial here, but it’d be ACE if you could host it over the next couple of weeks. And, we’ll give all who host a copy of the eBook as a thank you (as well as my love, obviously).

If you’d like to be involved, do contact James at jameslynch@lightbrigade.co.uk (I know, not Sophie this time) and, as he’s rather lovely, James will email you all that you need for your blog post.

We’ll be using the hashtag #freaks over on Twitter and on the publication day we’ll be tweeting about ideal super powers with an ace prize up for grabs. It’d be utterly FABULOUS if you’d like to join in the online launch of ‘Freaks!’. There’s so much more that I could say, but I’ll just get all mushy and sob like a Gwyneth and no one wants that.

More, soon.

(And here is a review and another of ‘Freaks!’, for those who are curious)

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Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell

by Caroline Smailes on April 7, 2012

Jen Campbell has written the VERY fabulous ‘Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops’  and, today, to celebrate the launch, I’ve a copy to give away at the end of this post. But, for now, Jen tells us how the book (which I HIGHLY recommend) came about:

Some days bookselling is the best job in the world. Take today, for example. I work in an antiquarian bookshop in London, and I just got an email from a customer who ordered a book from us that she loved when she was a child. The book had arrived at her house that morning and she’d opened it to discover that it was actually her copy, with the gift inscription from her great-aunt inside. The book had been sold in a jumble sale forty years ago, and now she’s reunited with it. How wonderful is that? Stuff like that gives me the best kind of bookseller warm fuzzies. Lovely.

On the other hand, some days bookselling can leave a bookseller with a big ‘WTF’ expression on their face. One of these moments happened when I was working at The Edinburgh Bookshop a few years ago. It’s a wonderful bookshop in Bruntsfield, and I worked their part-time during the final year of my English Literature degree. One day, a customer came up to the desk and said:

Customer: Hi, I was wondering, did Anne Frank ever write a sequel? I really loved her diary.

Bookseller: Her diary isn’t fiction… it’s fact… She actually died at the end.

Customer: Oh, really? That’s such a shame!

Bookseller: Yes, it was –

Customer: I mean, she was such a good writer! What a waste!

I’m not sure what you can say to that, but after that, I started writing these things down…

Customer: Do you have a book that has a list of aphrodisiacs? I’ve got a date on Friday.

Customer: You know how they say that if you gave 1,000 monkeys typewriters, then they’d eventually churn out really good writing? Well, do you have any books by those monkeys?

Customer: I’m just going to nip to the supermarket. I’m going to leave my sons here, is that OK? They’re three and five. They’re no bother.

Customer: If my daughter wants to buy books from the teenage section, do you need to see some ID? It was her 13th birthday this weekend. I can show you the pictures of the cake. You can count the candles.

And so they go on. I started putting them up on my blog last May, and the links were thrown around Twitter, retweeted by Neil Gaiman and I was contacted by Hugh at Constable and Robinson asking if I’d like to write a longer version for a book. I’d just got myself an agent [Charlie Campbell, who works at Ed Victor] for my fiction, so my agent and Hugh had chats, contracts were signed, we brought on board the wonderful Brothers McLeod to illustrate the book and now, the book is here! It’s surreal to say the least. The book launch is tonight, so perhaps I’ll believe it more after that.

So, dear blog friends, I’ve a copy of  ‘Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops to give away. Simply leave a ‘please pick me’ comment by 3pm (GMT) April 11, then I’ll pop all names in a mug and ask a small child to select a winner. This competition is open to all.

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About the author: Jen Campbell can be found on Twitter, at her blog or on Facebook.

A John Cleese Twitter question ['What is your pet peeve?'], first sparked the “Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops” blog, which grew over three years into one bookseller’s collection of ridiculous conversations on the shop floor.

From ‘Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?’ to the hunt for a paperback which could forecast the next year’s weather; and from ‘I’ve forgotten my glasses, please read me the first chapter’ to ‘Excuse me… is this book edible?’

This full-length collection illustrated by the Brothers McLeod also includes top ‘Weird Things’ from bookshops around the world.

 

 

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Today we have a guest post from the lovely Cath Bore about WHEN and WHERE I get to be Simon Cowell. Over to you Cath…

Writing on the Wall (WoW) is a literary festival in Liverpool which takes place each May. I’ve helped out at WoW ever since I, with a terrible attempt at chick lit, entered WoW’s annual unpublished novel writing competition Pulp Idol back in 2007. For those who aren’t aware, Pulp Idol is a competition unlike any other and as a Merseyside writer I’m so chuffed to bits we have it here.

Entrants have to be quite brave and read out an excerpt from their novel in one of a series of heats in front of an audience and panel of judges around Merseyside.

The Wirral heat will take place in May, in Birkenhead. It will be hosted by me and I’m so excited about the three judges who have agreed to come on board. We’ve got the lovely Caroline Smailes (you may have heard of her) plus crime writer David Jackson (Pariah/The Helper – Pan MacMillan) and children’s author Jonathan Mayhew (Mortlock/The Demon Collector – Bloomsbury). The trio are going to ‘do’ a Simon Cowell/Louis Walsh/Cheryl Cole – though who exactly will ‘be’ who is yet to be decided!

The winners of the Wirral heat take part in a final on Thursday 31st May 2012 at Leaf on Bold Street, Liverpool city centre starting at 7pm.

Entry is free and all finalists have their first chapter published in Writing On The Wall’s annual book ‘Firsts’ which is then sent to leading UK agents.

It’s a great competition that has done wonders for me. That chick lit novel I penned never saw the light of day again after I won my Pulp Idol heat with it back in 2007 – indeed I’ve shifted my genre to murdering people aka crime since then – but I’ve gone on to become a full time writer and that is due in no small part to the competition. Pulp Idol was the first writing competition I ever entered and it really helped me confidence-wise and in building those all important contacts!

At least one other finalist has been published and others have had strong interest from agents so it’s well worth throwing one’s hat in the ring. Who knows what could happen?

The deadline for Pulp Idol entries is 5pm on 26 April 2012.

For further information email info@writingonthewall.org.uk or check out the website.

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About Cath: Cath Bore is a writer of script and prose. She won Marie Claire Magazine’s Inspire & Mentor in Jan 2012 and is mentored by Amanda Nevill, Chief Executive of the British Film Institute. Her debut feature film Big Society The Musical (First Take) is currently in production and her crime novel The Missing Link is nearing completion

 

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The reason why ’99 Reasons Why’ costs 99p

by Caroline Smailes on March 31, 2012

The thing with writing and publishing is that as one book is out there, attention shifts to the next. ’99 Reasons Why’ has been published and some seem to have enjoyed reading it (there are a few Amazon reviews – thank you!). I really and truly hope that others will like it too.

I’m thrilled that iBooks are featuring ’99 Reasons Why’ on their front page in their ‘New & Notable’ book suggestions (it reached number 50 in their ‘Fiction and Literature’ chart yesterday).

And I’m super thrilled that Amazon have included ’99 Reasons Why’ as one of the 365 books in their Kindle Spring sale. This means that ’99 Reasons Why’ will be 99p until April 12 2012. Bargain? Yes, very much so, as it’s only been out 11 days! I’m hoping this means the book will reach a wider audience (I know there are negatives associated with that, but maybe some people will ‘get’ what I’ve tried to do).

But, now my attention has turned to the editorial suggestions from Mr Publisher for my next novel (which was called ‘The Drowning of Arthur Braxton’). I would like to stamp my feet, as some of the changes I’ll be making are challenging, but I know how much better the book will be as a result and I’m stupidly excited about it all. I’m aiming to have the edits completed by Easter. And, there is talk of the book, possibly, being out in January 2013… IF I can pull off the suggested changes and think of a new title. Eek!

See, that’s what I mean by attention turning to the next novel already. And I love that I’m back writing again. I love that I’m being reminded just how much writing excites and challenges me. I wish I could capture this feeling in a scent and sniff it when I’m feeling low (does that make me sound odd?). And, after Easter, I start a new novel. That one already has a title. We’re at the ‘second date’ stage in our relationship, I haven’t quite committed but know that I will (I’m sounding odd again, aren’t I?). More on that, soon.

(And for more on my ‘Arthur Braxton’ title dilemma – see my Facebook page)

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