Bologna book fair

I've just about had enough sleep since getting back from the Bologna children's book fair...

In one morning I happened to meet eight of my publishers from overseas, which is great in itself, but also slightly blows your mind.

Why? Well, there you are, in your shed, writing a book, and struggling with that, and for not one tiny moment does it cross your tiny brain that you might make sure your book will have 'international sales appeal'.

Maybe it does try to cross your mind, and maybe you just blot it out, because if you started to think like that, you'd go doo-lally pretty sharpish.

Anyway, the pasta's great in Bologna, that's the main thing :-)

Is this the 1960s...?

So I'm on campus at Bath Spa University, the sun is shining, there's some guy with an acoustic guitar singing songs about how Jesus is going to invade or something, and I feel like I'm living the 1960s education dream...

So far today, that education has taken the form of tutorials with MA students, and it's been interesting how the same issues can crop up. This evening, I'm taking part in a debate on how far, as a creative type, you should think about the realities of the commercial world. How much should it guide what you do and so on. Is it selling your soul to write something because you think it might have a greater chance of selling more copies...?

Personally I think you have to practice the art of holding a paradox in your head - on the one hand to ignore the real world totally, write just what you love, and do it just how you want it, and on the other hand, and at the same time, to have a part of your mind focusing on what is realistic, commercial and viable. And if Alice can believe in six impossible things before breakfast, then a paradox a day should be well within our reach.

Revolver PB cover

New covers a-go-go, at the moment! This is how Revolver is going to look in paperback when it comes out in May. Although most people seemed to like the smoking match thing on the hardback, we're going for a more commercial look now.

I always like those words; "more commercial". Let's hope it does the job. I'm very happy with it, though, on the basis that it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Preview of the Vampires and Volts cover publishing October 2010

a graphic piece of work...

So I am so utterly and absolutely delighted to be co-writing a graphic novel with my brother. We're about half way through now, and the team-writing thing is working well. In fact, so well, that I think I might not want to write on my own again!

It's called Dark Satanic Mills, and is V for Vendetta meets the Wizard of Oz, with a side-helping of William Blake. Won't say too much about it now because it won't be published for a good long while yet, but it's a dystopian vision of a future Britain on the verge of becoming a fundamentalist Theocracy. Bit sci-fi, bit noir, bit of a laugh. And writing with Julian is the best thing of all...

Author in Residence

I've just got back from my first day at Bath Spa University as Author in Residence.

I'm feeling a little guilty because although this is a paid position, I think I may have got just as much out of it as the students who I'm mentoring. (Mentoring: a friend of mine defined it like this: are they "meantta" do what you say??) Anyway, I'm looking forward to the rest of the program...

The picture is of the building wherein my tutorials took place - known as The Castle, an opportunity which could hardly be passed up by a writer of the occasional gothic novel!

New methodologies...

I've just finished what I hope will be the final edits on White Crow, published in July. Of course there's bound to be some tweaking to do, but I think it's ready, by and large.

This is just as well as I've been writing without the benefit of central heating this morning - this certainly sharpens the mind, and stops one dithering over the exact position of commas quite so much. Perhaps this could be a new writing technique...? How about writing standing up? Or in a sauna? That would certainly encourage one not to hang about...

Right, I'm off for a walk on the basis it can't be any colder outside than in.