Tuesday 27 November 2012

My Next Big Thing

Last week, the wonderful Sapphire Star Publishing writer of the family series called The Marlow Intrigues, Jane Lark tagged me in her post My Next Big Thing, when she wrote about her new book 'Illicit Love'. So this week I’m going to tell you all about my next big thing and share my answers to ten questions about my current work in progress (my Next Big Thing!) and tag other writers to tell you about their latest work next week!


What is the title of your book?
‘BITTER ROOTS’ - The second edition.

How did you come by the idea?
I’d been on holiday to Corfu, and explored all sorts of out of the way places, which I then combined with an idea I had about a young woman travelling there to discover secrets about her past – things that had happened to her family while she was a teenager.  I find it fascinating that we’re often oblivious to the lives of those around us in our teens, and often we only get to know our parents in our middle years – but what if they’re no longer around?   

What genre does your book fall under?
It’s a contemporary love story, so it fits into the Romance genre, but it doesn’t fit neatly into any exact sub genre.  It’s partly a ghost story but wouldn’t really fit into the paranormal category as everything that happens in the book is explainable and hopefully believable.  I call it modern Gothic as it’s heavily influenced by classics such as Jane Eyre.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters if it were a movie?
This is a difficult one to answer as I don’t watch telly or get to the cinema very often, but I was at a friend’s house and saw an episode of Merlin.  The young actor who plays Arthur would suit the lead male character, Matt perfectly.  He needs to be early 30s, dark and moody, with a wild impulsive streak, and a hint of pain in his earnest green eyes.  The main character, Beth is perhaps harder to cast.  She needs to be English, in her late 20s and gorgeously curvy, which not too many actresses are these days.  She also has to have a haunted look combined with a strong, determined streak – someone like Rachel Weisz would be perfect.    

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Beth Skye travels to Corfu after the death of her estranged mother hoping to finally lay her ghosts to rest, but finds herself being pulled back to the past whilst trying to move forwards with a love she thought forever lost.

Will your book be self-published or traditional?
This has been epublished and is also available as a print on demand paperback.  It had high praise heaped on it by the RNA readers, and the first agent who read it also liked it, but asked me to do a huge rewrite then decided not to go with it after all.  I epublished the version the agent liked, but wasn’t really happy with it, so this is the second version, which is written the way I think this story should be told, and is also the structure that several readers of the first version thought would work best.  

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I suppose about a year, but that was writing off and on in gaps around my other writing commitments.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
A few people have said it’s like Victoria Hislop’s ‘The Island’, but I think there’s a hint of influence from the Victoria Holt books I used to read in my teens, and of course ‘Jane Eyre’ is in the mix also.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
An absolute need to tell a long story that a reader could get lost in.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
If you want gut wrenching passion and an intense, Byronic hero who helps Beth to return from the depths of darkness to the glorious sunshine of the Greek isles then this book is for you.  Oh and I’m told the sex is quite good too!  Feedback from the Romantic Novelist’s Association was : This is one of the best, if not the best manuscripts I’ve appraised!  

You can read the opening chapter and find links for this and my other books on my website www.jarekadams.com  

 

Next week I’m tagging Andrew Thorn to write about his Next Big Thing on the 4th December 2012 - and I'm very excitied about what he's going to announce.


Wednesday 21 November 2012

Value for effort!

Value for money is the old sales pitch, but when it comes to books I see far too many writers underselling their work.  It takes time and effort just to learn how to be a good writer, and then it takes real determination to complete a manuscript for a book.  After that there’s the energy it takes to publish, either traditionally or independently, followed by the long march of marketing and publicizing your work.
In the world of epublishing the general advice is to price your book low in order to encourage buyers who’ve never heard of you to give your work a go.  But why not draw their eye with a really well designed book cover?  Attract them in with a good blurb that really sells what you’ve written?  And then make sure that what you’ve written is as good as it can be!
Readers can sample the opening chapters of your work, and will quickly spot badly edited or badly written work and decide against buying.  But if you’ve spent time polishing your work and making sure it’s as good as you can make it then hopefully they’ll want to read on and that means paying for your work.
Both of my books are currently priced at a lowly £1.53 in ebook format.  The paperbacks are more sensibly priced at £5.95 for Brighton Sucks, and £6.95 for Bitter Roots.  But in the New Year I’m thinking of upping the price of my ebooks to somewhere around THREE QUID!  Still a bargain if you think about it, but a better reward for all the time and energy it took to write them.
There will be a new book next year, but if you haven’t read either of my two current novels then grab one quick this December at a bargain price.  And you can be sure of getting extremely good value for your dosh as you can read the opening chapters, along with feedback and reviews on my website www.jarekadams.com
Next week I’ll be blogging as part of the ‘Next Big Thing’ blog chain, following a lovely recommendation by the fabulous historical romance author Jane Lark!      

Monday 5 November 2012

The Death of Theatre!

I’ve been reading and listening to quite a lot of discussion about the state of Theatre for Young audiences in the UK, and how this will affect future audiences for theatre.  One worrying theory appears to be emerging that plays experienced in schools (Theatre in Education) is largely to blame for young people’s reluctance to engage with theatre elsewhere. 
Although the arguments are complex I’m going to invite discussion on three main areas:  
·         Quality
·         Access
·         Competition
1. QUALITY
There seems to be an idea that if a piece of theatre is written to fit into the school curriculum that it must be in some way artistically compromised.  The main argument seems to be that young actors see Theatre in Education work as a way to get a start in the business, and that this has meant some companies produce work that is not as high quality as it should be.  Of course there is bad work out there, but it is not the majority case.  Until recent cuts hit hard there were a number of excellent companies with highly skilled actors touring across the country.  A few are still hanging on in there, and amongst these companies is Big Brum, based in the West Midlands.  I had the pleasure of seeing them in action at Warwick Arts Centre this weekend, where they performed Edward Bond’s ‘The Broken Bowl’.  This was an extremely complex piece of theatre that could only have been delivered in an educational setting where the themes and dynamics of the piece could be unpicked by skilled actor/teachers.  In no way was the writer’s artistic vision compromised, in fact it seemed to be stimulated by the opportunities offered by working in a setting where young audiences could be safely taken on an extraordinary journey.
2. ACCESS
Many young people’s only access to theatre is through companies that visit their school, or on trips to see a Panto at Christmas.  Is that something that should worry the theatre community?  I’m not sure it is, as exposure to performances, good or bad, will develop young people’s ability to view theatre critically.  It’s unrealistic to think that all of them will become lifelong theatregoers, but if enough of them do then theatre still has a future.  The aspect of this debate that worries me most is that theatre professionals themselves value work in theatres more highly than work in schools.  My own company Timezones Curriculum Support has been booked back more than twenty times by many schools, so we must be doing something right, but I recently spoke to an award winning playwright whose plays for young audiences appear in theatres across the UK, and when I asked who attended these performances the answer was ‘mostly yummy mummies’.  Theatre in schools therefore has to be valued as a way of giving access to all young people to experience imaginative and creative explorations of their world.
3. COMPETITION
It seems to me that the greatest threat to future audiences is the competition from film and television.  Theatre can be seen as sitting in a darkened room where you can’t eat or drink, and can’t text or get up and wander around to chat to your mates, and all that at a price that is often well above going to the cinema where the production values are much higher.  This was typical of the feedback given from young people after the recent ‘free ticket’ scheme failed to reach its full potential.  When money is tight, it’s a difficult argument to challenge.  Can any stage production challenge the experience of viewing an episode of Dr Who at home for free?  Of course it can!  Theatre in schools can allow young audiences to explore the power of live drama, and plays in theatres can allow young audiences and family groups to experience the unique and extraordinary talent we have in the UK.
IN CONCLUSION:  I warmly invite feedback on any of the points I’ve raised.