Edinburgh and Dreamwords

I got a wonderful call a few days ago from Scots-born American, Bruce. He'd read on this blog that I was in the UK and hopping from place to place. He wanted to offer the use of his Edinburgh apartment to allow me the opportunity to research the next book. This is such a generous gesture that I needed to thank him publicly and put on record the contribution he's made to make this whole thing happen. It's extremely trusting of him to do such a thing as I will be there unsupervised (I promise not to redecorate Bruce!). I should be there next week where I can rise early, walk the castle and city, take photographs and notes, soak up the atmosphere and populate the town with the characters screaming to get out of my head.

We have another member of the family. Welcome aboard, Paul.

As I write this, I am a couple of hours away from a radio interview. Really looking forward to it as it's a forward-looking college station, broadcasting to the wider region of Wolverhampton in England.

Yesterday was an important day. I started Dreamwords - Again! OK, so I've already written 50K words but, sitting on a concrete block overlooking the sea and a distant Arran, I started from scratch. As soon as I did, I knew it was right. It feels good and I love the novel already. It's been a while since I've been so excited about starting something new (well, since TC actually) but what a buzz. This is going to be something special, I hope, because it incorporates some ideas I've not seen elsewhere. If I get it right, I think TC fans will love it and a whole new audience may find its way to the series. That's the cunning plan anyway.

PR and Real Life

Not sure exactly what it means in the real world but I put out a press release before the weekend holiday and it has now had 98,647 reads. It’s times like this that I wish I could afford a publicist but then if I could; this would be someone else’s story and not mine. It seems crazy at times to consider that I’m sleeping from place to place, unable to afford a proper base and at the same time, Tom Corven continues to cost me a fortune to give away. At least, in selling the Special Edition, I can now call myself a professional writer. This is a landmark for my transition to legitimate published author and I’m thrilled to be where I am now.
Every now and then, I have to check myself when it appears that things are moving at glacial speed. In reality, Tom’s story came to me 14 months ago while I was trapped in a tent on the side of Ben Lomond during a storm. Since then, the book has been written and thousands of people have enjoyed listening to it through a new medium that could be viewed as Dickensian storytelling for the 21st century. It has now been added to the British Library as its first podcast novel. It’s not every day I get to start a new category in such a bastion of the establishment and I am genuinely humbled and excited by the thought.
Jesper from Denmark emailed me last night to tell me that he’s enjoying TC and asked if I was really living in a tent. Since this is not the first time I’ve been asked that recently, it’s probably worth repeating the answer here:
Over the past six months, I camped in a friend’s empty apartment in Split, Croatia. I use the word ‘camped’ deliberately because apart from an old sofa and some other junk, the place was bare – including the floorboards. My good friend Melanie from London allowed me to stay there while she organised a ‘rebuild’ and I am extremely grateful to her for doing so. Now, back in the UK, I am moving from place to place, approximately a week at a time, staying with friends and family around the country in order to spread the word.
I wrote most of 10 Downing St while in a tent on the Isle of Arran in Scotland and that avenue remains an option for the future. However, I don’t stay in a tent now and with any luck my journey back to living a normal life is well underway. When I resigned my commission in the air force, it was never to become a hermit living in the wilds. Yes I am extremely fortunate in being able to cope (and even thrive) by the challenges that come my way but the sacrifices are about taking responsibility for my own life - getting it to a position where I can do what I’m good at and makes me happy. It’s taken a lot of growing up to realise a simple truth that we should all follow if we can:
Find what you’re good at and do it. You will be happier, more productive, and a better person to be around. No matter what happens in the near or distant future, this, for me, is now a proven fact of life.

The following press release went out last night:

PaulStoryPressRelease.doc

Back in the UK

Spreading The Word

Comfort zones are dangerous. Get comfortable – get lazy. So, Split is behind me for now. Leaving was more emotional than I could have imagined. It felt like leaving family. It seems that emotional ties can creep up unawares and bite you when you’re not looking.
Now I concentrate on spreading the word.
I write this entry from Scotland, a short distance from Arran and home to Tom Corven. Over the past few days I’ve had to reorganise my life and prepare for the changes ahead. Everything must revolve around the Tom Corven project. Since I started this, I’ve become increasingly encouraged by the fantastic response from everyone who hears of it. Trying something new is a challenge and I love challenges. With the road ahead less travelled however, planning has to be dynamic and execution flexible. The press release goes out soon and what I do in the next few weeks will depend on the response the project attracts. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and continue to plan alternative routes to spreading the word. This includes a tour of the UK, talking to librarians, writers and readers and handing out leaflets outside book stores in the major towns and cities around the country. I welcome ideas from anyone and if there are groups out there who would like me to talk about the project or about technology for 21st century publishing, I’d be happy to do so.

I received an email from another Paul last night who has listened up to Chapter 38 of the podcast, loves it and is likely to join us – assuming I provide an alternative to Paypal. This is the third request for such a facility, so I guess it now must become a priority.
Thanks to everyone for your support.

Leaving Split

This is it. My last day in Split. In a few hours time, I catch an overnight bus to Trieste and then a flight to London and then Glasgow. While I'm looking forward to what's ahead, I will miss everyone here terribly. The city has an edge to it and the friends I've met are just amazing people. If any of you are reading this, thank you so much for everything. Hopefully, we'll meet again.

Another edit under my belt and the updated book is available in the store. It's quite interesting to note that some of the language that seems to work when spoken is too pretentious or busy when read from print and gets in the way of the story. The language is simpler now and I will continue to pare it down in the coming weeks.

Another few sales over the past couple of days. Two of them were from my editors; people who have been kind enough to rip me to pieces over some of the slack passages spread throughout the books. Kari Kilgore is going through 10 Downing St with a whipping pen as I write this and my friend in Split, Maria has taken Tom Corven to task. Both books are much better for it. Given their intimate knowledge of the novels, I am thrilled that they have both, independently, come into the fold – Kari with her mother, Jean dedicating the entry to her gran and Maria with her husband, Steve. In their case, I was presented with a 100 Euro note from their daughter Matilda at dinner last night. The pressure's on. I can't fail such faith and support. With another of Tom's fans, Brian joining us, we are now up to $6,500.

Friday night saw a surprise party at Cafe Libar, organised by Giles and the owner, Kristjan. Awesome night and it seems unreal that I'm going to leave all this behind for the unknown road ahead once more. Thanks guys, I really appreciate everything you've done for me.

And finally, the first radio interview of this phase is now behind me. I think it went well. Stephen, the show's host, prepared me well and the whole affair lasted around 35 minutes. I've cut it down somewhat and, if you're interested, you can find it here.