Screenscribbler

Saturday 18 August 2012

Book shops - The Next Generation


I think the time has come to consider a new generation of bookshops befitting the lifestyle most of us enjoy or endure in modern 21st century Britain. It is easy to say leave our bookshops alone, because we love them the way they are.. Nice sentiments, but if we're not careful we will be looking back at our bookshops with nostalgia, because they won't exist anymore.
There is no doubt that internet shopping has hit the High Street  for six. Prior to the eBook revolution, Amazon and the big supermarkets were undercutting prices well below High Street bookshops. It has been argued enough already that the eBook should be embraced by the retail industry as an added extra to enhance the experience of reading . It's an added extra, and people are beginning to accept the hypothesis that eBooks and printed books can, and will, coexist with each other, within the same marketplace.  Waterstones, WHSmith and Barnes & Noble, in the US, have added eBooks to their stock which can be bought on their websites. That's all very well and good, but websites are not bookshops in the High Street, and there lies the problem, the High Street.
I've already mentioned the problem of books selling cheaply in supermarkets. But the damage is minimal compared to the devastation they have caused in the High Street. Who would have thought good old Woolworths, the nation's favourite for so many generations, would fall by the wayside like so many others, leaving their boarded up carcasses behind. There is not much in the High Street that you can't get in the big Supermarket chains. It's a sad fact of life, and we all live near one.
So what's changed? I don't think it's all down to the internet. More people than ever work anti social hours, another niche for supermarkets. More people drive, but town centres are not friendly places for the motorist any more. Supermarkets don't charge exorbitant parking charges and if they do they refund you when you shop in the store. Supermarkets are strategically placed, not so far out of town to be inaccessible, but on the edge of town to capture passing trade from major highways.
How much passing trade does Waterstones have, amongst so many boarded up shops within a town centre? A typical shopping trip for, let's say a family of four, may entail Dad needing to go to the bank, Mum wants some shoes, the kids need new clothes for school and if they behave, they have a Happy Meal at MacDonald's. They pass Waterstones. Mum heads for the crime fiction section whilst Dad would like to browse the sport books, and they have to kids to contend with. Their visit is likely to be brief.
What if there was a Waterstones, on a standalone plot just outside of town, thoughtfully constructed, in a pleasant setting, perhaps near a river, complete with its own parking facilities,  within cycling distance and on a bus route. Within the building is a cafe, maybe Costa Coffee, as Costa is already established in several of Waterstones stores.  What if there were more seating amongst the books, a terrace to sit outdoors with tables and umbrellas? It's a whole new concept. Shopping time has no place in bookstores, that's why they don't sit very well in town any more.  Whereas an out of town bookstore in the way I've described would benefit from people who have planned a visit to the store as a leisure trip which would allow for more  time to spend there. Bookshops are enticing places to linger. It might become a meeting place, a place to study, a place for reading circles, a place for writing circles, a place where readers meet writers.
It all seems a little too idealistic, but maybe worth piloting a store or two, perhaps on the outskirts of a university town, but ideally avoiding retail parks.
Unrealistic? Maybe, maybe not. During the 1990's I visited such an establishment outside Houston in Texas. It is the only Barnes and Noble store that I have been to, so I cannot say whether or not this was typical for the whole chain. People didn't go there primarily to buy books. I was struck by the atmosphere of the place. It was a place to hang out, a place to chill, perhaps a place to fall in love.
 A meeting place for people who read and a comfortable environment in good company. Let's face it, readers are generally jolly nice people to be around. A place where writer's may enjoy a more informal book signing day, spending some quality time amongst the writer's own  readers, and at the same time recruit a few more readers.

Comments please.

Monday 13 August 2012

Great Henley's Ricotta Giveaway

I don't know about you, but as enjoyable as the closing ceremony of the Olympics was, it left me with a heavy heart that it would be business as usual from Monday. In my experience it has been the happiest I have ever known our country to be. I was bursting with national pride for the organisers, the volunteers and most of all our wonderful athletes. We all need to avoid the big comedown  and keep our spirits high. What better way than to have a good comedy to read. I've put Henley's on a promotion until the end of Friday this week and it's free. I don't care if I never make a penny from this, I just want to get my work out there and I have the rest of this week to do it. Don't worry if you haven't got a Kindle, you can download a Kindle Reader from Amazon to your computer or phone for free. If you download could you please try and get the word out for me for others to download it too.
I hope you enjoy it. Please visit my Facebook Book page by clicking on the the badge at the top of the right hand side column and click the 'like' button for me..
Please click here to download Henley's Ricotta

Wednesday 8 August 2012

I've Found My Voice


Ushabti is well underway. Click on the Ushabti tab if you would like to read the first chapter. I'm having so much fun writing Ushabti the novel/novella/booky-wook,(sorry Mr Brand, but you can hardly call two words, or one compound proper noun plagiarism).
In writing this first chapter I have found my narrator's voice. I don't know who the hell he is but it's not me. Analyze that.
Okay, I'll analyze it. My scripts are intended for a cast and a production team. These are the people who will deliver the goods. But now I find myself in the position of setting the scene myself and developing my skill as a performer, albeit on paper. Centre stage without the stage fright. Can't be bad.
The other difference for me is that my characterisation has to be sharper and I feel that I am gaining a much deeper understanding of my characters, their foibles and the relationships they have with each other.
So I'll borrow Russell Brand's title, 'Booky Wook,' because it suggests the affection I have for my characters right now.