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.

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

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.

Henley's Ricotta is now available on Amazon.

I've taken the plunge and put Henley's on Amazon Kindle. Henley's Ricotta is the first of three comic capers that I intend to publish. 
It's a saucy romp which is set in the fictitious seaside town of Porthmunster in South Wales where Henley and his wife Gloria run a bed and breakfast called the Hotel Oceana. Henley's world gets turned upside down by a mysterious guest, Mrs Fanelli. George, who lives in the Seaview B&B next door adds to the chaos. 
My next project will be to get Ushabti out there as soon as I can followed by Fairfax goes to Ephesus.
I hope I can contribute to generating a  renaissance of the humour genre whose popularity appears to have dwindled in recent years. For me there is a huge gap in the book market left by people such as Tom Sharpe whose books have been an inspiration to me. 

I see comedy as more of a style in my writing and secondary to story.
I hope you enjoy. If you haven't got a Kindle, you can download the free software for your PC and/or your mobile phone.

Please click on the link to purchase Henley's Ricotta

Please click here to purchase Henley's Ricotta

It Was Murder In Harrogate

I got back from Harrogate on Sunday after three days of the Crime Writing Festival plus Creative Thursday workshops the day before the festival got going.

The Old Swan Hotel

The venue, The Old Swan Harrogate was the place where Agatha Christie's mysterious disappearance in 1926 came to an end.

Creative Thursday, was well worth the extra day, with a workshop on Plot development in the morning with creative writing teacher Greg Moss from West Dean College and husband to author Kate Mosse who we saw later in the festival. 

We were treated to a talk from successful authors Mark Edwards and Louise Vosse who launched their writing partnership on the Kindle and have landed a lucrative publishing deal. During the afternoon crimewriter Stuart McBride led a two hour workshop with his team of forensic experts Lorna Dawson, Professor Dave Barclay and Dr James Grieve, forensic scientists from The James Hutton Institute in Scotland. By the end of that session, if we didn't know how to write a good murder we sure as hell had a good idea how to commit one. The day came to a close when brave aspiring authors (I was too chicken... for that reason I was out) faced 'The Dragon's Pen.'

Colin Dexter and Simon Theakston

Simon Theakston and Denise Mina

The opening party on Thursday started with an awards ceremony. I felt privileged to see Colin Dexter, the creator of Inspector Morse, receive a lifetime achievement ward. Author Denise Mina won the Crime novel of the year award for her ninth book 'The End of the Wasp Season.'

Over the following three days discussions and interviews ran in succession from nine in the morning throughout the day with one or two late night events. All the writers were accessible to everybody. Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Jo Nesbo, Harlan Coben, Stephen Leather and Ricki Thomas to name but a few.

I have already booked my hotel for next year, it sells out fast and would recommend the event to anybody interested in the crime genre. It was said on more than one occasion, during the festival, but I found out for myself, that crime writers are the best people anyone could wish to meet. 

Different Eyes

First of all I would like to welcome all new followers on Networked Blogs and Google Friend Connect.

Henley's Ricotta is almost done. I've spent a lot of time working out how to format a word document to Kindle. It's supposed to be easy, but maybe I'm a slow learner. I ended up purchasing some software to do the job for me. For those who don't know (which included me until recently) the reason word doc, pdf or whatever format you want to install on a Kindle, needs to be in an 'epub' format or 'kindle content' is that it can retain its format when the Kindle reader changes the size of the font.
Anyway I got there in the end and emailed it to my Kindle. Currently Henley's has a readership of one; the author. At this point in time I need to be the only reader. I found myself seeing my book through different eyes. No longer are they the eyes of a writer, I am seeing my book as a reader, and lo and behold,  I can see that it needs some more editing. After painstakingly daisy-grubbing my laptop screen-shaped prose over and over again, it was all too easy for me to miss easy mistakes, such as sentence structure and minor inconsistencies with either character or plot. When a writer has created the story, it seems the mind doesn't allow the eye to linger over the words long enough to spot what should be an obvious error. But in book form, I found I'm looking at a finished product, and the effect was immediate. I was able to forget who had written it and began page turning in a more objective way.
For anyone who hasn't got a Kindle or any other similar device, you're not missing out because Microsoft Word's 'Full Screen Reading' view has the same effect. I have tried writing in 'Full Screen' thingummy, but it put's me right off course. When I'm writing I need to be a writer not a reader.
Hopefully I will be off to Harrogate this week for Theakstons Old Peculier Crimewriting Festival. I say hopefully because I've not been too well lately, but fingers crossed I'll make it. If I don't publish a post whilst I'm there I'll write one when I get back.

Genre Bending

At a writer's conference I attended earlier this year, there was some discussion about genres. Both agents and publishers made it quite clear that if you are a newly established or aspiring writer you have to commit to one genre of writing. To skip from one genre to another or even worse lay claim to a cross-genre piece of work is a sure way to get the reject stamp across your manuscript before the title page has been turned.

On the face of it, it seems fair comment. To clinch that publishing deal or get yourself a good agent, it's quite reasonable for them to identify exactly where your writing is at.

It seems that even quite established writers have to remain committed throughout their careers.  For instance, if an established sci fi writer decided he wanted to skip the light fandango, turning cartwheels cross the floor to turn his hand to say a good swashbuckling pirate adventure, would this leave his sci fi readers feeling kinda seasick? Or would he get new swashbuckling pirate readers, a crowd calling out for more?

Okay I'll stop waxing lyrical before we all turn A Whiter Shade of Pale.

There are, of course, exceptions to any rule, which exempts a writer from genre specific creativity. Alas, this is beyond the reach of most of us. If, however, you happen to find yourself at the  top of the literary food chain, then maybe, just maybe, (not guaranteed) your name can be put to anything. You have become canonized as a BRAND.

Yes Ms JKR has made her departure on the Hogwart's Express into the world of adult fiction. Adult fiction is about as genre specific as she needs to get. She is not just 'a' brand, she is 'the' brand, or is she?

I'm sure her new novel The Casual Vacancy will be an amazing piece of work. JK's talent is indisputable. The magic of Harry Potter enchanted both children and adults alike in books and on the silver screen. I think she succeeded in finding the child within us all.

I'm sure she will sell squillions of copies on the day that her new novel is released, but what are her follower's expectations? Will her readers miss the incredible fantasy world that she created for Harry P? Will adult themes such as sex, murder, or heaven forbid she may even say the 'f' word, sit well with her readers? Or will she retain the distinctive ebullience and jolly hockey sticks flavour that has served her so well, and can be quite refreshing?

I like to think I can write comedy. But I've said this before and I'll keep saying it, I don't think comedy necessarily is a genre. For me it is a style. Comedy is a voice, it is refers to the delivery of a good story. It governs narrative, characterization and plot, true. I need to deliver it in a particular manner. The characters either need to be either comic or find themselves in comic situations. The plot must take at least one character way out of his or her comfort zone to create the right level of absurdity necessary to please the reader. It must have a happy ending. However, the story needs to be believable and captivating and take the reader through more emotions than merely rib-tickling laughter.  

I think next time I pitch my work; I'm not going to say its comedy or humour. I'll come up with as broad a genre as I can like adult fiction something like chic lit or choc lit (whatever that is) but for both genders.

I don't know if the demand for genre is a modern thing. Dickens, Hardy and even Shakespeare were not confined to genres. But during those days before they became immortal, were they branded as brands?


In two weeks I will be going to Theakstons Old Peculiar Crimewriting Festival. I'm going to have an amazing time rubbing shoulders with some of the worlds best crimewriters and attending some workshops to hopefully improve the way I write. But hold on, I'm not a crimewriter. But I write and I may want to write  a crime story  in  a comedic style. And I may find I have an affinity with some of the crimewriters , because they are writers. But that is not my main reason for attending.  

I read most genres from non-fiction through to biography and most genres of fiction. But I'm a hopeless crime fiction addict when it comes to reading. I used to read Hank Jansen and Mickey Spillane as a boy, so I suppose it has stayed with me.

I love classic literature, Thomas Hardy and Dickens being my favourites but also went through a phase when I couldn't absorb enough Russian literature.

On my Facebook, Twitter and indeed this blog I have made connections with all manner of different writers. I recently purchased a 'YOUNG ADULT' novel Kiera's Quest: Awakenings by Kristy Brown. (Do buy it on Amazon, she has a second book out soon) I only bought it because I socially networked with the author, or I would never have given it a second look had I seen it online or in a book shop. I don't read much fantasy. However, I must admit this book intended for youngsters was a guilty pleasure for me as a reader and it was an amazing piece of work. I don't think I could do it. I can write about the world around me and even about how the world was before me. But to create a whole new world with a different civilisation with a unique eco system and mode of government is far beyond my capability.

What's your genre of writing and does it run parallel with your reading? Or do you think that a writer is a writer regardless of genre and shouldn't have to commit to just one?