During Ramadan the local populace and Muslims around the world celebrate the Holy Month by fasting during daylight hours. No food no liquids, quite a challenge in 50 degree heat. So, I don't spend any time eating out and no new movies are released for the whole month, I just write.
The malls here are empty during the day, the roads are quiet and forlorn Westerners search for anywhere that will sell them food. Goodness knows how the Muslim athletes in the Olympics cope.
I have written several chapters of my new novel 'Shadow of the Burj', which in all honesty should have been with the publisher by now, but it is well on its way. Inspiration is coming thick and fast and this is likely to be the most international and dramatic novel to date. Writers are sometimes a remote lot but Ramadan doesn't help socialisation, nevertheless I am going to an Iftar buffet organised by the US Consulate and so that should be fun.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Djibouti Man
Researching locations for a new book is often nothing more than an excuse for a nice holiday, not so Djibouti, where I need seven shots before I got on a plane. Now before you all start feeling sorry for this poor author, let me explain I was staying at the Kempinski Hotel where a thousand US Dollars gets you two nights of bed, breakfast and dinner. Notwithstanding my luxurious accommodations I spent most of my time travelling across Djibouti and meeting local officials and US and other Western Navy Personnel. I was also able to speak to a few ex foreign legionnaires.
Once you are out of the city, which hold about 600,000 of the 800,000 population, the accommodation is shanty's built of discarded advertising signs and corrugated iron. Despite this total lack of facilities the kids head off to school smartly dressed in clean clothes and everyone has a smile for a strange author. I was humbled and pleased I made the journey.Djibouti will appear in Shadow of the Burj as I had planned but it will also be a long time in my memory.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Heat of the Emirates
Here in the Emirates, Dubai more specifically, the heat is beginning to build. A dust cloud has kept temperatures low, and visibility lower, for a week now. I am starting my one year sojourn in Dubai and hope to be living in the Shadow of the Burj Khalifa very soon. Helpfu,l as my new novel is based here and is provisionally entitled Shadow of the Burj. For an author whose works rests heavily on research it has been easy for me in the past two years as my books were based on people and places I know in London.
In 48 Hours a loss adjuster receives a text threatening his life and it involves scores of London landmarks and relies on real people, their talents and skills. In the follow up Chameleon, also set in London, I had to recreate the abandoned tube station at the Strand, an eerie place with posters on the walls from eons ago. But still a fun place to see. Less dramatic is Thames House, home of MI5. Oddly enough I have had more trouble getting into popular nightclubs than getting into MI5's offices. The people at Britain's foremost intelligence service are keen to be open, keener still to dispel cold war depictions of their staff and agents. Then more latterly with Fogarty, coming soon to a Kindle near you, I had to look at the damage inflicted by the riots and talk to 'legitimate businessmen' who eschewed rumours of their criminality. Contacts on the periphery of criminal organisations in the UK and in near Europe always give a good insight into their 'strictly a business' approach to appalling crimes such as; drug running, prostitution and money laundering. Likewise the Police are always eager to be portrayed positively and so they too will tell you the 'way it really is'.
Here in Dubai it is a lot harder but I guess that I will soon build up the contacts I need to flesh out another novel heavy on research. I hope that Shadow of the Burj will be sent to my publisher later this year and be out for Christmas, as long as I can keep away from the poolside and rattle away at my keyboard.
In 48 Hours a loss adjuster receives a text threatening his life and it involves scores of London landmarks and relies on real people, their talents and skills. In the follow up Chameleon, also set in London, I had to recreate the abandoned tube station at the Strand, an eerie place with posters on the walls from eons ago. But still a fun place to see. Less dramatic is Thames House, home of MI5. Oddly enough I have had more trouble getting into popular nightclubs than getting into MI5's offices. The people at Britain's foremost intelligence service are keen to be open, keener still to dispel cold war depictions of their staff and agents. Then more latterly with Fogarty, coming soon to a Kindle near you, I had to look at the damage inflicted by the riots and talk to 'legitimate businessmen' who eschewed rumours of their criminality. Contacts on the periphery of criminal organisations in the UK and in near Europe always give a good insight into their 'strictly a business' approach to appalling crimes such as; drug running, prostitution and money laundering. Likewise the Police are always eager to be portrayed positively and so they too will tell you the 'way it really is'.
Here in Dubai it is a lot harder but I guess that I will soon build up the contacts I need to flesh out another novel heavy on research. I hope that Shadow of the Burj will be sent to my publisher later this year and be out for Christmas, as long as I can keep away from the poolside and rattle away at my keyboard.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Publishing Dilemma
I have just read two recently published books by Harlan Coban. These two books were written when he was in his early twenties and in the introduction to both books he offers the following caveat: if this is the first of my books you have picked up please put it down and buy another one. It seems that established writers are constantly being pressed to provide books to suit publishing deadlines whether or not they have creditable books ready for publication. When publishers can't persuade the author to produce a new book on demand they seem to resort to lifting old unpublished works from their library and turning them out with covers that replicate the current series of books on offer from the author, thus deceiving the buying public. Clearly Harlan Coban was not happy with this approach, hence the caveat in his books. Neither book could be described as Harlan Coban's best, although both were readable.
It appears to me that there are three possibilities for publishers to make money: first publish a new author whose work is worthy of a place on a reader's bookshelves, second turn out substandard work from an established author and hope that his name alone will sell the work, or, do as Clive Cussler and James Patterson do and produce books (almost monthly) in cooperation with other authors, who presumably do most of the writing and plotting.
Currently publishers appear to be risk averse and so the first option of publishing good quality books from new authors is rejected in favour of what they see as safer options. However, if publishers insist on publishing substandard work their reputation will be tarnished and not only will the author of the substandard work suffer but the publishing brand will suffer as well.
Likewise, if authors continue to partner with lesser writers whose work is inferior to their own, their reputation will be tarnished. If you care to look at the reader reviews of books created in partnership with lesser authors, you will find comments that express disappointment and dismay. The reason that people choose to purchase books by established authors is because their style,their narrative prose, their plots and their ingenuity appeal to the individual reader. In my view authors partner with other authors do so at their peril. Without mentioning the author or the series by name, I was hugely disappointed with a book written by my favourite author in partnership with a lesser author and I was not alone, the comments on Amazon were singularly critical. The main criticism was that the work was formulaic, lacked innovation and freshness, and, that the dialogue was stilted and unreal, a criticism that had never been expressed in readers comments on the author's earlier books. I note however, that these criticisms had been made previously in respect of the books previously published by the lesser author under their own name.
I believe that most authors respect their readers and the buying public and that they understand that the buying public want to buy original work from their hands, promulgated by their experience and ingenuity. So, if I'm in any position to give advice to those authors who success is manifestly superior to my own, it would be this; please ensure that all of your books- whether written on your own or in partnership - are of the quality you achieved at your peak.
Further, I would say to publishers please do not fill your lists with inferior work from established authors but take the chance on finding the next JK Rowling.
is this For publishers that dilemma The dilemma for publishers is this
It appears to me that there are three possibilities for publishers to make money: first publish a new author whose work is worthy of a place on a reader's bookshelves, second turn out substandard work from an established author and hope that his name alone will sell the work, or, do as Clive Cussler and James Patterson do and produce books (almost monthly) in cooperation with other authors, who presumably do most of the writing and plotting.
Currently publishers appear to be risk averse and so the first option of publishing good quality books from new authors is rejected in favour of what they see as safer options. However, if publishers insist on publishing substandard work their reputation will be tarnished and not only will the author of the substandard work suffer but the publishing brand will suffer as well.
Likewise, if authors continue to partner with lesser writers whose work is inferior to their own, their reputation will be tarnished. If you care to look at the reader reviews of books created in partnership with lesser authors, you will find comments that express disappointment and dismay. The reason that people choose to purchase books by established authors is because their style,their narrative prose, their plots and their ingenuity appeal to the individual reader. In my view authors partner with other authors do so at their peril. Without mentioning the author or the series by name, I was hugely disappointed with a book written by my favourite author in partnership with a lesser author and I was not alone, the comments on Amazon were singularly critical. The main criticism was that the work was formulaic, lacked innovation and freshness, and, that the dialogue was stilted and unreal, a criticism that had never been expressed in readers comments on the author's earlier books. I note however, that these criticisms had been made previously in respect of the books previously published by the lesser author under their own name.
I believe that most authors respect their readers and the buying public and that they understand that the buying public want to buy original work from their hands, promulgated by their experience and ingenuity. So, if I'm in any position to give advice to those authors who success is manifestly superior to my own, it would be this; please ensure that all of your books- whether written on your own or in partnership - are of the quality you achieved at your peak.
Further, I would say to publishers please do not fill your lists with inferior work from established authors but take the chance on finding the next JK Rowling.
is this For publishers that dilemma The dilemma for publishers is this
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
New Beginning
Dear blog reader, it has been a difficult month or so for me as an author. I have been writing since 1994 under my real name and under pseudonyms Tom Spencer (Final Whistle - football thriller) and Jack Daniels (48hrs, Chameleon, Fogarty - City of London Thriller series) and selling books well in Kindle format. But all is not well, it seems that my fellow authors with similar names, or even similar character names believe readers are too dim to know the difference between me and them.
To cut a long story short I have dropped the pen names Tom Spencer and Jack Daniels to appease my fellow authors and their agents. All of my books are now re-released with my name at the top of each book, J Jackson Bentley. The J is for Jeffery if anyone is interested.
Please look out for my books which are now being reduced in price to say thank you to my readers for being patient and understanding. 75p a book, you can afford to take a chance on that. Go on, you know you want to.
JJ
To cut a long story short I have dropped the pen names Tom Spencer and Jack Daniels to appease my fellow authors and their agents. All of my books are now re-released with my name at the top of each book, J Jackson Bentley. The J is for Jeffery if anyone is interested.
Please look out for my books which are now being reduced in price to say thank you to my readers for being patient and understanding. 75p a book, you can afford to take a chance on that. Go on, you know you want to.
JJ
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