PETER COOKE - Author and Publisher

As I promised, here is the latest news on my submission to Literary Intelligence.  The critique was carried out by Martyn Bedford, award winning author of The Houdini Girl, among others.  He has been a teaching fellow in creative writing at the University of Leeds since January 2008.  I must admit that I had very mixed feelings when I received the critique and I took a very deep breath before reading it.  Having read it in detail, I am delighted with Martyn’s comments and helpful criticisms.

Like many historical writers, it is always difficult to know when to stop giving the reader information.  I did an enormous amount of research for the series, since I plan to write four books.  Fortunately, Martyn feels I stay on the right side of the line, mostly.  He did outline some cases of what he calls info. dumping.  There were other points raised, but overall I was very buoyed by Martyn’s comments.  I have made the necessary corrections to the manuscript and have begun the arduous task of finding an agent.

In his conclusion Martyn wrote that  the novel has “a fascinating , original historical content  and that the insight into the world of glassmaking is interesting.  Likewise the backdrop of the story’s setting-Venice and London-and the times will all be a key part in its appeal to readers  and therefore, to agents and publishers.”

I have to say that from the first return from an agent it hasn’t proved to be so, but it’s early days yet.  Nil desperandum.  Watch this space for further updates.

Forgive me for shouting, but this really is the best news in the Universe. A Happy Easter to everyone.

One of the things an author values above all, at least this one anyway, is feedback. I have been very flattered by some of the enthusiastic responses I have received. I’m delighted that most people seem to like the book and I am regularly getting queries asking when book two will be available. See January post The Crystal Ship.

From several questions that have been asked, it appears that the prologue in some respects fails to provide sufficient information as to why my hero, Giam, is so widely hated by the ruling families in Venice. One reviewer also said the prologue is rather B-movie. Personally I rather like B-movies, well some of them anyway. However, I did take the point about setting the scene seriously and have written a new prologue. I have also decided to sent this and an extract of the book to a literary consultancy. I hope to have their reply in about eight weeks. I will keep you posted as to what happens.

The book is still selling steadily, albeit in the restricted area of West Yorkshire. I am hoping that if I can get an agent and a pubisher, the book will be available to a wider audience.

At long last, I have finished the draft of the above.  Now comes the hard work.  Since my dose of lurgy over Christmas and the New Year, it has been difficult to concentrate on anything.   That and other problems have limited the time I’ve been able to work.

I have decided I will not self-publish The Crystal Ship for the moment.  I am actively looking for an agent at present and have sent submissions out.  Now comes the wait.  From past experience, I would do well not to hold my breath.  Previoius attempts with book one, took anything up to four months to come back and in one case just over six.

I will keep you posted how events unfold.

Last Saturday, it was such a lovely day, my partner and me decided to spend the whole day up in the Yorkshire Dales. Ann had a relative who used to be the local butcher at Austwick. She remembered it from her childhood, but since he died when she was young, she had not been back.

After a lovely lunch at the Country Store, we went to have a look around Austwick. It’s a lovely village and after a drink in the local pub and a chat with the landlord about the village, we went to see the old butchers shop. Alas it no longer exists, having been converted to a family home. At least the old shop window is still there, but it’s now a bay window.

Continuing on our way after a gentle stroll around, we found ourselves close to Stainforth village. I took Ann down to see the pack horse bridge and the Force. Seeing quite a few people there, we hurried down and we were just in time to see the last of the salmon making there attempts to jump the falls. It was absolutely amazing to see these salmon jumping after their long journey up the River Ribble from its mouth near Preston. We saw many attempts, but only one successful leap over the second and third falls. The first is by far the highest, but there is a better run up to it.

Unfortunately, neither of us had a camera, but I came across some picture on another site, see Bird Forum in the Blogroll for some great pictures of salmon leaping. Search under River Ribble salmon leaping.

I was very pleased a couple of days ago to hand over the completed books for Yvonne Crabtree’s For Pete’s Sake. Her story of life with her son who has Downe’s Syndrome makes a fascinating read. All credit to Yvonne who has found time amongst all the other things she does to tell the story of her life with Pete. I can’t help but feel that sometime in the not too distant future, there may be another book. From what Yvonne tells me, shes not short of material. Lets hope she finds time to give us some more insights into her life with Pete.

Two pieces of news, hot off the press so to speak. Firstly, I’ve just finished the edit of The Crystal Ship and sent it off for proofreading. If everything goes to plan, it should go to the printers by the 25th and be available about three weeks later. It’s been a very difficult format this time, as the main characters from The Glass Dagger have been woven into real historical events, namely the Ridolfi plot. The research has been very detailed, but I’m confident that with any luck, the reader will not be able to see the joins where fact meets fiction. More later.

Secondly. Yvonne Crabtree’s auto-boigraphy of life with her Down’s syndrome son Pete has gone to press. For Pete’s Sake should be available in about three weeks. Why not look out for the press release.

Yvonne and I are hoping to have a joint Book Launch in November and we’ll be announcing details of this as soon as we are sure the books are available. We’ll keep you informed of progress.

I attended the AGM of the Northern Authors group at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds on Saturday. It was great to meet with my fellow writers and discuss matters of mutual interest, like how do we sell our books when we’ve written them. Several authors were saying that although they had been published by mainstream publishers, there was no budget for advertising their books, other than inclusion in house magazines. What this really means is that the major publishers are putting increasingly larger portions of their advertising budgets into high profile celebrity books or high profile authors. The disparity is leaving many authors disgruntled to the point where increasing numbers are going down the self-publishing route and attempting to market the books themselves.

As I have found out, this is no easy option. It’s one thing to write a book, it’s another thing entirely to bring it to the notice of the people who buy books, without spending a lot of money on advertising. The web offers a way to let a lot of people know about the book, but what will attract them to your site?

Some authors are trying to form self-help groups to disseminate best practice. I am grateful to Caro Fraser for passing on the tips from Mary Cavannagher on Marketing your own books. The suggestions are thought provoking and I am already considering a full blown book launch for the second book of the Glassmaker Series, The Crystal Ship. With any luck, this will be at the printers shortly. See post on The Crystal Ship.

I would welcome any suggestions how we can inform people on the web, without adding to the mountains of spam that are already out there.

If there’s one way of not getting too much exercise, it’s sitting at a computer writing. In the last five months in particular, I’ve spent a great deal of time doing just that. My second novel has been causing difficulties as I am weaving fictional characters into actual historical events. Finally about five weeks ago a number of issues were resolved and I began to write at a furious pace.  30,000 words now since I started.

The lack of exercise was becoming a problem.  I hate jogging and gyms with a great passion and although I have an exercise bike and do go on it from time to time, to be honest, it’s a bit boring. The solution came from an unlikely source, namely my local Morrison’s customer board. An advert for a swing dance class at a local Social club caught my eye. I should explain that I have been a huge fan of the big bands for as long as I can remember and grew up through the Rock era. To cut a long story short, my partner and I went along. After five, two-hour lessons, we’re really hooked. The class is great and a good place to meet people and enjoy music I like. Not to mention the fact that already I’m starting to feel a lot healthier.

The version of swing dance we go to is called Lindy Hop. This was developed in the 20’s and 30’s and has it’s roots in the charleston, blackbottom and other dances of the era. Jive, jitterbug and Rock are all versions of Lindy Hop. I’ve been amazed at the number of people involved and have just signed up for my next set of lessons. If you like this sort of thing,  there’s sure to be a class somewhere near.  Why not give it a go, it’s a great fun way to exercise.  More later.

Bedraggled and wet we arrived at Saint Fagans and The Old Post Office(see blogroll for link) just as the rain ceased and we saw our first bit of blue sky. It proved to be a good omen. We were given a warm and friendly welcome by Cressida Slater, the owner and shown to our rooms. The accommodation was of an extremely high standard and it was great to get out of our damp clothing and relax.

The meal that evening was one of the best I can ever remember (there are typical menus for you to drool over on the website). The staff were very friendly, professional and attentive. They have a small, but well chosen wine selection and we enjoyed an excellent Prosecco, which became a favourite of ours when we were in Venice researching my first book The Glass Dagger. After dinner we had a little stroll round the very picturesque village. We vowed to come back as soon as possible to explore further and visit the nearby National History Museum.
Chef and joint owner Simon Kealy, learned his trade under the watchful eye of Franco Taruschio, OBE, at the famous Walnut Tree Inn near Abergavenny that had two Michelin stars for most of his time there. Simon was formerly at the Millennium Centre and he and Cressida bought The Old Post Office about nine months ago. They have already built up a fine reputation for good food and accommodation and an article in Good Food Guide is in the offing for 2008. Well deserved in my opinion. Ann and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone looking for first class accommodation and food. Why not give it a try if you are looking for accommodation near Cardiff. I doubt you will be disappointed.