A few weeks into my latest IT contract (have to earn the dosh, y'know) and guess what? Not a word, not a letter has been committed to paper, or rather not a byte has been committed to the Word document entitled 'Silent Order', my latest novel, WIP and first attempted crime thriller. Why? No time, guv. No long commute, no overnight stays = no spare time! A job on my doorstep has brought huge benefits of extra time with family, a mere 8 minute drive to work, and, just to add a sprinkle of fairy dust to the whole caboodle, it's a really good company with friendly, helpful people.
But the novel languishes, unopened, in the depths of my laptop. Hmmmm. Well, if I can't write, at least I can think. And that's what I've been up to in writing terms. I've been toying with the concept of writing a sequel to 'The Trespass' and the more I think about it, the more fun I'm having with the plot-to-be.
So, it's not all wasted time if you can't find that 25th hour to scribble away. Thinking is free, easy, and can be done anywhere, even in those closeted moments, if you know what I mean. I might even take it up full time.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Saturday, 7 May 2011
The Trespass - Watch the Trailer!
'The Trespass' is now available in Kindle format via Amazon
5 ***** star Amazon reviews
"Put Dan Brown back on the shelf and prepare yourself for the upgrade!"
"Biblical blockbuster to outpace the Da Vinci code"
"Thrilling read - can't recommend highly enough"
"The Trespass' is superb"
"Unputdownable"
Friday, 6 May 2011
A Tull story?
Something different this weekend...in a musical vein...
One of my earliest writing pieces was an anecdotal story about a drumming experience I had back in the nineties. If anyone out there is wondering what it's like to unexpectedly secure an audition with a massive international band, read on to find out what happened to me back in the good old days of 1991. I found the story recently on a backup of my old music web site, so here it is - a 'A Tull Story'
Incidentally, the latest edition of the Jethro Tull fan club magazine, 'A New Day', is available now and features not only my interview with the personable Martin Webb of A New Day but also with the many drummers who have played with JT over the years.
A Tull Story.....
I read the ad again: 'Long standing front man of Internationally successful Rock band seeks musicians for solo/second band projects' Worth a try, I thought. Call Kenny, it said. So I did...
Kenny turns out to be Kenny Wylie, tour manager for Jethro Tull. Sharp intake of breath. A biggie. Not only that, but my all time favourite band. Kenny says 'Send a tape with some of your stuff on it'. So I did. Two days later the phone rings. It's Kenny. 'You lucky drummer' he says; you've got an audition.' Which is how I come to be loading my kit into the car one grainy April morning in '91, heading for an early audition at a village hall deep in darkest Wycombe. Driving across Christmas Common it all seems unreal. I force myself to enjoy the moment.
I arrive at the hall, a run down looking place set back from the main road, park the car and walk in. It's about 9:45 am. There's no-one about. I wander around the hall, wondering if I'm in the right place. There's a small black stool upended on the floor near the even smaller stage. Some inappropriate sense of tidiness makes me bend and turn it over. Emblazoned on the top of the stool in white stencil is one word: 'TULL' My stomach does a small somersault. Oh Lord, this really is happening...
I walk back to the car and start unloading my kit. Kenny Wylie arrives presently, full of good humour and encouraging words. I slowly assemble the kit, chatting to Kenny about music, drums, hi-hat stands and so on. Someone else arrives. It's Martin. Handshakes and intros are swiftly followed by a sprightly David Pegg and finally a figure in black enters the hall, chewing vigorously on a stick of gum. It's Ian Anderson and I'm about to audition for Jethro Tull......
The next hour or so is a blur, but some images are still vivid. Motoring through the middle section of 'Farm on the freeway', the sheer adrenaline rush of playing through the guitar solo section of Aqualung, coming to that familiar dead stop - cut to Ian's acoustic guitar and voice: 'Dee, dee dee dee...'. 'Sleeping with the Dog' is next, a nice lazy blues which I feel totally at home with (surprise).
I go home on cloud 200 and grapple with normality. A couple of days elapse before I arrive home from work to find what looks like a particularly boring bill/letter on the doorstep....The phone rings. I leave the letter unopened and pick up the phone. It's Kenny. Have I got the letter? I look blankly at the letter again. 'Hang on'. I open it. 'Ian has been trying to get hold of you urgently - call him asap on....'. Two minutes later I'm talking to Ian - he's asking me questions about availability; can I come over to his studio to hear a couple of new songs needing drums adding for the new album? I tell him my diary is pretty free...
I arrive at the front of Ian's house. It's big. My feet make loud crunchy noises on the gravel. Any minute I expect to be thrown out for trespassing. A lady answers the door. Ian's in the studio. I follow meekly. And there he is, sat at the desk enclosed in headphones, beard wagging as he mimes along to 'Thinking Round Corners' (as it turns out to be). I listen to the embryonic 'Still Loving You Tonight' and a strange country twanged 'Truck Stop Runner'. We finish the evening in the local Curry House (where else?) where Ian regales me with tales of Tull past and present.
And the outcome of all this? A memorable day at Peggy's Woodworm studios where Matt Pegg and me record our parts for 'Truck Stop Runner' and then 'Still Loving You Tonight'. I think that 'Still Loving You' went down in three takes, the last take performed under Ian's surreal exhortation to play it 'like an Italian with .....'. No, I can't tell you what he said actually - best leave it to your imagination.
A few months later, one Saturday afternoon, Ian rang again to invite me + a bass player along for a 'rehearsal'. Hmmm. Anyway, me and my buddy Neil spent an excellent afternoon and evening with Ian and Martin rehearsing songs from their back catalogue for the 'A Little Light Music' tour. It was probably the most intense rehearsal I've ever experienced - a sort of unspoken 'no breaks and you'd better catch on quick' kind of thing - I think it was about 5-6 hours in total - oh, and the location was Ian's studio. It was a lot of fun playing old favourites like 'From a deadbeat to an old greaser' and 'Life's a long song'. Still, all good things come to an end and we even made the pub before closing time.
Think round corners, eh?
Scott H, August 1999
Wow, that sure takes me back. Incidentally the album was 'Catfish Rising' and you can purchase it from Amazon right here. And it's even got my name on it...
One of my earliest writing pieces was an anecdotal story about a drumming experience I had back in the nineties. If anyone out there is wondering what it's like to unexpectedly secure an audition with a massive international band, read on to find out what happened to me back in the good old days of 1991. I found the story recently on a backup of my old music web site, so here it is - a 'A Tull Story'
Incidentally, the latest edition of the Jethro Tull fan club magazine, 'A New Day', is available now and features not only my interview with the personable Martin Webb of A New Day but also with the many drummers who have played with JT over the years.
A Tull Story.....
I read the ad again: 'Long standing front man of Internationally successful Rock band seeks musicians for solo/second band projects' Worth a try, I thought. Call Kenny, it said. So I did...
Kenny turns out to be Kenny Wylie, tour manager for Jethro Tull. Sharp intake of breath. A biggie. Not only that, but my all time favourite band. Kenny says 'Send a tape with some of your stuff on it'. So I did. Two days later the phone rings. It's Kenny. 'You lucky drummer' he says; you've got an audition.' Which is how I come to be loading my kit into the car one grainy April morning in '91, heading for an early audition at a village hall deep in darkest Wycombe. Driving across Christmas Common it all seems unreal. I force myself to enjoy the moment.
I arrive at the hall, a run down looking place set back from the main road, park the car and walk in. It's about 9:45 am. There's no-one about. I wander around the hall, wondering if I'm in the right place. There's a small black stool upended on the floor near the even smaller stage. Some inappropriate sense of tidiness makes me bend and turn it over. Emblazoned on the top of the stool in white stencil is one word: 'TULL' My stomach does a small somersault. Oh Lord, this really is happening...
I walk back to the car and start unloading my kit. Kenny Wylie arrives presently, full of good humour and encouraging words. I slowly assemble the kit, chatting to Kenny about music, drums, hi-hat stands and so on. Someone else arrives. It's Martin. Handshakes and intros are swiftly followed by a sprightly David Pegg and finally a figure in black enters the hall, chewing vigorously on a stick of gum. It's Ian Anderson and I'm about to audition for Jethro Tull......
The next hour or so is a blur, but some images are still vivid. Motoring through the middle section of 'Farm on the freeway', the sheer adrenaline rush of playing through the guitar solo section of Aqualung, coming to that familiar dead stop - cut to Ian's acoustic guitar and voice: 'Dee, dee dee dee...'. 'Sleeping with the Dog' is next, a nice lazy blues which I feel totally at home with (surprise).
I go home on cloud 200 and grapple with normality. A couple of days elapse before I arrive home from work to find what looks like a particularly boring bill/letter on the doorstep....The phone rings. I leave the letter unopened and pick up the phone. It's Kenny. Have I got the letter? I look blankly at the letter again. 'Hang on'. I open it. 'Ian has been trying to get hold of you urgently - call him asap on....'. Two minutes later I'm talking to Ian - he's asking me questions about availability; can I come over to his studio to hear a couple of new songs needing drums adding for the new album? I tell him my diary is pretty free...
I arrive at the front of Ian's house. It's big. My feet make loud crunchy noises on the gravel. Any minute I expect to be thrown out for trespassing. A lady answers the door. Ian's in the studio. I follow meekly. And there he is, sat at the desk enclosed in headphones, beard wagging as he mimes along to 'Thinking Round Corners' (as it turns out to be). I listen to the embryonic 'Still Loving You Tonight' and a strange country twanged 'Truck Stop Runner'. We finish the evening in the local Curry House (where else?) where Ian regales me with tales of Tull past and present.
And the outcome of all this? A memorable day at Peggy's Woodworm studios where Matt Pegg and me record our parts for 'Truck Stop Runner' and then 'Still Loving You Tonight'. I think that 'Still Loving You' went down in three takes, the last take performed under Ian's surreal exhortation to play it 'like an Italian with .....'. No, I can't tell you what he said actually - best leave it to your imagination.
A few months later, one Saturday afternoon, Ian rang again to invite me + a bass player along for a 'rehearsal'. Hmmm. Anyway, me and my buddy Neil spent an excellent afternoon and evening with Ian and Martin rehearsing songs from their back catalogue for the 'A Little Light Music' tour. It was probably the most intense rehearsal I've ever experienced - a sort of unspoken 'no breaks and you'd better catch on quick' kind of thing - I think it was about 5-6 hours in total - oh, and the location was Ian's studio. It was a lot of fun playing old favourites like 'From a deadbeat to an old greaser' and 'Life's a long song'. Still, all good things come to an end and we even made the pub before closing time.
Think round corners, eh?
Scott H, August 1999
Wow, that sure takes me back. Incidentally the album was 'Catfish Rising' and you can purchase it from Amazon right here. And it's even got my name on it...
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
5 star Amazon review for 'The Trespass'
Available in Kindle or Print format
Monday, 25 April 2011
The Kindle King
Discover new writers!
A quick post to let you all know that my interview with the excellent #kindleauthors can be found here. Interview. #kindleauthors is run by David Wisehart, an author himself, and provides a service for the reading millions to discover new authors. Check it out!
Short story
My short story 'The Last Train' is still available this holiday weekend, absolutely free.
Let me know what you think!
A quick post to let you all know that my interview with the excellent #kindleauthors can be found here. Interview. #kindleauthors is run by David Wisehart, an author himself, and provides a service for the reading millions to discover new authors. Check it out!
Short story
My short story 'The Last Train' is still available this holiday weekend, absolutely free.
Let me know what you think!
Saturday, 23 April 2011
Sacrifice
The reluctant terrorist
I recently read Le Carre's 'A Most Wanted Man' (a great read) and it got me thinking about the whole terrorism thing, about those caught up in it from both sides - the perpetrators and those tasked with tracking them down. Who are the innocent and who are the guilty? Maybe it's not always as clear cut as we think.
I wanted to explore a situation that expresses that idea, so I put pen to paper and came up with 'The Last Train'. It's a short story about a young man far from home, struggling with the enormity of what he's been asked to do. It's free, and you can read it at www.scott-hunter.net/pdf/The_Last_Train_by_Scott_Hunter.pdf
If you enjoy it, please RT- if you didn't, let me know why and retweet anyway!
The ultimate sacrifice
This is Easter weekend, recalling a time when another young man was similarly faced with a desperate choice; Jesus' sacrifice is remembered by thousands of christians across the globe as perhaps the ultimate selfless act. Why did he do it? What was it all for? How can it possibly be relevant to us today? I have a lot of information about that if anyone wants to drop me a line.
Have a wonderful Easter - and enjoy your reading!
I recently read Le Carre's 'A Most Wanted Man' (a great read) and it got me thinking about the whole terrorism thing, about those caught up in it from both sides - the perpetrators and those tasked with tracking them down. Who are the innocent and who are the guilty? Maybe it's not always as clear cut as we think.
I wanted to explore a situation that expresses that idea, so I put pen to paper and came up with 'The Last Train'. It's a short story about a young man far from home, struggling with the enormity of what he's been asked to do. It's free, and you can read it at www.scott-hunter.net/pdf/The_Last_Train_by_Scott_Hunter.pdf
If you enjoy it, please RT- if you didn't, let me know why and retweet anyway!
The ultimate sacrifice
This is Easter weekend, recalling a time when another young man was similarly faced with a desperate choice; Jesus' sacrifice is remembered by thousands of christians across the globe as perhaps the ultimate selfless act. Why did he do it? What was it all for? How can it possibly be relevant to us today? I have a lot of information about that if anyone wants to drop me a line.
Have a wonderful Easter - and enjoy your reading!
Friday, 8 April 2011
Do authors need advice?
Or “should I use an author advisory service?”
This is a question I’ve been asked quite a few times. Well, like all decisions, you’ve got
to weigh up the pros and cons. Of course, the benefits of using a service like this are very much dependent on your experience as an author.
I started writing seriously in 1996 after winning the Sunday Times Short Story
competition. If you want to have a quick look at my winning entry, here it is in pdf format.
http://www.scott-hunter.net/pdf/sstory.pdf
Kate Saunders, the newspaper’s literary editor at the time, asked me if I had considered
writing a novel. The answer was along the lines of, hmm - maybe. But it got me thinking
that a novel might be a fun thing to do (that shows you how naïve I was. . .). And so I
embarked upon a painful journey, writing a novel set in 367AD during the latter days of
the Roman Empire’s occupation of Britain. . .
I made every mistake in the book ('scuse the pun). Here are some of them, in no particular order:
I could go on, but it’s hurting too much to remember the trauma. As you can probably guess it wasn’t long before I was forced to admit that writing a novel is slightly more challenging than writing a short story. I finally conceded that I needed help.
But where was this help to come from?
Enter Hilary Johnson.
I found an advert for her services and emailed for a chat. She was great; she understood.
She offered a full critique service which would point out my failings, and better still, make sound recommendations for fixing the problems. And she was true to her word. I soon received a comprehensive report from one of her experienced team showing me exactly where I had gone wrong, and, more importantly, also pointing out where I’d hit the mark and written some good stuff along the way. Yes, some of it was OK (!)
Of course there was a fee for Hilary’s services, but the lessons I learned more than compensated. And, critically, they are lessons learned for life that I was able to apply in future novels. Hilary’s website will tell you that she is a scout for a leading literary agent, and I can vouch for that. I was massively excited that Hilary felt able to recommend my novel to the agency and even more excited when I learned that the agent in question was seriously considering my work. As it turned out he passed by a whisper, but I nevertheless was hugely uplifted to know that an agent of his calibre had spent a week over the decision making process and that he had very nearly taken me on.
You can reach Hilary at http://www.hilaryjohnson.com/ and do send her my regards.
Advice with plenty of laughs
I can’t leave you without mentioning another inspirational lady, Celia Brayfield. Her book, ‘Bestseller - Secrets of Successful Writing’ is entertainment with a capital E in its own right. I can honestly say it has been my most useful and thumbed resource. 'Bestseller' is a tonic when you feel inspiration has deserted you and the book is a kick up the bum when you’re just feeling plain sorry for yourself (and we authors all feel that way sometimes, huh?)
You can find Celia’s excellent advice here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bestseller-Secrets-Successful-Celia-Brayfield/dp/1857023838
Writing update
Well, here I am with a week in Yorkshire ahead of me and a break from writing. But you guys have no such excuse, so crack on with that novel! If you fancy a curl up with a good book after all that hard work,
‘The Trespass’, my archaeological blockbuster (!) is now available in Kindle format - at last!
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trespass-Scott-Hunter/dp/0956151000
US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Trespass-ebook/dp/B004URVAG2/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302271355&sr=1-1-catcorr
'The Trespass' is currently priced at $3.45. What a deal! Check out the Amazon reviews via the UK page (a huge thanks to all my readers for the five star reviews!) and don’t forget to Twitter your comments about the novel using hashtag #fridayreads, on a friday, natch.
'The Ley Lines of Lushbury', a fantasy adventure for children which was longlisted for the Times/Chicken House Children's novel competition last year is available via Amazon as well:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ley-Lines-Lushbury-Scott-Hunter/dp/144615713X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294500319&sr=1-1
‘Silent Order’ which I mentioned in my last post, is undergoing editing at present for a Kindle Autumn release.
Promise I'll shrink these long and rather ugly URLs next time. Honest.
Have a sunny weekend!
This is a question I’ve been asked quite a few times. Well, like all decisions, you’ve got
to weigh up the pros and cons. Of course, the benefits of using a service like this are very much dependent on your experience as an author.
I started writing seriously in 1996 after winning the Sunday Times Short Story
competition. If you want to have a quick look at my winning entry, here it is in pdf format.
http://www.scott-hunter.net/pdf/sstory.pdf
Kate Saunders, the newspaper’s literary editor at the time, asked me if I had considered
writing a novel. The answer was along the lines of, hmm - maybe. But it got me thinking
that a novel might be a fun thing to do (that shows you how naïve I was. . .). And so I
embarked upon a painful journey, writing a novel set in 367AD during the latter days of
the Roman Empire’s occupation of Britain. . .
I made every mistake in the book ('scuse the pun). Here are some of them, in no particular order:
- Changing viewpoint in a scene, randomly and confusingly
- Overwriting
- Choosing the wrong character as the protagonist
- Over egging the plot
- Resorting to the supernatural (don’t ask)
- Being pleased that I’d written 70,000 words and
- Being sure that everyone would love it, including Kate Saunders (she didn’t)
I could go on, but it’s hurting too much to remember the trauma. As you can probably guess it wasn’t long before I was forced to admit that writing a novel is slightly more challenging than writing a short story. I finally conceded that I needed help.
But where was this help to come from?
Enter Hilary Johnson.
I found an advert for her services and emailed for a chat. She was great; she understood.
She offered a full critique service which would point out my failings, and better still, make sound recommendations for fixing the problems. And she was true to her word. I soon received a comprehensive report from one of her experienced team showing me exactly where I had gone wrong, and, more importantly, also pointing out where I’d hit the mark and written some good stuff along the way. Yes, some of it was OK (!)
Of course there was a fee for Hilary’s services, but the lessons I learned more than compensated. And, critically, they are lessons learned for life that I was able to apply in future novels. Hilary’s website will tell you that she is a scout for a leading literary agent, and I can vouch for that. I was massively excited that Hilary felt able to recommend my novel to the agency and even more excited when I learned that the agent in question was seriously considering my work. As it turned out he passed by a whisper, but I nevertheless was hugely uplifted to know that an agent of his calibre had spent a week over the decision making process and that he had very nearly taken me on.
You can reach Hilary at http://www.hilaryjohnson.com/ and do send her my regards.
Advice with plenty of laughs
I can’t leave you without mentioning another inspirational lady, Celia Brayfield. Her book, ‘Bestseller - Secrets of Successful Writing’ is entertainment with a capital E in its own right. I can honestly say it has been my most useful and thumbed resource. 'Bestseller' is a tonic when you feel inspiration has deserted you and the book is a kick up the bum when you’re just feeling plain sorry for yourself (and we authors all feel that way sometimes, huh?)
You can find Celia’s excellent advice here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bestseller-Secrets-Successful-Celia-Brayfield/dp/1857023838
Writing update
Well, here I am with a week in Yorkshire ahead of me and a break from writing. But you guys have no such excuse, so crack on with that novel! If you fancy a curl up with a good book after all that hard work,
‘The Trespass’, my archaeological blockbuster (!) is now available in Kindle format - at last!
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trespass-Scott-Hunter/dp/0956151000
US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Trespass-ebook/dp/B004URVAG2/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302271355&sr=1-1-catcorr
'The Trespass' is currently priced at $3.45. What a deal! Check out the Amazon reviews via the UK page (a huge thanks to all my readers for the five star reviews!) and don’t forget to Twitter your comments about the novel using hashtag #fridayreads, on a friday, natch.
'The Ley Lines of Lushbury', a fantasy adventure for children which was longlisted for the Times/Chicken House Children's novel competition last year is available via Amazon as well:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ley-Lines-Lushbury-Scott-Hunter/dp/144615713X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294500319&sr=1-1
‘Silent Order’ which I mentioned in my last post, is undergoing editing at present for a Kindle Autumn release.
Promise I'll shrink these long and rather ugly URLs next time. Honest.
Have a sunny weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)