Simon Hall's Blog, page 10

Late guilt

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, even if it's not my fault, I'm sorry.

I have been assailed with emails wanting to know where The Balance of Guilt is (that's literally, not metaphorically).  Amazon is telling you it's not in stock yet, as is whichever bookstore you've ordered it from.

The answer is, I'm told, that there was a problem at the printers.  Some technological, or mechanical issue, apparently - I'm just hoping it wasn't a quality filter going off and an alarm sounding, saying warning, warning!  We cannot possibly inflict this book on the public.

It is frustrating, I know, because I want you to have it, believe me.  I reckon it's worth reading, although I would have to say that, wouldn't i? The good news is that I'm told the problem has been resolved and The Balance of Guilt should be reaching you by next week.  Thanks for bearing with me.

To those who - cynically, suspiciously - wonder whether this was a deliberate ploy to up the anticipation, in much the same way that some entertainers like to keep a crowd waiting, I can assure you that's not the case.  Just like the dear Adam in the tvdetective series, I like to be punctual.  All I hope now is that the thing is worth waiting for. Hopefully, in the next few days, you should be able to answer that for yourselves.

Aside from that frustration, I've been flattered to be invited to a range of events to mark the publication of The Balance of Guilt.  If you fancy coming along to one, there are details on the News and Events page - www.thetvdetective.com/news.html

And if you do come to one, I promise not to be late (this time)...

More Balancing of Guilt

Sounds painful, but is in fact a little update to a previous post, when I was feeling like a child waiting for Xmas Day as I counted down to the publication of The Balance of Guilt.

I've now flipped to feeling more like a new father. The finished book has arrived, and I'm going through the immodest but frankly irresistible "carrying it around with me everywhere" phase.

I'm not sure if other authors suffer this - it's not a question I've yet been sufficiently brave to ask any! - but I just can't help keeping a copy in my bag, or the car, and occasionally taking an admiring look, or perhaps opening a few pages and having a flick through.

I think I'd probably better stop here before I go a little too far!

I suppose such a feeling is inevitable (he says, trying to reassure himself).  Firstly, on an analytical level, the actual appearance of the book is the culmination of a mass of work.  The Balance of Guilt has been more than two years in the making, from the idea stage, to the plotting and outlining, the details of the characters, the structuring, and then the writing and re-writing, and re-re-writing etc.

In fact, on a quick calculation, I'd say the book has had eight re-writes, which is about average for one of the tvdetective series.

Then there's the harder to actually pin down part which is the emotion of the novel being published.  As the great Eric Morecambe might have put it, here, at last is this book what I wrote, held in my hand.  It all feels suddenly real.

The upshot of those Hall musings is that I'm feeling rather chuffed!

I've been kindly invited to some events to mark the publication of The Balance of Guilt.  If you fancy coming along to one (and dare to submit yourself to yet more Hall-waffle), I'll put details on the News and Events page as they come up - www.thetvdetective.com/news.html

September

I tend to think of the summertime as equivalent to a holiday from work - it goes so remarkably quickly, compared with the rest of the days of the year.

However, there is one compensation, which is now upon us. Being the keen and astute observer of the world that I am, I noticed almost immediately that the month has turned to September.

It's my favourite of the year's dozen offerings, and for a range of reasons.  Firstly, it's still relatively warm and the weather can often be clement.  It might be my skewed memory, but I seem to recall recent Septembers being as kind, if not more so, than the alleged months of the formal summer which preceded them.

Secondly, Devon and Cornwall grow a little quieter as the influx of tourists withdraw for another year.  I try not to be too selfish and possessive about the south west, but - akin to many others down here - we have this almost jealous thing about keeping much of the place for ourselves. 

I also love September for the colours.  I noticed on Thursday that some trees are already taking on the coppers and browns of the coming autumn.  Beautiful as that may be, it's not what I like most about the month.  My favourite is the colour of the sky at dawn and dusk.  For me, sunrise and sunset in September are the finest of the year's spectacles.

It's never been a conscious thing, but looking back, I've noticed a fair few of the tvdetective books are set in September.  I suspect the reasons I've outlined above may be why.  Only now have I really come to think about it - and yet again, I realise you often learn so much about yourself when you write these book things.

Finally for this post, I can't resist but mention that it's now only two days until The Balance of Guilt comes out.  The Hall excitement is mounting!  Thanks to all those who've been in touch, saying they're looking forward to reading the new book - here's hoping you still feel good about it when you've finished it!

If you want more details on The Balance of Guilt, have a look on the Books page - www.thetvdetective.com/books.html   I'll also be doing a few events to mark publication, for those see the News and Events page - www.thetvdetective.com/news.html

Dartmoor musings

I was looking for a new walk on Dartmoor yesterday, which started me thinking about the importance of the moor in the tvdetective books.

It was never a conscious decision to make Dartmoor such a feature, it just arrived in the series, which I suspect is because of my attachment to the wonderful wilderness.  I got to know it well during my days covering the environment, and came to see it as the heart of the south west, both geographically and emotionally.  Given that, I suppose it was inevitable the moor had to feature.

So, what does it add?  Well, it's a beautiful counterpoint to the standard fare of the books, which is far more gritty, the reality of dealing with some awful crimes.  I also think Dartmoor tends to be more compatible with Dan's personality - that kind of way of his of melancholy, or simple depression - than other notable areas of the countryside, like the region's coastline.

It's a great place to give Dan space to think about some of the crimes he's working on, and sometimes provides an inspiration too.  And depending on how his relationship with Claire is going at that moment, it can be a powerfully romantic backdrop - see, I told you I had a heart!

Dartmoor's also a brilliant setting for a bit of action.  When I saw the name Evil Coombe on a map, I just had to set a book there.  So came Evil Valley.

I get quite a few emails asking about the walks I describe in the tvdetective series.  They're all real and I've followed the lot, so I can thoroughly recommend them.  My favourite is the walk to the Ted Hughes memorial, as described in The TV Detective, but that's one you have to prepare well for and is probably best tackled on a day of benevolent weather.

Finally for this post, there's my dear friend Rutherford.  I very much would like to have a dog of my own, but the lifestyle currently just doesn't allow it.  Rutherford delights in Dartmoor, so describing the days he and Dan have there is the nearest I can get to having a dog of my own at the moment, and I love it!