Christopher Shevlin's Blog, page 4

Errata

Copies of Perpetual Astonishment that don’t say “Full release edition” on the technical page (is that what it’s called? The bit with all the copyright notices on it) contain the mistakes listed below, which I corrected on 24 July. I hope they don’t spoil your enjoyment of the book. If they do, let me know and I’ll replace it. If you spot any other problems, or want to give me feedback, please contact me.

Throughout:

Titles of publications aren’t italicised. I knew it was the convention, but thought it would be distracting. I changed my mind in the updated version.
I’ve been inconsistent in capitalising “the Tube” – London’s underground railway.
I was also inconsistent in my spelling and capitalisation of Manila
I was inconsistent in my hyphenation of “no one”

These are the mistakes, page by page:

P27 “wagon wheel” shouldn’t be hyphenated

P38 missing “s” at the end of “channel”

P42 should say that Lance came “in” to the kitchen, not “down” to it.

P62 delete ‘J liked…’ and ‘he was rescued’

P69 should specify “Lance” rather than “he” ordered and poured coffee

P81 inconsistency in capitalising Tube.

P91 the closing quotation mark in paragraph 3 faces the wrong way

P96 Jonathon picks at a thread of his jumper – but he’s actually wearing his work clothes, which don’t include a jumper

P102. “She thought that Kathy new what she was doing”

P103 I say the paper is yellowed by time, but when Lance saw it at Sarah’s I said it was white.

P104 Andre’s name should have an accent

P105 Law

P138 should be a colon after “only Sam could make”

P139 side by side

P140 delete ‘what did Sam see in her anyway?’

P142 missing word: “I don’t quite KNOW what to believe”

P145 half-past eight

P162 “never again to drive”

P163 missing word: “with A shiny tinkle”

P167 manilla with two Ls

Say that lance gets into his car.

P168 delete ‘making tea’

“Percentage”, not “percent”

P169 been gone “ages”, not “hours”

Manilla again

P190 racing and race in same sentence

P192 Typo: “Have’ve”

P194 missing word: “He had AN urgent appointment”

P198-9. Letters not words.

P201 These “threatenings”. Should be “scarings”.

P227  There’s an extra comma after “Geoffrey”

P233 They agree the password is “anchovies” but it should “glockenspiel”, which is used later (I changed this because a friend of mine has an odd attachment to the word glockenspiel)

P234 half-hoped

P235 “the door. The door”

P237. Not “usually” – he’s only met her four times.

P239 should be “into contact”, not “in contact”

P303 missing word: “I WAS sent here”

P304 “luckily,”

P305 seventeen times

P307 – it’s a bit confusing and distracting that Jane says “a blur” right after Jonathon

“58″ is both spelt out and given as number – choose one or other

P308 “that headline that”

The Metro review comes out tomorrow…

Metro is going to review my book tomorrow (15 August). I’ve heard that it’s a bit critical, so I’m pretty nervous.

On the other hand, the book has now sold 350 copies, about a quarter of them paperback, so it has had a good innings.

On becoming less apologetic

Today I rewrote this post about my book to sound more confident and adduce some evidence in favour of the proposition that the book might be good. I’d almost forgotten how diffident and apologetic I felt about this whole self-publishing thing a couple of months ago, before some people started liking the book.

I still get twinges. A couple of days ago I found that there is now one review of the book on Amazon.com (they’re kept separate from the UK reviews). It’s a four-star review, but there’s something about it that suggests that the book really isn’t that person’s sort of thing at all.

Today’s top search term

Of the searches that brought people to my website today, my favourite by far is “grow a beard like Nicholas II”. It’s great that someone out there wants to grow a beard like Tsar Nicholas II’s and is using the internet to find out how. It’s even better that Google thinks my site (this post) can help.

I think that beats “banana piano” and “what looks like a bunch of bananas but isn’t” as my favourite searches leading people here. Perhaps I should run a competition.

Stylist review

Well, here we are. I cycled and Tubed all over London this evening trying to get an early copy of Stylist, only to find that my housemate had one. Here is the (extremely nice) review from their Book Wars section at the back of the magazine. I’ll start with their verdict – but read on for the full review.

The verdict: read the comic gem The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax

Exuberant is the word that comes to mind when describing this book. It’s one of those reads you can take an age to get through – simply because you find yourself re-reading joyous passages of comedy and revelling in the carefully constructed characters. One scene involving a murderer, a gym manager and a copy of The Cat In The Hat left one of our reviewers giggling helplessly. It’s a rare book that does this. Utterly recommended.

(And here’s the rest of the review…)

The Perpetual Astonishment vs Comfortably Awkward

Thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey, independent publishing is in the spotlight, so we’re putting two new self-published titles to the test

The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax

Stylist.co.uk’s online writer Anna Brech backs The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax by Christopher Shevlin

Not many books make me laugh out loud, but The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax is one of them. Like Comfortably Awkward, it stars a hapless and bumbling lead – Jonathon – who is struggling to come to terms with life in the urban fast lane. But while I found Albert Ferenzo’s never-ending neuroses over corporate life in New York grating, Jonathon’s foot-in-mouth persona is wonderfully endearing and acts as a perfect launch pad for the rest of the story.

As with Albert, life seems fated against Jonathon; he’s the kind of guy whose every word and move is sabotaged by a hopeless – and touchingly comic – self-doubt. This changes when a chance meeting with cocky womaniser Lance plunges him into a murky world of political intrigue and turns his humdrum life in London on its head. Jonathon idolises the cool-but-shallow Lance (he imagines Lance being born, nonchalantly tossing his umbilical cord over his shoulder “like an offal scarf”) and author Shevlin plays on the contrast with a brilliant, pacey text that is both surreal and hilarious.

A colourful side cast of offbeat characters includes “glamour grannie” Jane, a string of bent politicians and policemen and an ever-present murderer who dotes on his toddler daughter. Then there’s apparent lesbian Rachel, Jonathon’s love interest; the scenes between these two are a delight as Jonathon attempts to overcome his shyness in the face of chronic lust. Kenny Scudero’s characters in Comfortably Awkward are funny and flawed, but Shevlin’s light touch makes the black comedy of it all even sharper.

One of the toughest parts of self-publishing must be the editing and it’s here the Shevlin really shines. While it’s easy to get a bit lost in Scudero’s first-person narrative, Shevlin’s story is tightly delivered and packs a punch. It starts from the perspective of a murdered woman (contentedly losing weight through blood loss) and ends with a dramatic police chase through London. Even with some absurd twists, it’s nail-biting stuff and it’s the combination of comedy and action that makes Jonathon Fairfax a winner for me.

[Four stars out of five] 

Comfortably Awkward

Stylist‘s production editor Francesca Brown on Comfortably Awkward by Kenny Scudero

Last week, Penguin took a big step into self-publishing by buying Author Solutions for $116 million. Proof that there is a massive appetite for new voices in fiction. Self-publishing is being hailed as democracy in action – people discovering talented authors who may otherwise get lost in the maze of traditional book publishing.

However, finding these gems isn’t easy. Christopher Shevlin’s book was recommended to me by a friend while Kenny Scudero featured in a Guardian article about self-publishing successes.

Unfortunately out of the two books, it was The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax that I fell for. It reminded me of a very English Carl Hiaasen – filled with throwaway detail, joyously funny dialogue and slightly absurd characters. And while Comfortably Awkward has an engaging premise – an intern rails against big business; a never-ending sea of robotic backbiting and self-serving workers in New York’s corporate world – it failed to live up to what I hoped would be an American Psycho or Fight Club-inspired satire. Never has a book that tackles the vicious cycle of consumerism and capitalism been more timely but unfortunately Scudero never made me care about his hero, Albert Ferenzo. Albert’s anger made me side with his poor co-workers and girlfriend rather than him.

As Anna critically points out, it’s the lack of editing that lets Scudero down. He is obviously passionate about his writing but without an objective editor reining back elaborate plot twists and cutting out repetition, it is somewhat confused. However, this is only Scudero’s first novel at the age of 22 – he’s currently working on his second book and there is plenty of time for him to find a more considered style – and, thanks to self-publishing, the chance for him to get it out there.

[Two stars out of five]

Review in Stylist magazine

Well, here we are. I cycled and Tubed all over London this evening trying to get an early copy of Stylist, only to find that my housemate had one. Here is the (extremely nice) review from their Book Wars section at the back of the magazine. I’ll start with their verdict – but read on for the full review.

The verdict: read the comic gem The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax

Exuberant is the word that comes to mind when describing this book. It’s one of those reads you can take an age to get through – simply because you find yourself re-reading joyous passages of comedy and revelling in the carefully constructed characters. One scene involving a murderer, a gym manager and a copy of The Cat In The Hat left one of our reviewers giggling helplessly. It’s a rare book that does this. Utterly recommended.

(And here’s the rest of the review…)

The Perpetual Astonishment vs Comfortably Awkward

Thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey, independent publishing is in the spotlight, so we’re putting two new self-published titles to the test

The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax

Stylist.co.uk’s online writer Anna Brech backs The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax by Christopher Shevlin

Not many books make me laugh out loud, but The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax is one of them. Like Comfortably Awkward, it stars a hapless and bumbling lead – Jonathon – who is struggling to come to terms with life in the urban fast lane. But while I found Albert Ferenzo’s never-ending neuroses over corporate life in New York grating, Jonathon’s foot-in-mouth persona is wonderfully endearing and acts as a perfect launch pad for the rest of the story.

As with Albert, life seems fated against Jonathon; he’s the kind of guy whose every word and move is sabotaged by a hopeless – and touchingly comic – self-doubt. This changes when a chance meeting with cocky womaniser Lance plunges him into a murky world of political intrigue and turns his humdrum life in London on its head. Jonathon idolises the cool-but-shallow Lance (he imagines Lance being born, nonchalantly tossing his umbilical cord over his shoulder “like an offal scarf”) and author Shevlin plays on the contrast with a brilliant, pacey text that is both surreal and hilarious.

A colourful side cast of offbeat characters includes “glamour grannie” Jane, a string of bent politicians and policemen and an ever-present murderer who dotes on his toddler daughter. Then there’s apparent lesbian Rachel, Jonathon’s love interest; the scenes between these two are a delight as Jonathon attempts to overcome his shyness in the face of chronic lust. Kenny Scudero’s characters in Comfortably Awkward are funny and flawed, but Shevlin’s light touch makes the black comedy of it all even sharper.

One of the toughest parts of self-publishing must be the editing and it’s here the Shevlin really shines. While it’s easy to get a bit lost in Scudero’s first-person narrative, Shevlin’s story is tightly delivered and packs a punch. It starts from the perspective of a murdered woman (contentedly losing weight through blood loss) and ends with a dramatic police chase through London. Even with some absurd twists, it’s nail-biting stuff and it’s the combination of comedy and action that makes Jonathon Fairfax a winner for me.

[Four stars out of five] 

Comfortably Awkward

Stylist‘s production editor Francesca Brown on Comfortably Awkward by Kenny Scudero

Last week, Penguin took a big step into self-publishing by buying Author Solutions for $116 million. Proof that there is a massive appetite for new voices in fiction. Self-publishing is being hailed as democracy in action – people discovering talented authors who may otherwise get lost in the maze of traditional book publishing.

However, finding these gems isn’t easy. Christopher Shevlin’s book was recommended to me by a friend while Kenny Scudero featured in a Guardian article about self-publishing successes.

Unfortunately out of the two books, it was The Perpetual Astonishment of Jonathon Fairfax that I fell for. It reminded me of a very English Carl Hiaasen – filled with throwaway detail, joyously funny dialogue and slightly absurd characters. And while Comfortably Awkward has an engaging premise – an intern rails against big business; a never-ending sea of robotic backbiting and self-serving workers in New York’s corporate world – it failed to live up to what I hoped would be an American Psycho or Fight Club-inspired satire. Never has a book that tackles the vicious cycle of consumerism and capitalism been more timely but unfortunately Scudero never made me care about his hero, Albert Ferenzo. Albert’s anger made me side with his poor co-workers and girlfriend rather than him.

As Anna critically points out, it’s the lack of editing that lets Scudero down. He is obviously passionate about his writing but without an objective editor reining back elaborate plot twists and cutting out repetition, it is somewhat confused. However, this is only Scudero’s first novel at the age of 22 – he’s currently working on his second book and there is plenty of time for him to find a more considered style – and, thanks to self-publishing, the chance for him to get it out there.

[Two stars out of five]

It goes on

Today someone got to my site by googling “banana piano”. Welcome, weirdos all.

 

There is a banana piano here.

Praise

I’ve always tried to tell friends if I notice something about them that I like – a new coat or a tendency to be tremendous. But since my book’s been around (I mean the one I care about, rather than the two rubbish ones I was paid to do) I’ve started to tell people who I don’t know when I like their stuff. It means such a lot to me when someone is obviously and genuinely enthusiastic about my book, that I’m now much more motivated to tell other people when I feel that way about their writing, or whatever it is. I’m sure that even successful people don’t get tired of hearing it (except Eminem).

Watch Friday Night Dinner

The last TV series I saw that made me laugh as much as Friday Night Dinner was Arrested Development. It’s on 4OD, but you have to search separately for episodes 5 and 6, for some reason.

Four ages of the beard

My beard began about two and a half years ago, and has passed through four ages, as I believe all beards must.

1. Neglect

Most beards aren’t planned. The man just stops shaving, usually as a result of some crisis. My dad’s beard began when he had chicken pox and couldn’t shave. Mine began in a very cold winter in a very cold flat, when I was writing Perpetual Astonishment and had lost interest in everything else. It was so cold that just getting out of the shower was an ordeal, as the water would instantly turn into a thin coating of ice that I would have to chip off my body. I couldn’t face applying a cold blade to my face, so I didn’t. After a few days of this neglect, people started to say that it suited me.

2. Mime

After perhaps three weeks, when I met people who hadn’t seen me for a while, they would invariably say, “Oh, this is new” and then they would wiggle their fingers in front of their chin. At this stage, people couldn’t bring themselves to call it a beard; they could only refer to it by miming the strands of hair on my chin.

3. Undeniability

After a while, people begin to call the hairs on your face a beard. At this stage, you can’t just say that you haven’t shaved for a while. You have to admit – if only to yourself – that you have deliberately grown a beard because you think it looks better than your face. People will then tell you what you look like. In my case it was Tsar Nicholas II (shy, ineffectual autocrat, murdered) and “someone who’s just got out of the Gulag”. This may not sound great, but it was infinitely better than the people I’d looked like before – Peter Baynham, Ronnie Corbett and Paul Whitehouse.

4. Maturity

I realised that my beard had attained full maturity a couple of weeks ago, when a friend I hadn’t seen for a while said, “Oh, hello Tolstoy”. I very much enjoy the Russian aspect of my beard, and there are a great many other advantages. For one thing, a beard functions as a facial expression in itself, so you don’t have to move your face muscles about so much. For another, you don’t have to deal with it much. If you stop shaving for a week, everyone notices and you can’t go to business meetings. If you stop looking after your beard for a week, it looks pretty much exactly as it did before.

There is a slight prejudice against beards, but I think this is misplaced. The main objection is that men with beards are hiding something. We are: our faces. However, we are completely up-front about this concealment, unlike those devious clean-shaven men, who hide what they are hiding.