Charlie Bray's Blog, page 22

Open House by Charlie Bray now free on Kindle

For the next few days you will be able to grab a copy of my eBook Open House, the first of a series of Cove Castle Comedies, absolutely free from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Let me explain a bit about the story.

The Castle

Cove Castle, having survived for around 850 years is showing every sign of neglect.

Lengthy repairs and restoration are required, and the problem is the estate is broke. Serious revenue has to be created to satisfy the upkeep of both house and family. Most of the initiatives put in place are hilariously ill-fated. Activists occupy Cove Woods, where the annual shoot is essential to the estate’s survival. A dog show ends in disaster. A film crew, recording a ‘period drama’ in the grounds, films more than it bargains for. A bungling handyman causes more damage than he repairs, and members of the public, admitted for the first time ever, are in fear of their lives.

The Family

As if all this is not enough for Cove Castle to cope with, the lunatics start running the asylum.

An assassin stalks a hated member of the family and blows up his limousine. The in-laws try to seize control of the castle and the Marquess prepares to buy a Thai bride to provide an heir to the family line. He also starts to dispose of ‘the family silver’. Dodgy dealings are exposed and marijuana is discovered in the vegetable plot. Family and friends frolic naked in the moat, and ghosts go on the rampage.

All of this sound a little too much? What you’ve just read only scratches the surface.

Please give it a read. You’ll find it on our Members’ Books pages, or you can go direct to Amazon. You have until Sunday at midnight (British time). It would be great if you could then give it a review on Amazon for me.

Happy reading, Charlie

Writers – Choose your words carefully

Keith Waterhouse CBE was a novelist, newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. Bily Liar was his most celebrated character.

Waterhouse once said that writing “consists simply of choosing a handful of words from the half a million or so samples available, and arranging them in the best order.”

But to ensure that writers chose the best handful, he actually set down a dozen ground rules.Tony Rossiter remembers this in the current issue of Writing Magazine, and for the benefit of INDIETRIBE writers, I am pleased to re-produce them here:

Use specific words (red and blue) not general ones (brightly coloured).
Use concrete words (rain, fog) rather than abstract ones (bad weather).
Use plain words (began, said, end) not college-educated ones (commenced, stated, termination).
Use positive words (he was poor) not negative ones (he was not rich – the reader at once wants to know, how not rich was he?).
Don’t overstate: fell is starker than plunged.
Don’t lard the story with emotive or ‘dramatic’ words (astonishing, staggering, sensational, shock).
Avoid non-working words that cluster together like derelicts (but for the fact that, the question as to whether, there is no doubt that).
Don’t use words thoughtlessly. (Waiting ambulances don’t rush victims to hospital. Waiting ambulances wait. Meteors fall, so there can be no meteoric rise).
Don’t use unknown quantities (very, really, truly, quite. How much is very?).
Never qualify absolutes. A thing cannot be quite impossible, glaringly obvious or most essential, any more than it can be absolutely absolute.
Don’t use jargon, cliches, puns, elegant or inelegant variations or inexact synonyms (brave wife died saving her son is wrong: wife is not a synonym for mother).
Words are facts. Check them (spelling and meaning) as you would any other.

I’m sure the late Keith Waterhouse would be proud to know that fellow writers are still hanging on to his every word – as long as it is the right one.

Three 5-star Book Reviews

Wander Home by Karen A. Wyle

Karen A. Wyle should be proud of the opening scene of this book as it showcases her undoubted skill in two areas of writing.

Firstly it ‘illustrates’, and I choose the word deliberately, her descriptive powers whilst describing the dramatic seascape of giant ocean rollers. You’re right there with surfer Cassidy as she sets out to conquer them. The colours, the sounds, the smells are all described in vivid detail and when she has plunged through the tunnel of a giant wave, and bobs gently behind the swell, you too are glad of the rest. Epic descriptive writing this, one of the best ‘hooks’ into a book that I have been snared on.

Secondly, the reader, by virtue of Karen’s skillful ability to play him, soon becomes aware that things in this neck of the world are not normal. Cassidy appears to have the ability to instantly change her age at will, and not just her own age, but the age and consequent appearance of her family. It is here that the reader should tussle with this phenomena and attempt to work out what is happening, how she has this ability. But, regrettably, Karen has already  proclaimed her own spoiler in the preface of this story.

The full preface states: This book is set in an afterlife: what sort of afterlife, the reader may decide. I think the book would perhaps have had a stronger impact on the reader if the fact it was set in the afterlife had been omitted from the preface and blurb. Maybe the reader should have been left to work out that this is the afterlife, and then gone on to solve what sort.

Having said that, I love the way the concept of an afterlife is made real in Karen’s book, and the way the various characters inter-relate, re-live moments and re-visit places in their history. The story revolves around Cassie and her mom meeting up again, following her mother’s accidental death.

I’ve recently got to thinking how great it would be if I could meet up with my mother and father again, just for half an hour or so over coffee, just for a catch-up. In this respect Wander Home acts like a large, soft comfort blanket. But don’t get too comfortable. It is a barbed comfort blanket, charged with emotion.

An excellent read, which I heartily recommend.

In the Eye of the Beholder by Sharon E. Cathcart

I was unaware that there is a strong following of Phantom of the Opera books and admit that this is the first one I have read. I did watch the movie, Phantom of the Opera and remember being mesmerised by the grandeur of the old theatre. I would say that my memory of the superb cinematography of the film doubtless helps the book along but it doesn’t. It doesn’t need to. Sharon E. Cathcart’s words do that. She successfully portrays 19th century Paris and London with a wonderful descriptive style and is equally adept at describing the various characters throughout the story. Even the horses benefit from the skills of this wordsmith.

In the Eye of the Beholder is lovely romantic tale, featuring equestrian Claire Delacroix and Erik, the Opera Ghost. It encompasses moments of tenderness, cruelty, sensuality, anguish, terror and even moments of comedy. It treats the reader to so much more than a simple romantic novel. In incorporates mystery, intrigue, even a cameo appearance of the Elephant Man.

I think the story benefits from being told in the first person, and any limitations in viewpoint that you would expect from this are cleverly avoided by constant references to Erik’s journal. It is a well thought out, well planned and well executed story and a delight to read.

If, like me, you are not yet a Phantom phan, I would recommend Sharon’s book as an excellent place to dip your toes in the water. If you are already a convert, I know you will love In the Eye of the Beholder.

A Solitary Life by Colleen Sayre

Mary Margaret Carmichael, the hero of this novel, is a well known author who has been persuaded to publish her autobiography, and this is the basis  of a very intriguing story. She enlists the help of family and friends, and their input sets the story off in several unexpected directions.

A chapter is dedicated to each contributor’s recollections of Mary Margaret and is used as a layer to build up her life story .

Her own chapter kicks the whole thing off and is an early indicator of another author’s descriptive powers. Colleen Sayre has her character take a walk from her home to a nearby store and in that short journey we learn a lot about the woman, the town she lives in and the people who inhabit it. We learn what a vulnerable, fragile, solitary soul she is, and how she is held together by rigid determination. We also learn how much she values her solitude. We yearn to know her history and are delighted when it tumbles out of every chapter.

Her history brings you joy, and also intense sadness, and her vulnerability is never far from the surface.

Mary Margaret’s pops up throughout the book to add her own contributions and to pull things together.

This is a wonderful and quite unique way to unfold a story and I am now a huge fan of Colleen Sayre. Her book deserves to be read. To me it is a very important piece of literature.

A Review of Three Very Different Books

The Devil You Know by Ninette Kelly

When does a cop get lucky?

When he’s really a vampire and he’s investigating a number of deaths at a party frequented by vampires.

How is that lucky?

Because he can interview one of the dead in the morgue and find out what happened.

How can he do that if the witness is dead?

Because during the revelry, she died and was turned into a vampire by one of the vampires.

Are you still with me?

Come on, keep up.

Of course she didn’t know she’d been turned into a vampire until she rose from the dead in a refrigerator in the morgue. It was then that she learned from the detective a few things about vampires. Like the fact that most new ones lisp – getting used to the fangs you see.

The new vampire refuses to confide in the detective until he bribes her with a bag of blood Then she spills. Not the blood, but what happened at the orgy.

The detective, having got what he wanted, tells the new vampire that her maker will be around to claim her, her maker being the guy that sucked her nearly dry of blood and then filled her up with his own. Strange hobby eh? And when he does turn up, she’ll be tied to him for eternity. The detective no longer sees her as his problem.

Anyway, the detective is not as free from her as he suspected, because when her maker does turn up, the story really swings into action, and the vampire, her maker, the cop and an old witch are involved in it up to their teeth – or fangs.

Never read a book about vampires before. This one, whilst respectful to vampires and their inter-relation with humans, is laced with a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek humour, which makes it all the more enjoyable. And enjoy it I did. A very short book at 63 pages, the story moves along at pace and could be categorized ‘a quick read’.

Order of the Dimensions by Irene Helenowski

This book starts innocuously enough with the fairly humdrum but happy life of Jane Kremowski. The introduction of a Dr Zelov, a work associate early on in the story heralds storms on the horizon and the author cleverly leads the reader into watching him suspiciously.

The work Jane is involved in is serious stuff and the damage that Dr Z. could do is pretty breath-taking, but the story is so layered that the reader does not panic too soon. He is led into mistrusting Dr Z by simple clues.

We are not talking about the threat that Dr Z may be into a bit of industrial espionage, such as stealing the latest invention of a new Dyson which changes the  pattern of your carpet whilst cleaning it. That would be impressive enough, but we’re talking about something stratospheric by comparison. We’re talking about the existence of multiple dimensions, of people living multiple lives across multiple universes. And the intrepid Dr. Z is not just interested in progressing this theory and investing in it heavily, he is more concerned with harnessing it to seize ultimate control of infinity and beyond. A bit like the guy in Toy Story, but more serious. In short, he is on the mother of all power trips. He certainly stands watching, and he’s Russian as well.

The really interesting thing about this book is the multi-verse theory. This is where Charlie Bray, this book reviewer, for instance, is operating within many, many universes. Looking exactly the same, with the same name, his path through life actually moulded by the circumstances of the many different universes that he exists in. Are you beginning to see the effect someone as ambitious the Russian could have if he seized control of the motherboard controlling all these elements. By virtue of the multi-verser he could shuffle people from dimension to dimension, making use of their skills to suit his grand plan. Anyone who was of no use to him  would be left in limbo, between dimensions.

Well he does seize control. Several times. Each time he experiences extreme resistance from the likes of the hero, Jane, and her partner. The same Jane and partner in every universe actually. But like every anti-hero, Dr. Z is tenacious and just keeps going. Is he as tenacious as Jane and her loved ones. Does he win? That’s for the reader to find out.

An excellent book. A debut novel that is well worth a read. In any universe!

Marketing your book on a budget  2012 by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones

This is an extremely useful little book, which ‘does as it says on the tin”.

It is packed with current ideas on book marketing, current meaning that it is bang up to date with everything happening in this day and age, such as eBook promotions, social media sites, blogging et al. It even covers the likes of me, under Book Reviews.

Only thirty seven pages, but jam packed with tips that will help you market your book. Many of us have sweat blood and tears to write and self-publish a novel, and then wondered how we could get it to sell. Well this book will really help.

Marketing Your Book on a Budget is tiny for a reason; any author can afford it. But be prepared for the endless information enclosed. You’ll never wonder again about the best ways to speak up about your book, get free advertising, or learn why postcards can help you get the word out faster and easier than any other way.

Plus, once you have downloaded the Kindle version, expect yearly updates for FREE. Just contact them to register via the email at the end of the book. Never be in the dark again when it comes to marketing your book. See what little or no money will really attract!

 

How I wrote my Novel from start to finish – Stage 1

I’ve always held the belief that a great way to learn how experts succeed at something is to ‘shadow’ them and observe exactly how they do it. This got me thinking that The Indie Tribe could benefit from following a novel’s progress from the germ of an idea to the finished article. Writers of all abilities could study how the novel was constructed piece by piece, how it was altered along the way, how it began to assume a life of its own, and how it eventually ended up as a tangible object for people to enjoy.

I decided to use my own book, Open House, as the ‘guinea pig’, since I obviously have first hand knowledge of the writing process all the way through. Hopefully novices will learn from the series, and better writers than me will be able to compare their methods with mine, and maybe pick up an idea or two. Others may enjoy reading the series purely from an entertainment point of view. Don’t laugh too loud please. What you will find as you follow the various processes is that the original synopsis of the book, reproduced here, differs signicantly from the finished article. Certain things were cut along the way, such as the wildlife park idea, and escaped lion, certain things were added. This is how a book should evolve. It quickly develops a mind of its own and usually leads the author along paths he didn’t intend to take.

Anyway, enough of my warblings, lets make a start by studying the original synopsis, which was stage one in the process after the idea was born.

The original general synopsis of Open House

Cove Castle is a large country estate owned and lived in by the Trentham  family. Lord Cove, the 8th Marquis of Cove, is the eccentric patriach, a divorcee, prone to shocking and hilarious actions.

His daughter, Lady Caroline, is the only child and is recently divorced from Laurence Scrivinger, a circuit judge, who is a bombastic, arrogant bully. He is so ruthless that he carries the nick-name ‘The Hanging Judge’. After Scrivinger announced he was staying put at  Cove Castle, despite his divorce, Lady Caroline moves to her mother’s chateau in France. Ironically, upon her departure, Scrivinger moves his mother into the castle. She re-arranges everything to suit herself  and assumes the self appointed role of Lady of the House.

Lady Caroline’s  two daughters are currently residing at Cove Castle, Imogen, a beautiful Cambridge under graduate with a zest for extreme socialising, and Athena, an activist who despises the aristocracy. She has a twelve year old son, Che, father unknown, who runs riot around Cove Castle.

As if being disfunctional is not bad enough, the dynasty is in financial decline, and the house, gardens and estate have suffered greatly from decay and neglect. The long serving butler, in despair, contacts Lady Caroline, who returns and quickly realises that the butler has not exagerated the problems

She applies herself to sorting out the house and its inhabitants. But she is constantly thwarted by Lord Scrivinger’s mother, who she has deposed.

Various money making schemes are set up to save the estate. These include: a shoot, the filming of a period drama, a dog show, the creation of a wildlife park, a ghost hunt and opening the house to the public. Many things go wrong along the way, including a lion escaping.

During the shoot dinner, Lady Caroline meets Alfie Mann and his son, Billy, multi-millionaire property developers, who lack any airs and graces and stick proudly to their working class roots. Mann offers to give Cove Castle a full survey and proposed action plan. He agrees to do this free of charge if she will advise him of suitable country houses as he is house hunting in the area. She insists they move into Cove Castle, which goes down badly with Scrivinger who recognises Barnes face as a miscreant but can’t quite place him. He suspects the free survey is a method for Barnes to ‘case the joint’

Billy is attracted to Imogen but she rejects him throughout the story. An unlikely relationship begins to develop between Billy and Che, the pleasant young man proving to be the only person who can exercise any control over him. Lady Caroline becomes attracted to Alfie during the story, but it is not clear if it is reciprocated.

The climax of the novel comes when the Marquis, unaware the public has been admitted, is caught snoozing by a stream of guests. He is startled, believes they are here to rob him, reaches for his gun and shepherds them towards  an anti-room, but as he opens the door, Lord Harbinger can be seen enjoying a game of strip twister with the gay chauffer. At that very moment, the lost lion enters the state room, runs straight into the anti room, the judge and his playmate leg it, pursued by the lion, Weedler, who has been stalking Scrivinger to avenge his imprisoned brother, aims a pistol at the judge, misses and kills the lion. Murphy, the handyman,  falls through the ceiling and flattens Weedler. During the mayhem Billy Mann kneels down in front of everyone and proposes to Imogen. Lady Charlotte rushes to them and congratulates them and the paying guests cheer and clap. Inspired by Billy’s success, the chauffer proposes to the judge and is rejected out of hand.

The reversal is that all money making schemes are stopped, Imogen will marry Billy Mann, the Manns will move in and pool their enormous wealth. Alfie Mann will take charge of the fabric of the estate.

The resolution is a new enhanced family residing at Cove Castle and living in harmon…or not! Bring on the sequel.

There are four sub plots which run alongside the main plot and collide with it on occasions during the course of the novel.

Billy’s relationships with Che and Imogen.
Alfie Mann is appalled at the contrasting living standards ‘downstairs’ and constantly seeks to improve it by redistributing paintings, porcelain and various artefacts. This collides with the main plot when he is discovered by Harbinger removing a masterpiece from the grand dining room. He orders him and his son from the house, but is is overuled by Lady Caroline.

Bert Weedler, the brother of a criminal sent down for life by Scrivinger is focused on getting the judge throughout the story. This collides with the main plot during the climax when he shoots at the judge, misses and kills an escaped lion.

Lord Scrivinger, formerly straight, begins a clandestine relationship with the chauffer. The reader is treated to a series of narrow escapes and the secrecy of their relationship is preserved until the climax of the novel when they are discovered together.

You can see by reading the book that things changed significantly from this original synopsis. The next stage – the chapter by chapter synopsis –  bears a closer resemblance to the finished product and shows where the major changes were made and why.

How I wrote my Novel from start to finish – Stage 2  will be published shortly

 

Three Great Indie Books Reviewed

The Super Spud Trilogy by Michael Diack

I did not know Colin the Super Spud yesterday, but today I feel he is my friend.

Life isn’t easy for Super Spuds and from the day they are born to the day they are eaten, their short life is fraught with danger. One Super Spud fills a packet of crisps and the moment his packet is sealed, his life begins. It is a little world of magic that the author, Michael Diack, kindly allows you to enter.

I studied Colin carefully and, through the author, was privy to knowledge not shared by the rest of the human race. For instance, I know that as soon as his packet is sealed, he develops eyes, ears, a nose and a mouth. This is never spotted because Super Spuds act dead as soon as a human is in sight, and dead means they just look like a crisp packet – without the features. If a Super Spud can survive beyond the sell by date, his arms and legs develop and he is free to live forever – away from humans obviously. So it’s a bit of a lottery really. The likelihood, certainly in my house, is that they’d be munched to eternity pretty soon after the shopping trolley was unloaded. But for the lucky ones, including my mate, Colin, they’ll be free to explore the wonderful big world that they were genetically engineered into.

And survival gives Michael Diack a plot. A plot in which Colin and his mates set out to reach the rubbish tip, a sort of promised land. Many problems are encountered and dealt with along the way, but reaching the tip does not herald the end of the story. The tip effectively emulates a major city as far as Super Spuds are concerned, and a whole new stack of adventures begin. The equivalent of inner city riots, Olympics, even a Grand Prix (complete with the potato equivalent of Murray Walker, in other words Murray Walker).

But all this excitement is not enough for our Super Spuds. Oh no. They take the heroic decision to go to Mexico on holiday. Now I won’t spoil things by explaining how they managed to catch a plane and fly away, so I’ll leave it to you to buy the book and follow their exploits.

And buy the book you should. Michael Diack has very cleverly created a humorous, dangerous world and filled it with little characters that touch your heart. Not an easy task when you think that the little characters are packets of crisps. But he succeeds. They fall in love, they fight, they compete, they break rules, they go to prison, yes Crisp Prison, and the reader is involved every step of the way. Good on yer Michael. Can’t wait for more.

Rogue of Rouxville by Adam Yamey

Reading Adam Yamey’s novel is reminiscent of reading some of the great classic literature of our time. His writing style is timeless, very descriptive and his characters exude deepness, which is not readily accessible. Indeed, his main character Jakob Klein is built up in layers so that you get to know him slowly and are continually left wanting to know more about him. A very clever writing technique.

I have rarely read such evocative descriptions. For instance, he describes two workmen thus; ‘As they moved the tool back and forth rhythmically, the beads of perspiration on their dark skins glistened in a beam of light that was shining through the dusty air from a glass window high above them.’ I don’t know about you, but I’m standing in that shed with them.

Adam’s use of dialogue is superlative, and the South African accent is captured brilliantly. As are snippets of American and, even Irish.

The plot could be described as lacking pace, but to do so would be a mistake. It ambles along comfortably and I enjoyed every moment of it. It is not an easy book to put down.

The story encapsulates a snapshot of southern Africa in the mid 1800s as effectively as a time capsule.

Jacob Klein is a complex character with many flaws, and there are numerous sides to him. He clearly has ideas above his station and is not content to scratch around in poverty, in what is an incredibly hard and cruel place for anyone without means. He relies upon a natural charm and copious amounts of guile to hoist him above his station. But several factors within his complex personality conspire to impede him. He has a drink problem, his business ethics are highly questionable and he does not cover his tracks well enough. As a consequence, rather than ascend to a higher plane, he sinks to the bottom of the world he inhabits like a stone. One’s natural reaction would be to shrug and dismiss his situation as being brought on by himself. But the way Adam Yamey has cleverly forged his character, leads to the reader really caring about him. He slowly climbs from the quagmire he is in, and the reader is cheering him on every inch of the way.

A dramatic tale well told. As with all well-written historic novels, it provides a welcome escape from the frenetic, fast moving world in which we live.

The House on Cliffside by CM Spencer

Catherine Spencer wrote this delightful short story in preparation for a cozy mystery novel, Road Kill, which is set in the foothills of Alberta.

The House on Cliffside is in fact set on the cliff tops of Cornwall, so the link to Alberta in Canada is quite a tenuous one, clearly best known to Catherine.

What this short story will do is give confidence to anyone thinking of buying the soon to be released novel. It carries shades of Agatha Christie, and certainly shares the same time frame, with Doris Day crooning in the background and a retired army colonel photographing  kittiwakes in their nest halfway up a cliff. I know there’s nothing period about bird photography but there is when you use a film camera and then spend hours in your dark room, developing the results.

The plot of this little mystery revolves around four characters: the aforementioned Colonel Booth; his writer wife, Judith; her secretary Phyllis Hawthorne; a handsome young G.P.,Laurence Scott.

I don’t want to give too much away, but one of these characters dies naturally, one is murdered and the other two marry. All this is revealed in a very tight twist at the end. A twist which I never saw coming. The sign of a good storyteller. If you buy and read short stories, I would definitely give The House on Cliffside a go.

3-step Mentoring for Indie Authors

There were many times during the early part of my writing career that a mentor would have been a much more concrete and realistic resource than the guardian angel that I relied upon, but only showed up spasmodically.

It would have been great to have been ‘taken by the hand’ every step of the way, particularly when forging a novel, from the first germ of an idea, right through to submission.As I’m sure you’re aware, writing a book is a bit like working in a bubble. You sit typing away, usually in isolation, with no real feel for how your work is likely to be received.Because the thing is so very important to you, you feel the need to constantly introduce it into conversation with family and friends, work colleagues, even strangers. And you’re always a bit disappointed with the response. They usually don’t react in the excited manner you had hoped for. Indeed, at times you are on the end of patronising, almost sympathetic glances, which seem to say, ‘get a life instead of writing about one.’

How wonderful it would have been to know that someone with the relevant skills was taking an interest, taking notice, showing me the way, and mostly re-assuring me that no, I wasn’t wasting my time.

And that experience has led me to offer a mentoring service through The Indie Tribe. A three stage mentoring service that will serve aspiring or inexperienced authors very well from the first excitement of realising there is a story waiting to get out, right through to the final stage before submitting or self-publishing the actual novel.

It is, indeed, a three-pronged mentoring service, comprising a structured plot, a manuscript critique and a structural edit. They’re all there, all available, all designed to help Indie authors. You can take them all and let me ‘hold your hand’ every step of the way, or you can take the one which suits your needs best. Either way, a mentoring service is now available to you, should you require it. So, let’s have a look at each component.

The Structured Plot

Picture the scene. You’ve thought of a terrific idea for a book and you’re pretty sure ‘it’s got legs’. The plot is formed in your head, the main characters are part developed and you’re ready for the next stage. But what is the next stage? How do you move things along from a gem of an idea in your mind? Is there enough impetus in the story to carry it along for at least 50,000 words? Will it start off strong, but sag in the middle? Will you be able to bring it to a strong enough climax? It’s at this stage that many story ideas are buried – and that’s a crying shame.

So here comes The Indie Tribe to the rescue.

Type out your idea as comprehensively as possible in a general synopsis, including main plot, any sub plots, and main character ideas. Don’t worry, we’ll fill in any gaps you’ve not covered.

Submit the general synopsis to us and, within fourteen working days, we will provide you with an intricate  scene by scene, chapter by chapter, story plan for you to follow, including necessary ingredients such as quest, problems escalating in intensity, climax, resolution etc. Don’t worry if you’re not getting all this. It’s all part of the learning process and for now we’ll do it for you. When you receive our step by step synopsis, voila, you have a road map to follow.

Follow it religiously, cherry-pick or adapt it to your liking.

This service is available to you, an Indie Tribe member for a modest one-off fee of £95. It is payable via Paypal and any other currencies, such as American or Australian dollars will be converted by Paypal at the time of payment.

To proceed, simply email  your general synopsis with any other information you feel may be relevant to c_bray1@sky.com. We will then send you a Paypal invoice. Upon receipt of payment, we will get cracking and, hopefully, set you on the road to the best sellers lists

The Manuscript Critique

You’ve worked through your synopsis, applied your scene-by-scene, step-by-step planning, rounded your characters, and successfully led your story along a bumpy road towards a crushing crescendo of a climax. You know it back to front. You’re very close to it. Too close?

You’ve shown it your family and specially selected friends, and they all say it’s great. Some, it has to be said, enthused more than others. Horace didn’t seem keen, but said he liked it anyway. Are they all just being kind? Too kind to give you the truth. Oh no! Is it any good, or are you deluding yourself? Best read it one more time.

And you do. And the doubt lingers. Not easy this.

But again The Indie Tribe rides to the rescue. We will subject your story to a closely scrutinised manuscript critique.

We will carefully study the following aspects of your story:

The characters, the setting, the plot and sub plots, the dialogue, the story flow, and the writing style.

It will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It may delight you. It may depress you. It may anger you. But at least you will be safe in the knowledge that a fresh, professional pair of eyes has scrutinised your hard work constructively. And the critique will always be constructive. If we don’t like something, we will always suggest ways to improve it, and take it forward. And at the end of the day, you can decide to implement all of our suggestions, some of them, or none of them.

We charge a very modest fee for this service, £4 per thousand words. So, for example, a 50,000-word manuscript would cost £200 for a comprehensive critique.

This is not a structural edit. It is a blueprint for a first full re-write. It is a check that your story will convert to a fully-fledged novel. A structural edit is way down the line, just prior to submission to an agent, publisher or self-publication.

A manuscript critique will set you on a successful path towards publication and set your mind at rest that the hours you are about to spend, polishing and honing your work will be justified.

So, how do you proceed? Simply email your manuscript to us at c_bray1@sky.com and we will send you a Paypal invoice. Paypal is our preferred method of payment, as it protects you. Paypal will convert foreign currencies to sterling at the time of payment. If this method of payment poses a problem, let us know.

Upon receipt of payment, we will undertake the critique and let you have our comprehensive report within fourteen working days.

The Structured Edit

Okay, so you’ve now applied whatever suggestions you wanted to apply from your manuscript critique and fully written your second draft.

The biggest responsibility now is to ensure that the book you have painstakingly written is presented to the reader in such a way that the quality and structure of your story hold their own amidst heftier opposition from experienced authors, published by conventional publishing houses. The way to do that, and an essential stage in pre-publication is to subject it to a structural edit. A book is simply not ready for publication until it is edited. Publishing houses spend a fortune on editing their authors’ work. They are amongst the tightest organisations in the world and would not spend money on editing unless it was essential. It is. Please do not skip this process. So what actually is a structural edit?

Not wishing to re-invent the wheel, I attach a link to Jodi Cleghorn’s wonderful article, ‘What is Structural Editing?’

Firstly, we will carefully read your novel  to examine individual elements of the story, such as plot, characterisation, dialogue, setting and the interaction between them. He will see how the story flows, look for gaps in continuity  and advise if the various ingredients of the story need re-positioning. In fact, we will study everything highlighted in Jodi Cleghorn’s link above.

Secondly, we will carefully read your novel line by line, identifying mistakes, and suggesting improvements. Although this is not a proofread, at this stage we will correct any mistakes we spot in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Within fourteen working days, you will receive two electronic documents from us. One, a general report highlighting suggested alterations and improvements in respect of the overall structure of the book, together with our overall unbiased opinion on the story. Two, a line by line edit, incorporating suggested additions, removals and alterations throughout the entire book. Working through these two documents, particularly the line by line edit, will enable you to re-write your manuscript for a final time and self-publish your book with confidence. Of course you are free to accept or reject any of our suggestions and recommendations.

Our rates and payment methods are totally transparent. A straight £6.00 per thousand words edited. As an example, this would equate to £300 for a 50,000 word novel.Payment is requested by Paypal and other currencies would be converted by Paypal at the time of transaction. Personal cheques drawn on a London clearing bank are also acceptable. As a thank you for allowing us to edit it, when your book is published, The Indie Tribe will review and promote it on our blog, and through our social media accounts.

If you wish to go ahead, email Charlie Bray at c_bray1@sky.com confirming you would like us to undertake a structural edit. Include the title, word count and brief synopsis. Attach a copy of your manuscript on word. We will then send you an invoice and when payment is received, we will start the edit.

So, that is our mentoring service, and we hope it is a service that meets your requirements. Sorry this post is so long, but I felt it essential that you fully understand what’s on offer. If you have any queries, please contact me, Charlie Bray, through our contact page

 

Aspiring Indie Authors should join The Indie Tribe

I have learned from my many years on this earth that it can be very tough at the bottom of any pile. And there’s no pile tougher than the slush pile that nestles on the floor of a publisher’s office. There is hope now, with the advent of self-published eBooks, but life is still far from being a doddle.

There are scores of thousands of aspiring indie writers out there, battling to get their work written and seen. In many ways a new pile has been formed, the eBook pile. But before we all start wallowing in a pit of despair (Blimey, what a happy post this is), help is at hand. Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring!

The Indie Tribe will fight its way through to glory. Join the tribe now and surround yourself with discerning peers, hell bent on overcoming all in their way and rising to the pinnacle of the new eBook pile.

The Indie Tribe blog is available on free subscription to indie authors, aspiring writers and the thousands of readers who are on the lookout for affordable, quality books.

Free services to members, or tribesmen and tribeswomen if you prefer, will include book reviews, blog promotion, author interviews, guest blogs, writing, publishing and marketing workshops, promotion through social media web sites, regular information on events, courses and discounts and access to hundreds of free eBooks.

Like all new ventures, it will take the new blog a little while to rise to dizzy heights, but inaugural members will always be respected for having helped to get the show on the road. So join the tribe now, free of charge, and help us start beating the drum.

Using A-List Stars for Characters in Books

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All writers know that it is fundamentally important to get characters in books right.  They can make or break any plot and, indeed, many stories are actually character driven. In my experience, well-defined characters can quickly assume a life of their own and take the story in directions that the writer had not envisaged. But how do you create a well-defined character in the first place? Well I stumbled upon a system that works incredibly well, and I would love to share it with you.

Years ago, whilst writing a short story, the character I had vaguely in my head suddenly morphed into a soap star and my vision of him became crystal clear. The actor was Freddie Jones and the character was Sandy Thomas, the ‘old codger’ of a vicar’s father in the soap opera, Emmerdale. Sandy fitted the character I had created perfectly, and from that moment on, his every action and every word was actually dictated by Freddie. Freddie does not know this, of course, and no royalties have changed hands. I re-wrote every scene that contained the character. I reproduce an extract from the story below, and those of you who are aware of the character, Sandy Thomas, may well be able to match him to the description. It certainly worked for me, the writer.

An old Morris Minor ground to a halt at the edge of the wilderness. A rotund, unkempt, white haired old man unraveled himself from the little car. He straightened himself, clicked his heels, stood rigidly to attention, stared up at Charlotte’s window and saluted.

She stared at him without expression.

The old man held this position for what seemed an eternity. An incongruous vision standing with parade ground precision but sporting a week’s growth of beard and a huge belly ensconced within a dirty beige cardigan and heavily darned sports jacket. The whole ensemble was topped off with a battered trilby hat. Suddenly, without warning, he assumed the stance of a diver, knees flexed, arms outstretched, and dived head first into the foliage, promptly disappearing from view. 

Three minutes passed and nothing in the jungle stirred.

And then, very slowly, a dirty white handkerchief appeared above  the mass of weeds and began to wave. She could hear a loud, plaintive cry, a  voice in the wilderness.

“Help! I’m lost.”

Her anxiety began to clear as the old man slowly emerged from the undergrowth, his beard providing a new home to two enormous spiders, his  hat askew, a forlorn expression on his face.

I never create a character based on a well known actor, but during the process of development, an appropriate well known character will occasionally spring to mind. Sandy Thomas seems to have opened the floodgates to a torrent of ‘A list’ stars, each barging their way into my writing life. Sadly, I’ve become a bit of a name-dropper at parties. It’s great fun – for me anyway.

My first novel, Open House, makes use of this technique. The character Alfie Mann bears the appearance of Shaun Curry who played Vince’s father in Just Good Friends in the eighties. But he has the voice and mannerisms of Michael Caine’s character Charlie Croker in the Italian Job. I know I’ve lost a lot of you now, but one of the advantages of old age is that it gives you a bigger cast to choose from.

For anyone who can remember Michael Caine delivering the immortal words, “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!” in that classic film, they should have no problem imagining his voice in a scene from Open House when the character says, “Jungle Boy did not have a brain as sharp as you, Cocker, even though he could have been mistaken for you on a dark night in the jungle.”

I have even plundered the baby and toddler TV channel Cbeebies. Don’t get worried, I watch it with my grandchildren. I have used Sid, the dreadlocked presenter as the template for Lord Hedgehog in Open House. Brilliant! I love it! I guess they’ll be taking me away anytime soon.

Whilst I occasionally find this technique useful, I am not blinkered in respect of its effectiveness. I doubt if the author’s vision of the character transports directly to the reader, and given the information they have been given, one hundred readers could still easily form one hundred different pictures of one character. But what the process does do is cement the character firmly in the writer’s mind in repect of appearance, speech and mannerisms. This in itself is an amazing resource and virtually guarantees character consistency throughout the story.

 

 

6 ways to save Downton Abbey

What I don’t get is that when Lord Grantham explained to his wife that he’d blown her entire fortune on some obscure Canadian stock, and Downton Abbey was doomed, she put her arms around him lovingly and told him not to worry.

Now either this emphasizes the wide gulf between the ethos of the classes or I, Charlie Bray, have married a wrong ‘un. If I raided her Post Office Savings and placed them on a dead cert at Sandown, I wouldn’t be guaranteed a warm reception if it lost. I’d more likely be searching the yellow pages for testicle implants.

The reasons for this difference in attitude could be the fact that we’re from Barnsley where ‘there’s nowt wrong wi’ right folk’, or that a bookie is not as acceptable as stock broker, or that Lady Cora is an idiot, or that my wife lied when she took me for richer or poorer. Either way, Lord Grantham and his castle are in the doo-doo.

And if you and your stately home are in the doo-doo, all you can do is embark upon a journey of damage limitation and either flog it or save it.

And here I can help. Having written ‘Open House’, the start of a family saga based at the fictitious Cove Castle, which suffered similar difficulties, I racked my brains for many months for ways to save it and its family and staff from extinction. So I now know what works and what ends in disaster. Here we go Lord Grantham, get your notebook out.

Do:

1. Erect an enormous marquee in the grounds and let it out for sundry events such as dog shows. I’ve already got visions of a tall, lithe blond haired bloke mincing at speed whilst parading his Afghan Hound.

2. Host Ghost Tours. A place as old as Downton is sure to have the odd ghost knocking about. If it doesn’t, hire some from Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, they’ve got scores of them there.

3. Hold an open day, sit Lord Grantham in a deck chair on the Great Lawn, and let him conduct a surgery where random peasants doff their caps and seek his advice. He could tell them how to be on ‘a promise’ by nicking their wife’s life savings.

4. Allow a period drama to be filmed at the castle. Choose a day when Downton Abbey is actually being filmed and you’d have the glorious vision of a film crew filming a film crew filming life at a pretend Downton Abbey in a pretend Downton Abbey – or something.

5. Hold a shoot in the nearby woods and, whilst earning money for the Abbey, arrange for a couple of surplus staff or family to be taken out, thereby cutting down on expenditure. A good way of killing two birds with one stone. See what I did there?

6. Tap your future son in law up for a few million, and re-assure him he can always get it back by swindling his missus later in Downton’s history.

Don’t:

1. Grow marijuana in the vegetable plot section of your gardens. It will spoil the balance lovingly created by old Capability himself, and doubtless lead to a police raid and spoil your open day.

2. Allow activist squatters to occupy the best three staterooms in the house. It will cut the number of rooms available for house tours dramatically.

3. Allow guests in the house to engage in smuggling. It’ll upset the ghosts.

4. Pay all your bills by giving away family heirlooms. It leaves horrible gaps on the walls.

5. Aggravate the general public. They will try to assassinate you.

6. Throw gargoyles from the roof. It will damage the family Roller.

And how do I know why the Dos work and the Don’ts don’t work.

Because it’s all in the book.

What book?

My Book! ‘Open House’! Click on the link on my profile and buy it. It’s less than a dollar and less than a pound.

Shameless promotion I know, but I really want you to read it.

Go on, have a laugh.