William Sutton's Blog, page 30

To write a novel

1. Begin with jottings

2. Pen character sketches

3. Plot structures

4. Add caffeine at Southsea Coffee‘s back desk

5. Inject research

6. Draft. Type up. Redraft. Redraft.

7. Add cake at The Tea Tray in the Sky

8. Readers’ reactions (thanks Vikki Cookson, Tessa Ditner, Jonno Sutton, Noel Le Bon, Mirko Sekulic, John Lloyd & more)

9. Redraft. Redraft. Edit. Edit. Edit. Line edit. Copy edit. (Thanks, Miranda.)

10. Add caffeine at Canvas Coffee Shop

11. Draw map with Rebecca Lea Williams

12. Receive book from Titan Books

13. Workshop with Doodle Club at the Wave Maiden (thanks, Kendal)

14. Launch with fanfare & biscuitry at Blackwell’s in Portsmouth with Head Case Curios‘ help

15. Toast at Le Cafe Parisien Portsmouth

16. Do it again at Forbidden Planet

Available from today 12 July 2016 from reputable bookshops and Amazon.

PoPuP Petworth & Front Room Words

Two nights of stellar entertainment.

Thanks to the Speech Painter, Will B, Radio KWG and the PoPuP Petworth Fringe Spitfire event, with wild poetry and melodious musicians. You can see them again, in rather holier mood, at Didling Church on Saturday.

Speech Painter declaims The Twat in the Flat

Audi Maserati sings of Dada, Dostoevsky, plaid shirted existentialists

Thanks to Johnny Sackett and Stella Bahin for a boundary-pushing night of spoken word at Front Room – Words in Aurora Café, Albert Road (plus my accordion advertising ditty.)

Flowers ahoy

Preparations continue for the launch of Lawless and the Flowers of Sin.

That’s Solent Tv Studios interview with Charlotte Briere-Edney: indeed. (“I’m not stumbling across any erotica: this is very disappointing.”)

“You may be a writer, but you are also a biscuit-maker.”

Biscuit practice 3: oh yes.

Doodle Club at The Wave Maiden with Eyecandy, Kim Edith’s Whimsarium & many more artistes: tick.

Head Case Curios providing swagger sticks: to be negotiated.

Books from Titan Books to Blackwell’s in Portsmouth & Forbidden Planet: to be confirmed.

Fizz at Le Cafe Parisien Portsmouth: whoop.

Singing practice tonight at Petworth PoPuP and Saturday at Open Ealing: la la la.

The West is the Best

One of the pleasures of preparing for a gig is rediscovering songs.

Preparing for Jamie West‘s gig on Noel Le Bon’s night at Open Ealing (Facebook event here) with a stop at the Speech Painter’s Petworth Fringe PoPuP and a post-gig gig at Harting Roundhouse, I’ve had the pleasure of listening through his back catalogue. Scratchy recordings Live at the Plimsoll, the albums of Lewd his millennial band (interview below), and his superb solo albums.

I urge you to have a listen to (Sic) Amor, Back Up Delete and Fleecing the Christians.

You can hear Sine at the bottom of the page. Then have a listen to more on his website:

http://www.jamiewestguitar.com/music....

INTERVIEW

I interviewed Jamie West in 2005 for Speak Up magazine as he was climbing a hill in Sussex, England, asking first if he had always wanted to be a rock star.

JAMIE WEST:

You know, if you – I don’t know – dig holes in the road, you know, you have an aspiration. If you play cricket, you want to play for England, or whatever you do. It’s a natural head of the line when you play the guitar, the wish to be, you know, famous and recognised, or acknowledged for it. So, yeah. Ever since I played the guitar.

SPEAK UP: I hear that Paul just lost his guitar. Is that a typical Lewd experience?

JAMIE WEST:

Yeah, it is quite typical. We’re … we fight to be organised, but naturally we’re very unorganised, and we’re just very much four men. Um. You know, you can imagine. Four men live together, four women live together. Which one stereotypically will be clean and tidy, and which one will be a complete fag-butt hell? And we are a complete fab-butt hell, but just on a tour van.

SPEAK UP: How do you write your songs?

JAMIE WEST:

My favourite method, still to this day, is to write a lyric first. Not first, but to write a complete lyric of prose, with … not a beginning and end, but following a style, to encapsulate a point that I’m trying to make. And then what I do is, because I play the guitar, I’m always picking it up and fiddling with it, and listening to different sounds, whatever, I try and marry the two together. and I try and think about the pace of the lyric, try and marry it with the, sort of, the pace and the tempo of the song … and then obviusly sometimes you get, you know, you like a bit of music very very much, so you try and force lyrics into it, and vice versa. You know, sometimes you like the lyrics so much, but the music doesn’t fit, so you have to chop and change the music. So that’s my favourite way. But listening to other people, and reading about the way people write songs, you know, everyone does it in a quite unique way. And I always thought that that was THE way to do it, you know. To be complete. But, you know, Bowie and Thom Yorke, they just chop words up, you know. They just write soundbites, and they fit soundbites into songs. So they’ll go to the studio and record, you know, a whole bit of music and then just fit the … have a melody and fit the words into the melody. So I’ve been trying to do that a little bit. But you know my favourite method is still a complete lyrical article and try to marry the music to it.

SPEAK UP: What’s next for Lewd?

JAMIE WEST:

We went into the studio in August and did four songs and we’ve been, you know, touring – and recorded those, but on reflection, on listening to them back, we think we can do it better. So, because there is a little bit of money in the pot, we’re going to try and get someone – a producer person – to come down and lend, you know, a fifth ear to this, and try to get him to produce something. You know, really top-notch, and really really beautiful. So that’s what’s next, so we see that happening. And just more gigs really. We’re going to go out and about and just do some more gigs. Keep playing live.

Finally SPEAK UP asked if Jamie would like to come to Brazil.

JAMIE WEST:

Yeah, I’d love to see Brazil, for … for the size of it, for the culture, for the … Things I remember about India, stuff like that, were the smell. That sounds really daft but it’s really important. Countries have … , you know, smells. Aromas. Every now and then, you catch the smell of a wood burning and it just takes you back to Nepal. It’s such a strong sense. So it’s – I suppose it sounds stupid – but Ireland. You smell a pub or you smell, um, fried … food frying, it makes you think of Ireland. So I’d love to go and smell Brazil. The Pope kisses the tarmac, I just smell it. So yeah, I’d love to go to Brazil. I’d love to go to lots of parts of South America.

Doodle Characters

Malachi Ganz? Or Theodore Allnutt? From Lawless & the Clerkenwell Clockmaker

 

What larks to have artists doodle characters from your novel!

I went along to Southsea’s rather lovely Doodle Club on Tuesday evening, invited by Kendal James. As sketchers added to their past, present and future rolls on the long tables upstairs at The Wave Maiden pub, I read them my story Lawless & the Clerkenwell Clockmaker (recently published in Go! English magazine).

Featuring Sergeant Campbell Lawless, librarian Ruth Villiers, urchins Worm and Molly and Ganz the awkward horologist from Lawless and the Devil of Euston Square, this provided a flavour of my Victorian setting. The assembled company set to scribbling manically, and their wonderful visions are pictured below.

I also passed around as inspiration a few of my source books, Trench and Hillman’s London Under London, Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor, and Catharine Arnold’s City of Sin.

Joseph Bazalgette, engineer extraordinaire

We awarded copies of each book to the best drawers.

Thanks to Kendal and her Doodlers.

Beckett Blues

“The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.”

Who is the only ‪#‎Nobel‬ prize winner to appear in ‪#‎Wisden‬?

Back in April, a Beckettian innings in Chelsea ‪#‎blueplaque‬, with wit and anecdotes from biographer Jim Knowlson about Beckett’s time in Chelsea (he came for psychotherapy, which was at that time banned in Ireland, at the Tavistock Clinic), from actress Penelope Wilton and from my friend Shomit, as the sun shone mercilessly.

“It almost makes you glad to be alive, wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh, now, I wouldn’t go that far.”

Scientists will be pleased to spot Patrick Blackett’s plaque, concurrently unveiled.

Every day in every way

I sing the Beckett blues.

I scratch my nose, shuffle my toes,

Pull on my Beckett shoes.

My pockets full

of tangled wool,

I count up stone by stone

From Paulton Square to Montparnasse

How gladly we’re all alone.

Metamorphosis a la Morland

 

Congratulations to Polly Morland on a fantastic launch for her book Metamorphosis on 30 May, published by Profile Books.

Polly spoke movingly about her writing, about change, and about freedom.

I enjoyed Polly’s first book, The Society of Timid Souls, and reviewed it here.

I’m currently reading her second, Risk Wise. It’s a slim elegant volume, neatly diving into risks through discussions with select people around the world. We move from kitchens to volcanos to playgrounds, with risk-taking small and large weighed and valued.

The generous interviews are complemented by dazzling photographs by Richard Baker. It’s a highly readable combination, peeping into others’ lives in order to ask ourselves to fathom our own contradictory attitudes to risk.

I’m looking forward to reading Metamorphosis.

Tenacity Samba

Hugely enjoyed singing & banter at J.S. Law‘s Tenacity paperback launch a few weeks ago, with a posse of writers, & a lovely crowd at Blackwell’s in Portsmouth.

Generosity of spirit made James’ debut #Tenacity an unusual thriller, and a similar generosity marked the launch event for the paperback edition. Among the writers asked along to make up a posse, Quentin Bates and Fergus McNeill gave an enlightening Q & A, with Caribbean rap and story from Coco P, and chat and song from me.

Wonderful moment of Coco P wordplay on the drum.

You can hear me singing more ditties about Blackwell’s Bookshop and about the authors in the Tenacity Samba on my author Soundcloud

I was glad to see several students from my crime writing workshops at the NTR with Diana Bretherick in the front row with their notebooks at the ready. What pearls of crime wisdom they picked up, I’m not sure, but the discussion certainly covered a wide range of topics.

Things I learnt:

“West Meon is a great place for a murder.” (though I got married there)

Gunnhildur does something terrible in Quentin’s book 5.

The second book can be difficult.

It may be a mistake to ask JS Law to rap.

More photos over at: https://www.facebook.com/BlackwellPortsmouth/posts/948832741900464

Detective Dan doubts submariners’ veracity

Mighty Jock. A mighty shocks. & terror on Tenacity.

               His agent Johnny Geller

               Has found a trusty fellow:

We await with glee, Book 2, book 3, to test Danielle’s capacities.

 

I invite you to Iceland to meet Gunnhildur

From friendly fishing folk, but with suspicions they have filled her.

She’s the warm invention

Of Graskeggur, that’s Quentin.

The cruel sea, a murderous spree, is someone trying to kill her?

 

Fergus creates characters empathic

Predatory, ruthless, sociopathic

He whisks unwary readers

In twisted police procedures

Careless talk, late night stalkers, neighbours psychopathic.

 

Davis Deen or Coco P can take us

All the way through Trinidad & Tobago’s

Ancient myths and fables

Heroes who turn the tables

Caribbean shores, Caribbean stories – made quake us & shake us.

 

Thanks to Jo & everyone at Blackwells

This the end, but the authors hope their book sells

               So fill the authors’ news feeds

               Reviews on Amazon & Goodreads

Acting local, thinking global, you can save these bookshelves.

Lyrical Acoustics

OPEN Music: I’ll be playing bass at this gig for Noel Le Bon & Jamie West.

Orchard Cafe, Green Man Lane West Ealing

Saturday 11th June 2016 7:30 pm – 10:15 pm

Before their 2016 Ealing Blues Festival, Open Ealing have invited this shower of reprobates to their music night, with their maudlin acoustic self inspection and backing vocals.

Noel Le Bon has been singing songs of love and fear, his and others, for 25 years including seven years in Prague where he recorded his album. For the last 10 years he has been in Hanwell where some say he was born for song – his rich deep vocals balancing beautifully with his flawless folk guitar. He’s back at OPEN by popular demand so take the opportunity to come and listen to him.

 Jamie West is a singer/songwriter who has been writing and playing since his teens. He is nearing completion of his fourth album and will be treating us to a mix of his old and new songs. Personally, I’m hoping “ Sine ” from his first album is in his repertoire.

In his spare time Jamie is a guitar teacher and his first three albums are based on his website.

 Here’s a beautiful song from his third album, In Your Eyes, and a YouTube of Sine from his first.





image: Red Cap Photography

Tricia Kane is a singer and songwriter from the Yorkshire Dales and is now living in London. Her influences stretch from Dolly Parton to Nic Jones to Ella Fitzgerald, from Kate Rusby to Imogen Heap to Sandy Denny. She has a degree in Classical Singing and has enjoyed singing a wide of variety of music genres; performing with big bands, jazz ensembles, choirs, in theatre shows and operas – styles which, along with a lot of folk and country, have all shaped her own sound as a songwriter.

In 2012 she released an EP with FolkloreUK.

Crime Queen: Mystery on the English Riviera

Mystery on the English Riviera

Seaside resorts, lovely beaches, literary history: the English Riviera. And don’t forget the palm trees.

Does this sound unlikely? Britain is famous for rain and grey skies. But Torbay in England’s West Country deserves its Riviera nickname. This beautiful borough, in the county of Devon, offers glorious scenery, unusual events and activities for all ages, along with warm weather.

Devon is home to delightful villages, coastal walks, and, of course, cream teas. These quintessentially English ingredients are the recipe for a perfect holiday. The added spice of mystery and intrigue is provided by the Queen of Crime herself, Dame Agatha Christie.

The Queen of Crime

The celebrated crime writer created two of literature’s most illustrious detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Christie’s novels, inspired by the landscape and inhabitants of the Riviera, have been translated into more than 45 languages. Her ingenious plots still thrill readers and audiences: her books have sold two billion copies worldwide, making her the best-selling novelist of all time. She also wrote plays, short stories, romantic novels and an autobiography.

Christie’s life was as mysterious as her books, and the Riviera offers several ways to investigate. Torquay Museum hosts Britain’s only permanent exhibit about Dame Agatha. The story of her eventful life is told through photographs and personal belongings.

Imperial Hotel, Torquay

It’s no surprise that Christie set so many murder mysteries here when you learn what experience she had. Walk along Princess Pier, where she liked to roller-skate. The Agatha Christie Mile also takes in the Grand Hotel, where she spent her honeymoon, the Imperial Hotel, which appears in several novels, and Beacon Cove, where she nearly drowned. It was through volunteering during the First World War that she learned a lot about medicines – and poisons.

To celebrate the 125th birthday of the Queen of Crime, the 2015 International Agatha Christie Festival in September will have Torquay’s Torre Abbey buzzing with mysteries. You can attend readings, discussions, trips and of course murder mystery evenings.

The Abbey’s impressive buildings have witnessed history, from Spanish Armada prisoners to visits from Queen Elizabeth II. In the children’s garden, you can touch, and taste medieval plants. Take care in the Potent Plants Garden, which includes many poisons and antidotes used in Christie’s mysteries.

The English Riviera Visitor Centre offers free booklets to follow the Agatha Christie Literary Trail. Visit the scenes of fictional crimes, such as Churston railway station in THE ABC MURDERS. Don’t miss beautiful Burgh Island, where Christie loved to stay in the exclusive Art-Deco hotel, writing AND THEN THERE WERE NONE and EVIL UNDER THE SUN. Perhaps she listened to conversations over dinner, inventing her plots.

Greenway House was another inspiration. Given to the National Trust by Christie’s daughter in 1999, the house has been luxuriously renovated. The Agatha Christie Experience delivers you to Christie’s summer residence by World War II ship or vintage 1950s bus. You can imagine Poirot solving mysteries beside the tennis courts.

Green and pleasant land

Along its 35km of spectacular coastline, the Riviera has three unique towns: Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. In the 19th Century, the arrival of trains transformed these fishing towns into fashionable resorts, with the motto ‘Health and Happiness’. First popular with Navy officers, they became favourite destinations for wealthy Victorians – and later for those learning English as a foreign language.

Torquay scores highly in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards. For entertainment, choose between the Princess Theatre’s West End shows and comedians, and the casinos, nightclubs and party boats. Recover next day with the amazing sea views in Royal Terrace Gardens.

Paignton has award-winning beaches, excellent pubs and the Palace Avenue Theatre. Brixham’s harbour provides seafood for top restaurants, with an arts and crafts market on Saturdays.

Beyond are the South Hams, a succession of atmospheric villages and dramatic bays. Babbacombe Bay offers the quintessential British holiday, with sand, sea, and fish and chips. Kingsbridge, a lively market town, is also a centre for water sports; you may learn the story of the South Hams in the Cookworthy Museum. Sleepy Salcombe comes to life when London families rent summer retreats round the bay’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Further afield, Dartington’s summer festival is part of a year-round arts programme. Totnes is a focus for alternative living: locals recently fought to keep a famous coffee corporation off their High Street. The nearest cities have much to offer: Plymouth’s waterfront has been regenerated into a thriving centre of tourism, while Exeter has a beautiful cathedral and top university.

Beside the seaside

The tranquil seas offer the best in water sports for beginners and experts, with sailing competitions throughout the summer. August attracts sailors from around the world, with the Dartmouth Regatta and the famous Fastnet race.

Surfing is good here. The calm waters are great for beginners, though wetsuits are recommended. You can see deep sea fish with scuba diving lessons, or catch them on an organised fishing trip.

The more adventurous can try water-skiing, jet-skiing, wind-surfing and kite-surfing. Calmer options include paddle board, pedalo, or old-fashioned swimming.

Walk in wildlife

As well as the sea, you can discover history and treasure on dry land. The Attractions Passport, free from Visitor Information Points, offers savings all over South Devon.

Paignton Zoo has rhinos, gorillas and lions, as you would expect. But have you ever seen a bongo? (It’s a rare African antelope.) The Crocodile Swamp houses snakes, turtles and fish, amid exotic plants.

If you like your history to be wild, you should visit ‘Pirate Thursday’ with the Brixham Buccaneers. These shows bring pirates to life through games, workshops and fancy dress; and it’s all free.

Going further back in time, discover the Riviera’s geological history at Geoplay Park Paignton – without any history books. Experience the Devonian and Permian Periods with trilobite rides, giant climbing nets and water play areas where children dig sand channels and build dams. Teenagers can behave like Neanderthals on the Quaternary zone’s climbing logs and zip wires.

If you prefer fossils, head for Torquay’s Dinosaur World. Watch as prehistory comes to life around you. Are you brave enough to touch the giant spiders and Triceratops?

Kents Cavern is a labyrinth of spectacular caves, where Roman soldiers left offerings to the gods and the oldest human fragment in Europe was found. Actors will take you back to the Stone Age; but take a coat, as it is cold underground.

For a more tranquil day out, explore the coastal walks and cycle routes. Berry Head National Nature Reserve offers seaside walks, wildlife and Napoleonic forts. Overbecks House, in Salcombe, is another hidden paradise. Inventor Otto Overbeck’s subtropical gardens are enriched with workshops, trails and quizzes.

The Babbacombe Cliff Railway, built in 1926, still brings thousands to Oddicombe Beach through some of Britain’s most breathtaking scenery.

Visit the art studios in Cockington, a village with thatched roofs. The Seashore Centre in Paignton present marine life for all ages, free. To see a working organic farm, visit the pigs, cows and sheep of Occombe Farm. At Fast Rabbit Farm, the gardens are beautiful in every season of the year, with glorious flowers and streams flowing through Strawberry Valley.

Overall, the Riviera deserves its reputation. Come and enjoy the fine food, relaxed atmosphere, stunning bays and artistic energy. The remarkable gardens, where you find olives, lemons, figs, and the ugniberry – next year’s superfruit – would be enough to earn its Mediterranean nickname.

INFORMATION
Getting Here

Exeter Airport is 45 minutes away.

With no motorway, the small roads are often busy, so take your time driving. Information Centres offer weekly passes for car parks around the area.

National Express run coaches from around the country.

South West Trains, First Great Western and Cross Country offer rail to Torre, Torquay and Paignton, where you can find Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boats.

Where to stay

Relax in style at the Imperial Hotel, Torquay, with the Beauty Rooms’ sensuous skincare treatments.

If you like to sail, rent a self-catering apartment in Salcombe, where you can warm up after sailing on the magnificent estuary.

Agatha Christie fans can stay at The Weary Ploughman Inn, where they will direct you to twenty places that inspired that inspired Miss Marple and Poirot mysteries.

Buckland Tout-Saints Hotel offers impressive rooms, with luxury cream tea and three course dinner from their Market Menu.

englishriviera.co.uk

agathachristiefestival.com

welcomesouthdevon.com

devonfarms.co.uk

Seaside Top Ten

1. Crabbing (fishing for crabs) is the British seaside tradition for children of all ages. Buy equipment in any seaside shop. Fill your bucket with water. Attach bait to the line. (Crabs love bacon.) Hold your net ready. Catch those elusive crabs. Remember: crabs need oxygen, so replace the water often and don’t catch too many. Be careful: those claws are sharp. Please be kind: throw the crabs back into the sea.

2. Neap tides: the sea can rise as much as 5m. Ask for free tide tables and don’t fall asleep on isolated beaches.

3. Award-winning beaches: Torcross, Beesands, South Sands, Soar Mill Cove and Hope Cove.

4. Sailing: rules are available at any Harbour Office. Regattas are also fun to watch from the safety of the shore: Dartmouth Royal Regatta is huge; Salcombe Town Regatta is calmer.

5. Seafood: Start Bay Inn, Torcross, and The Winking Prawn, North Sands.

6. Bantham Surf Academy.

7. Waterborn Paddle Boards, Kingsbridge, Salcombe, South Milton Sands.

8. Ferries: ferries have been a popular way to enjoy the area for centuries. Take the Rivermaid from Kingsbridge to Salcombe. Cruise downstream from Totnes. Or wait in the Ferry Boat Inn, Dittisham, to sail over to Greenway House.

9. Coast walks: the South West Coastal Path extends 630 miles (1000km) in total. Choose a gentle stroll or get equipped for spectacular explorations of Devon’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Download walks at southdevonaonb.com

10. Start Point Lighthouse Visitor Centre.

Land Top Ten

1. Cream tea: delicious scones with cream and jam. In Devon, it is traditional to spread the rich clotted cream before the jam.

2. Agricultural shows: Yealmpton Agricultural Show and the Teignmouth Carnival in August are highlights. Farmers’ markets offer fine local produce.

3. Dartington Arts: besides the cinema and the summer school, Dartington’s Ways with Words Festival in July attracts 5,000 visitors.

4. Kingsbridge Fair: fine food and music.

5. Plymouth Beer Festival, July.

6. Salcombe Shooting School: the natural valley makes challenges for experts or beginners; families and groups are welcome.

7. Shakespeare week: Dartmouth, August.



8. Golf: Bigbury’s seaside course is stunning

9. Blackawton Worm Charming Festival: voted Europe’s Most Unmissable Festival.

10. East Allington’s Whacky Races: dare-devil go-kart racing, with an emphasis on silliness. Profits to local charities.

Miss Marple in Torquay

   ‘Did you know it was-him-all along?’ asked Gwenda.

They were all three, Miss Marple, Gwenda and Giles, sitting on the terrace of the Imperial Hotel at Torquay.

‘A change of scene,’ Miss Marple had said, and Giles had agreed, would be the best thing for Gwenda. So Inspector Primer had concurred and they had driven to Torquay forthwith.

Miss Marple said in answer to Gwenda’s question, ‘Well, he did seem indicated, my dear. Although unfortunately there was nothing in the way of evidence to go upon. Just indications, nothing more.’

From SLEEPING MURDER by Agatha Christie