A recent reader’s opinion of Carmen Capuano’s Split Decision:
Snappy dialogue and excellent writing – worth trying! Looking at this because I like Carmen’s The Owners series. Not sure whether it’ll appeal to male readers as much as female but she can write and her dialogue is spot on – she makes her conversations sound real…
I have just spent a long fortnight in and out of the International Book Festival in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. this has become an annual thing for me, and I have a whale of a time even though I’m actually engaged in hard work. while I’m there I’m writing, tweeting, talking, taking photos, so when I get back I don’t really want to write any more. So here’s an essay in photographs rather than words, about the scenes and faces at this year’s festival.
The photos were taken on a bog-standard Nikon D50 or an iPad.
PT
Graham Swift
Ian Goldin
Ali Smith
A wave of beards swept through Charlotte Square. I think that’s author Philip Ardagh on the right.
Iain Macwhirter
Chris Close’s excellent photo-portraits of visiting writers etc. were on display again this year. The exhibition was better than ever – here are just a few faces, including Alexander McCall Smith, Gavin Francis, Joan Bakewell, Wilko Johnson, Ruby Wax, and Attila the Stockbroker. Thanks for letting me use these, Chris.
And back to my own pics…
Michael Scott
Thomas Clark
Zaffar Kunial
Relaxation…
Photo call
Scots ‘Makar’ Jackie Kay
Roy Hattersley
Louis de Bernières
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Richard Susskind & Daniel Susskind. In the background is journalist Lee Randall, who chaired their event.
Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy
Roger Mason
Late in the day we heard that actor Gene Wilder had left our world of pure imagination, maybe to watch from this cloud.
If you can, head over to our client Marie Marshall’s poetry blog and see if you can put a tune to some words she came up with one night.
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Talking of twanging guitars, It’s festival time here in Scotland, and Paul is out-and-about. If you spot him at The Foodies Festival in Inverleith Park, Edinburgh, or at the International Book Festival in Charlotte Square, or at Edinburgh Fringe events such as Harry Venning’s ‘Release Your Inner Cartoonist’ (the Pleasance, Venue 33) rubing shoulders with ‘Clare’ (see opposite), say hello! The twanging of guitars was what was happening at Perth’s Southern Fried Festival, which took place over the last weekend in July. It is Scotland’s biggest celebration of Americana and regularly hosts musical acts from both sides of the Atlantic. Paul was visiting on behalf of the Scottish review site ‘The Mumble’, and managed to see, and in many cases meet, some really interesting musicians, along with other festival-goers. There were performances from the likes of Martha Fields, aka ‘Texas Martha’, Black Diamond Express, Yola Carter, Imelda May, Dean Owens, Daniel Meade & the Flying Mules, Amythyst Kiah, Andy Fairweather-Low, and many more.
One exciting pre-festival event was a press and media briefing, and premier of American Epic, a four-part documentary series which will be shown this coming winter on BBC4 in the UK and PBS in the USA. The documentary, which took ten years research, uses hitherto undiscovered archive material, and documents not only the sudden flood of recordings of blues, bluegrass, and other grassroots music, but the technology that gave rise to it – along with the reason why so much of both the archive and the technology was lost during the Depression and World War 2. Co-writer and producer Allison McGourty was interviewed after the premier, and took part in a question-and-answer session.
Allison McGourty interviewed in Perth Concert Hall.
Paul says, “I look forward to this festival every year, and every year it seems to go from strength to strength.” Amongst the highlights for him were “… meeting and talking to Yola Carter and Martha Fields, both of whom were utterly charming… getting to know Marc Marnie, the larger-than-life photographer, who has been photographing musicians since 1977… hearing Imelda May live… eating soul food… chatting to Lloyd Reid about Hofner arch-top guitars…” Some of Paul’s memories of the weekend are captured in the photos here.
Scottish bluesman Pete Caban
Texas Martha and the House of Twang
Some of the soul food on offer.
Black Diamond Express.
Yola Carter.
Imelda May.
It’s Yola’s birthday!
Daniel Meade & the Flying Mules.
The Flying Mules’ amazing guitarist, Lloyd Reid.
Images © Paul Thompson / Bookseeker Agency
This time for the short story collection Mercury Silver, which features the work of several clients.
Lyz Russo’s Solar Wind novels form a series of futuristic adventures – it would be unfair to hang the simplistic label ‘fantasy’ on them – that take its principle characters on a journey of piracy and political intrigue, mystery and mayhem, revolution and romance, through an unfamiliar seascape. Latter-day Romany errants cruise the currents of the yet-to-come, running from and striking back at the world’s ruthless rulers, the Unicate. That, and more, is what the reader gets in the pages of these books. The original Mystery of the Solar Wind was the book that the word ‘unputdownable’ was invented for, and each sequel has pushed the envelope a little further.
The third book in the series, Freedom Fighter, was recently put under scrutiny by writer and reviewer Colleen M. Chesebro, and it received an almost perfect score, 4-and-a-half stars! Believe it. Click on the picture below to read the review for yourself on Colleen’s lively blog…
We’re very pleased to announce that Carmen Capuano (pictured right) has secured a publishing deal for her novel Ascension. The book will be released by American publisher Uncial.
We’ll give you more details when we have them.
Meanwhile Carmen has been hard at work giving talks to the public and readings from Split Decision. We hope to continue to have good news to pass on about Carmen, and about our other authors.
You may recall that in January 2015 we called for a screenwriter to help turn the short story ‘Axe’, by our client Marie Marshall into a drama for TV, or even a movie script. The story, told in a mix of Glasgow and Caribbean-British registers, follows a girl who has just moved from London to Glasgow, and who joins a ‘girl-gang’. The story sees everything through her eyes, and is strung together in a kind of stream-of-consciousness narration.
Following that appeal, a screenwriter was found. He and Marie have been collaborating on developing the script – he preparing the actual script, she providing extra narrative material – and between them they have fleshed out the protagonist and the supporting characters. The story that, hopefully, will eventually appear on screen somewhere, has grown well beyond the original short story, and is becoming a gripping drama with strong female characters.
image: Mercury Press Agency Ltd.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen personal circumstances, the screenwriter has had to be excused from the project, and it is unlikely that he will be able to return. Along with Marie Marshall, we are exploring the way forward, and one possibility is trying to find another screenwriter to take over. That writer would have to ‘hit the ground running’, as there is a lot of pre-exisiting material to work with.
Are you that screenwriter?
The project is a speculative one, by which we mean that no payment can be guaranteed unless and until the finished script is taken up by a production company. Marie herself has waived any income, settling for the exposure of having her name credited as the originator of the story and provider of additional narrative, so royalty payments etc. would accrue to the screenwriter(s). This agency would be responsible for approaching production companies and would take its standard commission.
If this project appeals to you, please get in touch with us.
It’s well worth sharing this review of Lyz Russo’s novel, part of her wonderful fantasy series. The review comes from the ‘Goodreads’ site.
Captain Radomir Lascek and his band of unruly pirates, sailing upon his ship, the Solar Wind, continue to hide from the Unicate and their evil associates. However, there is more at stake now. Two data capsules in the Captain’s possession explain that the Rebellion is on a similar path as the Unicate, and both forces could spell the end of the world if the Captain doesn’t act soon.
When the Captain’s secret station in Antarctica is attacked, he is forced to take matters into his own hands. He employs Federi, the part-time gypsy chef/master assassin and Paean, a ship’s musician and budding genetic scientist to embark on a mission to assassinate as many of the top Unicate Officials as they can. Reluctantly, Federi teaches Paean the art of killing, something the fifteen-year-old finds to be a necessary evil in this futuristic world they are forced to survive in.
Struggling to deal with the burgeoning feelings he has for Paean, Federi confronts the “killing animal” that dwells within his heart. He knows he has the soul of an assassin. His greatest fear is that he will lose the love and admiration from the young girl, a certain loss he knows he could not endure.
As the story unfolds the reader discovers Federi and Paean share a type of gypsy intuition, a mystical connection that belongs only to them. This psychic ability blossoms into a deep love between the two, even though Federi is much older than Paean. This is gypsy love at its finest, and I was bewitched by the touching love story that drew me deeper into the adventure.
The book is long but filled with so much intrigue and suspense you gladly read on to unravel the various mysteries that are part of the whole adventure aboard the Solar Wind. For me, this book delves deeper into the characters and gives you a glimpse into the mechanics of their personalities. I like these pirates. Their humanity speaks to me. I can’t wait to dive into the third book in the series, Freedom Fighter. Stay tuned…
We have heard from our client Marie Marshall that the Spring 2016 Showcase of the zen space is now published. the zen space is of course the e-zine for haiku and other short, in-the-moment writing. This issue appears to be shot through with paintings by Vincent van Gogh. When asked why, Marie shrugs and says “Why not?” Can’t argue with that! Click on Vincent’s selfie to be transported to the zen space.
By the way, Marie also tells us that the editing process has begun for her novel KWIREBOY vs VAMPIRE, the sequel to From My Cold, Undead Hand, with publication due later this year. Good news – we’re looking forward to it greatly!
The agency is now representing Scottish-based writer Elizabeth Mostyn. Elizabeth says she has been a writer by calling from an early age, having swapped her swing for a typewriter at the age of five! The daughter of an Isle of Man TT racer, and a descendant of Bram Stoker, she is a graduate of St Andrews University. After a career specialising in dementia, she did postgraduate study at Aberdeen, and is now pursuing her Doctorate at Newcastle University where her thesis will be on Phenomenology.
Elizaberth’s debut novel, Wisp, is set in Scotland. She says of it:
At the heart of this novel is a topical issue in that Wisp is concerned with people suffering from microcephaly – the phenomenon which has recently been connected with the Zika virus in Brazil. It is a novel which will, additionally, appeal to a core audience of readers who appreciate character-led fiction as well as those interested in the workings of modern science. Set in the ancient University of St Andrews, it features the everyday subjects of personhood, consciousness, religion, ethics, genetic engineering, afternoon tea, mushrooms, and magic.
Her second novel, Men who Play with Lightning, is currently being prepared. It is the story of a conscientious objector in World War II who joins Bomb Disposal. The agency is very excited about having this excellent writer with us.
Bookseeker Literary Agency 