Hello! It’s been a very long time since I added anything to this newsletter, but I am still here. Partly I’ve been busy working – more on that shortly – but I’ve also been turning my attention to a few other important life things that I’m usually very good at neglecting. A bit more on that in a moment too. But first, a very belated Happy Christmas, and Happy New Year, and, just in case, Happy Easter too! Sorry I’ve been so quiet...
Book Stuff
I actually finished a second draft of my next novel at the end of January, and sent it off to my publishers for their verdict (and if that goes well, for editing). I haven’t heard back yet, which might not be a good sign, but until I hear otherwise I’m maintaining a strict policy of no-news-is-good-news.
It might actually be that they don’t like it. It is definitely a bit different to the books I’ve written before. It’s difficult to explain why, without both spoiling the surprises within it, and also without getting a bit philosophical about life, the universe and everything. In a way the book tries to tackle one of the big questions of what we’re all doing here. And I’m a bit split myself on whether it’s the most interesting thing I’ve ever written – by a very long way – or a rather baffling mistake. Since I can’t answer that, I’ll try and explain about where it came from.
Quite a lot of the books I’ve written before fit loosely within the psychological thriller genre. Nobody seems to know exactly what ‘psychological thriller’ means (and weirdly it’s interpreted a bit differently in the US and the UK – even though neither country is able to really say what it means in the first place). But I’ve come to think of it as the psychopath-with-the-basement genre. I can’t speak for any other authors, but I don’t write such books because I secretly think about dismembering half the people I set eyes on – honestly I really don’t – but more because such unpleasant fictional characters are rather convenient to the crime thriller writer. It’s clearer when put it the other way around, it’s very difficult to write a gripping page-turner where the detective is twiddling their thumbs because none of the characters are nasty enough to do anything wrong.
But they’ve always left me a little bit uncomfortable, unsure if I’m contributing to a rather unhealthy trend in society. I don’t think it’s valid to draw too direct a line between crime fiction and real people committing real crimes, but it’s definitely odd, how much time so many of us spend reading about or watching fictionized versions of our very worst nightmares – our loved ones being taken away and never coming back. That’s not to say I’m never going to write that type of character again. There’s also something clearly fascinating about them. But I don’t always want to do it.
I don’t actually read many psychological thrillers myself (though partly that’s because I now can’t do so without dissecting them and mining them for tips). What I really like in a book is a good story, but also something that encourages me to look at the world a little bit differently. And that’s what I’ve tried to do with this book. I’m calling it (until my publishers tell me it’s a stupid name and I’m absolutely not) Seen Before, and I’m not going to say much more that that right now. Except that I hope it’ll be exactly that – a good story, and a way to see the world a little bit differently.
Not Book Stuff
I actually finished the first draft of Seen Before in November, and decided to dedicate December to really trying to improve my Spanish. It’s well over a year now since we moved here, and the truth is I hadn’t improved much in that time. I got a little better, for sure, but despite my one-lesson-a-week, the rate of progress was worryingly slow. By which I mean that optimistic forecasts suggested I might become fluent somewhere around the turn of the next century, or maybe the one after. Call me impatient but I was hoping to be able to chat to the neighbours sometime before the hundredth anniversary of my death.
Anyway, it was striking, just how much of a difference doing several actual hours of study every day makes. (When I’m trying to learn something new I almost always make the mistake of just really wanting the outcome, as opposed to enjoying the process of learning.) I can now just about follow most conversations that I hear, and even some of the ones I take part in. I had to go back to book work in January, for a second draft of Seen Before but I’m going to try and balance things a bit better going forward. I’ve just signed up to a course at the local University which will see me studying three evenings a week, so I’m going to be busy. We’ll see how that goes.
Book stuff again (sort of)
But all of that is not the real reason I’m writing now. Ever since I wrote my novella Killing Kind – which is available free of charge on my website (or this link here), I’ve always been a bit confused how many people actually go and buy it. Eventually I concluded that many readers are just nice people who want to support authors. Anyway, I also enjoyed the process of writing Killing Kind – I wrote it in just one week with no plan nor idea where it might end up. And I’ve long thought about writing another short book in a similar way. And finally I have. Having sent Seen Before off for editing, I sat down last week with nothing but an opening line that I liked the sound of, and kept typing until I had a finished story. It’s a way of working that feels very refreshing, and without the pressure of a full book project – if a novella doesn’t turn out so well it’s only a few weeks wasted, not the best part of a year! Anyway, I brushed off my cover-making skills and the completed novella is now up on Amazon for pre-order, out 29th February (because who could resist that once-in-four-year opportunity. I think it’s kinda fun, so I’d love it if you read it: Pre-order Falling From Grace here.
A quick word of pricing: when I moved this email newsletter to Substack I said that everything on Substack will stay free for all. Nevertheless some very generous readers have supported me with a subscription, so it seems fair to let them have this novella free of charge, they’ll get a separate email. For everyone else, I’ve put it up on Amazon and I’ll enrol it in Kindle Unlimited as I know many of you subscribe to that.
Anyway, you might be wondering what that first line that gave me the idea to write it was. It’s this:
John didn’t kill Edward, but a lot of people thought he did...
Come on, admit it, you’re intrigued!
More non-book stuff
I mentioned the Spanish, but also in very-important-life-stuff, I haven’t been in the water for a very long time. As a long-term surfer I was always dimly aware that I might get a condition called surfer’s ear at some point. (It’s a condition where bone growths close-off the ear canal as the body tries to protect itself from the cold water – rather unjustly it only seems to affect surfer-types in cold locations. Those surfers in Hawaii with their year-long tans don’t have to worry about it, but us Europeans in our thick rubber suits do – how is that fair? I suppose the flip side is we don’t get eaten by sharks. Anyway, my luck has finally run out, and at some point I’m going to have my ear sawn off and the ear canal drilled out (no really, that’s how they fix it). I know all this because I spent the whole of Christmas completely deaf in one ear (which didn’t help much with the Spanish), and now I can’t go in the water until my new, obscenely-overpriced earplugs arrived. Which they have today. So I’m going down to the beach right away to test them out. But the reason I mention this now is because, with the beach out of the question, we’ve been making the most of where we live and getting into the cycling. And rather brilliantly the kids are now at an age where they can cycle up some of the smaller hills without complaining too much, so that feels rather freeing. And you know what they say – you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a bike, and it’s pretty close.
To summarise a rather unstructured email:
1. New book coming this summer – probably to be called Seen Before. It might be a really good one, I hope so!
2. Brand new novella up for pre-order now and out on the 29th Feb. It’s called Falling From Grace. (Possibly good but who knows?)
3. I can go surfing again!
Hope you’re all well.
John didn’t kill Edward, but a lot of people thought he did. Not the police, nor the teachers, but those of us who really knew him, who really knew what was going on...
Falling from Grace is a short novel telling the tragic story of Eddie Rodgers, a schoolboy who threw himself from the roof of the science block in his final year of school. And his enigmatic classmate, John – who never much liked Eddie – but was nowhere near him when he died. Or at least, that’s how everyone remembers it, including Paul – who walked the tightrope of being friends with them both. But how much should we trust our memories?
There’s a very good reason why Paul knows exactly what happened that day – yet a creeping doubt stops him moving on. And as he pulls at the threads of his memories, his certainly begins to fray, revealing hints of a truth too harrowing to face.
Because some secrets should stay buried in the shadows of the past.
Out Feb 29th - Pre-order now!
Always good to receive your emails. New book purchased. I’m travelling to Peru so will have a painfully long journey to fill. Your books will be perfect 🦋
Hi, Gregg! So good to hear from you - especially as I struggle to recuperate from knee replacement surgery. OUCH! The most painful thing I have ever experienced! But enough about me. I’m so excited that there are two new works of yours in the pipeline. And I do subscribe to Kindle Unlimited so I’m glad that I’ll be able to access them. Also, congratulations on your Spanish progress - I’m sure it feels great to be able to have conversations with neighbors and lots of other situations. Anyway, I guess this public Substack setup is the only way to contact you now (rather than a private email). In any case, Gregg, can’t wait to read more stuff from you. (Sorry about your surfer’s ear - what an unfair bummer!) Take care. ❤️🙏🏼😊