The Curry Mile: a Series in the Making?

I've lived in Manchester since 1990, which was the year my family moved from Blackburn in Lancashire to a suburb of South Manchester. Unbeknownst to me at that time, our new home was located in an area of the city which was also the home of the team behind Danger Mouse; it was a dream come true for a fan of the series (I hope my arrival didn't precipitate its end!).

And I've been visiting the Curry Mile ever since.

I guess the Mile must have have slowly, imperceptibly, percolated away in my head until the novel was produced. The idea for the story actually came to me when I was living in France, bien sur. However, since the novel's publication, my muse hasn't stopped bubbling away, granting me tantalising glimpses of other stories.

It has taken  much longer that I would have anticipated to get the next book published, but let me share one tale about the adventure of getting the second book onto the shelves.

Soon, after The Curry Mile was published by Suitcase, agents came a-knocking and I signed up with a London-based agency (aren't they all London-based? Well almost), and my agent was sending out manuscripts and letting would-be publishers believe I was a woman.

You see, my agent, a junior at a large agency was ambitious and keen to cut her teeth in a competitive industry and she must have thought it would fast-track the book to publication. However, it was a deceit too great for me, and shortly after she shared her cunning plan with me, I asked the Agency to release from the contract...

You might think it was silly of me, that I should have gone with the flow, and maybe it was a mistake on my part. Following the debacle, I needed to take some time out to think things through. And I have.

Since then, I've been working on a series, in fact, on a series of series. I'm nearing the end of a prequel to The Curry Mile and I've been planning the follow-up to the novel itself...you know, that big question, "So, what happens to Sorayah after she takes over the business?"

The original version of The Curry Mile was a trilogy. I cannot say for certain that it will be a trilogy, but the story continues.

Since the launch of The Curry Mile, I've been working on some children's stories and I've also penned some YA (Young Adult) fiction. My aim now is to dedicate more time to writing and publishing and just, well, to share my stories. Life is richer for it.

ZHZ.

National Poetry Day 2014

The UK's National Poetry Day will be taking place on Thursday the 2nd of October and what is so special about this particular Poetry Day is that this year's theme is "Remember".
I was particularly moved when I heard this as the selection of this theme is a "nod" to the centenary of the outbreak of World War I, a war which transformed the world and brought about the modern age, and it was in this crucible in which fine poets such as Rupert Graves, Thomas Hardy, Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon - to name a few - were forged.
Of course, poetry itself is a form of remembrance, of moments that have passed which we hope to cherish, crystallising an emotion, a glance...

Today, we live in the world of social media so I thought it would be great to suggest a few social media web sites that may be of interest:
National Poetry Day on Facebook

National Poetry Day on Twitter

If you are keen to learn more about this years's National Poetry Day then visit the Forward Arts Foundation; they're doing lots of fine stuff and you can post your own events on their site.
The Poetry Society has also produced information on this year's National Poetry Day.
I'm looking forward to this year's National Poetry Day and remembering and hoping that, through the power of story and poetry, we can connect with those who have passed, and retain the harsh and cruel lessons of disharmony so that we can produce a lasting peace.

ZHZ.

The Curry Mile eBook - launched. Finally.

So. Finally did it. With the help of some good people I crossed the Rubicon into the Indie divide and at the same time transformed the paperback novel into an eBook.

Does UK Publishing Reflect Diversity?

The UK is amongst the most diverse countries in the world. The 2011 Census found that the ethnic minority population of London was the majority population. White British people accounted for 44.9% of London's population. So, considering that London is the home of UK Publishing and that the capital's population, do you think ethnic minorities are well represented in print?

Thoughts on Writing

I'm placing my fingers on these keys and punching out a few thoughts before I return to the real work of writing fiction.

Since my debut novel was published in late 2006...I harboured a dream to write books ranging from children's to science-fiction, yet struggled against the tide of life's minutiae to produce them. I confess that the notion of winning a literary competition snared me and I lost many months chasing the dreams of others, because I thought it would be impossible to win a glance from a Grand Publisher (as I call them) as they are seeking that humongous blockbuster, the next "big thing". 

I believe that emerging from a British minority community and seeking to be published in an environment which is white, middle-classed and conservative means few writers of diversity find traction. Books fail to reflect the origin of those who read them. I hope the appointment of Malorie Blackman as Children's Laureate will change matters. Yet, I suspect that most of us will remain Noughts.

The Grand Publishers will, of course, get what they want, but they will be astonished by its origin just as they were with Harry Potter.  

To date, I have written six novels and a screenplay and enjoyed listening to the professional, if somewhat unusual advice, from two London-based literary agencies. My work remains unpublished, because the market isn't ready for what I write. Apparently. 

So, I've decided. I will join the new tribe of publisher-authors, who are striking out alone on the wild path. Even as I go forward into the darkened forest, I am returning to an old way of crafting fiction, albeit carried in an eBook format and wielding the sword of social media.  Soon, I hope to begin publishing books. YA. Thrillers. Poetry. Wherever the muse takes me. You see, I finally realised that all I wanted was to share what I enjoy most; writing stories.

ZHZ