At the top of their game

I've been really lucky this week to have seen three people at the top of their game. Last Friday I went to London to see Matthew Bourne's production of Lord of the Flies and the show was preceded by a discussion led by The Daily Telegraph's arts critic between Matthew Bourne and Judy Carver, the daughter of William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies. The production featured some professional dancers but the project's aims were to work with guys who had little or no experience of dance and performance. It was fascinating to hear the rationale behind the project and the changes that Matthew Bourne made to the story, not least of which was changing its location from a desert island to an abandoned theatre. This reimagining was really powerful and I was really struck by how he was able to take something that had been just words and make it so visual. Judy Carver's recollection of her father's manuscript thudding back through the letterbox each time it was rejected by a publisher is definitely something I could relate to – it was somehow comforting to hear that the author of one of the classic British novels struggled to become successful in much the same way that many authors do today.

On Saturday I saw Hans Zimmer Revealed which has to be one of the best things I've ever seen (and I was in the audience for Jean Michel Jarre’s Docklands concerts!). I adore Hans Zimmer's music – it's mostly what I listen to while I write, the soundtrack of Inception is my go-to when I'm stuck and Time is my all-time favourite piece of music ever. He showed so much passion on the stage for music and the people playing alongside him, all so ridiculously talented, it was mind-boggling. It was quite something imagining him starting to compose a movie soundtrack, tinkering around with a few notes that become the theme that's interwoven throughout the whole film, growing from a melody of single notes to a piece of music so complex it takes a whole orchestra to produce it. The audience as one gave him two thunderous standing ovations and, yet, when he played the last few chords of Time, the silence was as absolute as if he was in a studio by himself. Epic, epic music and quite an emotional experience – according to Twitter, I wasn't the only one who cried!

Last night I was off to London again to attend a ‘posh publishing party’ to celebrate my friend Carole Matthews’ amazing achievement of her 25th novel being published. In a beautiful five-star hotel we toasted this extraordinary achievement in an industry that has certainly seen some changes since she started 18 years ago.

So, as you can see, I've had quite a week! But each event, as different as they were, reinforced the fact that Matthew Bourne, Hans Zimmer and Carole Matthews, are all at the top of their game not by accident. They are all incredibly passionate about what they do and about sharing it with others. They work extremely hard, going that extra mile every time, and give their all to achieve their respective dreams. Matthew Bourne talked about being bullied for choosing to dance and I know that Carole used to tie her leg to the desk to make herself sit there and write every evening at 9 o'clock after a full-on day at work.

Dedication and passion, they have it in spades. And if your dream is important enough to you, you do too.

Am I nearly there yet?

This week is the Frankfurt Book Fair. For those not in the know it's a huge event in the publishing calendar – probably the biggest. It's a place where all the individual cogs that make up the publishing machine get together and a week when books and authors make headlines with stories of deals and advances and the launching of new talent.

I had a mini-moment of excitement connected with the FBF when my agent told me in the middle of the day that my book, The Only, was being pitched right at that moment to German publishers ahead of the Fair and that it was "going down a storm" - those publishers properly heard my shriek of excitement all the way from Milton Keynes.

Sadly, frustratingly, they decided not to take the book on until a UK publisher did and they all decided I'd missed the boat with the genre. This was one of those creative industry rollercoaster slumps. So, back to the beginning for me, write another book.

Scarily that was three years ago. At the time I really thought that was it for me, I’d got there (wherever there was). That particular route, at that particular time, wasn't to be for me. However, that story got me representation by my lovely agent who believed in it and believes in me as a writer. Thinking about the statistics there where averagely successful agents receive 150+ unsolicited manuscripts a week and only take on a handful of clients a year, if any at all, reminds me that is no small feat. 

Carol Matthews, a hugely successful author and a friend of mine, suggested I put The Only up on Amazon, rather than leaving it in a drawer. So I did. And what a brilliant idea that was because it has brought me readers who love my story, which surely is the measure of success for any writer.

Phew!

Those of you who have read this blog before know that I have been working on a new book. On Friday, after real hard slog, I typed the immortal words "the end".

Although this has felt like the hardest book yet, I've actually written it faster any of the others (and have to remind myself that thanks to a mega-bout of RSI there were six weeks I couldn't touch a keyboard at all). I guess the most important thing is that I love it and can't wait for it to get out into the world properly :)

It's such an odd feeling, reaching that point when writing a book. It's not quite ‘the end’ of it for me as once I have comments back from the test readers, my agent, I'm sure, will have comments too. So the great news is I get to spend more time with these characters, and I think, when you get to meet them, you'll be glad to as well. But in the meantime the time pressure to be sitting at my desk 24/7 isn't quite as strong as usual, I may catch up with all the series on the sky box before the system deletes them for me, I'm off out twice next week on a school night (!), I could get used to this!

Having spent the last hour clearing my desk which, it turns out, is oak-coloured –who knew!?! - I now need to pack my bag for my day job tomorrow. That wouldn't be a lever arch file of editing sneaking in there, would it? Of course it is, back to the sequel of The Only tomorrow, I just can't help myself!

All ready for the next book . . .