Quit holding out and draw another breath
Inside Ed’s Head 2023-09-04
It’s September. When did that happen? In my head, it’s still June. The longest June, but still June.
#Music
This week’s is a classic from the late seventies:
(Pretty sure I’ve done this before but I don’t care.)
Joe Strummer was a one-off, he really was. In fact, last time I did the Clash, someone replied saying they worked with his dad in the foreign office (I think) – Joe might’ve been a punk, but he didn’t come from that punky a background, unlike say the members of the Sex Pistols or Joy Division.
#Last Week
Anyway, I chose it because I was in London from Wednesday to Sunday for the Capital Crime festival. Now in its third year, this was the first time I’ve got to go. Can’t remember why I didn’t go to the first one, but I had covid for the second one. This time, nothing was getting in my way.
Did a bit of London stuff – I was staying in Blackfriars, which was just over the Thames from the Tate Modern (in the old Bankside power station, not Battersea!) so I did a quick jaunt through there, up the stairs and through every gallery they’d let me into. An astonishing building, with some really good art in there, if modern art is your bag. And it is mine. (I think I prefer the collection in the two Edinburgh galleries and the one in Glasgow...)
Realised the book I’m calling OPERATION HIGH CONCEPT wasn’t as good in the execution as the concept is. (High concept is a term devised by the insane film producer Don Simpson, who did a load of films with Jerry Bruckheimer in the 80s and 90s, including Top Gun, Flashdance and The Rock, all based on the conceit of an easily summarisable plot – anyone can understand everything about the film by the tagline, e.g. “A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco” for The Rock) (And he was insane – read the book about him! https://www.amazon.co.uk/High-Concept-Simpson-Hollywood-Culture/dp/0747542627). So I spent a fair amount time I was in the city working through revising the idea while it all still clicked and felt fresh. I’ve got a much better handle on what it’s about and how to better execute it. Books like this are only as good as the villain’s plan, so I’ve really beefed it up.
Then the festival, which is easily up there with Bloody Scotland and Harrogate as one of the three great British book festivals. And it’s just getting started. Lizzie and David and their team have done such an incredible job. The venue was a brilliant place to hang out with friends and catch up. I *almost* danced at the disco. And a huge thank you to anyone who attended my event on Saturday morning (especially to long-term reader Lisa!), which I really enjoyed doing. And don’t hate the photos of me:
(Thanks to Lisa for this photo)
https://x.com/dragonlovinglfc/status/1697929278199873718?s=46&t=j5VlVc7iigg6b73kdqPMlg
The audio of our chat will be released as part of David’s podcast – link to come.
And what about the writing of Fenchurch 10, you ask?
Well, I did a lot of research stuff in Greenwich for Fenchurch 10 – it’s one of my favourite parts of London, and just beautiful, even though I got the tube to “North” Greenwich, which is the O2 arena, and walked along a dual carriageway in the style of Alan Partridge to get to “East” Greenwich, which wasn’t so nice. But I had a great walk in the park and up to the observatory, then decided on where Rusty Rivers lived and how someone would break into his house and kill him. Spoiler. But I can bring the area to life a bit better. And there’s a back lane I really want to include in a chase scene, what with old Fenchy having new knees and that.
#This Week
Anyway, enough of last week’s japery. This week is going to need a lot of work, so I doubt I’ll have a weekend.
Today, I’ve already done the proof of Marshall 4 and sent that out to the advanced readers, and also to Angus King for narration – poor sod is doing a double me week by narrating that and Fenchurch 3. Yes, because book 2 is done and in editing. Sales of Fenchurch 1 have been pleasantly surprising, with only one complaint that “a bloody Scotch actor” is narrating those books.
I’ve done an afternoon of fleshing out the main characters in OPERATION HIGH CONCEPT. I’ve got the villain’s side absolutely nailed down now, and it’s amazing how much comes from that. It’s a really different book that I’m throwing the kitchen sink at and will hopefully get something that’s really satisfying out of. I think it’ll condense down even more of what I’ve been doing with the Marshall books into the ultimate form of my work. So far, anyway. Pretty pleased with it – it’s all very tightly bound now, instead of a rough thing that didn’t really work.
And the rest of the week is going to be crunching words for Fenchurch 10. I hope I can get the bulk of it done by Bloody Scotland, but I won’t finish it. I’ve had to delay the release date by 30 days to Hogmanay (31st December to anyone south of here), which gives a better gap from Marshall 4. And I really just need to get on with it. Nine chapters done of 41, so I’m getting on with it. Just need to focus and be disciplined with my time this week. Oh, I’m getting a photo shoot done on Thursday in Glasgow so that’ll swallow time up. And a new boiler installed on Friday. All go!
Anyway, have a great week.
Cheers,
Ed