Interview, review, Division on Amazon...

About 3am this morning, Thorstruck Press put The Division of the Damned up on Amazon.
Freshly edited with its new cover and blurb, it signalled I was back in business, and really managed to start my day with a bang.

The next piece of news was that my first interview as a Thorstruck author was up and running. Beauty in Ruins did a top job and you can find it here if you're interested:

Beauty in ruins.

And then, to top it all off, I found a five star review for it that read like I'd written War and Peace.

I wasn't truthfully sure what to expect when reading this book, all I knew for definite was that it included vampires, and that's what piqued my interest.

The Division of the damned gave me a surprising journey. It's jam-pack with paranoia, the mysterious and weird, and very well researched from a theological/war point of view. What I didn't expect was to become team SS while reading it. The characters are so real, their sense of humour in the most dire of conditions was refreshing and fabulous to read, and the plot was intricate and utterly convincing. Once you've read it you feel like you've read a secret document of something that happened during the war that was covered up.

The ending gave me a few emotional lumps, and altogether I found this well written and riveting. The action is insane, the constant running from enemy lines, the subterfuge and hidden agendas by the freaks in power, the human struggle portrayed so sincerely from both a civilian and military perspective, and the 'da vinci code' undertones in this made it one awesome smorgasbord. Whatever you like in a novel, this one's got it. Romance, struggle, fear, the paranormal, action, fight scenes, horror, the struggle of personal ethics and faith, war camps, the British, the Germans, the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Romanians, the civilians, the squad caught in the middle of it all, and overall a fight for humanity's spiritual survival (over the actual background of war) made this an all out ten star review, but Amazon only give me 5.

Compelling, riveting, and very stressful. You'll fall for Maria, you'll fall for a scarred german soldier, you'll love Smith, you'll be intrigued by Michael, you'll loathe Lilith and Rasch, and you will LOVE the grumpy old men. FABULOUS read, I loved EVERY PAGE!
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1COLVQYUTXYZ5/)

Now if that isn't a good start to my working relationship with Thorstruck, nothing is.

As you were.
Reggie.

My author page at Thorstruck

So, Taylor Street have confirmed to Thorstruck that I am no longer with them, the books in Word document form have been sent off to be worked on and my author page is up.

Have a look if you want:.

Thorstruck Press.Reggie's page


AND... here are the new covers for Division and House.

Exciting times ahead...
Take care.
Reggie.

Developments...

In my life, events either develop over a period of years to then fizzle into nothing, or they hit me like a striking ninja and completely dominate my direction.

Taylor Steet’s closing left me, well stunned actually. Only days before it happened I’d been planning the release of The Chronicles of Supernatural Warfare with Tim and then BANG, it was all over. I didn’t even have the paperback versions of my books as I’d given them away, and had to quickly buy some off Amazon, which cost me Twenty Eight Dollars(!!!) because “Division” was now out of print.

Whatever, the thing is I naively thought Taylor would simply go on forever, because that’s how I am. I find a groove in life and follow it until something far better turns up or I’m forced to move. Change happens to others, not me.

I wondered what I was going to do? Paul had already said he’d release Chronicles on his own if he had to, so at least that was sorted. However, Division and House were now without publisher and I reckoned I’d have to self-publish, as I really had no time or energy for the whole submit/rejection circus.

In the immediate hours after the news broke I received a couple of offers of help from people who ran their own ebook publishers, which boosted my flagging spirits greatly as it’s always nice to know you’re not alone. I also received an email from a friend whom I happen to rate very highly as a writer and a person, and who also had some good contacts with reputable, money making publishers.

However, it was a Facebook message I was sent a couple of hours after I wrote my last Blog that turned my head. I was invited to have a look at the Thorstruck Press website, and see if I would be interested? I read their, “About” page and liked it automatically. Their philosophy, coupled with the fact that the person who wrote to me is as straight as they come and doesn’t accept any messing about, sold me.

True to their word, they’ve made two new covers, set up an interview and I’m on their website Authors page right now, even though we still don’t have the rights for the books from Taylor. This kind of movement is as inspiring as it’s welcome, and though I loved the peeps at Taylor and was sorry to see it close, I am already very happy at Thorstruck.

So dear reader, that’s how it stands at the moment. As soon as the rights come from Taylor, we’ll be releasing my first two books, and hopefully many more after it.

Take it easy.

Reggie.

Reg

I find myself adrift...

On the 9th April, 2012, I broke the news that The Division of the Damned was live on Kindle, and that the paperback would soon follow. I don’t have the words to tell you how proud I was when I wrote that. How it rated right up there with fatherhood, building a house and my first proper CD recording as a milestone in my life. How, at that moment in time, it was just so damnably good to be Reggie Jones for a change.

When the book arrived, I fondled it like a mother touches her newborn child. I was ecstatic that I finally held it in my hands, and that my work would soon grace the bookshelves of other people.

It sounds corny, almost sad, that a grown man could go through such adolescent, naive emotions, especially when anyone can release a book nowadays, but that’s how it felt. Years of work went into writing and researching it, and then the sending it off to be rejected time and time again. Some publishers were put off by the fact the SS weren't the bad guys, or that it crossed two distinct genres, (war and horror) and thus would be hard to pigeon-hole. For some it just wasn't what was wanted, (zombies were the up and coming monster, vampires had had their day by then) and for others it was just so bad they couldn't even be bothered to get in touch. I waited for an answer from one firm for nigh on a year. When I phoned them up, I was given a curt no thank you, and told not to bother phoning up again! Yet there it was, my book in my hand, made possible by Night publishing.

Night publishing was brilliant. We were basically just a bunch of like minded enthusiasts, pooling our resources and limited knowledge to give each other a shove up the ladder. Tim would suggest something to see if it could sell our books better, and we’d all willingly go along with it. There was a camaraderie there that I’d previously only experienced at Struggling Authors, but with a lot more people. We weren't in competition, we worked for each other, buying each other’s work, spreading each other’s links and just being supportive. The forum on there was as it should be on a writer's website, with a rook of short stories being critiqued and voted for in a jokey yet appreciative way. I can honestly say there was no malice, no arrogance and no backstabbing, which for a bunch of writers is very unusual.

Night, for various reasons, turned into Taylor, and though some people left our ranks to go on to different things, we still had a good core of people who shared the ideal and acted as friends, not competitors.

Taylor Street released my second book, The House in Wales, and once again, though not as raw, the emotions I went through when my proof copy arrived on the doorstep were memorable.

By this time I was pretty savvy as to how the industry, and especially Amazon, worked. A few of my friends had started their own publishing houses, using Kindle as a platform for sales, and Create Space for paperbacks, and they were doing well for themselves. 

However, I had no plans to leave Taylor as it was exactly how I wanted it to be. I’d write something, my mate George would proof read it, (and he is a GIT when it comes to critique. I can’t count how many times he’d cross something out and simply write, “Shite” next to it). Then a couple of other chaps would be my Beta readers, and I’d send the corrected version off to Taylor. Yes there were issues, yes it didn't always go to plan, but what does nowadays?

As I put, I was happy and had no plans to leave… until now.

This morning Tim made it known that Taylor Street Publishing will close its doors as of 31^st May. The books will be taken off the cyber shelves of Amazon, Smashword and The Book Depository, royalties will be paid out and the firm will be no more.

I'm gutted.

Tim and Kathleen are my friends, so I won't go into the reasons why Taylor is shutting up shop, but they are health related and serious enough to call a halt on the proceedings.

And basically that’s that. The books are back in my name as of the 31st, so the question is where do I go from here?

Well, the fact is that even though my books have done, “alright”, I haven't had the Times Literary supplement knocking on my door begging for an interview, and I don’t see Harper Collins waiting in the wings to scoop me up like a golden lamb either. So self-publishing is the most realistic route for me to take right now. I think I could quite easily move into the independent market and do alright for myself, well at least manage the same sales. 

Add to that the wealth of experience my writerly chums who have taken the lonely path of self-publishing before me have to give, and I honestly think I'll be OK.

No, for me, the real disappointment is the death of the camaraderie, the almost familial atmosphere we experienced at Night and the early days of Taylor Street, that hurts the most. Ask anyone who knows me, I always want things to stay as they are, be it friends or situations, so to make that break now won't kill me, but I’d sooner not have to make it.

I’ll re-release Division and House on my own, and my work in progress, The Sisterhood of the Serpent, too. The short story anthology I advertised recently will be published with my mate Paul Rudd, so the books will be out, just the circumstances will be different.

I'll close now by saying thanks to Tim and Kathleen for your input into my life, I hope we remain friends and stay in contact. You guys took a chance on a book that crossed genres, painted the SS as goodies and went against everything the industry was looking for, but managed to turn a dream into reality and I won’t forget that.

To all the people I had the privilege of knowing as fellow stable authors, I wish you ALL the very best for the future and I hope that at least one of us makes it into film. Please stay in contact, on Facebook or where ever.

To all the people who have supported me over the last couple of years, and you know who you are, from the bottom of my heart I thank you all… and don’t go away as I need you all now more than ever !! :D

Take care, see you soon.

Reg.

Bluenote.

Here's a post from my other Blog, The Boy from the Bay.

Bluenote e.v.

I used to have a very good mate called Dave Kelly.

Dave was English, but being the clever lad he was he opened up an Irish bar and called it, “Kellys”, which went on to be a winner.

 

Kellys was, for me at that time, just what I needed. A mate with his own pub is something guys like myself appreciate in a big way. Ladies, if you could imagine having a BFF with her own shoe shop, well it was like that with Dave and his pub; though not quite as gossipy and touchy-feely.

Dave was a real mate. He’d phone on a slow day, usually in the week, and innocently ask if I was up for a bit of a drink? I worked shifts then; I still do actually, and consequently my weekends would often fall in the working week. So Dave’s offer of a little drink, a quiet chat, maybe a jam, (my drums were set up there permanently, as I wasn’t in a band at the time), was just the jobby for a guy who regularly worked Saturday nights while the world was partying.

We’d sit at the bar and drink till the cleaning ladies kicked us out, playing along to songs, singing our heads off… like I say, a mate with a pub… well, it’s just PERFECT!

Anyway, it was in Kellys that I first met Horst and Norbert Krups. Horst helped Dave out behind the bar occasionally, (actually, we ALL helped Dave behind the bar occasionally, but that’s another thing entirely) and was as mad about good music, Guinness and whiskey as Dave was; so obviously they got on like a house on fire.

Dave wanted Kellys to be a music pub, as he loved the Blues and Irish music scene. So he set about finding Blues, Folk and Celtic bands to play live. It’s a given that Horst and Norbert helped, and slowly but surely the foundations of what would be Bluenote were set.

The problem was that Kellys, though successful, wasn’t taking in the money needed to finance the bands they wanted. Dave had some good names coming in, but good bands demand their tribute, so the Krups brothers had a brainwave. Why not start a club dedicated to promoting and presenting live music? Then the people who join could help finance the acts, work the door, maybe help set up instruments etc etc etc. In return, they’d have the chance to see the great Blues/Folk/Celtic bands they all enjoyed but were proving too costly for Dave to book.

I think it’s clear to anyone reading this now that the Bluenote guys and gals were, and still are true music lovers. The club’s entire income, after outgoings, went into sorting more bands out to play at the pub, which grew in stature with every gig. It was a symbiosis tailor-made for Dave, with Horst and Norbert sorting the music out, and Kellys providing the venue and beer. Gradually the name Bluenote became synonymous with the pub as bands turned up to play from all over Europe. It was a great time, and I can’t count how many drunken nights I had there, singing my head off and quaffing pints of Guinness, (when I wasn’t working shift, of course).

Alas, the match made in heaven was cut short. Dave asked the landlord if, as they’d agreed, he’d cut the rent to a reasonable price. At the time he was paying an exorbitant amount of money for the pub, but he’d been assured that after two years it would be reduced. However, now the landlord decided it was too good a cow not to milk, and he mentioned to Dave he was thinking about upping the lease.

So, after a mild tantrum and a lot of thought, he dropped my drums off, (and gave me his old set), and left for Britain never to return.

Suddenly the good people of Bluenote were set adrift with nowhere to go.

Well, that’s not exactly true, as Wolfenbüttel is full of great venues, you just have to find them, and Bluenote weren’t going to let a minor problem like lack of location stop their march. They used the castle in Wolfenbüttel for a while, and an old Italian restaurant for a couple of gigs as well, (which had excellent acoustics as there’s a lot of wood in the building to soak up the echo). They carried on booking acts, and sold the “refreshments” themselves, making a lot of friends in the process.

Like a phoenix from the ashes of Kellys, Bluenote rose out of the shadow of the Irish bar it had spent its formative years in, and was suddenly a power in its own right.

After surviving Dave’s departure so well, the next black mark was just over the horizon to test them. A very influential Blues guitarist, by the name of Chris Jones, passed away in 2005. Chris had made a big impression on the Blues scene in Germany before then. With his easy going nature and excellent musical ability, the man was naturally charismatic, and his time with Bluenote made its mark on the club.

To mark his passing, they decided to honour his name with a music festival. Every year, since 2005, Bluenote have invited artists from all over the globe to perform on their stage and endorse the charity Chris Jones supported when he was alive. The celebration itself has moved from strength to strength, with no sign of stopping, and is now a regular “sold out” institution on the Wolfenbüttel calendar. I can say from personal experience, if ever a party managed to capture those old days in Kellys, it’s this one, despite the poignant history behind the occasion.

Another annual highlight is the “Celtic Christmas”. Guinness and whiskey, a liberal splattering of Celtic music and dance, and a whole wad of Christmas cheer go to make this one of THE events of the year in Wolfenbüttel. I was able to find the time off work to go to one, and the atmosphere was electric.

I’m a Welshman, and have nothing really Irish or Scottish within me, but even I couldn’t fail to be moved by the stirring Scottish songs and mournful Irish ballads, especially as the Guinness and whiskey seemed to go down so well…

Anyway, that’s my condensed version of Bluenote’s history. I’m happy and proud to say I was there when my friends called the press to Kellys and told the local rag their plans all those years ago, (in November 2001 actually! I went to the pub to pick my jacket up after a hard night and there they were). I’m also glad to be able to say that the club is now a major mover in the music scene in and around the Wolfenbüttel area.

So here’s to you, my friends in Bluenote!

May your success march on, yet your heart stay where it is!

Iechyd da.

Reggie.

http://www.bluenote-wf.de/