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​PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE… by Eve Seymour

3/30/2016

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​Anyone who knows me well will tell you that one of my fatal flaws is impatience.  I chafe at slow responses to emails.  Nobody on the planet makes decisions as fast as me.  If a deadline isn’t in place, I impose one and it’s always tight.  I pace if guests are late for dinner.  I hate queues.  I don’t walk if I can run, and my father nicknamed me ‘The whippet’.
 
Some years ago, when I was naïve about the publishing industry, a literary agent once told me that she had authors on her books that she believed might take ten years to obtain a publishing deal.  To my shame, I replied:  ‘Hell, I haven’t got time to hang around for that,’ and scarpered.  As it turned out, I actually waited seven years before my first novel was published in 2007.  Remember, this was in the day when self-publishing was frowned upon.  One publisher warned me that, should I be daft enough to go it alone, I could forget ‘proper’ publication thereafter.  Times change. 
 
Back in 2005, I penned a psychological thriller with a female lead.  ‘Beautiful Losers’ was written very much from the heart, the shout lines of my main character’s life not dissimilar to my own.  I thought at the time that it was the best thing ever and I was right to a point because Broo Doherty read and enthused about it.  To cut a long story short, the novel went precisely nowhere after a brief foray in front of publishers.  Green as I was, it never occurred to me that the answer might be ‘pass’ or ‘Thanks, but no thanks’.   
 
After a couple of months of crushing rejection, it dawned on me that my dream was over.  Sobered and depressed, I went into a downward spiral in which I thought it unlikely I’d ever summon the energy or creativity to write a letter never mind a novel.  It seemed like a major blow and it knocked my confidence in a way that I had not envisaged possible.
 
I turned my back on psychological thrillers, came up with some appalling ideas for other stories, which were all rightly rejected, after which I pretty much gave up.
 
As already described, my legendary lack of patience is a major character flaw but one thing I have in spades is tenacity.  I hate to be beaten so, little by little I rehabilitated myself by playing around with ideas until I felt strong enough to write again.  I did not do this on my own.  I was lucky enough to have a husband who believed in me even when I didn’t.  Every time I wanted to throw the computer out through the nearest window, he’d talk me down from the impossibly high ledge of self-doubt I’d erected.  The result was a brand new novel and representation by, you guessed it, Broo Doherty.  It heralded the start of a strong relationship and a multi novel run of action adventure/spy thrillers with male main protagonists.
 
But I never lost the desire to go back to where I started. 
 
A couple of years ago, Broo, now a partner at DHH, and I were having lunch and she said:  ‘Do you know, I always thought it sad that Beautiful Losers never saw the light of day.’  ‘Hmm,’ I said.  (I probably flinched at the memory.)  ‘Why don’t you take another look at it?’ she suggested.  Reluctantly, I did. 
 
Surprise, surprise, but my novel didn’t seem so great any more.  With the advantage of time and experience, I could see its flaws.  I worked on it and worked on it.  I changed the third person narrative to first.  I ‘warmed up’ my female lead and made her a more sympathetic character.  I cut and rewrote to improve pace.   I don’t remember how many drafts it went through, but there were a fair number and, through it all, Broo read each redraft, made suggestions and I’d work on it again.  The strangest thing is that I have great patience when it comes to revision.  It was a terrific and enlightening process and, at last, I could see what I’d tried to do but had failed to execute. 
 
This story, you might have guessed, has a happy ending.  Due to the novel’s colourful history, it rates as the sweetest deal I’ve ever received.  Somewhere there’s a message in its journey.  If, like me, you are an impatient sort, don’t stress about it.  Concentrate on digging deep, on plugging away, on exercising that writing muscle and summoning up the belief to persist and to dare to dream.   And if you can find the right agent to keep you on that straight and narrow, grab her and don’t let go.
 
As part of a two-book deal, ‘Beautiful Losers’ was published in the States by U.S. publisher Midnight Ink on March 8th 2016, and is released here in the UK on April 1st 2016.   The sequel, ‘An Imperfect Past,’ will be published in March 2017. 
 

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WHY THE LONG JOKE? by James Thomas

3/23/2016

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​Praise for James Thomas’s WHY THE LONG JOKE?

“I imagine James Thomas’s brain as a sort of beehive: thoughts come and go in a seemingly random, almost bumbling fashion—but the yield is pure honey.
I will not apologize for that joke, but his are much better.” —Michael McKean, comedian, writer, and star of This Is Spinal Tap, Best in Show, and Better Call Saul

“Packed with great jokes and funny ideas, this book will release enough endorphins that you can give up running and sex. I am not a doctor.” —Simon Blackwell, executive producer and Emmy Award–winning writer of Veep, Peep Show, and In the Loop

WHY THE LONG JOKE?
JAMES THOMAS


New Yorker contributor James Thomas, aka @AstonishingSod, @CrimerShow, @GogglSerch and… any of his 22 other comedic Twitter handles, keeps his Internet fans entertained with parodies of Friends (@freints_show), Frasier (@FrasserShow), Doctor Who (@DoctorWhomnt), and episodic crime dramas like Law & Order and CSI (@CrimerShow). When not tirelessly (and successfully) campaigning for the office of “President of Twitter,” he’s kindly making sure his 40k loyal followers will have something to laugh at (when they don’t have access to Wi-Fi) with the release of his first book.

WHY THE LONG JOKE? (Published by St. Martin’s Press; On-sale March 22, 2016; Price: $22.99) proves Thomas’s humor works just as well on the page as it does on the computer screen. Filled with hundreds of jokes—short jokes, long jokes, and jokes in the form of lists, letters, drawings, and cartoons—you’ll learn “How to Write a Sentence” and experience the slower side of life with “A Snail’s Diary.” WHY THE LONG JOKE? offers a multitude of micro-comedy pieces.

Ever since Thomas knew he wanted to be a comedy writer, he’s been on a quest to write the Stupidest Sentence Ever Written. He may have just done it, as WHY THE LONG JOKE? certainly includes a number of contenders.

For more information, or to request an interview or excerpt, please contact:
Katie Bassel Staci Burt
St. Martin’s Press, Sr. Publicist

St. Martin’s Press, Associate Publicist
Katie.Bassel@stmartins.com | 646.307.5563 Staci.Burt@stmartins.com | 646.307.5570

WHY THE LONG JOKE? by James Thomas
Published by St. Martin’s Press
On-sale March 22, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781250078834 | Price: $22.99 | Format: Hardcover

About the Author
James Thomas lives in Dublin with his 25 Twitter accounts. He’s a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and the Shouts & Murmurs section of The New Yorker.
​
More Praise for James Thomas’s WHY THE LONG JOKE?

“Stop watching TV, read a book. Then put that down and read THIS book.” —Michael Kupperman, cartoonist, illustrator, and author of Tales Designed to Thrizzle

“Jim gives new meaning to the words silliosity and hilariousment. Puddingly funny stuff! Buy this book!” —Jack Handey, author of Deep Thoughts and The Stench of Honolulu

“I’m honored to be one of the first to read Jim’s manuscript. I think he has a truly original, quirky and charming voice, and he makes me laugh out loud on a daily basis on Twitter. I frequently thank my son for introducing me to @CrimerShow, and @GogglSerch is a work of genius.” —Rebecca Front, BAFTA award-winning actress and star of The Thick of It
​
“This book should be required reading for anyone asked to contribute a quote.” —Emo Philips, stand-up comedian
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Dark Iceland Books for TV

3/18/2016

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Picture
D H H Literary Agency and Orenda Books are delighted to announce that On the Corner, the UK production company responsible for the Academy Award-winning Amy, has acquired the TV rights for Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series. The deal was negotiated by Luke Speed at Curtis Brown.

The series, currently comprised of five books, including the bestselling Snowblind and Nightblind, with Blackout to follow this July, features Icelandic police officer Ari Thor, who is based in the northernmost town in Iceland, Siglufjör›ur. Rights to the series have been sold in ten countries to date, and Snowblind has been a number one bestseller in both the UK and Australia.

On the Corner is a multi-award-winning independent production company, producing original, high-quality drama and documentaries. They were responsible for Senna, which won two BAFTAs, and Amy, the most successful British documentary of all time.

​Ragnar says, ‘I am thrilled that we have finalised this deal with On the Corner. They have set out very ambitious plans to bring my books to the screen and I am confident that my characters and stories are in very capable hands.’

David Headley, of DHH Literary Agency, Ragnar’s literary agent says, ‘Ragnar is a talented, brilliant author and the Dark Iceland series will make great TV. We couldn’t be happier for him.’

Karen Sullivan, publisher of Orenda Books, says, ‘It is beyond exciting to know that such a prestigious production company will be bringing this fabulous series to the small screen. Ragnar’s books are atmospheric, chilling and evocative, and he cleverly weaves together the very best aspects of Nordic Noir with all the elements of a Golden Age mystery. TV is a natural home for them, and I know that On the Corner will do them proud. Beautifully translated by Quentin Bates, Ragnar’s books have attracted a new legion of fans to the genre, and I’m sure the TV series will do the same.’

For more information, please contact Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books.
Karen@orendabooks.co.uk; Tel: 07702 628 230.

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