The Daily Beast has run another piece on twitterature, which has been picked up by lots of other bloggers, including The Huffington Post! I see that yahoo also included it in their Daily Buzz bulletin.
I was also mentioned in this introduction to the whole topic on squidoo.
The only question I'm left with after reading all this is should it be Twit-Lit or Twitterature?
Either way I suppose I have to keep going now!
Showing posts with label A Gentle Axe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Gentle Axe. Show all posts
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Digitalist digs twitterisation
The digitalist is a blog by the digital team at Pan Macmillan and they were kind enough to mention my twitter experiment in a favourable way: "Reading it in my twitter feed each day is a fantastic experience."
I've also noticed a brief mention in the influential galleycat blog. I was very flattered to discover that my "link-filled look at Twitter writing can help guide us as we march into the microblogging future". Ha!
Less enthusiastic is Ian Hocking, who found my sentences "curiously ordinary". Ian makes some good points about the importance of context in storytelling. I suppose in my defence, what I would say is that I am not really expecting this to deliver the same level of satisfaction as reading a traditional narrative. You could say that receiving tweets about what people you've never met had for lunch, or from celebrities waiting for their next shoot to begin, is not as satisfying as a night out with your mates. As a means of communication, twittering is necessarily disrupted and disconnected. That's part of its charm - or its irritation, depending on your point of view.
I suppose the interesting question might be not how my tweets compare to the traditional way of publishing a novel, but how they compare to other tweets. I was contacted by one person who said that for them tweets have to be personal, and therefore their use as a narrative vehicle is not effective. But I have had others contact me telling me how much they are enjoying the tweets - and that they like them because they are different to most other tweets. One person at least has bought a copy, albeit of the Kindle edition! A sign of the times maybe.
Despite Ian's and others' misgivings, I am going to stick with the experiment. I'm not really sure what I'm doing or why, but now that I have begun it seems important to see it through to the end!
View the latest epitweet (or should that be tweetisode?) here.
I've also noticed a brief mention in the influential galleycat blog. I was very flattered to discover that my "link-filled look at Twitter writing can help guide us as we march into the microblogging future". Ha!
Less enthusiastic is Ian Hocking, who found my sentences "curiously ordinary". Ian makes some good points about the importance of context in storytelling. I suppose in my defence, what I would say is that I am not really expecting this to deliver the same level of satisfaction as reading a traditional narrative. You could say that receiving tweets about what people you've never met had for lunch, or from celebrities waiting for their next shoot to begin, is not as satisfying as a night out with your mates. As a means of communication, twittering is necessarily disrupted and disconnected. That's part of its charm - or its irritation, depending on your point of view.
I suppose the interesting question might be not how my tweets compare to the traditional way of publishing a novel, but how they compare to other tweets. I was contacted by one person who said that for them tweets have to be personal, and therefore their use as a narrative vehicle is not effective. But I have had others contact me telling me how much they are enjoying the tweets - and that they like them because they are different to most other tweets. One person at least has bought a copy, albeit of the Kindle edition! A sign of the times maybe.
Despite Ian's and others' misgivings, I am going to stick with the experiment. I'm not really sure what I'm doing or why, but now that I have begun it seems important to see it through to the end!
View the latest epitweet (or should that be tweetisode?) here.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Adventures in Twit Lit
Okay, I admit it. It's a mad idea. Serialising a whole novel on twitter. But there is something about the experiment that appeals to me on a creative/communicative level. Inevitably it has led to a fair bit of head shaking of the 'what is the world coming to' variety.
There was this in a Miami Herald blog. "Oh the temptation to start raging about the idiocy of new technology is strong..." Well, rage if you like. But what about print newspapers with online bloggers attached? Couldn't that be seen as another way that new technology is changing the way we receive information. Far be it from me to decry that as 'idiocy'.
Blogbook dismisses it as a publicity stunt, and a failed one at that. I admit that part of my motivation was to try and attract new readers to my books. Guilty as charged. We writers do not have the massive budgets spent on advertising that a new blockbuster film has, for example. So we have to do what we can. That said, I was interested in how this way of receiving text differs as a reading experience from sitting down and reading a book.
It's true, getting a sentence or a fragment every hour - that's how I am now scheduling my tweets - is not like sitting down and reading an extended section of the book through. You won't necessarily remember what went before. The text will work on the reader in a different way - but I am interested to see just how.
I like the way my sentences pop up every hour. It's interesting for me, as the writer, to see them like that in isolation. They take on, if not a different meaning, then a different power - stranger, more enigmatic.
Not all the coverage has been negative. Hannah Rudman seems to talk a lot of sense about twitter here. Whilst the Daily Beast includes me in a round-up of something it calls Twit Lit in a discussion on the Future of Publishing. Twit Lit, hmmm. Not sure I like that, but I suppose it was too hard to resist.
And not all of the coverage has been in English either. I even made the literary news in France.
Meanwhile, the twitterisation continues. New followers join here.
There was this in a Miami Herald blog. "Oh the temptation to start raging about the idiocy of new technology is strong..." Well, rage if you like. But what about print newspapers with online bloggers attached? Couldn't that be seen as another way that new technology is changing the way we receive information. Far be it from me to decry that as 'idiocy'.
Blogbook dismisses it as a publicity stunt, and a failed one at that. I admit that part of my motivation was to try and attract new readers to my books. Guilty as charged. We writers do not have the massive budgets spent on advertising that a new blockbuster film has, for example. So we have to do what we can. That said, I was interested in how this way of receiving text differs as a reading experience from sitting down and reading a book.
It's true, getting a sentence or a fragment every hour - that's how I am now scheduling my tweets - is not like sitting down and reading an extended section of the book through. You won't necessarily remember what went before. The text will work on the reader in a different way - but I am interested to see just how.
I like the way my sentences pop up every hour. It's interesting for me, as the writer, to see them like that in isolation. They take on, if not a different meaning, then a different power - stranger, more enigmatic.
Not all the coverage has been negative. Hannah Rudman seems to talk a lot of sense about twitter here. Whilst the Daily Beast includes me in a round-up of something it calls Twit Lit in a discussion on the Future of Publishing. Twit Lit, hmmm. Not sure I like that, but I suppose it was too hard to resist.
And not all of the coverage has been in English either. I even made the literary news in France.
Meanwhile, the twitterisation continues. New followers join here.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, September 07, 2008
My first podcast!
To hear an extract of the interview I did with Muthamma on Phoenix fm, press the green arrow on the virtual player below.
A special big thank you to my writewords buddy, Shellgrip, aka Jon Gritton, who supplied all the technical advice and assistance - even tidying up the file and converting it to the right format. Suffice it to say, that without Jon's help I wouldn't have had a clue how to do this!
A special big thank you to my writewords buddy, Shellgrip, aka Jon Gritton, who supplied all the technical advice and assistance - even tidying up the file and converting it to the right format. Suffice it to say, that without Jon's help I wouldn't have had a clue how to do this!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Who'd have thought it?
I learnt today, through Vulpes Libris, that Harry Enfield lists Crime and Punishment as his favourite book. Of course, me being me, I am sorely tempted to send Mr Enfield a copy of A Gentle Axe. You may remember that I sent a copy to another devotee of Dostoevsky, Lorraine Kelly.
Who will be the next TV star to declare a passion for the master of Russian angst, I wonder? Feel free to leave some suggestions.
Who will be the next TV star to declare a passion for the master of Russian angst, I wonder? Feel free to leave some suggestions.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Russian Policmen kiss.
I love this image. Unfortunately, as reported in today's Guardian, the Russian culture minister, Alexander Sokolov, does not. He's banned it. Well, weirdly, he's banned it from being shown in Paris, although it's already appeared in Russia, at Moscow's state-owned Tretyakov gallery, no less.
His reason for not giving the kissing policemen (and 15 other artworks by Russian art collective Blue Noses ) permission to leave the country is: "If this exhibition appears [in Paris] it will bring shame on Russia. In this case, all of us will bear full responsibility."
Ah well, Mr Sokolov, I'm afraid to say that by preventing this image from appearing in one Parisian art gallery you may have provoked its dissemination to millions of computers around the world, via the power of the internet.
I'm hoping to visit Russia next month, to coincide with the Russian publication of my Russia-set novel A Gentle Axe. I can't begin to express how thrilled and honoured, yes honoured, I am that a Russian publisher is willing to embrace my own vision of 19th century St Petersburg, influenced as it is by one of their greatest writers, Fyodor Dostoevsky. It seems to me to be an act of great magnanimity and open-mindedness on their part. It will be interesting to see how the book goes down with Russian readers and critics. I expect there will be some who take against it (Mr Sokolov, for one?) though I've had some good Russian responses to the English edition so far.
Don't forget, while we're on the subject of all things Russian, there's another double bill of Eisenstein at the Curzon Mayfair on Sunday. The highlight is Battleship Potemkin with Ed Hughes' stunning score. Ed will be fielding questions afterwards. I have one for him: "Don't you feel it's presumptuous of you to take one of the masterpieces of world cinema and put your own score on it?" And if he comes back with "A case of the pot calling the kettle black" I won't be offended!
Friday, September 07, 2007
I heart Lorraine Kelly
Some time ago I learnt that perky GMTV presenter Lorraine Kelly studied Russian at university, and in fact listed Crime and Punishment as one of her favourite books. So I sent her, via her agent, a copy of my book, A Gentle Axe, which features Porfiry Petrovich, the magistrate from Dostoevsky's masterpiece.
I thought nothing of it. But during my extended break from blogging, a letter arrived, with the London Television Centre frank mark on it. Of course, I got wildly excited, imagining insanely, that some producer wanted to buy the TV rights. I'd completely forgotten about sending the book to Ms Kelly.
Instead, and perhaps even better, the envelope contained the following letter:
Just in case you can't read that shot, it says that Lorraine really enjoyed my book and thinks Fyodor would have approved. You'll notice she also signed off with a kiss.
My wife thinks I've gone all starstruck. Well, maybe. But I still think it was a nice thing of her to do. I mean she even wrote the envelope herself.
And I just can't help wondering if Lorraine is mates with Richard and Judy.
Friday, July 13, 2007
My name is Roger and I'm addicted to...
... googling myself. To be fair, it's not so much myself as my book titles that I go a-googling.
Why do I do it? Because I'm a vain, self-obsessed ego-monster desperate not to miss out on his fifteen minutes of cyber-fame, of course. I can justify it to myself - just about - on the grounds that I'm doing it for professional reasons. You know, checking up on the internet buzz. It's a gauge of something, surely, if A GENTLE AXE has been acquired by the Penang Club Library. Not sure quite what, though.
Also, I'm interested to know which reviews present themselves in what order at any given time to anyone who goes looking for me. I like it when the good ones come first. Perhaps I can even manipulate this by clicking on the good ones obsessively, and totally ignoring the - uh, how can I put it? - less enthusiastic ones, hoping thereby to consign them to the very outer circles of cyber-hell.
I get forwarded review links and quotes from my publicity people (sounds a bit grand that, doesn't it?) and I'm more than happy to share them with all you good folk. But I have to accept that Maggie (Penguin) and Anna (Faber) are simply not as obsessed with me (or my book) as I am. And frankly, they never will be. If I don't google me, no one will.
So I go hunting just to see if someone somewhere has mentioned my book. Of course, sometimes, I find stuff that I wish I hadn't. Like the South African journalist who accused me of all manner of crimes.
But sometimes, you stumble across something that is so unexpected, and pleasing, that it makes the long hours of joyless trawling seem worthwhile. One such discovery was this mention in the Journal of the Police Association of South Australia. Somehow the idea of all these Ozzie coppers rushing out to buy a copy of my book just tickles me pink. Bonza, as they say.
Why do I do it? Because I'm a vain, self-obsessed ego-monster desperate not to miss out on his fifteen minutes of cyber-fame, of course. I can justify it to myself - just about - on the grounds that I'm doing it for professional reasons. You know, checking up on the internet buzz. It's a gauge of something, surely, if A GENTLE AXE has been acquired by the Penang Club Library. Not sure quite what, though.
Also, I'm interested to know which reviews present themselves in what order at any given time to anyone who goes looking for me. I like it when the good ones come first. Perhaps I can even manipulate this by clicking on the good ones obsessively, and totally ignoring the - uh, how can I put it? - less enthusiastic ones, hoping thereby to consign them to the very outer circles of cyber-hell.
I get forwarded review links and quotes from my publicity people (sounds a bit grand that, doesn't it?) and I'm more than happy to share them with all you good folk. But I have to accept that Maggie (Penguin) and Anna (Faber) are simply not as obsessed with me (or my book) as I am. And frankly, they never will be. If I don't google me, no one will.
So I go hunting just to see if someone somewhere has mentioned my book. Of course, sometimes, I find stuff that I wish I hadn't. Like the South African journalist who accused me of all manner of crimes.
But sometimes, you stumble across something that is so unexpected, and pleasing, that it makes the long hours of joyless trawling seem worthwhile. One such discovery was this mention in the Journal of the Police Association of South Australia. Somehow the idea of all these Ozzie coppers rushing out to buy a copy of my book just tickles me pink. Bonza, as they say.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Anybody speak Polish?
I have a feeling the Polish edition of A Gentle Axe has now been published and may look something like this:
Here's a link to the publisher's page.
Here's a link to the publisher's page.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Trailer for A Gentle Axe.
The Gentle Axe trailer (UK edit)
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I'd be interested to know what people think!
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I'd be interested to know what people think!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Shotsmag reviews Axe.
"[A] pretty impressive achievement which succeeds on its own terms as a well written literary thriller with loads of chilly Russian atmosphere and even plays fair as a murder mystery."
Read the full review here.
I'm back to just posting review excerpts. Sorry.
Read the full review here.
I'm back to just posting review excerpts. Sorry.
Monday, March 05, 2007
The York Press reviews the Axe.
Lovely review from Stephen Lewis in the York Press.
"Morris has dug deep into the Russian soul in this book, and his dark, dank, dangerous St Petersburg, with its snowbound, windswept streets and stinking slums, is brilliantly recreated.
The hunt for the murderer is tense and atmospheric: the denouement brutally shocking and moving.
A worthy sequel to one of the greatest novels ever written: and a cracking thriller in its own right."
I think he liked it.
Read the whole thing here.
"Morris has dug deep into the Russian soul in this book, and his dark, dank, dangerous St Petersburg, with its snowbound, windswept streets and stinking slums, is brilliantly recreated.
The hunt for the murderer is tense and atmospheric: the denouement brutally shocking and moving.
A worthy sequel to one of the greatest novels ever written: and a cracking thriller in its own right."
I think he liked it.
Read the whole thing here.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
My favourite Axe review so far...
... has come in from from my Russian friend Andrey. I sent him a copy of the book as a way of saying thank you for his wonderful and generous hospitality when I visited his city last August.
Here's what he said:
Here's what he said:
I finished reading of the novel just a couple of days ago. The most striking impression for me, being St.Petersburg native, is a strong Russian, St.Petersburg feel of it. Although written in English and by an Englishman, it reads as a naturally Russian literary work, and it's quite an accomplishment. I haven't experienced that feeling before, although I read quite a few Western novels with Russian
connection.
It's a great work of the detective genre, it truly keeps you thrilled and guessing until the very end. My mom loves detective stories, and I told her she would enjoy it when it's available in Russian.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Signed, lined and dated.
Last week was half term and I was in sole charge of the kids for most of it. So not much time for blogging. I know I've been neglecting the plog recently. I can't really make amends in one post, but I will try to do better in the future. It's an exciting time for me, which seems to be going by in a blur. Whenever I get a chance I'll try to put something here, but I can't promise to be a regular or frequent blogger any more.
The week started with my seven year old son doing his bit for science. He was taking part in a language processing study which involved getting his brain scanned in Queen Square, otherwise known as Neurology Square. Just about the only building on Queen Square that is not devoted to the study or treatment of the human brain, is that given over to the offices of Faber and Faber. Very convenient for me as I was able to nip out for a quick meeting with my editor over the next Porfiry Petrovich novel, which he had just finished reading. The meeting went well. "It seems to be in very good shape," was his verdict. There's some work to do but nothing major.
Pancakes on Tuesday, of course. Then our plan for Wednesday was a visit to St Paul's to fit in with Luke's topic at school, which is The Great Fire of London. Ah, but the Wednesday after Pancake Day is of course Ash Wednesday. It turns out that St Paul's Cathedral is some sort of church! Who would have thought? They actually have services there on Ash Wednesday which means that it is closed to sightseers. We didn't get to climb the galleries. By way of consolation, we walked along to The Monument and climbed its 311 steps. The Dickensian porter at the bottom was worth the admission fee alone.
Thursday evening I had a trip to Cambridge to take part in Heffers Crime Through Time evening. I have to say it went by in a bit of a blur. People came. Some of them bought books. I signed, lined and dated them. (This is what the collectors want these days.) I was pleasantly surprised to see that Richard of Heffers had put out some copies of Taking Comfort too. I think I probably signed an equal number of each book. I was asked to sign some of the Taking Comfort copies as 'Roger Morris aka RN Morris'. Some of the people who came were undoubtedly dealers and I've already seen copies of the book advertised on the internet.
It was very pleasant chatting to the people who turned up to buy and nice to meet some of my fellow historical crime novelists, notably Lee Jackson, Frank Tallis and R.S. (Ruth) Downie.
This afternoon I'm off to do more signing. In fact, I have 500 limited edition hardbacks waiting for me at Goldsboro Books. Repetitive stress here I come. If you're a collector, the Goldsboro Books edition is the one to have.
Hot off the press
Got an early copy of the American edition (The Gentle Axe) through the post this morning. It's a hardback. And a thing of beauty. Publication date is March 22.
The back's worth a look too.
The week started with my seven year old son doing his bit for science. He was taking part in a language processing study which involved getting his brain scanned in Queen Square, otherwise known as Neurology Square. Just about the only building on Queen Square that is not devoted to the study or treatment of the human brain, is that given over to the offices of Faber and Faber. Very convenient for me as I was able to nip out for a quick meeting with my editor over the next Porfiry Petrovich novel, which he had just finished reading. The meeting went well. "It seems to be in very good shape," was his verdict. There's some work to do but nothing major.
Pancakes on Tuesday, of course. Then our plan for Wednesday was a visit to St Paul's to fit in with Luke's topic at school, which is The Great Fire of London. Ah, but the Wednesday after Pancake Day is of course Ash Wednesday. It turns out that St Paul's Cathedral is some sort of church! Who would have thought? They actually have services there on Ash Wednesday which means that it is closed to sightseers. We didn't get to climb the galleries. By way of consolation, we walked along to The Monument and climbed its 311 steps. The Dickensian porter at the bottom was worth the admission fee alone.
Thursday evening I had a trip to Cambridge to take part in Heffers Crime Through Time evening. I have to say it went by in a bit of a blur. People came. Some of them bought books. I signed, lined and dated them. (This is what the collectors want these days.) I was pleasantly surprised to see that Richard of Heffers had put out some copies of Taking Comfort too. I think I probably signed an equal number of each book. I was asked to sign some of the Taking Comfort copies as 'Roger Morris aka RN Morris'. Some of the people who came were undoubtedly dealers and I've already seen copies of the book advertised on the internet.
It was very pleasant chatting to the people who turned up to buy and nice to meet some of my fellow historical crime novelists, notably Lee Jackson, Frank Tallis and R.S. (Ruth) Downie.
This afternoon I'm off to do more signing. In fact, I have 500 limited edition hardbacks waiting for me at Goldsboro Books. Repetitive stress here I come. If you're a collector, the Goldsboro Books edition is the one to have.
Hot off the press
Got an early copy of the American edition (The Gentle Axe) through the post this morning. It's a hardback. And a thing of beauty. Publication date is March 22.
The back's worth a look too.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
More reviews for the Axe.
I haven't actually seen these in full, but the press officer at Faber has forwarded me these quotes:
‘RN Morris has brilliantly appropriated (Petrovich) from Dostoevsky’s novel. … Morris’ recreation of the seamy side of 19th-century St Petersbury is vivid and convincing … As to who did it, Morris keeps the reader guessing until the end. …Morris even includes the statutory holy monk on his deathbed, and he has certain advantages over Dostoevsky: A Gentle Axe is much shorter than Crime and Punishment, and much easier to read.’ Virginia Rounding, Independent
‘Morris has created an atmospheric St Petersburg, and a stylish set of intellectual problems, but what makes A Gentle Axe such an effective debut is its fascination with good and evil. It has earned its author the right to make use of the work of a greater writer.’ Roz Kaveney, TLS
Been quietly grinning to myself this morning.
More quotes here.
‘RN Morris has brilliantly appropriated (Petrovich) from Dostoevsky’s novel. … Morris’ recreation of the seamy side of 19th-century St Petersbury is vivid and convincing … As to who did it, Morris keeps the reader guessing until the end. …Morris even includes the statutory holy monk on his deathbed, and he has certain advantages over Dostoevsky: A Gentle Axe is much shorter than Crime and Punishment, and much easier to read.’ Virginia Rounding, Independent
‘Morris has created an atmospheric St Petersburg, and a stylish set of intellectual problems, but what makes A Gentle Axe such an effective debut is its fascination with good and evil. It has earned its author the right to make use of the work of a greater writer.’ Roz Kaveney, TLS
Been quietly grinning to myself this morning.
More quotes here.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Local author moment.
Sorry. I couldn't resist it. I spotted it in the window of Prospero's Books on Saturday, then went back with my camera today, Sunday.
That's my book, that is. I still can't really believe it. I think I needed to take photographic evidence to convince myself.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
So far, so good.
What people are saying about A Gentle Axe:
"Lush, and exceptionally compelling, but take your time - R.N. Morris's The Gentle Axe has a vast depth of Russian soul; mysterious, compassionate, and utterly irresistible." Alan Furst.
"A Gentle Axe is tense, atmospheric and bristles with the kind of intelligence you'd read, well, Dostoevsky for... a piece of literary fun." The Independent on Sunday.
"... fantastically confident... the historical detail always enhances the story and never overpowers it, which is a great skill if you can pull it off and Morris does.." Mike Ripley's Crime file.
"... a classic whodunnit where layer upon layer is opened for inspection in accordance with the timeline of Porfiry Petrovich's detection, much like investigating the substance of a Russian doll." It's a Crime... website.
"... the narrative is direct and effective, the place and people well drawn, with, presumably, a series to follow." The Literary Review.
"...he delivers a lively plot, well written, with some unusual characters." The Times.
"Lush, and exceptionally compelling, but take your time - R.N. Morris's The Gentle Axe has a vast depth of Russian soul; mysterious, compassionate, and utterly irresistible." Alan Furst.
"A Gentle Axe is tense, atmospheric and bristles with the kind of intelligence you'd read, well, Dostoevsky for... a piece of literary fun." The Independent on Sunday.
"... fantastically confident... the historical detail always enhances the story and never overpowers it, which is a great skill if you can pull it off and Morris does.." Mike Ripley's Crime file.
"... a classic whodunnit where layer upon layer is opened for inspection in accordance with the timeline of Porfiry Petrovich's detection, much like investigating the substance of a Russian doll." It's a Crime... website.
"... the narrative is direct and effective, the place and people well drawn, with, presumably, a series to follow." The Literary Review.
"...he delivers a lively plot, well written, with some unusual characters." The Times.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Another review of the Axe.
My thanks to Jim Younger, author of the amazing High John The Conqueror, for alerting me to this one.
Oh, it's in Japanese, by the way.
Oh, it's in Japanese, by the way.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
P-day in the UK!
The axe is out!
Today is the official UK publication date of A Gentle Axe (Faber, pounds 12.99, ISBN-10: 0571232051, ISBN-13: 978-0571232055).
If you spot it anywhere, I'd love to hear about it.
Today is the official UK publication date of A Gentle Axe (Faber, pounds 12.99, ISBN-10: 0571232051, ISBN-13: 978-0571232055).
If you spot it anywhere, I'd love to hear about it.
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