In Review - "The Clearing" by Anne Riley

I want to open my account today by apologizing for the lack of posts this past week. The proverbial tank has been somewhat empty and I haven't had much drive. But enough about me.

I want to you take note of the following author and book because, having just finished it, I have some serious creative juices flowing.

I predicted a little while ago that Anne Riley's debut novel "The Clearing" would not fail to delight so it will come as no surprise to you, as I turn the final page of her remarkable novel, that I will hold true to that prediction. Anne Riley's "The Clearing" is without a doubt, one of the must read books of 2011 for anyone - not just young adults with a passion for the mystical and the fantastical. 

"The Clearing" starts with an eye towards action and there is a visceral energy to the tome right from the start. Riley's backgrounding in the distant past is a deftly managed plot device and it adds so much to the contemporary events, weighting them with a significance and an atmosphere that is engaging and just damned interesting.

The characters too, are so well drawn and vivid. From her two central characters in the young, earnest and recently bereaved Natalie and the mysterious and intense Liam to all of her cast, none of Riley's characters are wasted in this story. They feed into cracking plot so effectively that your appetite for such sumptuous story craft will most certainly be rewarded.

"The Clearing's" themes are weaved so well into its overall tapestry. From grief and loss in the case of Natalie's parents, to the examination of contemporary social interactions (ie. fitting into a new place), to the suspense of the paranormal elements). All of them fit! It's just so well done! 

Anne Riley is an author of considerable skill. She knows her genre so well. Her characterizations are well drawn and grounded and her exploration of light and dark - both in setting, mood and emotion - has all the qualities of a fine artist.


I've said previously that "The Clearing" would be a novel to watch out for in 2011. I make no change to that assessment.

This is one seriously fine novel.

DFA.

The First Week

The Hambledown Dream has been "on the shelves" for a week now. And it seems to be going well. It has sold copies - not in block buster numbers, but I guess I wasn't expecting that it would.

I have spent every spare moment of the past week emailing just about every conceivable media outlet I can think to garner interest in it, hopefully secure and interview for it or a review of it. It's tough going. Never have I scoured the internet more in my life in the quest for these three things. And in the process I have learnt something...

I have no idea about marketing.

At the moment I don't have any strategy. I am just emailing anybody and everybody. But in the past few days I have started to categorize "blocks" of people to contact. Those in the mainstream media - including print, radio and TV. Those in the online media - podcasters and bloggers and those outside of both these spheres - real people. Potential readers. I guess I've sent out over 200 emails - I've lost count. I'll give it a week or so and then I'll resend those emails if I haven't heard back from those contacts. There have been a few nibbles from a couple of quarters but nothing concrete as yet.

I started a Facebook Fan Page. It wasn't something I really wanted to do initially. I have always been a little suspicious of those fan pages because I get so many requests to join fan pages. For instance - I got a request the other day to join a fan page for people who "hate it how people don't indicate in traffic"??? But I took the suggestion of starting a fan page and ran with it and I've been surprised by the response to it. I actually have fans now. Whether those fans will actually purchase the novel is another story but...I have fans!

Cool.

My publisher and I are in regular contact and she has been fabulous in her suggestions and advice and it has really helped me. The dialogue is great.

The ironic moment of the week came on Saturday when I purchased The Weekend Australian from the newsagent. In the "Review" magazine there was an article all about the rise of the eBook and how it is fast becoming the new way. Australians are relatively in the dark about eBooks even though we have one of the fastest growing populations of iPhone owners in the Western World. The common refrain I hear from people with regards to eBooks are "but I really like the idea of holding a proper book in my hand". There is certainly something tangible about a paper and cardboard (??) book so I'll admit, they've got a point. But the potential that lies within the digital world for budding authors to get their work out there is limitless. So much more so than in the traditional publishing sphere.

Australian publishing is a little backward.

To those of you who have purchased the Dream thus far, thanks so much. I hope you are enjoying it.

DFA.

Music That Inspired The "Dream"

Indulgence time:

"The Hambledown Dream" is a story that has has a rich musical influence flowing through it. Music is particularly important in a number of key scenes within "The Dream" where the central character plays his guitar to a crowd - not necessarily used to his style of playing. But music is also important in laying down a "feel" to the story. Like a painter who gradually builds a piece of art up through layering, I used music during the writing process to help me tap into a particular emotional texture. It allowed me to imbue certain scenes with a soul that I think carries really nicely. In the initial drafts of the manuscript I even included the lyrics to certain songs that I thought would complement scenes but I quickly learned that the copyright considerations surrounding the use of certain lyrics was a mine field that I just didn't end up wanting to traverse so I gave up on their inclusion. Which, in the final analysis is probably a good thing because it keeps the story my own - the borrowing of lyrics can actually work against you because it takes away a little of your writings authenticity.

However, tapping into the emotional heart of certain songs in order to translate what a character might be thinking and feeling at a particular moment is a different proposition entirely. By interpreting a song and marrying that with the character's state of mind and what you get is something that remains true to your own writing style but it allows you to add a little texturing and layering to a scene. You have allowed a piece of music to add to that tableaux in a subtle way.

Can you see what I am getting at?

I wrote "The Hambledown Dream" across a period of about 8 months during 2009. I wrote it during rainy afternoons when it was cold out and I was sitting at the dining room table watching the rain fall against the window panes - the sound of quiet jazz playing in the background, a glass of wine nearby. I wrote it on a warm day on the patio of my house with classical guitar music on the radio, a cold beer sitting beside me and my dog laying beside my chair. I wrote it in the early hours of the morning - I mean like at 3 or 4 AM when I had a quiet moment at work and could steal a moment to pen some lines on my smartphone. Often I would have some quiet music as an accompaniment, maybe Zero 7 or Dido, or even Vince Jones - one of my favorite artists. A cup of good old caterer's blend sugared to the nines completes this particular occasion. Music helped me create, it helped me to see things clearer, it helped me to tap into an emotional heart in my story.

So here is what can be loosely regarded as the unofficial soundtrack to "The Hambledown Dream" - Music that inspired the story. I'll refer to it as unofficial so as not to piss off anyone in the recording industry who may deem it worthy to slap me with some sort of infringement notice.

1. Walking On A Dream - Empire of the Sun.
2. Cursed Diamond - The Black Crowes.
3. Deciso - Astor Piazolla (as performed by Slava & Leonard Grigoryan).
4. The Sounds Of Rain Part 3 - Slava Grigoryan.
5. Throw Your Arms Around Me (Acoustic Version) - Hunter's and Collector's.
6. Landslide - The Dixie Chicks.
7. Come Alive - Foo Fighters.
8. Here With Me - Dido.
9. But Beautiful - Vince Jones.
10. Sonata Prima - Fernando Sor (as performed by Slava Grigoryan).
11. Concierto de Aranjuez 2 - Joaquin Rodrigo (as performed by Slava & Leonard Grigoryan).
12. Home - Zero 7.

They are a fairly eclectic and personal collection of songs that reflect the overall 'feel' of "The Hambledown Dream". Most of the pieces - particularly the classical ones - are depicted in the story and described in detail, because both Andy and Denny play them, while others serve as the background to particular scenes and are mentioned in such a way as to paint a picture. Most of these songs can be found readily across the breadth of the internet. I encourage you to seek them out - by legitimate means - and have a listen to them. They will give you an impression of the mood and the texture that I was trying to achieve whilst writing "The Hambledown Dream".

DFA.

Editing The Dream - Part Eight

...I'm still in that state of flu-ux.

I sit here in the early hours of the morning, beside my patient as I write this, thinking about the manuscript. It occupies my thoughts for most of my waking hours as I eagerly (and impatiently) await my copy editor's treatment. It's actually really tough not having something to work on right now. I have been in touch with her and she is about a week out from completion of her edit. The feedback has been really encouraging.The plot flows really well and she has suggested that I allow her to go ahead and accept all the grammatical changes to the manuscript, which I have agreed to. With the edits I have previewed so far I am more than happy to run with this because she was so thorough. All of the creative considerations she will leave for me to review which will be great - it will save me a lot of time once I sit down to review the latest draft.

I am taking a week off from work from the 26th through to the new year and I will be taking my young family down to Kangaroo Island. We have a holiday house at a place called American River that over looks a lovely bay/estuary that is peaceful and teeming with bird life wild life. I will be able to spend some time with the draft, a glass of wine and some classical music while I look out across the water and polish the final draft. That is of course when I'm not sailing my sail boat with my son (smiley face).

The cover photo session fell apart last weekend due to unforseen circumstances. We have tentatively rescheduled for this Friday evening. Fingers crossed we'll get the shots we need. I started looking around for rosemary that was flowering with but I haven't seen any right now. Rosemary has this little pinkish flower which would add some nice accents to the image but I don't think their absence would be a real issue. I'm hoping to achieve that with the lavender ribbon.

So...that's all have right now. It's not much but it will be worth the wait I am sure...

DFA.