May 2013? Has it really been that long since I felt I had anything constructive to say? And yet there’s been so much going on….. so let that be my excuse – just not enough hours in the day.
First and foremost, there have been exciting developments on the screenwriting front, as anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook will know. My feature length coming-of-age dramedy, Festival, has been picked up for production this year – yes, this year! – by The British Youth Film Academy, an initiative run by The Co-operative whereby film students get hands-on experience working with professionals on a proper film set. Filming will take place this July/Aug and I hope to see it on the big screen in the new year. If you’d like to keep up with production developments there is a Facebook page and Twitter feed, I believe hosted by the directors/producer. Needless to say, I’ll be posting any exciting announcements here as well. Please do like and follow!
Alongside this I was also privileged enough to be asked to work on another, completely separate project as script developer – so at long last I now feel truly worthy of the title ‘Screenwriter’. All those hours slogging away are beginning to finally pay off. The trick is to keep the momentum going now…and with that in mind I am currently knee-deep in a TV pilot which I’m co-writing with a very talented writer friend of mine. More news on that as it comes.
On the book front, work continues on my third novel. The first draft is finally completed after roughly 15 months, so now it’s time for the tricky re-write; no doubt the first of many. I was pleased I at least managed to get to the end in time to pitch it at the very first London Author Fair as it was extremely well received. An insightful and inspiring day of seminars and workshops hosted by specialists in their fields, it was held at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden just last week. A great opportunity to hear from agents, writers, marketing professionals – the works – including Patrick Brown from Goodreads who gave us some great tips on how to use the site to its full potential and really reach a bigger audience. So with that in mind, I’ve just this morning launched another Goodreads Giveaway for a few copies of ’25 Random Facts’ I had stashed away. The first time I gave this book away, back in 2011, I had over 1100 requests however competition in the market has grown enormously since then so I’m not expecting quite those figures! Although saying that, I did learn that Goodreads membership has doubled since last year, with around 20 MILLION readers on there now. Mind-blowing stuff! If you love books and you’re not on there you really should be.
And how could I forget to mention the most exciting news of all? At the end of last year we welcomed a new member to the family – Pablo the miniature dachshund. He really has turned out to be a girl’s best friend – and greatest distraction.
So that’s it for now I guess and I’m feeling a little less guilty for neglecting this page for so long – first draft of a book, a TV pilot, a film in production and a script developer credit in nine months? I don’t think that’s toooo shabby… 😀
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