Rex Grainger's Blog
February 27, 2016
more fun adult fiction
In my view, especially as a person working in a library, I can see that most of the books in the crime and thriller section are quite simply gloomy and very topical. Crime fiction is one of the most popular fiction, and has endured its popularity for many years, mainly because people like a mystery to be solved. Now I'm not bashing crime fiction, but it is just a bit too topical, overly grim - too much like reality, so it is hardly an escape. I can understand that people like their fiction served hard and gritty, showcasing the brutality of life, but where's the pure fun in fiction?
I particular love old style mysteries like Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers where detecting was fun, but now reality is so much to the fore. To me, Alistair Maclean, my forever favourite adventure thriller writer, is another example of weaving fact with fiction and at the same time giving you fast-paced escapism. Heroism was at its best, now they are seriously flawed, and highly cynical.
That's why I thrive to make my adventure thrillers fun - sure, there might have serious moments but the whole point is too entertain and escape. I believe a lot of people want this, rather than just read ultra serious books merely mimicking the headlines. Books can be topical, but fun too.
I believe that YA typifies that fun and escapist element, and has less cynicism. Sure, its market is different, but these books are pure escapism, and that's why some adults read YA. In the library I work at, I have seen plenty of adults borrow them, and I'm not too surprised when I learn that it's for them and not for their children. One example sticks out in my mind is when a lady came in and borrowed a handful of YA books. She told me that she prefers YA books for the very reason that they are fantastical, light, escapist and she found AF books were too dark and gritty.
There's room for all types of books but I would love to see more fun and entertainment in books.
I particular love old style mysteries like Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers where detecting was fun, but now reality is so much to the fore. To me, Alistair Maclean, my forever favourite adventure thriller writer, is another example of weaving fact with fiction and at the same time giving you fast-paced escapism. Heroism was at its best, now they are seriously flawed, and highly cynical.
That's why I thrive to make my adventure thrillers fun - sure, there might have serious moments but the whole point is too entertain and escape. I believe a lot of people want this, rather than just read ultra serious books merely mimicking the headlines. Books can be topical, but fun too.
I believe that YA typifies that fun and escapist element, and has less cynicism. Sure, its market is different, but these books are pure escapism, and that's why some adults read YA. In the library I work at, I have seen plenty of adults borrow them, and I'm not too surprised when I learn that it's for them and not for their children. One example sticks out in my mind is when a lady came in and borrowed a handful of YA books. She told me that she prefers YA books for the very reason that they are fantastical, light, escapist and she found AF books were too dark and gritty.
There's room for all types of books but I would love to see more fun and entertainment in books.
The bitter pill of rejection
Rejection is a dirty word to aspiring authors - and all the top authors have experienced it before getting an agent/publisher. We all know about J.K Rowling, that example is quite legendary; William Golding's book Lord of the Flies had been rejected 20 times. And John Le Carre was rejected and was told "he had no future". So this just proves that the gurus of the book industry aren't always right -they can be dead wrong. And most of us unpublished authors always use this fact as a crutch, especially when one gets a kick in the teeth via a short, albeit robotic letter which was copy and pasted in an email and sent to us, and it all varies to being very cold to atleast warm - unless we get a feedback, to us it always looks like it has been served cold.
My first adventure thriller had taken me three years to write, and I definitely felt like Ben Hur after the chariot race when I had completed it. In my mind I thought: yeah, I'm going to impress someone, cause I believed in my book. Maybe I was naive. But I always believed that one has to be hopeful, but perhaps I was too hopeful. On October 2014, after years of slogging with my manuscript, I sent it to the agents - mainly in the UK - and I thought I would get a full manuscript request - so I waited and .... Progressively, on each week, the rejection letters kept piling up, killing my hopeful attitude dead. I did get some feedback, however minuscule, but rejection, no matter how it's dressed, is rejection. For my second book, I was hopeful but overly so - the bruises attained from my last setback dampened it a little, but I sent the submission to 28 agents - not all in one go - and the answer was the same as the last.
To be honest, with my second set of rejections I felt very dejected, annoyed, and downhearted. Perhaps, it was a confirmation that there's something wrong with my writing, or its not what they're looking for. Whatever reason it is, it's not a good feeling, its a very gloomy feeling; sometimes I felt that getting a date with Scarlet Johansen was much more likely than getting agent.
The question is: how do we cope with these feelings and not throw in towel. Most experts would say, don't take it personally, and just write your next book. I agree with this advice 100 percent. What made John Grisham, John Le Carre and J.K Rowling eventually overcome rejections? Persistence. And that's what I'm doing; I just concentrate on my next book whether than being bitter, and remember, the publishing business is a business - they aren't charities. The unfortunate fact is that not every one of us can get published, but the thing to also remember is that no one knows their luck, not until they try it. But the one thing that spears me on is my love of creating new plots and characters - if we try to remember what had made us write in the first place, then that would be a great help.
Also what can help to make you feel that you aren't alone in this quest to find an agent is by joining a writers forum, or tune into social media, converse with other aspiring authors who have tasted the bitter pill of rejection. Or read author interviews about their journey to publication.
And another thing to consider is self-publishing - before, if you got rejected by an agent/publisher it was the end of the line, but self-publishing is an avenue that can allow us to reach a readership. I have personally decided on this venture.
My first adventure thriller had taken me three years to write, and I definitely felt like Ben Hur after the chariot race when I had completed it. In my mind I thought: yeah, I'm going to impress someone, cause I believed in my book. Maybe I was naive. But I always believed that one has to be hopeful, but perhaps I was too hopeful. On October 2014, after years of slogging with my manuscript, I sent it to the agents - mainly in the UK - and I thought I would get a full manuscript request - so I waited and .... Progressively, on each week, the rejection letters kept piling up, killing my hopeful attitude dead. I did get some feedback, however minuscule, but rejection, no matter how it's dressed, is rejection. For my second book, I was hopeful but overly so - the bruises attained from my last setback dampened it a little, but I sent the submission to 28 agents - not all in one go - and the answer was the same as the last.
To be honest, with my second set of rejections I felt very dejected, annoyed, and downhearted. Perhaps, it was a confirmation that there's something wrong with my writing, or its not what they're looking for. Whatever reason it is, it's not a good feeling, its a very gloomy feeling; sometimes I felt that getting a date with Scarlet Johansen was much more likely than getting agent.
The question is: how do we cope with these feelings and not throw in towel. Most experts would say, don't take it personally, and just write your next book. I agree with this advice 100 percent. What made John Grisham, John Le Carre and J.K Rowling eventually overcome rejections? Persistence. And that's what I'm doing; I just concentrate on my next book whether than being bitter, and remember, the publishing business is a business - they aren't charities. The unfortunate fact is that not every one of us can get published, but the thing to also remember is that no one knows their luck, not until they try it. But the one thing that spears me on is my love of creating new plots and characters - if we try to remember what had made us write in the first place, then that would be a great help.
Also what can help to make you feel that you aren't alone in this quest to find an agent is by joining a writers forum, or tune into social media, converse with other aspiring authors who have tasted the bitter pill of rejection. Or read author interviews about their journey to publication.
And another thing to consider is self-publishing - before, if you got rejected by an agent/publisher it was the end of the line, but self-publishing is an avenue that can allow us to reach a readership. I have personally decided on this venture.
February 26, 2016
Something to be proud of
I'm really chuffed at the moment as I have written 74,000 words of my adventure thriller within two months. That was possible because I set a goal, aimed for my standard word count, and wrote everyday, but I'm kind of exhausted so I have decided to give writing a break for a week - get my breath back, read a book -the Revelation Code by Andy McDermott - and then return to the laptop and write another 50,000 words and then the 1st draft is over.
An overview of Elixir Stone - my debut adventure thriller
I have just released my novel Elixir Stone. It's an adventure thriller about a couple of archaeologists who stumble upon a skeleton still retaining skin residue and an ancient scroll which can lead one to the elixir of life and reverse ageing. But there are many obstacles on the way; a recovering adrenaline junkie and ex-special forces guy is there to fend off these obstacles, and the results come with a crash, bang and wallop. Yes, it's an action-adventure novel in the vein of Andy McDermott, Matthew Reilly and Clive Cussler. Originally it was meant to be set in Egypt, but when I read an article about theft of relics being at an epidemic level in Bulgaria, I found my location, and I linked that to Turkey, another location in the book.
The main characters are very much like misfits and underdogs - Dr Jonathan Kendrick, the archaeologist from England, was dismissed from his last institute job and is given a second chance in Bulgaria; Ella, also an archeologist, is a goth and very intuitive, and Simon Harte, the Australian adrenaline addict and security guard at the Bulgarian tomb site, is enigmatic, intense, troubled, and likes living dangerously. Along with these characters, I have a villain who is only seeking vengeance for his wife's murder and isn't your run of the mill villain; another villain, and the instigator of the attempts to obtain the elixir, is Thomas Stanhope, a billionaire obsessed with ageing. There is a henchman, a mercenary called Shaw, who has a penchant for mayhem.
I just wanted to give you an overview about Elixir Stone - its got various locations in Bulgaria, Taurus Mountains, Macedonia and good old New York, and there's enough thrills and spills to make a thriller fan happy. And there is light humour as well. Please check it out. https://t.co/mdRlk1Aurz - amazon UK https://t.co/xlNVXExXnq - amazon US
The main characters are very much like misfits and underdogs - Dr Jonathan Kendrick, the archaeologist from England, was dismissed from his last institute job and is given a second chance in Bulgaria; Ella, also an archeologist, is a goth and very intuitive, and Simon Harte, the Australian adrenaline addict and security guard at the Bulgarian tomb site, is enigmatic, intense, troubled, and likes living dangerously. Along with these characters, I have a villain who is only seeking vengeance for his wife's murder and isn't your run of the mill villain; another villain, and the instigator of the attempts to obtain the elixir, is Thomas Stanhope, a billionaire obsessed with ageing. There is a henchman, a mercenary called Shaw, who has a penchant for mayhem.
I just wanted to give you an overview about Elixir Stone - its got various locations in Bulgaria, Taurus Mountains, Macedonia and good old New York, and there's enough thrills and spills to make a thriller fan happy. And there is light humour as well. Please check it out. https://t.co/mdRlk1Aurz - amazon UK https://t.co/xlNVXExXnq - amazon US
