THOSE ENIGMATIC AMERICANS

On Thursday just gone I had an e-mail from John advising that representatives of a US publisher (I'll keep the name to myself for the time being) wanted to speak with me. He seemed as perplexed as I was as to why - this isn't apparently a usual modus operandi - but, I guess, when they're thinking of taking a punt on a new writer it's a sensible thing to do.

As it seemed they were particularly interested in how the DM is to develop over the course of the four books I updated the Plot Synopsis I'd done for Quercus and forwarded that plus my revised Character List and copies of the briefing documents for Auralism, HerEticalsim, HimPerialism and Confusionism to John for onward transmission.

We agreed that the Americans would call me at 17:00 and they did, bang on the button (I like that: I'm a pretty exact sort of person myself and punctuality shows seriousness). It was an interesting chat - my first interview about the DM really - and I hope I showed that I'm reasonably compus mentis. I suppose with the amount of media activity associated with book promotion these days it's important for publishers to be confident that their authors aren't pathological introverted or the type who freak at the first sight of a microphone. I hope I did OK.

One interesting question was regarding the DM's title. They don't seem to like 'The Demi-Monde: Winter'. The original idea for the title sorta came in a rush. When John told me that Quercus were interested in the DM he asked me to provide PDQ a Plot Synopsis which I wrote in 30 minutes flat (I'd deliberately tried not to think beyond DM 1 in order not to tempt Fate) so the naming of the books was equally spur-of-the-moment. I liked the idea of the last one being 'The Demi-Monde: Fall' so naming the the others after the seasons was a no-brainer. BUT if there are better titles out there I'm very relaxed about rechristening the books. My belief is that with agents and publishers you've got to (most of the time anyway) accept that they've got expertise you ain't so you've got to trust them and their judgement. If re-entitling the books will give them more of a chance to be read, so be it.

The other question was would I be willing to go to the States to promote the book. You bet! Nelli and I have worked with a lot of Americans over the years and got on really well with them. The prospect of showing Nelli some of my favourite cities would be just wonderful. Ellie - my younger daughter, the one with a brain the size of a small planet - is planning (if this comes off) on us hiring a Rec Vehicle and touring the US. The Rees family goes to look for America.

There might even be a book in it!