Thursday 10 February 2011

Cold Cruel Winter (Part 1)

People think that once a writer has finished writing the book, the work is done. That’s far from the truth, of course. In many ways it’s just beginning. There’s still the wrangling with the editor, sometimes fight for something as trivial as a word (swear word or otherwise) until the text has been agreed upon.

Is it finished? Hardly. Wait a few months and there’s the cover copy to be settled, which can mean more to-ing and fro-ing. Once that’s out of the way there’s the cover itself. The publisher might have two or more to choose from delivered by the artist, including style of letting, where it’s placed and so on. This is where I am right now. The cover is set for Cold Cruel Winter, and very good it looks took, quite bleak and chilling. The placing and style of the lettering keeps the “brand,” which is a good thing. Now there’s the sub (for want of a better phrase). Currently in there is ‘A Richard Nottingham historical murder mystery.’ I’m probably wrong, but the words historical murder mystery always manage to sound fluffy to me, and this book is anything but that (I hope). So the publisher and I have been going back and forth, and it seems as if we’ve compromised on ‘A Richard Nottingham mystery.’ It might not seem like a great difference, but it feels like one.

And what next? There will be the final cover, going through the proofs, and then publication. For those writers better-known, or whose publishers have deeper pockets, that’s when the book tours and interviews begin. For me…well, that’s over three months away. A great deal can happen in that time.

Saturday 5 February 2011

Look Back in Charanga

Sue Miller & Charanga del Norte
Look Back in Charanga

Charanga del Norte CDN OOCD10

Accomplished flautist and Cuban music expert Sue Miller deserves an apology from me. This CD arrived last summer, and was played then, but somehow slipped down into a pile…This is someone who knows her stuff and loves nothing more than a god descarga (jam session). She feels Cuban music in her blood, and the band behind her does some sterling work. That she’s the star is beyond doubt, and her freewheeling, spiralling improvisations are joyful to hear. Bonus points for coming from Leeds and the delightful wordplay in the title, but the meat is in the performance, which is as tasty as they come – within Cuba or outside.

On a sonic level the recording could have been better – the flute is sometimes too shrill – but that’s essentially a minor quibble. The music is what matters, and there’s plenty of it.