Win a signed copy of COVENANT!

Covenant has been named CBS Action Channel's Book of the Month!! As well as running adverts on their Sky channel, CBS Action are giving readers the chance to win a signed copy of my novel. Details below, and watch out for those adverts on the TV!!

http://www.cbsaction.co.uk/competitions.php?feature=42

UK Publication week!

It's here! Finally, after what feels like several decades, COVENANT is due for release in the UK this Thursday. After great launches in both Australia and the United States, this is still the 'big' one for me, my debut novel on my home turf.

Watch out for it in all major stores and supermarkets, as it's going to be everywhere! It's the WHSmith TRavel Read of the Week; a WHS Great Read Guaranteed promotion title; A Tesco 'Books We Love' title; Amazon are running a promotional e-mail campaign, and Sainsbury's and Asda are promoting it as a 'chart' title.

Finally, I'd like to thank everybody who has followed my blog since it began about five years ago, long before I had an agent or publisher, and was writing in my spare time ( when I had any! ). I know many of my followers are aspiring authors themselves, and I'll mention again that my debut's publication just proves that it CAN happen to you, just like it happened to me. Stick with it.

Great review for COVENANT in Sydney Morning Herald!

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/bones-of-idea-are-out-of-this-world-20111022-1mdaf.html

Another good review to join the list, keep them coming! :o)

Reviews for COVENANT from the USA and Canada!

Had some great reviews appearing after Covenant's launch today in the USA and Canada, really exciting to see such positive responses from well respected newspapers and bloggers.

This one from the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204524604576608973562717798.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

And this one from blogger Luanne in Canada:

http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/2011/10/covenant-dean-crawford.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

My first sales news update!

Great news from Australia! My editor revealed to me in a phonecall today that COVENANT is selling at a tremendous rate - some 3,000 copies gone already. More importantly, the rate of sale is not tailing off ( at least not yet ) which is incredibly promising. COVENANT, I am reliably informed, is currently the best-selling debut novel in the country.

It's great news to hear, and bodes well for the novel's future releases in both the United States ( October 18th ) and the UK ( November 10th ). Can't wait to see how it performs in those markets, especially when the promotional campaigns kick off!

In other news, my second novel, ELIXIR, is entering its final phase, with edits nearing completion. Apparently, I have only minor changes to make to the MS before it goes to print, which is nice to know. Cover art is just around the corner, as is the possibility of a title change, to IMMORTAL. Any thoughts, anyone, on which seems like the best title...? Bearing in mind that it needs to have the greatest impact, and immediately reveal something of the novel's content?

Writing injury!!

It's been a tough five weeks for me. I tore a muscle in my left shoulder, right where the nerve travels between the rhomboids and down into the arm. Incredibly painful. At one point I was on doctor-prescribed anti-inflammatories, Diazapan and Co-Dydamol at the same time - to no effect. My physio, who has done sterling work on the damage, has said that most likely writing in awkward positions on a laptop computer caused the muscle to become stressed, setting me up for the injury. The ironic thing is that I keep fit with both running and regular bodybuilding - I currently do chest-flies with 20kg dumbells in each hand and have never hurt myself. So what caused this final, epic muscular disaster....? Towel-drying my hair after a shower. Won't be doing that again ( using a towel to dry my hair, not showering, obviously ).

Over that time, I've also moved house, a stressful experience in itself.

The bottom line is that I haven't been able to write a word for those five weeks, due to the pain. This is probably the longest in fifteen years of writing that I've been away from a manuscript that I've been working on. With deadlines in effect, this is far more of an issue now than ever in the past. Fortunately, I've gotten far enough ahead of schedule to still have plenty of time to complete Book 3 in the Ethan Warner series before Jan 31st 2012, but it's still a hell of a set-back and it's been driving me up the wall ( along with said pain and resulting lack of sleep ).

Happily, I'm on the mend now and with a proper desk and fancy chair installed in my own office in our new house ( courtesy of my parents, bless them ), I finally have everything I need to work as a professional author. I can't wait to get stuck back into my work, as CONTINUUM was progressing really well before disaster struck!

So, for those reading this, be aware: RSI can affect all muscles, not just those in the hands. If you're a laptop user who likes sitting writing in armchairs , as I did, or at a desk that's not quite right for you, then get something more appropriate sorted. Believe me, it's really not something you want happening to you.

Early reviews for COVENANT

Had some early reviews appear recently on-line, from bloggers sent Advance Review Copies of COVENANT. Am happy to say that it's looking good so far!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10303780-covenant

Publicity meeting.

I had a meeting yesterday with the team at Simon & Schuster, along with my agent Luigi Bonomi. They detailed the global campaign planned for COVENANT, and it is utterly awesome. I learned a huge amount about how the campaign is designed to produce 'tail-off', maintaining a book's prominent placing on the shelves, along with all sorts of details involving the television adverts, posters, on-line and supermarket promotions. The list was immense, and apparently regarded as one of the biggest and best debut launch campaigns ever seen ( in Australia ).

The team at S&S and Touchstone USA have done an incredible job of giving my fledgling debut career the best possible start, and it's unbelievably exciting to see everything coming together and how every little detail is carefully considered.

Perhaps the most amazing news I heard was that, despite the Australia campaign not actually launching in full until next week, COVENANT has sold around 1,000 copies just six days after hitting the shelves! I don't believe that word of mouth could have achieved such widespread sales success, and can only put it down to the incredible efforts made by my publisher and their respective teams over the past few months to produce the perfect cover, style and impact for my debut novel.

They even let me take some cake home for my other half - how nice is that?!

Fingers crossed for more good news soon!

Australia competition!

For any and all readers in Australia, where COVENANT launches tomorrow, there's a competition in place to win a 50" plasma TV, X-Box Kinect, controllers, games and other prizes in the bundle. If that sounds like something you'd like, then just copy and paste the following link!

www.findthecovenant.com

Author interview!

I was recently asked to give an interview for Shearer's Bookshop: the link is below.

http://shearersbooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-dean-crawford.html

Publication day for COVENANT imminent!

Had some great news recently, after receiving the press release material for Covenant's launch in Australia. The fab news is that the launch date is September 1st 2011, just a couple of weeks from now! I'd not realised this, so it's hugely exciting as the next launch is in the USA, and that's not till October 28th.

I'm due at the offices of Simon & Schuster early next month for the global publicity briefing, where I'll learn what's going to happen regarding both USA and UK launches, so will have more news after that. Can't wait to see what happens in two weeks time, fingers crossed for a successful launch and maybe even some good sales figures....

Beating "Writer's Block".

I've read on quite a few blogs recently about aspiring authors who suffer from writer's block quite regularly, and who often struggle for some time before overcoming this most frustrating of obstacles.

Almost all authors have a unique approach to their writing; some like to simply start with a blank page and no idea of what their next story will be about; others like to plan every single stage of the journey before ever applying fingertip to keyboard; others still like to let their newly created characters lead the way, essentially plotting their own stories via their individual personalities. For what it's worth, I think that its these varying approaches to creating a complete novel that sometimes cause the author's block to appear.

In sixteen years' of writing, I've never had writer's block. That may possibly be because my imagination is especially broad, but many others can lay claim to an equally vast internal universe of creativity, so I don't think its the cause of my good fortune. I reckon it's in my style of creating a novel, so I thought I'd share my own personal method - it might not work for the next person, but if another author sees something that they like, takes it, and says goodbye to writer's block, then it will have been worth sharing.

PART 1

1) The idea. I'm not somebody who wants to just sit down and start writing away about, well, nothing. My novels are plot driven, as are most thrillers. So first of all, I need to know what the main, core idea will be. Once I've got that down on paper, even if it's just a few scribbled notes, I know I'm on my way. If you're a writer, you'll know your core ideas whenever you find them: they'll be the ones that instantly excite you, and make you want to write about them.

2) The basic plot. My method is simple: sit down for a few weeks, and thrash out ideas on paper and in my head. One good technique I use is to play movie soundtracks on my headphones whilst thinking about what would be really cool to have in my novel: it's surprising how your imagination comes to life when you're listening to Pirates of the Caribbean or similar blazing away in your head. It helps if you're a visual sort of thinker for this technique to work. I sometimes also use coloured cards, each with major plot points, and arrange them in the order I think might work. They can be re-arranged easily, letting me play 'God' with the plot-lines.

3) It's here that you can add major events known as Turning Points. Anyone familiar with screenplays will know about these, but essentially they're the points where Act 1 becomes Act 2 and Act 3 etc etc. In the centre of the story it helps to have a MAJOR division called the Point of No Return, where your hero / heroine generally starts fighting back against whatever problem the story demands that they solve. By the time you've finished writing the novel, these points should not be obvious to a reader, but should none the less be present and essential.

4) The Chapter Layout: As the general storyline forms itself through the basic plot, I then begin the chapter map. This usually is a 'guideline' as opposed to a rigid structure: its purpose is to provide a map that I can follow as I write the first draft, and it's this above all that prevents writer's block. No matter where I am in the story, I know where my characters have been, where they're going and why. The reason I say that this is only a "guideline" piece is that if you try to force characters into plot developments, it can come across as cliched or force the author into contrivances that spoil any sense of discovery for the reader. So, as I write and new ideas come into play I keep everything fluid: sometimes the idea for a major twist comes half-way through writing a draft, or maybe a new character trait develops unexpectedly and just 'fits' right - I always leave these natural developments in, and alter any preceding storyline to match during the redrafts. It pays to keep notes of these changes, to remind you of what to do later on. My chapter layouts are usually on two sides of ordinary A4 paper, one line per chapter with a brief note of the scene and who's in it. Simples.

5) Research. If your story needs it, then get your story straight now. Locations, facts, historical background: whatever it is, find it out and have it ready saved somewhere so that when you're powering through your first draft, it's ready to go. The ubiquity of the Internet makes small details like the name of a road easy to grab on the go, but have all detailed research ready so you're not bogged down halfway through trying to work out how your hero can valiantly create a nuclear bomb from a shoelace, a daffodil and a tube of Smarties.

6) Take a week's break, then sit down and get cracking on draft number one. You're all set to go, you know where you're going and why, and with your headphones soaring with whatever epic score you like you'll see the movie of your novel streaming before your very eyes.

7) When your first draft is complete, probably after several weeks or even months, put it away and take a month off. It's hard to do, but I can tell you I wish I'd done it more often. When the month is up, get the novel printed out and read it as though it were something you'd bought off the shelves. Make brief notes about the mistakes you'd made ( there will be plenty ) as you go along, and then you'll be ready to get started on the SECOND HALF of writing a novel: the editing, polishing and perfecting, which will no doubt take some months.

PART 2

8) Editing. This is down to you. The point is, by this time you'll have a first draft that is much closer to the hoped-for final version than you would otherwise have been able to create working 'blind', typing whatever came first into your head. You'll have something that has structure, purpose and characters that have a reason to exist and direction in their lives. Every edit you make from this point on will bring you closer to the finished product and improve what already exists, instead of you still chasing rainbows trying to figure out what your novel is 'really about'.

9) Months later.... Congratulations, you've finished! Take a well earned rest, and start planning your approach to literary agencies ( see earlier posts for information on this ).

There will no doubt be those who say that such an approach as mine stifles impulsive creativity, the spark of true genius etc etc. It doesn't - those sparks still arrive, and you can always find somewhere to put them in your story. The bottom line is that if you don't have at least some idea of what your story will be about and where it's going, you're making yourself vulnerable to writer's block. If your current, different method isn't working, give mine a try, or at least elements of it. You'll never know until you do....

Advance Reader's Copies of "Covenant"!

I received four copies of COVENANT in the post yesterday from New York City, USA. For the first time, after fifteen years of effort, I can read an ACTUAL printed copy of my own work! An awesome surprise for the weekend, am absolutely thrilled!

Amazing quotes for COVENANT!

Had some great news over the past few weeks, as Simon & Schuster and Touchstone USA have been working hard on the launch publicity for "Covenant": two great quotes, both from best-selling authors!

"Get the cameras rolling—Indiana Jones meets Alien. What a combination of mystery, suspense, and unspeakable horror. I loved it!"

R.L. Stine, best-selling US author with some 400 million sales worldwide.


"Earth-shattering intrigue, hyperdrive action and a desperate race to save humanity, cranked up to the max with scarily realistic science and apocalyptic religion thrown in for good measure . . . a major new talent has hit the mystery thriller scene!"

Scott Mariani, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lost Relic

CONTINUUM

Well, the verdict on my third book's title came back to me recently, and I'm delighted to say that the team at Simon & Schuster love it! CONTINUUM is now under way with the first few chapters written, and the synopsis for the story was given a huge thumbs up by my editor Maxine Hitchcock.

Currently, I'm working on the edits for book 2, ELIXIR. They're not too extensive, mostly involving character development and some general tidying up. I'm aiming to have them complete by early July, at which point I'll focus on finishing the first draft of CONTINUUM. I've also been informed that a meeting at the S&S offices with my agent, Luigi Bonomi, is on the cards around the end of August, which will involve the planning for launch publicity. I'm not sure what this will entail, although I have already heard that adverts on the CBS Action channel are confirmed ( as per a previous post ). Other news is that S&S are already working on the cover artwork for ELIXIR. The publisher generally gets to work on such things around ten months in advance of publication, and with ELIXIR due out in May 2012 this means that they're on the case already.

For my part, after much graft I'm ahead of schedule by a few weeks at the moment, giving me the opportunity to take my time with the current editorials. It's a great relief, as we're house hunting right now and everything that entails. Fingers crossed for the perfect home!!

Dodgy Literary Agents.

One of the disadvantages of working from home right now is that my partner watches a lot of daytime television whilst she looks after our daughter, Emma. From time to time, as I'm working, I'll wander in and see her watching something completely useless to humanity: however, yesterday I saw her watching Fake Britain, and wanted to share with my followers what I saw.

A fake literary agent, running his so-called "business" from a spare room in his elderly mother's bungalow ( where he lived, in his forties ) had conned roughly three-quarters of a million pounds from aspiring writers across the country over several years. His method was to charge a nominal reading fee, but then coax hopeful writers into parting with ever larger sums of cash by promising them Hollywood film deals and such like. This individual, who was ultimately jailed, had literally thousands of untouched manuscripts littering his property, all representing the dreams of hopeful authors, discarded without even a glance. One poor woman, who had written her father's life story and sent it to this supposed agent, was promised a £100,000 advance and a film deal. Sadly, she spent the money on her elderly and disabled mother before she'd received the promised advance, which of course never materialised. She lost her home as a result.

For any aspiring writer dropping by here, whatever you do, follow the below guidelines to ensure that you're not about to be taken for a ride. Anybody can set themselves up as a literary agent, and some perfectly respectable agencies do charge a small reading fee. Frankly, you don't need to pay this as there's plenty of excellent agencies out there who do not charge anything. Finding, signing and getting deals for writers is where they make their money...

1) Start always with agencies who are members of the Association of Author's Agents, an organisation designed to protect author's rights.

2) Never pay a reading fee. Why would you, when the best agencies don't charge one?

3) Search the Internet to see which writers the agency in question represents. A fake agent won't have client list. Likewise, look for a website and agency connections that prove their validity. If possible, contact one of those authors - connections never hurt and it might even let you know what the agent in question is like to work with.

4) Don't send work to a suspicious looking agency just because everyone else has turned you down. Tempting as it may be, it won't further your chances and you might well be wasting your time.

5) Be patient. All reputable agencies are extremely busy and take time to process the hundreds of submissions they receive every week. Check their websites for a guide to how long you may have to wait. If that time passes, make a polite phone call just to find out how things are going.

6) If you discover a fake agent, tell EVERYBODY so that others can learn to steer clear.

7) Don't quit. Most agents are brilliant, and if you're a good writer, sooner or later somebody will notice your talent.

We have a winner!!

Many thanks to all those who submitted entries into my Title Competition! I didn't realise that there were so many people watching my blog from so far afield - nor did I think I'd have to sit and really think hard about which title to pick from so many great ideas!

However, after much pacing, chin holding and pulling of hair, I'm delighted to announce that Dean Owen from Newbury has won with the cunningly thought-out title of "CONTINUUM". Dean also suggested the title "Spacetime" along with it, but Continuum suggests connections to spacetime in the public perception anyway, and the title fits well with preceding novels Covenant and Elixir.

There were a LOT of entries, many from readers who put a lot of effort into explaining their suggestions. I'd like to thank everyone for all of their efforts, and please do keep reading my blog as I approach my first publication date as I'm sure there will be much more happening in the coming months...

A word says a thousand pictures: COMPETITION!

As an author who has yet to see his first title hit the shelves, my humble blog probably doesn't have thousands of avid followers hanging on every post. However, the internet's a great resource, and I've decided to make an effort to see whether those who are reading my posts would like to win a free signed copy of COVENANT when it's released in the UK on November 10th 2011.

The task at hand for anyone valiant enough to undertake it, is to think of a single-word title for my third novel. Currently, it's under the working title of EVENT-HORIZON, which is highly apt for the novel's content. However, my publisher thinks that one-word titles have more punch, and also that the current title makes people think of the horror movie of the same name released back in the 90s.

The novel will be about time-travel, the paradoxes that it creates, and the hunt for a man who has the ability to see both forward and backward in time. I've been advised that the title should have the word "Time", or something obviously related to it, somewhere within it. It's a tricky task, and one that I haven't conquered myself yet. The winner, as well as getting a free signed copy of Covenant, will also get a mention in the third book's acknowledgements for coming up with the title - something that might just help a budding author's chances of getting noticed....

I look forward to seeing what ideas appear in the replies. As this competition concerns a globally published novel, the publisher may decide later to change the title in one territory or another. I'll pick the winner of this competition at the end of May 2011, and use it for the work. The winner will get their signed copy and a mention in book 3, even if ultimately the title isn't used upon publication.

Best of luck!

The publicity drive begins!

I've had a hell of a week, with so much happening that it could take a few posts to fit it all in!

Firstly, my agent Luigi Bonomi loved my manuscript for ELIXIR. He had just a handful of minor suggestions to individual pages, and one or two scene improvements. The work has been done and the MSS is now with my wonderful editor Maxine Hitchcock at Simon & Schuster.

Secondly, I was hugely honoured to be invited to the Simon & Schuster 2011 conference at the Paramount Hotel in London. This was a major event for the publisher, with many celebs invited, and I learned a huge amount about what's happening behind the scenes with COVENANT. Probably the biggest news is that it will be getting not just national print publicity in the USA and UK / Commonwealth but that it will be advertised on television, on Sky's CBS Action channel in October, with ads running for a month around major crime and drama shows. Add to that the first hints that the MSS is doing the round with production studios and things are looking very bright for my debut launch. The novel is also to be a lead title in Australia, another major breakthrough market if things go well.

It was fantastic to be invited to such an event, which involved a lot of work as well as fun. I had to talk to dozens of booksellers, buyers, representatives of major chains and supermarkets and so on, trying to do my bit to help the team at S&S reassure potential stockists that I'm a long term bet with more novels on their way. As far as I can tell it went well, and I finally got back to my superb hotel at 4am after a few after-party sherbets with the S&S team! I had a great night, and if every publicity event is as much fun, I'm signing up for them all!

Draft complete!

Finally, after several weeks of furious editing and re-drafting, I have finished writing my second novel, ELIXIR. Or at least, I've finished the very first stage of writing my second novel.

What happens next, for those aspiring authors following this blog, is the beginning of the rest of the hard work. I'm fortunate to have a very hands-on agent, Luigi Bonomi, and he likes to have a read of his client's novels before they are sent on to the publisher in question. This is a sort of safety-buffer, for reasons that any experienced author, published or not, will understand.

No matter how 'good' a writer I may ( or may not ) be, there comes a point where I can no longer see the woods for the trees in a manuscript. I'm not the sort of person who finishes a novel, looks at it and thinks: "Wow, fantastic, that's going to sell millions. I'm a genius." Mostly, I realise that I've gotten to the point where every 'i' is dotted and every 't' is crossed and I can't think of anything else I can do to improve the script. This is where the ever present editing work begins, and Luigi provides that first-glance to ensure that I haven't done anything blatantly stupid, that the story runs well and so on. He'll suggest revisions, flag-up any slow-spots where I've waffled or lost direction in any way, identify character flaws... the list can be endless, but hopefully will come back relatively manageable. Notice I say "will" come back. There's always changes, always something that won't be quite right. When it's one person writing 110,000 words, nobody can get it perfect first time, and when it's going to be on shelves across the English-speaking world and perhaps beyond, 'okay' isn't good enough...

Despite all of this, I'm really excited about ELIXIR. I reckon the story is an equal to that of COVENANT, that the main characters are developing really well and that my chief villain is quite possibly the best I've managed to create yet! There's plenty of action, a great new high-concept scientific core to the story that I hope will get people talking and great locations throughout!

Now for a well earned rest, my first proper break since Christmas. Next week, I'll start planning for book three, EVENT-HORIZON. Can't wait!