Note: bloody long post ahead. Read on to learn about the future of this blog. Or, if you’d rather just get involved in a little social experiment, scroll to the *.
Yes! It is complete! After around nine months of hair-pulling, teeth-grinding, and phone-at-the-wall throwing, I finally finished my first draft earlier.
Although, it wasn’t as bad a process as I may have suggested. Sure, there were stressful times, but the process was in fact probably one of the most rewarding personal development experiences I’ve ever had. Thinking up a lengthy, coherent story is hard enough. Getting it all down on paper is another challenge altogether, yet the sense of accomplishment after every 1000-2,500 word writing session is unmatched.
Firstly, if you don’t know me already, I’m Ryan. Plenty of details, including an ego-boosting third-person biography, can be found on my ‘About the Author’ page, which is just a click away. I’ll give you five minutes to head over there and have a gander.
Done that? Of course you haven’t. It’s okay, I probably wouldn’t have done either. Anyway, to cut a long story very short, I’ve got a book coming out before the end of the year. I can officially announce for the first time, that it will be titled, ‘What We Saw’. But again, you probably know this already, what with that big fuck-off banner staring back at you. Check out the relevant page though if you fancy a peek at some details: it’s up there, making itself nice and comfy at the end of the nav bar.
As for the title, decisions for this selection will feature in an upcoming blog entry. Let’s just say for now that the process of picking a title was probably the hardest of all the stages I have encountered so far. I’ll be posting a few of my tips to make the process less gruelling over the coming weeks, and reveal some of my more embarrassing candidates for the coveted honour.
I plan to update the blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Entries will vary from writing-based articles, such as advice and justification for some of my more irrational appearing decisions (yes, indie-publishing over traditional methods, I’m looking at you), to more culturally slanted musings. Friends, and fans of my previous projects, will already be aware that I’m bit of a culture whore, so expect posts on films and music from time to time.
*Here’s your cue, cop-outs
Oh, and if you made it this far, congratulations firstly. However, I’ll be encouraging a lot of participation on this blog and over at my newly launched Facebook and Google+ pages/Twitter. For our first bit of bonding, I wanted to pitch quite a simple idea: I want you to post a question to me, interview style. Hoping to run a little Q+A on here in the future, and it would help if we got started right away.
To ask a question, just comment in the nifty little box below, or feel free to get in touch via Facebook, Google+, or Twitter, the links of which are all embedded. Or don’t. I’ll get the message and never run an activity like this ever again. Although I must say: more lucrative competitions, with PRIZES AND FREE STUFF involved, will begin to roll out nearer to launch date, which will be announced later this summer.
Thanks for staying with me for what I’m sure will be a lengthier post than usual. A jumbo first issue, if you will. I look forward to the start of what is hopefully a fun journey for all of us.
Ryan Casey
Here goes,
What inspired you to write this novel?
Thanks for the question!
I’d say that What We Saw, being a nostalgic novel, is inspired by a lot of sources I’ve grown up with, whether literature, or films, etc. I’d say that the childhood bond explored in films like Stand By Me and Super 8 is an inspiration. The notion of mystery, and childhood fascination with it, is a fun and interesting theme to explore.
I can’t avoid the parallels with my own childhood experiences, mind. Me and my cousin spent several summers on our nan and grandad’s caravan site. Although there are parallels, What We Saw is definitely not based on my childhood. More, ‘inspired’ by setting, like most nostalgic fiction works. To summarise, it is inspired by that craving for mystery I experienced those summers, and a desire to discover something ‘huge’.
So, to cut my waffling short and answer your question, I’d say that the books, films, and summer holidays I grew up with inspired me to tell a story about what should, hopefully, be a very relatable scenario!