I meant to post this last
week – but the ‘Curse of Book 2’ struck again (a subject I’ll return to at a
future date) and I was taken away from my desk. Today – the 6th – is
nine months to the day since my last blog and seemed an appropriate occasion to
reappear.
The big news is that I’ve
finally finished The Madagaskar Plan
and sent it to my publishers in the UK and US! Thus far not a soul has read the
book apart from a few sections I offered to my editors to prove I was actually
working on something. So pressing submit is a leap into the unknown.
Now begins the waiting.
Quite what my publishers will make of the book I’m not sure. I’m confident it’s
good – a huge leap up from Afrika Reich
– but it’s also very different in terms of tone, structure, pacing –
everything! – to the original. It may not be what they were expecting. The one
thing for certain is that it’s a monster. I was contracted to write 115-120 000
words, the same as the first book; the finished manuscript is 154 000 (and it’s
tightly written).
While I wait for a response there’s
plenty to do: I have maps to draw (see photo below); final bits of research to complete; a
historical note and foreword to write. I might even do some more blogging.
In the meantime, there’s
still no publication date for Madagaskar,
but the latest is a summer 2015 release... though I’m not sure it will make a
comforting holiday read. More details as and when I have them.
Hurrah! Well done G, and holy cow: 154k. MASSIVE load of reading!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carlie... and I must confess since pressing submit and working on the copy edit it has now crept up to just under 160K! That should keep readers busy ;-) x
DeleteI thought AR was a good yarn but have to admit my heart sunk a little when I read the new book is 40 000 words longer. This seems common with writers whose first books are tight, then they meander in later works. JK Rowling is the worst example of that. Did we really need 800 pages for Books 4,5,6,7? I hope yours justifies the word length. I look forward to having a read.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing it!
Surely it depends where those extra words are spent? I would have liked more historical detail in the first book, for the author to really get under the skin of what it was to live in Africa under the Nazis. If we get that, all the better. If it's just more chases and explosions, I'm probably in agremment with Alan.
DeletePS, I gave up with Potter after Book 5 as I felt they were all padding!
DeleteAlan - thanks for your comment. I actually spent a lot of time trying to trim the story down (so did my editor)... but structurally I couldn't do it. It needs the length to tell the tale, partly because it's a lot more complex and involved than the first book. It also has more narrative strands. Whether readers will go with it I'll leave to you and others to decide...
DeleteAnon 1 - there is plenty more historical detail in this book as I've tried to convey what a 'Jewish Madagaskar' would have been like (and also a few less explosions). I hope you like it.
DeleteAnon 2 - it seems you're not the only one! ;-)
Congratulations on finishing your second book Guy! I look forward to reading it!
ReplyDeleteChris.
Thanks, Chris.
DeleteExcelente noticia. Espero que la traducción al español no se retrase mucho. Tu primera novela me ha gustado mucho, una buena idea muy bien desarrollada. Estoy impaciente por leer el libro de Madagascar. Enhorabuena por tu trabajo.
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DeleteAnon - Gracias por el comentario. Me alegro que te haya gustado tanto el primer libro. Todavía falta información sobre la traducción española, pero en cuanto sepa algo, lo contaré. Supongo que se lo van a publicar hacia finales de 2015. ¡Espero que no te importe esperar tanto rato!
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