Arthur Braxton, Cake and Inspiration: The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Oh dear, my first blog of the year and it’s almost February. My only excuses being that I’ve tackled two sets of proofs, festivities and illness since last year. So – HAPPY NEW YEAR to you!

The lovely Gillian Smellie has invited me to be part of ‘The Next Big Thing blog hop’. This has involved lots of writers all answering the same questions. I’ve seen lots of responses around blogs and loved every one of them.

Here’s what’s coming next, from me:

What is the working title of your book? The title, after much discussion and many changes, is ‘The Drowning of Arthur Braxton’.

Where did the idea for your book come from? The original idea for this novel pulled on a desire to retell Greek myths and a single lyric from ‘Yours’ by the fabulous Gaspard Royant. Arthur wasn’t going to be part of the original story, instead I was retelling Apollo and Daphne, Castor and Pollux and Medea and Jason, in a lighthouse. That possibly sounds a little bit pretentious. The retelling of the Greek myths is still there but it’s a secondary focus, with the love story of Arthur and Delphina being the main focus. Gaspard’s song plays a part in the novel too.

What genre does your book fall under? It’s ‘contemporary literary fiction’. I think it might also fall into the ‘new adult’ genre, because of the ages of the main characters and the language used in the novel.

Which actors would you choose to play characters in a movie rendition? This novel was optioned for film when a director saw the first draft, so I haven’t allowed myself to give this that much thought. I’m Queen of Superstition.

The film discussions are about it being in the fantasy and teen romance genres. There are three main characters in the novel – Arthur, Laurel and Delphina - and they’re all teenagers. I think that they should be played by unknowns, although after watching ‘My Mad Fat Diary’ last Monday I sent a text to the director asking him to look at Tix. I think she’d make a perfect Laurel. And David Threlfall would make an excellent Arthur’s dad and I’d absolutely love Bernard Cribbins to play Silver (mainly because I love him and want him to adopt me). But really, now that the script is being developed, I’m crossing my fingers and waiting to see what happens next.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? Urban magic, a sacred pagan pool, a dysfunctional and bullied schoolboy, a beautiful girl, sexual awakening, and a very dark secret are just some of the ingredients of this modern fairy tale.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I don’t have an agent, so I’m not represented by an agency, but ‘The Drowning of Arthur Braxton’ will be published in April 2013 by The Friday Project (HarperCollins).

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I think the initial first draft took about eight months, but then it took a different twist. After the first round of edits, I was able to show my publisher the film treatment. This broke down the scenes and narrative of the proposed film. We then discussed the differences between the novel and the proposed film and I ended up writing an additional two scenes into the novel. I love that the film and the novel could be so closely intertwined. The only difference would be the ending, I wouldn’t budge on my ending. The process of edits, rewrites, copy-edits and proofs has taken close to an additional year. I’ve read this novel a million times.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? I’d never compare myself to another writer, simply because I’m still aspiring to be good. I will say that this is slightly lighter than my other novels, I had hoped it was slightly happier but the lovely folk at LightBrigade PR have reported that it’s another sad one. I hope you like it.

Who or what inspired you to write this book (story)? Like many of my most favourite moments, the inspiration came in a meeting and over coffee and cake (flourless chocolate fudge cake, in case you were wondering). It was one of my first meetings with the director, I was talking about my new idea for a novel and exploring where I could set it, he talked of a place where he’d previously filmed - Victoria Baths on Hathersage Road, Manchester. When it opened in 1906, Victoria Baths was described as “a water palace of which every citizen of Manchester can be proud”. The magnificent building provided facilities for swimming, bathing and leisure. It closed in 1993. The director arranged for me to spend a few hours there (walking around in ridiculously high heels!) and I left needing to set my novel there. The space is amazing - stunning mosaics, a stained-glass window of a water-nymph, original fittings and fixtures. In the finished novel, I’ve moved the location of the baths from Manchester to North Wales, but the focus is about the magic and intrigue that I felt whilst walking around Victoria Baths. I’m hoping I’ve captured a fragment of that magic in my writing.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? I’ve got the back cover blurb:

An urban fairy tale from the acclaimed author of, ’99 Reasons Why’.

Arthur Braxton runs away from school.

He hides out in an abandoned building, an Edwardian public baths.

He finds a naked woman swimming in the pool.

From this point on, nothing will ever be the same.

‘The Drowning of Arthur Braxton’ is an unflinching account of the pain and trauma of adolescence, of how first love can transform the most unhappy of lives into something miraculous.

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If you’d like to join in and write your own ‘The Next Big Thing blog hop’, please do and/or leave a link to your blog post in my comments.