Author Spotlight: Heide Goode and Iain M Grant (Clovenhoof series)

Long time readers of this blog know that there are a number of authors I regularly read for, several of whom are based in and around my home city of Birmingham. I met Heide and Iain a few years ago at an author event, and have read several of their books before (links provided below). They have a new book out called Beezelbelle, which is the fifth in the Clovenhoof series and is due out 14th April 2016.  I managed to catch up with them recently to do an interview and here’s how it went!

Hi, so introduce yourself/yourselves

I’m Heide Goody, co-author of the Clovenhoof series. I have a day job in IT, which is more fun than it sounds. In fact, there’s lots of raw material in the office workplace for comedy writers.

And I’m Iain Grant, the other half of the writing team. Like many writers, I actually spent much of my early career as a teacher, not a writer. Although I’ve been writing properly (‘properly’ as opposed to the ‘improper’ writing I did before) for over twenty years, it’s probably only in the last year or so I feel confident enough to answer the question, “And what do you do?” with the word, “Writing.”

How did you meet? (or How did you meet your co-writer?)

We met through the Birmingham Writers Group – www.birminghamwriters.org/ – and started writing together about a year after we met. I think the big attracting force between us was our mutual capacity for ridiculous flights of fancy and working with larger-than-life characters. I didn’t expect our working partnership to last long enough to complete one novel together, let alone a fifth book in the series.

Tell us about your current story. What’s it about and where can we get it? How does it fit in with your other work?

The fifth book in the Clovenhoof series, Beelzebelle, comes out in April 2016. It continues the story of Jeremy Clovenhoof – Satan trapped on earth after being forcibly retired by the powers that be. After we wrote Pigeonwings (book 2), I said to Heide, “In the next one, Clovenhoof should have a baby.” Actually, giving a baby to Satan isn’t as immediately hilarious as one might think and there are a number of dark questions it raises, so we struggled to find a way to get it to work.

 

In the meantime, we wrote books 3 and 4 (Godsquad and Hellzapoppin’) which followed the various adventures of heavenly saints, Welsh monks and scheming demons. After the release of those, we had a real hankering to return to Jeremy Clovenhoof himself and we were ready to put our Satan-with-a-baby plans into action.

[Editor: Click through to read my reviews of Beelzebelle, Godsquad and Hellzapoppin’]

 

Have you got anything else in the pipeline?

We’ve just started another two novels, and there’s another one which is being edited at the moment. These are all comedy, but we’re exploring some different stories. Anyone concerned that we’re abandoning Clovenhoof shouldn’t worry though, we have also got some new short stories that will be out later in the year.

We hope that people will take to them with the same enthusiasm that they did with the Clovenhoof books. Maybe that will lead us to one or two new series. If not, we’ll have another Clovenhoof novel written and out before anyone gets withdrawal symptoms.

How did you start writing? Why do you continue?

Like many people, I believe that writing is a disease. It’s the only way to get all these ideas out of my head and unleash them on the world. I think we’d write if we had no audience at all. We write because we love.

Of course, what’s fantastic is that we now have all these readers who have taken to our books and who really love them. I think one of our major motivations now is keeping those people happy, engaging with them on social media and at public events and even getting them involved in the creative process.

For example, the nine most central characters in the book we’re writing at the moment are all names of members of THE Book Club (a 3000+ strong Facebook community) who volunteered themselves for this dubious honour and who have been throwing lots of great comedy ideas our way.

How does working as a team, rather than a single author work? Work independent of each other until the end or meet regularly?

We meet regularly to do planning work, but we never write together. The internet, and the wonderful software that makes file sharing so easy are fantastically useful.

The way that we develop things is as follows:

We toy with an idea. Actually we might toy with lots of ideas, and when we say toy we mean that quite literally, we’re big fans of index card games.

Once we have chosen the idea, we do some character development. We might use index cards again, you can get some memorable quirks by combining traits that might seem unlikely.

Once we get started on plotting, we can shape what the chapters might be, at a very high level. We have ideas documents to capture ideas and jokes as we go.

For the actual process or writing, we will each take a chapter and write a synopsis for it. After that, we swap, and write the text of the chapter, based on the synopsis. Then we swap back again for editing, to smooth out the style.

Is there anyone you’d like to work with?

We love working with anyone! We sometimes run workshops, based around the games that we use ourselves. It’s wonderful to see people leave the workshop with ideas that they intend to go and write.

Traditional Publishing or self publishing? Would you recommend it to someone else?

We have self-published up until now. It suits us very well as we love to be in control. We have our favourite editors and artists and we can decide exactly how the books should be presented. Having said that, it’s quite a lot of work, so people who want to self-publish need to be prepared for that. We do all publicity ourselves, and if selling yourself is not something that comes naturally to you then it can be quite daunting.

Where can we find you on the internet?

Our website is www.pigeonparkpress.com where you can sign up for a newsletter if you’re interested, and we have a Facebook page too.

 

In Summary:

So thanks to Heide and Iain for their books and the interview. Links to where you can buy their books are in the text above (alternative sellers are available!), and the books can be brought in both ebook and paper format.

 

#Bloggiesta Spring 2016 – Sign Up to-do list update

 

Last week I announced my Bloggiesta spring to-do list, and it’s time for me to give an update of how things went.

• Write outstanding reviews and schedule them (there’s a few) including making sure they’re cutover to Librarything, Goodreads, Netgalley etc.

I did some clearing up here – I had a lot of half written posts in as “scheduled” which meant I actually struggled to see what was ready to publish and what was half written and needed to be re-visited before publication. I now only have posts that I’m pretty much happy with, with the rest in the “draft” folder.

Some reviews have been written and scheduled. Some of those already published have now been copied over to GR and LT, and put to Stumbledupon.  The latter is not a HUGE source of traffic, but can amount for a reasonable percentage, especially immediately after submission, so right now I’m counting every hit as a bonus (I’m a little pathetic like that!).

• Make sure the social media set ups for them are done, including schedules

The “problem” I have with WordPress.com is that they will NOT give you the URL until a page is published. That means it is *impossible* to schedule Social Media Updates until after the event – at which point, I’m at work, and doing something else…..Anyway, Posts are in my “these are the things I’ve scheduled” list if nothing else.

• Random spot check images for ALT-TEXT being set up correctly.

I have done a variation of this. First of all, I went through my media, deleted those images that I know I won’t be using. Then I went through duplicates, and linked to pages correctly and deleted those that were no longer needed. In essence, I cleared 3 pages of images that I wouldn’t be needing.  Since I get a set amount of space for free, I need to be smarter as to what I store before I start getting charged for new stuff.

Then I started going through remaining images and making sure that the ALT-Text has something in it. It’s certainly not finished (I have 31 pages of images after all) but I’ve made a start.

• Make sure my Reader Challenge catch up post is up to date with links (as much as possible)

This was a little disappointing in that it proved that I am well behind in any form of reading challenge as well as being able to write a review in time. Certainly a “Must Do Better”. However, the post is as up to date as it can be (haha)

• A lot of new books have come in recently – time to look at my physical and ipad bookshelf and see how things can be dealt with and/or tracked.

Believe it or not, this turned out to be the easiest idea to come up with. Much as I hate to make use of Amazon if I can avoid it in any way, I was thinking of the type of things I want to capture (author, publisher, publication date, source etc), I realised most of these things could be captured either automatically, or making use of shelves on Goodreads (e.g. “publisher”, “NetGalley” etc for source).  Since I made use of Goodreads anyway to track my reading, I just had to be better at it.  My NetGalley TBR list is now up there, as are all (I hope!) of my outstanding LTERs, as well as books I’ve picked up in bookshops etc.

As a result of this, I exported my list from Goodreads and imported all the TBRs into Librarything, bring the two lists much closer to matching!  I also got my LT Tag list updated.

So, I got a lot more than I expected do, even if it wasn’t in the way I initially intended!

 

Book Review: Beelzebelle (Clovenhoof Book 5) by Heide Goody, Iain Grant

To the devil a daughter!

Parenthood can come as a shock to some. It’s especially shocking if you are Satan, the Prince of Hell, and are trying to living a quiet life of semi-retirement in suburban England under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof.

Clovenhoof quickly finds that being a single parent involves more than lullabies and nappies and has to contend with social disapproval, paternity tests and, possibly, the end of the world.

The fifth novel in the Clovenhoof series, Beelzebelle is an anarchic adventure, featuring a psychotic monkey au pair, runaway coffins, badly stuffed animals, strip dominoes, fire-breathing ferrets, pimped-up prams, well-meaning middle-class mums, apocalyptic floods, the largest act of public nudity Birmingham has ever seen and way too much homebrew Lambrini.

From the Authors in exchange for a review.  I have read several previous books in the series, namely Godsquad and Hellzapoppin. Whilst I have “met” Jeremy (and Nerys!) several times at readings around Birmingham, this is the first book containing him as a character that I’ve read – the other physical books are sitting on my shelves waiting to be read, honest!

The Publisher is Pigeon Park Press, an independent Birmingham based Publisher.

The book starts with Jeremy Clovenhoof, blind and with a helper Capuchin monkey, turning up at Sandra’s house to do some baby-sitting. Of course, nothing ever goes to plan, and Clovenhoof finds himself out on the balcony, with a locked door behind him (watched over by a psychotic monkey), with tomato soup burning his crotch and wearing a badly-done-up Laura Ashley dress that leaves nothing to the imagination……

We go back a few weeks to find out just how Clovenhoof feels paternal, and he seems to have developed a here-to-unknown talent for interacting with babies (something about farting apparently). Nerys has found out just who Jeremy and Michael are, and she finds that this explains a lot about both of them. We find out about SCUM (Sutton Coldfield Union of Mothers), just what the new Consecr8 church will do to the Archangel Michael and his relationship with God; the reaction of the Puritanical to Breastfeeding in public, especially when confronted with militant Feminists; why Jeremy went temporarily blind; how far a grieving, psychotic, Au-Pair monkey will go when its purpose in life is gone; Nerys loses one job, but gains another (in part by becoming a brief Internet sensation); that everyone in Sutton Coldfield seems to be related to everyone else.

We get to know more about Michael and his job in the genetics lab, which leads to some issues when Jeremy’s DNA gets mixed up with the hair from Nerys’ stuffed Yorkie and random other dead animals and then gets brought to life.   Meanwhile, we get to find out why the Consecr8 church has the rather unusual shape that it does, in a final scene that involves a massive boat full of people essentially floating on raw sewage, bouncy castles in the shape of breasts, topless SCUM members staging a protest with an interesting tactic involving baby formula, and a rescue attempt using a crane and a stretch White Transit Van.

It’s difficult to fully describe these books, and the rather British Farce they entail – helped with the fact that two of the central characters happen to be the Goat-shaped, horned Prince of Hell and the holier-than-thou (literally) Archangel Michael who’s current life partner is called Andy.

In writing my book reviews, I have a list of questions to jog my thinking. This list includes:

“Was the Plot believable?”.  Of course not!  Satan living in Sutton Coldfield next door to Archangel Michael? Soho maybe, but Sutton?

“Did the World building make sense?”  Pretty Much. I doubt anything would be normal if you have these two hanging round you.  I would drink too.

“Did the author explain situations well?” Satan, his drunk friends, psychotic monkeys, militant feminists…….What’s there to explain?

“Would you recommend this book to a friend?”  Only to people with a sense of humour, who can deal with surreal and silly British Farce.

 

Sunday Salon: Would you Rather?

Not entirely sure how I came across these questions (think it was a random Facebook “share” one dodgy Friday Night!).  The original questions were taken from Pretty Purple Polka Dots.The overarching question is: WOULD YOU RATHER…?

1. Read only trilogies or stand alone stories?

Normally I read standalones, although I do read multiple books in a series. Ngaio Marsh and Agatha Christie have their respective detectives, there’s things like the Winemaker detective, as well as the series by the likes of Erica Ridley

2. Read only male or female authors?

I seem to be reading mainly female authors, both for romances and historical fiction/golden age crime. I am trying to balance upon the authors and genres as time goes by, but I’m not there yet.  One day I might actually analyse my bookshelves and do a break down.

3. Shop at bookshops or Amazon?

I prefer shopping at and supporting physical book shops.  We don’t have “true” independent bookshops where I live and work, so I try to support those non-Amazon shops that have a presence on the High Street.  I check out their website for the books I want – not always new releases – and do a “click and collect” so that I physically go into a store and interact with the staff. I follow the local store on twitter and try to attend events where I can make it, such as author and book events.  I rarely shop at Amazon any more and then generally when people give me gift vouchers as presents.  I can’t remember when I paid Amazon for a book. I do however piggyback on their technology to get ebooks delivered to my iPad.

4. All books become films or TV shows?

The books I like are rarely short, so tend to work better as TV shows, where multiple episodes can expand and complete the story more fully. I have always enjoyed Jane Eyre better as a series, compared to the multiple films that have been made over the years. Pride and Prejudice and Middlemarch have always worked well as a series, and the former not great as a film.

Of course there are exceptions – Shawshank Redemption was a Stephen King short, as was Carrie. Blade Runner was a Phillip K Dick short, Fahrenheit 451 was a Bradbury short. See the theme?  The shorts do well as films, the longer ones do well as TV shows.

5. Read five pages a day or five books a week?

At the moment it seems to be five pages a day if I’m lucky. Gone are the days I’d read one or more books in a week! (though it can be done if I try!)

6. Be a professional reviewer or author?

One day I would like to be paid for the reviews I do – if that makes me a professional reviewer, then so be it. Although at the moment I do it as a hobby because that means I can read the books I want at the rate I want.  If I went professional it would then become a job and I’d have to read books that I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy, which would instantly make it a job and a chore.

7. Only read your top 20 books, or only ever read new books?

At the moment, I only seem to be reading new books, so it would have to be the latter. Whilst I would miss my top 20, I like to see the changes and find new talent.  I have read so many good “new to me” authors in the last few years, it would be a shame to miss out on all that new good stuff!

8. Be a librarian or a book seller?

I’d prefer to be a bookseller. I’d like to see the new books come in and also to be able to guide people to finding the book they want or need. I’m sure that public librarians can do the same, but are restricted by budgets more than booksellers.

9. Only read your favourite genre, or read every genre except your favourite?

I don’t have any one favourite genre and what I like to read tends to change, so it would be the latter in my case.

10. Only read physical books or only read e books?

Two years reading ebooks, and I’m coming back to physical books (although ebooks are easier if dining out on one’s own)

Friday Salon: Craft Room wishlist versus reality

 

 

Any copyright belongs to infarrantycreative

Especially when I see how other people do it (normally the Americans, it has to be said), there are times that I would really like a separate room that I could label my “craft room”. Somewhere where I could have all my stash out, available to see and access quickly. Somewhere where my sewing machine and ironing board could be out at all times. A room with enough space and light for me to stitch or sew, draw or paint to my heart’s content. Somewhere to place my computer with access to the internet to allow me to get inspiration where I needed it, and post my thoughts to the world, perhaps designing my own corner of the world. A couple of shelves on which to store my crafting books and magazines.

#Bloggiesta Spring 2016 – Sign Up to-do list

 

I’ve taken part in Bloggiesta for several years now and have found it can be useful.  The main event is usually a week long, and this year it is being held between 21st and 27th March 2016.  It’s a great chance to have a think of what needs to be done on your blog (what ever type of blog it is) and do “stuff” to move things up a bit.

This year, I’ve taken my eye of the ball a little with my blog so my initial stab at my to-do list is as follows:

• Write outstanding reviews and schedule them (there’s a few)
• Make sure the social media set ups for them are done, including schedules
• Random spot check images for ALT-TEXT being set up correctly.
• Make sure my Reader Challenge catch up post is up to date with links (as much as possible)
• A lot of new books have come in recently – time to look at my physical and ipad bookshelf and see how things can be dealt with and/or tracked

This list may change as things go on, but suspect that’s enough to go on with!

 

Sunday Salon: Bookcase Spring Clean

One of the big problems for book lovers is that we tend to keep books for longer than we need, and are forever adding more to the pile. Books end up in piles everywhere – up the stairs, on bedside tables, on the floor and against the wall, and in my situation – even in boxes in cupboards! Pretty much anywhere but the bookshelves.

In order to not become a hoarder that appears on a Channel 5 documentary, it is necessary to occasionally get rid of some by one way or another.

When clearing your bookshelves, the questions you have to ask yourself depends on the nature of your bookshelves. For instance, my books are pretty much split into two camps: Those I will never get rid of and those I will get rid of (but I haven’t decided when). It is this second pile of books that I concentrate on, as I have already decided not to get rid of the other pile.  Some people not long out of university may well have textbooks that could be sold (ebay or university second-hand shops) if they’re still relevant.

So I look at a book in the to go pile and ask some questions:

• Have I read this book yet? Did I love it enough to keep it? If “Yes” and “Yes” then it goes over to the “keep” pile. If “Yes” and “no” then it’s in the “go” pile.
• Do I still want to read this book? Am I likely to read this book in the near future? If “no” to either then it goes in the “go” pile.
• Have I started this book, failed to finish, and unlikely to attempt to go again? If this is the case, then it goes.

For those in the “to go” pile, there’s a number of ways I get rid of them.

• Give them to family members (mine primarily go to my sister)
• Add them to Bookcrossing, and then give to friends, or wild release them.
• When I was moving country a few years back, I donated books to my school library and to charity shops.

Getting rid of books gets easier the more you do it – for me registering a book on bookcrossing is no longer about looking for a “catch”, and is simply a nice way of finding out what happens to a book once it leaves my shelves.

After an “intervention” by my friends a few years ago, my books were down to one set of shelves, which were then ordered into general themes (e.g. all the same author, same genre).  The last few years, however, have seen me read mainly ebooks, which has meant that whilst I am taking more books into the house, not as many are going out.  This year I am making the effort to read more physical books, and getting around to releasing them. This is slow going, but I am getting there.

So how about you? Have you recently cleared out your bookcase, or are you overdue for a book spring clean? What do you think of my tips, and do you have any of your own?

 

Friday Salon: Top 8 Must have “Crafting” supplies

Excluding Photography for some reason, here are the tools that I believe are essential in the crafting world!

1) SCISSORS! At least one pair, if not two. One pair for paper, one not. All the crafting stuff I do involves the cutting of “stuff” and you simply can’t do it with a Stanley knife.

Book Review: The Curse of Besti Bori (Nephos Book 2) by Simon Fairbanks

The jungle cloud of Besti Bori is in quarantine. An infection has consumed the cloud, turning its peaceful people into monstrous splicers. Now a team of archers watch over its borders, ensuring nothing enters and nothing leaves.

That is until Sheriff Baran visits for a routine inspection. His sky-horse is mysteriously drugged and he plummets into the darkness of the cursed jungle.

Now, Sheriff Shaula must return from her self-inflicted exile to lead a rescue mission into the most dangerous place in Nephos. Armed only with a team of warrior fairies, Shaula must battle her way through hordes of splicers to retrieve the stranded Baran.

However, Shaula soon learns that splicers are not the only danger lurking in Besti Bori.

I’ve read for Simon before, notably Circ and The Sheriff, and I was asked whether I’d read and review this book as well. As I had enjoyed his earlier work, of course I said yes!  This is the second in the Nephos stories, following on from The Sheriff, and the world is now being established. You don’t have to have read the previous book to pick this up the general sense of the world in this book, but there’s no harm in reading the first to fill in the gaps. (Analogy: it’s like watching the Avengers movies, then going back and watching the first Thor movie and going “ahhhhh…..!”).  I also did an interview with Simon a while ago.