Most of my blog readers are probably aware that I occasionally write novels that no agent or publisher has yet had the foresight or cojones to take on. Which doesn't mean the book is no good, of course, it just means it's not right for that particular agent/publisher/whatever. Three or four years ago, I spent an awful lot of time on a website for aspiring writers called authonomy.com. It's owned by publishers HarperCollins, and I made lots of great friends there, learnt lots about writing, and garnered a ton of feedback for the book I was promoting at the time: Tybalt & Theo.Since then, I've been busy with other projects, and the writing has had to take a back seat - somebody suggested the other day it was on the back-burner, but I had to reply it wasn't even on the stove. I've also seen the traditional publishing industry decline more and more in the face of the rapid rise of eBooks. Most of my buddies from the Authonomy days have taken the self-pub eBook route, and several of them have done extremely well.
So, I decided to take the plunge. I know I have a well-written, funny and entertaining book, based on some of the great reviews it had on Authonomy, so it would be churlish not to share it with the rest of the planet. I might even make a few Euros from it. So, Tybalt & Theo: A Time-Travelling Lark is now available for Kindle in all Amazon markets. And if you don't have a Kindle (I don't), you can get the Kindle app for your smartphone or iPad.
Here's the book pitch:
Theo is a merchant banker in recession-hit 2008. Tybalt is a condemned criminal in 1608. In a freak accident, they exchange places.
Theo has just lost 97 million pounds that wasn't his. It belonged to his bank. The global finance industry is in meltdown. Unemployment looks imminent.
A chance accident sends him hurtling towards certain death at Newgate Underground station, but instead of the afterlife he finds himself in 1608.
At the same time, Tybalt finds himself propelled forward to 2008 into a world quite beyond his understanding. He discovers the dubious delights of fast food, appears on stage at the Globe and completely fails to find his good friend Will Shakspere.
Back in 1608, Theo finds himself almost hanged for stealing a loaf of bread, lined up to assassinate King James, and building himself a new life.
Can Tybalt and Theo find the way back to their own times? And, more to the point, will they want to?
It's jolly good fun, and you can buy it for less than the price of a pint from these places:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
amazon.es
2 comments:
I hadn't visited your blog for a while, but today did so and read your later entry about your iPad - I don't have one, but will probably go the Android route when I do eventually get a tablet, having quite recently launched myself into the smartphone era with an Android device (a Samsung Galaxy Ace, which is excellent, although not any longer at the 'cutting edge').
However, that led me to notice your article about your novel and that it is available on Kindle; I've had one for a little less than two years now and have found it really good; as well as books (must have a hundred or so on it now) I also get my daily paper (Telegraph) and a weekly magazine (Spectator) by subscription from it - haven't bought paper versions since, so my accumulation of paper for weekly disposal has gone down dramatically!
I took at look at the first chapter of your book on Amazon and found it seemed reasonably amusing to read, although I'm not sure how accurate your early 17th century English is, but I suppose it has to be done in a way that 21st century readers can understand without too much effort. In any case, because it seemed to be pretty good, I downloaded it - so a few pennies for your coffers :) I'll let you know in a week or so if/when I complete the reading.
Cheers!
Bill
Thanks Bill, I hope you enjoy it. And yes, the 17th C language was compromised for modern readers and especially those of the American persuasion.
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