News
Crime at Firle Vintage Fair
Firle Vintage Fair this year plays host to four crime authors on Sunday 11th August 2019 at the Talking Tent, as they talk about the tricks of their trade, the importance (or otherwise) of reviews, where their plot ideas come from, and much, much more.
On the panel are the criminally good William Shaw, Ali Carter and Dorothy Koonson, with me (Patrick Easter) in the Moderator’s chair. Entry to the event is free, and starts at 1.30pm on the Sunday. Further details of the Fair can be found at www.firlevintagefair.co.uk
Marchioness Victims Remembered
A new memorial remembering all those who lost their lives in the River Thames, including the fifty-one victims of the Marchioness 1989 disaster a is to be dedicated at a special ceremony at All Hallows by the Tower, in the City of London on Tuesday 25th June 2019.
Former Thames Police officer Robert Jeffries whose whose idea this was, said, ‘I wanted some permanent reminder of the countless souls who have, in war and peace, lost their lives to the river, often in the line of duty.’
Police Open Museum Doors
The River Police at Wapping will again be opening the doors of their museum to the public as part of the annual Wapping Shindig celebrations on Saturday 13th July 2019 at 11am. They will close again at 5pm. Entry is free.
This year, for the first time, I’ll be explaining the political and social conditions that led to the formation of the world’s first professional civilian police force in July 1798 and contrasting the English and French models that was the cause of much soul searching in Parliament. I’ll also be offering for sale copies of all my books, four of which feature Tom Pascoe of the Thames Marine Police Institution
While the latest of my books, Virginia Street, published last year is not part of the Pascoe series, it is set in and around Wapping in the same time period (turn of 19th C) as my other books.
Firle Vintage Festival 2019 to include Author Pavilion
The Firle Vintage Festival in East Sussex this year runs from Friday 8th August to Sunday 11th August and for the first time plays host to a number of internationally known authors who will be at the Spoken Word Pavilion talking about their work. Copies of the authors’ books will be on sale during the festival including all the Tom Pascoe series.
Entry to the pavilion is free.
As I write, the organisers are still planning the details of the programme but I’ve been invited to host the Sunday afternoon session (11th August). Among the authors expected to be there are William Shaw and Ali Carter. I’ll keep you posted as more writers come onto the scene. I’m due to meet the organisers in the next week or two to plan things.
The Editing Process
It’s not unusual to have a manuscript sent back by the editor, covered in pithy comments designed to improve the finished product. But the prospect of re-visiting a book one has slaved over for almost a year is seldom a joyous one. I’m currently in that phase with Virginia Street, the first draft of which was finished at the beginning of 2016. The comment from my agent was short and to the point. ‘I liked it, but I didn’t love it,’ he said.
That single line of advice has resulted in a major overhaul of the entire manuscript that is still on-going. Indeed it would have been quicker to have abandoned the book and written another one from scratch. But that is to miss the point. Most authors develop an emotional attachment with the characters they have created and could no more throw them awaythan give up writing altogether. We live and breath the stories we write. We know how each character speaks and behaves in any given situation. So, most authors will simply get on with editing what they’ve spent to long crafting.
What makes the process so difficult is making sure that any alteration does not affect what is happening later in the story. Sometimes, of course, the ‘new’ idea is so attractive as to force its way into the narrative. But that’s where the fun starts. I can’t remember how many times I’ve hanged a villain one day and had him walking the streets two days later. Or gone from night to day and back again in the space of a single paragraph.
I’m hoping to complete Virginia Street in the next four to six weeks. Then? Who knows? I might be allowed to get on with the book I started all those months ago and haven’t had an opportunity to look at since.
Facebook and Twitter
It’s taken me a while but I’ve now joined the great social media revolution. So feel free to follow/friend me on both Twitter and Facebook.
I generally say what needs to be said on social media first and only after that, on my webpage. That said, I’m always happy to hear from you any which way you care to contact me. Writing is a lonely business so its nice to hear from folk who are out there in the real world.
In the meantime, Happy Christmas to you all.
Patrick
New book on the horizon
The publication of Cuckold Point in a few weeks time seems an opportune moment for me to think about the future. I want to try my hand at something new, something that I’ve been thinking of for a number of months and which I hope you, my readers, will approve of. It means saying goodbye to Tom Pascoe for a while while I try my hand at writing a ‘stand alone’ book, as opposed to a series. So while it will still be about events in London in the early years of the 19th Century, it won’t include Tom.
I hope you will stay with me on this and continue to lend your support. The new project is, for me, very exciting. All I will say about it is that the story will be told through the eyes of one man who will narrate it as events unfold. And when the story is over, it’s over. The book after that will be about something else entirely. Or maybe it won’t!
Wish me luck,
Patrick
Author Event at Tunbridge Wells Library
The central public libary in Royal Tunbridge Wells is hosting an author event between 2 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. on Saturday 24th October 2015 when I’ve been invited to deliver a lecture on Crime and Punishment in 18th Century London to coincide with the launch, in paperback, of Cuckold Point my latest Tom Pascoe thriller. More details nearer the date.
Thames Police Museum Opens to the Public
The Thames Police Museum in Wapping High Street, London, opens its doors to the public this weekend 19th and 20th September 2015 as part of the Open London Week. Open only for a few days each year, the museum is a glimpse into London’s maritime past and a view of the first professional police force in this country in the early days of its existence. Entrance is free and the doors are open from 11am to around 5pm on each day. I will be there on Saturday with my fellow author Kate Mayfield to answer any questions you might have. I’ll also have signed copies of my books available for sale.
Pascoe Series Signed Up by ITV Studios
ITV Studios has taken the option on the Tom Pascoe books and will now consider producing a series of films for telivision over the next two years. Contracts with the Studios were exchanged a few days ago and it is still too early for the company to have formulated detailed plans for the future treatment of the stories. I am, of course, thrilled at this development and the confidence placed in me by ITV Studios and very much hope the venture proves as successful as the books have done. I’ll let you have more details just as soon as the information becomes available.
Patrick
