Legend Press

Author blog from Bill Coles

It is becoming increasingly apparent that this charity film night that we have been thinking of organising for our Marathon des Sables gig is now ESSENTIAL.

And why, oh why, would that be?

Because, speak it softly, I think that although there are now only two members of Team Titanic, it is altogether possible that half the team (at least) may not be able to finish this desert romp that we have so set our hearts upon.

And, as I’ve already mentioned, at least if we have a charity film, then we won’t have to hand back all the sponsorship money - which would be mildly irksome if, for some unfathomable reason the Doogie contrived not to finish the race merely on account of BEING TOTALLY UNPREPARED AND NOT UP TO THE JOB!

Ahemmm… Where were we? We were talking about films that might be suitable for our charity film night at the Dominion in March.

I called up the Doogie; I thought it might be politic to keep him in the loop about this film night, though I make these phone-calls in much the same manner that you would do if you had been requested to phone up your grandmother’s cat. It might be polite. It might make some people happy. But the conversation is going to be pretty much a waste of time from start to finish.

“Hi Doogie,” I said. “Just finalising the details for this charity film night that we’re organising.”

“Oh very good,” he said. “Well done.”

“Have you decided yet what charity you want to run for?”

“No.”

“Fine. Got any thoughts about the film we should be watching?”

“Well I was hearing about this film last week. Have you heard of Lawrence of Arabia?”

“Yes, rather surprisingly I HAVE heard of Lawrence of Arabia.”

“Well apparently it’s not a bad film.”

“Very good, Doogie. It may surprise you to know that not only have I heard of Lawrence of Arabia, but I have actually seen it. It goes on for one hell of a long time and, more to the point, there is not a single woman in it with a speaking part.”

“But it’s supposed to be set in a desert!”

“That’s good, Doogie, it IS set in a desert, but nevertheless, this is definitely a guy flick and seeing as it’s the women who are going to be in charge of the social diaries and it’s the women who are going to be coughing up for this event, then it’s probably best if we go for a film that the women are going to like.”

“Like what? Sahara? I like Sahara! Or The Mummy! I like the Mummy too! And I like the Mummy 2, too! That’s very funny, isn’t it?”

“I’ll bet you like the Mummy 3, too.”

“There is no Mummy 3.”

“Shut up and listen,” I said. “The film that we are going to be watching is Shakespeare in Love.”

“Coo.” The Doogie is momentarily silenced. “Shakespeare in Love? What’s that about?”

“It’s about a guy called Shakespeare. Wrote some plays.”

I can envision Doogie still trying to grasp the concept of this film. “Is it set in a desert?”

“No it’s not,” I said. And then inspiration strikes. “But in the very last scene of the film, there is a beach which looks like a desert. Will that do you?”

“If it’s got a bit of desert in it, then that’ll be fine.”

Bill

You can visit Bill's blog at http://www.wcoles.com/

Bill is the author of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Lord Lucan: My Story, Mr Two Bomb, Dave Cameron's Schooldays and Simon Cowell: The Sex-Factor

Read the first chapter of Tea at the Grand Tazi

Tea at the Grand Tazi by Alexandra Singer is published on 1st March. The novel explores the evocative landscape of Morocco, as the central character Maia struggles to keep control of her life after succumbing to the seedy underbelly of the Grand Tazi club in Marrakech. We are delighted to offer you a free first chapter of the novel to wet your appetite.

Download Tea at the Grand Tazi Sample

Blurb

Maia is leaving London to paint in the bright sunlight and exotic surroundings of Morocco. Working as an assistant to a once famous Historian, she is lured in by her new surroundings, promising excitement and more importantly, freedom.

In the final days of a North African summer, a sense of boredom and unease pervades the city. Maia is drawn unwillingly into the ways in which the clientele of the renowned Grand Tazi pass their increasingly long, hot evenings.

As the intense heat wears down her resistance, Maia succumbs to vice. The light that she once sought becomes eclipsed by shadowy dealings. Can Maia take back control of her new life, and if so, does she even want to?

Lucy

Tea at the Grand Tazi is available to order by clicking here

Author interview with Alexandra Singer

Alexandra Singer publishes hr debut novel Tea at the Grand Tazi on 1st March. Below is a short interview with Alexandra so you can get to learn a bit more about her and her writing:

1) Described your novel in a couple of sentences?

'Tea at the Grand Tazi' is a story of expatriates, of experience and of indolent days under the North African sun. It describes a plunge from restless innocence into corruption and explores what it means to be a woman in an alien and hostile environment.

2) How, when and why did you first start writing?

I started writing young; it is a compulsion that I could not do without. However, I did not start to write seriously with the intention of finishing a novel until 2007 when a theme grabbed me and would not let go. For me, writing is not just the desire to tell a story, it is a need to explore certain issues in society and in the subconscious which I cannot find an answer to in any other way. I am probably over sensitive to emotions and am fascinated by the psyche; essentially writing is an exploration of the human condition. When I awoke from a long coma in 2008 I taught myself to physically write again and as I wrote the world of the Grand Tazi came alive for me.

3) Who are your favourite writers/influences and why?

The writer I admire most is Graham Greene; his sparseness of style and his dry irony create such a hold over the imagination. 'Travels with my Aunt' was written for entertainment, yet it also contains some profound truths, whilst 'The Quiet American' was an attack on American policy in Vietnam and 'The Comedians' on the dictatorship in Haiti remains unparalleled as a satire. Strongly influenced by his Catholicism, Greene explored social and political issues through his characters and this is something very few novelists manage to do successfully. I also adore the work of Alberto Moravia, particularly 'Contempt' and 'The Woman of Rome'. He was another political writer, a half Jewish, anti- fascist novelist from Rome. Much of Moravia's work describes the loucheness of life in Rome and as I used to live there the city he describes causes me great nostalgia. Although a literary writer, he was incredibly popular and his novels form the bedrock of Italian and European cinema as they were made into films by Vittorio de Sica and Jean Luc Goddard (Le Mepris/Contempt). I also adore Anais Nin. It is a shame that people know of her only for the erotica she wrote for money as she was a fascinating writer, a friend of influential artists and psychotherapists and her literary work, such as 'Seduction of the Minotaur' so accurately describes female emotions.

4) What inspires you to write?

It may be a place, a character, a situation or a memory but it is always something that nags at me until I firmly decide to write about it.

5) Where do you get your ideas from?

It amazes me when authors are asked this question as ideas are so obviously everywhere- the people and situations which can be written about are endless. Someone would have to have a total lack of imagination to wonder how authors get their ideas; they are everywhere, there is too much. It is harder to narrow ideas down than to find them. I start with theme and place, and then as the characters develop they tell me where they want to go.

Lucy

You can visit Alexandra's website at www.alexandrasinger.co.uk

Tea at the Grand Tazi is available to order by clicking here

5 Business tips of the week from 'Winning Ways to Work'

Every Friday at 10am on the Legend Press website we will be posting up 5 fantastic business tips from the inspiration business book Winning Ways to Work. The title, published by Legend Business, is written by Rupert Eales-White.

Below are Rupert's business tips of the week:

- Integrate left-brained thinking and right-brained thinking to translate “vision through mission into action”

- Uncover the right process by asking what should we do first and why etc, and then put all the steps onto a time line.

- Did you know that left-brained people use the word “Vision” and right-brained people “Mission” to achieve the same goal?

- One man’s “control” is another man’s “empower” – causes terrible confusion.

- Follow the delegation processes to avoid you disliking your boss and your boss thinking you are incompetent

Lucy

Winning Ways to Work is available to order by clicking here

Famous opening lines

I'm always fascinated by the opening line of a book - the way it can engage the reader in an instant or conversely put you off entirely. Here are some of our favourites:

'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' - George Orwell, 1984

'In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.' - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

'If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.' - J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Below are the beautifically evocative and whimsical opening lines of Nutmeg by Maria Goodin (published by Legend Press on 1st April). Let us know what you think:

'I came out a little underdone. Five more minutes and I would have been as big as the other children, my mother said. She blamed my pale complexion on her cravings for white bread (too much flour) and asked the doctor if I would have risen better had she done more exercise (too little air). The doctor wasn’t sure about this, but he was very concerned about the size of my feet. He suggested that next time my mother was pregnant she should try standing on her head or spinning in circles (spinning in circles on her head would be ideal) as this would aid the mixing process and result in a better proportioned baby.'

Lucy

Nutmeg by Maria Goodin is available to pre-order by clicking here

Introducing Alexandra Singer

We are very excited to be working with Alexandra Singer on her debut novel Tea at the Grand Tazi, which is out on 1st March.

Alexandra is 29 and currently lives in Manchester. She has travelled widely and lived in Florence in 2001, Rome in 2004 and has worked in Crete, Israel and Paris.

Alexandra comments:

'I grew up in Manchester, in the heart of the Jewish community, although I am a devout atheist. I lived for a while in Rome and after university I went back there to live. As much as I loved Rome it was difficult to earn a living and eventually I came home to get a ‘real’ job. I went to law school and was taken on by an international corporate law firm. Unfortunately the stress of checking endless contracts and suppressing my creativity caused a flare up of an auto immune condition which attacked my brain and I spent three months in a coma. It was believed that I would die, then that I would be brain damaged, and then that I would never walk again. I am now starting to walk again, although rather tentatively, and I am quite definitely not brain damaged. Apart from writing, I teach languages and literature and am beginning an academic career in medical law and bioethics. I speak Hebrew, Italian, French and some Romanian.'

You can visit Alexandra's website by clicking here and follow her on Twitter at @Menagerie717

Lucy

Tea at the Grand Tazi is available to order by clicking here