Farewell to summer

The last few boxes are almost packed, and after four years of being immersed in the setting of Kings Beach, it is time to move on, both figuratively and literally. But when one season ends, another is always waiting in the winds to take its place. And, that thought has me excited.

Early in 2008 my wife and I sold our house in the suburbs of Brisbane and left behind a life that had just become too busy, opting instead for a change of scenery and the taste of salt air we found in Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. In chasing the same idealistic sea-change that I had so keenly championed with my second novel A Walk Before Sunrise, I soon would soon learn that fiction and non-fiction are indeed very different neighbours. Eventually, it seems we figured it all out. And the highs and lows along the way simply became prime material for novel number three, Last Wish of Summer.

With Last Wish of Summer now released, it seems the sun has set on an amazing period of change in my life, much like the dramatic way that summer came to an end in my book. While my immediate task at hand is moving house, again, my goal is to have a re-write of A Walk Before Sunrise completed and in the hands of my publisher by September this year. Now I have already touched on the reasons why I felt this was necessary in a previous article, why Byron Bay has got to go, but a change of address this time around perhaps better presents the opportunity to once more tap into the whole sea-change thing, especially now that I have the experience to know what works and what doesn't. Kings Beach in Caloundra has been kind to me during the whole process of writing a novel while juggling the responsibilities that come with raising a family and fending off everything that life can throw at someone who has set off on a quest to find inner peace. Throughout the time I spent writing Last Wish of Summer, Kings Beach became a close friend. A stretch of sand on a sea of positive energy. And while my focus now turns to my next project, in a different place and season, it will never be more than a few pages away.

So where exactly am I headed? I'll let that remain a bit of a mystery for now. Beyond September is a whole new chapter waiting to be discovered. Another season perhaps, and the opportunity to travel. One secret I've discovered four years after successfully completing a sea-change is this; why should it take until our retirement years to discover that the best address of all is to finally not be tied to the one address. It's a whole big country out there, and beyond that is an even wider world. That's plenty to write about.

Beware of snakes

I used to be forward in letting people know I was a writer. Somehow the conversation would turn to the question of what is it that I do and I would ever so easily spill the words 'I'm a writer' without giving it a second thought. And if it didn't, I'd more often than not find a way to work the topic into the conversation. I've been around the block long enough now to know that people sometimes mistake your name on the cover of a book for a target on your back. Being a writer is as much a business as it is an interesting topic for conversation. Wading into the business world is akin to stepping into a field of long grass, you can't always see the hidden things that you can stub your toe on and you sometimes have to watch out for the snakes.

There is a period of a few good years after seeing your first book in print where you think everything is going to work out just dandy, the world is your friend and the people you meet are just waiting to hear all about your book. That line of thinking it turns out is wrong. I learnt long ago that although most people love to be able to say that they met a writer, they won't necessarily run out and join your fan club just because you handed them a business card. A quick visit to check out your website and maybe, just maybe an online purchase of your book usually suffices their interest. But mention it in the process of doing a business deal and the result is completely different. Suddenly you have a new best friend. Congratulations are usually followed by a short period of fawning over the fact that they can't believe they have a writer standing in their presence, and the next minute they are promising to buy your book, tell all their friends about you and offer a special deal on what it is you're looking for. Now don't get me wrong, I have dealt with many genuinely nice business people in my time. But my point is that in life you have to use due diligence in your business matters, and as a writer we sometimes forget this point among the praise and accolades that are coming from the salesperson.

Good writers sometimes make bad business men and women. It was Irvin S. Cobb who said; "If writers were good businessmen they'd have too much sense to be writers". But some of the world's biggest selling artists, musicians and authors have got to that lofty position on the back of some savvy business sense. The key is to be wise in your business dealings when it comes to who is offering what, and what they are asking for in return. Is it really a good offer that is being presented? Or is it just a dressed up sales pitch they are trying to corner you into?

It is something I discovered recently, the hard way. Organizing a book launch and sponsorship involves selling yourself to potential sponsors. Much like convincing a company that they need to employ you for a position they don't have. Pooling this support and ensuring that each and every business is happy with the promotion you offer them in return becomes a delicate matter. In making these arrangements I needed to pay to have something created for the event. Choosing one local business, I explained what was needed to be done, asked if it was possible, was ensured that it was and was promised that I would be looked after with a special price. Sound familiar? When it became apparent that the end result wouldn't be to the standard I expected and there wasn't anything special about the price at all, I advised them that I wouldn't proceed and went elsewhere. Now if I had been the average customer off the street there would have been no further ramifications for what amounted to a quote. The problem came down to what I said before, that sometimes people mistake your name on a book for a target on your back. Not only did I get a spiteful email for not proceeding with their services, but the invoice for a design cancellation fee came with a threat of contacting my sponsors and my publisher if I didn't pay. To top it off, I was physically threatened when I arrived at the business to pay the bill and reminded that it was a small town. What did I do? I remembered that although it was a small town, it was also a wide world. You don't drag your own name down into the dirt. As a writer, your name is your brand and the world is your marketplace. So I paid the fee, and kept a copy of the receipt and email to ensure it didn't go any further.

I always try to take something positive away from any experience. As always, lessons learnt in this manner often stay with you, and leave you better prepared to spot them coming the next time. I'm fortunate to have the foresight now to keep my writing and the business side of my writing separate. Its important to find out the facts rather than falling for the false accolades and sales pitch. Sometimes business matters aren't clear when it comes to who is right or wrong, and insurance companies even have this thing called proportion of the blame. What is important is to handle yourself in the right manner. Before you wade through the long grass be sure you are wearing the proper shoes and a pair of thick socks. Ask questions first and read your contracts thoroughly. Then if you do have a bad business experience, take your business elsewhere and keep your business dealings on the highest level. The last thing a writer wants when they step out for the movie premiere of their latest hit novel is for a scandal to erupt over something trivial. Above all else, in everything that comes the way of a writer, whether it be good or bad, nothing stands in the way of him being able to use the experience in a future book. After all, that is what writers do.

Why Byron Bay has got to go

A Walk Before Sunrise was set between Brisbane and Byron Bay. But following the release of my latest novel Last Wish of Summer, a complete re-write of Sunrise is underway for the North American market. Standing in the way is the unmistakable fact that the novel is so entrenched in the setting of Byron Bay in Australia, that it hinders any attempt at retelling the story. So Byron Bay has got to go, and here is why.

Sunrise over Byron Bay, NSW 2008

In 2008 I had the pleasure of spending many weekends in the seaside town of Byron Bay in New South Wales. Perhaps one of the most iconic beaches in Australia, if not the world, each year it attracts holidaymakers and celebrities alike to the coastal hamlet that has resisted the infiltration of commercialism and big companies since it first rode to prominence in the 1970's as a playground for people seeking an alternative lifestyle. And, in my case, it also attracted a writer whose life was mirroring the sea-change being discovered by the character Neil Phillips in my book A Walk Before Sunrise.

Now I have already talked up the attractions of this town in a previous article (Down by Byron Bay), but the interesting point I am about to make is this; setting my book so firmly in what seemed like a perfect location didn't turn out to be the huge stroke of genius that I'd anticipated. By giving such a true and accurate portrayal of what some might argue is their own version of paradise, it seems I had limited the ability of the reader to relate in their own mind to the geographical setting of the book if they had never visited the area. Looking back, I asked myself if I had set out to write a story set in a specific location, or written a specific location into the story. When the answer became blurry, perhaps it was time to think of where the book fits in with my other writing plans.

I always intended to write a sequel to A Walk Before Sunrise. However, my decision to take one of the more interesting characters from the book, the dread-locked chef named Anton, and place him in another story as some sort of precursor worked so well that it prompted calls for a re-write of the story to better syndicate it with my latest novel Last Wish of Summer. With Last Wish of Summer set in the fictional town of Kings Beach, readers aren't geographically bound by the setting of the book. With A Walk Before Sunrise they were. Now the word re-write triggers alarm bells in most writer's heads, but in my case I sat back and considered this objectively. I wrote Last Wish of Summer specifically for the North American market. It used American English. The book is aimed at a young adult and Christian market, and the generic, beach-side location could be wherever the reader wants it to be. I had to contemplate where I wanted the story to take my career. A Walk Before Sunrise doesn't marry-up with any of these points, and the fact that the location of Byron Bay doesn't fit with the fictional setting of Kings Beach in Last Wish of Summer means that Byron Bay has to go.

The advantage of starting out as a self-published author with my first two novels is that the license for the books are still mine. Re-writing a story and making some wholesale changes would be near impossible if the book was in the hands of a major publisher. A re-write of A Walk Before Sunrise presents my earlier work with a new lease of life. While some elements and characters will be omitted, the tale will largely remain the same. Only the story will now take place in a fictional setting, as was the case with Last Wish of Summer. Surprisingly I don't find the task disheartening. I get to revisit the memory of writing what was essentially a great story, and see what I can do to make it even better. While I have the memory of numerous visits to Byron Bay to look back on during my time of writing the book, I don't feel obliged to make a special mention of it again. That opportunity has long since passed. After trying to include Byron Bay as part of my book tour, I found myself turned away by bookstores, libraries, a writing festival and even an arts & crafts market where I would have had to pay for my space because, as I was told, we normally only reserve these events for local writers and artists. Perhaps this line of thinking is what has kept Byron Bay from being infiltrated by outside influences for so long. I don't know. But it seems my effort taken in setting the book firmly in Byron Bay was destined to go unrecognized by a town that had reinvented itself as a haven for artists and artisans.

A Walk Before Sunrise will remain as my own interpretation of a seaside paradise. But I now have my eyes set on the world. There are a lot of readers still yet to discover a delightful story set in their own seaside paradise, wherever that may be.

Last Wish of Summer Video Trailer