Paperback writer

There are no gigs. There are no races but as a result of the lock down I’m doing a lot more writing. Coupled to this is my fifth  novel ‘Oblivion Black’ will be released either this November or next April so I thought I’d dig back to what started me
writing it all those years ago in a coffee shop in Bristol.

It’s my big, bad, post-apocalyptic
novel.

The idea for initial idea for ‘Oblivion Black’ came to me – like most good
ideas do – when I was going for a run. I was at the (sadly missed) All Tomorrow’s
Parties running along some sand dunes and I pictured someone walking towards
me. They were wearing a full hazmat, and it had been the first time they’d been
outside in years.

Why?

Where had they come from?

What were they doing and why were they so scared?

The answers to those questions slotted into place really quickly, putting more
meat on the bones of the story took a little longer. It’s my big, bad, post-apocalyptic
novel.

My last novel – ‘Match Day’ – was published ten years ago and was a completely joyous
experience. It should really have led to a much much quicker follow up, but, you
know, life. In fact, I gad started a few novels but not many got past 20000
words. ‘Oblivion Black’ however survived. It thrived through the initial honeymoon
period and gnawed away at me during the extended periods of lethargic self-doubt.
It hung on, and now it a 75000-word novel which I’m very proud of.

I think the title came from the ‘Bible Black’ line from ‘Under Milkwood’ but
who knows and I originally set it in North Wales but then I reasoned that no
fucker would read it so I changed the main location to North America and Alaska
in particular. One of the oddest things that happened is that at one point one
of the main characters – Danny – turns to talk to someone in a bar, that
someone is former senator Connie O’Hagan who out of nowhere became one of the
main characters and even resisted my attempt to kill her off later in the book.
This would also sorta happen with one of the big bads of the novel – Rodchenko –
who I’d originally had just in the first have of the novel, but he sidled up to
me and whispered in my ear that he was too good to waste, and he was right.

Next time I’ll detail the tortures route to publication.