This year saw the third Sledge-Lit event in Derby, held at the Quad (organised as ever by Alex Davies) and as I had such a good time at the previous two (I wrote about 2015 here and 2016 here), I bought my ticket as soon as it was announced. Then, to add the icing on the cake, my friend Alison Littlewood (who's one of the Guests Of Honour, along with Sarah Pinborough) asked if I'd interview her onstage and, of course, I quickly agreed!
me, Becky Moore & Paul Melhuish
Paul Melhuish drove us up, like he did last year and we made good time to Derby, chatting writing and books on the way. After seeming to find yet another route to the Assembly Rooms car park (neither of us recognised the road at all), we were quickly and, by coincidence, parking up at the same time as our Northampton Speculative Fiction Writers Group colleague Becky Moore.She’d never been to a writing con before but, after speaking to us at
the last NSFWG meeting, decided to come along on the condition she catch
latch onto us and we agreed.We said our hellos and
crossed the square to the Quad where the first person we saw was Pixie
Puddin, who's under the weather at the
moment but was still her chirpy-self and it was good to see her so. I introduced Becky, we got signed in and then Gary McMahon arrived, so I got my
hug from him too.After getting my free bar tickets
(the event has me listed as a speaker) I bought Paul and Becky drinks and
we found a table to run through the programme, which this time around was
packed full of stuff I wanted to do.
James Everington, me, Alison Littlewood - Fergus remarked that we were standing under the specials...
I
spotted Alison Littlewood across the bar and went to see her and Fergus
and, as ever, it was great to catch up with them both. She was really nervous about her GoH interview so I told her my plan
about asking a really awkward question in the middle of our interview but, oddly, it didn't seem to make her feel any better. She was sitting with James
Everington (my fellow Crusty), so I caught up with him and then suddenly we were in a big fluid
group of people who were arriving and congregating at the bar.Adele Wearing was there, quickly followed by
John Travis and Simon Clark and Tracy Fahey and the big group of us chatted for
a while, with Paul and Becky coming to join us all as well.Eventually, we headed back to our table with Tracy, Lisa Childs arrived
along with Stephen Bacon and there was a wonderful feeling of the gang being
back together as everyone caught up.
The gang gathers - from left, Becky, me, Tracy Fahey, Stephen Bacon, Lisa Childs, John Travis and James
At 11.25, I headed up to The Box and met Dion Winton-Polak and Steve Shaw on the landing, said hi to them and Steve introduced me to Kitty Kane, with whom I’d tangled online with an irate Dr Who fan who, apparently, hated all women (including Kitty). I went into the auditorium and Alison & I got ourselves sorted, both of us feeling nervous as we settled down in our chairs, made sure the microphones worked and waited for people to file in. We’d already compiled a list of questions, loose enough to go off at tangents if we wanted and, with a bit of trepidation, I set off but I needn’t have worried - the audience was engaged and interested, Alison is a great speaker and very interesting and the time rocketed by. When I threw it open for questions, we got several good ones and I bartered good-naturedly with Jo (the red-shirt in the room) for a bit more time and overall I think it went really well. Time up, both relieved, we hugged and posed for some photos then headed back down to the bar for lunch.
Alison & me, mid-interview - pic by James Everington
Alison & I - relieved...
The bar had filled up but we
quickly ended up linking three tables there were so many of us - with John,
Simon, Steve, Fergus, Alison, me and James on one, Paul, Dion, CC Adams and
Angeline Trevena on the next two, plus we then found room for Becky to join us. Wonderfully, Fergus insisted on buying me
lunch for the interview, I suggested it was worth a drink at most but he’s a
persuasive chap (thanks Fergus!). Everyone, even though in the middle of eating, joined in the conversation, chatting writing and stories and life and the time sped past, helped by
the great company and tasty food.
(clockwise) - me, [Steve Bacon & John's heads], Simon Clark, Fergus, Alison and James, at our table for lunch
We broke up around 1.20 as
people went off to their various things and, on my way out of the bar, I
finally got to meet Linda Nagle, which was nice. Steve Harris was in reception so I said hello and hugged him, spotted Fiona Ní Éalaighthe (more hugs), introduced them to Becky then
Steve Bacon, Paul & I headed up to the Thrills & Chills panel. As we waited for go in, Andrew Barker (who
wrote the excellent Dead Leaves) appeared with his young daughter and we got to
say hello. The panel
itself, moderated by Alex Davies, was interesting and I enjoyed it a lot then afterwards, Phil Sloman & I chatted with
Mark Morris, a conversation that naturally ended up involving The Three Investigators. Leaving everyone behind
for the second GoH interview (Sarah Pinborough talking to Gary McMahon), which
I’d really wanted to see, I made my way down to my panel on the first floor
where I met up with Penny Jones (who was moderating) and introduced myself to
my fellow panellists, Stephen Aryan and Claire North (I felt a bit out of my
depth). Life Online: Social Media and
The Writer was an interesting topic and we all made good points and the tone
was nicely downbeat, which seemed to go down well. I enjoyed it and Stephen & Claire were
good company.
The panel - Claire North, Penny Jones, Stephen Aryun, me
With the panel over, I headed
back up to The Box for the Dark Minds Press/Fox Spirit launch and sat with
Steve Harris, finally getting a chance to have a chat with him. The launches went well (they adopted the same
process Laura & I did for our Dark Minds Press launch, where people read
work by other writers) and as the readings finished, I got up meaning to go and
buy the books - Imposter Syndrome and Tracy’s
novel. As it was, Gary McMahon and Sarah
Pinborough were standing off to one side so I stood chatting with them for a
while instead. Gary went to get his books, leaving Paul
& I with Sarah and since I’d missed her interview, it was nice to catch up
with her, especially talking about the wonderful Behind Her Eyesand her new
deals. By the time I got to the book
table, Tracy’s
book had already sold out though she signed me a bookplate and I picked up a
copy of Imposter Syndrome. After
chatting for a while longer with Sarah - and seeing Jay Eales - Steve Bacon,
Phil and I headed down to the A Home For Horror panel, which Sarah was moderating. It had an interesting mix of panellists and was entertaining - even better, I got to say hello to Kathy Boulton, who was sitting behind me. When the panel was over, Steve & I went to the bar then headed back up to The Box, walking up the stairs and chatting with Simon Clark, who's a genuinely lovely bloke. As we sat down, I finally got to meet
Andy Walker who I think I’ve seen at every Con for the last few years and raffle king Ross Warren was ably represented by Lisa (his
wife is on the verge of giving birth so he stayed at home). Sarah and Gary co-hosted and, as ever, it
made for a very funny and entertaining raffle (and deadpan Pixie, dressed as a
Christmas tree, was as priceless as ever), keeping alive the traditionally
disrespectful Edge-Lit raffle vibe. Even
better, I won this year, a boxed version from PS Publishing of Joe Hill’s The
Fireman. Steve also won a set of Midnight
Movie Monographs and since he already had the Death Line edition (the one I
was after), he gave it to me. Double
result!
As Ask Italian - from left, Phil Sloman, me, Paul, Steve, Gary Dalkin, James, Alison & Fergus
With the end of the raffle
signalling the end of Sledge-Lit, we congregated on the landing and I got to
say hello to Kevin Redfern briefly before we made our way downstairs, saying our goodbyes as we went which, for me, is
always the sad part of any event. There
were two dining options, curry or Italian and I headed up the latter, with
Alison & Fergus, Steve B, James, Paul, Phil and Gary Dalkin. We were easily seated ("a table for eight?" usually brings on furrowed brows), the drinks came
quickly and so did the food and we ate and talked and laughed and had a fine
old time. Putting together a group of
writers, at the end of a day filled with creative energy, is always great and we had a lot of fun putting the world to rights. As it was, Ask Italian did good business from Sledge-Lit and we saw tables full of
fellow con-goers there so we got to say even more goodbyes when we finally made
a move to leave. I’ve always had fun at
Sledge-Lit but, as Paul & I discussed on the way home, this year seemed to
have a little bit extra with very few of us spending much time in the bar since
the quality of the programming and panels was high. I had a great time, it’s always lovely to
spend quality time with old friends in such a creative atmosphere and my only regret
is missing Sarah’s interview.
Twenty years ago, Alison & I and the rest of the world awoke to the news that Michael Hutchence was dead. There was a lot of confusion with the announcement - he’d been found in a hotel, nobody quite knew what had happened, there were issues with Paula Yates and Bob Geldof - but the fact remained he was gone and it took us all a while to process that information.
Although I’d known their music since the Kick era, I didn’t see them live until the Summer XS gig at Wembley in July 1991 (which I wrote about here) and I was blown away by the experience. When I started seeing Alison the next year, I discovered a fellow fan and together we saw them at DeMontfort Hall in Leicester in 1993 for the Get Out Of The House tour (which I wrote about here) and then at the NEC in Birmingham on the Elegantly Wasted tour. Seeing him in the flesh, there was something about Hutchence, the way he carried himself and moved, the sheer magnetism of the man, that transcended what you were seeing. I’d never experienced the sensation before (and haven’t since).
Michael Kelland John Hutchence was born in North Sydney, New South Wales on 22nd January 1960, his father Kelland was a businessman, his mother Patricia a make-up artist. The family moved to Brisbane (where younger brother Rhett was born, Michael also had an older step-sister Tina) and then to Hong Kong, where an aptitude for swimming was curtailed by a broken arm. Around this time he began to show an interest in poetry and, at 11, made a recording of Christmas carols for a toy manufacturer.
When the family returned to the Northern Beaches area of Sydney in 1972, Michael attended Davidson High School where students didn’t take kindly to his British accent and it was Andrew Farriss who broke up a fight between Hutchence and a school bully. The became firm friends and when they discovered a mutual love of music, Michael joined Andrew’s band, Doctor Dolphin. After Michael’s parents separated in 1975 he briefly moved to California with his mother and step-sister, before returning to Sydney and reconnecting with Andrew.
The Farriss Brothers 1977 from left - Kirk Pengilly, Jon Farriss, Tim Farriss, Michael Hutchence, Andrew Farriss, Garry Gary Beers
In 1977, Andrew and Tim Farriss decided to join forces and create a group from the remnants of their old ones with Tim on lead guitar, his former band mate Kirk Pengilly on guitar and saxophone, Garry Gary Beers on bass and younger Farriss brother Jon (who was still at high school) on the drums. Michael, who couldn’t play an instrument, would sing. The Farriss Brothers, as the new band was called, made their debut that year at Whale Beach on 16th August. In 1978, Mr and Mrs Farriss moved to Perth, Western Australia and took Jon with them - when Michael and Andrew finished secondary school, they joined Kirk and Garry and drove across country to join them, aiming to give the band a chance.
"Andrew was the singer, the front guy of all these bands. I really started when he didn’t feel like singing anymore. He gave me the mike, one day and said, “Do you know this song? Just sing for a while, while we try out this drummer."
- Michael interviewed in 'Sky Magazine', UK, 1990
Ten months later, the band returned to Sydney, recorded a set of demos and supported Midnight Oil on the pub rock circuit. They also changed their name to INXS (on the advice of the Oils manager Gary Morris) and made their debut at the Oceanview Hotel in Toukley on 1st September 1979 where, even then, Hutchence stood out as journalist Jenny Hunter Brown wrote, “[he] echoes the late Jim Morrison, he’s fit [and] a fine dancer.”
Gaining a manager, Chris Murphy, they released their first single Simple Simon/We Are The Vegetables in May 1980 followed by their debut album INXS (which I wrote about here) which appeared that October. Their first top 40 Australian hit, Just Keep Walking, was released in September.
The band’s second album, Underneath The Colours, was released in October 1981 (touring commitments meant they began work on it in the July of that year and had finished it by August). At the time, Hutchence said, “Most of the songs on [it] were written in a relatively short space of time. Most bands shudder at the prospect of having 20 years to write their first album and four days to write their second. For us, though, it was good. It left less room for us to go off on all sorts of tangents”.
"We played every bar, party, pub, hotel lounge, church hall, mining town - places that made Mad Max territory look like a Japanese garden."
- Michael interviewed in the 'Sun Herald', Australia, 1993
Shabooh Shoobah was released in October 1982 and the single, The One Thing, gave them their first top 30 hit in the US charts and, crucially, was their first video to show on MTV. They toured the album in the US, supporting a variety of acts and gaining ever more exposure. The Swing was released in April 1984 and included the Nile Rodgers produced Original Sin (which I wrote about here) that became their first number one hit and did well around the world, except for the UK where it was largely ignored. After touring Europe, the UK, the US and Australia for most of 1984, the band recorded Listen Like Thieves with producer Chris Thomas in March 1985 (which I wrote about here) for release that October.
With Michelle Bennett in 1985
At the 1985 Countdown Awards in May, Michael shared for “Best Songwriter” with Andrew and walked away with “Most Popular Male”. In July, INXS performed at the Oz for Africa concert (in conjunction with Live Aid).
In 1986, he starred as Sam in Dogs In Space, written and directed by longtime INXS video collaborator Richard Lowenstein and provided vocals for four songs on the soundtrack, including Rooms For The Memory. Before starting work on their next album, INXS toured the country with Australian Made, featuring alongside Jimmy Barnes, Models, Divinyls, Mental As Anything, The Triffids and I’m Talking. Barnes collaborated with INXS on a cover of Good Times which later featured on The Lost Boys soundtrack.
By now, Michael was living in Hong Kong so he & Andrew between them wrote all the songs for the next album on separate continents. Again produced by Chris Thomas, Kick (which I wrote about here) was released in October 1987 and took the band to worldwide popularity, becoming a top 10 hit in Australia (no. 1), the US (no. 3) and the UK (no. 9). Accompanied by well made videos (Hutchence was a natural on film and even though the band was always stressed as being six blokes, he got the lions share of attention) that enraptured MTV, the band toured the album heavily during 1987 and 1988 and, in that year, it swept the MTV Video Music Awards (Need You Tonight/Mediate won in five categories).
INXS were on top of the world and Michael was increasingly popular, a fact helped by his being good at his job. Ian McFarlane wrote in the Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop, “He was the archetypal rock showman. He exuded an overtly sexual, macho cool with his flowing locks, and lithe and exuberant stage movements.” Lowenstein said, in interview, “"He would flirt with everybody - women or waiters in restaurants [and] he had a magnetic effect on men as well as women, [helped by] the direct eye contact that he gave everyone. He wanted to seduce everyone, if not physically then metaphysically.”
Jenny Morris, a longtime friend of the band who provided backing vocals for The Swing and Listen Like Thieves, said in interview, "People assume Michael was nothing but this big-headed rock star but he never became that. He was always incredibly interested in other people, no matter how big a celebrity he was. There's a reason why men and women loved Michael - it was because he gave everyone the time of day. He'd look you in the eye and you knew that he was listening to you and that he was interested in what you were saying."
The Kick era from left - Andrew Farriss, Jon Farriss, Kirk Pengilly, Michael Hutchence, Tim Farriss, Garry Gary Beers
On a band break following the end of the Kick tour, Michael collaborated with Ollie Olsen on the Max Q project and also appeared in Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound, directed by Roger Corman.
Having always enjoyed the company of women - Michael shared a 10-year relationship with Michelle Bennett and they were still close when he died - as his popularly increased, so did the attention on his private life, which he found difficult to understand. That only increased when he began dating Kylie Minogue, accompanying her to the premiere of her 1989 film The Delinquets (for which she wore a platinum blonde wig - apparently, Suicide Blonde was written with her in mind). Kylie later said of their romance, “I guess I was at the perfect age, I was 21 years old, to get the butterfly wings and go out into the world and we collided at that time and I guess he just fast-tracked some of it. Anyway, it was a glorious time, [he was] responsible for so many firsts. I loved it.” For his part, Michael said, "She's a really bright, really nice person. And I certainly didn't corrupt her. If anything, our relationship made her more independent.” Although they split up amidst press reports of his womanising, they remained good friends until his death.
With Kylie Minogue (left) and Helena Christensen
INXS released X in September 1990 and, although a big success with two hit singles (Suicide Blonde and Disappear), it wasn’t as popular as Kick. In July 1991 the band headlined the Summer XS gig at Wembley stadium and Michael won ‘Best International Artist’ at the 1991 Brit Awards, with INXS taking ‘Best International Group’. Whilst dating Kylie, the photographer Herb Ritts introduced Michael to Danish model Helena Christensen in 1991 and they began a relationship that would last for four years and was, by all accounts, solid and committed.
Summer XS, Wembley Stadium, July 1991
Welcome To Wherever You Are was released in August 1992 and although it received good reviews (I really enjoyed it), it wasn’t as commercially successful as its predecessors and the band didn’t tour it. The same year, riding a bicycle home from a Copenhagen nightclub, he was involved in an incident with a taxi driver, which ended with him falling and hitting his head. Michael waited several days before seeing a doctor and, a result, his fractured skull and severed nerves left him with only about 10% of his senses of taste and smell.
“Ever since the accident, he was on a slow decline,” said Richard Lowenstein in interview. “One night in Melbourne, he broke down and sobbed in my arms, saying ‘I can’t even taste my girlfriend any more’. For someone who was such a sensual being, this loss of primary senses affected his notion of place in the world and, I believe, damaged his psyche.” In an effort to keep on top of increasing bouts of depression, Michael became reliant on Prozac, growing increasingly sensitive to criticism and conflict. Whilst recording on the Isle of Capri, Michael was said to be difficult to deal with emotionally and at one point threatened to kill bandmate Garry Gary Beers who later said, “over those six weeks, Michael threatened or physically confronted nearly every member of the band.” Lowenstein said, “I’d never seen any evidence of depression, erratic behaviour or violent temper before [the accident]. I saw all those things after it.”
"I get pretty terrified, to be honest, when I’m on tour. You really have to muster a lot of ego to go out there, which I find rather draining. In fact you have to muster an enormous ego to go out and be bigger than a huge crowd of people. It’s hard enough to do that with four or five people, let alone 20,000. You know sometimes I just want to curl up on stage and lie there for a while - it’s weird."
- Michael interviewed in 'Sky Magazine', UK, 1990
With Paula Yates and Tiger Lily
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts was released in November 1993 and struggled to find its place in a music world increasingly focused on grunge. The band took time off, though Michael remained in the public eye as he started work on a solo album. His relationship with Christensen ended when he renewed a friendship with Paula Yates, which began in 1985 when she interviewed him on The Tube. She interviewed him again in 1994 on The Big Breakfast and they began an affair, ending her long marriage to Bob Geldof, who was still highly regarded by the British media. Scrutiny was intense, Michael assaulted a paparazzi photographer and the bitter custody battle between Yates and Geldof was held very publicly. They divorced in May 1996, two months before she gave birth to Michael’s only child, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily who he described as “just what we ordered”.
INXS reconvened in April 1996 to work on the band’s 10th official album, after a greatest hits which was released in October 1994. Elegantly Wasted, recorded in Canada, was released in April 1997and enjoyed less commercial success than Full Moon, Dirty Hearts had (though I thought it was far superior). INXS went on a 20th anniversary world tour to support it (we saw them at the NEC on 17th June), the final leg being a homecoming series of dates in Australia in November and December. By then, however, relations between Yates and Geldof (over custody) and Geldof and Michael (the latter convinced he and Yates would lose Tiger Lily, following the discovery of opium in their London home) were getting worse. Depression was eating at Hutchence from other sources too - the falling success of the band, his estrangement with his mother, a sense that that there was a gulf between him and his bandmates (most of whom had settled down in Australia) and a growing sense that, creatively speaking, INXS had peaked.
He arrived in Sydney on Tuesday 18th November, checking into the Ritz Carlton in Double Bay and met his bandmates for rehearsals on the Thursday and Friday, the latter of which were filmed. After taking his dad to dinner, he went back to the hotel and met an old girlfriend, Kym Wilson, there with her new partner. Reportedly stressed because Geldof had refused Paula permission to bring two of their daughters to Australia for the Christmas period, there were angry phone calls between the two men, before he rang his New York agent, Martha Troup and Michelle Bennett. Although his first call to Bennett was missed, she picked up the second, at 9.54am. Hutchence was crying and wanted to see her, so she went to the hotel, arriving at 10.40am but he didn’t answer. Assuming he’d either gone out or gone to bed she left a note at reception for him and went home.
Michael’s body was discovered by a hotel maid at 11.50am on 22nd November 1997. He was 37 years old.
When his death was announced later that day, it came as a shock to most and, sadly, the British tabloids went into meltdown with Michael quickly became known more for seducing Kylie Minogue and stealing Paula Yates from ‘Saint’ Bob than his music.
His funeral was held at St Andrew’s Cathedral on 27th November, his coffin carried in by his INXS bandmates and brother Rhett. Cremated at Northern Suburbs Crematorium in Sydney, his bizarre family situation - estranged from his mother and step-sister and with Paula Yates making some terrible decisions in her grief - meant his ashes were divided between his dad, mum and Paula & Tiger Lily. His INXS friends joined his father, brother, Michelle Bennett and other old friends on a yacht in Sydney Harbour on 21st January 1998 - what would have been his 38th birthday - where, after swapping stories and as a Maori singer sang Amazing Grace, his father and brother tipped Michael’s ashes overboard.
On 6th February 1998, after an autopsy and inquest, the New South Wales State Coroner Derrick Hand presented his report which ruled Michael’s death was a suicide, while depressed and under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
His solo album, Michael Hutchence, was released in October 1999 and included the song Slide Away, a duet with old friend Bono, whose vocals were recorded after Michael’s death.
Paula Yates died on 17th September 2000 of an accidental heroin overdose, her body discovered by 4-year-old Tiger. Bob Geldof filed for custody and, despite proceedings organised by Michael’s mother and step-sister, gained it, allowing Tiger to grow up with her half-sisters.
Kelland Hutchence died of cancer on 12th December 2002 while Patricia (since remarried) died of cancer on 21st September 2010.
I'm pleased to announce that my new novella Polly will be published on 30th November by Stormblade Productions, with an online Facebook launch party to be hosted that day by Carrie Buchanan between 8pm and 10pm. You can find the launch here.
Leaving her cheating husband and hollow marriage behind, Polly goes to Paris to visit a city she’s always wanted to see and open the next chapter in her life. The City Of Love is everything she wanted it to be and even more - the grandeur of the architecture, the Seine, the people, the atmosphere. This could be the start of something special, something new.
But why did she keep running into the strange man she met on the plane, the one she christened Mr Creepy because his smile made her skin crawl? Perhaps it was just her imagination, perhaps it was paranoia but still…
Quickly making new friends - an American called Katrina and a waiter called Francois - she hoped to start again in a city that didn’t know her and never mind their melodramatic stories of a ‘necktie murderer’ stalking the backstreets of Paris.
What could possibly go wrong?
This all began with a Facebook message, in August 2015, from Neil Buchanan at Stormblade Productions asking if I’d like to write something for him. Since I’d never had an audio book of my work done before, I readily agreed and the first idea came to me in late August, as I was driving and the INXS song New Sensation came on the stereo. I’d already decided I was going to have a female protagonist (Carrie Buchanan narrates the Stormblade audio and it made sense to utilise a terrific female voice actor as much as possible) and my mind made the link that a new sensation could be a bloke or a destination.
I originally thought it’d be horror (since that’s my default genre) but the tone shifted as I worked on the notes (and my novella Drive, a dark thriller, began attracting attention). I had most of the story in my head to pitch it to Neil and Carrie at FantasyCon that October and, buoyed by the fact they liked it, began writing in November.
I had trouble with the original ending (which was a lot darker than it is now) and talked it through with my friend Sue Moorcroft at one of our regular Trading Post meet-ups but otherwise it flowed well, with the first draft written in little over a month. After taking a fortnight off, I wrote the second draft, sent it to my pre-readers (Kim Talbot Hoelzli, David Roberts and Sue) and using their notes, wrote the third draft in January 2016.
The bulk of the story takes place in the Latin Quarter of Paris, somewhere I’d wanted to visit since my teens (like Polly). I was lucky enough to travel there several times on business, where the local manager of our company delighted in showing me around his wonderful city, pointing out places of interest and feeding us in fine restaurants. On one occasion, I got to walk alongside the Seine to Notre Dame, taking lots of pictures. listening to the people and music around me and realised the Left Bank was everything I had always hoped it would be.
Finally, I was able to work my love for The 400 Blows into the story. Polly stays in L’Hotel Truffaut (named for Francois, the director) and all the names come from either the actors or the characters in the film. The one exception is the disco where Polly meets Manu – another favourite film of mine is Pauline a la Plage, directed by Eric Rohmer, so he lent his name to Club Eric.
In real life, Paris was everything I wanted it to be and more - as beautiful and grimy as London can be, with fantastic architecture and a wonderful atmosphere - and I had a lot of fun revisiting it with Polly.
The Metro at Saint-Michel, Paris - May 2012
A Bouquiniste, alongside the Seine, with Notre Dame in the background - May 2012
The plane hadn’t stopped before
the first telephones began chiming with incoming messages and passengers got to
their feet to pull their belongings from the overhead lockers. Nobody had sat between Polly and the man and
she’d noticed him giving her furtive looks throughout the flight, mainly at her
legs. Horrible creepy man.
She waited until he got up and
retrieved his laptop case and a small rucksack before she moved across the
seats. He looked down and gave her a
sour smile. “Enjoy Paris,” he said.
“I’ll enjoy my romantic
weekend,” she said.
“I’m sure you will,” he said and
pushed into the line of people.
Polly watched until he’d left
the plane before she stood and waited for someone to let her into the queue.
She went through passport control quickly, the immigration staff apparently uninterested by blonde English women. The man behind the counter quickly checked her photograph then handed the document back with a curt, “Thank you.” “Merci,” she said and offered him a bright smile. His expression didn’t change. Charles DeGaulle airport was light and airy, with high ceilings, plenty of glass and pale marbled floors. It wasn’t overcrowded and Polly allowed herself to be carried along with the knot of fellow passengers to Arrivals. Some bags had already come onto the carousels and she stood to one side, trying to spot Mr Creepy but he was nowhere to be seen. Ahead, through the windows, she could see roads and car-parks and the sun struggling to break through the clouds. After she got her case, Polly made her way to the entrance, checking signs and trying to read the language rather than look at the symbols. She passed a couple of small cafes, the smell of fresh coffee intoxicating. Further on was a big restaurant, surprisingly full and kids dragged their parents into a McDonalds franchise next door. Between the two was a toilet and she went in, relieved herself, washed her hands and stared in the mirror. The forty-four-year-old Polly Harper who stared back looked better than she’d expected. Yes there were perhaps a few too many laugh lines around her mouth and eyes but they added to her, she’d earned and wore them well. Her straight blonde hair was cut to her shoulders and looked good, the fringe covering most of her forehead. She had a narrow nose, blue eyes that seemed darker in winter than summer and thin lips, none of which she particularly liked but all of which made her Polly. She’d never really considered herself pretty but now, looking at herself in the mirror and disconcerted by the vaguely haunted look in her eyes, she realised she would have to or else she’d crumble. What she’d discovered at home, what she’d walked in on, didn’t reduce her - if that was the view she took, she was lost. No, she was as pretty as she’d ever been, if she wasn’t prettier than she was yesterday or the day before that and she needed to keep that in the forefront of her mind, to try and drive away the haunted look. She saw the girl, her eyes large with surprise and perhaps fear. She saw Dale’s hands all over her tits and felt a shiver run down her spine - no, don’t think about it. It can’t be changed, now is the time to move forward. Think ahead, think positive. She was here in Paris, so what if she was on her own, she might have been in Barcelona now with a husband she didn’t know was cheating on her. Polly ordered a coffee from a busy stand near the main entrance. Next to it was a newsagent and she glanced at the headlines as she waited for her Americano to cool. The police, apparently, were no nearer to finding out the identity of the so-called Necktie Murderer, having just released a suspect. She blew on the coffee and took a sip - strong and rich, just as she liked it. Now what? She hadn’t planned beyond this point and couldn’t decide between catching a train into the city, which would be more glamorous or a taxi, which would be more direct. She looked up as Mr Creepy came out of the toilet, stopped by the door and used his handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth. Surprised, Polly stepped back behind a pillar and counted to five, then peeped around. He was looking in the opposite direction, towards the signs for the train station and that made up her mind on how to get into the city. Mr Creepy turned slowly and locked eyes with her. A small smile played at the corners of his lips and he nodded. “I see you,” he mouthed. Startled, it felt like his words had pulled the oxygen from her lungs as her heart seemed to thud against her ribs. She slipped behind the pillar again and rested her head against it, her mouth suddenly dry, the only sound the rushing blood in her ears. Had he really mouthed that? Perhaps he was trying to be flirty, a kind of “peekaboo, I see you” and not something sinister, but it hadn’t felt like that. “You’re being paranoid,” she said out loud as if making a sound would confirm it. Nobody paid her any attention, which didn’t help. Not wanting to see what Mr Creepy was doing - if he suddenly appeared around the pillar, with that little half-smile, Polly was convinced she’d scream - she grabbed her case and made for the main doors, trying to lose herself in the gaggle of people there. She didn’t turn, didn’t pause, just barged her way through and out into the cool morning air. A few people were standing at the taxi rank but there were more vehicles than passengers, so she stopped by the drivers door window of the first unoccupied one. “Are you free?” she asked the driver, a huge black man who spilled over his seat onto the centre console. The driver nodded and smiled. His left canine was capped in silver. “Oui, je suis entrer.” “Merci,” she said and got into the back, sitting behind him. As he pulled into the traffic, shouting heartily at a bus that wouldn’t let him by, Polly risked a glance behind but couldn’t see Mr Creepy. She took a deep breath, willing her heart rate to slow down.
As a visually stunning film, Star Wars lent itself readily to artwork interpretations so for the eleventh entry in my Star Wars At 40 thread, I thought I'd look at some of the posters that came out in 1977 and 1978 to promote the film.
Tom Chantrell (1977)
Perhaps because it was one of the key UK release posters, this remains my favourite. Tom Chantrell (1916-2001) was a British commerical artist who, according to the Guardian, helped "define the look of British film advertising." He designed the posters for hundreds of films, starting with The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) and working through to the 80s when original artwork for film posters fell out of fashion. At the same time, his bread and butter work - exploitation films, Kung Fu movies, British sex comedies and Hammer horror - wasn't being released on the big screen and he moved successfully into designing video covers.
Drew Struzan (1977)
Drew Struzan (born in 1947) has since become synonymous with the Star Wars saga, but this was his first work for Lucasfilm. Apparently, after finishing this, he realised he hadn't left enough space for the credits so, with no time to do it again, ripped the poster's edge and added extra paper to the sides. He painted a new background, as if the poster had been hung on a wooden wall and added in Obi-Wan Kenobi for good measure. It is said to be George Lucas' favourite poster and is now part of the Museum Of Modern Art's permanent collection.
Tom Jung (1977)
This was the first theatrical release poster for Star Wars, created by Tom Jung who began his career with La Strada (1954) and worked on a wide variety of films through to the end of the 80s. As well as drawing the back cover for the Star Wars original soundtrack, he created posters for The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi and drew the covers for the novels Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command.
Tom Jung (1977) US quad poster
The Brothers Hildebrandt (1977)
The Brothers Hildebrandt (twins Greg and Tim) were born in 1939, with Tim passing away in June 2006 due to complications of diabetes. Collaboratively they worked as fantasy and science-fiction artists, producing illustrations for comic, children’s books, posters, novels, calendars and trading cards. Perhaps best known for their Tolkien-inspired work in the 70s, Greg Hildebrandt believes it was this that led them to Star Wars. “The reason they called us,” Greg said in interview, “is because Tim and I had just done the Lord of the Rings calendar, and we had a fan following."
Fast workers, they had just thirty-six hours to create their painting, based on Tom Jung’s theatrical one-sheet. The resultant poster became a signature image of the 70s and was used widely on merchandise, as well as becoming the main theatrical poster in the UK, Spain and Turkey.
Tom Beauvais (1977) - unused concept art
In an interview with Film On Paper (linked here), Tom Beauvais says, "The job came into the office and we all had a go at designing for it, but obviously Tom Chantrell’s version was eventually chosen. I used day-glo paper to really make the title of the film pop with bright colour. I started by putting ordinary yellow paint on the lightsaber but it looked too much like custard so I ended up using more day-glo on that to give it the right feel."
Dan Goozee (1977) - unused concept art
1977 - unused promotional poster
The famous pre-release poster (which is simple and very effective), selling the film on the success of American Graffiti.
John Berkey - The Battle Of Yavin (1977)
John Berkey - novelisation cover art (1976)
George Lucas was a fan of John Berkey and purchased some of his space artwork whilst working on his ideas for Star Wars. One of Berkey’s illustrations - showing a ship diving from space towards a metallic world - is echoed by the Ralph McQuarrie painting of a Y-Wing descending on the Death Star.
Berkey (1932-2008) was known primarily as a sci-fi artist but, in his own words, “never cared much for science fiction”. A legal dispute (between 20th Century Fox and Universal over links between Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica) made it impossible for him to work on the first film, but he did produce at least eleven pieces of artwork for it. 'The Battle Of Yavin' poster was included in the Star Wars double-vinyl soundtrack album and shows off a dogfight over the Death Star (and includes several Millennium Falcon’s). The 1977 novelisation featured his group shot of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. During an interview in 2005, Berkey said he had “yet to see Star Wars. I suppose I should see it one of these days.”
Howard Chaykin (1976)
This was distributed at conventions and comic shops during 1976 to hype Star Wars to sci-fi fans. Only 1,000 copies were apparently produced.
The great Ralph McQuarrie (who I wrote about at length here) also created several concept poster designs, all of which featured his original font.
This was used as the cover art for the Del Ray novelisation in the US
2017 marks the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, which was released in the US on 25th May though it didn't hit the UK until 29th January 1978 (following a 27th December release in London). I was lucky enough to see it in early 1978 and it remains my favourite film to this day.
To mark the anniversary, I'll be running a year-long blog thread about the film with new entries posted on the first Monday of each month.
As regular readers of the blog will know, I’ve been friends with Sue Moorcroft since 1999 when I first joined Kettering Writers Group and, as a genre writer (the group leader had more of a literary persuasion), I was sat at the back with her and we had great fun (we were the only ones publishing regularly). Since then, she's gone from strength to strength and I've been fortunate to interview her several times on the blog (which you can read here, here, here and here). Tomorrow sees the paperback launch of her latest novel The Little Village Christmas (the first in her new three-book deal with Avon Books) and I loved it, partly because it's a great story well told but also because it revisits her fictional village of Middledip. With that in mind, Sue & I took some time to sit down for a Publication Day Eve interview…
MW: Thanks for sitting down with me, Sue, on the eve of the paperback publication. The ebook was launched on 9th October, how does it feel having two launches?
SM: Getting the ebook out a month or so before the paperback and audio is something I’ve encountered before. It allows reviews to be posted, which helps the sales team sell the paperback into retailers (if the reviews are good). This time there’s only four weeks between ebook and paperback releases but it was about eight for The Christmas Promise, last year, when it did seem as if the paperback release took a long time to come around.
Generally, I feel having two launches is fine as it provides two opportunities for publication-day promotion. It does eat up twice as much time though.
My last book, Just for the Holidays, was released in ebook, paperback and audio on the same day. It seems as if summer books and Christmas books have different selling patterns.
MW: Does the staggered launch affect your promotional activities for the book?
SM: Yes. We keep things like radio interviews back for the paperback. Presenters are sent a copy ahead of time and, if I’m lucky, read some of the book and have it in front of them on the day. I quite often work with different people at my publisher’s too – the digital media manager for the ebook and the publicist for the paperback. We aim a lot of digital stuff, like Twitter chats, at the ebook. For The Little Village Christmas the blog tour has been put together to cover both ebook and paperback/audio, which is great.
MW: Since this is your third Avon novel, are you finding the promotional process any easier?
SM: I’m not sure whether ‘easier’ is the correct term. I enjoy promo, so long as I have time to do it. I’m spending a couple of days on writing interviews such as this one, messing around with YouTube videos, going on the radio and making a few graphics for social media. Then there’s a competition for those who read my newsletter, one for Twitter and one for my street team, Team Sue Moorcroft.
A Street Team meet up in Birmingham, October 2017
MW: How does your street team fit into this?
SM: I feel privileged to have a street team. Simply put, a street team is made up of people who like someone’s work so much that they’re willing to tell others about it. A reader suggested it to me. At the time, I felt that only big American authors had street teams, but I cautiously dipped a toe in the water and people were kind enough to join. It’s run through a closed Facebook group where I can post news and gossip and ask people to share my social media posts. I’m doubly fortunate that some members of my street team are book bloggers and so they have a good reach with the reading public.
MW: This is your second Christmas novel (following last year’s Number One Bestseller The Christmas Promise, which I wrote about here), do you feel any better about the festive period now?
SM: Yes! It’s amazing how having a bestselling Christmas book has changed my view of the season. Also, it warms my heart to see books being given as gifts, and Christmas books for Christmas gifts are popular, so I had a fair number of reviews coming through in January and February as The Christmas Promise made it to the top of people’s ‘to be read’ piles.
MW: Do you find it difficult writing a winter novel during spring and summer?
SM: Not terribly so. Having written for magazines with six-month lead-ins for some years I did get used to writing my Christmas stories in June and summer stories in December. Writers have to have good imaginations – I don’t expect you ever did research with real demons or ghosts when writing about them! Writers adapt.
Having said all that, this summer I was able to write part of One Summer in Italy while in Italy and I did find it extremely helpful in putting over atmosphere. My agent and editor have both commented on how easily they were able to ‘put themselves there’.
Sue with her agent, Juliet Pickering
MW: I liked The Little Village Christmas a great deal, as I mentioned before, not only because it’s a cracking story but also because it revisits Middledip. How was that for you?
SM: Oh, now, that was lovely. I visited ‘my’ village for a chapter or two in The Christmas Promise and it made me hungry to get back there for a whole book, hence The Little Village Christmas. (My books are all stand-alone but several of them are set in Middledip.) I found that quite a few things had changed in my absence. Gwen’s no longer at the shop (although Tubb is still at the pub) and a couple of continuing minor characters had seen changes in their lives.
MW: Was it good fun involving characters from previous novels? They aren’t used as in-jokes (they are integral to the story) but for longtime readers like myself, there was a nice resonance to seeing them in the pub.
SM: Yes, definitely. In particular, The Little Village Christmas has provided me with the opportunity of learning more about Carola, who’s head of the village hall committee and is always trying to involve people in community projects. She entered the book when things weren’t going well for her and it took her a long time to admit the truth to Alexia. Alexia’s a bit of a reluctant heroine, as she’s about to leave the village when the book starts, and it’s ties to villagers like Carola that make it hard to actually make the break. The project Alexia’s working on, transforming The Angel pub into The Angel Community Café, goes very wrong when someone runs away with all the money so she feels she has to mount a rescue mission too.
Gabe and his pony, Snobby, also play strong supporting roles. I always enjoyed Gabe. He’s a bank manager who’s never cut his hair since he left the bank and lives peaceably on his little plot of land with his cats and chickens. Gabe’s the uncle of my hero, Ben Hardaker. Ben’s a woodsman who’s come to live only on the very fringes of the little village of Middledip and he fits into Gabe’s family a treat. He describes himself as ‘an oddball having a bad day’. He’s really trying to move on when he meets Alexia and for a while it looks as if she’s just what he needs … but life’s never that easy. He finds himself drawn into Alexia’s problems no matter how hard he resists.
Sue (2nd from right) at FantasyCon in Peterborough, September 2017 (with me, Lisa Childs and Peter Mark May)
MW: I’ve timed the interview now because I’ve yet to make the transition to Kindle and I know you’re a keen e-reader. Do you ever read paperbacks these days?
SM: Definitely, and hardbacks too. I’m reading the new book by F1 World Champion Jenson Button at the moment, and that’s in hardback. (I wonder whether he’s reading The Little Village Christmas?) I still have several hundred paperbacks and hardbacks and rarely find rereading a hardship. I have to be honest and say that I find an e-reader easier to handle, though, as I have a nerve problem in my left arm and an e-reader can be held in one hand.
MW: So, what’s next?
SM: I have structural edits to tweak on One Summer in Italy, but at the same time I’m planning my next Christmas book. I don’t have a title for it yet but I do know it’s going to be set in London as well as in Middledip and that it will be about Joe, who’s gone from rags to riches, and Georgie, who’s gone from riches to rags. At the moment I’m just bringing together background information but I’m really looking forward to getting into it because this is the book that’s been hammering at the back of my mind while I was writing One Summer in Italy. At least this means that I’m planning a Christmas book in the run up to Christmas, and I have the promo for The Little Village Christmas, of course!
Thanks for inviting me over, Mark. As always, I’ve enjoyed our chat.
Best-selling and award-winning author Sue Moorcroft writes contemporary women’s fiction with occasionally unexpected themes. A past vice chair of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and editor of its two anthologies, Sue also writes short stories, serials, articles, writing ‘how to’ and is a creative writing tutor. She’s won a Readers’ Best Romantic Read Award and the Katie Fforde Bursary.
