Final Cover Artwork.
July 23, 2009
I’ve now had a chance to look at the new version of our final cover choice, the one that will go to the printers (I think it’s there now, actually!)
A few changes have been made to the lettering in order to introduce more depth. Naturally, I’m extremely pleased with the end result. It’s going to look incredible.
A sample chapter of If I Never can be read here.
To pre-order your copy of If I Never, please click here.
Cover Artwork for If I Never.
July 17, 2009
Yesterday, I got the final three possible covers for If I Never through from my publisher. I’d been expecting them but, still, it was a nerve-wracking moment. Already well familiar with the work of Legend Press’s designer, I shouldn’t really have been worried — but seeing a visual representation of a piece of work you spent ten months working on for the first time… well, nine o’clock in the morning and I was wondering whether I should have a Jameson’s to steady my nerves (I didn’t!)
The first image was a gritty urban scene — brick wall with the title of the book written graffiti-like across it. Had there been no other options I would have been very happy to go with this one. However, I still had two more to look at!
Image number two was very blue and striking — a hand holding something I couldn’t quite make out and a figure sprawled in the road ahead. Excellent work but a little too “crime” for If I Never, I thought.
So far, the first image was a clear winner…
… and then I opened the final file and saw this:
To say I was blown away is to understate it. I immediately sent my publisher a text message (he was out of the office, hobnobbing with royalty yet again — go Tom!) letting him know my preference, and heard back from him a short while later saying that we were in agreement.
So the image above is now the final cover choice for my debut novel, If I Never. As I’ve already said, I am over the moon with it and would like to take this opportunity to thank Gudrun Jobst for the wonderful work she has done in creating this unbelievably atmospheric visual representation of my novel.
A sample chapter of If I Never can be read here.
To pre-order your copy of If I Never, please click here.
Promotional Cards.
July 5, 2009
I’m in the process of making more promotional cards for If I Never. Business card-sized, they’re really handy to keep in your pocket and, so far, we’ve given out hundreds locally. My local Waterstone’s has also been extremely helpful in agreeing to take some. In fact, they’ve been extremely helpful full stop.
It occurred to me that, given that I know so many incredibly wonderful and generous people (grovel, grovel 
) around the UK, this might work on a more national scale. So, if you’d be interested in taking some to give to your friends/family — or, if you’re feeling especially brave, into your local Waterstone’s — please email me your details and I’ll get some to you…
Twitter Book Launch.
June 13, 2009
Only 77 days until the publication of If I Never and I am, naturally, starting to get rather excited. Pre-orders seem to be going fairly well, the final edits should hopefully be complete this week and (fingers crossed) I should have some cover art to show you within the next week or two.
I’m also starting to plan the launch — or one aspect of it, at least, since my publisher may have something additional in mind.
Given the number of friends I have online, some situated as far afield as Australia, others quite literally just down the road, it occurred to me that it would be a shame not to include them — to include you — in “the big event”. I’m therefore planning, if I get enough interest, an Internet launch. The event will largely be held on Twitter but will inevitably spill over on to Facebook and, hopefully, my website. The launch date will be 29th of August and all will be welcome… especially if you have/are planning on buying the book 
As far as I know, it will be the first Twitter book launch — so it will be quite a historic event, for me, if no one else!
If you are interested in attending/will be attending, RSVP here so I can easily judge how much interest there is. If you have any additional ideas that might make it go with even more of a swing, please shout up.
If I Never — Publication Info.
May 31, 2009
My Novel, If I Never — which is due to be published on the 29th of August — is now available for pre-order.
It is available through Waterstone’s — branches and online — and probably other stores (haven’t had chance to check, yet, but will definitely be available through other outlets very shortly.) It can, naturally, also be pre-ordered through Amazon.co.uk. I’m listed on Amazon.com, but not sure when it will be available there. Will let you know as soon as I do — though overseas customers may be interested to know, if they don’t already, that they can still buy through Amazon.co.uk.
If you would like to pre-order If I Never, please click here.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their good wishes, congratulations, help and encouragement — both whilst writing my novels and, especially, during the past couple of months. The promotional ideas and support from friends on Twitter, Facebook and, of course, here has been and continues to be invaluable. Your generosity and friendship is appreciated, even though I may not get the chance to tell you quite so often as I would like. Thank you.
Inspiration.
May 21, 2009
I decided to ask my friends and followers on Twitter to set the writing related theme for today’s blog post. The original idea was to go with the first question, but within a minute or so I’d already received two questions on the subject of “inspiration”. Jacqui (@hopefulauthor) asked: “What inspired you to write?” whilst Cat (@carocat) added, “What has inspired you to write this week?”
Two questions I’m going to do my best to address in this post!
Inspiration is something writers talk about a great deal, and it possibly means slightly different things to different people. But for me, inspiration isn’t a single moment when a light bulb goes on or lightning strikes. It doesn’t come from “the ether”. It isn’t external and it isn’t sudden.
The need to write came to me quite early. Having never been able to walk — and even though I’d always had an active life with my wonderful parents, friends and family — I’d always relied upon my imagination. I was a typical kid, in that respect, but I think it’s fair to say that my storytelling skills no doubt started back then, when I played with my toys on the living room carpet in front of the television. As my reading skills developed, I occasionally read children’s novels and at the age of seven I started writing my first novel about a headless horseman. I don’t think it ever progressed beyond the first paragraph, but the dream was there, even then.
In my teens, I moved on to reading horror fiction — the Omen trilogy, Ray Russell’s Incubus and, of course, Stephen King. And in among these horror gems I inevitably discovered some real stinkers. You know the type. Killer crabs on the rampage, piranha fish with bad attitudes, that kind of thing. I read them and, with a sneer, dismissed them, already nurturing the vague and slightly arrogant notion that I could do better.
I didn’t start writing seriously, however, until I hit twenty. I’d had to leave sixth form college a few years earlier due to illness and, after trying my hand at painting, drawing etc, I decided that I would embark upon my first novel. I knew that it was something I could do when I felt able, and it struck me as the perfect occupation for someone in a wheelchair!
My first novel was, naturally, a horror novel about a telekinetic girl called Dawn — a complete rip-off of Carrie, it was utterly appalling! The first agent I sent the completed manuscript to (single spaced, calamity of calamities!) told me that I had “a lot to learn about the narrative form”. She was right. I knew it even then — but it didn’t dent my ambition in the least. It was, after all, my first novel, and as I started my second, still well aware that it wasn’t that good, I could nonetheless see an improvement.
I remembered the words of my then literary hero — King — and thought that, just maybe, he was right. No matter how little talent you have, if you read and write regularly you will improve. So, I kept writing and found that, even whilst I yearned for publication, that stopped being was it was about. Doorways opened. I found myself writing novels I never would have imagined myself capable of, quickly moving away from horror into more literary/mainstream realms, with the occasional experimental splurge.
As for what keeps me writing — what’s inspired me this week… well, having If I Never coming out later in the year has definitely spurred me on, but there’s more to it, I think, than that; I’m very aware that I’m now writing some of the best work I’ve ever produced. That sounds incredibly immodest, but I think it’s a really important that we can acknowledge our weaknesses and strengths. I’ve addressed many of the problems my writing had — one by one, year by year — and I now feel that the energy I take from knowing that I’m doing the job well is what keeps me going.
Writing is a tough job, but it’s immensely satisfying. Ultimately, this is where I now find my inspiration.
A World Outside the Novel.
March 18, 2009
Sometimes it’s hard to remember that there are other things I need to do as well as working on As Morning Shows the Day — like post here, for example, or, generally, look up from my computer screen every once in a while and notice the world outside my window, the world outside the novel.
Such symptoms are always a good sign, of course. I’m 12,000 words in and everything is pretty much as last reported. Having everything outlined in such detail, I’m not constantly worrying about how to fit it all together, what I need to do next etc. All I have to concentrate on is keeping it going the way it is now. And I think I can manage that.
Today, however, I’m taking some time off. With a long project it’s always wise to pace one’s self. As I’m fond of saying, a novel is a marathon not a sprint.
On an unrelated note, can I just remind everyone that whilst I may not be posting as often here as I usually do, I do post regularly on Twitter. (I’ve just checked my stats and, apparently, I update Twitter on average thirty-four times a day… not in the least bit addicted, then!) It is proving a really handy way of keeping in touch in short, economic bursts. Not simply time wasting fun, though it can be that, too, but a very useful tool. Not a replacement to my blog, of course, merely another way of interacting.
Until next time, keep looking up from the screen!
A Brief Piece on Character.
February 11, 2009
One of my favourite approaches to writing a novel — the one I return to again and again — is to allow myself to become the central character, to tell the story as if I were the I-guy, as if I’ve lived the story and am now recounting it, for the benefit of myself as well as my audience.
For me, it always lends a degree of authenticity. I find it much easier to tell the story, acting it out in my head, assessing my reactions and using them to give form to the fiction. Because of this, I suppose, my narrators have a lot of “me” in them — however reshaped and disguised! Their thoughts and reactions to given circumstances may be radically different to my own, but they come from a place that I have, at least temporarily, visited. I draw on what I know, on what I am, but that’s only the beginning.
And my other characters? The ones that move around my narrator, touch him, love him, hate and hurt him? What of them?
When it comes to them the process is far more difficult to pinpoint. They are written by the observations of my narrator — by what he sees and how he interprets that. His bias possibly conceals the truth of their reality, even from me…
… and maybe that’s where the real story is. In the things that we — as readers and writers — can only guess at.
Giving Braille a Hand.
January 4, 2009
BBC News.
Losing one’s sight must be one of the most frightening experiences imaginable. It’s something that I have thought about on occasion — how it would affect me, the sights I would no longer be able to enjoy except in memory. The vulnerability of it, I’m sure, I would find especially difficult to contend with.
But also being unable to escape to the pages of a book would have a huge impact on me and my ability to deal with such a situation. My favourite refuge would be — without the possibility of learning Braille — out of bounds. Granted, audio books would be a possibility but… the times I’ve listened to them as a sighted person this medium has always struck me as far removed from the act of reading itself. Braille, it seems to me, would be the only replacement I’d find authentic enough.
So — a worthwhile cause, I would say.
“Donations to the campaign can be made via the National Braille Week website or by calling 0300 321 0000.”
BBC News.
© 2009 Gary William Murning except for quotations.
Contemplative Christmas.
December 27, 2008
A flying visit between extremely exhausting bouts of doing relatively little.
Christmas has been unexpectedly relaxing. I’ve eaten too much, of course, and complained bitterly about just how abysmal the Christmas episode of The Royle Family was (Caroline Aherne has really lost the plot), but the time away from my work has provided me with an opportunity to reassess — something I felt was needed after recent conversations regarding Tomorrow Will Come.
To cut to the chase, I’ve realised that I need to set this piece of work aside for a while. Certain aspects of it are proving problematical and I now know that it’s because I’m not entirely comfortable with it. I could hammer away at it and fix it, of course, but that would only risk damaging the novel and its author! And so, it’s on the backburner.
I seem to be going through a period of creative flux. I’m very aware of the need to find something that stands out, especially in these difficult times. I am also very aware that I’ve moved away from the kind of material I do best — tragicomic, almost absurdist pieces that draw on my early influences (John Irving, Garrison Keillor, Joseph Heller et al.) I think Mike helped me see this, even though he possibly didn’t realise it, by mentioning Heller a few days ago. Cheers, mate.
And, so, I’m going to take about another a week or so away from the problem of what I’m going to do next. I do already know that I need to write something humourous — not flat-out comedy, but something with my trademark eccentric characters. I haven’t written anything like that for… well, since before I started writing this blog, and I think the market for that kind of material has probably improved in the interim. Nonetheless, I’m not rushing into anything. I have probably been pushing a little too hard.
Time to just sit back and let the story come to me.
Everyone have a nice Christmas/holiday/anti-Christmas?
