Mapperley author Jacques Morrell posts about his debut novel
“As I hawk copies of The Showman around various outlets and events, I have enjoyed talking about the story which has been part of me for many months.
Whilst my publisher Porchester Press manages the online sales and orders, it is an author’s duty to engage with the public and to sell their story to a target audience, whatever that is.
Book distributors need to know the category that best suits the novel they are supplying. This categorisation begins with the novel being included in the Nielsen Book Database, where it joins more than 25 million titles, making it available to booksellers, libraries and publishers worldwide.
I have called it a suspense thriller, consciously avoiding the word crime. Whilst my novel has a number of deaths at the hand of a ‘third party’ and the police getting involved (to varying degrees of competency), it is not a crime thriller.
The novel is set in Chicago initially, and then Nottingham. It did not need to start and finish there, I just felt that the story needed a real location to give it an authenticity. That gave me the legitimacy to develop the characters. The sub-plots and spin-off narratives in the story then just happened naturally.
As the sales of my book continue, I assume the reviews and critical analysis of it will continue. I look forward to hearing about any weaknesses in my style of writing or the narrative itself. I will need this before I begin writing again in the winter.
Meanwhile I will take this comment from a reader as a positive.”
There is something definitely Stephen King like about your writing. The hint of the supernatural running alongside beautifully written actual events makes it a very entertaining read.