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Tag: The Butterfly Collector

The Butterfly Collector

‘What happens when everything you have is not enough?’ I first penned The Butterfly Collector in 2007 in a couple of hardback notebooks. It started, as most of my novels do, with a single idea – in this case, a couple meeting for the first time in the kitchen at a party. Peter Calliet is a property developer who has all…

The Art of Deception

I’m currently reading The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova, which looks at why we are so easily taken in by the scheming of others. The book cites major frauds and audacious imposters as examples, and explains why we as gullible victims make their work so much easier for them. As a novelist, I’ve always been interested in deception as a theme.…

Villain of the Piece

What qualities do you look for in a fictional character? Someone who helps old ladies across the road? Someone who puts all their spare time and effort into furthering the interests of mankind? I very much doubt it. And yet when it comes to the bad guy there’s an almost universal desire to see him (or her) suffer. Ever since David slew…

The Enemy Within

My son informed me recently in solemn tones that he had some bad news for me. Steeling myself for the worst, I waited. The news as it turned out was indeed rather distressing.  He’d found a typo in my second novel. Given the times I’ve read the manuscript, not to mention the proofreaders and editors who’ve also been over it…

Too much downtime

I shelved my third novel for a week at Christmas. Why? To recharge batteries and take a well-earned break from the ceaseless toil. The workaholic in me went haywire. To offset the sense of panic, I grabbed a notebook and began hastily penning the screenplay for my first novel, The Butterfly Collector. This would suffice until the New Year, I thought.…

In the Lion’s Den

Novelists are a sensitive bunch on the whole. So it was with some trepidation that I agreed to face a library book club on a cold, wet Monday afternoon, to hear their comments on my novel The Butterfly Collector. One of the things a writer fears most is criticism. You’ve spent hours labouring over your magnum opus and expect the…

Peter Calliet – miscreant or misunderstood?

‘Coarse.’ ‘Objectionable.’ ‘A spoilt, commitment-phobic womaniser and control freak.’ ‘Misogynist with a building site attitude to women.’ These are but a few of the many comments by female readers aimed at Peter Calliet, the main protagonist in my first novel The Butterfly Collector. As the author and creator, I suppose I should rush to his defence like the parent of a badly…

The Butterfly Collector on Hot Radio!

Adam was recently a guest of Hot Radio and was interviewed by Geoff Carter for his 12 o’clock interview. He talked about ‘The Butterfly Collector‘ and also about the world of self-publishing.

Sunday

I had a good day today. I got up around nine and had the first of many cups of coffee. Then I hit the laptop and posted an interview with fellow writer James Manlow. Following this, I updated posts for my novel The Butterfly Collector, for Twitter and Facebook, and headed back downstairs for a spot of restorative T’ai Chi. Actually, I didn’t do it in that order at all, but, hey, this is supposed to be random!

Self-publish and be damned (Part Two)

A short while ago, I made the decision to self-publish my first novel The Butterfly Collector. Far from being a whim, or the result of excessive vanity (although I have enough of that), the decision was taken after some consideration. Prior to this, my novel had undertaken an extensive tour of agent’s offices and publishing houses without any offers. The waiting time…