Here is a quick round-up of some things happening with my book Anoint My Head plus some other projects in gestation.
Apologies in advance if some of the following content borders on silly.
BOOKBUB
In exciting news, Anoint My Head has been accepted for a Bookbub featured deal. For those not in the know, Bookbub is the daddy of curated book recommendation emails with a subscriber list of 14 million avid book readers. Apparently, being accepted is a big deal as they like gold dust. This means the ebook price will drop for a few days to 99p, so if you haven’t bought the book yet, this is your chance to get a blooming bargain. I’ll send a reminder email when the offer goes live next week, 21st to 27th April.
AUDIOBOOK
The wait continues for the audiobook of Anoint My Head to get final approval. It took 30 business days for Audible to check the audio files, and now they are checking that the content is appropriate. They are also experiencing longer delays than usual. I blame Brexit. And the plague. But anyway it should be available very soon. You will be the first to know when it goes live.
STALKER VIDEO
I’ve been trying to get our ex-band manager Ricky to appear in a promo video for Anoint My Head to coincide with the audiobook release. I sent him this letter.
“Dear Ricky, do you want to appear in a promo video for my book where I chase you across the heath? Maybe I could kidnap you and hold you at gunpoint until you tweet about the book AND/OR turn the book into a Netflix boxset AND/OR jump back on board as the band manager and get the Pointy Bird songs to their rightful place at number one.”
Neither his agent or assistant have got back.
It’s a shame because this could be the new King Of Comedy with Ricky playing the Jerry Lewis character.
And yes, sure, he is busy working on his own projects, but yadda yadda yadda, we’re all busy!
But then I had a eureka moment and got in touch with Ricky’s looky-likey, who seemed very keen to appear in the promo video and even keener to discuss his fee. I baulked slightly at his daily rate, but it could be a canny investment to promote the book, and maybe I can then send the footage to Ricky to give him an idea of the opportunity he is missing.
But frustratingly, now the looky-likey has gone AWOL. It’s been a few days, and I’ve sent him several email reminders.
I don’t really want to be stalking Ricky’s looky-likey; I’ve got better things to do.
Alternatively, I could see if I can find a Ricky-looky-likey-looky-likey?
Or another option could be to kidnap the real Ricky and film that.
But I don’t think we at that point.
Yet.
NEXT BOOK
I need your help. I am attempting to write another book. I have a few story ideas mapped out but can’t decide which one to commit to, so wondered if I could (to use the Americanism), ‘reach around’, ‘reach out’ and very cheekily conduct a bit of market research. Obviously, the proof is in the pudding, but I am trying to bridge the gap between what I want to write and what readers might want to read. So seeing as you may have read and hopefully enjoyed my first offering, be amazing if you can rank in order of preference which, if any, of the following pique your interest:
(1) Dickon Abbot (as in ‘Dicking About’) – A fictionalised novella following the increasingly futile attempts of a delusional dreamer with status anxiety trying to make it in the film/TV world. Possibly involves stalking a local celebrity.
(2) Simple Minds – childhood/teenage memoir covering years 1978 to 1987. In my head, it’s Adrian Mole meets The Wonder Years. It might include some new romantic music and bad hair. A kind of prequel to my memoir Anoint My Head.
(3) There’s Always Tomorrow – a kind of sequel to Anoint My Head working as music promoter documenting late nineties/noughties scene. Features early gigs with Coldplay, Killers, Arctic Monkeys etc…
(4) Collection of silly short stories featuring all of the above, plus some hilarious tales about our old family dog Max the Golden Retriever, in an attempt to emulate David Sedaris…
Kindly reply to this email with your choices or ignore/scroll.
GOLDEN EARS EPISODE 4
Lastly, I recently launched a sitcom-podcast called Golden Ears. The story follows the ups & downs of dad-manager Neil Sparks, a 49-year-old travel agent who decides to manage his unemployable son Dorian’s band. It also features a pub called The Black Pig and a dog called Memphis. There are songs and animation along the way too. Anyway, Episode 4 is out now for your listening pleasure through usual podcast directories, including our very own Radio Fandango, a discovery platform for new music and comedy podcasts. You can dive right in at episode 4 or go back to the start. There are four more episodes to follow, which are hopefully being recorded this summer. In a perfect world, this becomes a musical.
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That’s it for now. I will let you know when the Bookbub featured deal goes live next week. Andy Watch this space. Anoint My Head – How I Failed To Make it as a Britpop Indie Rockstar Out now : Paperback | EBook | Audiobook ‘Captures the time and the aspirations of a young band brilliantly. A great eye-opener into the absurd thought process of what it might take to headline Glastonbury!’ Steve Lamacq BBC 6 Music ‘Hilarious warts-and-all story of a Britpop band whose big ambitions did not meet their talents’ Dan Carrier Camden New Journal ‘Super-evocative, Proustian and a wonderful walk down memory lane.’ Mark Bowen Wichita Recordings ‘You’ll read this book in one or two sittings – it’s pure pleasure. All the fun of youthful dreams and the poignancy of disappointment – plus a remarkable A-list cameo. Magnificent.’ Phil Harrison Time Out / Guardian/ex-Selectadisc work-colleague ‘This heartwarmingly tatty ‘Withnail & I’-tinged glance back at a time before innocent indie dreams were stolen by digital streams is a must-read.’ Simon Williams fierce panda records “A healthy measure of Nick Hornby with a dash of Adrian Mole had he joined an indie band. Just the tonic for these serious and uncertain days. Bottoms up!’ Josh Levay Pointy Birds keyboardist/naysayer “If Spinal Tap had been an indie band in 1990s Britpop London. Brilliant!” Macclad ‘Bland and inoffensive with a seriously over-acting singer’ NME |