Good morning/afternoon/evening one and all, from a blustery Salisbury, UK.
A big thank you to those who have signed up to my newsletter in the last month – it’s great to meet you, so to speak. I hope you’re enjoying your free copy of ‘Frozen To The Core’. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think.
Haunting My Dreams
On my mind at the moment is the subject of… baddies! For two reasons. The first, I can’t really go into too much, mainly because it involves SPOILERS!!! (Something I absolutely detest.) I will say that it concerns the next book and everything that I’m working on at the moment. Not cryptic at all then. And the second reason is one of the television shows I’ve been watching with my wife. To unwind, we like to watch a couple of episodes of something before we go to bed (usually a box set of some kind that we’ve stumbled across or had recommended to us). Over the course of the last year or so, we started watching one that has become something of a favourite, the latest series of which is currently showing week by week on the television. The main character is an absolute evil genius, with very little in the way of moral guidance, or so it would seem. He has no compunction about pulling out a gun and killing someone there and then in cold blood. Ruthless would be an understatement. But all is not quite as it seems, as is normally the case with these tightly written shows. There is also more than a modicum of good within him. As well, and this is one of the long running plot holes if you like, you get to think that he’s a father, doing his very best for his estranged/long lost daughter. Having two daughters myself, perhaps this is one of the parts that I relate to the most. What series am I talking about? The Blacklist. If you haven’t watched it, then I can highly recommend it. Now before we go any further, I should just drop in some background. I hate baddies! There… I’ve said it. I can’t think of one in the whole of my life (up until watching The Blacklist) that I’ve ever related to or liked even vaguely. They do nothing for me. From Darth Vader in Star Wars, one of my favourite franchises, to the Borg in Star Trek, through every film I’ve ever seen, and every book I’ve ever read. DULL, DULL, DULL, DULL, DULL! Writing about baddies is just as bad, if not worse. I relate to and get lost in all of the characters in my books, and often try and put myself in their shoes, attempt to figure out what it is they’re thinking at any given time and just what makes them tick. Not the baddies though. They send a cold shiver down my spine (or tail) when I’m writing about them, forcing me to distance myself from them. But (back to The Blacklist) not the main character of the show… Raymond Reddington. He’s despicable, horrid, evil, a murderer who condones torture and other heinous crimes. But, (here it comes) I absolutely love him! It’s utterly bizarre. If he were real, I’d want to be his friend, get involved in doing his dirty work. How on earth is that possible? I despise every dark and evil character I’ve ever come across. What makes him so special? I’ve spent weeks thinking about this (mainly because of what I’m working on) and yet I’m no closer to understanding it. So with that in mind, I have a question.
Which baddie do you most admire, and of course why? It could be anything……books, films, television series.
Drop me a line, and let me know, why don’t you. I’d be fascinated with your answers.
Since the start of the year all I’ve been doing is working on the fifth book in my Young Adult fantasy series, ‘A Fiery Farewell’. Over ninety thousand words now, that’s getting on for halfway. It always amazes me that even with the greatest of planning, the writing process often takes me off the beaten track and turns just the simplest of things into something much more complicated. At the end of last year, I would have told you there would be two more books in the series, making it six in all. Now though…..I just simply don’t know. Half of the way into this one, doesn’t tally up with the planning that I’ve done, making it look more like three more books, seven in total. I guess I’ve never really been any good at estimating how long my books will be. More of an update next time.
Over the last month or so I’ve added the option for people in the UK to purchase signed copies of my books directly from me. You can find out more at my website: www.paulcude.com
On a personal note, we as a family haven’t been doing very much since the start of the year, due mainly to all of us working incredibly hard, lots of school stuff for the kids and of course the completely rubbish weather. We have however been watching Picard which we all just love. I can’t wait to see more familiar faces that you just know are going to turn up (Riker……I mean Riker!) My wife and I have also started watching Blue Bloods which is just brilliant. Not only has it got the wonderful Tom Selleck in it, but the New York scenery constantly reminds us of our trip there last year.
I thought I’d share this lovely picture of my eldest daughter at one of her open mic nights that she’s started going to. I find it hard to imagine having the courage at 17 to stand up in front of an audience and perform. She does, and to a really high standard. I’m so proud. I get the feeling in the not too distant future, that I’m going to become her full time roadie. Sounds like fun…..and a great deal of hard work. The picture of the leaf is one from my private collection that I thought you might like.
