I had someone contact me through Facebook (I'm there as 'James Brooke') to say that they couldn't find my book through the Internet. It is there, honestly. I'm listed on Amazon, both in the UK and the US. It's also available from Barnes & Noble in the US. Some people have bought copies at bookstores, although it is not widely available. If you're in the centre of London, you can buy it at Foyles.
If you're in the US, you can buy the paperback directly from the publisher, JMS Books. JMS Books also sell the e-book anywhere in the world. Buying directly from the publisher should be the cheapest way to get it.
There's plenty of other ways to get hold of it. (Smashwords, for example.) If you really can't find a copy, please let me know.
Friday, 29 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
Why?
Hidden away on the pages of Amazon are loads of discussion groups where people talk about books and writing. I've just come across one headed, "So why did you write your book?" It's an interesting enough question for me to make a blog entry about my answer.
If you've been reading this blog for ages (or a if you scroll back to sometime last year) you'll know that, many years ago, I found myself spending a few days in Sarawak. It was there that I first came across James Brooke. I was fascinated by him and by the fact that over 100 years after his death people still respected and admired this European who had ruled over them all that time ago. There was a copy of his portrait (the one I've used for my cover) in the museum. It's a wonderful picture that captures somebody who had a quality of adventurousness that we don't often see today. I wanted to know more about him.
I'd always wanted to write and when I got back to England I thought that I might be able to make a story out of the events of his life. I spent a lot of time in research and did become something of an expert on the early years of his rule. The result was a historical novel that was, in the end, just loosely fictionalised history. It was a good yarn but there are better stories and it gave you a decent idea of the man but there are better biographies. It felt uncomfortably between two stools and, although it got as far as an agent, it was never published.
Years went by and I had other things to do with my life. I published some non-fiction but I put the idea of a novel firmly to one side. Eventually, though, I decided that I really did want to write something. I was fascinated by the way that decent people end up supporting terrible things. It was around this time that British and American troops went into Iraq and I wondered how people, at least some of whom had acted with the best intentions, could find themselves responsible for the terrible things that were going on. I wanted to write a book about a decent person who ends up doing things that we would expect decent people to recoil from. My original idea was to tell a wholly fictional story but then I remembered James Brooke and the massacre at Beting Marau that led to outrage amongst the Liberals in England and an official Inquiry in Singapore. How had the idealistic Brooke, who dedicated himself to improving the lot of the Borneon Dyaks, ended up killing so many of them?
So that's the story I ended up telling. Along the way I invented the character of Williamson, through whose eyes we see Brooke's kindness and his brutality. Brooke is convinced that what he did, he did for the best. Williamson, in the end, can't live with the horror of the massacre. I tried not to take sides with either of them. You have to read it and make up your own mind.
If you've been reading this blog for ages (or a if you scroll back to sometime last year) you'll know that, many years ago, I found myself spending a few days in Sarawak. It was there that I first came across James Brooke. I was fascinated by him and by the fact that over 100 years after his death people still respected and admired this European who had ruled over them all that time ago. There was a copy of his portrait (the one I've used for my cover) in the museum. It's a wonderful picture that captures somebody who had a quality of adventurousness that we don't often see today. I wanted to know more about him.
I'd always wanted to write and when I got back to England I thought that I might be able to make a story out of the events of his life. I spent a lot of time in research and did become something of an expert on the early years of his rule. The result was a historical novel that was, in the end, just loosely fictionalised history. It was a good yarn but there are better stories and it gave you a decent idea of the man but there are better biographies. It felt uncomfortably between two stools and, although it got as far as an agent, it was never published.
Years went by and I had other things to do with my life. I published some non-fiction but I put the idea of a novel firmly to one side. Eventually, though, I decided that I really did want to write something. I was fascinated by the way that decent people end up supporting terrible things. It was around this time that British and American troops went into Iraq and I wondered how people, at least some of whom had acted with the best intentions, could find themselves responsible for the terrible things that were going on. I wanted to write a book about a decent person who ends up doing things that we would expect decent people to recoil from. My original idea was to tell a wholly fictional story but then I remembered James Brooke and the massacre at Beting Marau that led to outrage amongst the Liberals in England and an official Inquiry in Singapore. How had the idealistic Brooke, who dedicated himself to improving the lot of the Borneon Dyaks, ended up killing so many of them?
So that's the story I ended up telling. Along the way I invented the character of Williamson, through whose eyes we see Brooke's kindness and his brutality. Brooke is convinced that what he did, he did for the best. Williamson, in the end, can't live with the horror of the massacre. I tried not to take sides with either of them. You have to read it and make up your own mind.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Book Group
Last night was a first for me. I was invited to a book group to talk to people who had been reading 'The White Rajah'. Someone there had noticed the death of Anthony Brooke and asked about him. They had photocopied a couple of letters about this from the 'Daily Mail', one of which mentioned Reuben Brooke, who may or may not have been James' son. I explained why I think it was unlikely that Reuben was James' son. (James was desperate for an heir and it seems incredible that he would have adopted Charles as his heir if a son existed.) Of course, James could have fathered a son even if he was gay, but the fact he had such limited contact with women that it was widely believed he was impotent (as a result of his war wound) suggests it was unlikely.
It wasn't how I'd imagined the evening starting but it certainly made for a lively discussion and it was followed by other questions about James and Borneo and only later did we get onto all the boring stuff about how I wrote it.
I was lucky that everyone seemed to have enjoyed reading it and they were very kind with their comments. It made for a pleasant evening.
Book groups are really important for less well-known authors. Even mainstream publishers will not give much publicity to most of their new writers, so we all rely on word-of-mouth and book groups are one of the best ways to get the word out. I'm happy to visit any book groups discussing 'The White Rajah' in the London area. (I've even been invited to visit Brussels to talk about the book and I will if I can.)
If you (or a friend) are a member of a book group, please do consider making 'The White Rajah' your book choice.
It wasn't how I'd imagined the evening starting but it certainly made for a lively discussion and it was followed by other questions about James and Borneo and only later did we get onto all the boring stuff about how I wrote it.
I was lucky that everyone seemed to have enjoyed reading it and they were very kind with their comments. It made for a pleasant evening.
Book groups are really important for less well-known authors. Even mainstream publishers will not give much publicity to most of their new writers, so we all rely on word-of-mouth and book groups are one of the best ways to get the word out. I'm happy to visit any book groups discussing 'The White Rajah' in the London area. (I've even been invited to visit Brussels to talk about the book and I will if I can.)
If you (or a friend) are a member of a book group, please do consider making 'The White Rajah' your book choice.
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