There's good news, and there's mixed news. The good news is that I've finished writing the first draft of Romeo and Juliet and I'm all ready to go ahead with drawing the book and self publishing it. The mixed news, is that that's what my agent recommends too.
The thing is, you see, I started writing Romeo and Juliet in the same manner as I'd done Richard The Third, at the suggestion of one of the big publishers that my agent was able to get me a meeting with. And in all honesty my hope was that this would be the spearhead of our concerted attempt to break through into a traditional publishing deal. I want to get on "the Dogman shelf" with my Shakespeare adaptations for kids, and I had the highest hopes in this particular book. I still do. But, having put my work forward to publishers a year ago, I think the conclusion is that my Shakespeares have had their one bite of that particular cherry, and you don't get a second stab at it.
Also, we had found, the UK publishers we spoke to already had Shakespeare books for kids on their slate - of course they did, they're UK publishers - so my take wasn't sufficiently different or attractive to them. My agent is interested in seeing anything knew and non-Shakespearean I come up with, and I'm working on something right now.
Meanwhile, I still want to get my Shakespeare graphic novels onto that Dogman shelf, but I'm going to have to try and do it under my own steam. Which means Romeo and Juliet will be my next self published book. Let's see if it can, firstly, follow the success of Richard The Third in the live sales arena (Richard is on 1500 sales and counting, thanks to my outreach in schools and at comic and book events). Secondly we'll have to see if it can work any further magic in penetrating the bookshop market that I've not managed to conquer yet.
That said, I've not really made many inroads to bookshops, something I only really begin when I start doing signings in bookshops later this month.
Romeo and Juliet is underway, watch this space for updates. Till then, here's the news of my new bookshop signings that I'm trying for the first time this month, and comic and book fairs that you can catch me at:
10 May - Gloucester Comic Con
11 May - Reading Comic Con
17 May - Book-Ish Abergavenny 10.30 - 12.30 - drawing caricatures & signing books
18 May - Plymouth Comic Con
24 May - Script Haven Worcester 10.30 - 12.30 - caricatures & signing books
14 June - The Bookery Crediton 11 - 1pm - caricatures and signing books
21 June - Hi-Vis Comic Con, Kings Heath Birmingham
28/29 June - Macc Pow festival, Macclesfield
5 July - Aintree Comic Con, Liverpool
See you all at something soon I hope, all the best
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Richard The Third | Findlay Macbeth | Prince of Denmark Street | Midsummer Night's Dream Team |
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Shakespeare Omnibus | Comic Tales From The Bible | Joseph, Ruth & Other Stories | Space Elain |
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