Book Signing...By Paul Knight

Hey, out there…

Happy Crimbo to you all and I hope you are all planning to have a merry new year!

The first edition of my book hit the door mats last week (20/12/06), to a somewhat successful opening…if you were one of the 137 people that bought a copy, I thank you. This may not sound a lot but you have to keep in mind that no marketing has been done by the publishers, I am not a high profile name for the media to latch onto nor am I an established author…so to me, 137 pre-orders is big numbers. This was mainly through all you guys and gals on MySpace…you won’t be forgotten.

Not to mention the 58 additional copies that flew out, at my very first book signing session, at the Alibi Bar, in Shoe Lane, London.

I wish to thank the gang there who allowed this to take place on the Friday before Christmas…a very busy time for them and they still gave me a 2 hour slot to occupy an area of the place for a meet and greet.

Here are a few Pic’s are some kind supporters who turned up (or could have been there already…after all it was a bar on a Friday evening) and bought a signed copy from yours truly.

On top of all this, Amazon are even showing a few reviews on the release…I personally do not think that the book is that good…but I’m happy to take the compliments before the negativity comes…So if you want to publicly air your thoughts on it, then please point your browser over to Amazon and add your piece. No offence taken…honest guv’.

Since the book signing, I have myself a web domain and have a site under construction…on it, I would like to feature reviews from you good readers – good or bad. In addition, I would like to get a gallery going. So if any of you initial peeps would like to have your pic up there, with a link to your site / page etc then please email me a pic of you holding a copy of my book (Mine’s called Coding of a concrete animal…in case I have not mentioned it before) to:

coca@paulknightonline.co.uk

The 2nd edition (with marketing) will be out on March 1st, 2007 and it’s on this release that I am hoping to get a bestseller rating…no matter how small…so please put the word out to family / friends / work colleagues / milkman etc and make a total strangers dream come true.

Thanks for reading and all your support,

Stay Frosty

Seeing [RED]...By Paul Knight

How far the world of science has come to finally provide a ray of hope to those stricken with HIV / Aids. I still remember when HIV / Aids first hit the media's attention some 20 odd years ago. The propaganda behind it was more frightening than the actual virus, it was a disease that was out to kill homosexuals, created in monkeys and spread by Africans. These titbits were then followed by the fact you could catch it by being near an infected party or sharing the same toilet seat, being spat on or by coming in contact with their blood…the horror of that last one came to fruition when a heterosexual contracted the virus after a blood transfusion. This was the turning point that actually made the media report the real facts about the virus and once they did, everyone not affected seemed to lose interest.

From numerous campaigns that went out to scare the public, revealing the horrors and possibilities of unprotected sex, the whole sexual partners pyramid scheme (anyone remember that? If you had slept with 5 different people and they all had slept with 5 different people and they all slept with 5 different people…and so on and so on…), to nothing…medical science took so long to produce a glimmer of a real cure that the attention span for the deadly virus seemed to fizzle out of existence. The public found new things to occupy its time with…until now and it is about time.

The one thing that doctors and the medical profession never provide is a cure…only different ways to treat and ease suffering. Why? Because there is more money in keeping you ill than actually curing you. So for a cynical old duffer like me to actually see medical progress that can cure a virus that has claimed friends of mine, then I'm all for it…and have gone out to do my bit by buying [RED] products to help the cause…will you do the same?

If you are interested in doing a small part in the grand scheme of things then head on over to [RED] by clicking the link below:

Rather RED then dead...show your support.

My news, compared to that, seems somewhat lacking in moral fibre and coloured ribbons…but I am going to share anyway.

To all you UK readers out there…my book, 'Coding of a concrete animal' will be ready for the last Christmas post day to all those that pre-ordered it through Troubador (Click to buy it now). Due to the perfect timing of its release, Christmas (what was I thinking???) this graphic tale of the UK criminal underworld will NOT be available to the general public until late Jan / early Feb 2007.

This gives the marketing team time to get over their New Year hangovers and start publicising my book in magazines, radio, buyer's guides and the internet, it also means that you would be amongst the first to own, read and share your comments before anyone else. What are you waiting for? Get in on the ground level, help a fellow tagger / MySpace friend out, show your support by buying a copy, spreading the word though the power of email, text and word of mouth, and make it a number one bestseller.

I thank you…

To celebrate its release I am taking my new bride to Vegas next week (no kids…what will we do with ourselves?) and live the high life (even if it is for only 6 days). The last time I was in a casino was back in my naughty days, when a late shift would usually end up in a late night intake of drink, cigars and gambling…

I remember one night, when a group of guys bet more than they could lose and tried to do a runner without settling their debts. Big mistake, the club was in the heart of Soho and believe me, there is no place to run before something big and nasty emerges out of a side alley and gives you the old slice and dice. My entourage and I (6 lumps who had just finished a 7 hour shift at a drum and bass promotion…so you can tell what kind of mood we were in) were just about to come down the stairs of this particular establishment when the paupers, who were trying to make it away on their toes, ran straight in to us. Now at first, they thought we worked at the casino and started to double back down the stairs only to see the club bouncers making their way towards the stairs…they were caught like scared rabbits, dazed and confused.

They say that there is 7 stages of grief, me, I used to give plenty of people plenty of grief back in my previous life…some times for a reason and others because I was bored…but there was never 7 stages…maybe 3. You don't do as you're told, I give you verbal grief, you mouth back, I give physical grief, you get physical back then I give you pavement concrete grief…there was no 4th stage.

These herberts, however, showed these stages once they clicked that we were on the side of our comrades in arms…it's an unwritten rule that doormen watch each others backs (not always the case mind you…there are a few that talk the talk but fail to walk the walk) even if you work at different clubs.

The first was disbelief at their predicament.

The second was denial; their luck could not be this bad.

The third was anger in which fury reared its head as they attempted to STG.

The fourth was bargaining, once it sunk in that they did not stand a chance.

The fifth was depression, as bladders leaked, eyes wept and a lack of caring arose.

The sixth was acceptance, they knew they were in the wrong and was going to get a beating and so they gave up. Whack!!!

The seventh stage is guilt, which these fellows never showed and so got an extra smack across their knuckles (literally) with an extendable cosh.

This is but one of many happy memories concerning casino's…I hope my experience of Vegas only adds to them.

Stay frosty!

Old age…it catches up with all of us…By Paul Knight

Looking at a recent photo, my tired old face seems to make me wish I was Dorian Gray…especially when I compare it to my lovely, youthful pic of when I was 23. As I loom towards the milestone of 40, I cannot help but to look back and reflect how I am so stuck in my cynical ways that it almost affected one of the happiest days on this planet for me and mine.

I have referred to my past life and the work I used to undertake, most of it went to guarantee that, if I were a religious man, I would not be entering the gates of heaven when I finally die. My upbringing and career choice made me secretive and made it extremely hard for me to share aspects of my life. Over time, I developed the ability to separate the 3 areas of my life, Work, Social & Private.

The friends and associates I make in work, are just work colleagues. I do not discuss my private life but I do start a social life with a select few from work. My social crowd do not get bored with my working day or my private life; it is all about the good times. My private life is just that, private. A handful of people get to enter my private life, invited to my home, meet my family etc but there needs to be a special bond there. My lovely wife however has to put up with me making her friends feel awkward and unwelcome because I just don’t like to open up my front door to those how have not shared blood, sweat and tears with me. It has caused a few arguments but we have come to find some middle ground on the subject and part of my code of life as rubbed off on her too, because she has come to live by it (to a certain degree).

Therefore, to recap, my work colleagues only know me in work and nothing else, my social crowd do not know about my work friends or what I do nor do they know about my private life, family etc and my closest friends know about my private life and share in with the special occasions. I am hoping by now you get the point of these last 2 paragraphs…

So, if I am so secretive about my life, why share at all? Because of old age and the fact that my secretive life meant only a handful of people knew I got married recently and who to…that was of course the beautiful Diane or Candyass to those out there in the internet world. Yes, despite having separate lives on the threads we have in fact been a couple for many years (the clues were all there people…), a couple, who are adults but do not feel we have to be a couple in everything we do. It also means I get to share these pictures with you all.

I am trying to change how I see life and writing the book helped a great deal with that…but I am what I am, Paulie the mystery man…toot toot!!!

Stay frosty

The talented Mr. Perry...By Paul Knight

Ben Perry is has big in personality has he is in stature…He stands in at 6ft 8” and weighed in at 22 stone (at the time of our business relationship)…when asked by an irate punter “Just who the hell do you think you are?” Big Ben simply replied “God…because I have the power to separate your head from your shoulders with one smiting blow.” Yes, the Ben Perry Haymaker was an equaliser that when in affect would put the explanation mark on the fact you just got hit by a 22 stone giant.

Although an intimidating sight, with his skin head and devil beard, he was more Gentle Ben than anything else and if any punters who used to visit the Goth and punk club “Slimelights” in the nineties would be able to tell ya, he was a good laugh.

It’s hard for me to take my old partner in crime seriously after witnessing him curl his huge frame under a small oval floor rug, whilst E’ing out of his face, to show the world he was really a turtle. He would stretch his neck, while making a turtle face from his shell (the small oval floor rug) and try to eat imaginary lettuce.

It was all very surreal…but not as bad as when Ben and a small group of friends tried to re-enact the ‘Wizard of Oz’ whilst on LSD. Watching a grown man tuck a chequered tea towel down his pants, while sporting a twine mop on his head, acting like he is stuck in a tornado, screaming “Where’s Toto?” Is an image that is not easily forgotten!

I’ll never forget the first time I worked with Ben, we were positioned in Burger King in Leicester Square, stopping non-customers from using the upstairs toilets. I know that must seem both petty and a waste of our time but despite the jokes and insults…it was one of the roughest gig’s going. When our company (Scorpion Security now trading under the name ‘Silent Security’) first got involved, it was being abused by drug dealers, prostitutes, transients and kiddie fiddlers…it was a family restaurant that was not a safe place to be.

The rent-a-cops that were in there before us never tackled the problem…why would they, they were getting £4.85 an hour. We, on the other hand, were getting 3 times that and were up for a rumble…so after months of fighting, death threats, stabbings and major displays of dominance…Scorpion made an example of all of them and marked their territory with the scent of blood.

Of course, once you have it how you want it…it needs to be maintained, so hence the heavy artillery to keep those who were not paying customers out of the comfy, out of sight upstairs area. Plus anyone who as ever walked through Leicester Square of a night time can testify that there is a huge amount of trouble with the drunk and drugged revellers, Triads and thugs (who can’t enjoy a night out without either mugging someone or getting in to tear-ups), these too needed to be stopped at the door and that is why we were there.

I remember having to stand on the first step just to come to eye level with him, I was a new guy with Scorpion at the time whilst Ben was an established body…but we clicked straight off the bat and the rest, as they say, is history.

I have some absolute cracking memories of Ben (you will need to read the sequel to ‘Coding of a concrete animal’…of course first you will actually need to read ‘Coding of a concrete animal’) and it was a crying shame we fell out of touch…the last I saw of him was when he worked for ‘Autoglass’ in Black horse Rd…if any readers, know him…please get him to contact me through this site.

Thanks for the assist…and stay frosty.

Snap Happy...by Paul Knight

What can I say, you put a few old photo’s up with your profile and the first question that comes up is:

“Where are the pictures of the celeb’s?”

Yes, I rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in music, acting and the world of finance but I was working (and not in a position to take happy snap’s with my clients). Most assignments are under a confidentiality contract (you’d be surprised how many of the famous brigade like their privacy when it comes to things they shouldn’t be doing), some are so controlled by their managers / Agents that they wouldn’t even know they had security let alone pose for photo’s once you were off the clock and the others just didn’t like cameras…what can I say, I’m not a big lover of having my photo taken either. But those I have partaken in hold some good memories and start the telling of some interesting tales.

My two biggest regrets regarding private photo’s are the Great shed fire of ‘87, where every baby photo, family snap shot and boxing pic went up in flames when someone set fire to my folks garden shed when they just moved (ironically off of a very nasty council estate where they had no trouble…except for one major incident but that’s for another blog) into a middle class environment in Chingford. All those little knick-knacks that everyone has (that had yet been unpacked) were stored in there and 19 years of memories went up in a cloud of smoke.

The other regret was not emptying my attic out when I walked away from my 6 year relationship with my ex-fiancé. There was some fantastic photo’s etc stored up there but when I walked away from the woman I no longer loved I only took the clothes on my back and my border collie…everything else stayed and I would assume went the same way as those artefacts in the Great shed fire of ’87.

After all that, having my photo taken or even being in the background was a no-no, for personal and business reasons…being easily recognised does not make a good impression when trying to keep a low profile whilst looking after someone who also would like to keep a low profile.

Unlike certain celeb’s who need to stand out, a prime example would be the detail the security company I used to work for got assigned with a certain ‘Material Girl’ who insisted on having the biggest looking bodyguards with her whenever she stepped out the door. This approach of course led to the much publicised fracas that was known as the Hyde Park incident. Those who remember this will be able to tell those who don’t…all I can say on it is that it involved the singer, jogging and inflated ego’s. And who was it that got to spend 16 hours a day for 3 weeks looking after her ‘Lucky’ knickers…you guessed it. Who the hell believes that they are that important that they need their underwear guarded? Still a job’s a job.

A great man once told me (and this was repeated to me 2 years later by another great man) “It’s nice to be important but it’s important to be nice.”

As this particular blog is about photo’s…it leads quite nicely into the subject of cameras. We used to work with a bubbly, northern lass by the name of Cheryl, who used to shrill on the door of the Shepherds Bush Empire… ”No Cameras!!!” Sounding like something from the TV show, ‘Open all hours’.

This requirement however, left the front door with a nice box of confiscated cameras…now being the mature, professionals we were, at no time did we take inappropriate photos of our genitalia or other areas of the human anatomy that could embarrass ya in front of your grandparents. No, I can honestly say that no inappropriate photos were taken…they were all appropriate right down to the last one that looked like a long nosed fella that sported a beard and curly eyebrows (you work it out). The camera’s were then returned to their unsuspecting owners until processing was needed (this was before digital camera’s)…all except one. There was one time we didn’t return a certain disposable camera, because the talented Mr. Perry (Big Ben – 6ft 8” and weighed over 22 stone) and myself, snagged a photo with the Cadbury’s Flake girl from the early 90’s, and didn’t want to give it up…so we kept the camera and used up all the film on taking pictures of the team.

So there you have it…the reason why no photo’s of me with my clientele will ever be available for public display…I know it’s a let down (or even a cop out) but that’s the facts, Jack.

Until the next one…stay frosty

Self Preservation...by Paul Knight

Even with all I have seen over the years, I can still be amazed by the slightest thing…the slightest thing in question this time, is how some nasty people with a limited capacity to be able to walk and talk at the same time, let alone throw in the extra addition of chewing gum (who I would have presumed were either dead or had been incarcerated) from back in the day have grasped today’s technology of emailing and blogging or in this case Blog reading. Why amazed, seeing as I used to be one of these Neanderthals and am writing the blogs that the others are reading? Because I was always (well there were a few years in the 90’s where this wasn’t the case) Brain rather than Brawn. It just seemed out of the ordinary to have a few ex-associates contact me through (I’m assuming and hoping) MySpace or Blogger.

I am sure they would be the first to agree that they would have been the last people to even know how to turn a PC on let alone use it to a beneficial level (I hope this is the case because now I know you are reading my blog’s, I wouldn’t want to offend or anything…besides fella’s, you know me, if I ain’t busting balls then I must be dead). So hence the amazement when I got 2 separate emails from 2 fellow face-punchers asking "What’s up?” and “What happened?” Did I see the light and follow the path of Jesus like some of our kind has done, does the love of a good woman really make a difference or am I still pulling scams and this is all an angle? I won’t go into the replies I sent but the basic response was “No” to all of the above. I just woke up one morning and said “Today is the first day of a new life”…no religion, no angles, no alternative reasons…It was just a desire to change.

There is a code amongst the family, firm, underworld (pick your preferred label for the criminal fraternity…whether it is to romanticise or dramatise) that you do not speak outside of school, you don’t grass and you do not drop others in it. Now obviously there are those that despite swearing to uphold this code, squealed, at the first sight of trouble from either the police or opposing fractions, like a fat man camping in Hillbilly country…cue the ‘dwelling banjo’s’.

Self preservation sets in real fast and suddenly the rules don’t apply and they do whatever they feel needs to be done to escape trouble…loyalty is well sought after commodity and should never be taken for granted…It is a golden rule I have lived by all my life and as a result, have been asked to be involved in a number of dodgy things because other’s knew that I was solid, a diamond geezer who knew how to keep shtum…in total, I could be counted on…but now a little tremor of doubt is setting in with some of my old running buddies regarding what secrets I am giving away in my book. To them I say ‘fear not’…although based on true events - names, places and dates have been changed to protect the guilty who were smart enough not to leave a fingerprint, evidence or witnesses to their involvement. Besides, the story focuses on the fictional character called 'Billy Michaels’ (wink, wink) and his brothers… And no, I am not insulted that they would think that way.

When I decided to walk my current path, I moved address, changed my mobile number and stopped hanging around my old haunts…there was still the odd occasion I would bump into an old face or asked to sort something out for someone…get hold off a “cold elephant and a handful of peanuts” (don’t ya just love street talk) or pass a message on etc…I rarely gave out my new contact details…but somehow, others still knew how to get hold of me if my services were needed…I would like to think it was out of the same loyalty I showed towards them, that my decision to get out of the game was respected and the calls were minimal.

I know that makes me sound like I was some top ranking mafia lieutenant or something (I wasn’t) but that’s the way it was…I was never high profile, I rubbed shoulders with all the big names but made a point of not being remembered…pretty hard I know when you’re 6ft 2” and was tipping the scales at 18 stone but I find that those who love the limelight will die in the limelight…me, I like the idea of growing old enough to be a burden to my kids like they’re a burden to me now…lol.

When asked for 2 words that best describes me…I always use ‘Respected’ and ‘Connected’, it’s the only way I can be summed up and I am happy to live with it. There are big names with even bigger nicknames out there that I have a lot of respect for, “the Guv’nor”, “Chairman of the board”, “the Yellow pages of crime”, “Mean Machine”, “Short, baldy bloke” the list goes on…me, if I had a nickname that best suits me, it would be “the AA” because I always know a man who can. Whatever you wanted I could put you in contact with someone, for a small considerable fee of course…I won’t go in to how far my connections went or what I could get arranged but those who know me can regale you with some amusing stories and confirm just what a few phone calls and a trip to Southampton docks can accomplish.

Anyhow, the need for a bottle of JD, a couple of cigars and a few spare hours to reminisce about the old days are in order to get additional material for the sequel but it seems people are waiting to read the first one before wanting to participate in the next…self preservation again, it’s the name of the game.

Be cool…and stay frosty.

Ranking...by Paul Knight

I first would like to give a shout out to the ‘Cyber Babes’ for all their support and promoting of my novel. You guys not only set the standard in the PSP tagging community but also show what team work is all about. Many Thanks!!!

Since putting the word out I have had this strange curiosity how I am faring in the Google Search Engine results. So I typed in my name ‘Paul Knight’ and hit ‘Search’. My name and book popped up at number 10 on ‘The web’ option out of 23,700,000.

However, type in ‘Paul Knight’ and hit ‘Search’ for just ‘The UK’ option and my name and book pop’s up at number 8 out of 1,710,000. Which can’t be bad.

Type in the title ‘Coding of a concrete animal’ and I’m Number one, a small victory I know but still…it all helps.

But on another note…type in ‘Big Paulie Walnuts’ and I rank NO.3 on the web and numbers 1& 2 on the UK.

At this rate, by the time the book is released, I could rank number 1 in all the searches…

My fifteen minutes of fame is fast approaching (again) – like I have said before, I have lived a whole other life before becoming the law abiding figure that presents these blog’s to you and this time I may have to take advantage of it and make it last a little longer.

The mystery that is me continues…

I know this entry comes across a tad random and a touch egotistical but you gotta ride the wave…to be honest, I am more impressed with myself that I actually finished a project…the last achievement (family not included) I succeeded in was passing my Masters Degree while working on average 11 hours a day for seven years…in a corruptible environment, granted it wasn’t a 2.1 but I did pass. Getting that certificate felt good and gave me a sense of accomplishment for a few brief moments because lord knows I have yet to find how having an MBA as helped my working life or career development. We all know it’s who you know not what you know!

On the subject of my past and books (a weak link I know), I have just finished reading ‘Meeting the Guv’nor’ by Alan Mortlock. Al is known as the “pirate promoter” because of the stigma that still goes hand in hand with the unlicensed boxing circuit (people fail to understand that it’s called ‘unlicensed’ because it’s not sanctioned by the boxing board and not because it’s illegal). In truth, Alan is a well experienced boxing trainer and promoter who runs the IBA and should be commended for not only turning his life around through Jesus but for also the awesome shows he and his fighters put on…you should make a point to catch one. A few of my friends and family have fought for Alan over the years and none of them have ever said a bad word about him or the way he runs his business.

Anyway, I wanted to read his book because Alan was born and raised in the same neck of the woods I was brought up in, drank and visited the same haunts, all the same night clubs and ran the same snooker / boxing club I used to go to. ‘Hayden’s’ was where I went to spar with some up-and-coming fighters in the nineties, just to stay in shape, and it was there that I got a chance to go a few rounds with Scott Welch, before he went on to win the heavyweight title.

Another young chap (at the time) who used to knock the heavy bag around when I was at Hayden’s was Jamie Mclean, the son of the legendary Lenny Mclean. Jamie has grown to become the spitting image of his old man and I hope he is still living the way Lenny would have wanted him to.

So if you want to know what kind of background I came from, read this book and you’ll get the idea…although I’m 10 years younger than Alan (no offence if you read this), we still moved in the same circles…only I was probably wheeling and dealing with the offspring / younger siblings of the villains he was rubbing shoulders with.

That’s it for this one…stay frosty.

My first review...by Paul Knight

Okay, now I am playing the waiting game…Matador has produced my AI (Advance Information) sheet that goes out to all the major buyers, media and reviewers. This sheet can either grab someone's attention, sending your possible writing career to dizzy heights or get your work sent to the bottom of the bargain basement bin. The decisive moment is coming and the question that haunts any writer will soon get answered…

Is my work any good?

Every author has his loyal followers who are biased and will easily gloss over any flaws when give feedback. However, professional men and women in the industry that make a living from choosing the best authors to make their commission on are a little more disconcerting when giving back criticism…it's a lot like being a stockbroker, you need to believe that this is the right stock to invest in if you expect others to invest in it too.

What is it that as got my hopes up that my work will be seen and recognised as being something to invest in…my very first, professional review…I am well chuffed…

Date: August 23, 2006

From: Jean Wahlborg, Editorial Co-ordinator – Dorrance publishing co.

'Coding of a concrete animal: The Billy Michaels story', written by Paul Knight, is an intriguing submission of original fiction that focuses on the extraordinary life, exploits and adventures of the main character. Born into a family steeped in nefarious deeds and activity, Billy Michaels' fate was cast from the cradle. As a third generation 'East End' villain, Billy's childhood was short, though eventful.

Learning the tricks of his predestined trade from masters in the field, he proved to be quite adept and effective in this endeavour. While his future appeared to be nothing more than a litany of successful and profitable capers, events as he would have anticipated weren't exactly as he expected. From this foundation, the author constructs a riveting saga the embodies many of the same traits often associated with well-known works of a similar literary genre.

Composed in captivating narrative and compelling dialogue, the story flows at a brisk tempo. The plot contains more than a few strategically placed, unexpected twists that should maintain the reader's interest throughout. The characters are well developed and presented in a multi-dimensional fashion revealing the intricacies of their unique personalities and individual agendas. In addition, Mr Knight effectively manages to avoid artificially padding the work with superfluous material and unnecessary characters thereby keeping the focus directed towards the primary storyline. Navigating the plot to a well-conceived and logical conclusion, the author could leave the reader with a sense of time well invested in the reading of this story.

Paul Knight's highly descriptive style of writing combined with a keen attention of detail further enhance's the appeal of this work.

You have got to give it up for that one, haven't you? I mean, that has got to be a motivator for the buyer just as much as it motivates me…

Well anyway, I am keeping this blog brief because I just wanted to share that review with you all and get on with my Friday night plans…

Stay chilled...

The next chapter...by Paul Knight

When looking into the world of POD (Print On Demand), I found that there was more than a fair share of cheaply produced books with no marketing or professional input. The next range of printers offered a little bit more but were not very clear in their pricing what was included and seemed to be happy to hide the small print regarding the extras. The higher range of companies I found were very much upfront but lacked the customer services skills that was required for newbie's into this field…all except one, Troubador. I found their responses, fast and concise and they were the only company that encouraged you to get other quotes. They confidently admitted that they were not the cheapest but they did produce the best quality work and when you are trying to get your first novel out there, presentation is what it is all about.

Jeremy (from Troubador) was and has maintained to be a complete star, he as been extremely helpful and as offered advice on the overall finished product. Troubador, also as their own publishing division, called t2, which is where I asked for my manuscript to be sent for consideration.

Although t2 have yet to tell me one way or another, Matador (a subsidiary of Troubador) offered a publishing partnership with me on my first venture…If I can get enough interest on this first one then hopefully a larger publishing house will be interested to take me on for the sequels (you heard me right, sequels…I have so many tales to tell…all fiction of course, because how would I, a PSP tagger and all round nice guy have any insight to such goings on???).

If anyone out there can get a campaign going that will help me sell 100,000 copies then I am all ears…(It will have an International ISBN number…so anyone can order it through their respected suppliers, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones etc).

If a love cheat can be ratted out worldwide from a friendly email to a work colleague or a film clip of a chimp peeing in his own mouth can become an inbox star or a guy can get his partner to agree to a threesome if his web site gets x amount of hits or a film can have hardly any media attention but still become one of the most eagerly released box office titles (Snakes on the Plane) all thanks to the power of the internet. Then surely there is hope for me yet to hit such a measly target when there are billions of users that have the power to spread the word….wouldn't you agree?

Anyway, back to my entry into the realms of publishing…Luckily, I could design my own front cover (and save myself £300 or $550) and had a couple of people spend a month proof reading it for me for free (saving yet another £700 - $1200). My biggest challenge was getting those in my circle, who feature heavily in my book or should I say characters based on them, to be okay with me writing about the subject matter in question. They might not be top of the criminal food chain but an unsolved crime is still just that…unsolved. A lot of answers could be found by those searching for answers in this publication…those who are heavy in to the folk lore could have a field day deciphering the clues and piecing the puzzle together. It's the Di Vinci code only easier to read and not as complicated to understand… (Just how gutted was everyone who rushed to buy his second title only to find out it had nothing to do with his last one…If I'm not mistaken, it was set in the military…come to think both his following titles were…I could be wrong, they may of come before Di Vinci, I'm not much of a reader so I couldn't honestly say this is the case…I'm a big enough guy to admit if I'm wrong).

My first sequel is into its 5th chapter and I got to warn ya that this one is dark…American Psycho kind of dark (only without the rat pipe…that will mean more to the book fans than the movie fans), because it centres on the decade where the main character, Billy Michaels, goes through a very violent, unflinching time in his life whilst working in the Entertainment Security industry…It ain't going to be pretty folks…but still, that's the sequel and getting the first one out into the public eye.

I'll keep you updated

Getting started...By Paul Knight

Hey all, I'm Paul Knight and this is my introduction to my blog…it's not going to make any Top Ten Poll list but I am hoping it will encourage other writers and alike to stick with their chosen forte and take a few risks with it…what's the worst that could happen, right?

For all those that have read my profile, as much as writing about my darker days may hold a lot more interest I really do not think owning up to some of the naughtiness I got up to in my younger years on the Internet is going to do my freedom any good. However, who knows, along the way I may just let a few things slip when trying to make a point.

This is the part, that if this were a tacky, low budget TV show, the screen would go all wavy and it could make the fact that a flashback was about to take place. I have a few skeletons in my closet, I think to those reading about me would have already gathered, and 4 years ago, I thought I would exercise a few demons and write down a few things that still haunted my dreams…

I sat down in front of my PC at work (I was just starting a complete career change from the industry I was in for many, many years) and started to make use of my very limited IT skills. Tallying up all the hours I spent writing, it equated to 72, I had produced a 70,000-word manuscript without even realising it. When I first started, it was to tell a few stories, but as the words kept coming I set my target to 100 pages, but then I went past that mark and could just not believe where I ended up.

To the handful of people that read it, the feedback was "That ain't too bad", a compliment in my circles…so I got crazy ideas of having it published and investigated further on how to go about it.

They say that everyone has at least one novel in them, which is all fine and dandy but when the total of said people actually sit down to write it, the publishing world becomes a very unfriendly place. Each publishing house receives on average 100 sample manuscripts per day…granted that most of these manuscripts that each individual publishing house receives are duplicates…it still highlights that there is 700 new authors trying to get noticed every week x 52 weeks per year. You work it out, that is a lot of competition…it makes X-Factor look like a school playground, five-a-side kick about. Moreover, to accompany that much competition, comes rejection after rejection after rejection…if you have tried it, then you will understand where I am coming from.

Now this is not a slur or reflection on those who work at publishing houses, looking back on it all, I get that they can become overwhelmed with the submissions, I get that to actually read each and every manuscript would take an army of readers and I also understand the default rejection letter they all send out is not a true reflection of your work. But I tell ya, when you are sending out sample after sample and only getting rejected…you do start to question yourself and ask "Just how sh*t is my work?" and wonder why they just can't take a few extra minutes and jot down what was wrong with it…just a couple of hints to make it better…just a little help to change the work from ugly duckling into beautiful swan. But they don't and all your nearest and dearest do with their biased opinions is try and make you feel better but not given any constructive criticism on what needs to change, be taken out or added. So where does that leave you…?

Two publishing houses I owe for actually proving that last point wrong was Blake publishing (John Blake), who offered me the chance to get it published on condition…I used the real names and places of the characters involved (I changed the names and distorted a few timelines to protect the guilty). This was something I just could not do…I would be dropping far too many people in to sh*t creek for things they were never convicted for…it was unfair to them and I would not be upholding my East End upbringing. So that was out of the question but still, it was very encouraging and a much needed boost to stay on course and to keep sending the manuscript out.

The other publishing house that made a difference was Piatkus books (Piatkus Books), in their rejection they did point out three things to me:

The book was too short, it needed at least another 50,000-words.
The way I wrote it as a first person perspective did not work for the book.
It was too centralised on only the main character.

At last, actual constructive feedback that I could expand on …albeit that it arrived just as my motivation was sucked dry by numerous, sterile default rejection letters…plus, as I said, I was embarking on a career change, so for the next 2 years I turned myself to moving on up the food chain of my new profession.

This finally brought me to February 2006, when I got the urge to revisit my original manuscript and expand on it. I kept the letter I had from Piatkus books and used their feedback to restructure my book, changing the perspective of the way the story was being told, threw in some story arc's and puffed out a lot of the sub stories and characters. It took me 4 months to rewrite it (a huge increase in time than the 72 hours the first draft took) and I got it to the point where I felt comfortable for anyone to read and judge it.

It was time to restart the publishing section again…I was older, a little wiser to what to expect and I knew the book was now more fitting to it's genre and word count. The first publishing house I sent the new and improved manuscript to was Piatkus, I included in my covering letter about all their help first time round, thanking them for their input blah, blah, blah, threw in my sample chapters and S.A.E. It took just 6 days from the point of sending it to getting it back to find the same sterile, default rejection letter I was getting the first time round…If you ever needed a mental equivalent of getting kicked in the nuts…reading that first rejection letter would be it.

It was the first of many but they did not faze me like the first one did…I knew I had something better than before but I was well aware that I was no J. K. Rowling, I was not destined to be a No.1 bestseller or win the Turner prize. I was a writer who had stories to tell…I was a storyteller who just wanted to be heard (or read, depending on how pedantic you want to be about it). And it was with this determination that I took my destiny in my own hands and eventually teamed up with Troubador to produce 'Coding of a concrete animal'.