====================================== S T O P - P R E S S THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ARTEMIS, THE SECOND VOLUME IN THE THOMAS KYDD SERIES, IS PUBLISHED ON THE OFFICIAL JULIAN STOCKWIN WEBSITE THIS MONTH. ====================================== "THE BOSUN'S CHRONICLE" --- emailed to Shipmates around the world the first week of each month --- VOL.1, ISSUE 6, OCTOBER 2001 Avast there - and welcome aboard from the bosun of the Thomas Kydd Shipmates' Network! 1) DECKLOG 2) HANDS TO MUSTER 3) NAUTICAL WEBSITE OF THE MONTH 4) THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 5) ON THE STOCKS 6) SIGNALS FROM FOREIGN PARTS 7) DAYS OUT 8) REPORTS ==================== 1) DECKLOG --- events and activities --- GIBRALTAR VISIT. Last month, Julian and Kathy spent a week in Gibraltar on location research for the series. (They also toasted their 25th wedding anniversary on September 4 on the top of The Rock!) Julian speaks about why this visit was important. "From the start I wanted to write about places I had actually seen. I am a "visile" - when I write I need to be able to "see" things in my mind's eye. Also, I feel that there are certain intangibles about a place - the smells, the colours, the sounds, that you can only get from actually being there. For both KYDD and ARTEMIS, all the countries mentioned are locations I have either visited or lived in. For SEAFLOWER, the third book in the series, I set the story in the Caribbean, an area I had not visited before. Thus Kathy and I had the great pleasure of travelling there for location research earlier this year. Gibraltar was strategically vital to Britain's maritime success, lying as it does at the entrance to the Mediterranean. Our great naval hero Nelson's victories might not have been achieved had Britain not held the Rock of Gibraltar. And today, the NATO Commander at this gateway to 3 continents, COMGIBMED, is a Royal Navy senior officer. There are also some superb historical research resources in Gibraltar - the Museum, the Government Archives and various historical societies. Being actually allowed to see some of the genuine documents of the time was a great honour. Kydd and Renzi will visit "The Rock" on a number of occasions and it will feature throughout the series. I don't want to give away too much of future plots, but there may well be some very interesting personal challenges for Kydd there!" EVENTS THIS MONTH + Saturday October 6 + Julian speaks at the Historical Novel Society's first ever conference. Cavendish Club, Great Cumberland Place, London. Tickets are œ30, including lunch and refreshments. Further information from Sarah Cuthbertson on 01293 884 898 or . + Wednesday October 24 + The Guildford Book Festival. Julian will explore the eighteenth century world of Thomas Kydd's Guildford, and discuss his experiences of writing his debut novel. The Guild Hall, High Street, Guildford, Surrey. 7:30 pm. œ5.00, including a tot of rum! Festival box office: 01483 444334 + RSMA Exhibition - A chance to see the cover painting specially commissioned for ARTEMIS + Shipmates will also be interested in the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, held at the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, SW1. Geoff Hunt RSMA will be among the marine painters represented and he will be exhibiting the original oil painting commissioned for the ARTEMIS cover. The Exhibition runs from 17-28 October. Contact: Patricia Renny, Exhibitions Officer, 0207 9306844. ===================== 2) HANDS TO MUSTER --- Behind KYDD is a great team; each month "The Bosun's Chronicle" goes behind the scenes to talk to one of the Shipmates who have been involved in some aspect of the book --- This month we feature Vanessa Galloway, Hodder & Stoughton's Sales Manager for their English speaking markets; Australia/New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Vanessa says she landed in Sales by chance, but loves the world of publishing and working with an end product that she can feel really passionate about. +Bosun. What do you think is special about the Thomas Kydd series that enables it to compete against the huge numbers of new books coming out every week from all around the world? +Vanessa. There hasn't really been anyone new writing in this area recently; the series provides an alternative to Patrick O'Brian and Alexander Kent whilst also appealing to the same fans. The genre is read by a discriminating audience and the authenticity, knowledge and historical accuracy that Julian brings to the writing makes it stand out. +Bosun. What reaction have you had from overseas? +Vanessa. Very positive from all markets; there is a big fan base out there for this type of book. The challenge now is to establish Julian's name in the same way as authors such as O'Brian and Kent. +Bosun. What has been the biggest overseas market for KYDD? +Vanessa. Australia. They have really embraced KYDD from the start. I'm told that in the Sydney office all the female staff have fallen in love with Thomas Kydd! Hodder Headline Australia sees the sea historical genre as a very strong market and hope, over time, to tag Julian as the new Patrick O'Brian. We have had some fantastic reviews there, too, such as the one in "The Australian" [see "Reviews" ]. +Bosun. Can you tell me about some of the specific activities planned for the paperback of KYDD that is launched in November? +Vanessa. In Australia, Hodder Headline Australia will be focusing on the supermarkets to build the numbers; in retail outlets there will be a special "Guaranteed Good Read" promotion. In New Zealand, Hodder Moa Beckett will be promoting KYDD through male- orientated radio stations and print media, especially targeting boating magazines. And there will be store competitions to buy the book and win a bottle of rum! Canada will be doing a month-long feature on KYDD with a link to the official website as well as running major promotions in the bookstores. South Africa is offering special Point-of- Sale material and placing it as a lead title on all their sell-in material to stores. [The Bosun recently caught up on plans in the UK, too - there will be a major marketing campaign for the paperback launch: national press advertising; illuminated 6-sheet posters in shopping malls all over the country; a poster campaign in the ports of Newhaven, Poole, Portsmouth and Southampton and special in-store features such as 36-copy display units promoting the book.] NEXT MONTH: Rupert Lancaster, Audio and Media Publisher at Hodder & Stoughton, takes the Bosun behind the scenes to talk about the making of the abridged audiobook of KYDD. ==================== 3) NAUTICAL WEBSITE OF THE MONTH --- Every month Julian talks about a website with sea links --- ENGLAND EXPECTS. October 21 is Trafalgar Day, when the toast is raised around the world to "The Immortal Memory". This is also the Nelson Decade, in which the 200th anniversary of all his battles and achievements fall. The celebrations will culminate on October 21, 2005, with a special service at St Paul's Cathedral. There are now many excellent websites devoted to Nelson. Among them is "England Expects", which was compiled by the Eastern Counties Network. Many of the first-hand accounts of the battles can be read on-line, as well as a bizarre French account of the battle in which "the English fleet is annihilated"! Special sections in "England Expects" include a Character Profile, Nelson's Norfolk and Nelson Questions & Answers. ==================== 4) THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY --- Julian takes a look at an aspect of life at sea and ashore in the Great Age of Fighting Sail --- SUPERSTITION AT SEA. It has been said that men who follow the sea are the most superstitious on earth. The eighteenth sailor was no exception. He believed in mermaids and mermen, sea monsters and ghosts - and Fiddler's Green, an enchanted place that was the final resting place of sailors, where waited countless willing ladies, rum casks that never emptied and always a fair wind and flying fish weather. In apparent contradiction, it was also said that every keening seagull carried a sailor's soul, the screech of the bird was the mournful cry of the dead man. The origin of these superstitious beliefs are lost in time but there are probably two broad causes - the tendency of man to look to the supernatural for causes of strange phenomenon - and the love of travellers to exaggerate mysterious occurrences. Weather lore abounded at sea. Seamen were particularly anxious about squalls, for example. It would certainly bring bad luck not to follow the advice of the old ditty: "When the rain's before the wind, Strike your tops'ls, reef your main When the wind's before the rain, Shake 'em out and go again". This has actually been proved to be based on sound meteorological principles. There were many other superstitions about weather. Whistling at sea was banned; it would tempt fate. This was especially to be avoided when the weather was threatening to get dirty. Many superstitions from Kydd's time remain to this day. The injunction never to sail on a Friday is known to sailors in today's fleet. Mysterious faults in the engine room have been known to develop and not be rectified until the next day... ==================== 5) ON THE STOCKS --- News of upcoming books, foreign translations and audio versions --- In the UK Hodder & Stoughton launch the paperback edition of KYDD next month. Advance orders are substantial, both in the UK and in the overseas markets. The paperback, which features "Coming Aboard a 98-gun Ship", the superb cover illustration that Geoff Hunt RSMA was especially commissioned to produce for the hardback, will also contain the first chapter of ARTEMIS. ==================== 6) SIGNALS FROM FOREIGN PARTS --- We welcome news and views from Shipmates around the world --- Many Shipmates have emailed Julian saying how much they enjoyed reading KYDD Among them were Andy Wagstaff, Angus Gilbertson and David Roth. Andy Wagstaff is a 56-year-old service manager for a pump company in Manchester, England. He's married to Glenys and they have two grown-up children. Andy thinks his interest in naval yarns may stem from his days as an engineering apprentice when he worked on Royal Navy vessels undergoing sea trials in the Clyde. Angus Gilbertson is a farmer in New Zealand. His stepfather, a captain in the RNZN, introduced him to CS Forester and he has since read the work of many other historical sea writers. Angus particularly liked Julian's realistic portrayal of the RN under canvas. David Roth is an environmental attorney, practising in landlocked Birmingham, Alabama. His fascination with the sea started in 1976 when, at the age of 8, he watched from a Manhattan pier a procession of tall ships sail up the Hudson River. David enjoys adding to his collection of books about the age of sail. Julian would love to hear from you. Contact + PERSONALISED CHRISTMAS CARD FROM JULIAN+ To receive a personalised Christmas card from Julian featuring Geoff Hunt's original cover artwork for ARTEMIS just drop an email to the Bosun with your name and full postal address. ==================== 7) DAYS OUT --- Each month we visit somewhere around the world of special nautical interest --- BUCKLER'S HARD. The historic village of Buckler's Hard was a major rural shipbuilding village in the eighteenth century. It is situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the heart of the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It had its origins as a port for importing sugar cane from the West Indies but grew in importance with the huge demand for men-of-war during the wars against France and Spain. Through its shipbuilding history more than 50 naval and merchant vessels were built there, including Nelson's favourite, HMS Agamemnon. Her construction required the wood from 2000 trees, 100 tons of iron and 30 tons of nails and copper rivets. When HMS Illustrious was launched in July 1789 at Buckler's Hard, Henry Adams (whose family ran the shipyard for 100 years) prepared an impressive ceremony for the King and Queen were staying nearby at Lyndhurst. Sadly, in the end they did not visit the yard, but Adams fired a 21-gun salute from the ship even though she was still on the slipway! Buckler's Hard today features a number of fascinating displays reflecting the history of a shipbuilding community. Authentically reconstructed cottages give an insight into the life of the villagers in the 1790s - and it is not hard to imagine Tom Kydd perhaps joining some friends at one of the ale houses. =================== 8) REPORTS --- what people are saying about KYDD --- Here are some of the highlights of recent reviews: + Citylights "Stockwin weaves a fast-paced tale...Recommended!" + The Independent Newspaper "Roll on, the promised adventures of Kydd and Renzi in the legendary crack frigate ARTEMIS." + Kirkus "An engaging sea yarn." + Amazon.co.uk "Stockwin quickly signals that he is an innovative and accomplished fresh talent in the field, with a complex and richly drawn hero at the centre of an intelligently structured narrative." These reviews, and others, are on the official Julian Stockwin website ================== Yours aye THE BOSUN (To unsubscribe this newsletter email )