Tom Gamble / The Moodfield - You (the northern bay)

Identified as budding talent!

Young writers - the 2014 ESSEC short story competition

I've had the great (and serendipitous) honour to be a member of the review jury for the 2014 ESSEC Short Story Competition. The fifty or so submitted stories on the theme of Identity were of extremely high quality, some of them very promising material for full-length novels, and the task was indeed a hard one to hone the long and shortlists. Congrats to all.

The winners? Why not come along to the award ceremony at ESSEC Business School on Friday 16th May to find out? See you there!

  

And King Krule...

Music sometimes sparks off a golden idea for a book! This one from the young Londoner certainly sparked off a few memories for me. What it was/is all about to be a teenager - listen on and savour!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRzlbh4or3c

Step back, suffer, and enjoy it while it lasts!

Tom offers some coaching tools and tips to make not only rejection slips, but also your key characters, work in your favour! And while you're at it, take your boots off and have a paddle somewhere different... @ Squidoo



Beating the publishing crisis!

You've got a story, believe in it, have had it read and received glowing reviews. BUT the publishers won't take a risk! Then... self-publish and see what happens!

I'd like to share the story behind the Kingdom of Emptiness - a saga in itself - and point budding authors towards an interesting alternative. Read all about it @ Squidoo

And keep on writing! ;-)

Back from adventure!

Travel has always been a source of inspiration for any story. Recently back from a "North-South trek" in the gorges of the Mgoun, Morocco, still hard to re-adapt but lots of ideas, colours, sounds and feelings from the beautiful and remote Atlas Mountains. A great group of fellow trekkers, an exceptional leader-guide in the form of M. Bakal, not to mention the master cook, Brahim and his super team of muleteers. Budding writers get out of your box and serendipity will play its part. Look up Terre d'Aventure http://www.terdav.com/ for a stunning experience! Photos taken from the phone - others coming soon...

A long road for great music!

Well, well... dunno if I'm early, late or simply lucky but if you've been waiting in vain since Oasis and Blur in the 90s for something great on the music scene, then here it is: a chance snippet on the radio while driving the old bus and then discovery - Alabama Shakes with a stunning song called "Hold On"! Kinda makes you believe again... Enjoy! :-) Please keep raw and God save you from the marketing machine...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le-3MIBxQTw

Tal der Hoffnung - "The Valley of Hope" - Amazir

The marketing campaign for "Tal der Hoffnung", Aufbau's choice of title for "Amazir", gets underway in readiness for the October launch in Germany!

http://www.aufbau-verlag.de/index.php/tal-der-hoffnung.html

Biß Bald!

Learning from rejection

It was always (and still is) a tough period of waiting for a decision from the publisher. But with the help of a little experience, tips, tools and models, rejection can be a positive springboard for finally getting your book published. Read Tom's article on Squidoo at: http://www.squidoo.com/making-rejection-work-for-you2

"It's a hero's journey into the valley of tears..." ;-)

Amazir rights sold to Aufbau of Berlin

The rights to Tom's first published novel, Amazir, have been sold to leading German publishers Aufbau verlag, based in Berlin. This is great news - not only is Germany Europe's largest bookmarket, but also a model for quality-made books and a defender of literary work as art.... Visit Aufbau's site at http://www.aufbau-verlag.de/