THE WRITER'S LIFE | BOOK LAUNCH
It's been nine months in the making: Six months of writing, then three months of compiling, editing, proofing, more editing, re-reading and re-proofing. The final printed book proofs arrived and now it's good to go. I must admit to a very pleasant sensation of well-being.
Douglas Adams had the inspiration for The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as he lay on top of a pile of hay while drinking cider. I was sitting in my studio, listening to Pink Floyd: The Division Bell, in fact, and specifically the track Keep Talking. It's the one which samples Stephen Hawking's famous quote:
“For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination: We learned to talk...”
My learned friend was of course referring to the human invention of language. But I thought (as others have), 'But what if we could talk to the animals?' As a big fan of Douglas Adams, I'm aware of the Babel fish and its use as a universal translator. And that's when Cyrus Song was born.
Cyrus Song is also the alternative track title of Keep Talking. Cyrus is Sol, our sun: one of hundreds of billions in the Milky Way Galaxy alone, which itself is one of hundreds of billions in the known universe. Space is big, really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is.
Cyrus Song is a big book. Well, it's not a huge tome as such (412 pages), but it's deep in context and message. It's “A deep and meaningful book, with a big heart and a sense of humour,” as one test reader put it. Another said, “An absolute joy to experience unfolding,” and a third, “Enjoyable, inventive and thought provoking.”
It's a good book. Well, I'm bound to say that; I wrote it? But no. I was a writer for two years before I was brave enough to call myself one. I'm pleased with all four of my books but Cyrus Song is the one I'm proud of. It's the book I would hang my writer's hat on and be judged as a writer by.
As a part tribute to Douglas, my book takes a few of his ideas and expands upon them, as small parts of a bigger story which has completely original elements. There are microscopic pan-galactic animals, travelling on arks piloted by black mambas, there are pan-dimensional white mice, and there are three main humans in the cast of characters. There are many domestic and wild animals, given voice through the Babel fish, and there are many cameo appearances by people whom I've also paid small tributes to (see if you can spot them all, in the human and animal characters). Nothing digresses too much from the plot though.
It's a story about a man (a writer) and a young scientist. It is not a love story. In fact, I wrote it partly to demonstrate a lot of things about the depths and breadths of love, but which I can't divulge at the risk of spoilers. But it's love on a greater scale, like all humans being equal citizens of the earth, alongside the animals. I also touch on a lot of other subjects: Human psychology, evolution, language and communication, and a lot of science. But the science is all researched and it's plausible, then it's written in such a way as to make it accessible. There are other galaxies and dimensions, and there are wormholes. There's human cloning and the aforementioned intergalactic snake crews, ferrying microscopic animals of all kinds to our planet. There's the Babel fish (a computer program in my book), which translates the voices of pets and wild animals, both in the wild and in zoos. There's a lot of factual information about animals, nature and the environment, told in a sort of QI style. The named animals at London Zoo are the actual ones living there at time of writing. All the species discussed are researched in their habits to bring forth their personality types through the Babel fish. The space-time travel, human cloning and more theoretical stuff are all researched so as to be plausible.
The book has been on sale now for a whole 24 hours and I'm seeing copies being bought; for now, in the UK; in a couple of days, worldwide on Amazon; and in a few weeks, available from all retailers and available in libraries. I'm hoping that in a few weeks, the early buyers I'm seeing on Amazon, have enjoyed the book and review it, or post on social media. I don't think I'm being too optimistic to think that feedback will be positive. And so sales of Cyrus Song will grow gradually but exponentially, as word gets around by natural and organic human marketing. It just needs people to read it, to enjoy it as much as I did writing it.
More than one of my test readers expressed an impatience for a sequel. I'll only know if that's worth writing if the original story is popular enough. I have at least four months before I can do any more than plot Cyrus Song II, because I have a personal promise I made to myself: To write a modern historical book, about two people who made me a writer, and whom I can think of no better way to thank than to use the hands they gave me to write something for them. I speak, of course, of my parents.
Like my children, my parents are proud of what I've become. Cyrus Song is a multi-generational book and both generations either side of me are keen to read the book when I give them copies. I hope others will join them.
I do know how I feel, actually: I feel how those beta readers said they did at the end of the book: Calm and tranquil. At peace.
Cyrus Song is available now on Amazon.
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