Story behind the Story
A couple of readers have asked why I wrote ‘Challenge 69’? It’s a good question (as the politicians say while trying to think of a reply), so here are a few potential answers. Apologies in advance for their length:
For Fame and Fortune?
I was never naive enough to think I had a bestseller on my hands. ‘C69’ is, I know, a story with too much music and too few murders for mainstream tastes. My experience in pitching the book to publishers (some nice rejections, but more often just a void) did nothing to alter that opinion.
I still believe there could be a wider audience for ‘Challenge 69’ amongst both music lovers (‘6 Music’ has two million+ listeners, while musician autobiographies, often poorly written, regularly top the sales lists) and with quiz enthusiasts (‘Only Connect’ has three million viewers). Getting to these people effectively is an entirely different matter though, and my fledgling social media skills are never going to bridge that chasm.
I’m not one to be easily deterred however, so in parallel with the serialisation on Substack (which I’m really enjoying) my quest continues to find that one elusive publisher who might just recognise the beauty in the quirky.
To Be the Next Dickens?
Publishing my story in a serialised form has to be a start!
I do accept this is a ridiculous comparator, but there are some simple ‘ground rules’ I’ve taken from reading Dickens that I did want to try replicating in my own small, stuttering way: i.e., well written but never ‘over literary’, a good blend of serious stuff alongside lowbrow nonsense, and always keeping half an eye on the next good joke!
As well as being a (Stuart like) music obsessive I also read a lot, not all quite so dated. Some contemporary authors I admire and enjoy work in the popular crime, spy, and thriller categories I was complaining about above (which I guess makes me part of the problem!): Ian Rankin, Colin Bateman, and Chris Brookmyre are perennial favourites, while I recently became addicted to Mick Herron’s ‘Slough House’ spy series.
Favourite author/book I hear you ask? I usually answer this question unthinkingly, by nominating either ‘Complicity’ or ‘The Crow Road’ by Iain Banks, in much the same way I habitually proclaim either ‘Teenage Kicks’ or ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ my favourite song. But I do have a new contender. I would highly recommend any of Claire North’s books, an excellent new writer with an extraordinary imagination for intriguing plots. There are a few I could pick out, but ‘Touch’ is the one I’ll plump for today.
To Scratch an Itch?
I have always enjoyed trying to put words together in a satisfying way (even in work emails), and long held a thought that I had, “a novel in me,” with an idea half formed as to what it might be.
So, one of the things I did with my enhanced leisure time, post retirement, was to sign up to study creative writing through the University of East Anglia. The course was excellent, and I felt like I learnt a lot (so just imagine how bad I was before?). The really scary bit though was needing to share my writing for the first time, not only with the tutor, a successful published author, but with my fellow students. Without that experience though I don’t think I would ever have had the nerve to put ‘Challenge 69’ out on Substack for you all to read.
Positive feedback from the tutor and my peers, that my writing (unsurprisingly, with a music twist) had individuality and promise proved enough encouragement for me to push on afterwards and complete ‘Challenge 69 - A Musical Maverick Mystery’. Time wise lockdowns clearly helped, but I’ve ended up with a complete manuscript (that runs to c110,000 words) which, in itself, is an achievement I’m proud of.
To Share the Joy?
To get back to answering the question though. If I had to summarise it, what is ‘Challenge 69’ really all about? What did I set out to achieve?
Yes, however much I might try to deny it, the book is, at least in part, autobiographical. Using elements of my (admittedly not that spectacular) life became a rewarding part of the writing process, and I hope adds a depth to the story. Can I apologise here though to those others I’ve shamelessly borrowed and fictionalised, without asking them first, to add to the book’s supporting cast.
I’ve always enjoyed novels with a problem-solving element, complex plots that, as a reader, you have to work hard to unravel. The core ‘Challenge’ at the heart of my book’s mystery is my attempt to replicate that. It’s probably too labyrinthine in truth, but it kept me amused as I was writing it! My favourite work in that style is ‘Sophie’s World’ by Jostein Gaarder, and I like to think of ‘Challenge 69’ (using a line no publisher has yet swallowed!) as my variation on that, but with Gaarder’s reflections on philosophy, that underpin his story, replaced by my own on punk!
I’m not a big fan of straight narratives. I prefer authors who aren’t scared to go off track and include stuff that might not necessarily move the plot forward yet adds to the experience. The book’s sections where Stuart muses on the news stories of the day, or meanders onto the trivia of life, are my way of trying to add this element. I hope you don’t find them too annoying, there are a lot more to come!
More than anything though, I wanted ‘Challenge 69’ to become a novel (like I had never read elsewhere) that not only hung together as a ‘good story’ but in doing so managed to celebrate many of the artists, bands, albums, singles, and concerts that I’ve loved over the years. I have always found music has an almost infinite capacity to entertain and, at its best, to inform. It’s that sense of joy I’ve tried to inject throughout my story. I’ll leave it to you to judge whether I’ve succeeded.
One small piece of feedback I received prompted this whole stream of consciousness. ‘Challenge 69’, this reader told me, had proven a catalyst for, “getting me back into the habit of listening to and enjoying music.”
So, whether or not, as someone else asked me, you will ever be able to, “pop down to Waterstones and find ‘C69’ on the shelves,” I’m choosing to interpret that small token of appreciation as, “one giant leap,” towards my mission being achieved.
Thank you (if you’ve made it this far), I’ll shut up now!
PS Just eight days to go now until ‘Track 4’ is released on 10 October. I’ll send out a couple of small reminders/teasers in advance.