CONTROVERSIAL MANUSCRIPT’S PUBLISHING DATE BROUGHT FORWARD
“And, of course, with unvarnished truth there’s often controversy. Whilst many willingly chose to be involved in this project there are others that would much rather their involvement, their actions remain undisclosed”
Yes yes, the rumours are true! Oh okay, maybe they aren’t rumours because I started them but my publishing schedule for 2015 has changed.
The plan may have been to finish my supernatural thriller, UNSPEAKABLE, before finalising COMING UP FOR AIR, but it has been repeatedly brought to my attention that there is far greater interest in the release of a nonfiction manuscript from yours truly at this time.
I’ve therefore revised my publishing schedule and the next draft of UNSPEAKABLE has now been pushed back to 2016.
Meanwhile, COMING UP FOR AIR has been brought forward with the following provisional deadlines:
- Final working draft by Autumn 2014
- Manuscript Focus groups held by Winter 2014
- Editor’s draft ready by End of 2014
- Editor reviewed by Early 2015
- Final draft Spring/Summer 2015
- Published Summer 2015
This is just a working schedule for now and I’ll know more when I’ve managed to review and evaluate all of the existing and additional chapters but this is very exciting! Whilst I’m disappointed about UNSPEAKABLE I know this change makes sense. If only because I owe it, after all this time, to all those who have collaborated on the manuscript to make their stories finally heard.
COMING UP FOR AIR has been in the works for over a decade. The idea was conceived when my own 6 year relationship came to an abrupt end. At the time, I felt I was going to suffocate on the loss I was experiencing. I spent weeks drowning in a sea of emotional turmoil (yes at the time it seemed as dramatic as it sounds). I actually wasn’t able to function as the person I knew I just became one of those ‘empty shell kind of people’ who didn’t want to do anything nor see anybody until I took my own journey of discovery and realised it was time to stop drowning deep in the abyss of my self-imposed misery and ‘come up for air’.
As of today, the manuscript for COMING UP FOR AIR is 75% complete. It’s based on both official and unofficial research I’ve conducted over the past 10 years. I’ve interviewed literally hundreds of people from all walks of life about their relationships as well as offering advice to many others. This book will include just some of the ‘official’ stories which are good, bad and downright ugly. And there’s no doubt that, unless you live the life of a hermit, if you are in, have been in, are about to start a relationship then this book is for you.
And yes, it would be easy to think that COMING UP FOR AIR is just another self-help book. Far from it. I’ve used my experience as a novelist to present many of the chapters as if it they were from a fictional novel. This means that rather than just recounting what I was told, learned and subsequently expressing an opinion, I set each of the scenes as they actually happened, including sights, sounds, atmosphere and emotion, thanks to the detail provided to me by the many generous collaborators.
And, of course, whilst the book may read like a fictional novel, everything you will read is 100% true based on the information given to me and the limited evidence made available to me.
I’m hoping that this process will bring you closer to some of these extraordinary life stories and that many readers will realise that they aren’t alone in the world but that, as humans, we all feel, long for and need interaction with others and that this has consequences, pleasurable or otherwise.
This is human behaviour.
A subject matter that I’ve been interested in (okay obsessed with) ever since I was a teenager. I’ve always found human behaviour immensely compelling (yes even my own). What makes us behave the way we do and why? Why are we besotted with another human being one day and totally disinterested in them the next?
This book aims to examine this and more through a series of real life stories and social patterns.
And, of course, with unvarnished truth there’s often controversy. Whilst many willingly chose to be involved in this project there are others that would much rather their involvement, their actions remain undisclosed. This is understandable as there are cases of physical abuse, betrayal, deceit, private investigators, narcissists, marriages of convenience and so much more. It’s for the sake of these individuals, since I wasn’t always able to glean the story ‘from the other side’ (and in the interest of avoiding potential lawsuits) that their real names will be omitted for they know who they are.
Ultimately, my role is to bring you the stories as I know them (including my own) and it will be for you, the reader, to make up your own mind. And indeed, that is exactly what you’ll have the chance to do in some chapters as you’ll get to test your own experiences and ‘profiling’ techniques. I’ll be presenting each case to you, the reader, and then will give you the opportunity to conclude what happens next before I actually go ahead and reveal this to you. Well, it is the age of interaction, and you won’t even have to pick up the phone to vote!
But COMING UP FOR AIR isn’t just about relationship stories, it’s also about sharing what I’ve learned during my lifetime quest to establish what truly makes us tick?
Whilst I don’t believe I, or anybody, can definitively answer that question, such is the complexity of the human mind, we have become somewhat adept at determining patterns of general behaviour thanks to the plethora of social studies and experiments. This manuscript includes not only my own research but also that of many eminent studies that I extensively researched for this book and previous blog posts with the view to shining the light on life and why we do the things we do, what are the triggers, what are the signs, what are the consequences of our actions and how best to deal with the everyday challenges that each and every one of us is presented with at some stage or another.
So, there you have it. We all have a very limited time on this earth during which we experience a rollercoaster ride of emotional highs and lows; joy, happiness, pleasure, pain, anger, sorrow and grief are just some of the emotions triggered in us either by our own actions or, often, as a direct result of the actions of one of several other human beings. Chances are, there is one of these very emotions hovering on the periphery of your mind as you read this.
It’s because you’re living your life based on your own particular set of circumstances, be them assigned to you by fate (if you believe) or by choices made by you or by people close to you.
This is why COMING UP FOR AIR may feature many people but it isn’t a true story about them, it’s actually a true story about you.
 
 
COMING UP FOR AIR IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON, AUDIBLE & ITUNES.
in hardback, paperback and audiobook (featuring a full cast).
 
Take a listen to the audiobook excerpt below or visit the COMING UP FOR AIR page for story previews and trailers.
 
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