Extract from ‘The Prague Ultimatum’ by James Silvester

It’s time now for a taster from ‘The Prague Ultimatum’.  I hope you all enjoy it.

 

Book Blurb

Fear stalks the newly reunified Czechoslovakia, the terror wrought by international terrorism and violent extremists overshadowing the forthcoming fiftieth anniversary of the Prague Spring, and threatening to burn the country in its wake.

Into this arena steps Captain Lincoln Stone, a disgraced British officer, humiliatingly scapegoated by his government for his role in the disastrous on-going Syrian Conflict. Plucked from his purgatory, Stone is teased with exoneration by British Foreign Secretary Jonathan Greyson, in return for his ‘off the books’ aid of Czechoslovak Prime Minister, Miroslava Svobodova. Stone, resentful of his treatment and determined to prove himself, is driven by deeper motives than the casual platitudes of his superiors, and finds himself at the epicentre as the country descends into chaos.

Cut off from the international community and isolated in the face of an expansionist Russia, and with the sinister Institute for European Harmony ever present behind the scenes, Czechoslovakia’s fate, and that of the world, hangs on the outcome to the Prague Ultimatum.

 

Extract

Extract from ‘The Prague Ultimatum’

 

Guest Post by James Silvester

I would like to welcome James Silvester back to my blog.  His new book, ‘The Prague Ultimatum’ is out on the 13th April.  James has written a guest post for this event.

~~~~~

A huge thanks firstly to Sonya for kindly allowing me back onto her site, and thanks also to Matthew at Urbane Publications for his continuing confidence in me.

Getting the nod from your publisher that he wants to commission your second book and that you need to start work is like downing a cocktail composed of wildly different elements.

First is the elation; sheer and complete. The idea that your work has been well received and the bloke you’ve been working so hard to impress has enough belief in your ability to invest in a future offering, brings with it a joy of a kind all its own. But shortly afterwards, once that has sunk in, comes the clawing spectre of self-doubt along with all its nagging chums. Whereas your first book might well have been written over several years, without deadlines or pressures other than those self-imposed, this time it’s a different kettle of fish. Now there is someone investing in you, both with money and time, and along with the investment comes expectation, deadlines and the deeply ingrained worry that you’re not really up to this…

Of course, you ultimately pull yourself together and crack on, but there’s no denying that some of the challenges are just that little bit harder this time; and this is nowhere more apparent than when designing your new characters. My second book, The Prague Ultimatum, serves as a sequel to 2015’s Escape To Perdition, although not so blindly that it can’t be read as a stand-alone story. But even though a number of characters make return appearances, the focus is on someone entirely new, and putting the pieces of the new protagonist together was one of the most challenging aspects of the entire process.

While in some respects it would be nice to slip back into writing for a familiar and established character, one for whom you have already developed a back story, motivations and relationships, in this case (all spoilers aside) it simply wasn’t an option. This new book required a new Lead, someone who could view the landscape with fresh eyes, less attuned to the political intricacies and moral ambiguities than Peter Lowe, the anti-hero of Escape To Perdition. I needed someone who could fill the role of a Stranger in a Strange Land, someone above the political intrigue and dark deeds that typify the espionage genre, and desperate to remain so. Rather than a repentant spy, ashamed of himself and his work in an unseen and murderous underworld, the story called for an honourable character, used to fighting his battles in more open territory; unwilling to be corrupted by the seedy world he has been thrust into, but slowly being overpowered by it nonetheless.

One of the questions I was often asked after my first book was how much of ‘me’ was there in the main character, and the truth is a sometimes disappointing ‘bits and pieces.’ Peter Lowe certainly shares my tastes in sixties music and fashion, and I can certainly give in to the occasional foul mood and desire for the odd tipple, but the character wasn’t intended as some sort of literary reflection. Besides which, I’m not sure a thriller about a balding writer with an ever expanding waistline, would make for good reading… If I’m honest, I’m guilty of peppering several characters with a few more ‘bits and pieces’ of myself and that’s true as well of The Prague Ultimatum’s chief protagonist, Captain Lincoln Stone, though I hope not in a self-serving or obtrusive way.

Though the story is fictional, it draws heavily on the political realities of today’s world, with the tensions and crises that occupy it very much present, whether in the form of international terrorism, populism or political instability. As must we all, Stone has little choice but to adapt to these tensions if he is to survive and move on, and he does so by falling back on his military training and experience. But as precarious as the international situation fast becomes, nothing is as important to Stone as the personal crisis he daily struggles with, having been unfairly scapegoated by his government and desperate to prove his honour to the world, and more importantly, to his son.

Putting together a new cast of characters is always a challenge; trying to keep them fresh and engaging enough to hold the reader’s interest and carry the story often feels a somewhat gargantuan task. The rewards though, when reading a kind review or listening to people’s reactions to characters, speak for themselves, and hard though it sometimes it, it’s a challenge I hope I never tire of.

And while Captain Stone fast becomes an essential cog in the mix, I hope his reactions and motivations reflect those of a good many readers in coming to terms with the issues of the day.

 

Links

‘The Prague Ultimatum’ can be pre-ordered from:-

Urbane Publications – http://urbanepublications.com/books/the-prague-ultimatum/

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prague-Ultimatum-James-Silvester/dp/1911331388/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489603671&sr=1-1&keywords=the+prague+ultimatum

‘Escape to Perdition’ is available to buy from:-

Urbane Publications – http://urbanepublications.com/books/escape-to-perdition/

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Perdition-Could-nation-himself-ebook/dp/B01GW71G70/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489603846&sr=1-2

Twitter – @JamesSilvester

 

Interview with James Silvester

Last year James Silvester wrote a guest post for my blog.  As part of my blog event I asked him a few questions.

 

Your debut novel seems to be doing very well.  Could you tell me a bit about ‘Escape to Perdition’ please?

Thanks Sonya! It’s a political thriller, set mainly in Prague, which deals with the fall out of the Czech Republic and Slovakia attempting reunification. An EU faction wants to prevent the change and assigns the main character to prevent it via nefarious means. The chosen man however is battling with the guilt of his profession and ultimately falls in love with his target, and the main focus of the book is on his journey.

 

Where did you get the idea for your book from?

Ooh, lots of places. From being at school, the history of Czechoslovakia, particularly events like the Prague Spring and the Velvet Revolution has fascinated me and that stayed with me as I grew up. As fate would have it, I ended up marrying into a Slovak family and consequently spend a lot of time in that part of the world, which I took advantage of in terms of research. Getting that first hand sense of the frustrations and passions of people living through the events I’d been studying was invaluable. It also struck me how this region had been so manipulated throughout history, which got me thinking as to whether it still was, and if so by whom and why? I slowly cobbled things together from there really. I’ve always enjoyed espionage as a genre in general, but I always prefer the focus to be on character and consequences, rather than action set pieces necessarily, and that was the main motivation really.

 

How long did it take you to write?

I’d been thinking about the story for quite a long time, several years in fact. But in terms of actually sitting down and purposefully writing, I’d say two years.

 

How easy was it to get published by Urbane Publications?

Hmm, interesting… I have been thinking about this recently. I would never say it was easy to be published (by Urbane or anyone else), I think it’s true that Matthew and I stumbled across each other at precisely the right time (maybe it was Divine providence!). I had the bulk of my draft ready and was trying to get a feel for approaching publishers when I came across Matthew on Twitter, who was busy reaching out to writers and going about getting Urbane established. I liked the interaction he offered when previously, no publisher I’d come across would e-mail back or look at me twice. Eventually, after I’d sent him my stuff, he got back to me with some positive thoughts and we ended up having a good chat about my project, how we could develop it etc. It was very important to me to know that that initial burst of optimism and enthusiasm for my work would remain and that if I signed with Urbane I wouldn’t be forgotten about six months later when a raft of bigger, better writers were signed up. Matthew quickly assured me of his commitment and after that, I didn’t want to go with anyone else. That was back in September 2014 and I’m delighted with how the collaboration has gone and the relationship developed since that point, it’s been everything I hoped for and more.

 

I understand your are going to have another book published.  Is it going to be the same genre as your current one or something different?

Still very much in Thriller territory! The new book is called The Prague Ultimatum and can be read as a loose sequel to Escape to Perdition, in that some of the familiar characters will feature in places and it will take place within the ‘universe’ established in the first book. I’m not a fan of formulaic ‘Hollywood’ sequels, so it was important for me to tell a story that deserved telling in its own right, not simply because the first book exists. Readers, for example, can pick up any of John Le Carre’s ‘Karla Trilogy’ in any order and enjoy a good read, without necessarily having read the other instalments, and I’m hoping to achieve something similar. Time will tell….

 

Have you got any other writing projects on the go?

Right now, the new book is my number one focus and all the energy is going into that. I have written a rough draft of a sitcom I’d like to try and pitch. It needs some work, and realistically It’ll be around Christmas before I get back to it, but it’s there in the back of my dusty, cluttered mind. I also have a synopsis outlined for a final addition to the loose ‘Prague Trilogy’ which I’ve been focussed on for so long. That would be set in the dying days of the Cold War and, again, it would have some recognisably ‘prequel’ elements complimenting the story. I hope that sees the light of day someday… Then of course, I’d love to have a bash at some more Doctor Who short stories!

 

Was it always a dream to become a writer?

Very much so, but it was a dream I allowed every day life to push to the side-lines for a long time. I’d been flirting with the idea of writing for a few years before I eventually got back to it. Ultimately it was a bad day at work that saw me sit down in front of my PC and just say ‘why not?’

 

Would you like to be a full-time writer one day?

Yes please! That’s the dream anyway, to one day emerge from the loop of ‘so may things to write, so little time’. My absolute dream job would be Head writer of Doctor Who, and writing thrillers between series. One day…..

 

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to write their first novel?

Never wait for the perfect time to start writing, because it will never come, write for yourself first, be careful who you take advice from and send your draft to Matthew when you’re finished.

 

Would you like to see ‘Escape to Perdition’ made into a film?

I’d love to. I’m biased of course, but I think it would work well on film. I’m sure a lot of writer’s do this but when I was writing it, I did have certain actors in mind for a few of the characters, so there’s a cast list there already if any studios are reading? That said, just having the book published means an enormous amount to me personally. Whether or not a film is made in the future can’t change the fact that there’s a book on my shelf that I wrote. That’s a wonderful feeling I don’t think I’ll ever get used to.

 

What do you think about social media?

I have mixed feelings really. As a new writer it’s been invaluable in reaching people and expanding my readership, engaging with bloggers and reader’s groups etc.. Plus of course, I wouldn’t have met Matthew and been published without it. I do have concerns about social media though; it has a sinister side to it that reflects the worst of our natures. Trolling, keyboard warrior battles and the like unsettle me, plus of course innocent people can have their lives destroyed by social media. So, it has its uses and is great for meeting people, but handle with care…

 

If you had to stay on a desert island for a whole month and were only allowed to take three items with you what would they be?

A month of uninterrupted writing time? Bliss! In the absence of electricity to power my laptop, I’d need a very thick writing pad and pen (is that one or two items?), my glasses and a book for inspiration, maybe The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Is that too boring an answer? Then maybe two bottles of rum and a pillow J

 

‘Escape to Perdition’ is available to buy from:-

Urbane Publications – http://urbanepublications.com/books/escape-to-perdition/

Amazon UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Perdition-James-Silvester-ebook/dp/B011A0EGNK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458480047&sr=1-1&keywords=escape+to+perdition

 

James Silvester’s Website – www.jamessilvesterauthor.com

Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/James-Silvester-Author-334954666692921/?ref=ts&fref=ts

Twitter – @jamessilvester1

 

Guest Post by James Silvester

‘Escape to Perdition’ was published by Urbane Publications earlier this year.  I have heard a lot of good things about this book and am really looking forward to reading it.  James Silvester has written a wonderful guest post for my blog.

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I’ve learned something about myself since I wrote my debut novel, Escape to Perdition, and that’s boy, can I talk about myself.

I mean really, really talk about myself. Every chance I get I talk to anyone who’ll listen (and several who won’t) about my book, what inspired the story, what I wanted to say in the prose, how long it took me, what frustrated me, elated me, had me face-palming in anger or fist pumping with joy. I could tell you about the first time I knew I wanted to write, the reasons I never got around to it, the bad day at work that finally convinced me to sit down and type out that first scene. I could tell you about endless re-writes, discarded characters, crushing self doubt and staggering over confidence. I could even go for the sympathy vote and tell you about the asthma attack I took months to recover from after I’d worked myself into sleepless ill health (violin time). There is, I’ve found, no end to the ways I can turn a conversation with strangers around to books, literature and, “Oh, by the way…” And that’s surprised me.

I’ve always been a bit of an introvert if truth be told, certainly in recent years. I’m the quiet guy at the conference table who sits back in sage consideration, letting others shout over each other before offering a considered opinion at the end. At least, I’d like to think I am. So it was a bit of a shock to discover that I’m actually just as gobby as anyone else. But I have to be, you see? If I’m going to get my book to sell, if I want to be entrusted to write another one, if I’m ever going to realise my aspiration of being a full time writer, then I need to shout about it. I’m a new indie author trying to get noticed in a flooded market; it’s like being a green shoot in a field of flowers, hollering at occasional passers by to glance in my direction. Not always easy.

My publisher, the quite splendid Matthew Smith of Urbane Publications, is phenomenally good at promoting his authors, but I have to play my part and work as hard as possible to get the book ‘out there’, and one of the best ways of doing this, for us indies, is by working with bloggers.

Bloggers are nectar to writers; they ‘Like’ our posts, they re-tweet our thoughts, they push our promotions and they give thoughtful, constructive reviews, all for the pleasure of reading and a new book in their collection. But I’ve a horrible feeling that sometimes writers take bloggers for granted. We don’t mean to of course, but sometimes it can happen. In a writer’s enthusiasm for spreading the word, maybe it can sometimes seem that bloggers become are simply a means to an end; that we’ll be all over them on social media before a review, before instantly forgetting and moving on to the next one, hoping for more of the same to a wider audience.

At Urbane, I am delighted and proud to be fully signed up to the principle of collaboration which underpins the ethos, as, I think it’s fair to say, are all of my writery comrades. On Twitter, Facebook and anywhere else we can think of, we plug each other’s work, recommend each other’s books and offer genuine congratulations when one of us gets picked for a promotion or invited to a festival. We sometimes flippantly call ourselves the ‘Urbane Family’ but there is little flippant about the spirit of that label. And I hope that the bloggers we work with and who promote our work feel every bit as much a part of that family as the rest of us.

I’d like to think that I’m not guilty of under appreciating the support of the blogging community, but hand on heart, I know there are times when I could have done more than just say ‘cheers’ and moved on. That’s why, instead of another post about my book and my motivations (and there’ll be plenty of those in the future, believe me), I wanted to use this opportunity of a guest post to properly acknowledge everyone who has supported me this far and who will do in the future. The blogs you write, the reviews you give, the time you spend giving a leg up to people like me is truly and always will be appreciated. Without your efforts, this really would be like pushing water up a hill in the rain, with no shoes, and a headache, instead of the pleasure it has been. So, on behalf of struggling newbies and established writers everywhere, I’d just like to say that Bloggers, we salute you all.

Thank You.

 

About James Silvester

James is an HR professional and former Mod DJ for internet radio, with a neglected talent for the harmonica. He first began writing during his University days, re-discovering his passion for storytelling after delving into the rich history of Eastern Europe.

First and foremost he is a proud Dad of two wonderful kids and is likely an infuriating husband. When not writing, James is happiest not acting his age with his children.

 

Competition

I am running a competition to win 1 of 5 x copies of ‘Escape to Perdition’.  To enter just leave a comment about James Silvester’s lovely guest post.

 

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open worldwide.

The closing date is 11:59 p.m. on the 10th November 2015.

The winners will be randomly chosen and notified within 7 days of the closing date.  Their details will be passed on to Matthew Smith who will send out the prizes.

 

Good Luck! 🙂