From fact to fiction

Posted by Peter Labrow on 25 January 2011

For once, I’m going to go off-topic and talk about my biggest achievement in 2010: publishing my first novel.

I guess like many copywriters, I’ve long lusted after ‘greater things’ creatively – which in my case is to write fiction.

But I’m a realist. I can’t park a successful marketing business to live in a remote garret, churning out books that perhaps few would read.

Well, in 2010, I spent quite a lot of my ‘free time’ working on that difficult first novel, The Well. In the last week in December, it was published as a Kindle e-book; in the second week in January it was published in print.

The feedback so far has been very good – those who have read it say they enjoyed it and I’ve gathered a few positive reviews on Amazon. (You can find out more on my website for The Well.)

I’d describe The Well as a psychological thriller/horror book with supernatural undertones. It’s about a young girl called Becca who falls into a deep well and can’t get out. Her parents are away for a few days – so no one knows she’s there. As the tale unfolds, we watch Becca’s increasingly desperate attempts to escape, interwoven with the stories of those outside the well.

Writing The Well was quite a challenge when you’re already working full time. But it was enjoyable and rewarding – it certainly enriched my copywriting to expose myself to elements of writing that I normally don’t have to think about: plot, characters and so on.

Yes, I’m working on a second novel. My guess is it will take around the same amount of time to complete – a year, end to end.

One client has asked if that means ‘I’m still doing website stuff’ – the answer to that is a resounding ‘yes’. I couldn’t remotely live off the income from my fiction writing – although, perhaps, ‘one day’.

For now, most of my writing will be – as it has been for years – for brochures and websites. But feel free to sample something a little darker.

The Well is available in print from Lulu.com and on Kindle from Amazon.

 

Here’s what some readers have said on their Amazon reviews:

“Many horror stories play out like a B movie – where characters and subplots are veneer thin. The Well is different. The characters are detailed in their description and contain hard flaws which are not always endearing. They feel like real people who, as events unfold, react badly or unpredictably to the increasing tempo. I especially felt that the reaction and subsequent arguments of key characters were brilliantly thought through, giving the book an unexpectedly strong foundation in reality. As the horrors unfold just yards away from real life, the horror itself only becomes more and more intense. In short, a brilliant read!”

“I couldn’t put it down.”

“Peter Labrow’s writing creates really strong visual scenes – the eerie forest, the ruined house, the well itself, life in the village – it’s easy to you feel like you are actually there.”

“Absolutely fabulous book – plenty of cliff-hangers to keep you reading, thoroughly believable characters, gripping story line and completely addictive.”

“The premise is initially simple (when two teens fall down a well, will they be saved in time?), but some intriguing plot twists and red herrings, not to mention well crafted characters and some genuine hold-your-breath moments, kept me gripped all the way through!”

“This exciting and fast moving novel kept me hooked until the end.”

“It’s got everything – mystery, intrigue, tension, peppered with a bit of witchcraft too.” 

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