Elsewhere Newsletter One – Winter Solstice 2023.
It was a very special evening, one which felt like the start of an Elsewhere community.
The Hidden Destiny was finally revealed on the 29th of October. After an extra month of waiting, the book took centre stage at the Puppet Theatre in Norwich, promoted by the Autumn Festival of Norfolk. I was moved by the turnout, so thank you once again to everyone for being there, but especially for Suzanne’s lovely introduction and Chris’s fabulous Q&A. An off-the-cuff and unexpected format I love – expect to see more of those in 2024.
With a book launch comes a book to be taken home and read. Copies have already travelled to some pretty far-flung places; including Nairn in the north of Scotland, Helsinki, Sydney, Toulouse and New York. The Hidden Destiny has, of course, been sent to many readers here in England too; from Norfolk to Cornwall.
I was so inspired by the evening’s sense of community, that I wanted to be able to capture and nurture our journey together through The Realms of Elsewhere – but how? For sure there are plans and hopes to appear at book fairs, festivals and gatherings in people's houses, but how to share my countless drawings, writings, illustrations and updates (not least of all upcoming books!).
Know someone who would like a copy of my book? Purchase a copy here.
New Community Membership Site
In the old days, collectors used to come to our studio in Sheringham to share a cup of tea and relax with a biscuit (or cake if they arrived on the right day). Perhaps some of you were there and remember it being a great place to chat and share the new work and what was inspiring us at that time.
But, you know how it goes – life and the times moved on. However, I can’t help craving that feeling of an open door to the studio again.
Could it be an online community? One from which I would be able to share Elsewhere with anyone, no matter where they were in the world. There is an online platform called Patreon which was actually set up ten years ago to support and promote artists and help them build a community and share, as well as sell their work to their supporters. The idea of Patreon was built around the philosophy that the fans of an artist could be their supporters, and that the artist could give exclusive work in exchange for very small membership fees. And in being members, they share in the creative process. Anything from dipping in and out to see what the artist is up to this week right up to real deep dives and upcoming news.
Now it might surprise some of you to read, but I have always embraced new creative technologies. I love the new exploring, creating and most of all, play that it offers. In particular, I found the digital program called Procreate inspiring and endlessly helpful in the illustrations for Rosie Andersen’s second and third published books. The program also became essential for the illustrations I developed for the Society for Storytelling, not to mention the new era it opened up in my personal work and practice. If you know my work, you'll have gathered that I love detail. I’ll hide secrets within drawings and paintings, worlds within worlds. Now with Procreate I can work on inconceivably large canvasses, and with the right settings, go deeply inside an illustration and put tiny details somewhere unexpected. This has meant that as I develop The Realms of Elsewhere trilogies in writing and print I can develop new methods of imagery alongside one another.
Now, back to Patreon. When you visit my profile for the first time you will see a number of headings that are gateways to collections of my work. Here I have added a great deal of material which reflects what I will be uploading month by month.
In terms of supporting me on there, I have set up three tiers which allow access to varying levels of my imagination and all things Elsewhere. They are named after three things from Elsewhere: Two magical inventions along with the Alooma, who is the Sister of Time. Details of what the tiers come with can be discovered here on my Patreon page.
TikTok
For those of you who came to the book launch, you will know that my son Fabian is helping expand my social media presence. He’s helping share my story, as well as The Realms of Elsewhere, with a whole new crowd and my account has some 40 videos and climbing.
It’s a great place to get a flavour of what Elsewhere offers and a fabulous way to find enthusiasts who want to be part of our growing community.
A brand new audience who may be buying book one (The Hidden Destiny), or wanting to see drawings and get more backstories. It has surprised me the amount of written responses we’ve garnered on the account and it’s kind of capturing something that would be impossible for me to do to that standard or effect alone. If you fancy seeing what we’ve been up to there, then take a look here.
Audio Chapters
If like me, you’re more of a listener, then I’m thrilled to tell you that I’ve been busy recording the audio chapters of The Hidden Destiny and I have decided to share it in four Quarters.
The first Quarter is complete, available and includes a short introduction followed by chapters 1-8. The recording time is two hours and 45 minutes, including occasional music from my kora, acoustic piano, cedar wood flute, Tibetan singing bowls, bowed psaltery and ash sounding bowl – Listen here.
For me as a Storyteller, this medium is a natural next stage to my written stories and I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed the recording process. It seems to take an age (with a page of text taking at least an hour to create along with a little layering of occasional instruments), however, it’s a fascinating process that I’m excited to share with you.
2024
At this time of year when the old is about to close and the new to open, I move from reflection to thinking ahead.
At home; Team Elsewhere is growing, with Fabian as mentioned, Susan Arnold as Mentor, Sandra Arrowsmith as Copy Editor, of course Clare for her ongoing support and many others in Norwich helping to give a foundation for book two – The Uprising.
A considerable part of my attention next year will be on The Uprising. It’s the middle novel of the first trilogy and it's here that the uprising really gains momentum but of course, as is life so fiction reflects, and as the uprising grows, so does the darkness. We find in book two The Merchant of Storms using the island of Humble as if it were a puppet. But why is he taking so long to begin his war against the Humble people? What game is he playing? Next year you will discover that he is even prepared to lie to The Lord of the Shadows and risk his wroth, should he be found out. The stakes are raised and time begins to fail.
Over the next six weeks, I will be doing my final edit and then handing it over for copy editing and proofreading by Sandra and Suzanne. While they are doing that I will be drawing up and sharing on Patreon new illustrations. Then in March, I will return to where I left off in book five to continue that part of the adventure.
Bookings
Exciting news… I’ve started taking bookings for book fairs and festivals for the coming year. Here are the first few places you can catch me and the dates so far.
Huntingdon, The Indie Author Book Fair – 4th May 2024.
Nottingham, Oxton – April 2024 (Exact dates TBC).
Bristol, Venue tbc. – June 2024 (Exact dates TBC).
Suffolk, FolkEast – 16th-18th August 2024.
Oxford Storytelling Festival, WaterPerry – 23rd-25th August 2024.
Norwich, The Autumn Festival of Norfolk – October 2024 (Exact dates TBC).
I look forward to sharing Elsewhere with you over the coming year. Hearing your comments on The Hidden Destiny and perhaps meeting you at one of the venues or seeing you on Patreon.
Enjoy your midwinter and Christmas festivals. May they and next year be all you wish for,
Paul
