Reflection and Rebirth?

    "The Clown has departed into the shadows. Now it is time for reflection, and to ponder for what shall return. "

    Today seems to be a good time of the year to ponder what has gone before and what is to come, a time of change and rebirth. Currently I am reflecting on the previous few weeks of social networking and wondering what I am doing on the world of the internet, and how I am perceived.

    It seems that I share a similar image to my novel The Last Mask, both apparently about clowning around and possibly being a bit dark and depressing. So our perceived images don’t seem to be attractive to the masses, or the few for that matter. People read the forum posts or watch the trailers, and then slowly edge away, with a nervous smile upon their faces. Even the Goths are scared, and that is depressing.

    I like to think that The Last Mask is an intelligent fantasy that explores our humanity, but I believe that many can’t see beyond the word “Clown” and that some don’t even know what a clown is and isn’t. The novel isn’t all clowns, there are more gypsies in the novel than clowns, but people don’t call it a gypsy novel. Clowns are scary, people keep saying, but the novel isn’t a clown novel if they looked.

    And I ponder why it isn’t selling. It has had a few excellent, genuine reviews from people who have read it all, so I believe it isn’t a rubbish book. Maybe it is too different from what people want to read, maybe it is a path they do not want to tread, or maybe I am just crap at selling it to people. So therefore maybe the problem is with me, the product that is Winterflood is not currently right.

    You try and joke around with people, and genuinely be friendly, but this doesn’t seem to come across. People might just think you are the fool who is always cracking a joke and has nothing serious to say… “Here comes that comedian Winterflood again”. In previous Blogs I have tried to put across serious points in a light hearted way, with the addition of things like goats and agents, but I think it is all getting lost.

    So it is time for a bit of a rethink and to drop the comedy. I am looking at a new website and hopefully through that I can express better the work and the ideas, so I will leave you with a new tag that I think will work well for the Last Mask and indeed for me, and we shall see what returns from the shadows sometime soon... maybe.

  

    “It is not just about a bunch of clowns.”