In the meantime, happy Saint Patrick's day to all who celebrate it. My maternal grandmother was Irish, so I have an excuse myself for indulging in a pint of the black stuff, with a shamrock on the froth. Not that I'd ever need an excuse anyway.
Jack
A random set of postings about my work. Things from the past, what I'm working on now, future projects, and all the peripherals that go with being an author. Happy to be directed, but never controlled.
Jack
I need to make a note and write a Saint Patrick's Day scene for my favourite man, Paddy McGuire. In the meantime, happy Saint Patrick's day to all who celebrate it. My maternal grandmother was Irish, so I have an excuse myself for indulging in a pint of the black stuff, with a shamrock on the froth. Not that I'd ever need an excuse anyway. Jack
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I was recently asked about a book cover, and which characters in the book the models on the cover might represent. 'None' was the answer, but that's not always the case. There are others where the image on the cover is a dead ringer for one of the featured characters. Regardless of whether I show him or not on the cover - I always have a picture in my mind of the main characters. How else are you supposed to describe them if not? So in that way I need a muse! Rarely it's an actual person - more like a composite: of images from the net and people that I've met, merging together to form a physical being that gets fine tuned over time if it's a series like The Wild Side. And if I'm going to give an example, then why not go in at the deep end with Big Bad Angus himself - the Master of The Wild Side. To be honest - I had never heard of the man pictured when I first described Angus MacLeod, so he wasn't the original muse. And he's too young in this picture for the current MacLeod, who I have in his late thirties. But I reckon that ten years earlier, Angus would look just like this man here - the fabulous Ted Colunga, when he still had a full head of hair! Okay, so Ted's Hungarian, not a Jock - but those dark brooding looks are spot on for Angus, and other Scots of his type, of which there are quite a few. The build and the body hair fits perfectly as well. And then there is another asset that Ted Colunga boasts, which for decency sake I don't show here, but is also reminiscent of what Mr MacLeod packs in his trousers. So not the original muse - I didn't even know about Ted when I invented Angus. It's a piece of serendipity - one of those happy accidents that I never tire of. Jack Feeling a bit rough this morning. Yesterday wasn't one of my best. It got off to a bad start with that ownership issue concerning 'Spanked at Last'. The weather was crap and I just felt tetchy all day. So hey! Why not have a little drink - that traditional way for the Scots to cheer themselves up. And as luck would have it there was some grappa in the house. I went to Italy skiing a few weeks ago, and brought this back. I really like grappa, but it's dangerous stuff. I once went psychotic having drunk too much, and the hangovers are the stuff of nightmares. Thankfully I only had a couple of glasses, but I still feel a bit groggy this morning. Which might in part be due to the vodka and red wine that I also knocked back, but I blame it all on the grappa. Anyway, on the brighter side - that ownership issue has now been resolved. And 'Welcome to The Wild Side' is now free on Amazon, with plenty of takers in the first couple of days. Hopefully that will result in increased sales of the other books in the series and I'll have something else to celebrate... With grappa? No - better stick to my favourite malt. Which is Talisker of course, as per Angus MacLeod, and features also in 'Spanked at Last', which is set in Brighton, and has a gruff Scotsman as it's main character. So off course it was written by... Jack
'Boot Camp Week' marks the end of the 'Tales from The Wild Side' series - for now at any rate. This is another book that hasn't been changed, as it is pretty much stand alone and no integration was needed. I suppose I could have added some stuff to develop the on going story of Angus and his boys, but I decided not to. That can wait for the next book in the series. And what should that be? Well, there are three plots running around in my head, one of which logically follows on from 'Boot Camp Week'. The book covers the selection week at Bears Den - Angus MacLeod's slave training stable - when 24 hopefuls are weeded down to the 12 who will go forward for training. I plan to come back to those selected - that will be part of one, if not both of the other two plots in my head. But what about those who failed? In 'Boot Camp Week' they are given the option to apply to 'The Wild Side' for a job. l think that perhaps I should follow a couple of the rejects as they go and see Mr Charles and audition for a job at the club. It's time Charles had a leading part, and that might be opening. As for those other two plots. They're still developing, which is fine. But I see a new character who wants to be a master, and Marco having a starring role, with Sven of course getting involved. I haven't laboured the point in the new versions of the series, but the contract with Angus is coming to an end, so something needs to happen. And then there is The Guild of Masters, which I've thrown into the revised series at various points. A summer party at Bears Den perhaps, with Angus hosting for key members of The Guild, and an agenda of sorts going on - some internal power struggle maybe. I'm sure there would be plenty of scope in that, with perhaps Angus's back story starting to be told. So many ideas. But today in Gozo the sun is shining and it looks like spring has truly arrived, so they will stay as ideas, maturing in my head as I go out and enjoy the weather. Jack The Taming of Gangster Gaz is probably the most stand alone book in the 'Tales from The Wild Side' series. There are links of course to the other books, in that its the same characters from The Wild Side who are used, the main ones being Paddy, Dylan, and Aussie Shane getting a starring role, but you wouldn't need to know about these characters to enjoy the book. For that reason there was no need to alter anything and Gaz is unchanged apart from a new book cover. I was tempted to change more though! With the revamping of the series and changing the first two book titles from 'The Spanking Room' and 'The Unchained Slave' to 'Welcome to The Wild Side' and 'A Taste of The Wild Side' respectively, there was a point where I wanted to have 'The Wild Side' in all the titles. This was done for 'Fisted!!!' which became 'Fisting Night at The Wild Side', but with the others it somehow jarred. Making 'Made for Auction' into 'Made for The Wild Side' sounded okay. But with Gaz nothing worked. I like the title and it seemed a shame to change it anyway. There was also the potential for people to think it was something new, which it isn't. So I decided to keep the old title for this and the others where there is no 'Wild Side' in the title. And will there be more about Gaz in the future? Not sure, but Angus MacLeod's Glasgow connection has to be revisited at some point. Angus's story will be told at some point, and while Gaz didn't feature in the history, his father Archie certainly did. So maybe Gaz will pop up again in some form or other. Jack 'The Wild Side' was the original book that inspired the 'Tales from The Wild Side', and as such proved the most difficult to integrate into the updated series. It differs as well in that it is written in the first person while all the other books are in the third person. But that in itself gave me the idea of how to fit it in - I get Ralph Daley to tell his story, setting the scene first at the point in time I wanted as a prologue, and then using the original book as the story is told. In that way, the new version doesn't differ hugely from the original. The main charge is to the character of Barry, and how the books ends, setting things up for the following book 'An Angel Falls to The Wild Side'. I think it works. The new version is certainly one that I'm happier with compared to the original. Jack While some of the 'Tales from The Wild Side' have been given a make-over, I haven't changed Paddy's story at all. It's my favourite book about my favourite character, so it seemed wrong to go tampering. It does, however, have a prologue and an epilogue now. This was done to fit the retrospective story into the timeline of the series. I'm including the prologue here in case anyone wants to read it without bothering about the new version of the book. And yes, that's me coming though. I'm not Angus MacLeod, although there is a bit of my character in him, and this is an example. For longer than I care to remember I've celebrated New Year away from Scotland and this is how I tend to feel... Prologue New Year’s Eve and the night was cold, a frost threatening for the morning. But the sky was clear, which would be good news for the revellers down by the Thames where the fireworks display would be taking place. Angus MacLeod wouldn’t be there. Nor would he be celebrating at the club he owned where a fun filled night had been arranged for the members of The Wild Side. He didn’t consider himself a maudlin man, but New Year’s Eve was always a funny time – the night when Scotsmen traditionally went wild and tears came to eyes with badly sung versions of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ washed down with too many nips of whisky. And MacLeod used to partake and get into the swing. He would go crazy at Hogmanay, along with the rest of his home city of Glasgow where it’s celebrated at its best. But since moving to London, try as he’d done for several years, it was never the same. Instead of celebrating and looking ahead, MacLeod always found himself looking back, although rarely with regret. There was so much to look back on. People in his life, choices he had made, things that he’d done for good and bad – it was such a rich tapestry that made the man that Angus MacLeod was today. Under the stars of an English sky he allowed some memories to make a spark: the times in Scotland where he’d spent his youth; the journey he had taken before arriving in London; the accumulation of wealth and the forming of a business empire; the evolution of a man who became a legend in his field… the only true claimant to the title ‘Master of The Wild Side’. He had so much, including time, being easily on the right side of forty. But he’d give it all up, including some of those years, as long as he kept one single thing… the man that he knew was watching from the door that led to the garden where MacLeod was standing. Angus MacLeod smiled – silently communing. They always knew when the other was present – a sixth sense that existed between them, so there was no need to verbally state the obvious. It must be nearing the time for Big Ben to strike and announce the dawning of another year. He would turn in a moment and return to the house, all smiles and joviality for the others who partied there. But for now he just wanted to remember. Some parts he knew from first-hand experience. The rest had been told and collated together. It made up the story that surpassed all others that had impacted MacLeod’s wonderfully rich life. The story of the making of a relationship, and the birth of an institution. A tale from the wild side that has no equal… The Wild Side of Paddy McGuire. Jack |
Jack BrightonJack Brighton is a British author who specialises in gay erotica with a BDSM Archives
July 2019
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