Doomsday is coming

It's just over a month until the launch of The Doomsday Testament, the debut thriller by my alter ego and international man of mystery James Douglas. I’m really proud of it and I hope you’ll love it too, but now I'm stuck with the debut novelist's Catch-22: How do I get people to read my brilliant new book if nobody knows about it? 

My publisher will be pushing it, trying to get it into the supermarkets and WH Smith (which is more difficult than you might think) and it's 50 per cent off at Amazon, but people can only buy The Doomsday Testament if they have heard about it. And it is here that I’d like to ask for your help.

Can we use the exponential power of the internet to make sure that even if they don't read The Doomsday Testament, at least they'll have heard about it?

Over the next month I'll be putting out intriguing teasers about The Doomsday Testament and all I ask is that wherever possible you retweet or share them, and ask all your friends to do the same. I have about 500 friends on my Facebook pages and 300 on Twitter, so even if half of them retweet and half of their friends retweet, etc. etc. You do the maths, but by my calculation everybody on the planet who owns a computer will know about The Doomsday Testament by a week on Wednesday.

So there you are, not only do you get the chance to help a struggling debut author become the next big thing, but you'll have the privilege of taking part in a unique social experiment (well it's unique to me).

Thanks to everyone who's already into the spirit of things by sharing my blatant plugs, and thanks in advance to everyone who takes part.

Your first job is to share this or retweet it to as many people as you can bully, bribe, cajole and anything else of a non-violent nature.

To infinity and beyond ...

The Doomsday Testament: 'Imagine The Odessa File meets the Da Vinci Code and you won't be far away' - Douglas Jackson (OK, he has a certain investment in the project, but he's one of only three people who’ve read it, if you count my editor and agent,and anyway it's true)

When the price is too high

Just heard the depressing news of another British soldier killed in Afghanistan. I watched a programme on BBC i-player a couple of nights ago about the Battle for Helmand, and it was a fascinating portrait of men at war. The professionalism, courage and dedication of the young British men fighting and dying there is astonishing and their devotion to their comrades profoundly moving.

I only have one question. Why do we keep sending our young men to be killed in an essentially pointless war they cannot possibly win?

History tells us that Afghanistan is one of the most intractable places on the planet. Alexander the Great struggled to subdue it. A highly organised, but poorly led British army underestimated the tribesfolk in 1842 and paid a terrible price. It was the Soviet equivalent of Vietnam.

So what has changed? The programme painted a picture of soldiers sent out to man remote outposts in the middle of enemy territory as part of what amounted to little more than a political PR campaign. The reasons for their deployment were hazy. Nobody talks about defeating the Taleban any more. Every day they patrolled streets and roads laced with mines by resourceful, ruthless opponents who knew exactly where they must pass. They endured and suffered in awful conditions and the nearest they came to fun was in an occasional liberating firefight with men who were farmers by day and warriors by night. Their skills counted for nothing; no amount of training can save you if a roadside bomb explodes next to you. Their fortresses were islands in a hostile sea. They depended on the charity of the Americans to evacuate their casualties and that charity was sometimes not available, with fatal consequences.

Even heavily armed and with air cover, they couldn't venture much more than half a mile beyond their own perimeters and, when they withdrew, the ground that they had held reverted to the Taleban within minutes. Their officers despaired of the lack of equipment and support. The cooperation they received from the poorly trained and badly led Afghan army was negligible. Yet the morale of the men who spoke to the cameras  remained high, their pride was clear and their resolve self-evident

The men of the British Army are prepared to stay in Afghanistan and pay the price as long as their government asks them too. Yet I have never heard a coherent argument from a general or a politician which justifies or even properly explains what our final objective in Afghanistan is. The latest pronouncement from the government is that the last soldier will leave in 2015 when responsibility for security has been handed over to the Afghans. Four more years, for what? An article a few days ago by a former British ambassador revealed how he had asked an Afghan minister how long his army would hold Kabul when the Allies left. The answer was 24 hours.

The message that came across in the programme was that the war in Afghanistan is an exercise in futility and not worth the life of another British soldier. Unfortunately, that British soldier died today. Isn't it time to stand up and say bring them home now?

A birdie in the hand ...

So how did the golf go, I hear you ask?

Actually, it went entirely to plan. I only embarrassed myself moderately. Had one air shot, several scuffs and when I got the ball in the air it often went in the wrong direction. On the plus side, I hit two what I would class as good drives (in the air AND towards the hole), two chips that ended up a foot from the cup and earned the applause of my team mates, and I sank an eighteen foot birdie putt.

Jedburgh Golf Club, on the lower slopes of the Dunion Hill overlooking the town, is a wonderful setting. My fellow team members were three of the best amateur golfers I've ever witnessed in action; Harry Hogg, who used to stay three doors away from me in Allerley Crescent, his wife Pauline, the ladies club champion, and their son Connor, the youth champ. Team Hogg were unlucky enough to get me in the ballot when they could have had any of several members of the 1984 Scottish Grand Slam side, two former pro footballers or the local MSP. Young Connor hit the ball so far on the long par five that Gavin Hastings, who has a handicap so low that it's almost below freezing, called it obscene.

Thanks entirely to my playing partners we ended up just outside the prizes in fourth place. But it wasn't the winning that mattered, it was the taking part and raising money for the club, which is a wonderful asset to the town. It was a real pleasure to be asked and a bigger one to take part.

If you play golf and ever get the opportunity, do give the Jedburgh course a try. It's a glorious place, a real test and you're guaranteed a warm welcome from the very best of Border folk.

A very special agent

I had an interesting afternoon with Stan, my agent, yesterday at the Cafe Royal in Edinburgh. Your agent's job isn't just about selling your book ideas for vast amounts of money (in your dreams), but also to encourage, boost your confidence and inspire you to greater efforts.

Stan does all these things really well.

Last time it was about the US and film deals that were just around the corner. They're still around the corner, but the anticipation has kept me going for months.

Yesterday, they were filming some TV drama outside the pub. which seemed like a good omen. We talked about where I should be going next with my historical novels and he liked all the ideas I've come up with. I should have completed the first draughts of my next two books by the turn of the year  and I need to have something new to begin by around then. A lot depends on where the current trilogy is, which makes the paperback of Hero of Rome and the Defender of Rome hardback pretty crucial to my future.

He was also very complimentary about The Doomsday Testament (he's the only person outside the publisher who's read it). He thinks it's a great package that could really take off, which is what any writer likes to hear (see encouragement above). By coincidence, I'm reading the book proof of Doomsday at the moment and I think it feels like a cross between The Odessa File and The Da Vinci Code, which is a happy thought and one I'll nourish until it comes out on August 18!

Time for tee

One of the best things about writing for a living is that you get to meet so many great people, at signings, book festivals, workshops and the like.

This month I've been invited to take part in a pro-celebrity golf tournament in my home town of Jedburgh, at the fantastic 18-hole course on the Dunion hill. The fact that I haven't picked up a golf club for about three years hopefully won't spoil my enjoyment of the day.

Gavin Hastings at the Dunhill Cup. Do I want him on my side laughing at my
swing or on the other side shooting eagles? Photo: The Scotsman

Judging by the competition, I suspect I'll be out of the prizes, unless it's the booby prize. The rest of the invited guests are just about all proper celebrities, with half a dozen former Scotland rugby players and footballers among them. And you just know that they'll be low handicap golfers, as opposed to hackers like me.

So on the 24th June, I'll be teeing off beside Messrs Gavin Hastings, John Rutherford, Keith Robertson, Finlay Calder, Peter Dods, Jim Leishman, Pat Nevin and Andy Lawrie. Radio presenter and rugby coach Gary Parker, who I know from my days in Melrose will be there, along with local politicians and musicians.

Should be a great day.

One more step

A little treat for fans who enjoyed Hero of Rome. This is the first page of the sequel, Defender of Rome, and anyone who read the first book will realise that all is not as it seems.

The proof read copy of the MS appeared in the post today. I now have a fortnight to make any last minute changes and give it a couple more reads while two professional proof readers do the same thing for the publisher.

Wish me luck!

The lost manuscript

The other day I came across an e-mail I'd written a year and a half ago about a pitch I was making for a crime book I'd just completed. It was part of my master plan for making a living as a writer and I was looking for a quick answer. The  book wasn't quite right, my agent came back to me and I made the alterations he suggested ... and forgot all about it.

The reason I know this is because I've just finished a long-intended rewrite of the first novel in that series, which I started in about 2006, and I was searching for the original synopsis. I think they're both great books, with fantastic main characters, fast paced and a real story to tell, but because of everything that's happened in between they've ended up on the back burner.

In a recent interview, I was asked what advice I would give to a writer looking to be published. I thought about it for a long time, but there really was only one answer: persevere. I should probably have added: always check your e-mails and never throw away an idea.

Since I made that pitch I've written Defender of Rome, The Doomsday Testament and I'm half way through Avenger of Rome, with an epic battle still to fight. That means Brothers in Arms and War Games will stay on the back burner for a while, but I intend to persevere until they're in print too.

One of the great things about interviews is that you find yourself listening to your own advice: for once!