Broken Dreams by Nick Quantrill

Finding a publisher – 'working hard at being lucky'

by

Nick Quantrill

Since the publication of ‘Broken Dreams’ in March, one of the recurring question I’m asked by readers and writers is, “how did you get a publishing deal?” The short answer is I sent the standard synopsis and first three chapters off and crossed my fingers. From there, Caffeine Nights Publishing asked for the rest of the manuscript and the rest, as they say, is history.

What I try and tell people is that there’s more to the story. The saying, “the harder I try, the luckier I get” has more than the ring of truth about it to me. I started writing seriously in 2006 and produced a string of short-stories, some of which I remain quite proud of, some I’d quite happily never see again, but for better or worse, I created a website and a MySpace page and published the stories. I wasn’t the only one doing this and it brought me into contact with countless readers, writers and independent publishers, several of whom I’m proud to say I now call friends. Networking in an informal atmosphere gave me the opportunity to take a look at the different publishers out there and figure out which ones might be a potential good fit with the vision I had of my work. Writing about a Private Investigator in my home city of Hull, a decaying and isolated fishing port on the East coast, never felt like it was going to be an easy sell, so it seemed obvious that I would have to put the groundwork in to increase my chances of success.

Caffeine Nights Publishing is the brainchild of Darren Laws and I first came across him on MySpace and started to follow his blog, which outlines his approach to the ever-changing world of publishing. Our low-key relationship on the Internet allowed us to keep an eye on each other’s progress and demonstrate that we were both serious about what we were doing and it was this base which underpinned my submission of ‘Broken Dreams’. I was fortunate enough to be offered the chance I needed, but it’s imperative that you’re active. There’s a huge network of readers, writers and publishers a press of the button away. The challenge is to engage with them, enjoy the successes and learn from the mistakes. That way you’ll be working hard at being lucky.

Find me :
http://www.hullcrimefiction.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/hullcrimefiction
www.myspace.com/hullcrimefiction
‘Broken Dreams’ is available from all good bookshop and online retailers - £7.99.
ISBN – 9780955407024

‘Broken Dreams’ by Nick Quantrill

Joe Geraghty, Private Investigator, is used to struggling from one case to the next, barely making the rent on his small office in the Old Town of Hull. Invited by a local businessman to investigate a member of his staff’s absenteeism, it’s the kind of surveillance work that Geraghty and his small team have performed countless times. When Jennifer Murdoch is found bleeding to death in her bed, Geraghty quickly finds himself trapped in the middle of a police investigation which stretches back to the days when the city had a thriving fishing industry. As the woman’s tangled private life begins to unravel, the trail leads Geraghty to local gangster-turned-respectable businessman, Frank Salford, a man with a significant stake in the city’s regeneration plans. Still haunted by the death of his wife in a house fire, it seems the people with the answers Geraghty wants are the police and Salford, both of whom want his co-operation for their own ends. With everything at stake, some would go to any length to get what they want, Geraghty included.

 

About Nick Quantrill

Nick Quantrill was born and raised in Hull, East Yorkshire. Never realising he could be a writer, Nick spent most of his twenties shouting and bawling his way around Sunday League football pitches before studying for a degree in Social Policy. Approaching now or never time, Nick started writing crime stories set in and around his home city. The result is ‘Broken Dreams,’ his debut novel which focuses on Hull’s past and future through the lens of the city’s lost fishing industry. ‘Broken Dreams’ is published by Caffeine Nights.

BROKEN DREAMS

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