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View Full Version : Just thought I would share my GOOD NEWS!



JamesMcVean
18-Mar-08, 22:43
Hi there

I just wondered if anyone from the county has entered the BBC's RaW Writing Competition?

A very short story comp for young readers - Max and Lara's Space Circus...

They gave you a few characters and let your imagination run wild...:P

The comp ended at the end of January...


and


on Friday


My wife called me whilst I was training in Aberdeen...


to


say


that


the


BBC called!!

YEP


I am a regional finalist!!


Over 2000 entrants!

woop


woop

LOL


James

trinkie
19-Mar-08, 09:56
Well done - let us know how you get on ........

Trinkie

twiglet
19-Mar-08, 11:49
will done James, thought about entering it but never got round to it. Congratulations am really happy for you!

JamesMcVean
29-Mar-08, 19:54
Hi

In January I entered a short story writing competition ran by the BBC - RaW

I had to write a REALLY short tale based around certain characters in the "Travelling Space Circus" ...so I wrote a few short ones and forgot all about it...

I got a letter from the BBC yesterday stating that I was the Scottish regional WINNER and I am invited to London for a celebratory book launch and hobnob with "Special Guest Stars"

I am a Self Published Writer with currently three Young Adult Novels under my belt...and I intend to bring a few promo copies down with me!!

Woop

woop

LOL

James

tootler
29-Mar-08, 19:57
Congratulations, James - always good to hear about another Caithness champion!

Don't drink too much champagne, now... it goes straight to your head & you'll be needing that in London.

Best of luck!

Liz
29-Mar-08, 19:58
That is brilliant James! Well done you!:D

Margaret M.
29-Mar-08, 19:58
I got a letter from the BBC yesterday stating that I was the Scottish regional WINNER

Well done, James! Have a great time in London.

karia
29-Mar-08, 20:05
Congratulations...well deserved success!:D

carasmam
29-Mar-08, 20:10
Waaay, congratulations James :D

Do you know who the special guests will be ?

ciderally
29-Mar-08, 20:12
well done you....just remember your friends when your rich and famous...enjoy

donnasmithy27
29-Mar-08, 20:16
Well done James
Delighted for you.
Have a good time in London
Hope you are all well
Donna

Kevin Milkins
29-Mar-08, 20:17
Well done James ,If you need anybody to carry your brief case down to London please dont hesitate to pm me. lol:lol: Have a great time.

Tighsonas4
29-Mar-08, 21:19
jolly good show its nice when you get your work appreciated tony

Whitewater
29-Mar-08, 22:10
Well done James, what's Nicola thinking about it. Are you all going down to London?

jodyfos
29-Mar-08, 22:38
Hi

In January I entered a short story writing competition ran by the BBC - RaW

I had to write a REALLY short tale based around certain characters in the "Travelling Space Circus" ...so I wrote a few short ones and forgot all about it...

I got a letter from the BBC yesterday stating that I was the Scottish regional WINNER and I am invited to London for a celebratory book launch and hobnob with "Special Guest Stars"

I am a Self Published Writer with currently three Young Adult Novels under my belt...and I intend to bring a few promo copies down with me!!

Woop

woop

LOL

James
Well Done James, what a fantastic achievement. Enjoy your visit to London

dessie
29-Mar-08, 22:42
congrats james . and good luck in the future...

anneoctober
29-Mar-08, 23:17
You must be over the moon James! Well done . Have you any more competitions in the pipeline? James McVean sounds like a top notch name for the author of a thriller/detective/spy novel.:D

The Pepsi Challenge
30-Mar-08, 01:07
Well done, James, that's excellent. Where can I read some of your stuff? Do you self-publish through vanity press such as Lulu.com?

trix
30-Mar-08, 01:25
good for ye james, weel in aire :cool:

what do ye mean by 'young adult novels'?

how young do ye hev til be? or no be?

is twa years off'a 30 a 'young adult'.....or is at choost an 'adult' :lol:

im confuddled....

Ash
30-Mar-08, 09:44
hey james thats ace news congrats! :D

wifie
30-Mar-08, 10:44
Well done you and thanks for telling us!

Torvaig
30-Mar-08, 10:52
Well done, James, that's excellent. Where can I read some of your stuff? Do you self-publish through vanity press such as Lulu.com?

Try http://stores.lulu.com/changelings if you want to know more....:)

Venture
30-Mar-08, 11:03
Try http://stores.lulu.com/changelings (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://stores.lulu.com/changelings) if you want to know more....:)
Congratulations James on your achievement and good luck for the future.

Thanks Torvaig for the link. Its good to be able to put a face to the name.

JamesMcVean
30-Mar-08, 12:13
Hey thanks everyone!

Sorry for the late reply as I am offshore at the Mo...

Thanks for the Link Torvaig!

Trix, Young adult roughly means like 10+ reading age...along the lines of harry Potter or Lord of the Rings...to tell you the truth most of the folks that have read it so far have been adults!

Pepsi challenge - If you follow the link to the lulu site and click on the book title, there is a free preview you can read the book online...or if you want to drop me an email - I will email you the Ebook...free;)

Whitewater - Not sure yet if the family is going to come down with us...The twins are a wee bit young yet to be left...But I am definately going LOL

Carasmam - I am not sure exactly who the guests are...think Lenny Henry has had a lot to do with the project...but hope there are agents and publishers there too LOL :cool:

You can pick up copies of the book in bookshops in the county...if there are any left...lol or if you want a signed one, or any Self Publishing Advice please PM me and I will sort something out for you when I get home!!

All the best

James

floyed
30-Mar-08, 12:38
Congratulation's, i hope you have a great time and tell us all about it when you come back:D

weeboyagee
30-Mar-08, 20:44
Just wanted to add my congratulations - you'll be as proud as punch!

WBG :cool:

webmannie
31-Mar-08, 00:00
Good on yer lad!

I`m waiting for the day that i can say `see thon top author James McVean, he`s a right cull, me and my brither used to party wi him many moons ago`

Good luck m8

Metalattakk
31-Mar-08, 00:41
Good on yer lad!

I`m waiting for the day that i can say `see thon top author James McVean, he`s a right cull, me and my brither used to party wi him many moons ago`

Good luck m8


I'm quite sure yer brither still has the odd dram or two with Jamesey-boy every now and then, y'know? *cough* I doubt fame wid change the lad much at all. :D

Anyway, well done James. Ye missed a right good gig on Saturday, but I have the new album if ye want a wee shottie. ;)

Jeid
31-Mar-08, 01:31
Well done James... all the best :)

The Pepsi Challenge
31-Mar-08, 10:22
How you finding Lulu, James? Did you have any/ many problems getting your book laid out and printed, OK? Are you on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, too? Be interested to get your views on it? And are the sales going well? Will take a gander at your work shortly. Good stuff.

Rie
31-Mar-08, 10:26
Brilliant well done James,
I would be interested in reading some of your work!

JamesMcVean
31-Mar-08, 12:06
Hey there all

Thanks again for the wishes,

Pepsi - I used to find lulu frustrating, as sometimes their delivery time varied, and in the beginning I was getting loads of book orders that I couldn't fill...but in time my stocks rose as I could afford it...

If anyone wants to read Book1 online, just follow this link...


http://www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=159697

it is the link for one of my books rather than the competition entry as it is getting published in a book and I dont think I would be allowed to post it online...not yet anyway...lol

I will get back to you all once I have been...it seems ages away yet...

Hey Metalattakk - need to get together for a brew or two next time I am home...I was really sad to miss the Astronot launch party!!! Pass on all my best to your other alf too!!

All the best folks

James

The Pepsi Challenge
31-Mar-08, 14:06
Am a bit annoyed I didn't know about this during the last fortnight, James, as I could have put it in one of the papers. Next time, though, Gadget, next time. Awrabest, B*

hobbes1962
31-Mar-08, 15:02
Congratulations James, always knew you would do it! I think I'll hang onto the original copy of the very first book for a while yet (then sell it and make a fortune- Lol!!!).

We'll all have to get together for a meal soon - the Red Pepper maybe???

JamesMcVean
01-Apr-08, 12:15
Again many thanks folks

Hobbes - we will see...depends on the twins eh?:roll:

James

crashbandicoot1979
01-Apr-08, 15:25
Congratulations James, I'm delighted to hear that a local writer is doing so well! I write a lot myself but also have a great talent for procrastinating so haven't quite managed to string a whole novel together yet!!!

Boozeburglar
01-Apr-08, 15:32
My ex had written two novels by the time she was 15!

(Not published as far as I know, and seeing as she is a yoga teacher in Oz I doubt they were.)

Delighted for you man, great for Caithness to be represented in this type of writing, it is usually historical novels, aye?

I will be ordering both books soon as there is a birthday coming up!

Are they putting you up anywhere nice in the smoke?

Well done!

:)

Valerie Campbell
01-Apr-08, 15:36
Congratulations James. Well done you! I'm delighted for you. I'm working on another book and you've got me thinking about self-publishing. Maybe worth a try next time. My husband's aunt did that and finds it suits her needs really well. Will give it some thought... Anyway, well done once again.

The Pepsi Challenge
01-Apr-08, 15:56
I reckon Lulu will do for writers what MySpace has done for musicians. Anything that sticks the knife in publishing houses and record companies (the biggies, of course) is good in my book (no pun intended).

Read this first: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2005/08/07/nlulu07.xml

Then this:
http://www.craigmcginty.com/news/2005/08/the_lulu_publis.html

JamesMcVean
02-Apr-08, 12:21
Valerie,

Drop me an email if you have any questions about the Self Publishing side of things...

You get to put as much work in to selling as you want...though I have not really been trying to sell many books this year as we have 1yr old twins and my time at home is spent helping out with them...but I occasionally do list a book or two on Ebay...or chase up Doodledbooks.com ( a site that sells books for me)

Still a thousand books is nothing to be sneezed at LOL:cool:

Cheers

James

Valerie Campbell
02-Apr-08, 19:28
Valerie,

Drop me an email if you have any questions about the Self Publishing side of things...

You get to put as much work in to selling as you want...though I have not really been trying to sell many books this year as we have 1yr old twins and my time at home is spent helping out with them...but I occasionally do list a book or two on Ebay...or chase up Doodledbooks.com ( a site that sells books for me)

Still a thousand books is nothing to be sneezed at LOL:cool:

Cheers

James

I've pm'd you. And just by the by, I've got twins too, although they're now 12. Twins don't run in my family so it was a bit of a surprise, but when they were 2, I decided to undertake a degree course and gained my honours in 2003. So no excuses re selling please! Enjoy your time with them when you're home. Keep writing and keep selling. I'm so pleased for you.

zappster
02-Apr-08, 19:31
welll done chamesy boy am delighted for ye!

percy toboggan
02-Apr-08, 20:44
Congratulations....well done!

I've written myself but not had anything published yet...you're an inspiration to keep trying. Actually I've only written two...but I'm only 57...early days.
Thanks for Lulu.com link en all.

percy toboggan
02-Apr-08, 20:46
I'd quite like to self-publish my auto-biography for my kids and a couple of significant others....anyone know where that can be done economically...I had a quote for three grand last year!! My life story isn't worth that...not even to me !

JamesMcVean
03-Apr-08, 10:49
Percy

Lulu is the best POD publisher I have used...You can order as many or few books as you need and can make it exclusive to you or available to the public

Cheers

James

JamesMcVean
13-Apr-08, 08:34
Hey cheers

Am delighted too...

I am also getting an expose in the Daily Record in the coming days...bout me and my books...and the competition

Look out JK

LOL

James

Loafer
24-Apr-08, 20:06
Hi

In January I entered a short story writing competition ran by the BBC - RaW

I had to write a REALLY short tale based around certain characters in the "Travelling Space Circus" ...so I wrote a few short ones and forgot all about it...

I got a letter from the BBC yesterday stating that I was the Scottish regional WINNER and I am invited to London for a celebratory book launch and hobnob with "Special Guest Stars"

I am a Self Published Writer with currently three Young Adult Novels under my belt...and I intend to bring a few promo copies down with me!!

Woop

woop

LOL

James

Hi James

Good for you mate. I saw your photo recently of your first day in Dounreay as a raw apprent on the 12th of August 1987 (my mugshot was also there!). I hadna seen or heard of you for years, so I was delighted how well you have done!! Good for you.

The Loafer

JamesMcVean
24-Apr-08, 20:14
Hey Loafer

Thanks mate

PM me and tell me who you are!

LOL

James