Throwing Electroboy Shapes
This strange new universe is a happier place. This explains why I found myself throwing Electroboy shapes to the Ruined By Justice mix of Franz Ferdinand’s Fallen at one point today (a scary and embarrassing sight which no one will ever see). It also accounts for having got through the rewrites without screaming. Yes, there have been quite a few ‘Grrs’, but no massive swear-fests.
Swearing would have been justified. Some of the copy editor’s queries have been ridiculous. I am also heartily sick of reading her oft-repeated comment ‘According to my source’. I am sorry, but looking something up on Wiki does not make you an instant expert on the Qing Dynasty or James Jesus Angleton. Wiki does not qualify as a ‘source’ in the way I and any other journalist would like the word to be used. I am also sick of typing the following three responses:
There is no definitive year. It would be wrong to name one. Due to the shadowy nature of much crime, sometimes the historical paper trail is not as good as we would wish.
Although this is a history book, too many dates per entry are going to be difficult for the reader to take in and disrupt the narrative flow.
Trust me, aside from him being dead and not being in a position to sue, this is just fair comment and reportage that no-one is ever going to take action over.
Aside from any rewrites the lawyers may require, the main text of the book is now finished. I have managed to update it to take account of the capture of Provenzano and the Bandidos shooting in Ontario. If nothing else, this gives it a nice cutting edge feel despite Global Gangland’s mainly historical bent. I am also pleased to say that the book still has a lot of my touches in it. It does have a strong anti-poverty message. It is broadly libertarian. There are obscure comic book references. It is the only organized crime book mentioning the Tonton Macoute. It still includes Charlie Richardson’s amazing anti-Thatcher quote. Also, like every other decent book I have written, it features appearances by the CIA, Robert F. Kennedy and the Black Panthers.
Swearing would have been justified. Some of the copy editor’s queries have been ridiculous. I am also heartily sick of reading her oft-repeated comment ‘According to my source’. I am sorry, but looking something up on Wiki does not make you an instant expert on the Qing Dynasty or James Jesus Angleton. Wiki does not qualify as a ‘source’ in the way I and any other journalist would like the word to be used. I am also sick of typing the following three responses:
There is no definitive year. It would be wrong to name one. Due to the shadowy nature of much crime, sometimes the historical paper trail is not as good as we would wish.
Although this is a history book, too many dates per entry are going to be difficult for the reader to take in and disrupt the narrative flow.
Trust me, aside from him being dead and not being in a position to sue, this is just fair comment and reportage that no-one is ever going to take action over.
Aside from any rewrites the lawyers may require, the main text of the book is now finished. I have managed to update it to take account of the capture of Provenzano and the Bandidos shooting in Ontario. If nothing else, this gives it a nice cutting edge feel despite Global Gangland’s mainly historical bent. I am also pleased to say that the book still has a lot of my touches in it. It does have a strong anti-poverty message. It is broadly libertarian. There are obscure comic book references. It is the only organized crime book mentioning the Tonton Macoute. It still includes Charlie Richardson’s amazing anti-Thatcher quote. Also, like every other decent book I have written, it features appearances by the CIA, Robert F. Kennedy and the Black Panthers.
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