More five star reviews: humbled

A couple of very complimentary reviews have been left on my Amazon page in quick succession, which could mean either that people are coming to the end of the book at the same time or it is actually getting out there to more readers. Either way is fine with me, I'm humbled to be receiving this sort of feedback.

Albert takes you 'back in the day'
Mr B Wozstock

The last time I was so accurately transported back to the 'day' was on a top afternoon spent sitting on a low sofa with mates in a restaurant in Koh Phangan some ten years ago...we were watching 'Human Traffic'. This is testament to Graham. K. Albert's ability to capture the times - many have tried but few nail it so succinctly.

White City gives you an insight into what some of the 'faces' were actually getting up to in order to provide us regular folk with good times during that period in your life when all that matters is getting to the weekend and having all those special four ingredients that make it happen: clobber, music, a gathering and the bits'n'bobs to keep you going.

Each generation has their own set of underground party planners and Albert successfully enlightens us on how one fictional Norfolk faction played their part in making the late teens/twenties buzz for those of us now around the forty mark.

Ryan, our narrator through this journey of deals and danger, is a likeable rogue who you end up championing as his powers of indestructability gradually strip away to leave him exposed and under attack from all sides. Even if you're born of more recent times, where raves take place in organised fashion within warehouses and are conducted by DJs who churn out downloadable delights, or if you're more a thriller fan looking for another take on things, White City is well worth the admittance fee*.

*food for thought for all British film directors.

Excellent read for the chemical generation
Naomi McGregor

Downloaded this for Kindle based on a facebook recommendation, was not disappointed! Great characterisation and plot, got me right caught up in all the action felt like I was part of the era in Norwich even though I have never been there and was still in primary school when it was set. VERY funny in places and brilliantly brought to a close. Somebody needs to turn this into a film, hints of Lock Stock and Human Traffic throughout. Please Graham K Albert write another book for me to read! If you grew up chomping disco biscuits and partying all night as part of the chemical generation (old or new) you need to read this book. Download NOW.

Acid house and brass bands: connections

Via Jeremy Deller

Amazon and the great disappearing review

I would love to be in a position not to notice, to have so many reams of praise beneath White City that the removal of but one review was like someone taking a pebble from a beach.

But I am not. This is a debut, self-published novel and as such its success relies solely on word of mouth, whatever marketing wheeze I can dream up, and the reviews it garners.

So when one review disappears from a grand total of five I'm going to take note.

It was the first review I received, and as such held a place close to my heart. I have checked the rules for submitting reviews and this breached none of them. Worse still I can find no obvious point of contact with Amazon for me to voice my concerns.

A quick Google revealed a number of indie authors in the same boat. Some had more of their reviews deleted than I actually have reviews, which is scary. Even those who had found a way to contact Amazon about it reported no luck with them, and instead were met with the stock response that "it is up to the reviewer to contact us." Hands washed.

So instead of five lovely reviews from lovely readers, I have four. Which is better than I could ever have expected. But now I have been introduced to a whole new reason for worrying. Reviews of my book can disappear at a moment's notice with no explanation, and no chance of remonstration.

All of a sudden self publishing the Amazon way comes with a sinister new undertone. As if I wasn't uncomfortable enough with them not paying their share of UK tax.

I guess that's the risk you run dealing with retailing giants - you are at a real risk of getting stepped on.

Here's a link to a thread on Amazon's own self-publishers' forum that it has made no effort to contribute to:

https://kdp.amazon.com/community/thread.jspa?threadID=48101&start=15&tstart=0

It's all about Rachel

Everybody seems to love Rachel. She is a harlot, a temptress, trouble in a skirt, and irresistible to Ryan. She is the living embodiment of the drugs he dishes out. He knows she is bad for him, he knows that continued consumption will only end in disaster, yet he is unable to resist her pull. Mark has her measure. As someone who has not had the misfortune to fall under her spell, he can see right through her, and tells Ryan as much: "That girl is just wrong mate, she can play you like a violin."

So far Rachel has received nothing but favourable comments from the readership of White City, even the female readers. Despite her shortcomings as marriage material, and the fact that in real life you probably wouldn't touch her with a bargepole, she is a livewire who has 'good time' written all over her. And when it comes to characters in a book, she is exactly what makes life exciting.

As with all the characters in White City, Rachel is based on no single person, but rather on the worst bits of a lot of girls I have known over the years. Some of her moments are completely fictional while rooted in reality, others skirt dangerously close to what actually happened.

Her character was not planned, which I think is kind of fitting. She came along in my mind as abruptly as she appeared in the book, sitting in Andrew's lounge rolling a joint with a glimmer in her eye. Her fondness for Ryan and their evident chemistry made her the ideal candidate for Ryan's love interest. As things panned out, she became quite a force majeure in her own right, and her character develops accordingly.

It always helps to have someone in mind when developing a character, and all the bad bits of all the girls I've known came together in my imagination as ... Mini Anden. If she could act, I would suggest her for the role in the film.

I hope this doesn't spoil your own mental image of Rachel, whatever state of undress she might be in. I would be interested to learn of any other contenders for the role.

Another week, another glowing review

White City appears to be picking up a little bit of steam, as is evidenced here by the novel's second five-star review on Kindle. That means at least two people have read it! How exciting!

"Real to life, gritty, cool drama set in times when everything was just that bit less sterile.

Albert has the ability to place you bang in the middle of the action where you can almost taste the atmosphere. If this is his first work, then I can't wait for the second because his style, expression, description and ability to set a scene truly developed throughout White City.

At every stage, he explains every characters' outfits - Brett Easton Ellis, American Psycho, style - especially Ryan, the lead character. Early chapters get you thinking a little of 'where' the characters were, but later chapters really nailed the scene setting, to the extent where I was thrown back into the youthful days & nights of all night raves, parties or the look in someone's eye when they've had the wrong kind of narcotic.

The story is raw and a lot of thought, research and knowledge has gone into the back stories of all the cast. Even down to the airline crew, who did - and no doubt still do - most of the leg work when it comes to international delivery.

The characters exist in every town, so it's easy to relate, and the writer has brought across the fact that even party going, drug taking lunatics have personalities and feelings too!

Look forward to the next book, G.K.Albert, as I'm sure it'll be polished and your confidence will be huge. If future works flow half as well as White City it'll be a hit. Excellent read."

Obviously I'm chuffed to bits with this. Keep up the reading and the feedback, I love it! 

Buy White City here

Five star review for White City

White City has been available on Kindle for the past few weeks and it has received its first review, and it's five stars! Read it below:

"I love reading books that are culturally rich and have a real life quality to them, this book didn't disappoint, the characters felt so true to life I quite missed them when it finished! Anyone whose grown up with a group of mates getting up to things and living for the weekend will at once fall into this book and its great descriptions of a decade that was one to remember that's if you weren't 'enjoying' the cultural side of it too much and if you need a reminder look no further. Without giving to much away, it follows the main character Ryan who has a the sort of personality you grow to really like, he can come across as quite dry and aloof, but your typical bloke who is up to his neck, but likes to keep a Peripheral view on everything even his emotions!....The book follows Ryan and hes close mates dealing drugs in the height of the rave scene, there location of Norfolk adding the perfect backdrop for illegal parties and raves. All's not rosy in there seemingly smooth operation and as cracks begin to appear so do relationships with friends, family, girlfriend and ex girlfriends start to suffer. The parts of the books with Ryan's family are so funny and sometimes a bit to close to home! The book is like a trip in every sense of the word through the high funny times and the sticky classic situations. Its like a grown up grange hill for the Rave generation and I loved every minute!"

Buy White City here. 

Harland Miller: Cover story

Perhaps one of the most original and witty artists I have found since I wondered at the wit of Banksy has to be Harland Miller. He basically reproduces book covers, noteably Penguin, on canvas and substitutes titles for his own somewhat raw phrases. I think the shock factor is part of the fun. And no, these aren't actual books, although his portfolio does state that he is a "writer and artist." http://www.harlandmiller.com/