@Robin4 Your book looks amazing, Rob - what an achievement! I'd love to have a read of it - where can I buy a copy? You must be very proud of that work - 1027 pages! That must have taken you quite some time to put together!
Yes, Still ploughing ahead with my own book, though there are many days (and late, late nights!) that I'm so exhausted and worn out with the whole thing that I just feel like throwing the towel in altogether, but the truth is, I've worked far too hard and far too long on it to walk away at this point! It just seems never-ending though, and every day brings up more and more material that throws a whole new spanner in the works - every time I think I have the whole story down, somebody contacts me with something I hadn't heard before, or I dig up some new piece of information or discover a new piece of the puzzle, so it's pretty head-wrecking trying to slot it all in together, in a cohesive fashion.
It's not that I haven't got enough to work with - it's that I have far, far too much to fit in a single book! I've been in talks for the past several months with a prolific documentary crew about the possibility of a docu-series though, so that's a definite option too. (A lot of the material I have is complex and technical - labarynthine legal, regulatory, financial stuff etc - and it's extremely difficult to write down in a manner that's concise and easily understood, while still holding the reader's attention, so it would be much easier to absorb and comprehend in spoken, visual form)
One good thing about taking on this herculean task though, is that I've had a thorough schooling in lots of topics I would have been utterly clueless about before - legal matters, corporate and business practices, stock markets, ethics, finance, equity/vulture funds, regulatory matters in different jurisdictions, contract terms etc etc - so I suppose you could say it broadened my horizons somewhat! My friends all say I should apply for a Private Detective license now, as my research skills have become so honed ;))
Given the subject matter, the timing, and recent developments - particularly since Halloween - there's exciting interest in the book, and thankfully, in my case, I don't really have to worry about the publishing houses wanting me to have a name. I have 4 years worth of previous material that I've written, right here on the CC and elsewhere, and a long-established and proven track record in the arena that I'm writing about, so my credentials all check out for any I've spoken with already.
There have been a few substantial stumbling blocks for me on a personal level though. I like the quiet, private, anonymous life, but on the remote off-chance that the book were to be a success, I'm really not the type that would want to be out there in the public eye, doing book signings and PR events and all that kind of thing. However, as the book is also intertwined with my own story and experiences, which run in tandem to the main story, I've been told that that it would be a prerequisite, and I wouldn't really have an option. Makes my blood run cold just thinking about it!
Then there's the whole world of pain and trouble that blowing the lid off the pot could rain down on me of course, as there'd be quite a few very rich, very powerful people who'll be seriously pissed off with what I'd be exposing. I have my family to consider first and foremost, and the possible repercussions for them too if the sh*t hits the fan - these things can get very ugly, very quickly - which has been by far my biggest fear and concern for a long time, and the one thing that held me back, up until now. But I have discussed it with them all over Christmas, at length, and they're all adamant that I absolutely must fire ahead, whatever the consequences. So, watch this space.. 😉
