All work and no play makes Tommy a dull boy at the moment – still it, will be worth it.

I’m just coming to the end of book four in the Scream Street series, having managed to fit in the third draft of book one and a swift polish of book three along the way. Book five and the line edit of book two await…

I’ve also had the first draft of the first cover through. I can’t show you yet but, rest assured, it’s brilliant! Can’t wait to see the rest!

Right, break time over – back to work!

Settle down class…

Today’s topic is fan fiction – the stories written by fans of a particular book, film or TV series that features their favourite characters. Innocent enough, you might think – or is it?

Put simply, writers spend years developing their settings and characters. The books or scripts they write are their lives; it’s certainly how I earn my living and feed my family. So, should someone be able to simply come along and take what I’ve created for their own use? Is it any different to illegally downloading an album or movie?

Hollywood writer, Lee Goldberg – http://leegoldberg.typepad.com/ – falls very much on the fan fiction is copyright theft side of the fence and, sadly, is often berated by his own blog visitors for his staunch views on he subject. Lee writes novelisations of series such as Monk and Diagnosis Murder – the difference between his work and fan fiction being that he is commissioned to author those books by the owners of the original series.

JK Rowling has stated that she doesn’t mind Harry Potter fan fiction, so long as it doesn’t cross the line into pornographic material (a darker side of fan fiction). She sees it as evidence that her fans have taken to her characters so much that they want to explore new adventures for themselves. That’s OK, says Goldberg – the copyright owner has given you permission to do so.

But what if a fan fiction writer crosses that invisible line and tries to profit from their work? Lori Jareo wrote a full-length star wars novel called Another Hope, and offered it for sale via the publish-on-demand facility provided by both the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites. Once discovered, the book was quickly removed (a lawsuit from George Lucas won’t do anyone any good), yet Jareo was incensed by the decision. “If it’s not a commercial project, I don’t see any problem,” she said. Sorry, Lori – if you sell it, it’s commercial.

Where does that leave me? What if, when my Scream Street books are published, fans write their own stories featuring the main characters? I’m still undecided, and would probably have to see what form they take. I do know that I have already spent well over a year writing these books and there’s at least another years’ work to do. Would you like somebody to come along, uninvited, and steal two years of your life from you?

Tommy

Happy New Year! Hope your celebrations went as planned; we had a quiet evening in, with both kids allowed to stay up until midnight, but neither making it past 10pm!

2008 is going to be a big year for me, with the publication of my new series, Scream Street in October. Halloween still seems a long way off but, with all the work still to do on perfecting the books, I’m sure it’s going to fly by.

I’m also going to be writing an educational book this year, and I’m working on ideas for a new series and a standalone novel for older children. Pah – who needs sleep?!

we’re already 11 hours into the new year – I’d better get to work!

Tommy