Boothby's Books
So far. . .
My latest, Island of Dreams (Picador), was published in September 2015.
Oman. This was the first one. My idea. I pitched the proposal and got a contract. I left a (looking back on it) great job in London 'to write'. Been scratching about ever since. Cost me about 50p/hour to write. Came out in August 2001. Not too many holidaymakers were about to head off to the Middle East once September happened. Sales: Moribund.
Cruise Ships. An updating job, this one. Ringing round companies and trawling directories and the web for info. Not sure the author ever thanked me for my work, though the publisher paid me a fair wage.
Australia and New Zealand. Another updating/editing job. I worked on the Australia Chapters.
Jobs and Careers Abroad. Updating and editorial. A fair wage for this one. Sometimes I get monies for it still from ALCS.
Spain. This was offered to me by the publisher. Paid well. Went into a second printing and paid for my first (second hand) car.
Portugal. I was getting tired of writing these. I put together this one and Ireland back to back in 2004 and by the end I never wanted to write another guide/directory ever again. The advances for the two books took me around India and allowed me to go and live on an island off north-west Scotland.
Ireland, 2004. Seven books in four years was more than enough.
The Battle of the Braes. The Lost Playscript.
A producer commissioned me to write a 90-minute play about the Clearances for Highland 2007. The brief was: an historical song and dance routine, with a message, to be acted by kids in their last year of high school. The committee weren't that together, I fear, but played fair. The play wasn't produced, I still got paid. I bought another (better) car with the money. Shortly after, Orange pulled the plug and deleted my email account. Seven years' worth of emails snuffed it - like losing a filing cabinet full of company documents. I had a back-up copy of the script on a floppy disk, but floppy disks were pretty rubbish and that particular one turned out to be completely so. Only words.
Then, someone I'd sent the play to for appraisal read this website and unearthed a draft of the play. She sent it back to me. Re-reading it, after all that time, I wondered how I assimilated all that historical stuff, how I turned my hand and mind to that thing. Anyway... We must press on.
The Battle of the Braes. The Lost Playscript.
A producer commissioned me to write a 90-minute play about the Clearances for Highland 2007. The brief was: an historical song and dance routine, with a message, to be acted by kids in their last year of high school. The committee weren't that together, I fear, but played fair. The play wasn't produced, I still got paid. I bought another (better) car with the money. Shortly after, Orange pulled the plug and deleted my email account. Seven years' worth of emails snuffed it - like losing a filing cabinet full of company documents. I had a back-up copy of the script on a floppy disk, but floppy disks were pretty rubbish and that particular one turned out to be completely so. Only words.
Then, someone I'd sent the play to for appraisal read this website and unearthed a draft of the play. She sent it back to me. Re-reading it, after all that time, I wondered how I assimilated all that historical stuff, how I turned my hand and mind to that thing. Anyway... We must press on.