Tag Archives: domestic

Interview With The Commuter Author Emma Curtis

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I finished reading The Commuter in a day. I raced through it. It’s a brilliant domestic thriller which had me hooked from the very first page. Here’s my interview with Emma.

The Commuter is your seventh novel. How does that feel? It’s a huge achievement.

It feels like a huge achievement! I started writing, submitting and getting rejections when I was in my late twenties, found an agent in my late forties and published my debut when I was fifty, so I definitely put the work in. I still sometimes pinch myself. 

Does the writing get easier?

I think the writing does, the editing doesn’t. It’s a long hard slog full of dead ends, frustrations and moments when I want to run away from it all. But when it’s finally signed off the satisfaction is huge. Writing the first draft is such a pleasure. If only the first draft was the last!

Where did the idea for come from?

I’ve lived in London and used the tube all my life and I’ve always enjoyed the free newspapers. The Rush Hour Crush feature in the Metro is so intriguing. When I was a teenager I used to look for Mr Darcys, now I scan faces and wonder what I’d write if I fancied someone. No one so far! It seemed like there could be a thriller in there somewhere.

What is your writing routine?

I get up early, ideally around 6am, have breakfast and start work. Then I work fairly solidly until twelve, have lunch and go for a long walk to mull over what I’ve done and set up the next chapter for the next morning. I like routine and deadlines and I’m not very flexible. But it gets things done.

Do you have a favourite novel that you have written?

Yes, my favourite is Keep Her Quiet which came out in 2020. One of the protagonists is an arrogant male author. I loved writing him!

What books have you read recently that you loved?

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley-Heller. I recommend it to anyone who asks me what to read next.

Do you have any favourite authors?

Loads! JP Delaney for quirky concept thrillers. Stephen King for lessons in story-telling. Celeste Ng is fantastic for family based noir. Robert Galbraith because I adore Cormoran Strike and need to know what happens between him and Robin. I like American literature too. AM Homes is a favourite. I wish Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie would publish another novel!

How did you get published?

Since it took me such a long time, that is a very good question. I had given up for a few years, then my oldest child went off to University and I felt like I had to have another go. I wrote two novels, both rejected, then started writing short stories and entering them in online competitions. These did well. I had about a 25% hit rate of first, second and third prizes and those gave me credibility in the eyes of agents. I needed that because I had zero connection to the publishing industry. I turned one of the prize winning stories into a novel and this time, instead of sending it out to a handful of agents, getting rejections and losing heart, I sent it to thirty within three weeks so that I wouldn’t give up at the first No Thanks. That worked. I had twenty-six rejections, four requests for the full manuscript and an offer. One of the best days of my life. My agent at the time, Victoria Hobbs at AM Heath, secured a deal with Transworld.

What advice would you give other writers?

Mark out your time, even if it’s only half an hour a day. Stick to a routine and write even if you don’t feel like it. 

Learn to properly critique and edit your own work before you give it to anyone else – I did a course on this and it was invaluable (Jericho Writers). 

Don’t give your MS to friends and family to read and comment on. It puts them in a difficult position. Instead, if you’re serious start saving up for a professional critique from a reputable company like Cornerstones, Jericho Writers or The Novelry. But don’t send them anything until you’ve gone the extra mile. (see learn to critique and edit your own work!)

Also, interrogate your ego. It could be getting between you and representation. There’s the ego that will organise a professional edit but not take the advice because it doesn’t agree. There’s the ego that has that one precious pearl of a book and can’t move on from it despite repeated rejections. There’s the ego which will only write ‘what I want to write’, and won’t look for the space where what it wants to write dovetails with what people want to read. 

What’s next for you?

Next is a thriller about the devastating aftermath of a lie told by an angry and embarrassed teenage girl. That’s coming out in October 2025 and I’ve just sent a draft to my agent to take a look at before it goes to my editor. I have everything crossed! I heard today that she’s read a third of it and loves it. Hopefully the next two-thirds won’t change her mind.

The Commuter is out on October 10th.

Dads deserve a rest this Fathers Day as survey shows they spend over 50 hours a week helping out at home

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– Dads spend 53.5 hours a week helping households run smoothly

– Value of a Dad’s domestic contribution is £24,000 per year

– Fathers in the West Midlands and Scotland do the most washing up at 3.5 hours a week.

Who said men don’t help out around the house?  Apparently dads spend seven and a half hours a day helping households run smoothly according to a study from Legal & General Life Insurance, This equals an impressive 53.5 hours a week.

The total includes time spent cooking, cleaning and looking after children. If families had to pay for this work by employing cleaners or child minders they would have to find an extra £23,971 a year showing Dads are helping cut down on household bills. The figure is up 13% from when the survey was last carried out in 2011, when a father’s help was worth £21,306.  As a contrast the survey also showed the day to day cost of raising a child has risen to £8,580 per year since 2011, meaning parents now spend £154,440 on each child by the age of 18.

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Dads who live in the North East are the most valuable to their households contributing £33,925 a year in domestic duties. Dads in the South West spend the least amount of time with their children at 18.5 hours a week.  Fathers in the West Midlands and Scotland top the tables for washing up spending 3.5 hours a week doing the dishes.  Dads across the UK do between 5-7 hours of cooking each week.

Despite the heavy costs of bringing up a child the research showed that many parents do not have adequate protection in place should they or their partner become ill or die.  Only 31% of parents have a will putting their children at risk of financial insecurity should the worst happen.  Similarly only 29% of parents have critical illness cover in place and a mere 14% have income protection.

 

HOLLYWOOD – IS IT STILL THE CENTRE OF THE FILM MAKING WORLD?

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oscar winners 2013Following the success at the Oscars of both Argo, a big pat on the back of Hollywood, and Life of
Pi, an ‘international’ film with no recognisable big name star, Jonathan Brown looks at whether Hollywood is still the centre of the film Universe.

‘Domestic’

Hollywood is Cinema, right? After all, despite every country having its own awards ceremony, the
Oscars are still seen as the pinnacle of the film making world – at least to the studio marketing men.

Even though film wasn’t created in the US, it’s where it became what it is today. If fact, some of the
big original Hollywood studio are still around today, and, despite flagging profits, are as influential as ever. To be classified a big blockbuster, you need to take over $300m ‘domestic’ , ie in the USA.

Even if you flopped abroad, a good take at home could be enough to make a success. Even in Britain,
films like Skyfall are sold as the ‘Number 1 USA Box Office Hit’, even if they only spent one weekend at the top and just broke even.

The American box office was, and still is, the judge of commercial success, in the way the Oscars
were the mark of critical success (there’s an argument that the Oscars are way of the pulse of new
and exciting cinema, but that’s a different article).

But the tide is turning. America, as a country, is suffering more than most in the economic downturn,
and, while Hollywood continues to spend more and more on their blockbusters (the recent Twilight
movie cost £120m!), the people spending the most of their hard earned wages going to see these
blockbusters is moving.

‘Overseas’

While America still is the biggest single market for movies, and is far ahead of its closest rivals,
the ‘Overseas’ market is becoming a bigger cash cow.

Let’s have a look at the numbers. The usual ratio for a movie is around 40% of its takings from the
US and 60% from overseas – roughly. Ten years ago, in 2002, just four of the top ten highest grossing
movies took more than 60% of their box office from overseas, with two films (Signs and My Big Fat
Greek Wedding), taking less than half.

In fact, My Big Fat Greek Wedding took 76% of its taking from the US. And I’m assuming the other
24% from Greece.

Skip forward ten years, to 2012, and seven films took over 60% from overseas with Ice Age 4 taking
82% from overseas. Compare this to the first Ice Age move, which took only 54% from ‘foreign’ box
office and the swing becomes hugely noticeable, and important.

It’s the same if you compare 2011 and 2001. In 2001, there were just two films making over 60% of
its box office from foreign markets, while in 2011 there were nine films.

In 2009, box-office behemoth Avatar took 72% of £2.7bn from overseas. Ten years earlier, The
Phantom Menace, the new Star Wars movie the world had been waiting for, took just 54% from said
world.

If we go even further back, to the days of ET and the original Star Wars, the take is even slimmer,
with overseas counting for just 45% and 40% respectively.

Some of the shift can be accounted for by long term word of mouth, or even self-fulfilling prophecy.
Many of the big sequels, especially animations, have made huge amounts overseas, while their
domestic take, while still massive, hasn’t grow as fast.

When a film has been classed as a hit in the US, companies are a lot happier pushing the sequels
overseas. Also, while many overseas viewers might not have caught the original at the cinema, the
may have bought the DVD, seen it on TV, or downloaded it.

However, you don’t need to be a hit in the US to be a hit abroad. A textbook example of how foreign
markets can make a film a success is the recently released, and hugely divisive, Cloud Atlas. Directed
by the Wachowskis and Tom Twyker, the film has been classed a huge flop. On a budget reported to
be around $100m, it opened to just $9m in the USA.

As the US is so opening weekend focus (film takings tend to drop off by around 40-60% per
weekend), the chances of it making its budget back in America were pretty slim. It went on to earn
just £27m in total – domestic.

However, the film, set across various countries with a cast from across the world, has made a very
decent $80m overseas – so far. The $80m take does not include the UK, France, Japan and Australia.
This could easily add another £10-20m to its take.

Some of this change, especially from the 70’s/80’s, is the arrival across the world of the multiplex
cinema – meaning more films, more showings, and more attendees in the foreign markets. Factory
cinema, if you will.

However, this doesn’t account for the change in the past ten years. These changes are partly due to
two main factors – one is the new middle classes in the emerging markets like India, China and South
America, where people are starting to get some Rupees, Pesos or Yuen in their pockets, and having
the free time to spend it.

Secondly, is the move in America away from cinema to home viewing. Companies like NetFlix are
drawing people away from the multiplex and into the living room, despite desperate Hollywood’s
attempt to keep them with the introduction of the ultimate cinema experience – 3D.

This has seen cash intake increase slightly, due to higher ticket prices for 3D films, but attendances
are still dropping.

And why wouldn’t they, when you’ve had vast improvements and reduction of costs of home cinema
systems, or just a decent TV, and the reduction in time it takes for a film to go from the cinema to
online. People are realising they’d rather wait a couple of months and watch it on their home 3D
system, instead of paying $20 for a cinema ticket.

The Future

So, what does this mean for the future of blockbusters? I can see two possible outcomes.

The Hollywood studios could start to tailor their films more for foreign markets, using casts,
locations and directors from across the globe.

While Hollywood is keen on using foreign actors, they always tend to be the bad guy – maybe we’ll
see a few more leading actors from across the globe in mainstream Hollywood movies.

Or, more cynically, it could mean that distributors start to buy up more screen space in foreign
cinemas, pushing out locally made films.

However, on the evidence, especially in the foreign markets with an established film industry, this is
not the case. In 2009, four of China’s top ten grossing films where from China. China does however
limit the number of foreign movies able to be released a year.

In India in the same year, seven where from India (and one of the other ones was Slumdog
Millionaire).

So, maybe there is a balance to be struck. Maybe Hollywood can start to look outwards, taking
influence from a world of cinema, while still pumping in the big bucks to bring the big spectacle.