Xavier Leret

I am appearing on the GZone Radio show on Tuesday 24th 9am EST. Do not fear if you miss it as you will be able to download the podcast – well forever. You got it a digital copy will be available in perpetuity! Ah the joys of technology, what did humanity do without it? You will be able to find this and all the past shows here. Do check it out.

It’s been a tough old day, lots of looking at my screen wishing that I could produce something new and fresh and exciting. I looked over works in progress that I haven’t touched since I started to prepare Heaven Sent for publishing. I looked but I was unable to focus – actually I wanted to destroy what I had written. I guess I still feel quite drained from finishing Heaven Sent, I am certainly reeling a bit from the first stages of marketing the book. It is amazing how you can spend so long writing a piece, arrive at the end, feel that rush of euphoria and pride, forget the torment of creation – but then you start back trying to write, and you find yourself feeling worthless again, wracked with self doubt.

There is this wonderful passage from Solzenitsyn’s The First Circle which beautifully expresses how I feel.

“There is a law that governs all artistic creation, of which Kondrashove had long been aware, which he tried to resist but to which time after time he freely submitted. This law said that no previous work of his carried any weight, that it could not be counted to the artist’s credit. The focal point of all his past experience was always the canvas on which he was working at the time; for him the work in hand was the ultimate expression of his intellect and skill, the first real test of his gifts. But he was so often disappointed. All of his previous works had disappointed him but each time he forgot the despair, so here he was working on something else, and it was again his first work – only now was he really finding how to paint! And again he was in despair, convinced that it was a failure, that his whole life had been wasted and that he was totally devoid of talent.”

And then, just as I was about to turn in, switch off my computer, caste the day aside, try to forget it – I get an email saying did you know your book is on a wish list – Freda’s Voice 2011 Wish List to be precise. It might seem fickle but I shall now go to bed happy.

"A heartbreaking, beautiful, romantic story, if you ever find the same love that these main characters have keep it!"

Check out the whole review at mybookaddiction

And I'm interviewed on mybookaddiction too.

I've been interviewed by the up and coming new horror fiction star Steve Emmett. You can find the interview here.

*****"Mix together Romeo and Juliette with Bonnie and Clyde and throw them into J.D Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and you'll get an explosive, brilliant and breath taking novel: Heaven Sent, by debut author Xavier Leret." evie-bookish Read the rest of the review here.

Keep an eye out on Evie's site as she will be interviewing me next week, I am also writing a guest post for this week. And, as if there could be no more – she'll be holding a giveaway of Heaven Sent – what could be better?

Other news, I'm just putting the finishing touches to some questions that electric author Steve Emmett has thrown my way – so keep an eye out on his site too – (check out the video of the Canadian ex minister of defense too). I will of course make announcements here. 

Finally you can buy Heaven Sent here. Go Get!

***** Heaven Sent is a self-published book by debut author Xavier Leret. When I started to read it I was ready for the disappointment that all too regularly accompanies the foray into self-published books. I could not have been more wrong.

In his telling of the story of Carlo and Daisy, two young people from opposite sides of the tracks, Leret lays bare many of our prejudices. With great skill he subtly tackles the damage which over-zealous religious beliefs cause to the lives of the innocent every day, and how the results are the direct opposite of what is intended. I was reminded of the legionary making that final wound in Christ's side, forever a weeping hole in the doctrine of The Church. He draws his bow across the strings of child abuse and prostitution with all the sensitivity of a great violinist, the music rendering us weak and drawing tears to the rims of our eyes.

It is not an easy read. If your book library consists of Jeffrey Archer and Stephenie Meyer you may not like Heaven Sent. Leret has opted to write Daisy's heavy Bristolian accent literally and it takes some getting used to. And there are typos that a good edit would resolve. But none of these should stop you reading it and appreciating it for what it is: a work of genius.

And here's the review on Amazon – don't it look purty!!!

*****"A wonderful coming-of-age story meshing dark experience with the dictates of religious rules and heavenly mercy, this is a book to savor and remember long after reading." Sheila Deeth

*****"A novel with a lasting effect…highly recommended!" Amazon.com

*****"A heartbreaking, beautiful, romantic story, if you ever find the same love that these main characters have keep it!" Book Girl Addict

*****"Leret displays a deftness with language and dialect that leaves the reader feeling eerily connected with the teenaged protagonists, who feel severed from the society in which they live." Marjorie. GoodReads

*****"a work of genius." Steve Emmett

This is a copy of the article that I wrote for Sheila Deeth's blog.

When I began Heaven Sent, it was a eureka moment, not in the sense that I had cracked something profound like light speed or the secrets to eternal life, I just knew that I had started my first novel. I hadn't set out to start it. It wasn't like when I wrote plays. I would announce that my theatre company was going to tour a play and it would be about this or that, and then I would write it. Heaven Sent didn't begin like that. I just wrote a thousand words. That thousand words were about sixteen year old Carlo, except that then he was fourteen. In that thousand words were three sentences where Carlo, a lad from an extremely religious background met a girl called Daizee, whose step father sold her to sailors from out the back of his van when she was just three years old.

None of that first thousand words made it into the novel, even though at the time I thought they were a brilliant thousand words. But what I thought was really special was Daizee and Carlo. Carlo was like everything that I wanted to be but didn't have the courage to be. And Daizee – well I just saw her through his eyes and she was dazzling. She was everything that would scare the hell out a parent. Crude, guttural, hard and yet vulnerable – though she would only show that side to Carlo. But more than this, she understands life. She knows that nothing is what it seems because she has been abused by the upright as well as the lowly.

Two weeks later I had sketched out what I thought the story would be. Then of course the characters decided to take over the narrative. Daizee and Carlo taught me how to write the book. They were very patient. They let me veer off on tangents and experiment in style. They let me have two or three years off when I wrote other plays or made a couple of movies – though they were talking to me constantly – Daizee especially. She was in my ear all the time. When I wanted to give up she would curse me, calling me all sorts.

Just after Christmas a year ago I sat down to finish the story, nothing was going to get in the way. I hadn't touched it for a year and I was angry at myself for not completing it.

Back then I thought Daizee and Carlo would have an equal presence. I wanted it to be equal. It took me half of last year to realise that actually it was really Carlo's story. Not to denigrate Daisy – I had written huge passages of her back story, that were shocking and disturbing – some of it I still think is extraordinary, but it was too much for most readers. And it wasn't very present, it was in the past and a story needs to move forward. I had written her stuff as first person narrative, she spoke directly to the reader and because it was so disturbing it was alienating. Heaven Sent is dark as it is, but to have added in that detail would have put off too many readers. So I/we compromised. Also during this last year I cut all the work of the five previous years. That was difficult.

Daizee's accent is thick Bristolian. Bristolian is almost like another language. I began to experiment with the accent over the summer and found that it made me experiment with her vocabulary. Using the accent gave her a very clear poetry and rhythm. I loved the way that visually it stood out from the page. It makes Daizee appear from out of this world. I think also it immediately makes people prejudiced against her – which is how most of the characters in the book are when confronted by her. She is difficult to understand and her accent will suggest to many that she is trash. But not to Carlo. And because he listens and loves… then perhaps…

Another incredible review. This one from Sheila Deeth in Oregon.

"Heaven Sent, by Xavier Leret is set in Bristol England and tells of a Catholic boy from an overly religious family meeting up with a child prostitute. Both of them outcasts on the streetcorner, they form a dangerous friendship. Carlo's attempts to empathize with Daisy lead him to the seamiest side of the city. A wonderful coming-of-age story meshing dark experience with the dictates of religious rules and heavenly mercy, this is a book to savor and remember long after reading." Read more.

My guest post is up on her site now! In it I explain some of my writng process.

I'm the guest post on Rex Robot Reviews. Visit the site and you could win a copy of Heaven Sent. Competition ends April 20 2011.

And you'll never guess what else. Another competition to win Heaven Sent! Yes you heard it right! Check out vvb32. To win here you need to visit my moviereel, watch a clip and let them know which one. Personally I would choose the one about the old man dying. This competition ends May 1 2011.

I'm stunned and honoured that Heaven Sent has been selected by Bloggers Unite Book Club for a group read in Feb 2012.

My first reviews are in and they are humdinger! You can find them and buy the book here. But because they are my first reviews you must forgive me for pasting them into this post.

*****A novel with a lasting effect…highly recommended!, 31 Mar 2011

This is essentially a love story between two young people from different sides of the tracks.. one brought up in an oppressively religious household, the other dragged up & knocked about by life. The effect the two main characters have on each other is explosive.
Through the eyes of the boy Carlo the author allows us to see beyond the damaged front put up by Daizee and shows us her vulnerability. The reader is drawn into their relationship, willing it to succeed against all odds, whilst at the same time wanting to somehow make contact with Carlo and shout "Keep away from her! She's dangerous!" It is, at times, a painful read, as it examines the less savoury elements of human nature…however it also reminds us of the delights & passions of first love. It is quite different from anything I've read before & I found myself reading through the night just to see what happened next!
Reading this novel made me think about how appearances can be deceptive and how even the smallest decisions can change the course of our lives. It reminded me that whatever life throws at us we all need to love and be loved. A novel which will have a lasting effect on how I see life…Heaven Sent Heaven Sent

**** Difficult themes but well worth a read, 28 Mar 2011

Having never really (I don't think) come across books of this genre before, I was really interested to see how the story would unfold. I wouldn't say it's the easiest book to read but it is definitely worthwhile, as the writer handles the themes involved with great care and skill. I would say that I'm glad I read it!! I think the main reason I found it so hard to read was because the main character, Carlo, is such a likeable personality that I didn't want anything bad to happen to him. We could all probably see elements of our sixteen year old selves in him; rebelling against some of the ideals and principles our parents teach us growing up…its par for the course. He's incredibly naive, although the deeper he gets into the situation he finds himself in, he thinks he's an adult. The fact that he imagines alternative views to his real experiences underline the fact that he is still a child. However, where he does show his maturity, is in his attitude to the events that unfold. He knows when something is wrong, he feels responsible for his actions (even if he doesn't confess straight-away), and he shows remorse for his actions. He doesn't try to blame someone else. He isn't really a bad lad, just out of his depths. Again, when it comes to Daizee, there is a childlike maturity, we as the reader (maybe like Carlo's parents) formulate the opinion, rather cynically, that this can only lead to no good and Carlo is a nice boy, but he sees something we can't. Daizee is the complete antithesis to Carlo, but this doesn't stop him from caring about her, and showing her incredible loyalty. He feels a duty to protect her, which you have to admire.

Daizee is a much harder character to like. She's a tough personality on the outside, but Carlo sees the vulnerability inside. Essentially, she is a victim of circumstances. She hasn't had the same safe, happy childhood as Carlo, hers has been more nightmarish and about living by her wits, so her moral code and justifications are not what "Society" would deem acceptable. At times, she seems happy to manipulate to get what she wants, and the cynical view is, is she doing this to Carlo. You just aren't sure she can be trusted. In hindsight, these are probably my own prejudices against her, rather like Carlo's parents. It's easy to judge her and say "she had a choice", but Society did nothing to protect her when she was at her most vulnerable. Yes, she has a choice, but its quite clear that Daizee sees this as her lot in life and doesn't expect it to change even with Carlo's influence, which ultimately is a tragedy. The only thing she wants out of life is something untarnished by her world that will love her unconditionally, in this case, Carlo.

Now I don't understand teenage speak at the best of times. It does require a great deal of concentration on my part, and the babelfish in my brain to be functioning properly. Even then, I still struggle. Mix that with a Bristolian accent and yes, I was in trouble. It did take a little while to get to grips with Daizee's speaking voice, which at times I did find a little comical (I think it was more my attempts to hear her voice by mimicking it while I was reading it, than anything else). Hats off to the author for this because it couldn't have been easy to write and I think it works really well.

After all this praise, was there anything I didn't like about the book. Well…there was one small thing, and it is very much a personal grumble. Speech marks. I did at times find it hard to know when characters, other than Daizee, had started speaking. I know it's accepted writing practice to either use them or in this case, not, but personally, I find it harder to read when they're absent.

Would I recommend this book, yes, but probably not to anyone under the age of 16/17, due to the content. If you're easily shocked by things then this probably isn't the book for you as it contains themes that show the harsher side of life. Although having said that, it's probably one of the reasons why you should read it. We all know that some people live nightmare lives. Maybe we should just feel grateful that we never have to experience them ourselves. Or hope we never will.

My thanks to Xavier for allowing me to read and review his book!

Disclaimer: I was kindly supplied with a copy of this book by the author, in exchange for an honest review. I have not been provided with any compensation for this review other than a copy of the book.

You can read other reviews by Spritesby here http://spritebysbokhylle.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/book-review-heaven-sent/

*****"Mix together Romeo and Juliette with Bonnie and Clyde and throw them into J.D Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and you'll get an explosive, brilliant and breath taking novel: Heaven Sent, by debut author Xavier Leret." evie-bookish

*****"A wonderful coming-of-age story meshing dark experience with the dictates of religious rules and heavenly mercy, this is a book to savor and remember long after reading." Sheila Deeth

*****"A novel with a lasting effect…highly recommended!" Amazon.com

*****"A heartbreaking, beautiful, romantic story, if you ever find the same love that these main characters have keep it!" Book Girl Addict

*****"Leret displays a deftness with language and dialect that leaves the reader feeling eerily connected with the teenaged protagonists, who feel severed from the society in which they live." Marjorie. GoodReads

*****"a work of genius." Best Selling Author Steve Emmett

It is here from on high. HEAVEN SENT has descended. Currently available here at Amazon and Smashwords, Barnes And Noble, Sony, Kobo, Apple and Diesel. At the bargain price of just $3.99

Sixteen year old Carlo has no experience of the world. He desperately wants eternity to provide an alternative to the strict moral imperative of his Catholic parents. When Daizee Byatt, a girl from the other side of the tracks, crashes into Carlo's life, the course of his future veers off the road. This is the story of what Heaven Sent.

You can read a sample by clicking on the BookBuzzr widget to the left.

Word from on high.

Heaven Sent by Xavier Leret is descending.

How long has it been since I last posted something?
Well, I am reading some work at the Standon Calling Festival, (6-8 Aug) a really lovely lovely shing ding and it looks like the weather might be humdinger too. I’m reading as part of the Book Club Boutique and I will be unveiling my novel, Caring For Daisy Byatt. Tis dark bring torch.
There will also be some great music and a swimming pool – oh and an entire weekend long license – yep the bars don’t shut.
What other news is there? I’ve had over 50,000 downloads of my stories on Feedbooks, so many thanks to all those who have clicked that button.
Don’t forget, Standon Calling – hope to catch you there my lovelies.

I’m reading my story Turn The Porn On at the BORDELLO BLUSH event for the
THE BOOK CLUB BOUTIQUE
Saturday 13th Feb
BLACKS. 67 DEAN ST. SOHO. W1D 4QH
I’m on after 8 sometime.