How a Change of Scene Inspired My Book
I had always been searching for the ‘key’ to getting published – the right story at the right time that would attract the right agent and publisher – but I never considered my move to Bologna would have anything to do with it. I suppose it was because it occupied the practical part of my life; my wife had been offered a job in Italy, and I came along with the rest of the luggage. Naturally, I was excited by the move – a new country, city, sensations, it was Italy, after all! – but for the first few years, I was mainly concerned with my weekly commute to the UK. Wearily hauling myself onto the Thursday or Friday evening flight back to Bologna, the last thing I was thinking about was books. It was only after I decided to make a go of it in Italy that inspiration came to me, and in the unlikeliest of places.
To help me learn the language, I found a job as a doorman at a homeless canteen. We were feeding around a hundred people a day – through the snow and sleet of winter to the baking heat of summer – and once we had let in the ones who had qualified for a lunch pass, I would wade into the waiting crowd and select those who would take the few remaining seats. Needless to say, it was an eye-opener. But it was here I first began to think again about my writing – I was a long way from ‘tourist Italy’, despite being in one of the most beautiful, if overlooked, of Italian cities. Then I came across essayist Norman Lewis’s diary of his time as a policeman in Naples in 1944. His descriptions of the city, the people, was a revelation. I began to think about my own ‘undiscovered’ city of Bologna – could my narrator be a similar kind of observer? A private detective, perhaps?
My Daniel Leicester series was born.
But then it had to be written – I sent a first novel to a literary consultancy, which complimented me, polished up my manuscript, and announced it was ready for submission. I sent it out only to be met by rejection. But I was convinced I was onto something, so I tried another consultancy, Cornerstones, and editor Alex explained where I was going wrong – the writing was fine, but the structure all over the place. With Alex’s guidance, I wrote an entirely new novel, albeit retaining the same theme and descriptions. I re-submitted and met indifference or rejection from another dozen or so agents, until one agreed to read it, only to tell me it wasn’t her ‘idea’ of Italy – altogether ‘too much grottiness and graffiti’ (basically, I think she was expecting Under The Tuscan Sun with murders). Fortunately, the very next email was from Bill Goodall, who read it, loved it, took me on, and went on to win me a contract with Constable, part of Little, Brown. I have now published three novels with them with another three in the pipeline. The moral of this story? Inspiration really can strike in the most unexpected places, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and don’t give up. Or as we Bolognese might put it: corragio!
Tom resides in Italy, where he wrote his debut book, A Quiet Death In Italy. This was followed in 2021 by food-themed The Hunting Season, and the third in his mystery series, Requiem in la Rossa, was published last month. It explores Bologna's rich musical and educational heritage, and can be found online or in all good bookshops.
