Follow Me, Follow You Teasers: Day 8. The Pebbles of Chesil Beach.
‘The unauthorised removal of pebbles from this beach is prohibited.’
The pebbles must remain on Chesil Beach. It is prohibited to remove them.
As a child, I obeyed the rule, although I found it difficult, as the stones fascinated me. They still do. The beach consists of greys, whites, browns, reds, blacks … all merging together to somehow magically form a beautiful sandy hue.
My children have the same fascination, and between us, we can idle away many happy hours searching for special stones, ultimately leaving them on Chesil for someone else to discover.
Talking of rocks, Victoria has a very interesting first meeting with Chris Frampton’s friend and manager, Tommy … Another fascinating Stone to add to the collection.
Follow Me, Follow You Teasers: Day 7. Tout Quarry.
Another wonderful place to visit on Portland is Tout Quarry.
In Follow Me, Follow You, a quarry is situated not far from Victoria’s cottage. It provides neutral ground – somewhere Victoria and Chris can go to talk, having never been there together.
In the real Tout Quarry, there are incredible sculptures, carved from the pale grey Portland stone.
There are plenty of British landmark properties built from Portland stone, notably Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Follow Me, Follow You Teasers: Day 6. The Best View in Portland.
Both Victoria Noble and Chris Frampton return home after years of living away. And why wouldn’t they, when just up the road from them is this incredible view of Chesil?
This recent photo is taken from a glorious viewing point on Portland. I’ve been here many times, even before I lived in Dorset as an adult.
Follow Me, Follow You Teasers: Day 5. Introducing the Great Oak.
The Great Oak
All heroes need to find solutions to their problems, and Chris Frampton, however exceptional he is in other areas, is no different. He likes to talk through a problem, which is what I do when I have a plot issue. We like to put the words ‘out there’, and watch them take shape.
So we need a confidant. One who, or in this case, that listens and lets us work things out for ourselves.
Follow Me, Follow You Teasers: Day 4. Chris Frampton’s Playground.
Chris Frampton is a Hollywood action hero. He’s a good-looking, leather-clad, instinctive all-rounder – that’s why he’s been so successful – but his speciality is bikes.
He spent many hours in his youth thrashing his BMX around the undulating grounds of Hope Cove Castle, honing his skills, before trying his hand at infinitely more dangerous surfaces.
I struggle to grip the handlebars of a cycle these days, so sitting on the saddle is enough danger for me.
Follow Me, Follow You Teasers: Day 3. The Real Images Behind the Trailer.
In yesterday’s teaser, I showed you a photograph of my son standing on Chesil Beach. He was aged four at the time of the photograph.
When I was searching for images to use in the book trailer, Gajitman remembered he had this photo, and when he showed me, I knew it was a perfect representation of Seth Noble, Victoria’s four-year-old lad in Follow Me, Follow You.
Perfect apart from the lack of curly hair.
After a little technical ‘hair’ wizardry, and use of the wonderful Waterlogue app, I converted the photo into what Gajitman and I think is a beautiful image. But then, we are programmed to be biased.
Seth, aged 4, on Chesil BeachOur son, at the age of four, on Chesil.
Follow Me, Follow You Teasers: Day 2. Chesil Beach.
I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s teaser – the Follow Me, Follow You trailer – kick-starting my run up to the launch of the paperback.
The book is set mainly in Weymouth and Portland, Dorset, with Chesil Beach a character within its own right.
I’ve always wondered if the Martha and the Muffins song, Echo Beach was about Chesil.
In the days when I was the singer in a band called Strangely B’Zar, Echo Beach was the first song we performed live. It was at the Herts Arms, Watford.
My son, when he was four, on Chesil – the same age as Seth in Follow Me, Follow You.Me at nineteen, on Chesil Beach, the same age Chris Frampton is when he first gets together with Victoria.
Follow Me, Follow You: Trailers and Teasers. Day 1
It’s all go in the James household as we gear up for the paperback release of my second Choc Lit novel, Follow Me, Follow You.
I’ve been writing guest posts to accompany the upcoming book tour, putting together a short about Chris and Victoria’s early love affair, sorting out bookmarks, and preparing for the actual book launch itself, to be held in Dorset on the 6th September.
From now until that day, I shall be posting images connected to Follow Me, Follow You – photos used for the trailer, images of inspiration, research pictures – anything that’s contributed to the creating, writing and promotion of the novel.
Today, I’m introducing the trailer to you, as a teaser for the next couple of weeks.
This is the first time I’ve filmed a trailer. Over the last few months, I’ve taken several trips to Chesil Beach and captured many images of the area on my camera. Thanks to a wonderful app called Waterlogue, I was able to turn those photos into water colour paintings.
This trailer is the result of many hours of me having fun with nature and technology. You won’t need 3D glasses to view, and it’s probably too short a film for you to make and enjoy a bucket of popcorn, but if you have your cup of tea and a Hobnob to hand, settle back and find out a little more about Victoria Noble and Chris Frampton.
It was one of those Red Letter Days over the weekend. Having very kindly sent me an advance copy of my first-ever paperback, my lovely publisher, Choc Lit, then sent The Box to my house.
This is what was inside.
What an incredible moment. I took out the first copy and passed it to Gajitman, with the next two copies going to our children – not that they’re old enough to read Follow Me Follow You yet – it is an adult contemporary romance after all. Their copies will remain on the bookshelf for a while. They are not too young to ask for signed copies, however, and so their wish was my command.
‘How shall I sign it?’ I asked. ‘I’m your mum. I can’t sign it L E James …’
‘Put Mum and L E James,’ my daughter said.
So I did. My first-ever paperback, with my first-ever signature: Mum. L E James. I’m not intending on doing that in all of them … 🙂
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped make my dream come true. I consider myself very lucky to be doing what I love, surrounded by the people I love, in a place that I love.
I spent three days last week preparing for the release, including writing blogs in celebration. In the Choc Lit Corner I asked: what defines a first love?
Along with first loves, Follow Me, Follow You is about healing and recovery – not just for the characters, but for me as the writer.
I was 60,000 words into the first draft when I lost my mum two years ago, and with the wind very much knocked out of my sails, progressing the journey of Victoria Noble and Chris Frampton became a struggle. But I never gave up on them. I set them ashore and kept them safe until the storm had passed.
When the seas grew calmer, Victoria and Chris continued on their way and in September 2013, they reached their final destination.
Typing ‘Ends’ was a significant and emotional moment. I’d done it. I’d finished the story I was compelled to complete, connecting together two ends of an intricate, complicated and personal circle – one tied to my mother, the other to the last book we ever discussed.
And a piece of me healed.
As a result, I’m very attached to Victoria and Chris, little Seth and Rick, lovely Frank and direct Olivia, and I wish them a long and healthy life on the virtual shelves, in the real world.
Chesil Beach
Then come September, I’ll be standing on Chesil Beach, saluting the clear, blue skies with the paperback in my hand, acknowledging the journey we’ve all taken.
