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YouWriteOn
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YouWriteOn.com is delighted to announce that member Keith Mansfield children's novel Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London is published today in a three book deal with award winning publisher Quercus. Quercus is the publisher of bestselling books such as Stef Penney’s The Tenderness of Wolves, which won the Costa Best Novel Award, and also Peter Temple’s The Broke Shore.  Click here to View Opening Chapters and link to buy via YouWriteOn homepageKeith informs us: "Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London comes out on 3rd July. So it's another success for the site. The setting ended up changing completely from the one that appeared on YouWriteOn, but of course the core of the book remains much as it was (I think that might actually be quite informative for how you can improve a book and alter it quite radically while staying true to it). I was hugely grateful to the YouWriteOn reviewers and worked with all of their comments as I set about that task or reworking the story. Now it's paid of so handsomely, I'm thinking about posting the first chapter of book 2 on the site to see what people think about it. Thanks to you and everyone who participates on the YWO site for helping to make it all possible. I hope my story will encourage others to persevere. Thanks and best wishes Keith" Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London Synopsis: When 11yr old Johnny's self-built computer Kovak detects a sign of extra terrestrial life, his life is about to change for ever. Stuck in his children's home in Castle Dudbury New Town, with the nasty cook Mr Wilkins watching his every move, Football is one of his only excitements. But soon things start happening around him that he doesn't understand: Why is his mother, who is on life support in a hospital for the criminally insane, being guarded by sinister looking men? And why was a journalist murdered shortly after Johnny talked to him? When Johnny finds out he has a sister he never knew of he decides to runaway to find her. But his search for answers take him beyond earth and into a spectacular adventure with space ships and aliens, taking him through time zones and space, where he finally discovers the truth about his parents and who he really is.
This post was last edited by YouWriteOn, 03 Jul 2008, 14:00
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HJW
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My copy is on its way from Amazon. I'm really looking forward to reading it!
Oh blogger
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NickP
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Good stuff. I'll use play.com.
"...the likes of NickP can rant on if they like" I occasionally rant on at http://amonsterinthemirror.blogspot.com/
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HJW
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Quote: NickP, Thursday, 3 Jul 2008 17:57Good stuff. I'll use play.com. Damn. I forgot about that boycott thingy...
Oh blogger
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BillMc
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Congratulations to Keith!
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The Publisher
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Hi everyone I wanted to reply to the different messages of good luck and congratulations from various threads on the site to say thanks to everyone. It's lovely to have the enthusiastic YWO community behind Johnny Mackintosh. I feel really privileged to have reached this point, but it shows what's possible for all of us. I posted recently elsewhere, you just need to ind the right person (agent or editor) who loves your writing and then your world can change overnight. As we all know from our reviews on here, it can be so very subjective, so don't be disheartened by a few rejections. It's great of Ted to have posted on the front page and put a link to the original chapters on here. Way back then, Johnny Mackintosh lived with foster parents. I've also uploaded the final first chapter here in case anyone wants a taster (there's also a short extract from Chapter 3 on the fledgling book website). You'll see in the final version Johnny lives in a children's home and poor Mr and Mrs Davies who took him in are consigned to a footnote in literary history! I spent yesterday recovering from the book launch the night before, but managed to visit my local Waterstones. Johnny Mackintosh was indeed on display and, by some weird accident of the Waterstones' shelving layout, found himself next to Harry Potter and His Dark Materials!  He couldn't be in better company. Thanks again to you all. Good luck to everyone with their writing. And, yes, I am on cloud 9.  Keith (perhaps now I should be the publishee?) x
www.keithmansfield.co.ukjohnnymackintosh.comJohnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London was published by Quercus on 3 July 2008
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richie_d
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Way to go Keith! It certainly gives me hope, and I'm sure everyone here is wishing you lots of success! Play.com? Must check that out to buy me a copy. Good luck! 
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richie_d
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How strange, it's listed at Play.com as "Johnny Mackintosh and the FTL Gherkin" ! Is that right?
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The Publisher
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Quote: richie_d, Saturday, 5 Jul 2008 09:04How strange, it's listed at Play.com as "Johnny Mackintosh and the FTL Gherkin" ! Is that right? It was an alternative title that the publisher gave the book for a while. Happily (in my opinion) "... and the Spirit of London" won the day in the end, but it was a near thing. If anyone's interested in buying it might be safer to look elsewhere. The cover price is officially £12.99 (it is a beautifully produced hardback) but last time I checked you can buy online at Zavvi for £4.99 which includes free delivery.
www.keithmansfield.co.ukjohnnymackintosh.comJohnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London was published by Quercus on 3 July 2008
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richie_d
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Yes, the proper title is far better than the faster-than-light gherkin monstrosity!
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P J
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Quote: The Publisher, Saturday, 5 Jul 2008 13:21Quote: richie_d, Saturday, 5 Jul 2008 09:04How strange, it's listed at Play.com as "Johnny Mackintosh and the FTL Gherkin" ! Is that right? It was an alternative title that the publisher gave the book for a while. Happily (in my opinion) "... and the Spirit of London" won the day in the end, but it was a near thing. If anyone's interested in buying it might be safer to look elsewhere. The cover price is officially £12.99 (it is a beautifully produced hardback) but last time I checked you can buy online at Zavvi for £4.99 which includes free delivery. I saw that too, and was very  But, when you get really famous, it might be that edition which we can sell on ebay for millions! Did they actually publish any of them under that title?
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The Publisher
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Quote: P J, Saturday, 5 Jul 2008 16:13Quote: The Publisher, Saturday, 5 Jul 2008 13:21Quote: richie_d, Saturday, 5 Jul 2008 09:04How strange, it's listed at Play.com as "Johnny Mackintosh and the FTL Gherkin" ! Is that right? It was an alternative title that the publisher gave the book for a while. Happily (in my opinion) "... and the Spirit of London" won the day in the end, but it was a near thing. If anyone's interested in buying it might be safer to look elsewhere. The cover price is officially £12.99 (it is a beautifully produced hardback) but last time I checked you can buy online at Zavvi for £4.99 which includes free delivery. I saw that too, and was very But, when you get really famous, it might be that edition which we can sell on ebay for millions! Did they actually publish any of them under that title? The only "real" copies are Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London. Before publication, my publisher produced a set of proof copies to go out to reviewers/opinion formers and this was happening in the middle of that title discussion. So there are just a handful of copies with a third title (!!!) Johnny Mackintosh and the Power of the Diaquant (which existed for about three days before my original Spirit of London title was restored). The proof copies were reprinted and sent out with the Spirit of London title and the publisher pulped the "Diaquant" version, but I kept a couple of boxes for posterity. It is hilarious now that on a website somewhere specializing in children's book series it lists Johnny Mackintosh and the FTL Gherkin as the first and Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London as the second. Once information leaks out of a publisher's database into the industry systems it's very hard to put back. For instance all the synopses online talk about 11-year-old Johnny but in the book he's 13, yet no one seems able to change it...
www.keithmansfield.co.ukjohnnymackintosh.comJohnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London was published by Quercus on 3 July 2008
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carlielee
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Huge congratulations! Are you doing any tours so we can get copies signed?
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The Publisher
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Quote: carlielee, Sunday, 6 Jul 2008 15:20Huge congratulations! Are you doing any tours so we can get copies signed? Hi Carlie - I confess spending ten years in Oxford working for Maxwell and then OUP, and my friends are determined to organize "an event" there. So my "author tour" may only have one leg, but I shall post details just in case anyone wants to drop by wearing a YWO badge and say hi.
www.keithmansfield.co.ukjohnnymackintosh.comJohnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London was published by Quercus on 3 July 2008
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YWO Member's Book Published Today in 3 book deal with Award Winning Publisher
03 Jul 2008, 14:00
