Interview with Peter Cocks - Part 2

WHAT RESEARCH DID YOU DO?

I always do a lot of research, most specifically about places, so I can get the atmosphere and sense of place right.

For instance, I used to go to boxing matches in Bethnal Green in London's East End a few years ago, and also researched a very scary gym for a TV show in Canning Town. I met the guy who ran it, who didn't seem to believe my reasons for being there and thought I was doing some kind of undercover drugs exposure show there. I wasn't. I remember driving away and watching my rear view mirror all way home, he had made me so paranoid.

I also went to Croatia and worked as a victualler (cook/cocktail chef/shopper) on a yacht for 10 days, so I could get up close to some of the giant, floating palaces that the Russian oligarchs park down there. They really are amazing, overflowing with dodgy, drunk girls, thugs and many do have amazing art collections on board.

The 'celebrity wedding' in the book is based on one I attended, where mobiles were confiscated , as were cameras. Half of Girls Aloud (as they
were) were there, along with the other half of Sugababes. Dermot O'Leary, Davina McCall and Natalie and Liam Gallagher.

A couple of friends also went to the Jordan/Katie Price and Peter Andre wedding, so I got a few touches of the gossip from that. I have met both of them.  He is very sweet, but don't be fooled by her, she is smart as a whip!

TELL US ABOUT THE TRAILER? HOW MUCH INPUT DID YOU HAVE?

Because I have a background in writing and performing on TV, I have the necessary skills to storyboard, write, act and direct a trailer.

So, to answer, I was all over it like a rash! (Possibly more than the publisher and commercials producer would  have liked.)
 
However I have always believed that, as a writer, if you do have a strong sense of how things should be done visually, then I think you should hold on to that.
For instance, I LOVE the black and red graphics of the book cover designer by Patrick Insole who now designs adult books.
 
But I wanted the trailer to have a golden, autumnal feel, while still being gritty...so this is something I dictated from the storyboard.
 
Also, I appeared in it, as Tommy Kelly, partly because he looks like a cross between me and a man called Justin de Villeneuve, but partly because, on a limited budget, we spent the money on getting two contrasting girls to look just right.
 
I was very cheap to hire.

IS THERE GOING TO BE A SECOND BOOK?

Yes. There is a new love interest for Eddie, even though he can't get Sophie Kelly out of his mind.

There's also a big stitch-up.

If I tell you that my research for this book has taken me to the Midlands and then on a plane to Malaga in the South of Spain, then you may get some idea about what he's getting involved in...

They don't call it the Costa del Crime for nothing...!

CHECK OUT SOME OF PETER'S RESEARCH PHOTOS FOR THE SECOND EDDIE SAVAGE THRILLER. 

Bit of Bully
 
High Sierra
 
Spanish Glamour, Malaga
 
Mirlo Blanco

Sexy Policeman
 
Plaza de Toros

Comments - none so far...

Post a Comment