BRAND LOYALTY (2010) The first limited edition of my third novel will launch on 20/10/2010.

I'm working out the in's and out's of this at the moment. If you are interested in reserving a copy at this stage it's best to email me callyphillips@btinternet.com to let me know.

Brand Loyalty is a successor to George Orwell’s novel Ninteen Eighty-Four. Both aim to present a vision of the future (not a sci fi adventure) which is a snapshot of the possibilities  that seem to exist in our present (for Orwell 1948 for me 2010) Neither novel aims to predict the actual future with any degree of certainty, instead each focus on themes and issues which might come to pass given the society we live in today. While Orwell’s vision is of a dark, hopeless, totalitarian world, Brand Loyalty has a lighter feel superficially.  Our world after all is dominated by consumer capitalism where economics is God and Brands are King.  Technology provides the driving force towards a virtual existence which seems to offer everything you ever wanted –without ever leaving your home.  But underneath this sleek, well-packaged dream is a darker nightmare. “In its practical effects, consumerism is a totalitarian system; it permeates every aspect of our lives” (Monbiot)   

   
For more about the progress of this novel go to http://callyphillips.wordpress.com which is the blogs

Another World Is Possible (2008) was first published as an online serial at project jam (2007)and first limited edtion published as Otro Mundo es Posible (2007)

Available on Amazon for £5.99.

My second novel pushes the boundaries between narrative and therapy, suggesting that "the truth that matters is narrative truth" and that "the self as narrator, not only recounts but justifies" Once again key questions of reality and identity are explored, but in a totally different style from her earlier novel.

Synopsis: When it comes down to it, you can never really know what the truth is. Truth, like stories, has many perspectives. This is a novel about people and the stories they live. Stories about love and identity. About truths and lies. A mother and daughter whose relationship is played out in the shadow of a powerful and iconic man from history. But whose story is it? And can anyone answer the questions defining Roisin's life "Am I Che Guevara's love child?"

The Threads of Time (2003) was my first novel and is available via Amazon or at the Galloway Forest Park outlets. I have a very limited supply left to sell directly which you'll be able to do here soon.

The novel tells the story of Paul Mackie, a young field archaeologist, who digs off site and and embarks upon a journey across the centuries and into a love affair that cannot be constrained by death. It's an exploration of the links between past, present and future through the dimensions of the personality.

A love that is bigger than life and death. A mystery that transcends time.

NON-FICTION

Drama Made Easy with ABC (2009)

This isn't generally available for purchase as it was written for a specific project. For more details on that go to www.abcdrama.co.uk (cloning project)

Telling the story of an incredible bunch of people, labelled with learning disabilities, who decided to set up a drama group; this informative handbook records the journey undertaken by the group. It also contains many practical examples and advice, giving the reader the tools, and hopefully the enthusiasm, to set up their own drama group

My thoughts on publishing. Over the years I have got very bored of the debates on the relative merits of mainstream/self/vanity publishing. Good writing is good writing irrespective of how it is published and bad writing is bad writing.

I can go on about this at length (and have) but the concise version here is that whatever happens with my prose writing, whether it gets published by others or not, I print off a limited edition run. No one has to buy this and there's no profit involved. But sometimes its the only opportunity you get to access my work. Consider the art analogy. Limited edition artworks are not frowned on. If we could only by "mainstream" mass produced art we would consider ourselves culturally impoverished. I think the same could be applied to literature. Mainstream literature is that which fits into genre, product placing, marketing strategies etc and is fundamentally a BUSINESS deal. I do not think that creativity is at heart an industry. I have a difficult time with the concept of others making a profit out of my work. That's my prerogative. I don't say I never let it happen, what I do say is that I'm happy to take control of the creative process in the first instance, to offer people the opportunity to have access to my work. Because I don't turn a profit from this, my editions have to be limited in size. But in my opinion a novel doesn't exist until its printed and once it exists it takes its place within the market. If mainstream want it, fine, if not, also fine. You the reader have some choice in the matter. I respect your choice. Your opinion on the value of my work will determine whether you think I'm producing high quality limited editions, self publishing on a micro scale (as many well known writers have done before me) or vanity publishing. For my own part, I think there's no shame in non-mainstream publishing but there is total shame in publishing poor work. My limited edition print runs are NOT essentially PUBLISHED works as they do not carry ISBN codes (deliberately) They are what they purport to be: first edition limited print runs. Not for profit. To share creativity in a non-capitalistic way. (If I could give them all away for free believe me I'd be happy to but I have to cover at least my production costs in order to keep on printing) The rules I apply to my creative works are those of FAIR TRADE rather than part of the free market economy. (And believe me I'm not getting a FairTrade price for my work yet!)