And Finally...

 

6 years in the making. What started as a short story, a novella if you will, turned into something that pushed my limits as a writer and creative thinker.

Where on earth did this story come from? To be honest, I've always been fascinated with repeating numbers, religious beliefs and ufology.

As a kid I used to watch the skies, prior to the release of the Spielberg classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). I've witnessed countless strange things in the sky that, for me at least, left me perplexed. I won't go into too much detail but sufficed to say whatever these anomalies were, they left a long standing impression on me.

So, writing 'No Other Man' I was able to combine my fascination with repeating numbers, religion and, to an extent, ufology.

Many don't know that back in 1999, I became the Poetry Slam Champion of my then hometown, Birmingham. I beat a teacher of poetry in the final. My poems, back then, were humorous, some written for children and some written for adult audiences. Nothing came of that victorious moment, aside from a local library dedicating a section of my work to be displayed.

One of those poems features in 'No Other Man', it has not been altered in any way. It's the one poem that has always stayed with me, so much so that I had a line of it tattooed onto my arm. A reminder that it's okay to ask questions even if we don't get the answers.

I wrote the first 14,000 words or so of 'No Other Man' over a period of 7 days. It had a beginning, a middle, and, what I thought at the time, an end. I then added dialogue and tried to build up the characters. Soon I was hitting around 30,000 words and it was at this point that I decided to delete the ending and expand on a complex twist. It ended up a 246 page thriller.

Little did I know that the poem I included in Chapter One would play a major role in where the story was heading. I restructured the story, re-wrote, re-wrote, and re-wrote, over 15 times until I was happy with the finished product. Lots of research into specific areas had to be sought so it wasn't just a matter of creating fictional towns and places.

Some of the characters in my book are a mish-mash of real people I know, obviously exaggerated versions of them.

So, what's 'No Other Man' about? Here's the blurb on the back cover:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I’d like to acknowledge those spiritual beings who guided me throughout this whole writing process. I cannot prove they were around me, I just felt they were. Their guidance unlocked this story that was held captive inside my head. This, along with a musical soundtrack and imaginary silver screen provided me with an insight, my own movie premiere, if you will. It was a silent movie until I made the characters come alive. Musical composers Hans Zimmer, James Horner, Danny Elfman, to name but a few, provided me the music, via Spotify, to accompany the scenes.

I’d also like to acknowledge an old school teacher (who shall remain nameless). “Fiddaman”, he once said, “You’ll never make anything of yourself.” Thank you for being the driving force of my imagination, sir.

A very special thank you to my publishing team, Austin Macauley. From the editing to art departments, they have been a superb professional outfit that I hope to be associated with for the second, and possibly third instalment, of this story.

No Other Man can be ordered online via my new website here, via Austin Macauley Publishers here, and via Amazon here. It is also available via bookstores around the globe, such as Waterstones, etc.


Bob Fiddaman

Update - No Other Man - Bob Fiddaman

Most will know that I have taken time out from all things Pharmafia to concentrate on writing a fictional novel. The whole writing/creating process has been therapeutic and I have now reached 40,000 words. It's nowhere near finished, most publishers these days are looking for a minimum of 80,000 words before they'd even consider reading a manuscript.

The story is not something that people would normally associate with Bob Fiddaman, the activist - this has been a challenge as I move away from GSK, death and birth defects.

I have created two strong characters so far (Don Williamson and Karen Crawford), the others I will build on over the coming months.

Don Williamson, a 50 year-old paralegal from the UK - he's recently been dumped by his girlfriend, Katy Johansson, 35, who lives in Östermalm, a large wealthy district in central Stockholm.

Karen Crawford, 40, is a famous American Model living in the UK. She hides a secret from her past, a secret that is very much part of the plot that centres around a poem penned by Don Williamson, some 13 years ago, in 2001.

Angie Jakobs, 41, a famous American TV psychic who is Karen Crawford's best friend. Angie lives in Sun Valley, Idaho, just two miles away from Karen Crawford's second home, a $6 million 1,000 acre ranch.

Lex Brampton, 43, lives in Pocatello, Idaho. For the past 17 years or so Brampton has kept an unhealthy interest in Karen Crawford. He was sent to a juvenile correctional facility at the age of 16, then, at 18, he saw out his sentence in a Lubbock correctional facility.



In 2001, after his wife told him she was having an affair and was moving out to live with Dan Pallet, Don Williamson turned to the stars in the night sky for comfort. Whilst looking at the stars a poem came to him. The poem contained a hidden code, only Don Williamson never knew it. The code would be broken on New Year's Eve 2014. It's a code that newly elected Pope John III has taken an avid interest in, only he does not know the whereabouts or content of the poem, only its existence.

Don and Karen are guided on their journey by angels, who in turn, are given daily instructions by Archangel Gabriel. Don and Karen's journey has been planned from their birth and it all comes to fruition as 2014 changes to 2015.

The plot (beginning, middle and end) was written over 6 nights, roughly 20,000 words. Since then I have revisited the manuscript and created a further 20,000 words. I hope to increase it over the coming months.

It's a story that has many twists and turns and one that is primarily about love, light and truth. The message, I guess, is to treat others as you wish to be treated and also to be aware of the signs around us that angels are leaving us.

The book is called 'No Other Man' and I hope to have it completed around September.


Bob Fiddaman.