Gay novel launches

Behind the Scenes of “In the Mirror a Monster”
The idea for “In the Mirror a Monster” was born in the weeks following the launch of my frock-and-frill romp “Benedetto Casanova.” This biography of a fictional gay brother to Giacomo Casanova was my first big hit in the US. In the book Benedetto spends ten years roaming through 18th century Europe. Back then, travelling in post-chaises and coaches was as exhausting and exasperating as a modern-day budget airline flight, so when I was done writing, I made a decision that my next book would be perfectly stationary: no buses, no trains, no planes, nothing moveable at all.

For over a year, these plot elements languished in limbo. I rearranged them frequently and even tried different settings [at one point, after a great night out on Canal Street, and to avoid the challenges of a book written partly in Scottish and Yorkshire dialect, I considered moving the B&B to Manchester] . But these were only the external trappings. I still had no story! I had a man in a wheelchair with his woolly blanket, his baffies and a bottle of whisky—but I had no story.

Then, in the summer of 2010, two young men couch-surfed with us. Couch-surfing is a fabulous invention, if you are a writer. Your characters literally fall into your lap. The two guys were fascinating, not just because they were very handsome, but because of the way they acted around each other. For a long time we thought they were a couple; and yet they moved the beds apart as soon as they saw the room we had prepared for them. I decided to make them characters in my book.

I am greatly indebted to the local writer, publisher and activist Adam Lowe who edited “In the Mirror a Monster” and made sure the book is authentic.

Dog Horn Publishing presents a dramatised reading of bestselling LGBT author Marten Weber's latest novel.

Selections from 'In the Mirror, a Monster' will be performed by brilliant local poet Jamie Harry Scrutton.

We are delighted to talk more about the novel in Manchester on 18th December at Taurus Bar 1 Canal St,M1 3HE.6.30pm-8.00pm

Published: 6-Dec-2012: (1659)