💀 Meet the Authors of the Scarred for Life trilogy

Be afraid! 20% off ends tomorrow ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ [Lulu logo]( 20% Off All Print Books and Calendars Order your gifts before the holiday rush! Use code SURPRISE20 to save 20%. 20% Off All Print Books and Calendars Order your gifts before the holiday rush! Use code SURPRISE20 to save 20%. [Shop Now]( [Get 20% Off with code: SURPRISE20]( AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT An interview with the creators of the Scarred For Life book trilogy, a dark account of UK pop culture from the 1970s and 1980s. [Headshot of Stephen Brotherstone, co-author of Scarred for Life]( Stephen Brotherstone [Headshot of Dave Lawrence, co-author of Scarred for Life]( Dave Lawrence [Headshot of Stephen Brotherstone, co-author of Scarred for Life] Stephen Brotherstone [Headshot of Dave Lawrence, co-author of Scarred for Life] Dave Lawrence First, tell us the concept behind Scarred For Life. The Scarred For Life book trilogy is an account of growing up in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, surrounded by some of the darkest, bleakest, most shocking, and downright weird pop culture ever. We look at films, television, books, comics, toys, games, sweets and crisps, and the paranormal boom of that era. It’s light-hearted in tone, though heavily researched, and over the course of writing our books, we realised we were also telling the social history of Britain as seen through its pop culture! Our prime audience is Generation X –anyone who grew up in those decades will get something out of our books, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many older and younger readers are enjoying them too. What inspired you to write the series? It was as a result of a conversation in my workplace in 2014; myself, Dave, and my friend Colin were reminiscing about the stuff we grew up with in the 70s and 80s. The stuff I mentioned in my first answer. I came away wanting to read a book about the darker side of those decades, and assumed that there’d be several books on the subject. Turns out there were none! So, thanks to a gentle nudge from Colin, who said, “Why don’t you write it?” I started to make notes and lists, and started to write what would become Volume One. Barely a week in, I realised what a gargantuan task it would be, and asked Dave if he fancied collaborating? Three and a half years later, Volume One was published through Lulu, and the rest is history! What was your experience writing the first book? It was a pretty surreal experience. What started as a hobby soon became a proper project once we’d both smashed through ‘The Wall’ (the mental barrier that tells you that you’ll never finish the book, and even if you do, who’s going to be interested in it anyway?). So much research, so much writing, so much work, and it all came down to clicking ‘Publish and sell’! The things that stand out the most are how simple and straightforward it all was. So much so that I checked, double-checked, and triple-checked to make sure that I hadn’t missed anything. Then it was a case of checking my phone every five minutes the next day as the sales came in! [Scarred For Life Volume One]( [Scarred For Life Volume Two: Television in the 1980s]( [Scarred For Life Volume Three]( Publishing these books has opened a lot of doors for the both of you. Can you share more about that? Since the books exploded, and our social media presence has grown and grown, we’ve been lucky enough to have done an ongoing series of live shows connected to the books around the north and midlands with writer and broadcaster Bob Fischer – at some point, when it’s financially viable, we’ll be taking the show down south. Then there’s the Scarred For Life podcast, in association with Absolute Radio presenter Andy Bush. We chat to a different celebrity guest in every episode, and find out about their three childhood ‘scars’: the things that terrified them when they were young. There have been two albums of music inspired by the books, collaborating with the Castles in Space record label, and a host of incredibly talented hauntological electronic musicians. This year, we were invited to be executive producers on a forthcoming British indie horror film called ‘Newstone’, inspired by the work of author John Wyndham, which has been immensely exciting! Apart from that, we’ve got lots of ideas for forthcoming books, starting with two short story horror anthologies next year, inspired by the classic ‘Pan Book of Horror Stories’ series. There’s a huge fandom around your books and the topic. How have you connected with this community? We’ve been able to promote the books and connect with our community through social media – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky. We’re lucky to have some of the nicest, most engaged, and most passionate fans. Some of the things we write about were suggested by them! Staying in touch with our fans is vital, and social media is something we keep on top of every day. Posting a different clip or images every day, replying to fan replies, basically staying as engaged with our fans as they are engaged with our books and socials. They really are lovely, and some of them have become real-life friends too! Thanks to social media, and Lulu’s weekly discounts, our books have never stopped selling. What advice would you give someone who wants to write a book but doesn't know where to start? Do it! That’s the best advice I can possibly give – just do it! It doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself a ‘professional’ author; neither did we. You could say we saw a gap in the market, but it’s more precise to say that we simply wrote the books that we always wanted to read, but nobody else thought to write. So if you’re passionate about a niche topic, and have that same urge to want to read a book about it, start making notes and lists, and get writing! One thing that worked for me was ordering regular proof copies through Lulu as we went along; being able to hold a copy of Scarred For Life in my hand, even if it was just a 40 page version, helps give me the impetus to keep going. And definitely get friends, family, and relative strangers to focus and test your progress! One of our Twitter followers changed the course of the entire series for the better when she gave one small line of feedback. Get writing, follow your dreams, and good luck! Use code SURPRISE20 for 20% off at [Lulu.com](! [Custom]( [Custom]( [Custom]( [Custom]( [Custom]( [Custom]( Publish. Print. Prosper. You received this email because you are a valued, registered subscriber of Lulu.com under the address lshipley@lulu.com (and because we think you're awesome). *This is a promotional email. This promotion is for 20% off when ordering printed products at Lulu.com. Offer is valid through November 1, 2024. This offer is not valid for eBooks or publishing services. 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