Want To See Ben's Flat From Before and After?

I was clearing out some old folders the other day, such is the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle of an indie author, and I came across some photos that I’d used as research while I was writing Before and After. I thought I’d share them with you, along with the caveat that however you imagined Ben’s flat is the right way - this is just what I used for research…

SPOILER WARNING FOR BEFORE AND AFTER!

A crappy floorplan I made so I could get things straight in my own head - I’m guessing the white space next to the hall would be where Ben’s mum’s room was. No idea why I didn’t actually put that on the plan, while I very deliberately put the kitchen counters and the bath and toilet.

I think these images came from an urban explorer forum who had made their way into some condemned flats. I remember seeing them and thinking that it had the right sort of proportions, with everything sitting on top of each other. I think the balcony needs to be quite a lot higher though - this only looks like it’s second storey and Ben is fourth floor.

These are the exact flats that I think of when I think about where Ben was, I’m pretty sure that some of the flats in Ben’s building were empty, which was part of the reason that the council wanted him out of his flat so badly. With him gone, they could condemn the building and sell it to private developers. Damn you, City Hall!

I sometimes get asked for more precise details about *where* Ben lives in North Manchester and, funnily enough, I found this map entitled “Ben’s route on the cherry picker” in my files as well. The big red arrow seems to be pointing to this location here and I guess that means that Ben technically lives at either the Nowell House flats, or the ones behind, Nowell Court.

Nowell Court.

And if you follow the map for his journey on the cherry picker then it means that the exercise field that Brown gets trapped at is somewhere hear in Tandle Hill Country Park. I think I need to go for a walk there sometime and see if I can figure out precisely where it would be.

Is that how you imagined it? I’m not sure it matches what was in my mind, but it’s still nice to speculate.

Work update: I’ve just finished tidying the first draft of the children’s book I’m writing and that will go out to a few very trusted ARC readers, so that they can give it the kicking that it deserves and I can recalibrate and rewrite it.

Finally, here’s a random writing exercise I did this week that made me laugh, but only because I’ve got the temperament and intellect of a nine-year-old boy. I also now wonder if someone has done this idea before, it feels like it should have been done already. That said, if anyone wants to do some fan art for what TOTARA looks like then I really want to see it!

Lastly - I’ve moved the shop over to Payhip because Stripe sucks. It also means that you can order books from the US now! Woo-hoo!