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In support of the June 9, 2011 UK Hardcover publication of Jon Steele’s The Watchers (priced £12.99) via Bantam Press, Fantasy Book Critic is hosting a series of videos that discuss the different locations found in the book. The first two videos are linked above. Today’s video, which covers Café Grutli, can be found below, followed by a brief explanation from the author, Jon Steele:
“Café Grutli s a local place at the bottom of Escaliers du marché, the wood steps that climb the hill to Lausanne Cathedral. You can see the belfry from the café windows. When I first came to Lausanne to write The Watchers, I went there for dinner very often. The same people would come in every night and the owner of the café was a jolly sort who made a tour of the place, telling jokes and collecting plates. He still does.
I had started character sketches to the book, and as any writer can tell you, writing the first sentence of chapter one is tough. I had tried a hundred times and ripped it up every time. I needed something to make the reader feel the curtain was rising on a strange and mysterious place. So, one dark and stormy night, I was in the café, finishing my dinner and working my way through many glasses of Swiss villette wine. Of a sudden, I realised the opening sentence of chapter one was staring me in the face. The faces, the conversations, the clatter of glasses and plates, the clouds of cigarette smoke floating above heads, the dark raining world outside. And I imagined Marc Rochat in the corner, like me, watching. I pulled out my notebook, I took a deep breath, and I wrote: Marc Rochat pulled aside the lace curtains and watched the rain fall through lamplight and fall onto the cobblestones of Escaliers du marché.”
In addition to the videos, Bantam Press has agreed to give away ONE AUTOGRAPHED COPY of Jon Steele’s The Watchers for each video, for a total of SEVEN WINNERS. All you have to do is leave a comment in the post, or send an email to fbcgiveaway@gmail.com with your Name, Mailing Address, and the subject: WATCHERS. However, to double your chances of winning, link this post or one of the videos on your blog, Facebook, Twitter page, etc., and you will be entered TWICE! The giveaway is open to Anyone and the seven winners will be randomly selected after the last video is posted on Friday, June 17. Thank you for entering and Good Luck!