A few weeks ago, my chipper UK editor Anna Gregson asked me if I’d participate in a little cross-promotion with another Orbit author, the ridiculously talented and charming Philip Palmer, since we both had books coming out within a month of each other (The Terminal State for me; Version 43 for Phil). We were both enthusiastic about the idea, since we admired each other’s work and were on long-distance friendly terms (the best kind for me, as I tend to be inebriated and belligerent in person). Anna suggested we each submit to interviews for a short documentary centering around our main characters – Avery Cates for me and the eponymous Version 43 for Phil. I expected a cheerful, friendly exchange of literary views. Things did not go … as planned.
For a while the publisher considered not doing anything with the footage, but in the end the fact that they’d spent almost $45 American dollars on the project convinced them they had to wring at least some publicity out of the project, so they’ve started posting episodes. Here’s the first one:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeyVeagJ7mc)
For one thing, I filmed about 75 hours worth of interviews and submitted about 30 hours of animations. I was told this would show at film festivals and that Orbit was considering buying some TV time to air the edited version. Now it looks like Orbit has edited this down to about twenty minutes of total footage. I am outraged. Someday I am going to get up before noon, put on some pants, and file a lawsuit.
Secondly, I was extremely disappointed in the passive aggressive (and later simply aggressive) manner that Phil Palmer chose to adopt in his filmed portions. I started off a huge fan of Phil Palmer, person and writer. I’m still a fan of the writer.