
Free on Kindle 19th-21 January 2023
Peace betrayed:
A Peace Series Novella
Koby Anand
Behind The Scenes
Free on Kindle 19th-21 January 2023
Peace betrayed:
A Peace Series Novella
Koby Anand
Behind The Scenes
19th January has a special place in my diary, on calendar. It is the date whereby Devan Coultrie was released into the universe in Retreating to Peace: A Peace Series Novella.
My second piece of non-fiction, but my first foray into the world of writing romance. There was a bit of romance in Fragments, but not a great deal.
I joined the Peace Novella Series group. Our task was to write stories based upon the fictional town of Peace, Montana. The town, a brain child of fellow author S.H. Pratt. The idea of romance appealed. Especially having written Fragments. I felt as though I had something left in the tank; I fancied writing something different. There were rules, a contract; not a problem. A novella, sweet, fade to black etc. All sensible stuff.
I inked up my fountains pens, I cobbled together a plan. I was literally making it up as I went along.
Who was this fella? Devan Raaj Coultrie, a former hedge fund manager who was born and raised in Rugby, Warwickhire. He was heart broken, a bit of a rebel and wanted to start again.
On the other side of the universe. He would be the centre of his 100 acres in Peace; he was going to a big hitter and perhaps wear a tux. There’d be a bit of South Asian Culture in there. No way, no how. Was this fella going to hit all the boxes on a Romance Writers trope bingo card.
He wasn’t going to be the average male romance book character.
And man alive. I read a few by of preparation. I worked my way through a fair few Mills and Boon’s. I looked at the data. There were very few male characters of South Asian origin. Many were feckless playboys, who were fly-by-nights, who left broken hearts, and sometimes babies in their wake. Oh, and would drop their kit at the sight of a heaving bosom to rip bodices. There was some aristocrats, royalty, you get the idea.
We didn’t yet have Hooch Baron.
Plus, as a therapist, I tutted, rolled my eyes at the traits that these fellas had. There are far too many for me to critically evaluate and assess with the application of therapeutic modalities and theories in this post. Alas, this made me think.
Devan Coultrie, was not going to be a door handle. He would also keep his kit on. Mostly.
The women in his world. They’d be different too. They too, wouldn’t be the conquests, the trembling bottom lip….tokens of characteristics. There’s Aditi, Avni, Aida…that’s a lot of A’s. Oh,and his sister-in-law, Libby. They would be present, realistic and of value. They’d have an authenticity to them, and not the typical ‘brittle’ quality that is so common.
Funny thing though. Aditi gets some interesting reader reactions.
Remember, how I mentioned the Peace Novella Series. Well. I did something. I met them, a few of them. In….drumroll….MONTANA. Now this is the stuff of romance. Who, because of a fella, books an adventure, takes a flight….erm. Me.
S.H. Pratt, or Stef! Created, hosted the inaugural Big Sky Book Event in Billings, Montana.
Let’s have a bit of flashback right here
“Why write books sat in Montana?”
“Why not?”
“Have you been, do you plan to go there?”
“Sure, maybe. Why not? I mean, never say never. This is me. I got to Reykjavík and back.”
And, back to the present. I went. Because of Devan Coultrie.
I met Stef, Ariel, Jenn and Susan. In 3D. And we were the Peace Novella Series Authors. I heard the radio jingle that mentioned the international contingent. Jenn, bless her, looked at me. “That’s you!” she said. I nearly fell to the floor.
I’ve done a fair few interesting things, because of Devan Coulrie.
There was the book launch in the Gunmaker’s Arms, as Storm Dennis raged.
Storm, bloody, Dennis.
I will never forgive the British Weather and because of that one night.
The Gunmakers and Devan, have history. Way back when, I stood near a pillar during a reading event. I read Costume Drama. That is where Britain met the hooch Baron.
I was petrified that day. I even had Lee Benson and Martin Tracey roped in to read. JA Media had the mic’s, the PA. I read from all three Devan books. Yeah, by 2020, there were three.
This was proper, Vive Le Hooch Baron.
It gets better. JA Media is a big part of the Devan Coultrie Journey.
Somewhere in between the two 2020 lockdowns. I volunteered to make a film. JA Media planned to work with local authors, to make films. Only, it would need a script. Human beings too. I taught myself how to write a script. We then needed a cast.
JA Media and I, had to find them. The human beings that would be Devan, Aditi, Mike the Barman….we needed locations.
We found Devan. There was a lot of stress. I mean, who wants to work on something that’s a huge leap, and for free? There was no budget for this. Then, with the magic of social media and also A.A.Abbott sending out a re-tweet.
Habemus Une Devan.
A certain Vimal Korpal, was cast. He’d be donning the Dr.Martens.
The Dr.Martens. The minute he put those on. I didn’t keel over; I was leaning against a wall, clutching my director’s folder. There it was again.
Habemus Une Devan.
Vive le hooch baron
I will never forget Vimal uttering Devan’s lines. I was only just able to stay say on my chair-I didn’t have my bond villan chair at that time. Oh, and the grin! He had Devan Coultrie’s grin.
The Hooch Baron. That was him, the other side of zoom.
That’s hard to wrap your imagination around. The fella who for years has been inside of a book, inky squiggles. Was all very real. Then came the rest of cast, the crew. Through the magic of the Universe. We had a cast/crew. Make Up Artists, Production assistants.
Even Ruby the dog was part of this experience.
We shot the movie. Over three days, during the highs and lows of the pandemic. Through, around everyone’s real life, real job commitments. There was rain, snow, heat waves…..samosa chaats, pizza and of course, biryani.
I had to conquer my fear of motorways to edit the movie with JA Media.
I’ve danced around the Bond Villain chair to the Devan Coultrie Theme tune. That’s a nice feeling.
There was the big, whoop do moment of releasing the poster. I knitted that hat….
As I write this, I am days away from the fifth anniversary of Devan Coultrie going live. It’s been an interesting five years.
Without Devan, his saga and the Peace Novella Series, a lot might not have happened. I’d probably still be avoiding motorways, to be honest.
Not sure yet when the movie comes out. It will. I promise. In the mean time, go read the books.
And once more. For everyone.
Habemus Une Devan.
Vive le hooch baron
You can find links to all of these on the side bar, or at www.horticulturalhobbit.com/books.
A mixed bag for you to begin with.
The Devan Coultrie Saga, with it’s three parts, from the Peace Novella Series. He leaves Rugby, a broke-hearted man, to land in Peace Montana. His past catches up with, and Devan’s life changes in interesting ways.
Gorbind and Padmi have anything but a simple, straight-forward romance. Their family are involved for one.
Fragments, gave us a whole universe! But it started with six interlinked stories about loss. See how Gorbind and Koby came to be.
Behind The Scenes has characters as you’ve never seen them before. As well short stories inspired by Birmingham. Also contains the Battle of Gravelly Hill, as a bonus.
Winter is a good time to consider your garden. What might you grow, what could you then cook in your kitchen? How to grow things, how to make chutneys, jams and jellies; learn from my mistakes and see how easy it is to grow your own fruit and veg.
This year has been a busy year for the books and I. As well as the assortment of stops on the Book Odyssey-from Telford to Montana-there have been three releases since last Christmas.
A complicated Romance with Koby Anand to pull at your heart strings.
Does Gorbind Phalla survive the Battle of Gravelly Hill Interchange and all the zombies that land in Birmingham.
And what might happen, if Dragons land in the second city?
A JA Media Production.
A Punam Farmah Film.
Devan Coultrie Is Unwell.
Based upon the story by Punam Farmah from the Peace Novella Series.
So here we have it! A poster for a project that I has been such an adventure to be part of. There are quite a few people who are part of this. Lots of people to thank!
To think that the screen play was written and completed during Lockdown 2.0. That was when we had to find a real life Devan, the rest of the cast and locations. We did it though!
The film is and was, made in Birmingham. The Cast and Crew are local to the West Midlands. As such, our locations are very local too. Part of the film was shot in the iconic Gunmakers Arm’s in Birmingham. A pub that has a special place in my heart and the Devan Coultrie Journey.
Shall get back to you, with further details!
Well! This is a book adventure and a half!
Who is, this Devan Coultrie?
There are three books, and a movie currently in editing that help us understand who he is.
A former hedge fund manager from Rugby, UK who flies off to Montana, USA to start a new life.
He sticks a pin a map, and off he goes.
Devan Coultrie was my first foray into Contemporary Romance. I grew frustrated with the lack of South Asian Characters in books that I was reading. There were also so many not so savoury tropes in these books. So I decided, with the help of the Peace Novella Series Authors to create one.
Start with Retreating to Peace, where we meet Devan. He’s about settle in the fictional town of Peace in Montana. He’s all for a new beginning, and has a bruised heart.
He then settles, his life get busy with Postcards from Peace. It all seems okay, with the odd bit of drama thrown in,
Then, things take a turn, and we have Peace Betrayed. Devan does things that might stretch our love for him.
Now, I mentioned a movie!!
Yes, a short film is in the works. Devan Coultrie is Unwell is currently in Editing. The exact mid-point of the Devan Coultrie Saga was shot and developed last summer/autumn.
WE HAVE A VERY REAL DEVAN COULTRIE!
There is also a real Aditi Rao.
More news on that later. In the mean time, go read the books!
So, last night, I was interviewed on the radio!
I made a brief appearance where I spoke about the Devan Coultrie Saga from the Peace Series Novellas.
All being well, I shall be back again, and will keep you posted!
In Retreating to Peace, Devan Coultrie moved kit and caboodle to Montana. Before long, he was joined by Aditi Rao. Their history laid the foundations for a rosy future together. Devan now calls Peace home and his life has become eventful.
This collection of short stories sees his family visit, his romance with Aditi develop further and his dreams in Peace blossom.
Devan Coultrie’s life in Peace is a picture postcard with more to it than meets the eye.
The title and cover for Book six is officially revealed. I knew that Devan Coultrie and I were far from over; there was more to him than meets the eye! It is just over a year since Retreating to Peace was published and I’ve been sitting on this ever since.
This is a series of short stories that builds on what we already know, answer some questions and also fills Devan Coultrie out a little more. There are some new faces in this book, with cameos from folks from the rest of the Peace Novella Series. I couldn’t possibly have written this book without make reference to the rest of the town.
I can confirm that Devan still has his ox-blood Dockers. They are after all, a big part of his being. He now has a job, a sense of purpose and is making Peace his home.
Then there is Aditi Rao.
If you’ve read RTP, you will know what happens as far as she is concerned.
And another thing.
This aint over…..
It is live, and has been for two days.
I spent the week leading up to release day, pacing up and down, trying to keep sane. This is the fourth book that I have self-published in four years, but the anxiety doesn’t get any less with each one. There are two other occasions I have felt this nervous. The first, when I paced up and down the night before my A-level Philosophy and Ethics exams. The second, when in 2012, Mama had emergency surgery. Previously, I have stated how this book is different compared to what I have written before, and it felt different writing it.
With that process, I am embracing the different. You wouldn’t believe it, but even Alan Titchmarh et al don’t write exclusively about gardening.
If we all had the same book list, shelf or idea, there’d be nothing to make us sit up and pay attention. There would be a monotonous sense of status quo, that didn’t offer development, growth and rather inhibited any sense of adventure.
There will be no spoilers about the book, we have had teasers. If you want to know about Devan Coultrie, how he ends up in Peace, you will have to go find him. In Great Britain, that will cost you less than a pound. Across the globe, it is in equivalent currencies.
Devan Coultrie is one of Peace, Montana’s newest residents. He lives, slap bang, in the middle someplace.
So, after much anticipation, Devan Coultrie exists as a proper fictional character and not just as a figment of my imagination. He is no longer a series of inky, black, purple and green paragraphs; the back to back cups of tea and assorted versions of ‘Jolene’ have done their thing. Honestly, ‘Jolene’ is the de-facto theme tune to this book. I had Dolly and Pentatonix on loop for every single step. Right now, Cyndi Lauper and ‘At last’ is bouncing across the kitchen tiles and feels rather apt.
You can now await with eagerness, the next two titles. They are both fabulous, and allow Peace to blossom even more.
As you can see, the town of Peace is growing with a very interesting set of denizens milling about it’s boardwalk. I guess that in the same way you have Pokemon, you might want to catch them all. These series will continue to swell until the late summer; there is still lots in store for readers. Something for everyone, would describe this series really well.
So what does this mean for my future writing endeavours?
I do have things to write, two things have my focus and will occupy my for the rest of 2018. There will also be a return to gardening, I have three baby chillies on the window sill.
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