It is no secret that we at ESF love the book Terminal Chancer written by James "Boo" Gilbraith. We got the chance to ask Boo a few questions and get to know the man behind the book.
Boo, thanks for taking some time to speak to us, tell us a little about yourself?
It’s a pleasure Pete – what can I say about myself that can connect with your readers. As eleven year old little lads me and my mates fished on our local pond, the lily pond. A sizable rectangular Edwardian ornamental pond in Witton Park created by one of Blackburn's most powerful families the Feildings. This pond had rudd, roach, perch, crucian carp and tench. That’s where all my dreams were held. Under the surface of that pond – while gently falling asleep at night slowly closing your eyes - all I could see was the red top off my float disappearing. I am now 46 years old and thankfully none of those feelings have dimmed.
What is a Terminal Chancer about?
It’s about following your passions and getting swept away with them. Terminal Chancer is all about embracing the quiet chaos of fishing in the modern world and reclaiming head space outside of the mainstream.
As John Lennon sang in Beautiful Boy – Life is just what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
When did you realise you wanted to write a book?
It’s always been the dream – get paid for what you love doing. The lifestyle Holy Grail of turning your time into sustained contentment – living at your own pace and following what you love, making your own choices.
Have you done anything similar in the past that gave you an idea of how best to go about it?
The only thing I had going for me was that I write – all the time – about fishing. Sometimes I would publish on the salmon fishing forum to test the water, kick ideas around and to gather feedback. The traditional formats and routes to mainstream publishing seemed so protracted and ungainly. I could write all sorts and post it direct to my target audience. I didn’t need anything else.
The idea of covering a season is an interesting one although there is some reflection from your childhood too. Was “a year in the life of” the plan from the start?
Yes – I always wanted to convey the pace of the season and the sense of living in cycles.
When sitting down to write do you have some sort of plan and decide you’ll write a chapter today or do you start writing and let it flow?
Well I work full time and have a family so I can only start to write when the kids are in bed but I always start with an idea, quote or comment from my note book then start a mind map in the centre of on an A4 pad – pen, beer, red wine, plenty of music, while next to an open fire. Then I see where that lot takes me.
In the writing process do you get each chapter proof read or did you present the finished article for someone to read?
I wrote it all then asked my friend to proof read it for me – she was far from happy.
Did you need to take out or change much of it?
I was changing some aspects of the text right up until the day it went to print. The book has been a combination of friends doing favours – Lee Walsh did the type setting in his spare time – he’s a musician and a furniture designer! I think I sent him the final draft about 14 times….in the end I think he thought I was taking the piss.
You self published the book, was the conscious decision to do so?
No – I wanted a massive publishing deal with a mammoth advance! Unfortunately I had no inside track to any publisher – I sent the first three chapters to two well known fishing publishers but neither wanted the book. This didn’t surprise me, it was expected really because I collect and read angling books – I knew it would be difficult to pitch an unknown author, writing a crazy book in what had become a stale, strangled genre. Take a walk around WH Smith or even Waterstones – not a fishing book to be seen. Stores gripped by the fear of financial failure. They have to focus on the bottom line and sterile, heartless banality is the rub, the sand in the Vaseline. If you want something unfettered and pure – you won’t find it in the majors.
Have you found “going it alone” more flexible?
Well it means total control – I write what I want to write. I decide on how much my work is worth. I don’t have to take a 50 or 60% off retail price to stock it in shops – I can sell it slowly through my own website’s shop. Obviously there is a yin and yang deal in terms of marketing the book. It’s a slow process of reader referrals and reviews from different sources – like ESF for example. However this also means that I avoid the soul sucking game of thrones success model of the mainstream media.I have never known anything other than going it alone – all the best things are always independent. Check your record collection & bookshelf for verification of this statement – nothing cool came out of a committee - I didn’t need an editor or publisher telling me what to write and who to write it for.
Has the whole process been an enjoyable experience?
Totally – I loved it. Elements of sadism when I gave myself a brutal deadline while riding a sharp learning curve but holistically speaking how can I complain? My time, my money, my talent – I will gladly back myself.
Tell us a little about your fishing pal Lamont. Is he real or has the name been changed to protect the innocent?!
Lamont is very real – he is a cash cow – the gift that keeps giving perpetual material. If Steve Coogan ever got hold of him – he would sack all his writers.
We are big fans of Terminal Chancer at ESF. How have your fellow anglers on the Ribble received it?
Thankfully I haven’t been greeted by an angry mob. Luckily it’s been applauded by my peers with most of them identifying with the book and its refreshing, irreverent tone. It’s been warmly received with most rods saying the book's brilliant. It’s really gratifying, although I have been weirded out signing books for anglers whom I admire greatly.
The book is set mainly on your home water, the Ribble. If you could fish anywhere else where would it be?
I am trying to save up to fish on the Ponoi. Lamont and I want to do it before we are fifty.
One of the refreshing aspects of the book is that you fish the appropriate method for the conditions so it might be worms, spinner, prawn or fly. What is your favourite?
I suppose it would have to be the fly – just because it’s the easiest bait delivery system: light, uncomplicated and compact. I need the contrast of different methods; I crave it and revel in it. I couldn’t think of anything worse than depriving myself of choice.
Is it just salmon fishing for you?
No – I have always just loved to fish. I prefer to be mobile and travel light but the quarry is irrelevant. You won’t catch me in a transit van full of carp gear or pushing a wheelbarrow full of barbel tackle. I take my son fly fishing for grayling and brownies on the river. I fish for barbel when the river is low but I refuse to make it into a performance. I take one rod, a pocket full of bits and bobs and a folding chair. In 2010 I caught a Barbel on the double hander by super gluing a halibut pellet to a size ten hook and using an intermediate spey line with a fast sinking tip. I just stood there for an hour until the line started running and I landed a lovely 6lb fish. The river is a playground. I find salmon its greatest challenge.
What is next for The Terminal Chancer?
I am still looking for my first ribble twenty – so that’s my quest. I have a couple of trips in 2015, one to Norway and another to the south Esk in Scotland. The follow up book is already germinating and I should have it ready for November the 1st 2015. Danny and I are also working on a kids' book……with less drugs and profanity.
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