CCCupid's
Evil Twin & The Coward
bbbby William Dean Ford
vvvNow available for immediate download (see link at base of page)
nnn Magellan Gold Edition*
vvv(Contains occasional strong language
and mild sexual references)
vvv"TV writer
and comedian Will Ford's book will most definitely
vvvsurprise and
delight you. It did me!" Rob Parnell
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In a
nutshell, this book contains various stories and musings,
mostly in rhyme, sometimes in song form… some
comical, some sweet, some sour, some reflective and some
rather emotionally brutal. Many of the pieces have
been performed in front of audiences. The title refers to
the two pieces that have received the best responses.
Cupid’s
Evil Twin is a story poem presented in five
‘episodes’. It was originally written to create
a sense of
cohesion to my half of a performance poetry show. Ever
the pragmatist, my idea was that if it grabbed
people in the way I hoped it would, they’d at least
stay to hear the end of the narrative piece, the
episodes of which opened, closed and punctuated my set.
Thankfully this worked.
In
keeping with that line of reasoning, the Cupid’s
Evil Twin section of the book uses the piece as
a ‘framing
device’ in the same way. So, even in the written
form, I have structured things as though putting on a
show.
Cupid’s
Evil Twin arose from a ‘what if…’
question. The love in the world (on a personal and more
general
level) is often celebrated as being the result of
Cupid’s arrows. What if the more negative emotions
people
experience were the consequence of some other
‘magical’ figure, one who went around seeking
to torture
lonely hearts and spread cynicism?
There
is some lighter material between the ‘episodes’
and there is light at the end of the tunnel for the
two people who are preyed on by Cupid’s Evil
Twin. But there is no light waiting for The
Coward…
An
unnamed narrator, sentenced to be shot after running
from a battle, writes down his thoughts during
the last night of his life. Over the course of the night,
the full realisation of how little he is worth to King
and Country during the First World War dawns on him.
The
tone of The Coward is as bleak as may be
expected of a piece telling the story of a soldier
waiting
to be shot by his own side after only being in France for
ten days.
Because
of that, the collection ends with Scroll Down,
which takes a ‘manic’ and scattergun approach
to
structure, rhythm and rhyme, and features a running gag
that engages directly with the idea that it is
being read on electronic media.
What
is meant to be taken seriously in the book was approached
with total seriousness. A piece like
Scroll Down was approached with abandon.
Attempting to sum up Cupid’s Evil Twin and
The Coward
succinctly after intentionally aiming to create a range
of emotional responses to its contents was
approached with fear and dread.
About the Author
 X
WILLIAM
DEAN FORD
After
being short-listed in a BBC script writing competition
William Dean Ford continued to pursue writing. The last
ten
years have seen him…
*
Helping devise a play with Forum Theatre group
Streetwhys and acting in it during a ‘tour’ of
more than two
dozen schools in Cardiff, South Wales
*
Attending a comedy writing course run by poet/playwright/
performer/educator Susan Richardson, which helped set him
on the road to subsequently being part of the writing
team
for short-lived HTV Wales sketch comedy show Crunch
*
Representing Cardiff at an ‘inter-city’ poetry
slam held in Bristol during the build up to the selection
of the 2008 UK City of Culture. William teamed up with
Susan Richardson for this event (at her
request after he contributed to her City of Culture
project The Great Cardiff Poem and performing
at its launch event).
*
Taking part in more poetry slams and poetry reading
events, through these experimenting with
his delivery, including acapella singing for Father of
the Bride which saw him being chased around
the performance area by Adam Foreman, at that time
wielding an imaginary chainsaw (as part of
his role in playing all the disapproving and potential
future disapproving father-in-law characters
referred to in the piece).
*
Joining Progress Cymru theatre group (Cardiff) and
directing the play Who is John Doe? by Fritz
O’Skennick (then subsequently taking the cover photo
for the novella version of the play).
*
Forming Dojo with Fritz and Adam Foreman after Progress
Cymru came to an end, so that
collaborative projects could continue in parallel with
individual projects.
*
Writing in various forms, including the first joint Dojo
piece Smells Like Christmas Spirit with
Adam and Fritz; various scripts for potential short
films; short stories for a ‘collection in
progress’;
notes for a supernaturally themed film script and
occasional jottings for a ridiculous (in a good
way) novel called The Wit and Wisdom of Wan Doom Fook.
*
Spending a couple of years contributing book and music
reviews on a monthly basis to Cardiff’s
Buzz magazine. As a reliable contributor, William
was occasionally asked to assist with writing
features. This sometimes involved interviewing featured
artists, including award winning horror
writer Tim Lebbon and comedy production company Zeitgeist
(via whom he made the contacts
that led to the chance to wrote for the aforementioned Crunch).
Cupid’s
Evil Twin and The Coward is William’s first
published collection. He is single, lives in Cardiff
and wants to thank you for your support, if you are
someone who has ever done anything, big or
small, to help him in his ‘struggle’ so far.
URGENT: This special offer price
of $9.95 will expire at
midnight,
* Magellan Gold denotes a manuscript of
superior quality, written to a professional standard by
an accomplished author.
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