Those final moments before the storm…

I finally managed this week to somehow complete my part in the process of Death of a Boxer. After a year of writing, travelling, getting punched voluntarily by older fighters, late nights, fraught nerves, and worry, I seem to be done.

The proofs came to me late last Friday and I’ve read over the book again, finding a few niggles here and there—the errant comma, the missed full stop, etc… Now, the book goes to the proofreader who will do their own magic before it gets sent around the middle of January to the printers before coming out in bookstores across the UK from 20 February.

It has been a long process, much of it expected. And it’s been a blast, both on the reporting and writing sides, and on the production side. I’ve worked with Biteback closely on this one, from the first days when I was batting silly ideas at Mark Wallace (“An erotic memoir of yours is one thing, Pete, but we need a book, not the back of a stamp.”), to the initial meetings with James Stephens and Olivia Beattie at Biteback Publishing, and then the editing process with the incredibly patient Ryan Norman.

And I have to say that has gone incredibly smoothly (although I’m not sure what the team would say from their side). I’m happy that we’ll be working on A Duel of Bulls together, which will tell the story of the ‘friendship’ between Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway.

What I’ve buried the lede on so far is that while it’s my picture and name that will be on the front of Death of a Boxer, this has ultimately been a team effort. Thanks, guys.

When I sat down on Monday to read again the 77,000 words that make up Death of a Boxer, I spent the first twenty-plus pages hating the fact that I was reading it AGAIN. But then a curious thing happened. I’ve said from the start that the book was really a series of love stories, and in reading it, I began falling in love again with everyone that is in it.

It has, indeed, been a lovely feeling. And as biased as I am, I have to say that the book is pretty f---ing good.

The next steps will be revealed soon, but we have already gotten some great endorsements and feedback on the book, and I’m speaking with Runcorn Shopping City this week about doing a reading there when the book is released that will also be a fundraiser for Runcorn ABC.

See you further up the road.