From TV to YA...by Peter Cocks

Peter's debut thriller, Long Reach

I have never considered myself a crime writer.

With a background in writing children’s TV, comedy and drama, I have had to bend my mind and writing skills – such as they may be -  to a wide variety of genres.

From Basil Brush, to animations such as The Cramp Twins,  to sketch writing on kid’s magazine shows from SMTV to Ministry of Mayhem. From shows that were commissioned from my ideas to ‘gun for hire’ work…even putting ‘words’ in Sooty’s mouth!

Peter cut his teeth writing gags for Basil

As TV budgets shrank, and my ambitions increased, I found that the more expensive ideas just could not find a home in British TV any more. My writing partner of 15 years, Mark Billingham (who you will now know as a best-selling crime author) and I pitched an idea to BBC for a long running , spooky kids thriller called Triskellion. The idea went through all the necessary development hoops but failed at the last hurdle: finance.

When Mark was approached by Walker Books to write for the young adult market, we developed the Triskellion idea into a trilogy of books for the 11+ age group with some success in the UK and USA

With Mark up and running as a best-selling novelist, I began to think of ideas for my next book.

I looked around and saw a market saturated with fantasy, from Harry Potter to Twilight. I also noticed that these books aimed at teens and young adults were being widely read by an older adult audience. Readers who want strong stories, simply told.

Skins: which books are equivalent?

With young, teenage kids of my own, and taking into account my TV background, I also saw that a wide gap had developed in programming. Most new shows were being made for pre-school age and the older programming was patronising and missing the mark for kids who had been brought up on Friends and were now watching Skins, Waterloo Road and Inbetweeners….Where are the books that do this?

I set out to write an unpatronising book aimed at these young adults. I felt I should write at an adult level, not shy away from strong emotion, language, sex, drugs and violence, addressing issues that might be part of my reader’s lives. So, I created Eddie, a 17 year old protagonist, guided by an inaccurate moral compass.

I put him, as an antidote to fantasy, in a gritty, violent, but also glamorous and tempting world where his moral standpoint would be tested on every level.

Eddie Savage is an everyman…you’d like him as your mate. He’s as tough as you’d like to be, but his need for emotional fulfilment makes him an attractive figure for readers of both sexes.

My novel Long Reach was published earlier this year. Early signs are good: Eddie is picking up male and female fans everywhere, and many of my reviews come from readers in their 30s and 40s. I am also getting feedback from schools telling me that reluctant readers, and teenage boys in particular, are relating to Eddie and reading at last.

I hope I have crossed over, and put a crime-based novel squarely into the YA readership. See what you think…

View the trailer for Long Reach here

Peter Cocks and Keren David are appearing at the Hay Festival on June 4, talking about thrillers. From the programme: These two compelling writers know how to deliver their thrillers ice-cold. Join them as they talk flawed heroes, plot twists and danger.
Book tickets here