Quote in Alone, Series 5
If you watch The History Channel on television, then you might be familiar with an outdoor survival programme called Alone. It's now in its fifth series, having first aired in 2015, and has 2.5 million viewers.
I'm delighted to announce that a quote from one of my books features in the new series. It reads: "Nature, in her untamed state, is savage and unrelenting". It originally appeared in my book A Meaningful Life, but now appears in the extended edition of Wild Carp.
Alone: Redemption
The blurb for the new series of Alone, entitled 'Redemption' states:
"Ten returning participants attempt redemption on Alone Season 5 in Mongolia, a frigid and remote region at the edge of Siberia. There, they will be put to the ultimate test of will and human endurance surviving as long as they can, completely isolated and alone, with nothing but the contents of a small backpack. Each individual must create their own shelters, catch food from the land, overcome the harsh foreign terrain, bitter cold, and contend with a host of deadly predators. They will truly be on their own. No camera crew. No gimmicks. Last one standing wins."
It's rather a fitting subject given that wild (feral) strains of carp have survived against all odds here in the UK, escaping predation and cross-breeding with modern strains of carp since medieval times.
How it came about
Out of the blue. Just as I hoped it would.
As an author, I've always wanted my writing to stand on its own – with no brash publicity or hype – just letting the words speak for themselves. If people like my writing, then I hope they'll keep reading and tell others about how much they're enjoying my books, blogs and articles. That's why, when I 'launched' Fennel's Journal in 2012, I decided to share sample chapters on my website and upload the best quotes to Goodreads and Pinterest. It puts you in control of my destiny. With my writing 'out there', who knows what it can achieve in its own quiet way?
On 4th October 2016 I received an email from a researcher working for an American TV production company. She said that the producers had discovered my writing online and would like to use one of my quotes in their upcoming reality TV series.
Of course, I was delighted. But as I'm not a frequent watcher of television (I'd much rather read a book), I'd never heard of the programme. I thought at first it might be a sort of 'Big Brother' or 'Love Island' sort of thing, but after some careful searching online I discovered that it was an outdoors survival programme. Just the sort of series that supports by brand message about 'getting outside, away from all the nonsense'. And the programme had a reputation for the sourcing of its quotes, indeed there was a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to the quotes used over the years. (Other authors quoted included famous adventurers and outdoorsmen such as Sir Edmund Hillary, Ernest Shackleton, Henry David Thoreau and Ernest Hemingway. How great it woud be to have my name alongside theirs!)
So I agreed with the researcher's request and signed the Materials Release.
Approval given
And then it went quiet
The quote had been intended for use in Programme 1 of Series 3 being produced that year. When the TV programme aired, I waited for my quote to appear. It never materialised, in that episode or the rest of the series. I contacted the producers, who explained that that my quote would be kept in reserve for 'potential use' in a future programme.
Ho hum. 'Close, but no cigar.' I'd decided to keep plodding along with my writing, waiting for my big break. It felt like hand-knitting a trawl net, but I knew that eventually my words would draw people in.
Surprise appearance
I'd forgotten about the agreement until last week, when I received a text message from my friend Martin Herrington. He'd sat down to watch the new (fifth) series of Alone and there – totally by surprise to him – was my quote.
Martin's text instructed me to turn on the television and go to The History Channel, because the programme was airing right now. But I couldn't do it as I was away on business, in a hotel with a broken TV. So Martin took a photo of the programme on his television and sent it to me. This is the picture you can see above.
Thank you Martin for sharing the big moment.
Impact of appearing in the show
Not a lot. At least not from a commercial or 'fame' sense.
The good news is that the paparazzi didn't take up residence outside my house and I didn't get hordes of survival enthusiasts camped out in my garden. Life went on as before. Quiet and gentle, just how I like it.
I did get a handful of extra book sales, and I noticed that my eBook sales had spiked in June (when the series had aired in America), but that was all – at least from a 'have I suddenly become a successful author?' point of view. I did, however, notice a proliferation of my quotes appearing on the internet. It seemed that my writing was indeed speaking for itself.
Quotes, everywhere!
Google appeared to be full of my quotes. Lots of people had decided to use my words to illustrate their websites, books and gift cards. All were helping to spread the popularity of my writing, so I was – and am – delighted to see my writing appear in any form so long as I get attributed to the quote.
Here's a sample of some of the quotes that have arisen since my words appeared in Alone:
What's next?
I ought to get more of my quotes 'out there'. Currently I've only posted quotes from four of my back-catalogue of nearly 30 books, so there are loads more to share. Though this will be a pleasant side task. My real focus is in republishing that back catalogue so that you can read the books and not just the quotes. In other words, I need to build the boat and push it out to sea before I cast out that hand-tied net.
One task, one word, at a time.
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