T's Stuff: The Corridor by Vic Neal

Thursday, March 26, 2020

The Corridor by Vic Neal

Author: Vic Neal

Narrator: Jack Hardman

Length: 8 hours 32 minutes

Series: Oxford Uni Corridor Series, Book 1

Publisher: Nice Cake Publishing Ltd

Released: Feb. 14, 2020

Genre: Humor

The Corridor is a documentary-style comedy which follows the lives of a group of Oxford students through their conversations, tweets, emails, video diaries, and text messages. Rather than attending lectures and writing essays, the students are more interested in their bizarre clubs, secret dining societies, and organizing rebellions.

Based loosely on the experiences of an Oxford student, The Corridor exposes the famous seat of learning which has continued to excrete our most reprehensible leaders for hundreds of years.

A must-listen book for anyone thinking of becoming a prime minister/anarchist.

Vic studied at Oxford for four years, and now lives and works in the West Midlands in the United Kingdom. The Corridor is her debut novel, which she boldly claims is "a bit funny in parts". Vic has just published the sequel to The Corridor and is now working on a number of new titles - including a historical fiction based on a chance encounter between Lord Byron, King George III and Frankenstein (working title: "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Sew"). Her aim is to become somebody somewhere’s favourite author.

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Jack is an actor from the East Midlands. He trained at Millennium Performing Arts college and has been acting most of his life.

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Q&A with Author Vic Neal

How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
- By writing lots of different types of books. As well as The Corridor series (which is a comedy set in an Oxford University corridor) I am writing a romantic spy thriller series, and have starred a historical fiction novel. I know they say you should stick to one genre as a writer, but I just can’t! I have to do different things to keep me enthused.
If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
- I have always wanted to see what Anne Boleyn looked like in the flesh. She must have been absolutely beautiful to tempt Henry VIII into parting ways with his powerful, longstanding wife, as well as with the Papacy. I’d be terrified of Tudor London, however. Can you imagine the sights, smells and characters? Scary times!
If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
- I’d like to give the roles to some young, unknown, aspiring actors. Having said that, in volume 2 I introduce a new character - a handsome lecturer called Dr Piers, and I can only picture Henry Cavill in the role!
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- I think they are missing out. Audiobooks are such a treat. Having someone read aloud to you is one of the finest pleasures in life. And there are so many talented voice actors out there. Alex Wyndham, Richard Armitage, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Emma Gregory (as well as Jack who narrated The Corridor) are just a few of my absolute favourites.
How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- I think I started the sequel almost straight away, I had so many ideas buzzing in my head after finishing the first Corridor novel that I had to get them down on paper. Then, I think I made a cake! Cake and coffee is my favourite treat combination.
Have any of your characters ever appeared in your dreams?
- No! Sadly not! I really wish Franklin Bright (from my other series of books - Agent Benjy Green series) would turn up! He is my guilty pleasure.
What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- For writing slumps - deadlines. If I’m not strict on myself I’ll spend years on end refining chapter 1 and never getting around to chapter 2. Reading slumps are easy - just try something new. Go daring! Also, I’m an audiobook addict, so I’m always happy to try the deal of the day on Audible or a word of mouth suggestion.
What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Don’t listen to “writing rules” or Youtubers who say there are lists of “do’s and don’ts” to follow. I really think a great writer can break all of these rules and make a brilliant book despite everything. If you have faith in your story and your characters, then write what you want, how you want! We are so lucky to be able to publish our books at the click of a few buttons, so seize the moment, get writing and let your book make its mark on the world!
Do you have any tips for authors going through the process of turning their books into audiobooks?
- It’s far less scary and much easier than you think! I thought it would take ages and that I would never find a narrator who would fit the story, but Jack was perfect from the get-go! Amazon’s ACX series is truly fantastic at linking authors with talented narrators. I never thought I would hear my book being spoken aloud by someone, and I’m so happy that I was given this opportunity.
What’s next for you?
- Volume 2 is out on the Kindle store, and the audiobook is in the process of being recorded. I’m also writing another series of books (a spy romance drama called the Agent Benjy Green series), which I’m hoping to turn into an audiobook too!