Hollywood has been doing it for years. Once a franchise starts to run out of steam, the come up with a Prequel. What happen before the story begins?  With the popular Batman series, they came up with “Batman Begins” to set the scene.  Could this technique work for books? Chris Day of Filament Publishing thinks it could, but with a twist!

In an era of short attention spans, and the constant distraction from social media, Short Stories are, once again coming into their own.  They are easy to digest and can be enjoyed and appreciated when travelling, over a coffee break or even as an escape from social media.   The genre of anthologies has been popular for years with multiple authors contributing a chapter to a book.

But are we missing a trick? What if authors were to tease potential new readers  for their book by writing a chapter long prequel? What better way to raise interest in their title by introducing their characters in a short story, set before their main book begins?

Certainly J.K. Rowling has excelled in creating a back story for most of her characters to introduce the reader to them, with all their quirks, habits, likes and dislikes.  This hassled to an additional range of books such a Beadle the Bard.  When we next meet one of her characters in one of her books, we feel we already know them and can anticipate how they will react to any situation.   Backstory is a powerful way to create interest and context for a book.  You only have to look at Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Transformers, X-men or even The Godfather!

So Filament are planning a new series of back story books for people who already know the ending, but don’t know how the story began.  We will be seeking published authors who would like to introduce readers to the worlds and the people they have created which they then go onto develop in their books.  What dark secrets might they share?

For those who have yet to read their book, what better way could there be to attract new readers?

For more informmation, get in touch!   07802 211587