The Michael Rice Scrapbook

A short story about an up-and-coming writer, who is shot at a reading of his debut novel.

From “Time Out London”, Issue 2387 (February 9-15)

 

Author Michael Rice is giving away half-price tickets for his reading at Greenway Book Shop in Charing Cross Road on Saturday, the 13th of February. Rice will be reading from his debut novel “Memoirs of an Immortal”.

 

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Owen King’s introduction to Rice’s reading (printed with kind permission from Owen King)

 

“I had just opened the shop when this ten-year-old kid walks in. He hands me a slip of paper with his name and address on it. He puts about five pound in small change on the counter and says he wants to book the space in ten years to read the novel he’s going to write. Well, we’ve moved around since then, and maybe that’s why he’s seven years late, but we found each other all the same. It’s a great honour to introduce to you tonight a fantastic author and a good friend. Please give a warm welcome to Michael Rice.”

 

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From an interview in “Time Out London”, Issue 2381 (December 22-28)

 

With 2016 just around the corner, what are you looking forward to most?

‘2016 is going to be an amazing year for me. I’ve got my first novel coming out in just a couple of months, which should generate a lot of new things for me. It took me five years of knocking on doors to get it out there, and all this time I’ve been looking at all the other stuff coming out. I’m not gonna lie, it was difficult. There’s some good stuff out there, of course, but also a lot of crap. And it makes you wonder, doesn’t it? If they publish that, why don’t they publish my crap? What are the rules here?’

 

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From the Guardian, 15 February 2016

 

Up-and-coming author Michael Rice has been fatally shot at Greenway Book Shop in London, where he was reading from his debut novel “Memoirs of an Immortal”. The shooter has been identified as George Meaks, once Rice’s friend. Motives are still unknown, but sources close to Rice and Meaks revealed that the two got into a heated argument at the beginning of the year.

 

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From the “Newham Mag”, Issue 132 (November 1999)

 

Michael Rice, 10, has won the Newham Poetry Competition about the millennium in Newham. Michael says this will give him the confidence he needs to become a writer.

When asked why he picked this piece as the winner, judge and local poet Michael Bell, who had attended the same school as Rice when he was younger, said, “His poem is so full of hope for the future. It’s exactly what I would have written at that age.”

 

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From the Guardian, 19 February 2016

 

Author Michael Rice, who was shot dead at a public reading on the 13th of February, will be laid to rest on Tuesday, the 23rd. The ceremony will be held at West Ham Cemetery.

 

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From the Guardian, 13 March 2016

 

A month after his death, British authors today paid tribute to Michael Rice, whose debut novel “Memoirs of an Immortal” has kept its place at the top of the Sunday Times bestseller list for two weeks now. “He was a talented writer, who died much too early,” says local writer Steven Rooke. Anne Patrick, member of a Newham writers group Rice attended, added, “He might have been young, but he was very mature. We were talking about how to make it as a writer, and Mike said, ‘You’ve got to be seen to be heard.’ You see, he wasn’t stupid. He understood that there’s a political side to the business.”

 

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From the Guardian, 23 March 2016

 

George Meaks, who shot and killed author Michael Rice in February, has confessed that Rice’s debut novel “Memoirs of an Immortal” was the reason behind the attack. He told the Guardian, “That book ruined our friendship. Mike used to be my best friend. I would have done anything for him without question. But what he’s written in that novel…”

 

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From the Guardian, 30 March 2016

 

Only a week after George Meaks’ confession, “Memoirs of an Immortal” by Michael Rice, which still tops the Sunday Times bestseller list in the UK, has now also reached number one of the New York Times bestseller list. Owen King, owner of Greenway Book Shop, where Rice was shot, has installed a plaque to commemorate the author.

 

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Interview in “Time Out London”, Issue 2381 (December 22-28)

 

What is your goal as a writer?

‘I want to become immortal.’

 

And what would you say is the best way to become immortal?

‘Easy. An untimely death.’

Reviews

[Chopstix]

I followed a review of yours to your portfolio where there was one, and only one, story, so I gave it a read.

Unconventional story telling. Too many authors feel that they must just tell a story from beginning to end in much the way middle school students swap annecdotes. The next step is too begin stories near a plot arch’s climax. Somewhere, authors learn to employ devices like diary entries, memos and napkin scribbles. This story’s use of a media scrapbook is good if not brilliant. Well done.

Readers must discern what’s going on with Michael Rice, a precocious perhaps prescient youth fascinated with the concept of fame as a path to immortality. Is he prescient, or manipulating events to fulfil his own prophecy. It’s up to readers to review the scraps and make their own conclusions.

The scraps, themselves, are written in media wise ways and feel comfortable. All together, I felt a bit of a “piling on” effect but not enough to loose suspension of disbelief, save a those concerning George Meaks. His objection to Rice’s novel’s content needs to be fleshed out to be believable. The question for readers becomes Is Meaks truly angry with Rice or just playing a role in Rice’s plot to gain immortality. The line “That book ruined our friendship. Mike used to be my best friend. I would have done anything for him without question. But what he’s written in that novel…” stops short of giving any meaningful information. I found it alarmingly cheesy (intentionally vague) and it caused me to pause and try to evaluate author’s intent. That is, it exposed the author in a piece which does its best to conceal its fiction.

Overall, this story is clever and well written.

[P. T. Corwin]

Thank you very much for that, Chopstix!

The funny thing is, in an earlier draft, that sentence had more to it. I read it to a group, where the suggestion came up to remove the rest to make it more vague.
I think your suggestion makes sense, though. In a situation like this, with all the rage and giving an interview, it makes more sense if he actually finishes the thought and tells the world how it affected him.

[Chopstix]

I understand your readers/listeners point. By giving Meaks an specific motive, you risk forcing them to a conclusion, depriving them of a good mystery.

I think I have a solution. Have Meaks clam up, offer no motive for killing Rice. Next, continue with the scrapbook device. An article from the Financial Times disclosing Rice's estate pays Meak's cousin a full 10% of the novel's royalties. She is a victim of a childhood disease like childhood leukemia or something of the sort, something painful and expensive to treat. Another source undercuts the conspiracy by making close links between the cousin, Rice and Meaks. She is mentioned in the novel's Acknowledgement page, Rice's reading notes has him urging the audience to donate to the Childhood Leukemia Fund and other such stuff. Good mysteries always weave red herrings into informational fabric.

Still love your story. Now if only I can convince you to work on narrative fiction and drop taht poetry thing.