Will le Fleming

Immortality comes in many shapes and guises. Illusory, for example. Sporting. Celluloid. But here is an offer unlike any other: the chance for immortality within a story. One character, in a forthcoming novel, bearing your name (or a name of your choice).

This could be you…

Think of the famous characters of the past: Mr Pickwick, Elizabeth Bennett, Becky Sharp. James Bond. Now squint, and imagine that a novel as yet unwritten by a new writer will be feted in 200 years’ time. Not easy, I know – and I try doing it all the time – but give it a go.

So here is how this works. There is such a thing as the People’s Book Prize. It is a Very Good Thing: a democratic book award. Wholly decided by public vote. It is designed to uncover new writing talent, raise the profile of libraries and celebrate reading. If you disapprove of any of these goals, then the life of beauty is a thing alien to you. Fact.

So my book, Central Reservation, is up for this prize. And, I confess, I hope that you’ll read the book, or read the sample on the prize website, and vote for it by the deadline of 20 May.

However: even I draw the line at offering incentives for random punters to vote for a book they haven’t read.

So: for your name in a novel, you do not need to vote for Central Reservation. You simply need to spread the word about the prize. Send an email about it to any book-minded friends, encouraging them to vote, before 20 May. BCC author@willlefleming.com. Your name will then be in the draw for the chance to be transmuted into fictional gold. I even promise not to make the character a horrible person unless the name really, really suits it…