What's next for Blood Red Sky?
This writing journey started on New Year’s Day 2020. It started off about a young boy whose older brother was in prison, but as the pandemic unfolded and I became aware of the impact of same on children and families affected by the remand situation, the novel evolved into what it is today.
Blood Red Sky tells the story of Aaron Smith, remanded into custody right before the pandemic hits Scotland. When you are remanded into custody it means that you have been arrested but bail cannot be granted for a variety of reasons; including that you have no fixed abode or the crime you have been charged with is so serious that it poses a risk to the public.
In Aaron’s case, he is 16 and his parents can’t afford to have him in the house overnight with bail conditions; they are struggling to feed their other children and have to foresake one to save the others. This is a common situation and can be the beginning of a journey for youngsters into custody. The reader must remember that you can be remanded before being found guilty of the crime at trial. Remand periods can vary due to the backlog in court proceedings which ground to almost a complete halt initially during the pandemic.
At the time of writing this book, children such as Aaron were sent to HMP Young Offenders Institutes in Scotland. This could be done for a number of reasons; a serious crime, lack of bail OR most shockingly as a ‘bed’ if no beds in secure care facilities were available. This lead to vulnerable children who were perhaps homeless or without family being sent there by the courts (without being found guilty of a crime) as there was nowhere else to send them. I am delighted to say that this practice stopped in 2024 following change in legislation in Scotland (Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024). This was momentous, as ‘at least 51 prisoners aged 21 and under have died in Scottish jails since 1995. Sixteen of them (fourteen of whom died by suicide) were aged nineteen while thirteen were aged eighteen or under (all suicides). All but one of the suicides involved hanging.’ In my mind there was an emergency taking place inside HMP YOI. I will write a lot more about this another time.
I tried the usual avenues to get published and was actually signed by an agent for a few days before I terminated the contract; she was very keen to monetise these stories but wanted a full rewrite. I declined. I wanted the story to be about exactly what it is about; a care experienced boy remanded into custody and forgotten by the world once the pandemic hits. I was offered a publishing contract by Arkbound in September 2024 and I accepted; whilst this would involve a lot more work from me in terms of publicity their values and ethics were in line with mine and they have a long history of championing books that aim to make society a better place.
While writing the 10 or so drafts I had help from so many people I don’t even know where to start, but let’s just say the community got behind this. I had people from Social Work, Police Scotland, a Sheriff from our local court, Education, family, friends, teachers and even my 12 year old son read it and help me to get it right. I am forever grateful to an ex pupil who is currently in prison who has allowed me to be a part of his journey; he has proof read the whole thing and kept me right about it all and he hopes that the end product helps to keep someone else out of prison and on the right path.
The crowdbound page opened on March 1st and the response was phenomenal; the target was set at £4k and was met within 4 days. This was unprecedented and we closed the page to allow for some reflection. The baseline cost of publishing the book had been met. However, there are still more funds to raise; we want to create an audiobook, as well as hire a specialist publicist who can engage with education programmes in prisons in the UK, Ireland and beyond. We want to hire someone to make school resources so this book can be taught in Scottish schools initially and then wider; we want this story out there so that youngsters who have either been in conflict with the law or had a family member in prison to see themselves represented in accessible literature.
I am privileged to be in a wonderful Fife band called The Long Road; I was invited to form this band with one of my best friends Craig, along with Mark, Olly and Ewan. Craig’s songwriting is phenomenal and I was asked in to play piano. I have played piano since I was about 5 but always for fun; never in a band but I was approaching 40 and thought; what do I have to lose? I am so grateful that I took this opportunity because it has shaped my life in a new and fun way. One of our songs Voices is a stunning power ballad and it has been woven into the book. Our lead guitarist Ewan is in another band Got Got Need; I call this band The Man Band as they remind me of 90s rock and roll but they also have a soft side (recently I was invited to play on a recording with them on Tears(For Her) and we are all playing a gig in Kirkcaldy at The King’s Theatre on April 25th where the proceeds will go towards the publication of the book. To top it all off we have the outstanding musicians The Coaltown Daisies joining us too; these women are powerhouses of folk and have also invited me to play a song with them, and we also have Dave Wood playing an acoustic set. I am deeply grateful to all of these musicians for donating their time and good humour (minus the Irish accents please).
Lots of friends and family have said the page closed for donations before they got a change to donate; it will be opened again on Monday 21st April for anyone who wants to donate.
After the gig the crowdfunding will come to an end and Arkbound will get on with their editing. The launch is planned for 4 November in Waterstones, Kirkcaldy and I would love to see you there, if you can make it.
Thank you for reading this far.
Sara
If you wish to read more about the removal of HMP YOI as care for children, or about the deaths in custody please do so here
CYCJ hails the removal of all children from HMP & YOI Polmont as a momentous day
Jailed, Failed, Forgotten Dani Garavelli on suicides in state custody