Commuting sucks, or how I avoided the General Election
Commuting sucks. I don’t have to do it that often now but the pleasurable experience of thrusting oneself into a crowded, sweaty and smelly underground carriage for the journey to hell… sorry, Oxford Circus… does occasionally happen to me. Basically, after ten years of working in and around my home, I’ve gotten out of the habit. If it’s something you have to do day in and day out, there are little pleasures to be had, I’m sure. That seat all the way in, the space by the door that doesn’t get quite as crushed as the space in the middle,...
Free book competition
UPDATE: the competition is now being extended until the 15th of June, with winners being notified by email by the 20th. After an exhausting three days at the London Book Fair, GunBoss Books have decided to offer a little competition for Death in Amber. Two lucky bloggers will receive a $50 Amazon gift voucher and a signed copy of Death in Amber each. The rules The first 50 bloggers with fifty (50) or more followers to send an email to competition@gunboss.com will receive a copy of the ebook version of Death in Amber. You must include the link to your...
At the London Book Fair
My god, it’s huge! I have to admit my head knew the London Book Fair is one of the biggest trade events for publishers, authors and booksellers in the world, but until I actually saw all the stalls filling both sides of Earl’s Court, it hadn’t really sunk in. Granted, a lot of stalls were empty today most likely because of the ash cloud that is blighting air travel in western Europe. It didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of those attending, and I fear it will only get busier. It was good to see my Death in Amber on...
Information wants to be free – apparently
Following on from my post about new technology in publishing, the question today is: does information want to be free? From a more personal point of view, does content want to be free? This is a question that’s sparking intense debate in many circles across the net and I could easily spend days reading all the different arguments for and against the giving away of a creative’s work. My brain shudders when I think about this in terms of my personal writing – oddly, it doesn’t do a thing when I think about all the writing I do for fancyapint.com...
An author's life in the 21st century
One of my favourite quotes is from the (slightly alternative) author J. G. Ballard who said, “Any fool can write a novel but it takes real genius to sell it.” And in this day and age, he was far from wrong. If anything it’s getting ever more difficult to sell a book to an agent, much less a publisher. The number of publishers that no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts seems to be on the rise as they search for the next J. K. Rowling or Dan Brown. But what I find frustrating is that even when one writes in a...
Nostalgia seems to be catching
Maybe it’s my age – or should I say ‘our’ age as I’m blaming MyFace for reminding me of (and putting me in touch with) people I’ve not spoken to since I left University or even High School! I digress, but I think I’ve made my point. Does it serve a purpose, nostalgia? It was never as good as we remember, the rose-tinted hindsight goggles clouding the facts. If I look too closely, I’m just reminded how young, stupid and arrogant I was at the time. I knew it all then – now I know nothing. It’s also reminding me...
