Published today: “Shrapnel from a Writing Life”

“Shrapnel from a Writing Life” is not a conventional book. It is neither fiction nor poetry, though it contains elements of both; nor is it strictly autobiographical, though it does present a partial life seen through a very particular lens. Also, it is not a book which lends itself to be ‘read’ in a standard manner; there is no ‘normal’ narrative flow to permit such an experience.

The majority of the text concerns itself with the notes made during those thirty-seven years as the author attempted to work out not only what to write, but how to write; as he became absorbed in the minutiae of plot and character during the process of weighing-up or refining an idea. And it also lays bare the considerable angst which accompanies such struggle. Thus rough notes on an idea for a novel might be followed by more generic planning, consideration of the impact of paid work on his writing life, the nature of writing versus art, or the output from the kind of internal debates surely all writers must experience.