Simply stunning. Having read "The Underground Railroad", I confess to being a little reticent about deciding to read Colson Whitehead's "The Nickel Boys". I wasn't sure that it would be quite 'me'. Perhaps I was nervous that - as a white, middle class Brit - the book wouldn't resonate with me, that I'd fail to … Continue reading “The Nickel Boys”
Category: Uncategorized
So maybe poetry isn’t about the language any more…
Yesterday evening I, along with at least a couple of hundred others, sat in on the Zoom launch of the Autumn 2020 edition of The Poetry Society's quarterly tome, the Poetry Review. For some time now there has been a consistent refrain among members of the poetry groups to which I belong that an unreasonable … Continue reading So maybe poetry isn’t about the language any more…
Why as an author you shouldn’t use a Goodreads’ ‘Giveaway’…
As a member of Goodreads.com - and therefore a "Goodreads author" - I have indulged in their 'Giveaway' scheme twice now. The premise is simple: you fund 100 copies of your e-book and Goodreads runs a lottery on your behalf where members can apply for a copy which, if they are selected at random, they … Continue reading Why as an author you shouldn’t use a Goodreads’ ‘Giveaway’…
Searching for good writing…
I am currently working my way through two-hundred-and-seven submissions for an anthology of poetry and prose I plan to publish early in 2021. It's an interesting experience. As a first stage I've taken to dividing pieces into three groups: Shortlist - those that are clearly good and likely to make the final cut; Longlist - … Continue reading Searching for good writing…
“So how’s the not working / writing more thing going…?”
I confess to have been prompted to this mini self-assessment by Andrea Badgley's post Writing More Means Doomscrolling Less, and as a follow-up to my own Missing Work Already? It's not the kind of thing I normally do; I'm not a natural "look at me" kind of person - though I am belatedly realising that … Continue reading “So how’s the not working / writing more thing going…?”
“The Offing”
I really liked Benjamin Myers' "The Offing". It's a gentle, inoffensive coming-of-age tale; romantic with a small 'r'. Like most things, "The Offing" is far from perfect: perhaps it tries a little too hard early on before it gets into the swing of itself; and most sixteen-year-olds simply wouldn't have the nouse to do some … Continue reading “The Offing”
“The Shell Collector”
I daresay a case could be made to argue that it is only when a novelist is writing short stories that you get a true measure of their abilities: the need to be economical but not too sparse; the creation of a plot that is coherent but not over-blown; the establishing of character without having … Continue reading “The Shell Collector”
The 4 a.m. alarm call…
Sometimes you can do nothing about it. Unbidden a phrase or a sentence will pop into your head and not let go. It could be something new, or the need to change something old - but let's hope not borrowed!! Today gifted me one of those mornings. Reeling a little from a writers' group the … Continue reading The 4 a.m. alarm call…
Missing work already..?
Today is the first 'new Monday'; the first whole week where I can decide what I do with my time, how much I write. Staggeringly it is a month since I wrote The Daunting Prospect of Reinvention - and what's more bizarre is that it feels as if I have been footloose and fancy-free for more … Continue reading Missing work already..?
“Let the Great World Spin”
It bothered me that I took so long to finish reading Colum McCann's "Let the Great World Spin" - but in the end it was simply of question of 'it's me, not you'... I needn't have worried that it was a reflection on the quality of the book, because it isn't: "Let the Great World … Continue reading “Let the Great World Spin”
