The answer to the question is under 'Extras' - 'Author interviews'
The Christoph Fischer, Gynger Fyer and Jennifer Sage interviews have already moved to their new home, and the other author interviews will follow shortly.
Wednesday 2 April 2014
Tuesday 1 April 2014
The Valleys
Quite a few of the stories in my upcoming short story anthology are based in the valleys.
What a setting. The close-knit community spirit. The beautiful scenery. Families that have passed from generation to generation. Frustration at being isolated with few opportunities and often little to do.
So you might think that I'd be drawn to the TV reality programme The Valleys.
I have tried to watch it, because I am curious. But I keep putting my hands over my eyes. It is painful stuff.
I've spent quite a bit of time in the Garw valleys; my best friend lives there. And the show is definitely not a good depiction of the real, salt-of-the-earth people who live there.
What a setting. The close-knit community spirit. The beautiful scenery. Families that have passed from generation to generation. Frustration at being isolated with few opportunities and often little to do.
So you might think that I'd be drawn to the TV reality programme The Valleys.
I have tried to watch it, because I am curious. But I keep putting my hands over my eyes. It is painful stuff.
I've spent quite a bit of time in the Garw valleys; my best friend lives there. And the show is definitely not a good depiction of the real, salt-of-the-earth people who live there.
Dreams
And so my wife wakes me up at 3 in the morning by slapping my arm.
"Right, who Is it we need to talk to?" She asks. She is assertive with her approach and I am impressed by her authoritative tune.
Next day I ask her what it was all about. "I thought were were two of the field agents on 24," she said. "We had to get answers quick because the President was about to be assassinated."
Wow, I thought. I'm glad I didn't try to guess!
"Right, who Is it we need to talk to?" She asks. She is assertive with her approach and I am impressed by her authoritative tune.
Next day I ask her what it was all about. "I thought were were two of the field agents on 24," she said. "We had to get answers quick because the President was about to be assassinated."
Wow, I thought. I'm glad I didn't try to guess!
Monday 31 March 2014
Facebook night out
ave you ever been on a Facebook night out?
Have you ever understood a single question I've ever asked?
Okay, ask yourself this.
Have you been on a night out where you cannot do a single thing without needing to smile and say cheese for the cameras? You buy a burger and somebody excitedly says 'let's take a picture of you with a burger.' You take a sip of a drink and you have to look all happy. You stand at the toilet and whip it out and...
Okay maybe I'm confusing my nights.
Anyway you return home thinking 'never again,' have a quick browse on the net and your ugly mug (I'm talking about you, not me) is already staring back at you with captions like 'best night ever' 'had so much fun.'
I think I must be getting old and grumpy. Okay, I am old and grumpy.
But do we have to prove to the world what a great time we are all having?
Have you ever understood a single question I've ever asked?
Okay, ask yourself this.
Have you been on a night out where you cannot do a single thing without needing to smile and say cheese for the cameras? You buy a burger and somebody excitedly says 'let's take a picture of you with a burger.' You take a sip of a drink and you have to look all happy. You stand at the toilet and whip it out and...
Okay maybe I'm confusing my nights.
Anyway you return home thinking 'never again,' have a quick browse on the net and your ugly mug (I'm talking about you, not me) is already staring back at you with captions like 'best night ever' 'had so much fun.'
I think I must be getting old and grumpy. Okay, I am old and grumpy.
But do we have to prove to the world what a great time we are all having?
Thinking outside the box
Now, 'thinking outside the box' is most definitely a cliche, unless of course you are outside a box and having a good old think, in which case it is merely a description.
Anyway, back to planet earth.
When I was sixteen a sent a letter to The Daily Mail. It got published and I earnt myself a fiver. It was the Junior Letters section, and to make the letter look more impressive, I said that I was fourteen rather than sixteen.
'Thinking outside the box,' my dad said.
'Lying little cheat,' my mum said.
What relevance is all this, I hear you ask.
Very little, I secretly think.
I am going to interview an avid reader, as opposed to an avid writer. Why? Because they are a vital piece of the jigsaw. Does a tree falling in a forest make a noise if nobody hears it? Would writers write if there were no readers?
I think it will be fascinating, and of interest to both readers and writers.
Thinking outside the box?
I'm not sure, but it sounds good either way.
Anyway, back to planet earth.
When I was sixteen a sent a letter to The Daily Mail. It got published and I earnt myself a fiver. It was the Junior Letters section, and to make the letter look more impressive, I said that I was fourteen rather than sixteen.
'Thinking outside the box,' my dad said.
'Lying little cheat,' my mum said.
What relevance is all this, I hear you ask.
Very little, I secretly think.
I am going to interview an avid reader, as opposed to an avid writer. Why? Because they are a vital piece of the jigsaw. Does a tree falling in a forest make a noise if nobody hears it? Would writers write if there were no readers?
I think it will be fascinating, and of interest to both readers and writers.
Thinking outside the box?
I'm not sure, but it sounds good either way.
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