The company we keep

What do the following people have in common?

a) environmentally-friendly knob-twiddler Moby
b) rude diary-scribbler Samuel Pepys
c) my good self

No - you're never going to get it. Give it up. I'll have to tell you.

Extracts from our diaries (or blogs in the case of a and c) appear together in a forthcoming educational publication. The task is for students to compare and contrast 3 differing styles of journal writing. And I can't help but feel that I'm going to suffer in this comparison.

I mean, out of all the successful and talented authors out there furiously blogging on a variety of erudite subjects, why pick me? 'More news about my shed' - fascinating.

The lesson - if there is one - is this: I must write something a bit more interesting here in future. But don't get your hopes up too high.

Here's a thing

I've been slogging away on a book for several months now, without any great inspiration coming my way. The other night, having just had my PC repaired, I decided to have a look through the 'Documents' folder to see what I might have lost if it hadn't proven fixable. And there I found a synopsis I wrote a couple of years ago, for a book that never got commissioned. I read it through again and thought 'Blimey! That's actually pretty good!' I very rarely come up with a synopsis first, 'preferring' to plough ahead, as with my current project, with little clear idea of where I'm going.

So faced with the choice - carry on with something that isn't really inspiring me at the moment, or flesh out a good story that is already mapped out for me - I've had a drastic change of direction. And it's really exciting! I hope for a flurry of creativity over the coming weeks.

Noah's Ark

I'd just like to point out that if you search for my name on Amazon, you will find that I'm supposed to have co-written a book called 'Noah's Ark', again with Nick Sharratt.

I didn't write it, honest, and I'm not sure why Amazon think I did.

Just wanted to clear that up. Buy it anyway - I'm sure it will be good.

Snot even published yet...

...but the second book in the Gorgeously Gross Guides series - The Icky, Sticky, Snot and Blood Book - is already being advertised on Amazon. Throw money at them now, and enjoy the book when it comes out in September.

And I'm sorry about the nasal artefact on the front - not my idea. Strangely, several people who were quite prepared to tug a very lifelike tongue said they wouldn't touch a bogey, thank you very much. We will see if this has an effect on sales.

It's a Con!

I thought long and hard about going to Orbital - Eastercon 2008 (and if you don't know what it is, have a look here) but eventually decided against it. Let's see if that was the right decision:

For:

It was near Heathrow, which is as near as it has been for a long time (Bradford next year, for instance)

A friend of mine (the lovely Tanith Lee) was one of the Guests of Honour

There were several other GoHs whose work I've read, eg China Mieville, Neil Gaiman

My sometime agent John Jarrold was there, presenting the BSFA Awards

There was a bar

There were some very interesting sessions, including one by the very talented John Kaiine

There was a bar

Against:

It was expensive

It was snowing

I've never been to one before, and don't know if they are a) a hoot or b) full of people with poor social skills dressed as Klingons (the people, not the social skills)

The missus was not keen, for the above 3 reasons

There was a bar

So, let's look at the scores...

Yup - looks like I should have gone. :-(