I was told, last night, by the lovely folks at the library where I run my writing group that the event we/they put on for World Book Day (I blogged about it here here and here) raised the most money in the area for Book Aid.

So three cheers for the library. Three cheers for the group who read wonderfully. And three cheers to all my supercool author chums who donated their books to be raffled.

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So, one week you're extremely pleased that a story of yours has appeared in an extremely cool place (3 :AM). And then the next week that extremely cool place mentions a band who a) you grew up listening to and b) influenced you hugely (The Clash). And then you notice that they've interviewed a member of that band.

Very cool.

And to celebrate...

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Just as an avid reader will have a favourite book, there will be another bookworm who has a favourite store. For me, it's the branch of Barnes and Noble in the Gramercy/Flatiron district of New York. Nestled in Union Square, the store boasts a relaxed atmosphere and unlike a lot of other bookshops, you can browse (and read!) until you heart's content.

Gleaned from Wikipedia...Barnes and Noble, dating back to 1893, is the largest book retailer in the United States, many of which have a Starbucks instore - yum, smell that coffee. There are 798 shops across the 50 states. And apparently the original bookstore was located at 31 West 15th St, having opened during World War I. This one at Union Square has featured in several movies, including Conspiracy Theory (1997, featuring Mel Gibson).

Having visited in early 2007 and went on the rampage with my credit card (nine books bought in total, including some hard-to-find-in-the-UK Larry McMurtry), nothing would stop me in my quest to re-visit this Barnes and Noble the following Christmas - not even the yellow tape the NYPD uses to seal off crime scenes! Seeing the police tape stretching out in front of me as I meandered down Broadway, my heart pounded. The light canter turned into a fully-fledged run....closer...then closer.....phew....thankfully the tape had just about spared the door of Barnes and Noble (and was attached, I think, to Bath and Body Works, or Sephora instead) so I went in for another visit. Never mind the full-scale alert, I was inside.



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I was a bit sceptical when asked to review this slim volume of five, each story set in a different country, especially as the point of view is resolutely male. However, I was swept along by the strong voice and the authentic settings . The blurb says they are 'redolent of Maughan (sic) and Hemingway'; for me they they recall DH Lawrence's intensity and sense of 'otherness', whether of place or state of mind.


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A short interlude from the existential identity discussions - and back to short stories! I have just posted/published/made my eyes screwy to upload April 2009 Issue of The Short Review. Here is a little about what we have this month:

In Memoriam: The Short Review is deeply saddened by the death of J G Ballard, the author of 22 short story collections and 19 novels. For a taste of Ballardian wonders, read our review of the The Complete Short Stories.





Congratulations! To Elizabeth Strout, winner of this year's Pullitzer Prize for Fiction for Olive Kittredge, a collection of interlinked short stories.

We bring you reviews of ten more this month, from Babylon to big worlds, creatures of the earth, eclipses and unlucky lucky days which are nothing like an ocean, to last night, where our story begins, with a little Javanese and some gay romance....

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I've found a new thing - yes me, the technophobe...and I've spent three hours tonight trying to work out how to export from one format to MP3 but I did it! So, for your delectation, here I am reading a couple of poems! ta ra...


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I always wanted to do English, but a small voice said it might not lead to a job - it was the voice of the school careers adviser. He told me you had to do a BSc to have any chance of employment. So I took psychology and it did lead to a job – I ended up as a Chartered Psychologist. Since turning my mind to writing stories, I’ve also come to believe that psychology is a great training for a writer.

Over the last twenty years I’ve assessed the abilities and personality of hundreds of business leaders and coached a good few of them including, topically, the chief executive of a bank. That gives you the chance to ask the questions that most people don’t get to ask. I’ve also done “job analysis” studies ranging from foreign exchange dealers to bus drivers. Ostensibly these were to help design selection methods, but as a by-product you get to spend time with them, watch them work and ask all those questions again. It’s all good raw material. I’ve also used frameworks for human behaviour in my fiction - The Grieving Cycle, for example - to show a character reacting to bad news.

In the limited space here, I’d like to mention one structure I’ve found useful: the enneagram. It’s no substitute for the deep curiosity and insight into humanity we all need as writers, but having a guidebook can help too.


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Not much to report I'm afraid. I've been spending a lot of time writing (the red notebook works) and reading. And signing up to a pretty darned cool local secret project which is rather exciting and different. More on that to come.

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And some cool links (to make up for the boring bit above!).

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Following on from the last post I would like to tell you about the best careers advice I ever received. This was also at school. I don't think it is surprising that it was from a writer.


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Anything else? Oh yeah - the local interest book project is gaining momentum. The two primary local papers have run a couple of articles about it and appealed to the readers for stories and anecdotes for possible inclusion. Apparently, a big story is due out in the Advertiser this weekend and I have another meeting planned for this Thursday about it. I am trying to get some quotes for print but the three printing companies I have had a response from have come back as much too expensive - so if you are reading this, and know someone in the print trade who is fairly local to Croydon, please pass on my contact details ASAP.


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