Just been watching Dragons Den on BBC 2. One of the pitchers was a fantasy author who wanted 175 grand to invest in a film production of her (lets be honest) self published novel, Dance of the Goblins. Now firstly there is no problem with being published by a small press but the hopeful pitcher was not doing a good job of convincing the panel. She had a print run of 2000 that in all truth she did not know how many were sales and how many were stock. I suspect she paid the publisher, who it was admitted, only had his book as the other title in the catalogue, and therefore got robbed in my opinion.



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Down the road from my home is a small common field, mostly used for folk walking their dogs or a shortcut for myself when I feel shagged after a run, recently in which a bonfire has been taking shape. It’s main fodder is a deforested clump of trees, alhtough I did spot a few household items and a sofa. BTW, in this part of Yorkshire building a bonfore is called “Chumping”.

However I get the feeling I am changing into Disgusted of Tubridge Wells. Readers of a certain vintage will know what I am referring to here.


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A Day at Wembley

The only word that possibly suits Wembley Stadium is Immense. Sure, the old stadium was a unique place, but somehow I cannot remember it being so huge inside. Whatever the feelings about Old or New, the stadium was a fitting place for the NFl game between the Dolphins and Giants.

Unlike other American football games played at Wembley back in the 80's, this one was for real. So watching how teams play in regular season was a great scene. It's a pity we were not a little bit close to see some of the sideline acitivity in close detail.

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Ah, now that has grabbed your attention!!

Not that I would wish anyone to be naked under James Joyce, I am not sure how much fun that would be.

If you visit Ireland, chances are that if you go by ferry you will travel to and from the port of Dun Laoghaire. Not far from the port is a small cove overlooked by the James Joyce tower, called the Forty foot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_Foot

here you can observe (or partake) in swimming in the bay

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Saw this on you tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sjnie-aqYw

It s a trailer for a re-imaging of the Wizard of OZ from the Sci-fi channel.

Now the Sci-fi channel has done superb work with Battlestar Galactica, a truly marvelous series that has redifined the concept of spaceship drama. But I ma not sure if this is going to work. It looks like a formula concept, last seen in Sliders.

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One of the few benefits of having an overnight stay while on business is the occasional chance to spend the night in more luxurious surroundings than one would expect. This is one of those times.

Thanks to block bookings around Birmingham, we have found ourselves at Wroxall Abbey estate near Kenilworth. A sprawling 17th century mansion house, which was once the country home of Sir Christopher Wren. Nowadays transformed into a spa resort with highland cattle loitering in the pastures surrounding the manse. I wonder what Sir Christopher would have to say about that. Or would have revamped the place as if he was on Changing rooms?


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This from the BBC
"Fantasy author Jordan dies at 58
Author Robert Jordan, whose was best known for the Wheel of Time series of fantasy novels has died of a rare blood disease aged 58.
Jordan - whose real name was James Oliver Rigney Junior - died at the Medical University of South Carolina.
His personal assistant, Maria Simons, said the disease caused the walls of his heart to thicken.
Jordan's first fantasy book, The Eye of the World, was published in 1990 and went on to sell millions of copies.


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There was a documentary/fan worship programme on BBC 4 the other night; Jonathon Ross in search of Steve Ditko the co-creator of Spider-man.

I have not watched the whole show, as I taped it but I did see contributions from Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore, so I expect the comments to be meaningful.

But what I want to consider is how much of an impact on writers of a certain age did Marvel have on us to nurture a need to tell stories and expand our imagiantion.

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A dreadful pun to annouce my appointment as the site host for Fiction II on the Writewords site.

I was bit unsure if I should take the plunge and apply for the spot, but a few emails here and there convinced me that I ought to.



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Overall this was an enjoyable day with good opportunities to talk to the authors. My early thoughts were that the whole day would be nothing more than a marketing event for Faber and Faber, thankfully this was not the case. The workshop with Mick Jackson was educational in discovering how important it is to be able to switch from porject to project. Mick was a very approachable fellow and an author I will take more interest in from now on.

Sarah Hall's workshop got sidetracked from being a discussion on the influence and creation of her latest novel, "The Carhulan Army", to becoming more like the "Good Life" and grow your own vegetables. I would have liked for Sarah to discuss the process of her novel and why she prefers to use the voice of the character more than dialogue to drive the story.

Also whoever the chap was that picked up and thumbed through her book before the workshop while she was out of the room, well don't be so f***ing rude next time. You had no right to do that.

It is a pity that I had to forego Andrew Martin's workshop, as that I am sure would have been fascinating on how to research a period novel.

David

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