Speculation, Fact and Fiction

I find myself with something perilously close to an empty desk. Which means I can take a long-overdue look at Brightwell, aka The Cotswold Novel, aka, the contemporary novel. Hmmm.

How did I manage this? Well, the start of last week saw me sorting all the accounts stuff due this time of year. Then as of close of play last Thursday, I have written up both the reviews I have scheduled for this month, and also finished the short story I'm doing for a DAW anthology, on Imaginary Friends. Which I am extremely pleased with, on account of a last line that became quite unexpectedly yet blindingly obvious about 300 words from the end. So on Friday, I could catch up with some shamefully overdue email and tick that off the To Do list. Coo.

On the other hand, I am still rather weary. Three gigs for The Write Fantastic last week saw me in Swindon, Brentford and Streatham. Modest audiences but keen for all that, in all three venues. And it's always a pleasure to meet keen and enthusiastic librarians as was the case in each place, what with displays and posters and the like. So there are the longer-term positive ripple effects to put a tick in the plus column, to go with the actual gig.

Swindon and Brentford were drivable, so that’s less hassle than trains but still made for late nights what with keen folk eager to keep on nattering after the gig – it was gone midnight before bed both nights. As for Streatham, I’d forgotten just how long it takes to cross London. Hour into Paddington then an hour to get from there to Streatham! And the same on the way back, obviously, even tho we were more ruthless about making a getaway. So still gone midnight before we retired to our various beds.

By we, I mostly mean me and desperance , tho' the two of us were joined by Jessica Rydill in Swindon and Sarah Ash in Streatham, both always fun to chat to about this fantastical writing life. desperance came to stay over and that was, as always, a pleasure. And we had waffles for breakfast on Saturday morning before he took a train northwards for a Manchester gig.

Makes the three-week tours of the bestsellers’ life look rather less glamorous. I’ve heard best-selling pals shortly after they’ve done such, saying all they saw was the inside of hotel rooms and bookshops – looking utterly knackered.

Just got Uxbridge with Sarah and Jessica this Thursday – which is an hour or so drive so that’s OK - then that’s me all gigged out till July. Phew.

Anyway, vegged out Saturday with a crime novel (Locked Rooms, Laurie R King, excellent) and telly and then we went en famille to see Spider-Man 3 on Sunday. Which we thoroughly enjoyed.

As an aside, I just don't get this 'third superhero films are inevitably crap' notion. Well, Ok, the original Superman films aside, and the previous Batman films took a nosedive shortly after the opening credits of the second for me personally. I really liked X-Men 3 and this Spider-Man 3. But I can see how you would need to be really invested in the characters and the previous films for them to work best. Each to their own.

Folk who expect not to like third-parts will presumably shun Pirates of the Caribbean At the World's End, and Shrek the Third? Well, we'll be going along, the family and I. The trailers for both looked really fun. And I have hopes of the new Fantastic Four film too, The Rise of the Silver Surfer. Even if I am a Marvel true believer from years back, the first FF film was um, OK but not nearly as enthralling as I had been hoping. Whereas, and I know I'm in a minority here, I thought Ang Lee's Hulk was really good. Curious to see what they make of a second go there.

Though I shall have to round up some of the mum's mafia to go and see Ocean's Thirteen. Not one for husband and sons really.

Now, about that getting down to work, this monday morning...