Speculation, Fact and Fiction

Okay, so I live in Friendly Dave Cameron's constituency. I have come to terms with that. I don't have to like it but hey, that's just the way it is.

But every so often something winds up my inner socialist. I was heading off to Derby for Alt.Fiction yesterday (of which more later) and took the back way to the motorway. Stopping in one of the villages to top up with fuel, I thought I'd buy a paper to read today, Sunday. As is usual nowadays, the filling station serves as the village shop.

So, I could see the Daily Malice, The Torygraph and the array of Murdoch Press Fish-wrappers. Rather puzzled, I pay for my fuel and ask the studenty lad behind the counter, 'Don't you sell The Guardian?'

Halfway between shame-faced and exasperated he explains, 'We only get one copy and that's reserved.'

And presumably handed over in a plain brown wrapper, so the local radical can remain under cover?

Or, as my husband remarked when I told him about this, perhaps it's actually for the local Head Tory, so he can keep tabs on the lefty enemy thinking?

grrrrrr

Now in its third year, this was (another) excellent event, with a good turn-out of fans/readers/aspiring writers, familiar and new, and a nice mix of known and new faces among the other writers/editors/agents etc present.

And I could relax and enjoy myself since I finished up the copy edit of Irons in the Fire at lunch-time Friday - hurrah.

So I had some useful professional-related conversations as well as some interesting readerly conversations. Did a couple of good panels with Sarah Ash and Chaz Brenchley, along in the first instance with Brian Ruckley, on world building. Not met Brian before but very pleased to do so. We had an interesting chat amongst ourselves and with the audience that *wasn't* the usual World-building 101. Later me, Sarah and Chaz tackled Innovation vs Expectation in Fantasy, with Stephen Hunt, who I have met before and was thus delighted to improve my acquaintance with. Another interesting discussion ensued.

Being in the audience, I heard Graham Joyce, Michael Marshall Smith and John Jarrold offer excellent advice to would-be writers, and later, Graham and MMS tackled screen-writing, along with Philip Palmer - a writer I'm aware of but not as yet met/read. Both things I intend to rectify, after hearing him talk a good deal of common sense with a wryly Welsh sense of humour.

Drove home rather than staying over - a decision that could have gone either way. An evening's chat and socialising would have been lovely. But coming home does mean I have all of Sunday at home with the family - and er, the ironing.

Already looking forward to alt.fiction 2009!