Authors Electric

I’m writing this in my parents’ lounge, looking out of the window. We’re at the head of a cul-de-sac at the very end of a small-ish estate and it’s a lovely view. My dad is asleep in the chair next to me.  This morning was the first time he asked me who I was.  I’ve not stayed overnight here for a long, long time. I’m only here now because my mum has gone into hospital. She’s only had a minor operation but given that she’s in her late 70s (and that she went private), she’ll be in overnight. She left at 6am, so I came over yesterday and will stay for a few days to make sure everybody is OK. The hospital phoned an hour or so ago and the op went well, which is good news.  Alzheimer’s is a shitty disease. The brain stops making the right connections and while dad can remember my childhood, he can longer recall a conversation he had five minutes ago – or where my mum is today and when she will be home. He’s scared, distressed and out of sorts, if he’s even been in sorts for th...

Many, many years ago, I was given this book by someone who knew I was a fan of Iris Murdoch's writing, which I once was. I remember being devastated by her diagnosis of Alzheimers from which she would eventually die. Somehow, it seems, I never read this one, because glancing through it, nothing was at all familiar. From time to time, I prune my book collection, but very incompetently, so I thought I would check out this one, especially as it was a lazy, hot Bank Holiday. My reactions to it were weird - it was like meeting someone I'd had a passionate affair with a very long time ago (this happened to me in real life, once, too, and it was a very uncomfortable experience as 1. age had not been kind to him, and 2. he had, astonishingly, considering his talent and intellect, become a born-again Christian on a rather pointless mission to save my soul.) Back to Iris, though (the film based on her life, "Iris", was heartbreaking.) The knight reminded me that I was ...

I've just been reading Wendy Jones's blog on this site. For a best-seller, and also someone so positive about publicity, I found it disconcerting that she omitted to name herself as the blog's author - I had to scroll through the date column on the right to find it. Otherwise, I was impressed, but at the same time, somewhat questioning. Does Wendy enjoy other people's publicity? Like most people, I find advertising generally irritating, and for that reason, I've installed an ad blocker on my computer, but.. . if we don't tell people about our work,  and if it isn't mentioned in the media, how is anyone going to find it? I've recently been singing out about my two picture books which are finally on sale in my local Sainsbury's, albeit in the DVD section and at a ridiculously low price (but hey! I've got my advance and the royalties are trickling in). Recently I've managed to re-publish as an e-book "KACHUNKA!" - my much-loved j...

A little while ago, I was sent a signed copy of Tabitha Suzuma's Young Adult novel, Hurt . As with many online writer 'friends' on Facebook, ours has grown into something gratifyingly like a real friendship, and since we both live in London, I have no doubt that, one day, we will meet. Pain is something we share - mine from losing David and hers for very different and more complex reasons. I rarely finish reading a complex and challenging novel in a day, but that Sunday was a bad day for me - Sundays tend to be - so because it was an unexpected gift, I began reading it. I am a slow reader (David, by contrast, was a book-gobbler) so I didn't expect it to occupy my whole day, but it did. The writing is exquisite, and the plot brilliant. It's not easy to grab a reader's attention right up to the last word, but she did it. Please don't be put off by its "Young Adult" labelling - so many Y/A novels are crossover, and this one certainly was. Inciden...