Authors Electric

So, the guardians of our culture are now about to offer us an eroticised version of Jane Austen, having first taken note of the success of Fifty Shades of Grey - are these people publishers or bankers? The threat of ebooks does seem to worry them (what, authors taking complete control over their own work and making money? And sometimes quite a lot of money...) I've had a browse through the Fifty Shades, and like everyone else (don't tell me you don't do it) sought out the juicy bits, but since I like my sex embedded, like a jewel, inside a really good story, it didn't really grab me. At present, I'm re-reading (after decades) Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , so my personal pov might well have been slanted. Has anyone been to the eight hour-long reading of this book? Apparently it's been a huge success, and I was tempted, but didn't think I could sit still for that long. From eroticism to passion, and passion in the act of writing. I have writ...

Our trees are silhouetted against a John Martin apocalyptic sky to the west of us - orange, gold, crushed strawberry and purple. It's October and I love it, as I always have, when the days get excitingly short, and each day (when it isn't raining) ends in this visual drama, and Old Man Winter's breathing his exciting cold breath down the back of my neck. I've spent some of the past few weeks collaborating with an illustrator on an online picture book text : CHIP HEAD, which will be published by uTales - a company which enables its customers to access a large number of picture books online. A proportion of its profits go to a Third World educational charity which I'm happy to support. What's been so interesting about this project, for me, is that it sets up a contact page on Facebook where authors and artists can connect and collaborate on work. I've been working closely with illustrator/animator called Duncan Beedie (duncanbeedie.co.uk) on a totally daft lit...