Authors Electric

Twenty years ago, I wrote a rather long novel about Alexander the Great from the point of view of his famous warhorse Bucephalus. At the time, I had a brilliant children's publisher (Chicken House) keen to publish my book in hardcover for the 10+ market who already enjoyed my fantasy novels. Unfortunately, bookshops did not share the same view and rejected the hardcover, so publication was delayed while a more suitable format was found for the book that would please everyone - which, as everyone knows, is impossible. In the end, "I am the Great Horse" (edited down from its original 200,000 words to a modest 150,000) enjoyed its scheduled hardcover publication in the US with Chicken House's partner Scholastic, and hit the UK shelves a year later than planned in paperback. Having missed its publicity slot over here, it sold averagely. Or perhaps my novel, being rather long, historical and written by a horse , was just too quirky for the children's market? Anyway, t...

'The Silver Pigs' - Davis (Long blog warning. Sorry, couldn't curb my enthusiasm.) Got any book tokens left over from Christmas? Just in case, I’ll pass on this advice, which was given to me, at regular intervals, by my good friend, Karen Bush. “Read the Falco books.” Karen, excellent editor and avid reader, put me onto many great reads: most notably the ‘Song of Fire and Ice’ sequence by George R. R. Martin, and the wonderful ‘Six Duchies’ books of Robin Hobb. Also, Hobb’s lesser-known, but excellent ‘Soldier Son’ trilogy. Karen and I often exchanged notes about what we were reading (both of us were always reading something ) and then she’d demand, “Have you read the Falco books yet?  No?— Well, read them .” Karen had regularly proved that she  knew a good book when she met it, but still, I never got around to Falco. I think I'd got it into my head that they were an Ancient Roman version of the Brother Cadfael series: that is, 'murder-mysteries' set i...

I sing from the back row of the altos in an Essex amateur choir. In 'normal' times we give three concerts a year ranging widely across the centuries,  though very often it's Something Sacred. When Kate, who is our concert organiser, asks me whether I’ll contribute the programme notes, my heart simultaneously sinks and bounds. It sinks because I’m so horribly ignorant about musical history that I know I’m going to have to spend disproportionate time researching basic facts and dates. It bounds because I know it’ll bring me closer to the music and I'll possibly manage to find words for inarticulate observations made during our weekly rehearsals which I've had no time to explore. Because Kate is an exhausted GP, and is giving up significant amounts of her time to ensure all goes Right on the Night, I don’t bother her with my interesting cardiac symptoms, I just say yes.  The central work in our forthcoming concert (November 27th Chelmsford Cathedral, please get your ...