Authors Electric

Last month I went to an author event in my local town of Northwich. It was held at our new local bookshop Cover2Cover , which sells an eclectic mix of new and second-hand books, including an impressive array of classic science fiction and fantasy. Think Forbidden Planet in the late 1980s with all the American import paperbacks that you couldn't get anywhere else - remember we were pre-internet back then. So who was there? This was hosted by the very talented speculative short fiction writer Nemma Wollenfang . I've known Nemma for several years and her stories are superb - I can't wait to read her first novel.  The weather was appalling. Strong November wind and rain and I was remembering when I ran an sf writing workshop in Oldham several years ago in similar weather, and despite the tickets being sold out, only one person braved the elements to actually turn up! Always remember that the value of a 'free' ticket is precisely nothing. He did get lucky though, in tha...

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One photo taken by me, Allison Symes, at the Hiltingbury Book Fair. It may be the season of mellow fruitfulness (which is a wonderful expression and for me conjures up autumn beautifully), but it is also the signal Book Buying Season is here again.  Now for me, every part of the year is book buying season but with a certain event only being two months away, and books are excellent gifts as everyone knows, you can’t blame the publishers for focusing so much on sales in the next few weeks or so.  Equally naturally when I put certain lists together, the first thing on mine will be the books I’d like to see under the tree this year. There would  be something seriously wrong with me not to request any! Of course with book buying season well underway by the time this blog goes out, it will be accompanied by Author Event season too. I think the biggest challenge to all writers is encouraging those who don’t r...

Image Credits:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Many thanks to Gill James for taking the image of me reading from From Light to Dark and Back Again at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration event in December 2023. All good fun! What are you hoping for in this new writing/reading year? Writing wise, I would like more things in print. Reading wise, I would like to discover authors new to me. The big eye opener for me in recent years has been discovering the wonderful world of non-fiction, especially history. The start of a year is when I miss most favourite authors no longer with us. I always looked forward to the new Terry Pratchett book for example. Nearly always ended up having that as a Christmas present.  Having said that I was given A Life In Footnotes which is his biography (written by Rob Wilkins) and am loving that. (Wouldn’t surprise me now if I go on to discover more on the wonderful world of biographies!).     I look forward to book ...

                            I recently attended a book signing in Oxford from the other side of the fence, as a reader rather than an author. I now have a whole new appreciation for my readers. I thought it was a tiring day standing in front of my table talking to readers, but life on the other side of the fence is pretty  gruelling , although massively entertaining.    The signing took place in Oxford Town Hall, a grand setting, but  perhaps a  little too small for the number of readers who attended which meant that many signing authors had to be ticketed, and those that weren't still had queues.    The camaraderie that was evident amongst readers was infectious, from friends made in the registration queue outside the venue that began a couple of hours before the doors were due to open to friends made whilst bumping into each other inside. This was only the second...

Murder Mystery Cast I occasionally write about public appearances, and I’ve done my fair share of them. I’ve talked to a variety of groups, in church halls, hotels, meeting rooms, libraries, readers’ events, and conventions/conferences. But a recent event I was invited to take part in will remain in my memory as one of the most pleasurable experiences I’ve had on the talking circuit. You can see my recent events on the News page of my website http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/index.php/news   and in among them is the event I want to tell you about. When I was asked if I’d be a willing victim in a murder/mystery event at Carnoustie library in my home county of Angus, it sounded as if it might be fun and I accepted with alacrity. And I wasn’t wrong. It was hilarious, and the audience and actors (amateur) had a most enjoyable time. I arrived early on the day to go through the details. We’d had a rehearsal the week before, so it was just a question of where everything was...

We never think of ourselves as experts, do we? That is to say, I certainly never do, though I’m no expert on what other people think of themselves. So it is always rather surprising to be asked to do something in a technical capacity. Flattering, intimidating, but above all surprising. In the space of a week I will be “expert”ing myself in two very different spheres. So I want to ponder the whole question of expertise. The two events in question illustrate perfectly the flip sides of my writing life, the good and bad angels as it were, sitting on my shoulders whispering like something from the comics I read as a child. Last Friday, I hosted an evening of poetry at The Tea Box in Richmond. This Wednesday I am speaking to a writers’ group in Oxford about the ins and outs of self-publishing. The two events are as far apart as you could imagine events being. My job in Richmond was to perform poems, to make an audience feel at home, to make people who had never performed be...