An Idea – An Extract from Dogtooth Chronicals
AN IDEA Wolfgang, Dreamscape Beneath my feet the cold ground is hardened. There were ridges ploughed into the Earth long ago, when it was soft and giving. Now it is as concrete, desperate to trip me and crunch on my bones. I see a figure in the distance. I pray a gentleman, stood solitary in...
Diary of a Novelist; writing and the ‘Olympic Legacy’
This is the third in a series of articles following my experience and thoughts on the journey towards publication of my debut novel – The Greater Thief. The book, I’m told, is now at the printer’s; it’s popping up on websites for preorder, and the modest marketing push of my publisher is underway. Business is...
LadyFest: An Editor’s Perspective
While I did want to write something about the challenges of being an editor, I also want to take this opportunity to shout about the e-book I have been involved with producing. LadyFest: Winning Stories form the Oxford Gender Equality Festival 2010 is now available for download at the bargainacious price of just £2.99! I can...
Book Review: Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
Murakami’s seventh book, Sputnik Sweetheart is an unusual love triangle, packed with surreal moments and imagery. The novel leaps from reality to the unreal in a way that will grip you and keep you wanting for more. The very first Murakami novel I read was Kafka on the Shore. I read it at a time when everyone,...
Poetry Review- Six Days in Iceland by Alyson Hallett
It is wonderful to discover unique poetry projects that combine a variety of elements. During the course of my Masters research I came across several such books, including Cynthia Hogue’s book of interview poems on Hurricane Katrina When the Water Came, and Claudia Rankine’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, both of which combine unusual poetry...
When Nights Were Cold by Susanna Jones – a Book Review
Set at the turn of the twentieth century, When Nights Were Cold tells the startling story of Grace Farringdon and her interest in mountaineering. Grace grows up in a family home where dreams are stifled and her parents’ primary goal for her and her sister is to find a good husband. However, from the beginning Grace...
Reflections on the city from a post-flaneur
Reading the titles of the Proboscis e-book series, Material Condition, I couldn’t help being attracted by Ruth Maclennan’s publication: Reflections on the city from a post-flaneur. As her own website tells us, Ruth Maclennan’s artworks grapple ‘with the relationship between the present, the only moment of experience—irreducibly subjective, visceral yet evanescent—and the linguistic and visual representations...
On the Road Film: Dean’s Story
Two weeks ago, they finally released the long awaited trailer for Coppola’s adaptation of Kerouac’s On the Road directed by Walter Salles. I don’t know if I am the only one to have noticed but the trailer revolves very much around Dean Moriarty. This makes sense as he is undoubtably one of the most important...
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder – Another YA Fantasy? Yup.
You know you have those books that leave you in awe? That leave you inspired? That leave you wanting more? Well I just finished one. Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder. I was first introduced to Maria V. Snyder early last year when I purchased Poison Study, a story about a girl on death row...
