There are not many books I think about for too long after having read them, but Smoke Paper Mirrors by Anna Tambour is an exception, because, although much of the novel mirrors real life to some extent, in the end it becomes a very strange book indeed. Apart from which, Tambour’s writing has a richness… Continue Reading
Strong-hearted stories, dark & funny
Category Archives: BOOKS
Oothangbart, a Subversive Fable for Adults and Bears
Excerpt from Oothangbart: ‘What was it to you, Mr. Poseidon?’ someone shouted. Donal paused. ‘In Bristol nobody would ask me questions for the sake of making themselves feel better about this matter or that. A fellow could have all sorts of odd ideas and feelings and nobody thought anything of it. A fellow could be himself… Continue Reading
WHO OWNS TIME ITSELF IN OOTHANGBART?
I was looking through my old Oothangbart notebook that I used to take to work with me hoping to find a date or at least to find the year in which I first started putting the novel together. But, I couldn’t find any such thing. I guess it must be because I live so much… Continue Reading
OOTHANGBART, A SUBVERSIVE FABLE FOR ADULTS AND BEARS
‘‘In the beautifully isolated Oothangbart, order and organisation, hierarchy and custom, and the regular flying of kites ensure that each finely mapped hour of each planned week are as predictable and reassuring as the last. One Donal Shaun Hercule Poseidon, a citizen of middling rank with no greatness in gait or demeanour, is not so… Continue Reading
Why blogging is a bit like cleaning windows for some of us
I get continual messages from people who want to ‘help’ me get more ‘traffic’ on this website, want to show me how to run my ‘business’ properly, how to be a ‘success’ and any number of similar ideas. Being popular is one… how could anyone not want to be popular? I can see how some… Continue Reading
SPOOKY ENGLISH SEASIDE TOWNS
I had to visit a small English seaside town to take the book shop some copies of my latest novel, Oothangbart, a subversive fable for Adults and Bears, and I was hugely relieved to finally get out of the place. I had to wait for the bus for over half an hour after it should… Continue Reading
LAUNCHING OOTHANGBART
We held the launch for Oothangbart in just about the coolest event space you can imagine, right in the centre of Bristol in an old building full of texture and character, a place called The Forge that has become very popular with creative people. I was what you could call ‘alert’, that means not exactly… Continue Reading
BENEATH THE SURFACE
This is not a piece about writing directly, although I might use elements of the experience some time in a future short story or novel. It’s a recounting of some of my thoughts on a recent short holiday on the island of Zante, or Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea. I had purely by accident booked… Continue Reading
The ‘queer individuality’ of Virginia Woolf’s Writing
I was very surprised to hear the voice of Virginia Woolf. I was alerted to it by a writing friend. Apparently it was the only recording of her voice. What surprised me was not that she belonged to the part of English society that will call a ‘house’ a ‘hice’, more that she had those… Continue Reading
VIRGINIA’S DIARY
I began reading the shortened version of Virginia’s diaries covering the years 1915 to 1941, and it has an introduction by Quentin Bell, her nephew. I was fascinated to read ‘The novice will very likely have heard ill of the writer I am trying to present. She was, we are frequently told, snobbish, elitist and… Continue Reading
