PART 2: FAR FROM THE MADDING FAT ….This morning a horrible letter lay grinning at me from the mat like a snake on opioids. I knew it was a snake because it was from UW Medicine, the hospital in Seattle…
OR IS IT JUST ME? Certainly Donald Trump thinks so, and so do the thousands who demonstrated in London on Saturday. As to me, I have had weeks of intimate interface with the NHS, of getting better acquainted, of becoming…
Part Two of Cannibals and Christians…. I am a gambler, a victim of blackmail and protection rackets, and so are you. Have been for years! Blackmail, protection rackets and gambling, addicted I am. By law. And so are you. First,…
I’ve realised! Understood! Lying awake, as I do at 3am, mind wandering and roaming and tying itself up in knots, suddenly I understood how and why relationships work, or don’t work, or nearly work, or work for a while. So…
Norman Mailer is dead. This is not his fault – probably. He has been dead since 2007, apparently. In his time he was a terrific novelist, a great essayist, and frequently a crashing bore. Reminds me of me. Except for…
From Readers’ Favourite, an independent website which reviews new books 100% OF AUTHOR ROYALTIES IN AID OF CANCER RESEARCH UK Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers’ Favorite “A wonderful blend of humor, satire, and drama, Sally’s Road by Jon Elkon…
The Avocado’s Revenge My trip to Seattle from San Diego on Alaska Airlines was short-story inducing (soon on this website!) but otherwise uneventful. My sister-in law picked me up at the airport on a windy, rainy day (Seattle’s weather mimics…
In the Air There is no more fantastic than this This pent up portent this Conveyor of life and This endless roiling this Shredded heaven which Layered between ground and infinity Separates us From dust Searching for Mother A…
Another mass shooting! Like you, I went through all the stages of bereavement – from horror, pain and sadness right through to anger. Then the search for someone to blame. And another bruising Twitter battle with gun-supporting Americans, some of…
An Agent I met at a writers’ workshop this weekend sighed, picked her pert nose and said, “publishers just don’t take risks any more!”. The main reason being, of course, digital publishing. Kindle, Mobo, Ibooks etc. Even though a recent…