The Unexpected Interview

Nobody told me they were going to interview me! There I was, minding my own business, sitting in the Poetry Cafe sipping tea prior to my book launch, when suddenly Alex Metslov of Gruntlers Theatre appeared and filmed an impromptu interview with me. I didn't even have time to brush my hair.

Here's the (very short) interview:

An Invitation to a Launch Party

I’m going to be launching my novel ‘Serpentine’ later this month in what looks certain to be a true party atmosphere. Why a party? Because the event is being hosted by Gruntlers Theatre and they’re going to be three years old and are, I’m sure, delighted to have an excuse for wine, cake, poetry and music. They’ve even invited people to wear outrageous costumes if they so desire. I have to admit, I’m not really an outrageous costume person, so along with my publisher Kay Green of Circaidy Gregory Press, I intend to turn up in my customary jeans – but don’t let that stop you if you want to dress up.

So, what’s going to happen? I’m not exactly sure, but having participated in Gruntlers events in the past, I know it’ll be lively and enjoyable and all will be made welcome. At the very least, Kay will say some nice words about me and I’ll read some of the book as well as signing copies. The rest is down to the Gruntlers – and if you’re wondering about the name ‘Gruntlers’, just think ‘disgruntled’ and then think the opposite.

The details:

The event kicks off at 7pm on Monday, 26^th November, at the Poetry Cafe in Betterton Street, Covent Garden. You’ll find it listed on the Poetry Society’s events page here.

Tickets will be available on the door, but if you bring a really interesting cake to share, you’ll quite likely get in for nothing.

If you want to know more about ‘Serpentine’ the novel, check it out on my website here and the publisher’s website here. 

I look forward to seeing you there!

New publisher for SERPENTINE

My novel SERPENTINE is about to transfer to a new publisher. Circaidy Gregory Press are taking over the title and will produce it in all ebook formats shortly, with a paperback version to follow. Not only that, there will be a prequel in the new year. I love two book contracts!

I've spent the morning designing the new cover art, which will depict the Serpentine in Hyde Park, a key location for several scenes in the novel. I need to start thinking about the prequel's cover art too, and try to paint it in more or less the same style. I've a feeling it's going to feature the beach at Bamburgh, but I might change my mind about that. Could do Aydon Castle, or even Gibside Chapel. No rush at the moment.

The north-east launch of Serpentine will take place at Bishop Auckland Town Hall at 7:30pm on 11th July. This is a free event. All welcome. I'll be talking about the book, and the town hall staff will be handing out free wine. I kid you not. 

Bourgeois and beyond

From Louise Bourgeois' 'Maman', to Doris Salcedo's 'Shibboleth'; from Maria Lassnig to Miroslaw Balka; from trilobites to cup and ring markings; from Nicolas Poussin to Antoine Watteau; from Tate Modern to the Wallace Collection; from Durham Cathedral to the sand dunes at Bamburgh; from the Cross Kings pub to the American Carwash -- yes, I've been proofreading 'Serpentine', and going on something of a rollercoaster journey. I love this book! Could've sworn there were no errors in it, but hey ho, that's what proof-reading's all about. Found dozens. Urrgghh! Hopefully the rest of the team at BeWrite Books will pick up any I've missed.

Phew!

It's one thing to be offered a book deal - quite another to have the contract in your sticky little hands and be signing it and then taking it down the post office to post away the old-fashioned way. The relief!

The book in question is my latest novel, 'Serpentine'. The publisher is BeWrite Books. As to what the novel's about: Friedrich Nietzsche once said, 'Art is the proper task in life', and as an artist myself, I'm not about to disagree, but what happens when creativity becomes an obsession which threatens to derail everything else in a young artist's life, from her personal relationships to paying the electricity bill? What then?

'wormwood, earth and honey' - pictures and poems on kindle

We (self and the team at Circaidy Gregory Press ) somehow managed to get the new, revised 'wormwood' done and dusted by Christmas Eve, in the kindle version at least. The other e-versions will appear in due course when the distributor has recovered from Christmas. Links for the kindle version are: amazon uk and amazon dot com

So if you got a kindle for Christmas, and are wondering how poetry and pics combined appear on such machines, then please go ahead and buy a copy. 

Thank you!

'wormwood' pictures update

Yes, I decided the only way to illustrate a poem about Constable's 'The Haywain' was by doing a picture of Constable's 'The Haywain', the only question being how to reduce a massive painted masterpiece to a sketch a couple of inches across with the wrong proportions. I am no Constable, but armed with a blunt charcoal pencil and a scrap of gessoed paper, I went for it, and the end result is something that has vague similarities to what Constable might have done as a thumbnail sketch on a distinctly 'off' day. Not to worry. I think it's recognisably based on the same scene.

After that, I went on to some easier ones. 'white noise' was illustrated by a rosebud. 'south of the border' was simple enough once I'd decided the border in question could be Mexico, so all I needed was a tall cactus and a desiccated landscape. 'channel hopping' is a complex poem full of images, so I picked the easiest - Paris - and drew the Eiffel Tower. Iconic buildings can be useful.

Some were not so obvious. I fancied drawing Charon the ferryman for 'unto death' but in the end went for some bilberries. 'the burning of ice' could have been impossible (how do you draw burning ice?) so I drew a well-endowed white bull instead. (It makes sense if you read the poem.)

Some could only have one possible illustration. 'truth and lies' had to have a picture of Red Square as far as I'm concerned, though some readers may wonder why. The piece of railway graffiti that I used for 'close at hand' was the only possible illustration. People who used to travel from Paddington Station down to the West Country before the graffiti was removed will understand. 'the diver' was a bit of a cheat, as the image has already been used for some cover art, but I reckon plagiarising oneself is fair enough.

And 'the ballad of shane and mavis' could only be erik the snail, though making him look ten feet tall proved impossible.

Nineteen illustrations drawn so far. I reckon another half dozen will do the trick, so I'll return to this after the weekend.