Dave's been working all the hours lately so for once he gave himself the afternoon off and we buzzed over to the National Exhibition Centre since we'd got a free ticket for the regular 'Antiques for Everyone' fair. We've been a couple of times before and always enjoy poking round the stalls, finding things that we remember our parents or grandparents having, and exclaiming at some of the many beautiful objects on display. We've never before been even remotely tempted to buy anything, though, not least because the prices have been shocking. Not so much antiques for everyone, as antiques for anyone who's rich, filthy rich or stinking.
Today, for the first time, we actually *gasp* bought something. And not just one item, but two. First we found an adorable little brooch in the shape of a lizard, that I thought might be perfect for my mother-in-law for Christmas, and then I treated myself to a vintage hat pin. Neither item was expensive to start with, and in both cases the dealers were happy to give us a small discount on the ticket price, so we feel comfortable we haven't been cheated.
Some of the prices were still ridiculous, though. I fell in love with a stunning silver (coloured) Art Nouveau mantel clock... until I read the ticket, and found it was priced at... wait for it... £12,000.
Woah.
Still antiques for the mostly rich and filthy rich, methinks.
But it was fun, and we did get in free...
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Those London photos...
I realised I'd completely forgotten to post any pictures from our recent trip to London, so here without further ado are a selection of the best:
One of the art installations on the famous (and usually empty) fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. As part of Anthony Gormley's One and Other project, a different person took to the plinth every hour, 24 hours a day, for several weeks:
A tranquil scene in the pouring rain at the Barbican Centre:
No, it's not the countryside, just a surprisingly pastoral scene in St James's Park early one morning:
Feeding the squirrels in St James's Park; as you can see from the next picture, some of them are VERY tame:
One of the art installations on the famous (and usually empty) fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. As part of Anthony Gormley's One and Other project, a different person took to the plinth every hour, 24 hours a day, for several weeks:
A tranquil scene in the pouring rain at the Barbican Centre:
No, it's not the countryside, just a surprisingly pastoral scene in St James's Park early one morning:
Feeding the squirrels in St James's Park; as you can see from the next picture, some of them are VERY tame:
New reviews of 'I Do'
The charity gltb anthology 'I Do' has had a couple of very nice reviews recently. Alternative-Read have posted a good overall review of the whole collection, as well as comments on one or two of the longer stories.And Dark Diva Reviews has a really detailed review, not just of the overall collection but of each individual story into the bargain. Including, I might add, a very nice comment about my story Salad Days.
Such a realistic portrait of a relationship after the new has worn off, but before the deep seated trust has established itself.
If you like the sound of the anthology and would like to order a copy for yourself or a loved one (Christmas is only just around the corner after all *grin*), then pop along to the dedicated page at my website for more details on how and where to buy.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Book review: 'Wizard's First Rule' by Terry Goodkind
This is the book (or one of 'em) that the recent tv series 'Legend of the Seeker' was based on. The series was a jolly wheeze and on the strength of enjoying the double helping each week I treated myself to the book a few weeks ago. I finally finished it last night but have very mixed feelings.
The story was great - a real page turner. I liked most of the characters, who were warm and sympthetic and less one-dimensional than many fantasy genre characters. And I really enjoyed some of the mind-stretching philosophy Goodkind wove into the story, where nothing was quite what it seemed and good wasn't always 100% better than evil. It really made you think.
But oh dear! The style! For the most part it's terribly, terribly basic, of the 'she did this, he said that' variety, and so repetitive I found myself skim-reading huge chunks. The hero, Richard, would be holding an internal argument with himself while tracking through a forest, and forty pages on he was still have the same internal argument with himself in the same forest. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit, but not by much.
This is an example of what I mean, but it's not the only bit. There's more. Lots, lots more. Three more paragraphs of this argument alone, and another seven hundred pages in the book....
But what was wrong with taking the sword? What could it hurt to have its help? Wouldn't it be foolish to turn down any assistance? Apparently the sword could be put to any use its owner wanted, so why not use it in the way he wanted? He didn't have to become an assassin, or anything else. He could use it to help them, that was all. That was all that was needed, or wanted; no more.
The cynic in me can't help thinking that it's very easy to write a 100,000 word book if you repeat every idea/sentence eight times in slightly varying ways.
Would I read another book in the series? Unless anyone can convince me that Goodkind has changed his style and tidied up his English, probably not. Which is a shame as it's basically a great story...
The story was great - a real page turner. I liked most of the characters, who were warm and sympthetic and less one-dimensional than many fantasy genre characters. And I really enjoyed some of the mind-stretching philosophy Goodkind wove into the story, where nothing was quite what it seemed and good wasn't always 100% better than evil. It really made you think.
But oh dear! The style! For the most part it's terribly, terribly basic, of the 'she did this, he said that' variety, and so repetitive I found myself skim-reading huge chunks. The hero, Richard, would be holding an internal argument with himself while tracking through a forest, and forty pages on he was still have the same internal argument with himself in the same forest. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit, but not by much.
This is an example of what I mean, but it's not the only bit. There's more. Lots, lots more. Three more paragraphs of this argument alone, and another seven hundred pages in the book....
But what was wrong with taking the sword? What could it hurt to have its help? Wouldn't it be foolish to turn down any assistance? Apparently the sword could be put to any use its owner wanted, so why not use it in the way he wanted? He didn't have to become an assassin, or anything else. He could use it to help them, that was all. That was all that was needed, or wanted; no more.
The cynic in me can't help thinking that it's very easy to write a 100,000 word book if you repeat every idea/sentence eight times in slightly varying ways.
Would I read another book in the series? Unless anyone can convince me that Goodkind has changed his style and tidied up his English, probably not. Which is a shame as it's basically a great story...
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Adventures in the capital city
We're just back from a few days in London, staying at a hotel near Buckingham Palace courtesty of Dave's 'frequent nights' points scheme. Had to delay our departure by a day thanks to my flu, but we still managed three days and had a great time. Highlights this time include a morning lurking in the National Gallery (filled to bursting with amazing works of art and best of all, it's free), another morning in the Museum of Docklands (absolutely fascinating, could have done with at least a day to see everything) and a guided tour of the Barbican Centre from one of my friends, who has links there. The latter was particularly interesting because you so rarely get to see the private 'face' of public spaces; behind the concert hall/library/gallery complex there are apartments, gardens, lakes, and every facility you could possibly think of. Not to mention a section of the old city walls, plonked in the middle of all that 1960s concrete.
Pictures to follow; as usual I'm having problems coaxing them off my camera - the connector software is up the spout and I'm having to improvise!
Pictures to follow; as usual I'm having problems coaxing them off my camera - the connector software is up the spout and I'm having to improvise!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Library membership opened up
Great news for readers and booklovers in the UK: membership of public libraries has now been opened up so you can, in the words of this BBC website article, 'Borrow a book wherever you are'.In the past, you've had to register at each local authority to use the library services within their patch. If you went on holiday to a different area, you couldn't use the lending library to take books out, unless you registered there too. For somewhere you visited often that might just about be worthwhile, but if you were only visiting for a week it hardly seemed worth the effort.
But now, as long as you have a valid library card from any local authority, you can borrow books from any other library in the country. The only (slight) downside is that you have to return the books to the place you borrowed them from. I can see why they've insisted on that (otherwise library staff would spend half their lives chasing books from one end of the country to the other) but it might get a tad expensive in postage if I borrow books on holiday and can't finish reading them by the end of the week....
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Ugh - flu
Apologies for the long silence; I've been laid low with a really nasty bout of flu for the last week. Hopefully I'm over the worst now, but the stairs to my study are still something of a challenge so I may not be around quite as much as usual.
And whoever said swine flu was 'relatively mild' wants to think again. It's only mild in relation to bubonic plague. Trust me.
And whoever said swine flu was 'relatively mild' wants to think again. It's only mild in relation to bubonic plague. Trust me.
Friday, September 18, 2009
New rules for the Lambda Awards
I just came across a worrying post on the EREC blog (http://www.erecsite.com/blog.html - Thursday's entry) regarding new rules introduced by Lambda for their annual writing awards. For anyone who doesn't know, these are probably the biggest, most prestigious awards for writers of glbt fiction; to win is instant kudos and even coming close is pretty special.
In the past, the awards have been open to any author who writes gltb fiction, irrespective of their own identity. Suddenly, this year, they've introduced a new requirement for the works to be judged on, amongst other things, 'the gender orientation/identity of the author'. In other words, all qualifying authors will presumably now need to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered before their work will be considered for a Lambda Award.
Of course, this is their award and they have every right to set their own rules. But for me, it rings several alarm bells.
Firstly, in this day and age of internet handles, pen names and hidden identities, how on earth are the judges going to check the gender and/or sexuality of authors, without being wholly intrusive at best and downright rude at worst? Will authors be expected to sign some sort of affidavit to their sexuality before being considered for an award? Or, as one colleague put it, will writers have to supply a DNA sample to satisfy the judges?
My second concern is that presumably, straight women who write gltb fiction will no longer be considered for the Lambda Awards. If this is the case, then it seems to be saying that only gay authors can write about gay characters. Where does this end? Should black authors only be able to write about black issues? Should women only write about other women, and children about children? Would only convicted thieves and murderers be allowed to write about crime? Or space aliens about outer space? Take this to its furthest limits and it soon gets silly. And who's to say that a straight author can't have insight into gay characters and gay lifestyle? After all, E M Forster managed pretty well with 'Maurice'....
Lastly, I'm concerned on a purely personal basis about shrinking markets. Any glbt anthology editor worth their salt accepts work with one eye on the Lambda Awards; it's only natural to want to be in with a chance of winning something as prestigious as that. But if only gltb authors are eligible, does this mean editors are going to start discouraging, or even banning, straight authors from submitting work to gltb anthologies? I really, really hope not, but it does seem to raise the possibility.
In the past, the awards have been open to any author who writes gltb fiction, irrespective of their own identity. Suddenly, this year, they've introduced a new requirement for the works to be judged on, amongst other things, 'the gender orientation/identity of the author'. In other words, all qualifying authors will presumably now need to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered before their work will be considered for a Lambda Award.
Of course, this is their award and they have every right to set their own rules. But for me, it rings several alarm bells.
Firstly, in this day and age of internet handles, pen names and hidden identities, how on earth are the judges going to check the gender and/or sexuality of authors, without being wholly intrusive at best and downright rude at worst? Will authors be expected to sign some sort of affidavit to their sexuality before being considered for an award? Or, as one colleague put it, will writers have to supply a DNA sample to satisfy the judges?
My second concern is that presumably, straight women who write gltb fiction will no longer be considered for the Lambda Awards. If this is the case, then it seems to be saying that only gay authors can write about gay characters. Where does this end? Should black authors only be able to write about black issues? Should women only write about other women, and children about children? Would only convicted thieves and murderers be allowed to write about crime? Or space aliens about outer space? Take this to its furthest limits and it soon gets silly. And who's to say that a straight author can't have insight into gay characters and gay lifestyle? After all, E M Forster managed pretty well with 'Maurice'....
Lastly, I'm concerned on a purely personal basis about shrinking markets. Any glbt anthology editor worth their salt accepts work with one eye on the Lambda Awards; it's only natural to want to be in with a chance of winning something as prestigious as that. But if only gltb authors are eligible, does this mean editors are going to start discouraging, or even banning, straight authors from submitting work to gltb anthologies? I really, really hope not, but it does seem to raise the possibility.
Friday, September 11, 2009
The Visitor out now
Ooops, my bad! I misread the details on the QueeredFiction website. The e-book version of 'Queer Dimensions' is out right now - it's only the print version that's coming on 21 September. That'll teach me to read things through properly...!
Anyhow, it means you can all now get your sticky mitts on the book, and read my short story The Visitor. As I've mentioned before, this is a poignant time-travel romance which follows one man's attempts to find the lover he left behind in his distant past - a past where gay relationships weren't allowed.
The anthology contains sixteen other stories, all gay, all sf and all with a 'time' element, by both new and established authors. Check out the QueeredFiction website for more details, and to find out where to buy the book.
And happy time-travelling, and reading.
Anyhow, it means you can all now get your sticky mitts on the book, and read my short story The Visitor. As I've mentioned before, this is a poignant time-travel romance which follows one man's attempts to find the lover he left behind in his distant past - a past where gay relationships weren't allowed.
The anthology contains sixteen other stories, all gay, all sf and all with a 'time' element, by both new and established authors. Check out the QueeredFiction website for more details, and to find out where to buy the book.
And happy time-travelling, and reading.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Release date for 'Queer Dimensions'
Latest news from QueeredFiction is that their time-themed sf anthology 'Queer Dimensions' is due for release on 21 September via a range of stockists.
This book includes my short story The Visitor, a poignant time-travel tale of a man's search for the love he left behind in his distant past, as well as stories from around twenty other authors.
You can find more details at the QueeredFiction website and I'll obviously be posting more here, and on my own website, as soon as the anthology is available.
This book includes my short story The Visitor, a poignant time-travel tale of a man's search for the love he left behind in his distant past, as well as stories from around twenty other authors.
You can find more details at the QueeredFiction website and I'll obviously be posting more here, and on my own website, as soon as the anthology is available.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Story in The New Flesh
The New Flesh (which sounds rather like a porno site but is actually a brand new magazine of short dark fiction) have accepted Clones and are featuring it on their website today.
This story is a very short, very odd little piece about... well, um, I'm not really sure what it's about - that's half the fun. :D Suffice it to say it's science fiction, it involves a mad scientist, and it has a twist in the tail.
You can find the story online at The New Flesh and you'll see when you read it why the picture I've used here is so appropriate.
This story is a very short, very odd little piece about... well, um, I'm not really sure what it's about - that's half the fun. :D Suffice it to say it's science fiction, it involves a mad scientist, and it has a twist in the tail.You can find the story online at The New Flesh and you'll see when you read it why the picture I've used here is so appropriate.
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