Paul Magrs's Blog, page 8

Another of those emails that make it worthwhile.

I got a lovely email the other day that I thought I'd share with you...

"Hi Paul,
I wrote this back in March, off a "write a letter to an author" prompt. Only struck me today you might enjoy reading it. Here we are.
-
I love endings. When the pieces are finishing play, the lose ends tying up and the tale twists once more. It's the sens of destination and inevitability as all the strands converge on their way to the curtain call.
The problem with endings is that real life rarely gives you the chance for them. You're often left on an extended hiatus, with a "see ya" or "we'll meet up soon". Or, when those endings do come they're invariably much too soon with too much left unsaid and terribly sad.
It's been a cold winter for tangentially related reasons to the above, so I'm writing with thanks for a source of warmth over the last few months. Last night I finished the last episode of the Nest Cottage Chronicles. When the unconventional narrative structure that is life became a bit too unruly, I could tap into a brand new era of Doctor Who nestled in Hexford that felt like it was just for me.
It could be said that describing something as a comfort listen might be a back handed compliment, but I don't think that's the case here. You have a beautiful use of language and combined with the one and only Tom Baker, with Richard Franklin reliable as ever and Susan Jameson effortlessly becoming the heart over the saga, the fifteen hours became something very special.
For me, they encapsulated the best of stories. It was as if the Doctor himself was relaying a yarn by the fireplace. You're sat in a comfy armchair with a whisky in your hand and a ginger beer in his.
Stories are amongst other things, a comfort. They might show terrible truths and monsters in the world, but the best ones remind us they can be fought. Of course, Doctor Who has been doing that for years, but what Nest Cottage really tells us (read: Me) is that stories themselves are important.
If it's the glimpses of life woven into the villagers of Hexford or the textured historical worlds we drop into, these insights into other people's galaxies stories give us enrich our own and give us a frame of reference when our own narrative seems to lose the plot.
Hence my resolution (three months late) to write more. The truth is, it's been a while and armed with your own Creative Writing Coursework and some dusty ideas, I'm going to start telling my own stories.
Thank you for Nest Cottage. Thank you for reminding me what I love about stories. Thank you for getting me to write again."

Little Book Reviews of recent reads.

The River at Night by Erica Ferencik is a novel I described elsewhere as ‘The Golden Girls’ meets ‘Deliverance’, though the four women are slightly younger than that. We have four very different types escaping into the Maine wilderness on a whitewater rafting survival weekend, and our narrator Win is the most sensible of the bunch. She’s not the one shagging the fit young boating expert, or exposing the mercies of a feral and murderous mother-and-son combo in the middle of the woods. I found this book completely terrifying and believable. Even in the midst of lockdown, it put me right off the idea of weekends away.

Simon Turney’s ‘Caligula’ is from the Emperor’s loyalest sister’s point of view, and it’s about how, though the shocking legend might have been mostly bad PR, he still went bonkers in the end. This is a gutsy book that sets us right down in some of the most dangerous places in history – notably Tiberius’s villa on Capri, where you’re best off keeping away from the balcony view. I clung to this book when I ran out of episodes of ‘I, Claudius’ to rewatch – it has the same atmosphere of hectic scandal and terror.

Giles Kristian’s ‘Lancelot’ took me two weeks to read. Two weeks in a filthy mucky, noisy, bloodthirsty, vengeful, romantic, spooky, wonderful fifth century Britain. His prose just rolls along beautifully and even as someone who can’t stand battlefield scenes in anything I loved every page. Highlight was probably a Merlin’s every sinister appearance – especially in the Excalibur chapter. This is a big, bold, exciting retelling from an unusual point of view.

The Books That Made Me...

Some Dr Who Pictures from this week

Star Wars as-if-drawn-by Quentin Blake

I spent some time wondering what it would have been like if the original Star Wars stories hadn't been big films, but read by Bernard Cribbins on Jackanory with drawings by Quentin Blake...

Star Wars on 1970s Jackanory

I spent some time wondering what it would have been like if the original Star Wars stories hadn't been big films, but read by Bernard Cribbins on Jackanory with drawings by Quentin Blake...

Book List Quiz

I love book lists! Fill this in and share your favourites…
1.Favourite book / book series based on the author’s own childhood and family circumstances?
2. Favourite novel that just makes you laugh every time?
3. Favourite novel set during WW2?
4.  Favourite novel with a New York setting?
5. Favourite novel with animals as main characters?
6. Favourite novel tying in with a TV show or film.
7. Favourite book with a map at the front?
8.Favourite biography or memoir by a LGBTQ person?
9.Favourite book heavily featuring letters?
10.Favourite novel set on a different planet?
11.Favourite anthology of short stories all written by different authors?
12.A novel that makes you feel like you know more about a particular historical individual.
13.Favourite novel set before the Middle Ages?
14. A book you’ve read more than twice.
15. A novel you read and you’ve forgotten its name and its title.
16. A novel you can’t wait to read next.

17. A book you love that's about the place you grew up.

18. A book you're almost ashamed to say that you love.


19. Favourite rock star biography?

20. Favourite book about reading itself?

One of those emails that makes it all seem worthwhile

Last week I received - out of the blue - one of those emails that kind of make the whole, tricky thing seem worthwhile. They always come out of the blue! And they're always very welcome.


Dear Paul,

Christopher Hitchens implored his readers to thank people who had inspired them in some way, and so I am writing to you.

I read your chapter on Busy Books in the UEA Creative Writing workbook many years ago, and it has always stuck with me. Particularly the few paragraphs at the end of that chapter about writers wanting to be stars.

I have kept journals, diaries and sketchbooks since I could write. I went on to study creative writing and had some success with poetry, but the thing I hated about the poetry world was that it seemed to be all about self promotion and networking, neither of which are of any interest to me. It’s always been confusing to me that writers, who partake in this very solitary act, are also expected to talk endlessly about themselves.

I decided that I couldn’t ‘make it’ for this reason and stopped altogether, for years and years, but a creative person who is not creating is a dangerous thing, and as a result my emotional health has suffered a great deal.

I came back to your words at the beginning of lockdown, which I copied out in one of my tatty old journals, and I feel as though I have permission to write for the sake of writing. To generate ideas, to be curious and watchful, just for the joy of it.

So thank you, I am so pleased to be reunited with my busy book.

Best wishes,

My Favourite Books of the Year - so far!

It’s July, so it’s time to pick out my top ten books of the first half of 2020. You would think there’d be more time to read during months of lock-down. In a way it’s what real readers dream of. And maybe there was indeed more time… but my thoughts were being dragged all over the place as I tried to concentrate. If reading is like soaring through the clouds… then lock down is like being shot at by all the errant thoughts that come swarming around you. They’re blasting your concentration to smithereens the whole time…
However… I’ve read a great many books and enjoyed almost all of them. Here’s my top ten…
Two non-fiction books – ‘The Life of Stuff’ by Susannah Walker (a daughter gets to learn about her mother’s life by excavating her clutter-filled house) and ‘Books for Living’ by Will Schwalbe (a very timely reminder of the importance of slowness and quality of attention and the vital importance of stockpiling books for later…)
Two historical novels – because in recent months I’ve realised how much I love this genre. I want fat books to fill up my days and convince me I’m in a different time to this. And to tell me surprising things about eras I only thought I knew. ‘Daughters of Rome’ by Kate Quinn (chronicling the year of the four Emperors – shockingly violent and vivid) and ‘The House at Riverton’ by Kate Morton (big house, servants, and long-held secrets. And something addictive and catnippy in the writing.)
A thriller! ‘The River at Night’ by Erica Ferencik (four middle aged ladies white water rafting in rural Maine… the Golden Girls meets Deliverance is only a *slight* exaggeration, but a great tagline.)
A ‘lost’ kids’ book – ‘Flavio and the Cats of Rome’ by Pamela Binns. I feel like I’ve rescued this slim, elegant, sparky animal book from a library sale circa 1977.
A fabulous anthology – Puffin’s ‘Favourite Treasury of Children’s Stories’ from 1997. A beautifully chosen and illustrated book – waiting ready on my shelf for a crucial moment in lockdown. I opened it just when I needed to be reminded of why I love disappearing into books. I had a dodgy day or two when I had a reading crisis… and a few days in the sunny garden with this helped a lot.
A vintage blockbuster! And I read a few – but this one by Iris Rainer Dart – ‘When I Fall in Love’, superceded more famous books by Jackie Collins and Judith Krantz. I absolutely love books about power-dressing women in showbusiness in LA and NYC in the last few decades of the last century. They exist now in a glamorous little bubble of iridescence. This one is about comedy writers and has a lovely, snarky couple of characters sharing the love story at the heart of the book.
A brilliant satirical novel – ‘Me, Cheeta’ by James Lever – which pipped another sarky Hollywood-based novel (‘Little Me’ by Patrick Dennis) to the post. This one is narrated spectacularly by Tarzan’s hairy pal, and it will break your heart.
And probably the best novel of the lot – and the one I was waiting to arrive (one of my very few book purchases during these odd months) was the new Anne Tyler, ‘Redhead by the Side of the Road.’ Succinct and full of empathy and understanding.
And that’s my ten!
I hope the next six months bring even more wonderful books – and better times for us all.

'Never the Bride' cover reveal!

I see that Amazon has revealed the first of the new Brenda and Effie covers! (The whole series is republished in September by Snow and the new design is by Matt Bright)  ORDER HERE!!