Geoff Nelder's Blog, page 42

Exciting update on Ira Nayman

A few days ago I received two books by the unique humorist, Ira Nayman. As soon as the critque weeks are done at Cafe Doom and I've satisfied myself over writing a significant chunk of Left Luggage 3, I'll read and review his What Once Were Miracles Are Now Children's Toys and Alternate Reality Ain't What It Used To Be. I've random sampled a few pages and liked the zany humour I saw so far.

Ira sent me an exciting update on his writing career today

I WON! I WON! I WON! I WON! I WON! I WON! I...

Saved: the Spotted Medick

A quarter of a century ago, as a geography teacher, I used to take students in Chester to a local open land known as Edgar's Field. It has a Roman provenance in the form of an old sandstone quarry and a shrine to one of their Goddesses, Minerva. A favourite spot was near the River Dee where an Old Red Sandstone outcrop displayed wonderful current bedding from when it was laid down hundreds of millions of years ago. Chester, like the rest of Europe was further south in those days and a...

Victim of art

As I plunged the sponge into the soapy bucket to clean my wife's car I noticed a large area of white and blue on what should have been a red offside bumper area. I naturally assumed I or my wife had scraped a post or another car but we would have noticed it. A gentle rub showed that the white was powder paint and the blue was a water-based paint. There are no deep scratches but a few areas where spots of red paint are missing. Wife is furious, more so when I tell her it is only a metal box...

Irresistible image

There are over 500 photographs of my son's wedding taken by the official photograph and others taken by those of us attending. Clearly the most important are of Rob and Tracey and their immediate family – Liddie-Ann and Amy. However, for me, a picture that captures my essence is not the one of me in a group or caught napping – to be seen in my webpage collection here but one of my grandson, Oliver, showing me how to play the piano. The photographer caught his eyes and mine perfectly. Don't...

Robert and Tracey get married

The family lived in Allington Manor near Grantham this weekend for the marriage of our son, Rob, to Tracey. Just a bijou afair with eight adults and three children, we occupied the manor house and gardens. The weather was warm and dry, the food was excellent and the company marvelous. A few pictures from my camera are here

http://www.geoffnelder.com/wedding/wedding.html

and better ones will be forthcoming from the official photographer.  Baby Oliver had a great time playing with my step...

Higher and better

It's about time I did an update here. I'll save the best till last.

The main reason for writing this blog is to promote my writing and inform readers of Escape Velocity magazine and other projects of news. In spite of these writerly intentions I once wrote a piece about how a friend led me up to the summit of Tryfan mountain up the north face. Marvelous day, and since then the majority of hits in this writer's blog has been by folk looking for news of Tryfan! Well, the news is that the...

Fiction turns into fact?

As readers of my Exit, Pursued by a Bee will know, large alien spheres had tunnelled out of the Earth's crust and departed for their home star. Their departure caused so much havoc on Earth that the aliens had to be chased and asked – somehow – to return and rectify matters. Take a look at the so-called sinkhole that appeared in Guatamala last weekend – here.  It is clear to me that this is no sink hole but an exit hole. Look at the smooth sides. vast deepness, and mystery. A sphere must...

Left Luggage opening wins award

Left Luggage is the working title of my science fiction trilogy. My agent, Rebecca Pratt, is handling it and has sent it to lucky publishers for appraisal.

While I waited for the months to go by, I sent the opening scene to a

competition called Strong Scenes. The result today is that mine is one awarded an Honorable Mention for May 2010. here

http://www.strongscenecontest.com/ about half way down.

Walking clears the head

Again my mrs had to work in Llangollen so I chauffered, donned my hiking boots and headed for the hills. I've just uploaded a clip to Youtube if you'd like to view http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToFrMzoymo0

I only encountered two other people in four hours, who'd have thought you could be so alone in Britain. Marvelous for thinking plots and characters.

The path was probably tramped by the Romans and ancient Welsh before them. A ruined Cistercian Valle Crucis monestory is nearby so the ghosts o...

The City & The City

The City & The City

ISBN: 978-0-330-49310-9

China Miéville

Reviewed by Geoff Nelder

I could see, then unsee, why this is science fiction and yet not.

This book arrived on my shelves enveloped in controversy. It had just been awarded two science fiction awards, nominated for more, and yet journalists were asking if it was really science fiction or just a crime novel with added dimensions. If I thought it was akin to when Margaret Atwood is in denial of her obvious-to-most science fiction writing...