Aliya Whiteley's Blog, page 85

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Here's a flashie of mine entitled The Holmesian Defence, if anyone's after a quick read. Conan Doyle fans beware.Buy Light Reading on Amazon[image error]

Wot Plot

I don't understand plot.

I don't understand writing generally - why it works, why it doesn't - but plot is the biggest mystery. There are books that are all about plot, and books that have next to no plot. Generally I don't like a huge amount of stuff to happen in a 'tearing around the world stopping the Vatican or discovering the secrets of your leprous granny' type way, because the writing usually sucks around it:

And then this happened.

And this happened suddenly afterwards.

Suddenly some more s

Veggie Books: On Chesil Beach

They could see the beginnings of a footpath, dropping by muddy steps, a way lined by weeds of extravagant size - giant rhubarb and cabbages they looked like, with swollen stalks more than six feet tall, bending under the weight of the dark, thick-veined leaves. The garden vegetation rose up, sensuous and tropical in its profusion, an effect heightened by the grey, soft light and a delicate mist drifting in from the sea, whose steady motion of advance and withdrawal made sounds of gentle thunder,

Knotted in Knossos

Crete was really a very lovely island and we wandered around it respectfully in our tiny hire car, as befits a soul-sucking tourist family on a budget. We did try hard not to destroy the natural beauty of the place by taking our rubbish away with us from the beach and not eating too many pizzas in trashy seaside resorts, even though that was all the Munchie wanted to do.

She enjoyed Knossos enormously. She followed the stones on the floor and guessed about what each room might have been, and got

Turning Japanese

From the day-job, mainly to point out how HUGE m-novels are in Japan, Tokyo Real has sold over 5m copies, leading to 3m paperback sales. I kid you not:

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Cheek

Somewhat perturbed--read horrified--that The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin has been remade for the 'modern era'. And with Martin Clunes to boot. Is there any comedy actor less Leonard Rossiter-like?

In other news, I'm perfectly capable of doing cute kid posts. See accompanying pic of heiress to my misfortune.



Off to watch the return of Ashes to Ashes.Buy Light Reading on Amazon[image error]

I'm Off

Right, all have fun while I take a week off. And don't pay too much attention to anything Neil says - he's prone to depressing, informative posts about the state of publishing and not enough bloggage about veggies and small children and chicky-pigs.*

*The devonian term for woodlice.Buy Light Reading on Amazon[image error]

Veggie Books: Barking

A bit of Tom Holt to break up the monotony of a sunny Sunday afternoon. Or am I the only one who finds sunny afternoons depressing? Well, apart from the Kinks.

Duncan remembered a playground: early autumn, dry leaves drifting in on the wind from the plane trees that grew just outside the school gates. Hughes the new boy, just moved into the neighbourhood, uncrinkles the silver foil in which lurks his first packed lunch at Lycus Grove. He's nervous about anybody seeing; understandably, since insid

What a carve up

Thanks to Drew Gummerson for posting this link on Damien G Walter's blog on the Guardian.

Although over a year old, the article was too interesting not to share for a Carver fan:

What we talk about when we talk about editingBuy Light Reading on Amazon[image error]

Last Last Line

Thinking about it, the last line of Galatea has always struck me as not quite right. I've been hoping a suitable replacement would come to me, but since three or four years have passed, I'm guessing not.

Or maybe it'll be the last thing I ever think of before I kark it. It'll suddenly come to me. No pithy lines about curtains, oh no, I'll say, "Oh yes! Blimey! I can't believe I didn't see it before!" and that be it. Galatea, and me, done with.

Unless somebody else can come up with a better one fir