Patience Stuff

Around the publication of Patience, I’ve written and posted a few scattered things that link up in lots of sneaky ways – so I’m doing an ICYMI blog.

First thing was my blog here explaining the whole thing, and why the book is so important to me.
The fuller story of writing the novel, I covered in a lecture. A secret lecture. You can also watch or listen to this.
Then there’s a playlist I put together for Galley Beggars Press of what I was listening to, whilst writing the book. (It’s on Spotify.)
There’s a Beatles song included in the Galley Beggars playlist, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, and I’ve wanted to write about what they mean to me for a long time – and to say something adequate about Paul McCartney, after being snarky elsewhere.
And more recently, a collection of the words of – I suppose – inspiration that I kept in mind, so that I didn’t stray from writing the book as intensely as I could.
Also, which was really enjoyable, I put together a Top Ten for the Guardian of Great Escapes.
And I did a podcast for Galley Beggars, about doing nothing – about a Buddhist form of doing nothing. (It’s on Stitcher as well as Soundcloud.)
For full disclosure, I’ve posted a couple of videos of me writing Patience – at Hawthornden Castle. (This I have never done before.)
I did a blog containing the sketchbook I kept during that snowy time. And the photographs I took.
So far, I’ve done a couple of interviews about the book. One with Leigh Chambers of Cambridge 105 Radio, and another with Stella Klein of MIR Online.
There have been some outstanding reviews of Patience, among them Houman Barekat’s for the Guardian and Jude Cook’s for the TLS.
Best of all has been the response of the first readers – either via email or twitter. Thank you to anyone who has been in touch.