Hello Blogites,
When music was great and videos were awful.
Blog soon x
Thursday, February 24, 2011
About themes
Hello Blogites,
I wanted to write a blog about the themes of my book. Well, actually, one of the themes of the book. The main theme as it goes. Without giving too much away (and if you've read the synopsis, this won't come as a massive surprise) the main theme of, This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary, is growing up.
When I imagined this book in my head, the first thing that came mind was the phrase, 'the good old days'. I think at some point in our lives, most of wish that we were eighteen again, or twenty-one (or insert a great period of your life, it could be when you were twelve). It isn't that we hate our current existence, but it's usually because we look back on our salad years with a clouded nostalgia. In our minds at least, this was a carefree time, when all we had to worry about was what pub/club we were going to at the weekend, how we were going to kiss that girl/guy we really liked and making it home from college/university in time to watch Neighbours. It was a simple time. We didn't have to worry about mortgage payments, relationships, having kids, not having kids and all the other trappings of adult life. In short, it was brilliant.
So, when we're in our thirties, about to become parents, homeowners, married etc...of course we look back upon our wonder years and long to have that simple life again. However, and here's the catch, as much as we want to go back we can't because it doesn't exist anymore. Every now and then, we all try to recreate moments from our past, whether it's going on holiday to the same place, nights out with the same gang, but it's never quite the same. Places change, people change and that old magic is lost in the corridors of time. It's sad, but true.
The only solution is to move on, embrace the now and plan for the future because if we're stuck living in the past, eventually we'll lose everything we have in the present. Again, without giving too much away, this is the dilemma faced by Harry in the book and I think you'll enjoy seeing how he deals with it. I think it's a fairly common theme and especially for men. Growing up is hard, accepting it is even harder.
Blog soon x
I wanted to write a blog about the themes of my book. Well, actually, one of the themes of the book. The main theme as it goes. Without giving too much away (and if you've read the synopsis, this won't come as a massive surprise) the main theme of, This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary, is growing up.
When I imagined this book in my head, the first thing that came mind was the phrase, 'the good old days'. I think at some point in our lives, most of wish that we were eighteen again, or twenty-one (or insert a great period of your life, it could be when you were twelve). It isn't that we hate our current existence, but it's usually because we look back on our salad years with a clouded nostalgia. In our minds at least, this was a carefree time, when all we had to worry about was what pub/club we were going to at the weekend, how we were going to kiss that girl/guy we really liked and making it home from college/university in time to watch Neighbours. It was a simple time. We didn't have to worry about mortgage payments, relationships, having kids, not having kids and all the other trappings of adult life. In short, it was brilliant.
So, when we're in our thirties, about to become parents, homeowners, married etc...of course we look back upon our wonder years and long to have that simple life again. However, and here's the catch, as much as we want to go back we can't because it doesn't exist anymore. Every now and then, we all try to recreate moments from our past, whether it's going on holiday to the same place, nights out with the same gang, but it's never quite the same. Places change, people change and that old magic is lost in the corridors of time. It's sad, but true.
The only solution is to move on, embrace the now and plan for the future because if we're stuck living in the past, eventually we'll lose everything we have in the present. Again, without giving too much away, this is the dilemma faced by Harry in the book and I think you'll enjoy seeing how he deals with it. I think it's a fairly common theme and especially for men. Growing up is hard, accepting it is even harder.
Blog soon x
Friday, February 18, 2011
This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary excerpt and I.T. support
Hello Blogites,
I'm still working hard editing my book, but I'm still very hopeful that it will be out in March. Our second child (a wee boy) is due at the end of March and so it needs to be done by then because after that I'm going to have very little time to write.
So, with that in mind, I thought that I should give you all the information you need to get your grubby little paws on a copy of my novel. It's very simple and to make it even easier for my beloved Blogites, here is a link where you download the Kindle app to your PC, Mac, Blackberries, iPhones and more. Once you have this app you can simply go on Amazon, purchase my book for the very reasonable price of $5 and presto, you can read my debut novel. If you're in England this works fine too and the price will be adjusted, so it will be about 3 of your English pounds. So, go here and download the app, so you're ready as soon as my book is available.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_352814002_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-6&pf_rd_r=0D2YXYHB3ZSX20V3BE3G&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=1279039382&pf_rd_i=1000426311
Another exciting edition to the world of This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary was born this week. It now has it's own official Facebook page, so please check it out and LIKE it. The more people I can get there and to LIKE it the better. Here's the link to that page if you haven't checked it out already.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/This-Thirtysomething-Life-A-Diary/101681903245838?ref=ts
And to get you in the mood, here is another short excerpt from my novel, This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary. Enjoy with a cup of tea and a biscuit.
I'm still working hard editing my book, but I'm still very hopeful that it will be out in March. Our second child (a wee boy) is due at the end of March and so it needs to be done by then because after that I'm going to have very little time to write.
So, with that in mind, I thought that I should give you all the information you need to get your grubby little paws on a copy of my novel. It's very simple and to make it even easier for my beloved Blogites, here is a link where you download the Kindle app to your PC, Mac, Blackberries, iPhones and more. Once you have this app you can simply go on Amazon, purchase my book for the very reasonable price of $5 and presto, you can read my debut novel. If you're in England this works fine too and the price will be adjusted, so it will be about 3 of your English pounds. So, go here and download the app, so you're ready as soon as my book is available.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_352814002_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-6&pf_rd_r=0D2YXYHB3ZSX20V3BE3G&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=1279039382&pf_rd_i=1000426311
Another exciting edition to the world of This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary was born this week. It now has it's own official Facebook page, so please check it out and LIKE it. The more people I can get there and to LIKE it the better. Here's the link to that page if you haven't checked it out already.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/This-Thirtysomething-Life-A-Diary/101681903245838?ref=ts
And to get you in the mood, here is another short excerpt from my novel, This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary. Enjoy with a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Tuesday January 17th, 7:00pm
At home. Eating bangers ‘n’ mash. Emily nibbling on a sausage (unfortunately, not a euphemism).
Begin rant.
We had to use the ladies' toilet at school today because of a blockage in the gents' (no doubt Bill Jenkins (Maths) was to blame. That man has the bottom of the devil). Still, it was quite an eye-opening experience. The ladies' toilet is lovely. They have pretty pink little towels, there are pictures of quaint English countryside scenes on the wall, they have hand lotion, hand moisturiser, the cubicle actually has toilet roll (and how soft it was) and they have a little box of potpourri next to the basin. I had no idea that the female staff had it so good in the lavatory department.
Going into the gents' is like visiting someone in jail. Hard, sandpaper towels, grey paint peeling off the walls, there’s never any soap, there’s always one half-square of toilet roll left (who uses half a square of toilet roll?), and God, the smell. The thought of having to pee or worse (number twos) starts a spiral of thought, which can take up an entire morning of teaching. Do I really have to go? Can I wait? Just bloody well clench-up and keep it in.
We’re intelligent human beings. We’re responsible for educating the next generation of industry leaders, artists and sports personalities, yet we have to defecate like monkeys in the rainforest, while the ladies get their girlie bits pampered like bloody royalty. It just isn’t right. Just because I’m a man, it doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy a bit of potpourri and hand moisturiser from time to time.
Rant over.
Blog soon x
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Why I hate Valentine's Day
Hello Blogites,
OK, before all of you pro-valentiner's start boycotting my blog and calling me a bitter, unromantic old bastard, please listen. I'm not against romance in the slightest. In fact, I love some old school romance and nothing brings a tear to my eye faster than a bit of mush from time to time, but here's the thing. Valentine's Day isn't in the remotest sense, in any words pertaining to be to romantic, at all romantic. Valentine's Day is about as romantic as going to the toilet. It's about as romantic as watching a round of golf. It lacks every single element that makes something romantic. Let me explain.
In many ways romance is something indefinable. For each of us it's something different. For some people (the shallow vacuous ones) romance involves large diamonds and expensive gifts, for others it's something simple; a candlelit dinner under the moon, a picnic, a love note tucked into their lunch or a foot massage after a hard days work. What each of us defines as romantic is often significant to us. However, and I think here is the crucial element of romance, it shouldn't be contrived. Hence, why Valentine's Day is the most unromantic day of the year because it's the day we're told to be romantic. The day any old schmuck with twenty bucks in his back pocket can send his girlfriend/wife/lover a bunch of flowers or take them out to dinner and be oh so romantic. It's like giving a dog a treat because he sat down when you told him to sit down.
The worst part of Valentine's Day is the flowers sent to work. I don't apologise if this offends you because it's meant to be offensive, but only if your the sort of person who actually likes getting flowers at work. At my last place of employment all day flowers would come to the ladies amid ooohs and ahhhs and your so lucky, he must be the most amazing boyfriend/husband/lover, blah blah blah and all I could think was, those flowers aren't even for you. The flowers are to show everyone else in the office that you're married to such an amazing guy who just happened to have a spare twenty bucks in his back pocket. It's the worst sort of present. It's contrived, meaningless and actually quite selfish. My wife told me the other day that apparently in America, 15% of women actually send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day! Isn't that the saddest thing you've ever heard.
So, I'm sorry if you think I'm a miserable old git, but honestly I'm not. I love being romantic, getting romantic and all things about romance generally, but when you're being romantic because it's a "special" romantic day, maybe have a think about why it takes someone to tell you to be romantic to be romantic. We shouldn't need Valentine's Day to tell someone we love them, to buy them flowers or do something nice. And if you're wondering what Kristin and I will be doing on Valentine's Day, well the same thing we do every other day of the year, we'll be in love, which may involve a moment of spontaneous romance or it may not. Just don't tell us when we should be romantic because it just defies the whole point, it's being in love by numbers and we don't need numbers, just each other. See isn't that quite a sentimental, romantic last sentence and I didn't write it because I had to, because I had some spare cash or expect anything in return, but just because that's what romance is.
Blog soon x
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
About future stuff
Hello Blogites,
During my recent sojourn across the pond to England, I had a great deal of time to think about not only my current book, but also my next one. Us writers are never happy to be just thinking about our current projects, especially when they're almost finished.
I've been mulling over my next novel for a while. I've had all sorts of ideas and thoughts about where to go next. However, while in England, I suddenly got a huge dose of inspiration. I was in London, skulking around shops and museums, when I heard The Beatles song, All you need is love. I started mulling the words over in my head, all you need is love, all you need is love, all you need is love, love, love is all you need, and suddenly it came to me. Obviously, it's just a shell of an idea, but this is how it starts. This is how This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary, began.
I think This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary is in many ways my ideal first book. It's a comedy, it's about all of the things I love reading about and I think, hopefully, both men and women will be able to relate to it and appreciate it's humour. However, I want my next book to be something different. Something deeper, which is why I was so excited about this idea.
My next book is going to be called, Love Love Love. It's going to be about the three parts of love, falling in love, being in love and losing love, hence the title. It's still going to be a romantic comedy, but with much more drama than Thirtysomething. More a romantic dromedy if you like. Obviously, it's only a hollow shell still waiting to be filled in with the guts, but I'm already excited about it. I'm working through some ideas at the moment, characters, a very loose plot line, and I won't start writing it until the middle of the year at the earliest, but I love this process. In many ways, the beginning of a novel is the most satisfying part for me. That initial spark, meeting the new characters, finding out about their little flaws and quirks, it really is like the beginning of a new relationship.
Am I sharing too much? I just thought it might be nice to give you an insight into what I'm working on and how my process works. I think it's exciting and fun, but like people who find train spotting quite the hoot, I'm probably boring you to death, so I won't say anymore.
I hope that in a year from now, I'll be writing a blog about my wonderful new book, Love Love Love, it will be fully conceived and hopefully partially written. At least then you'll know how it all started. You can say you were there when it all began. You too can be one of the cool people!
Blog soon x
During my recent sojourn across the pond to England, I had a great deal of time to think about not only my current book, but also my next one. Us writers are never happy to be just thinking about our current projects, especially when they're almost finished.
I've been mulling over my next novel for a while. I've had all sorts of ideas and thoughts about where to go next. However, while in England, I suddenly got a huge dose of inspiration. I was in London, skulking around shops and museums, when I heard The Beatles song, All you need is love. I started mulling the words over in my head, all you need is love, all you need is love, all you need is love, love, love is all you need, and suddenly it came to me. Obviously, it's just a shell of an idea, but this is how it starts. This is how This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary, began.
I think This Thirtysomething Life: A Diary is in many ways my ideal first book. It's a comedy, it's about all of the things I love reading about and I think, hopefully, both men and women will be able to relate to it and appreciate it's humour. However, I want my next book to be something different. Something deeper, which is why I was so excited about this idea.
My next book is going to be called, Love Love Love. It's going to be about the three parts of love, falling in love, being in love and losing love, hence the title. It's still going to be a romantic comedy, but with much more drama than Thirtysomething. More a romantic dromedy if you like. Obviously, it's only a hollow shell still waiting to be filled in with the guts, but I'm already excited about it. I'm working through some ideas at the moment, characters, a very loose plot line, and I won't start writing it until the middle of the year at the earliest, but I love this process. In many ways, the beginning of a novel is the most satisfying part for me. That initial spark, meeting the new characters, finding out about their little flaws and quirks, it really is like the beginning of a new relationship.
Am I sharing too much? I just thought it might be nice to give you an insight into what I'm working on and how my process works. I think it's exciting and fun, but like people who find train spotting quite the hoot, I'm probably boring you to death, so I won't say anymore.
I hope that in a year from now, I'll be writing a blog about my wonderful new book, Love Love Love, it will be fully conceived and hopefully partially written. At least then you'll know how it all started. You can say you were there when it all began. You too can be one of the cool people!
Blog soon x
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