Reasons to be cheerful?

I was supposed to have my book in the shops in mid-December, then I was promised it would be before Christmas then after Christmas and now it's going to be out in early January. I am confident that my book will be published but I am not sure when!

Anyway on a brighter note; Joe Stein author of Another Mans World and Calm Fire, Calm Rage has reviewed the "soon"-to-be-published book. I'd like to thank Joe for taking the time and effort to do the review and I'd also like to share it with you.

motorbikes, ducks and crispy sweet apples

Christopher I King’s debut novel is quirky, interesting and eminently readable.

The prologue to the story of Jimmy Gallagher grabs hold of you and it threatens to be a white knuckle paced ride.
And then the author backtracks.
And you realise that this is not so much a thriller in the conventional term, but more a story about a character, a man caught up in a situation partly of his own making, but mainly out of his control and as we learn what has brought him to this position, an odd thing happens, something which is rare in thriller-land. We start to care what happens to this man. Jimmy is us. Maybe doing things we wouldn’t do, but he could be anyone of us. A basically decent guy, trying to do his best and checked at many, if not all turns, by fate, human nature and the vagaries of life.
And sometimes he wins, as in the quick thinking comment to shut up the cab driver on the way to Gatwick airport, and sometimes he loses (witness the ‘one sock’ episode). Just like we do.
It’s rare to find really likeable characters in modern thriller fiction, mostly they are flawed heroes, or people with a manufactured ‘past’. Where ‘Motorbikes, Ducks and Crispy Sweet Apples’ scores, is in having an ‘everyman’ hero, struggling with the day to day living as we all do and being both instantly recognisable and likeable at the same time. And when the living turns out to be not so day to day, when the situation starts to spiral out of control, the character retains his credibility, he still tries to do the right thing.
That and King’s excellent recognition of the absurdities of life, make this a trip to the States to remember for the reader as well as for Jimmy Gallagher. I was genuinely caught up with the character and the story. King has an ear for dialogue and the rare ability to see and transcribe the idiocies of general living that we all know and try to avoid mentioning, even, or especially, when we’re caught out by them.
The comic elements are clear and at times laugh out loud, but in many ways this is a serious story as well, with characters who are lonely and sometimes desperate. And there is nothing funny about the final situation.
A welcome new voice, then, and more importantly, a different and distinctive one.
And yes, Mr. King, I do want to know what happens next!

Joe Stein

Note: This review refers to a pre-publication electronic version of the book.

Personalised?

I saw a car for sale today, a Toyota Rav4, it was green. I stopped to read the notice in the window as was my want. It read something like;

FOR SALE
TAXED FOR 6 MONTHS
MOT FOR 12 MONTHS
CD PLAYER

£2249 ono

INCLUDES PERSONALISED NUMBER PLATE

I had a quick look at the number plate; YFJ 1209.

Now it seems to me that someone might want to by a Rav4 and that someone might quite fancy a green one with a CD player but what the hell are the chances she's called Yvonne Francis Jeffers and was born on the twelfth of September?

Obsessed?

Tom Foolery wanted me to list five of my obsesions and a bunch of other things. Well I did the easy part and the rest? Hey, she didn't even expect me to get that far!

1. I'm obsessed by breaking rules which is why I didn't follow any for this meme (whatever the hell that means!).
2. Crack cocaine, I try to stop. God help me I try!
3. Poking lentils, I'm obsessed with keeping my finger on the pulse.

4. Calvin Klein, his fragrance is an obsession of mine

5. My collection of hammers, two more and I think I've nailed it!

Now I'm obsessing about the gap between number 4 and 5 which I can't make go away! Six obsessions! When I break the rules I break the rules!!

Madness?

There is a new sign on the wall in our toilet at work which reads:

ALL HAND TOWELS HAVE BEEN REMOVED DUE TO MISUSE.

Can anyone enlighten me on how you misuse a hand towel? By using it on your face maybe?

I hope to hell no-one starts misusing the toilet paper!

The 'C' Word!

How to tell that it's Christmas;

• Semi-inflated Santa's clinging to pitched roofs?
• A colourfully illuminated bush?
• Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?
• Jack Frost nipping at your toes?
• Half price Halloween costumes?
• Copious amounts of vomit on the pavement?
• No snow?
• Youngsters are allowed to talk to strangers dressed up as someone else who is going to visit them in their bedroom when their parents are asleep?
• Fairy light envy?
• Unhealthy overdraft?

Unfortunately it's none of the above but you can actually tell when it's Christmas when every other advert on TV is a surreal perfume ad!!

Book Movie.

My book is due out in the next couple of weeks but here is a sneak preview that was made for me by Jamieson Wolf.



Thanks Jamieson!

NB: There seems to be a problem with my comment box. If you wish to comment please use the comment box on my previous post.

Brucie Bonus?

I'm making a list,
Checking it twice,
Goin' to find out'
What's naughty, whats nice?

Yep, the cupboards are bare and it's down to Morrisons tomorrow.