Donkeys’ Years, by Michael Frayn, Reviewed.

First produced at London’s Globe Theatre in July 1976 (coincidentally the year in which my novel, Breaking Faith, is set, and a year of drought and heat wave in UK), this three act play is another demonstration of Frayn’s very British humour.

Although described simply as a play in three acts, this is much more like a farce, in the true British, dare I say English?, tradition. If not actually a farce, it could be taken as a parody of the style. It has all the ingredients: sexual misunderstandings, English sexual reserve, hypocrisy disguised as custom, bedrooms and, of course, the loss of clothes for the female and trousers for the male. I imagine the reader would have to become watcher in order to determine whether this is truly farce or the parody I suspect.

It is, of course, full of humour, poking fun at the stuffed shirts of academia, politicians and the servile subclass of those who serve such pretentions. There is much repetition, which, on the page can be a little wearying but on stage would work a treat, given good actors. The action is confined to a single location for each of the three acts and this serves to emphasise the claustrophobic and sheltered nature of the attitudes encapsulated by the cast. These are people who have no understanding of what most of us would call the ‘real world’. Privileged, spoilt and elevated beyond their natural abilities, they posture and pose their way through life completely unaware of the priorities faced by ordinary people outside their favoured circle.

The thread of lust, disguised as admiration until alcohol allows for honesty, permeates the play. The single female representative is the focus of all male attention, apart, of course, from that of the gay vicar (another stock character of English farce). There is little concern for the damage done to either lives or property by their barbs and actions. The level of achievement for most of the protagonists is well above their natural abilities and is an effective way of pointing out how birth and class can elevate beyond desert.

So, a social statement, but one so well submerged in humour that it may be missed by the less attentive. And the humour is brilliant. It had me laughing out loud and frequently, much to the distress of a fellow worker who shared the small room that serves as a temporary sanctuary from the busy and noisy office in which I perform my day job. The jokes come thick and fast, many derived from simple misunderstandings made clear to the audience but hidden from the characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this play and would definitely attend a theatre for a performance.

Related articles

• Clouds, by Michael Frayn, Reviewed.
• Humour? Funny?

Bedroom Farce, by Alan Ayckbourn, Reviewed.

Alan Ayckbourn, in Bedroom Farce, has written another in his series of very funny and insightful farces. A play, of course, is intended to be seen in order to be fully appreciated, but, as a playwright myself, I have an interest in reading the scripts.

This one is staged using three sets that appear together: three bedrooms, which allow the action of the interrelated couples to indulge in the farce of the title. However, what could so easily have descended into smut and exploitation of sexual mores, is instead a complex and well-observed comedy about English suburban life. Ayckbourn is a superb recorder of the idiosyncrasies of his family of English characters. He portrays them with love but doesn’t hold back in showing them for what they are. Often silly, sometimes selfish, frequently lacking in understanding, but never stereotypical, boring or trite.

He uses his sets to make points, giving the locations roles that place them as mute characters on stage to comment silently on the peculiarities, peccadillos, personalities and preferences of his flesh and blood characters. Imagination permits the reader to experience the text in much the same way as the theatre-goer might experience the performance. Though this is not to say that talented actors fail to raise more and greater laughs from the audience than the reader can develop from imagination alone.

Should this play be produced on a stage near me, I shall certainly attend and watch as the text is brought to life by performers who will undoubtedly enjoy the experience as much as the audience. And I’d recommend you to do the same. It’s a play full of laughter for the audience and brimming with under-stated and sometimes subtle asides at the characters. Well worth the reader’s and the viewer’s attention.

Related articles

• Ayckbourn to direct 'Sugar Daddies' at Seattle's ACT in 2013
• Surprises, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, review
• Entertaining Ayckbourn's Confusions
• Rob Brydon to make West End debut in Ayckbourn's A Chorus of Disapproval

Alphabetical Order, a Play by Michael Frayn, Reviewed

Michael Frayn - Cambridge - 2011 (Photo credit: Chris Boland http://www.distantcloud.co.uk/ )

Plays are, of course, intended to be seen, experienced, rather than read. However, as a writer who has had a radio play broadcast by the redoubtable BBC, I have an interest in play scripts, and enjoy reading them as well.

Michael Frayn has a reputation as a playwright who understands comedy. And Alphabetical Order is a great example of his strength in creating humour. The stage setting remains unchanged throughout the 2 acts, except for some 'tidying' essential to the story. So, the whole action takes place within the library of a local newspaper and involves the librarians and some of the reporting and editorial staff.

Having worked on a local paper, as a photographer, I have some empathy with the characters portrayed and some understanding of their peculiar pressures and priorities. The characters are well drawn, using the playwright's only real tool; that of dialogue. It's possible to picture them on the stage from the script, because they are so well described by their chosen words and what they have to say or what is said about them by other characters; the essence of a stage play.

The action is minimal, as is the plot, but the play covers a great deal of ground in terms of character building and relationship development. There are plenty of jokes and many occasions given to laughter, both with and at the characters. But there is pathos too. The aura of gentle decay and the overriding sense of futility combine with the overall frivolity of the dialogue, which hides those secrets that lurk beneath the surface of the spoken text. So, there are some surprises but the drama plays out more or less as expected.

The denouement is slightly surprising in the way it happens, but the reader realises that the outcome was, in fact, inevitable, given the natures of the characters and their employment. Typical of the very English setting and characterisation, there is a lot more beneath the surface, unstated but alluded to, making the play a multi-layered experience.

I enjoyed this, and recommend it to those who enjoy their drama in thoughtful but gentle comedy form.

The Writing Week.

Another busy, if interrupted, week.
I had begun the read aloud edit session of the NaNoWriMo novel (provisionally titled An Avenger Unseen) and got as far as chapter 15 before I realised it needed some major surgery. I'm writing this as a comedy thriller, with the emphasis on the comedy. But I realised I'd gone too deeply into the thriller aspect, and my male protagonist had adapted a tone unsuitable to his narrative. So, I went back to the beginning and I've so far re-written the first 5 chapters.
I've written a short story, which will need editing next week. And I completely re-wrote a story I'd started some time ago and never submitted. This one has gone to the Writers & Artists Yearbook contest. Wish me luck! If you're interested in entering writing competitions, you might have a glance at the page tabbed 'Writing Contests' above. There are a great many links to such contests there.
And I finished reading and have therefore reviewed, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The review is just below this post if you're interested.
Kate was home for the weekend and she's just returned, her boyfriend driving her to the station for her train.
It's my brother, Steve's, birthday tomorrow, so we had he and his lovely wife, Alison, round for the evening last night. Great night, but too much wine meant I wasn't up to much writing this morning!
The car has now been serviced and is again safe and quieter for the replacement of the box on the exhaust.
And the drive is now clear of snow, which is slowly melting away anyway.
Those are the interruptions I mentioned. I like to think of them as reasons for not having done much, but I know they're really excuses.
That, however, is enough for now.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Irony

Irony: noun - a pretence of ignorance used to entice others into saying things that can then be challenged; the use of language, normally expressing the opposite, to make some point; humorous use of praise to suggest condemnation or contempt.

In literature, irony is a device, in which the actual meaning is hidden or contradicted by the literal meaning of what is said or written. In dramatic irony, there is incongruity between what’s expected and what actually happens. Irony often comes from a resigned awareness of the contrast between what is and what should be and is expressed through controlled pathos lacking sentimentality. It’s a type of indirection that avoids overt praise or censure, as in the casual irony of statements like, ‘Brilliant!’ meaning, ‘Stupid’, or ‘The comprehensive philanthropy of conservative politics.’ meaning ‘The absolute self-serving meanness of conservative politics.’.

When used in a none literary fashion, irony is usually called ‘sarcasm’.

There is a pervasive theory amongst Brits that Americans have no understanding of irony, which probably stems from the British characteristic of self-deprecation contrasted with what the islanders see as the brash self-confidence of the newer country.

‘When Brenda referred to the level of intellectual tension conveyed by the two naked female mud-wrestlers, Bryan was oblivious of her irony and actually took his eyes off the action in order to agree with her.’

Picture: In the days before Google took over Blogger, I was able to associate posts with free images through a little widget called Zemanta. I might've delighted some of you, disgusted others, with a picture of nude women mud-wrestlers, but you'll have to make do with this picture of a local landscape, taken on a walk just a short distance from my home. I don't think there's any irony here; unless you think otherwise, of course.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Yak

Image via Wikipedia

Yak: noun – domesticated, heavy build ox covered in long shaggy hair and with a humped back, used in the uplands of central Asia as a pack animal and for its milk and soft dense underfur.

‘Sammy said he’d describe Melinda as a yak, except she wasn’t as pretty, couldn’t carry heavy loads and had never, to his knowledge, given any milk.’

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Short Story

Short Story: noun – a form of fiction in which, ideally, an event or series of events interacts with a character in such a way that the character undergoes some change, small or large; any short piece of fiction not long enough to be considered a novelette or novel; a tale, as opposed to an anecdote; a short form of fiction with a beginning, a middle and an end.

And, instead of an illustrative sentence, seems to make sense to provide an illustrative example. One of my own: 

Not the Type to Murder His Wife

Charles, murder Madge for another woman? Ludicrous. Makes you wonder what they were thinking: the police and the court. He’s not the type. Not to murder his wife. Not for passion. Only have to look at him to know he’s the very stuff of decency and stolid convention.

Hair cropped short and never out of place, Brylcreemed down to a glossy mat. Smart suit, white shirt, dark regimental tie and polished shoes buffed until you can see your face in them. Which, by the way, you’re likely to just before said shoe smacks into you, should you dare insult him. Short moustache, permanently stained with nicotine like the tips of the fingers on his right hand. Clean cut nails that can undo small screws or unpick staples.

Of course, he did always say, ‘Madge has a mind as deep…as a puddle of mud and the soul…of a brown boot.’

Big in the Women’s Institute, was Madge. Wore tweeds, would you believe? Made real jam, sponge cakes light as air, proper biscuits. Never break a tooth on Madge’s cookies. Into good causes: save the local hunt, retirement homes for lame otter hounds, that sort of thing. Pillar of the local church: well in with the vicar and his wife.

Big boned woman: heavy. Dark moustache like a line of exclamation marks on her upper lip. Sort of hairy echo of her domineering way of speaking, I suppose. To everyone except Charles.

Good to Charles, she was. Devoted. Warmed his slippers, cleaned his pipe, ironed his Telegraph flat. Meat and two veg every day and a proper roast with Yorkshires on Sundays. Every Friday night she’d pour him a scotch, with a tiny drop of water the way he likes it, before she went up to bed. ‘I’ll be ready and waiting, my dear.’

‘Need more than a ruddy scotch,’ he’d say and we’d laugh.

Perfect wife. And everyone said they were so well suited.

So, folk were shocked when he murdered her. Especially like that. I mean, poor woman, she’d have been mortified. Modest was Madge. Found her in the bath wearing nothing but a natural sponge and an electric fan heater. Hair stood up like stalagmites, they said. Blew all the circuits in the house.

And, I ask you, for what? A blonde tart with legs up to her armpits. Skirts; more like pelmets, wouldn’t cover a ha’penny, if you know what I mean. And a cleavage fit to hide in. Pretty enough face, for a tart. Mind you, wouldn’t do to let Charles hear you call her that. He’d as soon break your neck.

Never any violence in Charles. Wouldn’t harm a fly, as they say. Gentleman. Always holds the door open for a lady and won’t take no cheek. Saw him skelp a young lass once for calling Madge, ‘Fatty.’ Sorted her out. No, wouldn’t stand for anyone giving lip, our Charles.

Apparently, Madge caught them at it. Charles and this blonde. Can’t picture Charles without clothes. Always see him in pin stripes with razor sharp creases, crisp white shirt, very smart and dashing. Had his socks on, though, she said. English, you know. Just can’t see it; not Charles.

Madge said he was grunting like a pig! She could be a bit funny sometimes. I think she imagined that bit. Said the tart was moaning fit to bust. And on clean sheets. She’d only changed the bed that morning. Went out to the Institute to enter her jam tarts and came home to him entering a tart. Naked and gasping on her cream fitted cotton: the ones with jacquard lace edges. So nice. She showed me them the day they came from the catalogue. Lovely.

Big breasts, of course. And blonde, like I said. They always are. Mind you, Madge said it was peroxide: cuffs and collars, if you understand my meaning. Don’t know what men see in them. But then, that’s men for you.

Hadn’t even closed the curtains. I mean, anyone could’ve seen in if they’d been in the garden, you know: standing on tiptoes. Anyone. I know Brutus would have their leg off but that’s no guarantee, is it? Suppose Brutus knew them? He’s a lovely dog; friendly enough if you know how to treat him. They were those blue paisley curtains from Harpers in the High Street. The ones they had on offer last March. Very pretty. I helped her hang them.

Didn’t bat an eyelid, apparently. Made no effort to move after Charles got off her. Madge almost chucked the vase of dahlias at her but she didn’t want to make the bed wet. That big crystal one with the fleur-de-lys motif. Charles’s dahlias, from the border by the shed in the bottom corner. Lovely shades of red. Always good in the garden, Charles.

Just finished, stood, and put his clothes on without a word. Left them to it, she said. Madge didn’t know where to look, poor thing. I mean, she wouldn’t, would she? Just turned her back and told her to get out.

Friday night… this all happened on Wednesday… she poured his scotch as usual. ‘I’m going to have a bath, dear. Take your time: I want to luxuriate in that new Sensual Jasmine from the Avon lady. Why not have another, when you’ve finished? Then I’ll have time to warm the bed.’

Last words he ever heard her speak, I imagine.

Never locked the bathroom door, you know. She told me: open house for Charles. Not any more. Ten years he got. Be out in six with good behaviour. I’ll be waiting.

Charles is such a lovely man, blonde tarts aside. Madge was good to him and she didn’t really deserve that. But it was too good a chance to miss. He need never know. Do his time for the blonde. Come out older and wiser.

I expect Madge was a bit shocked, really, to see me standing there with the electric fan heater. Charles must’ve been a bit shocked, too, when he stumbled through the dark and found her. Of course, I’d gone by then. Actually, her last word was, ‘Aghhh!’ or something that sounded like that.

-ends-

Of course, being a Brit, a bit of a rebel, and prone to break the rules, I don’t necessarily follow all the conventions noted above. But I hope you enjoy this story, regardless.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Xanthippe

Image via Wikipedia

Xanthippe: noun - The wife of Socrates, a bad-tempered or scolding wife or woman.

'When George lazily referred to his wife as Xanthippe, she picked up the frying pan and demonstrated the accuracy of his description by beating him over the head with it, whilst yelling imprecations about his manhood at him.'

Edit Temporarily Suspended.

Image via WikipediaToday, I haven't even looked at the fantasy. Writers have to live as well, you know. So, today, I've had my hair cut, which has stopped me turning into a living copy of the missing link (well, almost, anyway). Also, my mobile phone decided to have a fit (it was free with something I bought a couple of years ago, so no real loss) but I had to buy a new one. And then, having discussed the issue for the past half century, my wife and I decided it was probably time we had a new bed. Of course, no hope of such a purchase in this small market town, so we had to travel. In 2 weeks, with luck, we'll start spending nights in the blissful comfort of memory foam. Whatever happened to brass bedsteads and straw filled mattresses, that's what I want to know.
Also, as those of you who have been paying attention will recall, I have reached the conclusion of book 1 and need to write an entire new chapter to bring book 2 to those who might try to read it before reading book 1 (there are such folk about, you know).
And, on top of all this, I'm pooped, weary, tired, exhausted and knackered. So, I'm going to retire to the sitting room, pour a glass or two of the vintage claret my writing group bought me for editing the anthology,  and watch QI, Mastermind and whatever other fare the TV producers care to toss in my direction. So, I'll bid you all a good night.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Eager

Image via Wikipedia

Eager:  adjective – impetuous, full of or demonstrating keen desire or appetite; impatiently longing.

'Barnaby was so eager to impress Shirley that he almost killed himself as he jumped over the wall and landed in a ditch some twelve feet down.'

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Dabble

Image via Wikipedia

Dabble: verb - moisten or soil by sprinkling, splashing, or dipping into water or other liquid; move, splash

Hands or feet in water, move the feet, hands, etc., in shallow water, paddle; work at something in a desultory manner; meddle, interfere.

'Under the burning sun, Georgina and Cindy dabbled their feet in the fountain to bring some relief from the heat wave that all but consumed the city.'

'David dabbled his handkerchief in the river to wash away the blood after murdering his wife's lover.'

Interview with Andy Naylor, Author.

Image via Wikipedia

Andy Naylor is a Welsh comedian/writer living in London. He has performed at two Edinburgh Festivals as part of a sketch group and as a stand up comedian, winning the Nicotinel new comedian of the year award in 2007. Devoting most of his twenties to comedy writing has seen him experience some amazing highs, some terrible lows and earn very little money!

A qualified journalist, Naylor is inspired by writers and comedians such as Irvine Welsh, Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais.  He enjoys putting it about on the five a side pitch, trying his hand at cooking and spending time with his girlfriend who is considerably more attractive than he is!

What are you writing now?

At the moment I am dividing my time equally between writing comedy sketches for my sketch group and feature style articles for a website. I find that the best method of writing both is to sit down and just tap it all out as fast as possible. I leave punctuation and any ideas of revision until I feel I’ve written everything I want down. I think I write in a fairly conversational style and this is both a help and a hindrance! Despite being a qualified English language teacher my grammar goes out of the window when I’m putting the ideas down!

What keeps you from writing?

Unfortunately the main thing that keeps me from writing is real life! As many would be writers find, as enjoyable as sitting down and writing is for me it doesn’t pay the bills yet. The last few weeks I’ve been unemployed and thought it would be a very fruitful time for writing. In some respects it has been but the nagging money worries at the back of my mind are never too far way. I think I’m at my most disciplined when I know money is coming in and I only have a short window to get work done. The comedy sketches can be delayed by the fear that an idea is always funny until it hits the paper. As soon as that happens it is open to judgement, rebuttal and ultimately failure! I take any rejection of comedy ideas quite personally and definitely have to work on this.

Website or blog that visitors can visit?

At the moment I’m writing for a website called palebluenews.co.uk and am in the process of building a site for my sketch group at naylorandgant.com.

Single aspect of writing that frustrates you?

I have always aspired to write a book and hope that one day this will be the case. At the moment though I enjoy the instant feedback and response I get to sketches and articles. I think I lack the necessary discipline needed to sit down and work on longer projects. I also tend to write about myself a lot and find this merges into characters I try to write. I admire anyone all writers who can create books that seemingly have no relation to their experiences or life. I find that level of imagination and inspiration staggering. Hopefully as I get less self involved and more mature I will be able to do this myself!

Who or what inspires you?

Real life stories and situations have always inspired me. I love to read Irvine Welsh as I can always picture exactly what he is writing about. I feel that he has lived and breathed these situations and that he knows exactly what his characters will do. Comedy wise, again I like to watch people. I love scrawling through facebook and looking at status updates. To my cynical mind, a bad day and a depressing status update can instantly create an idea for a scene or a character.

Do you have any support from friends, family a writers group?

I’ve often thought about joining a writers group but time is such a constraint for me that I worry it would be something else that would keep me from actually writing! I also find that by putting my sketches, articles, videos into the public domain now anyway I can receive feedback from varying sources rather than people just interested in writing. It has always amazed me to get praise from the unlikeliest of people as well as constructive criticism.

Where would you like your writing to go?

As my confidence builds from writing longer features, an obvious aim for me would be to write a book. I have ideas that I’ve been booting around for a while and wonder what it will actually take for me to start putting them down on paper. I would like to receive feedback and opinion from the widest circles possible. Only by constantly being subjected to this will I start to develop the tick skin needed to survive this game! For me to be able to live a semi comfortable lifestyle, purely from writing would be a dream come true.   

Author Interview with Karen Cantwell

Karen Cantwell, author of Take the Monkeys and Run, has been writing plays and short stories for many years, some of which were published in various college literary magazines.  More recently, her short story “The Recollections of Rosabelle Raines,” was published in the mystery anthology Chesapeake Crimes: They Had it Comin’ available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, or directly from the publisher, Wildside Press.

But she had always wanted to write a novel.  She found that more difficult.  Finally, a few years ago she became inspired to write her first novel, Take the Monkeys and Run, a comedy-mystery, inspired, to some degree by a true monkey sighting.   She loves to laugh as well as make other people laugh, so she had the most fun imagineable writing the character Barbara Marr.  She wanted to write something that readers would say, “Now that was FUN.” 

Tell us about Take the Monkeys and Run in a few sentences.

Take the Monkeys and Run is a humorous mystery featuring Barbara Marr, a soccer mom and movie lover who unwittingly lands herself and her friends into the middle of an action adventure type fiasco complete with bullets and bad guys, just like the movies.  Only these bullets are real.

What qualities do you need to be a successful writer?

An ability to write well in the genre you choose, a lot of gumption and VERY thick skin.

What is your working method?

I work best with several hours of uninterrupted alone time.  It usually takes me at least a half hour to get “in the zone” so to speak, then I like to have at least a couple of hours to punch out a chapter or a piece of a short story.  I have three kids, so I don’t always get that, but it is how I work best!

How did you come to write this particular book?

I had written several short stories and one-act plays, but had never finished a novel.  I had STARTED a lot of novels, but never seemed to be able to finish one.  It was a sore spot in my spiritual universe.  So one day I decided I was just going to do it.  I was going to finish a novel.  I didn’t care how good or bad it was, I wasn’t going to stop myself every time something just didn’t seem to “be right,” etc.  So I came up with a character and a plot with an idea of how it would end, and started typing.   It took me about two and a half months, but I did it.  I finished a novel.  Then, I kind of actually liked it.  So did a friend.  So, after some advice from an agent, I fleshed it out, enhanced the story line, and I had this novel – although at that time, it was titled Monkeys in My Trees.  After a few more revisions, I changed the title.

If you have a favourite character in your novel, why that particular one?

Can I have two?  My favorite character for her actual character is Peggy.  She’s well meaning, but flaky.  She has a heart of gold.  You just have to love Peggy.  My favorite character to WRITE, is Barb’s mom, Diane.  Diane is . . . an interesting mother.  Let’s put it that way.  She’s a blast to write.

How can people buy your book(s)?

On Amazon – it’s available in both Kindle and paperback versions.

http://www.amazon.com/Monkeys-Barbara-Murder-Mystery-ebook/dp/B003SE7O40

To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?

Grammar – you know, not so much. (love my grammar there?)  It depends on the piece.  I know my grammar well from years in school, but I take many liberties with it in my own novel because it is written in first person and the readers are in Barbara’s head.  People don’t think in good grammar.  At least I don’t!  But Spelling – that’s VERY important in my book.  Writers need to be very attentive to spelling, otherwise the reader can be thrown off and maybe not understand what you’ve written.

How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?

As much as it needs, really.  My problem is I could revise until the cows come home.  Every time I sit and read a few sentences or paragraphs or chapters of my book, I can find SOMETHING to revise!  So I go through it several times until it feels right.  Then I have an editor take a look at it for me, do more revisions, then I feel it’s ready. 

Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?

My novel is set in a “fictional” suburban town called Rustic Woods, Virginia.  I say “fictional” because really the only thing fictional about it is the name and the streets names. Otherwise, it really is my own suburban town of Reston.  I  just had to write about this place – it has such character compared to other suburban cities/towns.  And I like the idea of a place itself, being a character.  I changed the name though, to protect the innocent.

To what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?

For me it has been helpful in finding a niche and a group of supportive people who write in that same fashion and for a similar audience.  Yet, I often feel a little hemmed in by genre.  For instance, I call my book a mystery, because people want me to paste a label on it, but really, it’s not your typical mystery at all.  It’s not Agatha Christie for instance.  It’s not a “whodunit” as many people consider a mystery.  There is a lot of action, some thriller aspects, a lot of humor and a wee bit of romance.  So it stretches across genres.  Sometimes I just want to say it’s a funny thriller/action romantic mystery.  I think people’s eyes would glaze over if I said that though.  Did yours?

What sort of displacement activities keep you from actually writing?

Work, kids, and promoting my other works.  Especially now, I find myself spending a lot of time promoting Take the Monkeys and Run, which is interesting, but not nearly as fun as writing.  I’ve heard this is a common dilemma!

Is presentation of the MS as important as most agents and publishers suggest?

Absolutely.  I don’t care if you’re submitting to an agent/publisher or if you are planning on self publishing – a positively polished manuscript is essential.  It’s all about presenting a professional product, as far as I see it.  Do you want these people (agents/publishers/readers) to take your and your work seriously?  Give them something GOOD.

What are your inspirations?

I get inspiration from all sorts of places.  I love to people watch, so sometimes I’ll come up with an idea for a story or character while sitting on a metro train or at a park.  I once came up with an idea for a character and her story just from a street sign.  That street sign spoke to me I guess!

Do you think writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?

It’s a little of both.  There are those who are naturally inclined toward the writing arts, but then one has to work to hone that skill.  I’ve never met anyone that was a perfectly amazing writer that had not worked on their craft to some degree, either through traditional classroom type instruction, or peer groups, etc.

What are you writing now?

I’m currently finishing up a short story that will be part of a Barbara Marr collection that I will be releasing on Kindle very shortly.  Then I’ll be finishing the second in the series, Citizen Insane.

Is there any aspect of writing that you really enjoy?

I love creating characters.  Bringing them to life, but then watching as they take over and start to write themselves!  That’s the ultimate fun for me.

Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?

http://www.karencantwell.com and http://fictionfordessert.blogspot.com

Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?

A studio set apart from my house; large with big windows and let in lots of light; a desk that spans the entire length of one wall and a computer with a 30 inch screen; a treadmill, a little kitchenette with a fridge stocked with Aranciata San Pelegrinos.  Oh.  And a cabana boy to wait on me hand and foot while I write from dawn til dusk.

Where do you actually write?

In bed.

Link to Youtube trailer

THANKS STUART!!!

Karen Cantwell  J

Author Interview with Kathleen Mckenna

SA: Tell us about The Wedding Gift in a few sentences.

KM: Hi Stuart, great blog by the way. My new book The Wedding Gift is a southern gothic humor based story about a crazy charming small town beauty queen who marries money and simultaneously gets a mother in law from the seventh circle of hell and a fabulous antebellum mansion which is unfortunately already occupied by the ghost of another beautiful outsider.

SA: What qualities do you need to be a successful writer?

KM: The patience of Job, sheer determination to keep plodding along and a love of all things book related as well as a deep interest in humans in all their many wonderful wacky guises.

SA: What is your working method?

KM: 5 pages a day 6 days a week come hell or high water, unless I’m in research mode, uhm that mode being my favorite lol

SA: What is the single biggest mistake made by beginners to writing?

KM: Thinking you are going to be the next John Irving, or Stephen King, in other words you have to understand it can take a long time to be read by anyone besides your poor family members and closest friends who don’t have a choice. Patience is key, and while being patient you have to keep writing because that is what it’s really about and honestly you get better at it.

SA: How did you come to write this particular book?

KM: Once I saw this gorgeous house in New Orleans and while I was looking at it I wondered what if a….and then she…and it stuck in my head. It took a couple years but finally it came partially together in my head and eventually onto paper.

SA: If you have a favorite character in your novel, why that particular one?

KM: Jessie, she is a tough funny girl from a lousy background, funny with a huge heart, as a matter of fact I liked her so much she got her own book.

SA: How can people buy your book(s)?

KM: Amazon.com  The Wedding Gift  - Paperback (July 12, 2010) by Kathleen McKenna 

Buy new: $11.99

SA: To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?

KM: Well it’s probably a good idea to be able to speel wordses and to be able to punctuate as well, but I am nearly illiterate, truly it’s pathetic, so these books would not get written without a lot of help. It’s funny they say writing is a solitary occupation and the actual act is indeed solitary, but it also takes a village, at least mine do.

SA: How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?

KM: It varies, my early books were such a mess that honestly they practically needed dynamite, you get better at early drafts as you go along, but still at least one rewrite.

SA: Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?

KM: The Wedding Gift is set in Oklahoma, because I just enjoy many things southern or in this case deep southwestern. This is the only one of my books that is purely from my imagination, the others are set where the events they are based on happened.

SA:  What are your writing habits?

KM: Like I said, get those 5 pages out, and I am a creature of routine, so much so that I buy my iced latte the night before, because I don’t allow myself to go out, run errands or do anything else till the 5 are out. Writers are always dying for distractions but they are bad for us. .

SA: How do you know where to begin any given story?

KM: For me at least a book is like a flight, takeoffs and landings are the most important. Usually if I have the beginning and the ending I know I’ve got a book, and all the books start from something I heard about that interested me a great deal, then I dwell on it, look it up, dream on it, it either becomes more or I move onto something else.

SA: What sort of displacement activities keep you from actually writing?

KM: Oh anything, anything at all can distract me, I’m the worst, maybe I have adult ADHD, but a phone call, a drop in visitor, outside noises, if I break my concentration it can shoot the day’s work, then I feel guilty and miserable.

SA:  Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?

KM: I have a great deal of support from my family and friends, my best friend Claudia in particular is my cheerleader, my most trusted proof reader and critic.

SA: Is presentation of the MS as important as most agents and publishers suggest?

KM: That is an excellent question, but I don’t know the answer, I’ll ask Tim my beloved publisher.

SA:  How long does it normally take you to write a novel?

KM: Ballpark, 6mos, though one took me three years and on my first book it took me 12 years to come up with a second paragraph.

SA: What are your inspirations?

KM: It can be anything, I mean it’s always a human interest story that trigs me, but usually the human interest story is based on some tragic event, oh and I also love all things old Hollywood.

SA:  If there’s a single aspect to writing that really frustrates you, what is it?

KM: Single aspect? Hmm, writing is rough, who was it who said “all you have to do to write is open up a vein?” Anyway that’s it, but if I have to single it out I’d say the middle I get nervous then, where do I go, how do I get there from here? Sometimes it causes me to stop for days at a time, just trying to work out scenarios mini writers’ block I guess, whatever it is its horrible.

SA: Do you think writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?

KM: I think it’s inherent, because God knows you can’t force it, when you try it’s a fiasco, maybe that is not true of nonfiction but for my money it’s an inborn thing, like bushy eyebrows.

SA:  What are you writing now?

KM: I’m not really writing right now, I’m in rewrite on a book based on the Manson family and doing research for the third in my southern paranormal series as well as All the Broken Pieces, a non fiction novel about a family’s life with their child after Leukemia, the treatment of which caused profound brain damage. As for the next ghost story, this time I get to actually visit the house and let me tell you this little place, a home lived in by both Jean Harlow and Sharon Tate is Beverly Hills most haunted house, I can’t wait!

SA: Is there any aspect of writing that you really enjoy?

KM: I love the research I love the sweet moments when you know you nailed that scene, but most of all I love finishing it!

SA:  Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?

KM: Sadly I apparently have NO left brain whatsoever, so haven’t managed to build a blog, but you can find me on nightreading.com Amazon, or come visit me on Facebook

SA:  Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?

KM: I would be living in a very old haunted house surrounded by Old English Sheepdogs my favorite muses.

SA:  Where do you actually write?

KM: On a corner square of my couch with my laptop angled just so.

Reviews of The Wedding Gift 

Review of Little Fingers by Tim Roux.

Tim Roux writes with imagination, style and aplomb. The characters who people his books do so as if they were real men and women, sharing their intimate secrets, their darkest desires, their deepest emotions, their dreams and hopes and thoughts. In Little Fingers, the story unfolds mostly through the words of Julia, a character unique in fiction. Clever, manipulative, hedonistic, obtuse, consistently inconsistent, courageous, beautiful and elusive, Julia lies, exposes injustices, avenges, loves and hates as she takes the reader through the series of events that lead to a series of murders. Accused of murder by the world weary and sympathetic Inspector John Frampton, she sets about discovering and explaining what really happened. But the twists and turns of the plot, fascinating and intriguing as they are, take secondary place to the fascinating characters revealed by her enquiries. This is not a crime novel, though it deals with murder, rape and paedophilia. This is not a romance, though love, sex, seduction and fancy play their parts. It is a literary novel, but not in the inaccessible way of so many such labelled works.

There is courage in this writing. Ideas are aired. Emotions are explored and justice is examined. Some of the characters are wicked, some basically good, some indifferent and others passionate but all have their flaws and all have their reasons for who and what they are. There are no stereotypes here, no cardboard cut-outs. Flesh and blood populate these pages and will make the attentive reader smile, laugh and cry, agree and deny, gasp and hope, and turn the pages till the end is reached.

I heartily recommend this novel. A damned good read.

For other reviews and information visit Tim Roux at Nightpublishing.

You can buy Little Fingers here.

Word of the Day is divorced from the post that precedes it and produced in response to a request from a follower to provide just such a service.

Word of the Day; zambuk – an Australian member of the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, a first aider attending an event. ‘After Sheila and Bruce collided on an urgent run for the dunny, they had to call a zambuk to sort out their various injuries and slight concussion.’

Back to the Detailed Edit

Image via Wikipedia

So, my three days of part-time paid employment have passed again and I'm back to the real work. Just completed chapter 40 of the 68 and reduced the total number of pages by 12 along the way, making the whole piece tighter.
Had an interesting alert from Google the other day. A friend, Avril Field-Taylor, who writes crime novels, had done an interview with me on her blog http://silversongbird-seasidescribblings.blogspot.com/. I'd included a quote from Max Boyce in my replies and, lo and behold, the interview came up on a website dedicated to British Comedians. It seems the cult of the celebrity might bring benefits to the rest of us, after all.
Writing this in a short break between seeing my teenage daughter off to school and waking my patient, lovely, wonderful wife, who's having a lie-in following days of hectic activity.
Currently reading The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker; a huge tome of literate and informed analysis of what makes a story a story. Fascinating stuff and so well written and researched. Must also read From Pitch to Publication, by Carole Blake, as I've borrowed that from one of my writing group members and the rest are gagging to read it. Sorry, Carole; should buy my own copy, I suppose. And I will, when I've made more money from writing.