CIRCUS LIFE

THE BOY WHO COULD FLY

This is the children's book that's been on my back burner for months. It's about two boys, one real life and one fictional, and the flying trapeze. The real life boy was my great uncle, a circus star billed as 'Una The Human Fly' who tragically was killed at the age of 16 while performing in 1891. The other boy is a (fictional) descendant half a century later (1941) who longs to join the circus and become a trapeze artist.

Having only visited a circus once in my life (far back in time when I was 14) I think I must be insane to tackle something that requires not only research into circus life but also research into the restrictions and problems of life in Britain during WW2. But there you go.

Meantime, though, can I ask your help regarding the book's title and cover? Originally I called it THE BOY ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE. I've changed that to THE BOY WHO COULD FLY, and I've just designed a cover with that title.

I'd really appreciate your comments on both title and design. Thank you in advance.  

HOW TO WRITE FICTION

A NEW GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

Having now published ten novels, I decided to take a break from fiction writing and put together all my teaching material from nearly three decades as a creative writing tutor.

The result is How to write FICTION, which you can now buy on Amazon as a Kindle e-book for £1.29.

It's full of guidelines and encouragement for beginners, and covers everything from how and where to find ideas, creating characters that come to life, and planning and plotting to get yourself organised so you don't lose the plot!

I hope you enjoy it.

CABBAGE BOY! AVAILABLE FROM TODAY ON AMAZON

A WARM AND FUNNY NEW BOOK FOR TEENS, YOUNG ADULTS - AND THEIR PARENTS

I'm delighted that my new book, CABBAGE BOY, was published today and is available on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle.

I don't usually believe in coincidences but it just so happens that I was writing the final chapter on the day that a new form of manure was introduced into the 80 acre field behind my house - and probably elsewhere in my home town, which also happens to be the setting for my book.

Without giving the plot away, manure plays an important role in the story of teenage Nick, a worrier, with more than a dash of OCD. Almost sixteen, he longs to be taller, braver, more athletic, more popular with the girls, more one of the guys. He also suspects that he's the only one in the class who's still a virgin.

Life brightens when he finds a girlfriend and falls in love with her. They've been together for four weeks and he's kissed her eighteen times, according to his notebook.

But when Nick meets a strange and scary mutant and is forced to protect and hide him, his life becomes unbearable. Who can he turn to for help?

Mum and Dad are busy line dancing, big sister Becca has lost interest and his girlfriend Chloe has moved on to a handsome six-footer who's captain of the school football team. As for friends, Nick doesn't 'do' friends. Or rather, they don't do him.

Full of humour, warmth and tragedy, CABBAGE BOY can be enjoyed by both sexes.

By the way, I'm planning to send a copy to our local Borough Council's Environmental Protection Department!

THE CABBAGE BOY SAGA

PATIENCE, PATIENCE!

Charlston, South Carolina. This is where my latest book, CABBAGE BOY, is being printed. A beautiful city where life is just s-l-o-w and easy, judging by the number of weeks it takes to ship a proof copy to me!

It's a place that's been on my bucket list forever but one I've never managed to visit.

Seems strange that in recent years my connection should be a literary one, but better than nothing.

FUNNY? NOT FUNNY?

HUMOUR - WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

I love to include humour in all my books, whether for grown-ups or children but I can never be sure who will find it funny, as when I tell a joke that makes me fall apart it's often met by blank bewilderment.But I came across this quote from an old radio show today (THE GLUMS, Frank Muir and Denis Norden). Maybe it will amuse some of you (I'm still on the floor!)Name me one thing she went short of!Well - food. Clothes. Coal . . . Teeth.

CABBAGE BOY! Available Shortly

Cabbage Boy - Just Weeks Away!

My latest book, for teens, young adults - and their parents - will be on sale in a few weeks, both in paperback and as a Kindle e-Book. Watch out for sale dates.

HOW DIFFERENT CHARACTERS CAN AFFECT A STORY'S THEME

A MAN AND A WOMAN, EACH LIVING IN THE DARK. HOW WILL THEIR STORIES DEVELOP?

At my writers' group last month we thought up some ideas for short stories and discussed how a character can affect a theme or how the theme can change the main character(s). Either way, whether you're writing a short story or a novel, there has to be change.

One member suggested a double glazing salesman who lives in a windowless basement flat and longs for a greenhouse. It reminded me of one of the characters in an A to Z of Silly Verse I wrote several years ago. This is U for Ursula

Ursula the usherette worked happily in the dark

Of the cinema (centre aisle) at Upper Tooting.

She lived her life in cellars

And hid behind umbrellas

If she ventured out in daylight to the park.

She'd have liked to be a mole

Or a miner hewing coal

Or a submarine commander out at sea.

But at least she had the leisure

To indulge her greatest pleasure

Of travelling by Underground all day.

Two characters, both living in the dark but with very different desires - opposite, in fact. If they were suddenly transposed to a place of light and sunshine, how would each be affected? How would the story end? Would the character change - or would the character change the theme?