You may have noticed that there’s not been much book news on this blog of late. There’s been a lot going on, but I am under strict instructions not to jinx any of it by announcing stuff to the world prematurely. Anyway, one thing I can tell you is that, following my discovery of a town in Missouri called Paradise, …
Paradise, Missouri
See that map? That’s Paradise, Missouri. Yep, there’s actually a place called Paradise, Missouri. It’s in Clay County, in between Kansas City and St Joseph. I should explain: my new novel is set in a town called Paradise. And Paradise is (or at least was) also the title of the book. I’ve been chuckling to myself for the past five …
Authors Misbehaving in Public
I found this slightly disturbing anecdote about an innocent reader getting accosted by Ayn Rand’s best friend the other day. I’ve never interrupted someone I’ve seen reading one of my books and asked them how they were getting on with it (and I don’t suppose any of my friends have either), but the story did remind me of when I …
Sexism in the Publishing Industry
Good to see that sexism and gender-bias in the publishing industry are alive and well. Consider the evidence. First came the slightly odd but charming DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS, which reminded me of an old book that I adored when I was young called, if memory serves, “The Big Weekend Book”, which was a thick, dusty hardback with a mottled …
Next hurdle jumped
Big news today. We heard from Emma Sweeney, the US literary agent in New York who has been reading the manuscript of Paradise. She was on holiday last week in Maine. What was she doing in Maine, you might ask? (Well, you might.) I’ll tell you: apparently she was reading my book, and apparently she liked it. Bruce has written …
If it's not one thing…
… Having resolved the knotty issue of what to call myself, we move seamlessly on to the question of the novel’s title… BtA likes “Paradise”, as do I, but we know there’s something better out there. Just gotta work out what it is. I have volunteered to trawl through barbershop lyrics in search of the perfect title. If you’ve ever …
A New Man?
I feel like a new man. Not sure if anyone remembers this post, but after much thought and deliberation, it has been decided by the powers-that-be that henceforth I shall be A.H. George. Not exactly an earth-shattering difference. Still, I like the initials. And it is still me. (Although I did like someone’s idea of using the very rock n’ …
Movin' On
Just a quick note to announce that a new website, and new blog, are in the works. I have been spending the last few weeks polishing the manuscript and it’s about ready to go back to Bruce the Agent, and out to publishers. Also, we’re off to France for two weeks as of tomorrow. Am debating whether or not to …
Blast from the Past
I received this in my inbox this morning. Hard to believe that the offending book was published ten years ago now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I think maybe she had a point. Hi Alex This is the first time I have ever been inspired to seek out an authors email address to comment on their work but here goes. …
Developments
Much frenetic emailing between yours truly and Bruce the Agent. BtA had a couple of technical issues he wanted to see addressed. (I’m guessing he had some traumatic encounters with Baptists at some point in his life.) All good points, though, hopefully accomplished without too much pain. Some issues have proven a little knotty to nail down – one of …