January is the month of resolutions or, in my case, a kick up the backside. Enough procrastination, just put pen to paper or digit to keyboard.
So, yes, I’ve started writing in earnest after all the distractions of the run-up to Christmas.
Ladies and gentlemen and everyone else, Book Three is on its way. Not close to publication, I hasten to add, but definitely expanding day by day.
One of the joys of being a writer is the necessity of always honing your craft and there are two ways of doing that: reading good books and – more of this in the next blog – reading ‘how to write’ manuals.
I’ve just finished Shuggie Bain, the debut novel by Douglas Stuart and worthy winner of the 2020 Man Booker prize. (Usually, I avoid Booker winners and short lists, but this one was recommended to me recently.)

I’m not sure our first introduction to Shuggie as a small boy works, but Stuart quickly develops this sad child into a believable outcast from society. He’s a sweet, loving, queer boy who longs to fit in but cannot see in what way he is “no right” according to his neighbours.
His alcoholic mother is powerfully described and the moment Shuggie asks himself why his love for her isn’t enough to stop her drinking is truly heart-breaking.
It should be a thoroughly depressing book, but it isn’t. There is nothing sugary about the love pulsing through these pages and ultimately its message is one of hope.
Incidentally, talking of hope, Shuggie Bain was rejected by 42 publishing houses before being accepted by Grove Press.
I’m now reading The Pole and other stories by J.M.Coetzee which a friend lent me. I’m not a fan of short stories but the title piece is more like a novella. It’s an elegantly written tale, but ultimately unsatisfying, as the author plays with his two characters or perhaps allows them to play with him.
What do you make of a woman who deletes emails from her one time lover without reading them and then writes him heartfelt letters when he’s dead. A bit bonkers, no?