Coming home on the tube some years ago I was given a free novel with the Evening Standard. It was a great big tome and being given away, I assumed it was rubbish. How demeaning I thought for the author? It was Larson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo… And what is good enough for…
There is much talk at present lamenting the standard of the British sit-com. I haven’t seen Ben Elton’s new effort – The Wright Way – but knowing Ben’s work and having read his books, I suspect it is better than the detractors are saying – who incidentally all seem far too celebratory and gleeful to…
This morning I was bleary eyed – sorting out various bowls of various cereals – frying eggs to try and coincide with beige toast – all whilst keeping anĂ‚Â ear on BBC Radio5. My boys and their breakfast squabbles are alwaysĂ‚Â louder than the radio but this morning, somehow my antennae latched on to a name. It…
This Saturday was a great night – but it should have been better. Anthony Nolan is a charity that I have supported for many years.Ă‚Â It is a very worthy cause with the simple aim to save people’s lives.Ă‚Â Each year, they stage a ball in The Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane….
A flight yesterday from Hong Kong gave me plenty of time to think and reflect. A full 12 hoursĂ‚Â which actually felt muchĂ‚Â longer because in a moment of madness I opted to watch The Sweeney. Ray Winstone isĂ‚Â an actor who laughs at the usual perils of male ageing. It seems that Ray isĂ‚Â a man who justĂ‚Â keeps…
I’m in Hong kong at the momentĂ‚Â – and as I travelled around the place yesterday, a thought occured to me. I have bought the equivalent of our Oyster card to get around on their tube. It cost about a tenner and is set to last me about 3 days, possibly 4. Their tube system is…
The last time I flew for 12 hours was to LA and in a cabin with Gwyneth Paltrow, Eddie Redmayne and Tom Holland. My seat turned in to a bed and I could eat whatever I wanted. Today I am flying toĂ‚Â Hong Kong for a weekend of gigs. Under my ownĂ‚Â steam then and therefore at…
When you publish a book or produce anything for general consumption, it presentsĂ‚Â the awkward problem of asking peopleĂ‚Â to help spread the word. Some will and many will not – and very often commensurate with how famous they are! Celebrity and success is almost always hard earned and very wellĂ‚Â guarded in the main. So my wife…
I expect like most authors,Ă‚Â I frequentlyĂ‚Â check on-line forĂ‚Â news of sales and particularly of reviews. WhenĂ‚Â I was first published,Ă‚Â it was all about getting reviewed in national newspapers andĂ‚Â magazines. ButĂ‚Â now with my latest two ebooks, I didn’t try toĂ‚Â generate any formal reviews at all. Now itĂ‚Â is all about people’s reviews -Ă‚Â actual readers – and I write thisĂ‚Â short…