Sunday 19 September 2010

One of our friends put on her facebook account this morning "I love Gok and I'd love to appear on How To Look Good Naked". I have to admit that I had to ask Bex to read it to me again, as I misheard it the first time. Yup, I've had one of those weeks.

I've always been quite lucky with getting non-fiction published. Whether it's because I'm getting better or the editors are getting more desperate I don't know, although I suspect the latter. Trying hard to raise my profile earlier in the week I thought that it would be a good idea to fire off a list of possible projects to various editors, expecting a possible hit with one or two of them if I were lucky. Nope. All seven ideas were taken up, so I now have seven articles to write and not a lot of time to do it. I have to admit that I love the idea of all of them but just didn't expect this.

I just wish I were as lucky as this in fiction. It's a field that I feel really drawn to, so I would be the happiest man in NATO if that were the case. I'm desperate to write a few more shorts and crack on with my novel and I also have a new large project in mind that I hope to have news of later this week. So if you don't see or hear from me for a few days don't worry about sending out the search parties, I'll be found strapped to my laptop in the dark tapping away.

Monday 6 September 2010

I thought surrealism was asking your children what they wanted to be when they grew up then your partner's six year old son (at the time) replying that he wants to be a murderer. But on Friday whilst talking to Paul Clifton, Editor of Combat Magazine, and we were discussing potential articles he asked me what I would really like to write. My answer was "that article on Jackie Chan you asked me for back in 1985". Paul laughed, particularly when I told him that one of the photographic models for my book now works as a stuntman in all the Jackie Chan movies. (Chen Kai Chong can often be seen by us in them, followed by cries from me of "that's him!") Paul then tells me that Jackie is back in the UK in a couple of weeks and would I like to interview him then. Picking myself back up off the floor I think about it for 0.5 seconds and then say yes. Fully aware that life often puts obstacles in our paths I can but hope. So, fingers crossed and watch this space...