Kanye West & Anti-Semitism
I like the poetry in some rap lyrics, but I’m not really interested in rap music, or rappers. My latest book, Called to Account, has the theme of anti-Semitism. Therefore I was interested in a news article on the BBC about Kanye West, or Ye as he now identifies. He’s...
Christmas Fayre Book Signing 2022
On Saturday I had my first book signing event. I took a small table at my village’s Christmas Fayre. It was really busy and I sold 32 of the 40 books that I took along. It certainly exceeded my expectations. The practice in talking to people: explaining what the books...
How could I omit Sir Thomas North?
When I wrote my post on renaissance writers, I failed to mention Sir Thomas North. I realised my error when I read, or heard, some quotations of Plutarch. In 1557 Sir Thomas North wrote the first translation of Plutarch’s Parallel Lives in English. Shakespeare based...
To Split or Not to Split, That is the Infinitive Question
I know, bear with me. Yesterday I posted about the words circled, and margin notes in Louis XIII: The Making of a King. The critical reader has underlined the phrase “To further placate the prince”, and put an exclamation mark in the margin. Clearly he or she is not a...
The Pursuit of Perfection
Is the pursuit of perfection worthwhile? I’m enjoying reading Louis XIII: The Making of a King, but every few pages there are letters or words circled, and notes in the margin. The one I found today was correcting advisor to adviser. There, my spell checker didn’t...
A ruler’s contract with the ruled
Humans are pack animals. We achieve most when we work together as a team. Teamwork can work very well with decisions debated and mutually agreed upon. However it remains the norm that teams have a leader. Ships have captains and countries have rulers. A ruler’s...
An Enema for Toothache?
f you’ve read previous posts, you will know that I’m reading Louis XIII: The Making of a King. The author, Elizabeth Marvick, draws extensively on the journal of Louis’s physician, Jean Héroard. As the fly leaf says, it is probably the most extensive record of the...
Amazon and Editorial Reviews
I want to talk to you today about reviews, specifically book reviews. There are two main types of book reviews: editorial reviews and customer reviews. Organisations like Kirkus write editorial reviews. The author, or publisher, submits the book to them for a review. ...
Interview
I wrote in my last post about my interview on NBC House of Mystery. It is streaming now, click on House of Mystery. I didn’t realise how much I sound like Brains from Thunderbirds. Well, I was a little nervous. Maybe I’ll be more confident in the next interview. Sorry...
Kanye West & Anti-Semitism
I like the poetry in some rap lyrics, but I’m not really interested in rap music, or rappers. My latest book, Called to Account, has the theme of anti-Semitism. Therefore I was interested in a news article on the BBC about Kanye West, or Ye as he now identifies. He’s...
Christmas Fayre Book Signing 2022
On Saturday I had my first book signing event. I took a small table at my village’s Christmas Fayre. It was really busy and I sold 32 of the 40 books that I took along. It certainly exceeded my expectations. The practice in talking to people: explaining what the books...
How could I omit Sir Thomas North?
When I wrote my post on renaissance writers, I failed to mention Sir Thomas North. I realised my error when I read, or heard, some quotations of Plutarch. In 1557 Sir Thomas North wrote the first translation of Plutarch’s Parallel Lives in English. Shakespeare based...
To Split or Not to Split, That is the Infinitive Question
I know, bear with me. Yesterday I posted about the words circled, and margin notes in Louis XIII: The Making of a King. The critical reader has underlined the phrase “To further placate the prince”, and put an exclamation mark in the margin. Clearly he or she is not a...
The Pursuit of Perfection
Is the pursuit of perfection worthwhile? I’m enjoying reading Louis XIII: The Making of a King, but every few pages there are letters or words circled, and notes in the margin. The one I found today was correcting advisor to adviser. There, my spell checker didn’t...
A ruler’s contract with the ruled
Humans are pack animals. We achieve most when we work together as a team. Teamwork can work very well with decisions debated and mutually agreed upon. However it remains the norm that teams have a leader. Ships have captains and countries have rulers. A ruler’s...
An Enema for Toothache?
f you’ve read previous posts, you will know that I’m reading Louis XIII: The Making of a King. The author, Elizabeth Marvick, draws extensively on the journal of Louis’s physician, Jean Héroard. As the fly leaf says, it is probably the most extensive record of the...
Amazon and Editorial Reviews
I want to talk to you today about reviews, specifically book reviews. There are two main types of book reviews: editorial reviews and customer reviews. Organisations like Kirkus write editorial reviews. The author, or publisher, submits the book to them for a review. ...
Interview
I wrote in my last post about my interview on NBC House of Mystery. It is streaming now, click on House of Mystery. I didn’t realise how much I sound like Brains from Thunderbirds. Well, I was a little nervous. Maybe I’ll be more confident in the next interview. Sorry...