An Evening With... Salley Vickers

I continued my irregular series, Wednesday night, by attending Sandhurst Library's author event with writer Salley Vickers - which was quite a good night. I jumped on her (not in the literal sense) as soon as she arrived, taking her to the loudest part of the library to conduct my brief interview for Litopia's Podcast, and my NAW course (I need evidence for my Professional Development module - I think a one-to-one masterclass with a successful author has to be better than having to drive all the way up to Birmingham for one of their prearranged masterclasses, at least upon my weariness).

Whilst she chewed on her evening snack and sipped tea, trying to forget her M4 journey, and getting lost in the rabbit-warren's of Sandhurst, I gradually dropped my questions in. I have to say, she was a really nice lady, easy to talk to, and only too happy to discuss the finer points of writing that she doesn't usually get to talk about (author events are 99% decked out in readers, who are more interested in character and plot... I wanted something more).

In the early moments before I shoved my dictaphone beneath her nose I bored her with where I was in my own writing, the NAW course and my wife's degree in English and Classics (Salley's studied and taught English too; my wife is annoyed that she couldn't make it because the two of them could have chuntered on about Euripides, Aristophanes and Sophocles until the cows came home). I told her that I'd been attempting to write a novel on child abuse, and there she stopped me - and this is perhaps the most pertinent point of the evening for me - and said that a writer should never attempt to cover an already existing topic, certainly not child abuse with the current trend of non-fiction child abuse books in the market. Point well taken; I'd best stick to the Young Adult book then.

You can read the evening's write-up (which includes my 13 minute on-to-one interview): Salley Vickers night

Crime Writers - Event

Just completed the write up for last night's author event. Boy was that a drag! Either those guys were dead boring, or, as I fear, I'm now chock-full of authorly wisdom that none of it means anything beyond the rhetoric it really is. The biggest lesson to be learned from any of them is that they all do it in different ways, and different things work for them, and they each have different readerships.

I'm dead depressed for more reason than that though - someone made a complaint about someone from my team the other day. None of us know who it is yet, and our line manager has feigned ignorance as to who specifically it was aimed at. What we were told was that this person chose not to take a grievance out against whichever one of us it was that offended them, instead choosing to claim they'll take the borough to court!

Now, we've heard, through unofficial sources (nothing is ever done in the open in this place), that the case is concluded. Huh? But we still don't know which of our big mouths got us in trouble and worse, we don't know who this crazy person is who took offence. Worser even than that (yes, worser indeed) is that whatever offence was taken (whether real or imagined) now sits in the collective minds of management, a black dot, ready for use at the most opportune moment.

Leaving us in limbo.

And in between times I'm trying to muster the interest in writing - my short story developed for my portfolio has stalled as I move it up to 1500 words. Solvejg's voice is in my head: 'You really need to distinguish yourself now."

How for God's sake. How the hell do I train my mind to work that way? It refuses.

Now, I'm considering rewriting my children's story, in response to Peter Cox's request for more children's lit ( or rather just a point that he is getting known for it).

And, then, I've decided to get a couple of books on poetry out - but do they talk to me? Hell, no! Poetry sucks! It's pretentious bull... of the kind I usually write. Jeesh! Say what you mean.