The author, his writing and more
I was deeply saddened to read that the high court in England has just ruled to severely curtail, if not forbid, access to puberty blockers for young people under 18 (See the article in The Guardian). This applies to GIDS at the Tavistock Institute, the sole clinic in England working with transgender children.… Read more
I am currently writing two novels at once. The first is Bursting With Life which is half written, and The Cloud Catcher which I have just begun. Very often, especially towards the end of drafting a novel, an idea for a new story arises spontaneously and clamours to be told.… Read more
Get any of Alan McCluskey’s novels in ebook format for 30% off as part of Smashwords Authors Give Back Sale. The sale lasts till May 31st 2020.
In recent days as the global Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, several Smashwords authors reached out to Smashword’s founder Mark Coker, asking him to run a special sale for readers.… Read more
“When I look at a girl, all the girl’s in the choir, for example, what strikes me is that being a girl comes natural to them. They don’t have to think about it. It’s what they are. If I were a girl like them there would be nothing special in dressing or acting as one.… Read more
Shhhhh! Writing. New book. Follow-up to Stories People Tell. Annie promoting local voices. Seventy-five chapters so far. Eighty thousand words. Coming soon.
A feral chant greeted Annie as she threaded between the barriers separating the platform from the concourse.… Read more
I have just finished listening to the audiobook of La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman. Having been a fervent reader of the stories about Lyra, I was delighted to hear Pulman was to write a trilogy set in Lyra’s world.… Read more
Read about narrative impulse – the constant flux to and from the character currently at the centre of a story. The movement flows from the particular to the general, from the individual to the relational, from the deeply personal to society at large, from extreme emotions to cold, hard facts, from heartfelt presence to time immemorial.… Read more
In its reaction to Kazuo Ishiguro being awarded this year’s Nobel prize for literature, The Guardian writes: The author is a worthy recipient of the Nobel prize for continually finding his voice – and discarding it for a new one.
Photo source: Ben Stansall/The Guardian/AFP/Getty Images
I have written reviews of two of Ishiguro’s books.… Read more
At a time when a wood is inspiring me, it seems appropriate to return to the masterly writing of one who was deeply inspired by Duncton Wood, John Horwood. If you haven’t read the Duncton tales, I highly recommend them. His descriptions of places are magic and the story he tells is both thought-provoking and moving.… Read more
If you read my last post, you will know a lot of the writing on my new novel has been done in the forest. Should it rain while I’m out walking, and that seems likely as the weather has changed for the worse, I can always shelter under one of the arches of the funicular (see above) to write.… Read more