One attraction of travel writing is the chance to get the adrenalin pumping. I remember a flight over the Namib Desert, massive dunes that flowed like a frozen sea right down to the real one.
The pilot swooped low and followed the beach. I looked across and noticed tyre tracks along the sand just beyond his head.
He pulled up to avoid a flock of birds, then went down again. We tore through the wilderness, churning surf on one side, towering sand on the other – fantastic.
When we landed I said, “ We were pretty low.”
He shrugged, “ Twelve or fifteen feet.”
ME,ME ME!: Writers, if they are to have any chance of success, need a degree of talent and a lot of staying power. It can be great fun and hugely satisfying but it is a solitary activity linking brain and keyboard.
Writers do a lot of watching, sitting on the sidelines, noting a turn of phrase, a look or a gesture, carding and weaving possibilities.
Promotion is a different animal but it is vital. Even a crime colossus like Peter James – who has sold 11 million Roy Grace novels – does regular book tours and appearances.
Book promotion requires an in-the-spotlight “look at me, me, me!”, “No is not an option” approach that makes many writers cringe. If you lack that essential pizazz it’s like pushing a cart with square wheels.
But despite the fingernails-on-blackboard reaction to promotion, the indie writer has no choice, Dr Jekyll one minute, Mr Hyde the next. Hey! maybe I could get a book out of that!
DIRTY TACTICS: The government denies it but there is evidence military personnel are being selected for redundancy just before they qualify for their pensions.
The military seem to be hit particularly hard by the cuts. Perhaps it’s because they are unlikely to march on Parliament waving placards.
Our armed forces do not receive due recognition for the work they do. If the pension stories are true it is despicable.
… and finally, I have had a Uri Geller moment. My car’s petrol cap key bent in my trouser pocket. The metal now curves sharply and won’t fit the lock. I have a third of a tank left to solve the problem.