Something Old, Something New

Extract from the novel: Despite her protests, armed guards forced her downstairs before driving her to the Maison d’Arrêt, a formidable looking prison in the district of St. Michel. They led her to a cell where she remained for the rest of the day and night, locked up with nothing to eat or drink and no contact with the outside world. The following morning, they dragged her from the cell before returning her to the Préfecture where the interrogation continued with the young officer. Following every truthful response, a second interrogator beat her. She was vaguely aware of daylight when they transported her battered and bleeding to a transit camp on the outskirts of the town. Armed guards patrolled the facility, which contained a number of wooden huts surrounded by three metres high barbed wire fencing. Overcrowded with few facilities, Marie believed that she had arrived in hell. With tears streaming down her bruised face, she crouched by one of the huts. Everywhere she looked, wretched people with vacant expressions on their faces wandered aimlessly, searching for answers to the dreaded thoughts that permeated their minds. They must have been ordinary people like me, she thought. Will I become like these poor souls? Rumours in the town had spread about such places; the reality shocked her. The stench of sweat and urine hung in the air like a portent of decay and ultimately death. Even with no information, she quickly realised that she was destined for transportation, a fate that had befallen many others victims since the Nazis moved into the unoccupied zone in 1942. My arrest happened so quickly, no one will know what became of me, she thought. How could anyone possibly find me here? She prayed—this time for a miracle.

Something Old, Something New

Draft Video of latest novel: http://www.youtube.com/v/bLNjjHJup7E?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&feature=share&autohide=1&attribution_tag=NyydMjv9zqYO7wLFOHqllg&autoplay=1

Eastenders Plunges the BBC into the Depths of Banality

Who has replaced Eastenders with the pathetic production that tarnishes our television screens? I used to be a fan. Now, I find it embarrassing to watch a programme that has reached new depths of TV mediocrity. The once popular soap has become a hybrid of third-rate fantasy and badly performed farce (pronounced in this case as ‘eff-in-arse).

To spare its blushes, BBC should condense the weekly episodes into a fifteen minute ‘how not to produce drama’ slot on any Saturday morning children’s ‘knockabout/slapstick’ show.

Thank goodness, ‘The Clangers’ are making a comeback.

Apart from amateurish scripts—who writes this drivel?—and wooden acting from brainwashed actors, the plots bear as much relevance to reality as the existence of human life on Uranus. The episodes have become so predictable, the characterisations so inconsistent, the situations so unreal that Den Watts and Arthur Fowler would be welcome resurrections to save the soap from its current death-bed.

To uphold its reputation, the BBC must dismiss the producers, hire a complete new cast and engage writers who live in the real world. The current players—their careers must be in freefall to appear in such trash— could find useful commission-based employment as washing machine salespersons in some place called Albert Square. It is easily recognisable by its 24/7 market and residents who spend most of their waking hours either in the bizarrely-run public house—is there no longer a licensed trade advisor to the programme?—or the ‘caff’ that guarantees you will always meet people you do not wish to meet.

If I lived in the east end of London, I would be upset and angry at the BBC’s distorted portrayal of the vibrant community that has developed there.   

Success as a Writer

How successful are you as a writer? How does one measure success? With the emergence of easily accessible processes to write, edit and self-publish, creating that ‘best-seller’ has become a global fad. Simultaneously, there is a plethora of advice on how to market oneself and that potential masterpiece—all good stuff, nothing new and mostly common sense.

Having taken on board and implemented these vital strategies, how many reach that ‘promised land’ where the author’s name alone guarantees instant sales of their next book? For many aspiring writers, it would be interesting to hear of not just about the success story, nor what steps the self-published author took to market themselves and their book, but to discover HOW this was achieved.

For example, the marketing gurus recommend writing a regular blog, a popular tool to gain exposure, but HOW does one create an international following (beyond one’s friends and family) in the first place?

Followers of various discussion groups constantly share their experiences and offer great advice to each other. Somehow, we also find time to write our novels. For those authors who consider themselves successful, HOW is that achieved and measured?     

La fête à Oradour-Saint-Genest

First there was a 'vide grenier', well-attended with a plethora of stalls, where the main topic was bargaining.

Then the 'boulistes' began arriving for the
'concours de boules'.

Later, it was time to retire to the bar before a meal in the open-air followed by dancing and topped off by a firework display across the lake.

...and the rain stayed away!

The highlight of the day was the Tractor Rally

Tour de France

 
Memories of Le Tour de France at Saint-Auban-Montrand July 2013

Summer at Last

Okay, it's 6 July and summer has finally arrived...better late than never.

There was a rush to bring out the garden furniture, prepare a tuna salad al fresco and relax on the sun loungers.

Apparently, according to the meteo, the high pressure is here for at least another week. I see long lazy days ahead with the occasional dip in the pool to stay cool.

I love France once more!