Jon Blake's Blog - Posts Tagged "romance"
Snails and Lovers, 69ers etc
Had my favourite anxiety dream last night - just about to go on stage, realise I don't know any of the lines. Could be a metaphor for life. It took me back to 1969, appearing as Peer Gynt in the King Edward VI school play, experiencing massive anxiety but coming through, something I'm very proud of. A few months later I was standing next to Dylan at the IOW festival, an experience I put to good use over 40 years later in writing the adult novel 69ers, about which reviewers have been so kind.
I used a pic of me as Peer Gynt for the front cover of my e-book Snails and Lovers (can't afford to pay illustrators to do these!). The book was originally entitled Geoffrey's First - its failure to sell in huge quantities was a great blow to me, but maybe if it had done, I wouldn't have bothered to write 50 more! I do hope people who enjoyed The Last Free Cat will give it a read. It's a rather less mature work, but with many more jokes, and I do think its evocation of a teenage relationship stands the test of time. Kim, the female lead, is probably one of my best creations: the real-life Kim is now a professor in Sheffield and a leading campaigner for gender equality (in the academic sense of campaigning, not the type which gets you locked up).
I once got a fan letter from Tasmania about Geoffrey's First, telling me I'd written a really great book. I'm ashamed to say I never replied to it. Not taking enough care to build links with my fans has, I'm sure, contributed to my becoming less successful than expected, but I've always appreciated readers' feedback and will make very sure you know it nowadays!
I used a pic of me as Peer Gynt for the front cover of my e-book Snails and Lovers (can't afford to pay illustrators to do these!). The book was originally entitled Geoffrey's First - its failure to sell in huge quantities was a great blow to me, but maybe if it had done, I wouldn't have bothered to write 50 more! I do hope people who enjoyed The Last Free Cat will give it a read. It's a rather less mature work, but with many more jokes, and I do think its evocation of a teenage relationship stands the test of time. Kim, the female lead, is probably one of my best creations: the real-life Kim is now a professor in Sheffield and a leading campaigner for gender equality (in the academic sense of campaigning, not the type which gets you locked up).
I once got a fan letter from Tasmania about Geoffrey's First, telling me I'd written a really great book. I'm ashamed to say I never replied to it. Not taking enough care to build links with my fans has, I'm sure, contributed to my becoming less successful than expected, but I've always appreciated readers' feedback and will make very sure you know it nowadays!
