I have just added a new section to The Short Review: Author Interviews. This is turning into a very popular feature on the site, and for me personally, as a writer, these interviews with authors about how they write, how they put their collections together, what they are working on now, are fascinating and illuminating. A few excerpts:

Rusty Barnes, author of the flash fiction collection Breaking it Down, says:
"I write to be read, yes — I love to be read above all things now — but I write only to please myself. I mean, I have my obsessions, my concerns, and a good sense of what's out there in the world being written, and I think what I write has a place in that world, and it's up to me to figure out ways to get it out there, to get it to readers." .......

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I'm delighted to be making my debut in Literary Mama this morning, with my story, A Thistle Harvest. A new venue is always exciting, and this is a tough one to break into from all accounts.


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... to Lord H who is just as young and vibrant today as the day I first met him! But without the Salman Rushdie look-alike beard. My dears, it just had to go ... And what a lovely day we're having - though possibly rather bizarre. But hey that's just us, eh!

Today's favourite present is definitely the Terry Wogan book, Wogan's Twelve. It even has a picture of the delightful Fran from Sir Terry's morning show, and I think we're all now in love with her. Me included. What a babe. And she so suits her voice. Marvellous ...

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Sorry, the link to my blog is working now, for anyone who wanted to click through but couldn't.

Dear Kitty

How, precisely, does one flirt? It’s been a while and I’m back out there and I seem to have forgotten what to do. I remember there’s some gaze-holding, right? And a soupcon of hair-tossing? And isn’t there meant to be some licking-of-lips?

Say I see a good looking guy in the supermarket – it could happen, it’s a Waitrose – should I try to catch his eye? And if so, what then? Do I smile or pout or just stare at him meaningfully? Isn’t it weird to smile at a stranger? Isn’t staring at someone a bit rude? Should I be flipping my hair, or biting my lip, or batting my lashes or what?

Glassy eyed, Glasgow


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I'm feeling fairly demolished, having just received a second agent rejection of the first crime novel. Don't worry, I got the crying jag out of the way earlier on, so this isn't going to be a self-pitying post. I am trying instead to salvage something positive from the experience.

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... again. M'dears, I just can't take the pace. Decided to cancel golf today to focus on the editing lark, but to be honest it's been very slow. I love the scene I'm working on - another with the gorgeous Annyeke - and at least I know what it's going to be and what needs to be included. But slow, so slow. The inspiration is there (possibly) but the fingers are weak ...

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To keep up-to-date with The Seventeen and their court action against Diggory Press, please visit my daily updated blog: http://gillharley.blogspot.com/

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When I first started a blog a few months ago, I assumed they would be primarily about books and writing. I hoped they would encourage people to read my fiction. A friend of mine with his own blog posted a rather plaintive plea asking any cruising agents to get in touch... Kim, on Zoe, is determined to self-promote and pushed blogs as a way of doing so.

Whatever this blog has become, it is not a marketing device.

A very large number of the entries are political. Not a good idea if you're pushing your fiction; you offend entirely too large a proportion of your readers. A few have been about religion; probably somewhat safer. I cannot imagine a fundamentalist of any persuasion who actually reads anything other than their Sacred Text. There are a few folksy, self-depreciating, funny columns about friends and family. That's pissed a few people off - much more serious, since they are friends and family. God and Country are definitely safer.

One of my brothers was introduced to my blog by his grandson, a teenager. Brother objected to my use of obscene language ("Never Fuck Over a Poet", my devil at the crossroads poem) and grandson decided I was his coolest relative. (Probably the nicest comment that's been reported.)

I've had 600+ hits on the Lobby Page - who may or may not go on to read the blog of the day (or week - I've been rather lax over Christmas.) But it can't all be family and friends and me correcting errors in the posted blog. Almost none use the comment key. If you decide to click over and look at the blog, it would be nice to hear from you...





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... I was okay till I was almost leaving the shop. Having decided there was nothing suitable, I was just thinking of where else I could go when I spotted something which, on impulse, I bought. The only problem is that it is for me and not for Hubby! Personally, I blame W H Smith. They obviously hadn't stopped to consider that a writer could walk in and see the most delicious gift package entiled "My Story" and not be able to resist it. Basically it is just a gorgeous hard back book to write in - the cover of which has "My Story" scrolled across it in calligraphy and a sweet little paperback giving you tips on how to write your memoirs for posterity.

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