Thanks to Eric Doyle on Facebook, I came across an article written by Janelle Quibuyen, who was complaining that 'quitting your job to pursue your passion is bullshit.' I'm afraid it was a piece that totally missed the point of working for yourself. And as someone who made the shift 20 years ago, and hasn't had a proper job since, I wanted to stick up for those who take the plunge. Firstly, it is important to say something about the 'your passion' part of 'pursuing your passion', which seems not to have occurred to the author of the article. Just because you are passionate about something doesn't mean you are good at it. Few passionate football fans are potential professionals. Shows like The X-Factor demonstrate the gap that can exist between enthusiasm and ability all too clearly. So to make this kind of thing work, you need to be objectively sure that you are at least competent. Don't rely on your own opinion or that of your friends and ...

I'm afraid it's that time of year again, when blogging becomes difficult, thanks to all the exciting alternatives like trimming the hedge, cutting the lawn and arguing on Facebook about EU referenda (okay, that doesn't happen every year) start getting in the way, and posts become somewhat sporadic. However, I would like to assure my reader that I've not given up. As a bigger and more Austrian person once said, 'I'll be back.'

* See footnote I've never been a fan of the 'hello sky, hello grass,' Fotherington Thomas school (or should that be skool?) of travel writing that is packed with purple prose and lengthy descriptions of scenery. What does the trick for me is a travel book that explores the (often humorous) interaction between the writer and people and places, preferably with more urban and suburban adventures than countryside and wilderness. When it comes to plain humour, the master of this genre is Bill Bryson (even if he did freewheel a little in his latest ), but if you want a combination of humour; wry, intelligent observation and lyrical writing, the trophy has to go to Stuart Maconie. Whether he is exploring his experience as a music journalist in Cider with Roadies , the north in Pies and Prejudice or more southerly climes in Adventures on the High Teas , Maconie delivers. Now he has returned to his first love, the north of England in The Pie at Night . Rather than being ...

I was always a fan of Pseud's Corner in Private Eye. These days, the most purple prose I receive is often in the form of press releases for books being offered for review. I will provide an irregular series of these, both for your entertainment and, I hope, as pointers of what not to do with the press releases for your own books.  Note that the books themselves could be brilliant... or not. But a poor press release is unlikely to generate many reviews. Names will be omitted to protect the innocent and guilty alike. I suspect the problems are fairly self-evident, but just in case here's a few key pointers to look out for: Who is celebrating this book? Science fiction and fantasy are not the same thing. Make up your mind which it is. I seriously doubt anyone is going to see the world in an entirely new light after reading it. Should it be a surprise that Thera and Arthe are anagrams of Earth? After some pretty grandiose claims, 'Will his side win?' seems a t...

I recently mentioned on Facebook a petition to keep Channel 4 in public ownership  (for non-UK readers, Channel 4 is a public service broadcaster, owned by the government and funded by advertising). I noted in my post on Facebook that Channel 4 doesn't cost a penny to the taxpayer. One of my commenters replied that ' It can't be said that it doesn't cost the tax payer, though. Anything that is funded by advertising is of course paid for by us, even if we don't have a TV, as a share of the cost of everything we ever buy goes on an advertising budget.' At first sight this makes sense - we pay for products, some of that money goes to the advertising, so we pay for the advertising. But the reality of costing and pricing is rather different and worth briefly exploring. I ought to say that I'm not an economist, but I did write the costing models for British Airways for some years, so I have some experience of costing in a large company, and also have a little si...

We've now come to the end of the BBC's thriller Undercover , and there is pretty well universal agreement that somehow a very promising concept had turned out something close to a disaster. ( Spoilers after paragraph 4. ) Watching the show, I was reminded of a talk I attended a while ago on the nature of psychological thrillers. The speaker explained that the difference between a psychological thriller and a murder mystery was that the thriller is character-driven, while the mystery is plot-driven. And it was made clear that, from the speaker's viewpoint, this made psychological thrillers a higher form of literature. The reality is, I suspect, far less black and white. While it's true that the plot-driven 'puzzle solving' aspect of a murder mystery usually takes centre stage, very few modern murder mysteries ignore character - think of something like The Bridge , for instance. But there is still a feeling among writers of 'literary fiction' that ch...

'Let them eat sugar pills!' We all have someone in the family who has slightly barmy ideas, and that's fair enough. But when that person has huge access to the media and aspirations to be monarch, it's a bit worrying. And what do you know, Prince Charles has done it again . He has recently told the world that we ought to attack the antibiotic resistance crisis by using homeopathy instead. Specifically (though not solely) when treating animals. Let's be absolutely clear. There is no significant scientific doubt remaining about homeopathy. It has no medical benefit other than the placebo effect. Homeopathic pills are sugar pills. They are not medicine. Although the Guardian article linked above is primarily about use in animals it does say that Prince Charles 'proposed a solution to the growing crisis of antibiotic over-use in animals and humans'. Anyone suggesting using homeopathic treatments for illnesses requiring antibiotics is potenti...

I was always a fan of Pseud's Corner in Private Eye.  These days, the most purple prose I receive is often in the form of press releases for books being offered for review. I will provide an irregular series of these, both for your entertainment and, I hope, as pointers of what not to do with the press releases for your own books. Names will be omitted to protect the innocent and guilty alike. BOOK TITLE:   Searing Book of Poetry & Prose Empowers Reader to Tackle Society’s Downfalls Masterfully constructed by renowned poet, author and playwright, X Y, ‘Book Title’ cuts right to the core of humanity and the human condition; a clarion call to readers that urges them to stand up and fight for what’s right. Both heartfelt and raw, Y’s words speak directly to the heart of his readers. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE United Kingdom –  X Y is more than just a writer, he’s a fearless warrior who passionately calls out to society. Not one to let humanity’s problems slip by...

One of the most hated activities in all of writing is proofreading. It takes a special kind of focus to sit down with a manuscript and go through, word for word, looking for the slightest slip. And even though books from respectable publishers will usually have undergone this process with at least three separate pairs of eyes, I have hardly ever read a published book where I didn't spot an error or two - which means that there were probably several more, as once I get into a book, I tend to read so quickly that I don't spot much at all. This being the case, there was a huge temptation when I got a spam email from a proof reading service. What are the chances, I thought, that their email would have a mistake in it? Wouldn't that be deliciously ironic? I have reproduced it here for your delectation. I could only spot one punctuation error, but who know what might be lurking within. (And I do wonder about the journal publication service.) Meanwhile, back at the pudding*... ...

I very rarely review self-published books, but I love humorous travel books, particularly those set in the UK from the likes of Bill Bryson and Stuart Maconie. So, when I was offered the chance to read a book described by the author as 'a travelogue adventure in a similar style to Bill Bryson' featuring a bicycle trip from Lands End to John O'Groats I plunged in, and I don't regret it. Alistair McGuinness tells the story of a three-man trip over the 800+ mile trail that would sometimes test the individuals involved to the limit, but that also brought romance to one and a nightmare experience in a youth hostel to all. (The dog mentioned on the cover, incidentally, doesn't come into the story at all - it's just a postscript that somehow got into the subtitle.) The book is solidly written, and has been well edited. I never got bored or felt I wanted to give up on reading it. If I had to sum it up in one word I would say 'Pleasant.' Two words? 'Mild...

Here's the thing. I have done my best to assess the actual information, rather than scaremongering, from both sides and at the moment, neither has swayed me. Here's my logic for therefore voting out: My vote won't decide what happens. * If I vote 'in' I seem to be saying 'things are fine with the EU,' but they aren't If I vote 'out', then I'm adding weight to the argument the government needs to do more to distance us from the less palatable aspects of the EU.  The usual objection to this kind of voting to make a point is 'But if everyone voted like that, we would be in a mess.' I'm sure I don't need to point out to you the logical error in that argument. But just in case I do, we are talking about unconnected events. The way I vote will not have any influence on how other people behave. The 'What if everyone...' argument has no merit because my action is independent.  * OK, strictly speaking, it could ...

The tag. It's neatly styled, but does get rather grubby. I have recently had the opportunity to  review the CleanSpace app and tag for Good Housekeeping - but there's only limited space there, so I'm going into more detail here about this personal air pollution monitor/clean travel app. The CleanSpace tag is a slim plastic device about the size of mobile phone, which monitors levels of carbon monoxide. Powered by wi-fi, so it never needs a charge, the tag connects to a smartphone by Bluetooth, passing on information to the CleanSpace app. The idea is both to encourage the user to travel in a green fashion and to be able to keep an eye on the air pollution on your route, choosing a healthier alternative if necessary. The tag only measures carbon monoxide levels, which seems a touch dubious when one of the main concerns in city air pollution is the levels of particulates, notably from diesel exhausts. However, I was reassured by Ben Barrett from King's College, L...

I don't often have nightmares, but when I do, of late, they have had two themes. Some involve sitting my Natural Sciences finals exams, only I haven't revised since 1976. (For some reason it's never my Masters exams from the year after.) And the others put me back with my previous employer, British Airways. What used to be a great place to work has become a seen of hatred between workers and management. I suspect I know why both of these are occurring. As an RLF Literary Fellow I am currently helping science students at Bristol University with their writing skills - and for third years it is that terrifying time of year. As for the BA nightmares, I'm afraid, while exaggerated, it reflects the way the airline is shooting itself in the foot. When I was at BA, the IT department (then known as IM for Information Management), was central to the airline's success. The IM director, for example, was a full board member. And this was because sensible airlines knew just...