London, what a place! I was 'treated' to my first tube station scrum this week, on I went with my family in front and half of Kensington behind all gently pushing me forward. I actually found it quite amusing but I'm sure that smile would disappear if I had to do it on a daily basis.
Kensington, now what can I say about Kensington? Well I thought the place was beautiful, the rows of Edwardian terraces were stunning and the small restaurants charming and very... London. Just a block away from the museums was handy, the Natural History museum a powerful statement of our planet's history. To be stood next to something that was far more powerful than I and roamed the earth so long along was a privilege to experience.
London has so many iconic buildings and statues that I could sit here writing for hours talking about, it still wouldn't do the place justice though. I'm one of those people who is starstruck when seeing a celebrity, I clam up and my mouth goes dry. I love to see someone live because when you've seen then on the telly so much and then there they are it's just fantastic to have a tangible specimen in the same room. It's exactly the same with a famous city for me.
Now Staffordshire is a different beast, for a start it's more sedate and much greener. Cheadle is a gorgeous little place and well worth a visit if you are nearby.
And so, I've finally started on another Legion book but I'm thinking at the minute that it should be a novella, short and swifter to the point. All I'm going to say at this point is...
CHERRIES.
Confused?
Thought so :-D
If you've read John Kane then you'll understand what Legion is all about but things are about to get a little strange, the lines of clarity are going to become a little blurred as present day Legion shows its teeth.
Okay so, I'll leave you with that and I'll be back soon with a little more on the new story and I'll bid you a safe week.
P.W. Gill.
Sunday 31 July 2016
Friday 22 July 2016
The weird, the wonderful and me.
Hi everyone, it's been long hot week in Britain. Now I know, I know, some people live in much hotter areas of the world but let's ask ourselves one question; how the hell can you enjoy an English cup of tea when it's thirty degrees and no air? The answer is, you can't! I tried it and resorted to loading it up with milk to the point where I may as well as had a cup of milk.
Still, it was nice to see the country bask in the sun.
I'm off down to London next week, really looking forward to seeing the usual tourist sights but... Hang on... BUT...!!! I am on writer mode, everything I look at or round will be absorbed like a sponge in water, even the London Dungeon will inspire me.
When I say 'even the London dungeon' that is no detriment to the attraction, those places for me are so good and enjoyable that they fly by in an instant and everything you see and experience is compacted into the actual fun you have and a lot of details can be lost unless you have a second visit. I intend to not throw myself into... Ah, who am I kidding? I'm just as bad as the children, I'm going to throw myself into the whole thing.
I just hope that i can absorb the atmosphere and take home at least some understanding of what it was like back then. The reason I'm talking about the London Dungeon is not because I like to ramble, nor is it because I'm looking forward to going away with my family. I have in my notepad an idea for a story that steps aside from what I'm currently working on, set in a Victorian world of the rich vs the poor, the desperate against the greedy.
I like to write stories that are inspired by my dreams; that feeling you have after a particularly weird dream where you are still in the process of ascending from it and can still vividly see the streets and buildings. You are still mentally immersed in that atmosphere of strangeness where you know that something is no quite... Real? Right? How it should be? That is how I want the stories to capture the reader, when he or she finally closes the book and stops... Just for a moment, a second to shake off the world that they have left.
I love weird, I love strange and I love that moment when I close the book I'm reading and tentatively glance out of the window to reassure myself that I am back in my house.
So, I'll see you next week London and cue obligatory Big Ben pics.
Have a safe week and I'll be back here soon.
Still, it was nice to see the country bask in the sun.
I'm off down to London next week, really looking forward to seeing the usual tourist sights but... Hang on... BUT...!!! I am on writer mode, everything I look at or round will be absorbed like a sponge in water, even the London Dungeon will inspire me.
When I say 'even the London dungeon' that is no detriment to the attraction, those places for me are so good and enjoyable that they fly by in an instant and everything you see and experience is compacted into the actual fun you have and a lot of details can be lost unless you have a second visit. I intend to not throw myself into... Ah, who am I kidding? I'm just as bad as the children, I'm going to throw myself into the whole thing.
I just hope that i can absorb the atmosphere and take home at least some understanding of what it was like back then. The reason I'm talking about the London Dungeon is not because I like to ramble, nor is it because I'm looking forward to going away with my family. I have in my notepad an idea for a story that steps aside from what I'm currently working on, set in a Victorian world of the rich vs the poor, the desperate against the greedy.
I like to write stories that are inspired by my dreams; that feeling you have after a particularly weird dream where you are still in the process of ascending from it and can still vividly see the streets and buildings. You are still mentally immersed in that atmosphere of strangeness where you know that something is no quite... Real? Right? How it should be? That is how I want the stories to capture the reader, when he or she finally closes the book and stops... Just for a moment, a second to shake off the world that they have left.
I love weird, I love strange and I love that moment when I close the book I'm reading and tentatively glance out of the window to reassure myself that I am back in my house.
So, I'll see you next week London and cue obligatory Big Ben pics.
Have a safe week and I'll be back here soon.
Saturday 16 July 2016
Competitions.
Right, ok...
I've currently had two goes at a short story competition and not made the long list.
Admittedly the first one was dark and quite negative which was why I wrote something with a more positive tone for my second one. I was (and still am) really proud of my second effort, a lot of care went into it and I spend a lot of time rereading it and checking for mistakes.
The reasons behind its failure to make the longlist could sit solely with the fact it was not right for the competition, maybe it was too 'crimey' and not in keeping with the virtues of the competition and that's fine.
Whatever the reason it has got me fired up and now my next short story will take a different turn; yes, I can write numerous genres. As a child I loved to write horror and so my preference for crime writing has come as a shock to me.
If all else fails then maybe I could release them as a collection, a mix of stories that verge on 'Tales of the Unexpected'. I actually watched an episode of 'Tales' and it starred George Peppard, despite the dated look of the program I really enjoyed it.
Anyway I'm digressing, I'm determined to hone my writing skills and crack the short story thing, It's really difficult to squeeze a novel sized story into four thousand words!
Well, enjoy your Sunday or whatever day you are reading this on; if it's Monday then you have my condolences.
PW Gill.
I've currently had two goes at a short story competition and not made the long list.
Admittedly the first one was dark and quite negative which was why I wrote something with a more positive tone for my second one. I was (and still am) really proud of my second effort, a lot of care went into it and I spend a lot of time rereading it and checking for mistakes.
The reasons behind its failure to make the longlist could sit solely with the fact it was not right for the competition, maybe it was too 'crimey' and not in keeping with the virtues of the competition and that's fine.
Whatever the reason it has got me fired up and now my next short story will take a different turn; yes, I can write numerous genres. As a child I loved to write horror and so my preference for crime writing has come as a shock to me.
If all else fails then maybe I could release them as a collection, a mix of stories that verge on 'Tales of the Unexpected'. I actually watched an episode of 'Tales' and it starred George Peppard, despite the dated look of the program I really enjoyed it.
Anyway I'm digressing, I'm determined to hone my writing skills and crack the short story thing, It's really difficult to squeeze a novel sized story into four thousand words!
Well, enjoy your Sunday or whatever day you are reading this on; if it's Monday then you have my condolences.
PW Gill.
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