July | 2019 | Guy Portman's Blog

The Week – the good, the bad & the ugly

Jul 26 2019

Another week bites the dust. I have just come back from a break in The Fens, and am now back at the grindstone trying to make up for lost time. For what it is worth I have categorised the week gone by into three categories.

The Good: There are few things as cathartic as being in the countryside. Here is a photo of a freshly cut Fens field taken shortly before the heatwave began in earnest.

More good … The local pub has Moretti on tap, and the butcher is of exceptional quality.

I wasn’t the only one enjoying The Fen food.

The Bad: I never thought I would live to see the day when it was 30C at 19:30 in Norfolk. I only remember a few days ever reaching that temperature when I was kid. Many will no doubt disagree, but it’s too hot for the UK in my humble opinion. And with the heat came the flies. There were so many on Monday, I could have been in Somalia.

More Bad … Sales of Necropolis and Sepultura (first two instalments in my black comedy trilogy) have been non-existent this past week. They had been performing okay of late. Hopefully this will be rectified soon. That’s called positive thinking.

The Ugly: My friends beat me in our air rifle target competition. Although I’ve had no practice of late it annoyed me immensely, especially considering we were using my gun.

But the ugliest thing this week is that I committed a cardinal sin.

Not sure how circumstances led to this, but this fashion faux pas/sartorial setback was a one off.

Fly Mowers, Five Guys & Random Ramblings

Jul 19 2019

I finally had enough of hauling my heavy lawn mower up and down banks, so I took the plunge and invested in a fly mow. It makes life so much easier; well mowing grass on gradients anyway. My only concern is accidentally cutting my toes off. It happens on occasion I am told.

Here is a picture of my dog Trigga posing on my pre fly-mowed lawn.

Who else is a fan of Five Guys? I paid the Guildford branch a visit earlier in the week, and I was not disappointed. If you haven’t already, I recommend paying Five Guys a visit. That advice does not apply to vegetarians or vegans.

I was so full from my Five Guys that I forgot I was meant to go the supermarket. Fortunately, some carb free leftovers came to the rescue.

I don’t seem to be receiving many comments other than endless spam on my blog nowadays. Perhaps there is a problem with one of the WordPress plugins. At any rate, I have rather fallen out of love with WordPress and am planning to migrate elsewhere. Relationships only last a finite amount of time – and this no exception.

The plan is to have a proper website. This will allow for a greater degree of flexibility, and it is going to be cheaper to run and far more secure too. I am of the opinion that WordPress has become rather dated. Perhaps you WordPress users feel the same. I am hoping the move will revitalise my blogging inspiration, and I will not have to resort to blogging about my fly mow.

Have a good weekend.

7 Transgressive Fiction Reading Recommendations

Jul 12 2019

It’s been a while since I wrote a Transgressive Fiction related post. Here are seven works of Transgressive Fiction that I have read. Click on the links to read the reviews.

Definition: Transgressive Fiction is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways.

In Wolves’ Clothing by Greg Levin

This first-person transgressive work features a troubled member of an anti child trafficking organisation.

My Review: Zero Slade is a member of an anti-child sex trafficking organisation. The role entails infiltrating the industry by masquerading as
high-rolling sex …(more)

Marabou Stork Nightmares by Irvine Welsh

This is an inventive book, boasting parallel stories and different levels of awareness.

My Review: Roy Strang narrates this story from the hospital in which he is lying in a coma. It begins in South Africa, where he and his friend Sandy Jamieson are hunting the …(more)

Between the Shadow and Lo by Lauren Sapala

This first-person work of Transgressive Fiction is written by a female author, and it boasts an alcoholic female protagonist.

Review: Twenty-something Seattleite Leah is an emotionally damaged alcoholic with a penchant for drugs, sleeping around and books. She has an alter ego, a dark …(more)

Women by Charles Bukowski

The story follows the exploits of ageing lowlife and Bukowski alter ego, Henry Chinaski.

My Review: Fat, ugly fifty-something Henry Chinaski is a degenerate drinker, gambler and womaniser residing in downtrodden East Hollywood.
After a lifetime spent toiling in …(more)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Based on Heller’s own experiences as a bombardier in WWII, this satirical anti-war novel is brimming with absurdist humour.

My Review: Set on the Mediterranean island of Pianosa during WWII, Catch-22 is about the exploits of the fictitious 256th Squadron. We follow protagonist Yossarian and his comrades’ farcical attempts to …(more)

Child of God by Cormac McCarthy

Child of God is a tautly written and concise work of ‘country noir’. Themes include loneliness and necrophilia.

My Review: Having been dispossessed of his land, Lester Ballard is now homeless and eking out an existence in the backwoods of Sevier County, East Tennessee. For food, he steals and forages. For …(more)

The Blade Artist by Irvine Welsh

The complex and manipulative protagonist, sordid characters and squalid descriptions will appeal to fans of the Transgressive genre.

My Review: Reformed Scottish ex-con Jim Francis (formerly Franco Begbie) is now a successful sculptor living the dream in sunny California with his former prison art therapist now trophy wife …(more)

Frustration, Firewood & Chocolate Eclairs

Jul 05 2019

The ongoing work in my garden has resulted in me having a lot of spare firewood. If you would like some speak up now, or forever hold your peace. What with the relentless energy price hikes here in the UK, kindling could be gold dust come winter.

Last week I shared with you the books I’ve read this year. My current read is The Good Son – an award winning South Korean psychological thriller. Perhaps you’ve read it already. I have mixed feelings so far.

Next up will be Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. I hope its humour will appeal.

As for writing, I am looking forward to getting my latest book Golgotha back from the proof reader. The black comedy is the third instalment in my Necropolis Trilogy featuring sociopath Dyson Devereux.

Up until Thursday of last week, I would have mentioned at this juncture how well received the first two parts have been on Goodreads. But alas, both have since fallen victim to bots. Over the course of the last eight days they have got more ratings than they have had in their lives. All of which have come from accounts opened in June that are yet to review a single book. The Goodreads chart below for Necropolis illustrates the extent of the issue.

Of course this wouldn’t be bad news if they were good ratings. However, both books’ ratings have plummeted. Sepultura has gone from 3.88 to 3.18 and it is dropping fast. At the present rate it will have the dubious distinction of being the lowest rated book on Goodreads. And Necropolis isn’t faring much better. Goodreads are ignoring my emails.

I have been receiving therapy in the form of my dog Trigga and chocolate eclairs. They are proving to be a cathartic combination.