Archive - August 2021

It’s been a few weeks since I posted photographs of deer. Three roe deer have been making regular appearances near my house of late. Here are two of them.

The buck.

All three together.

It seems that much of the world has been afflicted by extreme heat this summer. However, the UK has escaped this trend for the most part. It has been a disappointing summer in terms of weather, but it has been sunny of late.

What a treat.

I finally took the plunge and purchased a new ironing board cover. Voilà.

Recently, there have been promotions for two of my books. From my experience BookBub is the only worthwhile place to run a promotion with. I had an International (non US) promotion with them for Tomorrow’s World, which went quite well. The other outfits reaped lacklustre results.

BookBub is the gold standard of book promotion. But that doesn’t make their competitors silver and bronze; rather cardboard and asbestos. Perhaps other authors have different experiences. I hear ENT are quite good, and no doubt some of the others are too.

It has been a non-eventful week, so I’m reverting to my trusted subject that is books. I am an avid fan of Scottish transgressive author Irvine Welsh. Here are 6 Irvine Welsh books that I have read. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Skagboys

Skagboys is a work of Transgressive Fiction whose main focus is many of its characters increasing obsession with heroin.

My Review: Skagboys is the prequel to Trainspotting. Its colourful, mostly young characters hail from the Edinburgh port suburb of Leith. There is the bookish, unambitious …(more)

Glue

Set in the author’s customary stomping ground, this episodic tome (556 pages) is in essence about growing up.

My Review: Glue is about four friends who hail from Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. It begins with them as infants in the 1970s, and ends at the dawn of the new …(more)

Marabou Stork Nightmares

This is an inventive book, boasting parallel stories and different levels of awareness. It is peppered with stylistic idiosyncrasies. 

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)

Dead Men’s Trousers

This work of transgressive fiction is infused with humour. The action takes place in Scotland and America.

My Review: The Trainspotting crew are back for another adventure. These days Mark Renton is a successful manager of DJs. Begbie is a famous artist, living the dream in California …(more)

The Blade Artist

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 …(more)

A Decent Ride

This is one of Welsh’s lighter books. Its seediness, humour and bawdy Leith vernacular will appeal to many.  

My Review: Terry ‘Juice’ Lawson is an Edinburgh taxi driver who moonlights as a porn actor and drug fixer. Since losing his virginity at the age ofeleven, he has been obsessed with …(more)

I went to Wales last week. Like many of you no doubt, it had been a long time since I had travelled so far from home. Here are some pictures from my time away.

The weather was variable, as to be expected considering the location. The fluctuating weather did allow for some good photographs.

The steam train we went on.

It took a scenic route.

Some of the shops did not keep reliable hours.

Anyone else a fan of sea bass?

Eggs benedict – what a great way to kick off the day.

Shortly after returning from Wales I received these in the post from Germany.

The German-language hardback edition of Symbiosis. Symbiose in Deutsch.