Out of the doldrums

Monday morning, and a good one at that. It should not be long now before "77" will be in the market place as a Print on Demand book. You never know, I might even sell one. That much at least is assured. I will be ordering a few for my own use. Not that I will read it; I am quite familiar with the story. It has been a part of my life for many years  before I ever thought of putting pen to paper.

There is a small part of the story that is more or less factual. This part is autobiographical. I wonder if readers will be able to work out which part.

Would it be possible to offer a prize to the first reader to spot the autobiographical part(s)? I would need to lodge details of this with an independent person or body first, but it should be possible. I wonder ...

I have done all I can for the moment to market the book, although I will be coming back to that one in time. For now I can return to "Harry". I really look forward to that.

Overture and Beginners

It is one thing to publish a book in Amazon's Kindle store, quite another to bring it to the attention of potential customers. This is the BIG problem ... which tends to support the point of view which states that the foremost assets needed by any writer are a compulsion to write and insanity. I could be a new Dickens in waiting, you a Sebstian Faulks, it matters not. The chances of creating a presence in the bookworld (let me not be posh and say "literary world") are virtually non-existent. But when you've gotta write you gotta write, regardless of the rewards, or lack of them.

They, this wondrous body of they, say "write a grabbing opening". And so I wrote an opening to "77" which, I think you will agree, is grabbing:

"I rather think I'm very much in your debt, but would you mind taking your hand from between my legs? People might get the wrong idea."
The woman put her question to the youth with a composure quite remarkable in the circumstances of their meeting ...

Does that grab you? I hope so. Notice, though, that the line is spoken by a woman to a youth. An age difference! And it is 1951, a time when hypocrisy in all things sexual ruled supreme. Even so, some were virgins - young men as well as young women - when they stood at the altar, which was not altogether a bad thing.

Needless to say, while this scene describes the meeting of the woman and the youth, it is only the start of something more lasting, dramatic and traumatic.