I planned to write about the balance between a writer’s life and their inner world, but this piece on the BBC website caught my eye and, frankly, it seemed more interesting to explore than to write about what I know best (me). https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-45803343 It’s well worth reading in full, but in essence author and screenwriter …
Tag: Thomas Bladen
Film Noir Feeds my Fiction
I’ve made no secret of the fact that Raymond Chandler’s writing is one of the inspirations for my Thomas Bladen spy thrillers, but I also owe a huge debt to cinema. It’s my great pleasure now to introduce you to a back catalogue of films that remain classics of the spy / thriller genre. Many of …
Do writers need boundaries?
Vive la difference! I’m at a really interesting point in the novel I’m writing. And I know that because it’s making me uncomfortable. It’s not violence or sex or swearing; no, it’s more subtle than that. It’s about religion and culture. More specifically, religion and culture that aren’t mine. I’ve recently had some brilliant email conversations …
Who Owns Your Books?
Now you see me. When it comes to books, the word ‘ownership’ can mean different things at different times. Who owns an idea? Nobody. Try copyrighting an idea and be prepared for laughter and disdain. Who owns a completed manuscript? Unless you’ve been paid to ghostwrite a novel, ownership rests with the author. The laws …
Books as Children – Line of Sight’s turn to shine
It’s time for Thomas Bladen to go through the looking glass. A well-known author (Richard Bach, I’m fairly confident) once referred to his books as his literary children. When it comes to my Thomas Bladen Spy Chaser novels, I have tried to do something subtle different with each one. Consequently, I love all my literary children …
Shadow State – using the force
Even if you don’t believe in destiny you probably accept the word of Sir Isaac Newton. His ‘three laws’, unlike Isaac Asimov’s (now that’s what I call a literary reference), underpin not only our understanding of physics, but also of daily life and writing.The First Law states that:a) An object at rest remains at rest …
Daylight – finishing a new novel
Light at the end of a celestial tunnel. I know; why a ‘new’ novel and not simply a novel? Well…it’s different. Not better or worse, just a changed experience – like my parents must have felt with a second child. You feel you know the ropes a bit more and you swear that you won’t make the …
Out of character?
If you’re a fan of science fiction – and unless you’ve been living on another planet (without galactic wifi) – you’ve probably heard about the story / non-story about Mr Sulu in the rebooted Star Trek film series. But just in case, it goes like this: – Star Trek Beyond, the new film, will portray Mr Sulu as …
Writing and backgammon
We’ve recently learned how to play backgammon, so now we can finally use the set that we bought in Turkey about 15 years ago. (I said we’d get there in the end.) Like all dice games there is a great deal of luck in the game, although strategy and ‘reading the game’ play their parts …
Leave me out of it!
Magnificat! One of the toughest challenges for an author is letting your characters (your literary children) grow up and gain their independence. It’s a curious and somewhat dissociative process to enter into a dialogue with a character you’ve created, as far as you’re aware, and find that they not only answer you back they also …