I’m still complying with the edict to stay in doors, although did a little shopping this morning. I was thinking of prison memoirs and came up with Cassanova’s autobiography when he was imprisoned for, being a libertine in the Doges Palace, or Palace of the Leads and Edmund Dante in the Chateau d’If in The Count of Montecristo. The Playwright Brendan Behan wrote Borstal Boy about his incarceration in juveniles prison after arrest for plotting bomb making by the IRA…..
I’ve always tended to think solitary confinement, one of the serious prison punishments was a bit meeeh. I am very happy in my own company, and I only see my wife for any length of time on weekends. That rather smug perspective has been tested to destruction by the C19 pandemic. Although I’m retired, I was contracted to draft some work for my old employers. They have closed the office, and while I can work from home, I miss the…..
I’ve entitled this blog post with reference to Daniel Defoe’s novelization of an account of the 1665 plague epidemic in London. It seems appropriate to refer to this book, given that as in 1665, London ground to a halt as swingeing measures were taken to halt the advance of plague. In those far off days, the link between plague, fleas and rats was unknown so all kinds of quackery and mysticism were used as ways of warding off the plague……
I kid you not, logging on to my blog site really had me feeling like throwing my lap top of the lanai. Any way made it eventually. Anyway, The News: I was interviewed by Al Cole on his nationally syndicated radio show. Apparently he has a huge audience who refer to themselves as ALCOLEHOLICS. Until yesterday I hadn’t any contact with Al, but he’s a great communicator and we had a chat about’The Friends of Eddy Relish,’and soon to be…..
Pax Britannica is probably my favorite of the books I have written. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozKvBw3tdeQ It took a lot work to come up with an alternative history to account for the atom bomb theft. I am still a great fan of the James Bond books, and my starting point was how to retell this story and relocate it to the equatorial West Pacific. The locations of Emananus and Kavieng are real places in New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. My wife,…..
The title of this blog is of course pinched from The Beatles ‘Back in the USSR.’ When I worked at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in Noumea, I wrote a comic version of what was already a pastiche of the Beach Boys musical style. There are two main schools of thought on the Beach Boys. One is that Brian Wilson is a genius and the band had a good run from the early sixties to the early seventies. The…..
I’m originally from England. I don’t say Britain not because I have a problem with it but because it’s more of a political construct than England. Yes, there are probably many arguments against these definitions. For one the North is very different to the South and especially the Southeast. For decades Britain’s Labor Party relied on its ‘Red Wall’, a collection of safe seats in the industrial heartland of England, which incredibly voted for the Tories, giving our Prime Minister…..
Monday morning, I should be supercharged and ready to go but get hit by a flu bug (non Coronavirus!) that is plaguing people with sore throats, coughs, and aching bones. But, some work can be accomplished, and I’m happy to to include in this post a press release from a publicity campaign for the The Friends of Eddy Relish. This was the first novel I wrote and its written in collaboration with a friend. After trying to get it published…..
For those breathless with anticipation about my new novel, He might be still on Mars. Here’s a teaser showing the cover, back and front. PDALZELL_HE MIGHT BE STILL ON MARS_COVER_022320-LOW edited Jan 27 For those eager folks who don’t like science fiction, a new work is in process, ‘Wedding Presents from Pyongyang.’ I find North Korea morbidly fascinating as it is like something out of a sci-fi novel. That’s no comfort to the folks who live in the…..
My new book, He might be still on Mars, is at the printers proof stage. I am looking forward to seeing it in my hands. No doubt technology is making publishing easier for folks with a multitude of options, but there’s nothing like holding a new book in your hands. I was a fishery scientist for many years, and about 20-25 years ago, reprints of articles began to be superceded by pdf files. It was marvelous to see a paper…..