Martin Sketchley's novels are available from online and traditional booksellers
See the "Martin Who" page or visit martinsketchley.co.uk for more information on the author.This was the one band I wanted to see all weekend. Sod bloody Springsteen and Blur. I wanted Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. But the BBC showed Prodigy and Blur on BBC 4 and BBC 2, and there was nothing available via the red button. WHERE WERE MY BAD SEEDS?
If anyone knows where there is video of the gig please send a comment.
Anyway, here are some great photos.
I’m currently working on a new novel which is going well. Having reached 100,000 words I’m proceeding with the re-write.
I’ve also written a short story which was commissioned by Ian Whates for his forthcoming CONFLICT anthology. I’m not sure when this is to be published but I’ll post here in due course.
Elsewhere, my band has started gigging again with new songs and a new guitarist. Visit www.myspace.com/ponychairblack for more information and details of gigs. I should point out, though, that the songs on that site are old and, well, don’t sound the best now.
Feel free to comment or send a Facebook friend request if you want to be kept up to date. If I don’t actually know you, please include a brief note with the latter.
Just looking at my dreams in here it’s interesting to see how many of them feature modes of transport – roads, trains, aircraft – and weather, particularly heavy rain.
There’s also a recurring theme of being blocked – stopped from crossing or turning or, in the the Lost Daughter dream, finding. Even the Forest Bridge dream features a bridge not particularly conducive to actual crossing…
Interesting.
I’m talking to Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.
He’s using his laptop.
How many emails do you get from fans? I ask.
Millions a day, he replies.
Do you actually read any of them?
I ignore anything that begins with ‘hello’.
Took my kids to see Star Trek last night. 9-year old loved the trailer and was desperate to see the film. As it was she cringed and hid her eyes through most of it. “Too much… kaboosh!” she said, waving her arms when we came out. Good point.
Had I watched it first I wouldn’t have taken her to see it. Guess I’ll have to go back to pre-viewing complete movies first. My 11-year old didn’t seem too impressed, but he’d spent the afternoon kayaking and surfing.
Points:
Fun to begin with but for anyone lacking any knowledge of Star Trek and its history quite a lot of old tosh really.
Quite a lot of coincidences.
Was it just me or did the Romulans not look like Romulans at all?
The guy who played Bones was great. Also reminded me of the bass player from Blur.
Chekov’s accent somewhat OTT.
Sulu’s magical expanding sword unconvincing.
The scene at the beginning with the baby being born and the orchestral music was Hollywood at it’s most sentimental and corny.
The relationship between Uhura and Spock was overdone, as was Kirk.
The souped-up Enterprise looked about as elegant as an elephant in a dress.
I like the modernised beaming effect.
Someone should roll The Affinity Trap, The Destiny Mask and The Liberty Gun into one and make a film of it. Put someone moody in the role of Delgado. I always imagined Gary Oldman but he might be a bit old now. David Bowie? Why not. And of course someone sexy and curvaceous in the female lead. Now that would be a movie! Maybe.
Rain so heavy I can see it as white streaks in the air.
A busy motorway, packed with cars.
Cars moving fast.
Trying to get across to something on the other side.
I’ve lost my daughter in a huge airport.
It’s incredibly busy, packed with people pulling suitcases on wheels.
The corridors are narrow.
There a many doors, floors, escalators, lifts.
I run from one side of the airport to the other, up and down different levels.
But I can’t find her.
“If it’s sunk, it’s sunk, and it’s sunk. It’s not floating, it’s sunk.”
Last night I attended the Arthur C Clarke Award at the Apollo Cinema in London. I was delighted that good friend Ian R MacLeod won the award this year for his novel Song of Time. I took the opportunity to hold the award itself for a few moments, given that it’s unlikely I’ll ever win one of my own!
It was great to catch up with a few old friends and meet a few new people as well. As ever, the event itself was very slick and ran smoothly – no doubt with chaos behind the scenes.
