Sunday Herald Essay, a Glowing Review and a New Poem

Well, I’m back in Japan and bed-bound with a fever, no doubt worn out by all the travelling, reading, chatting and, dare I say it, drinking over in Scotland. While I’m lying here wishing for a swift and painless death I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to update you on a few things.Continue reading “Sunday Herald Essay, a Glowing Review and a New Poem”

Nothing in the Rule Book Interview

Recently the kind folk at http://www.nothingintherulebook.com contacted me about doing an interview and writing an article for their site. The article will appear later in the year but the interview is live now. They asked some tough questions about the ethical responsibility of writers and the realities of life as a writer while the publishingContinue reading “Nothing in the Rule Book Interview”

Articles and Shorts: Update.

It’s been a while since my last post because I’ve been as busy as a millipede’s chiropodist. I’ve been hard at work on novel three, edits have just come in for novel two, writing regularly for the Japan Times and I still have the day job. I’ll be off on holiday in three weeks, headingContinue reading “Articles and Shorts: Update.”

Turnstile, The Making of …

The evolution of a short story can be a bizarre path. This month a flash story I wrote, Turnstile, is included in Eastlit Magazine. I’m really pleased to finally get this story accepted because it’s been with me a long time, and not always in a good way. When I first came to Japan in 2005Continue reading “Turnstile, The Making of …”

J David Simons Interview

The September issue of Eastlit Magazine is out and it features an interview by me with J David Simons, primarily about his book An Exquisite Sense of What is Beautiful. I’m a big fan of this book, a moving story spanning decades and continents, and I hope you’ll check it and his other novels out onceContinue reading “J David Simons Interview”