#1 AMAZON BESTSELLLER, Alan Camrose
Two new releases on AMAZON
DIVAN INSPIRATION: Travels on the Road to Dreamland. Part One: The Good, the Bed and the Snuggly - Bedtime at the movies
A non-fiction bedtime story
and
BUILDING MEMORIES: Bricks and Murder
A darkly humorous coming-of-age magical realism PI love story thriller
Also: HEMINGWAY'S PUZZLE:Short But Perfectly Formed, an anthology of six-word stories
LOST IN PLAIN SIGHT, a magical adventure for grown-ups and cat-lovers
MAKING OUR CHRISTMAS PRESENT: A Merry Journey - a festive, funny journey back to the origins of our Christmas traditions
Alan Camrose lives in the South-East of England with his family and writes fiction and non-fiction while trying not to mix them up too much...
He loves noodles, Blues music, Terry Pratchett's books, curry, football, a negroni or two, Miles Davis, gnocchi, craft beers, Adam West as Batman, a firepit on a cold night, board games, hammocks, and General Wolfe.BUY ONE OF ALAN'S BOOKS NOW
I thought it would be a good moment to cast an eye back over my earlier posts to see just how random they are.
It got me to thinking about the purpose of my blog. It is like a diary, a snapshot of where I am in the particular week, an articulation of something that I feel it worthwhile articulating.
I’m not trying to sell anything with my blog, except my words. If you want to buy my books, then that’s great; if you want to buy me a cup of coffee then that’s great too, but I suppose I’m acting like an unstable lighthouse swirling words out into the void to try to connect with other – broadly like-minded – human beings. Not with bots or algorithms, phishers or exotic princes with a sad story to tell involving my bank account details. Just other human beings who may want to tarry for a moment in my lair to see what I have to say about things of hopefully mutual interest.
I’ve taken a look back over the past year’s posts to see any patterns in the randomness.
My posts include various broad categories:
Books and reviews – my posts on audio books, genre mashing, and Hemingway – topical with the new series from the BBC.
Food and drink, including posts on cheese, tomato sauce and – strangely fittingly – pizza and the wonders of a pizza oven. A special mention to the Claw of the Beast.
Sport, like the Euros, but I want to put that to one side for the moment. Too sad for the glorious defeat and angry at the minority of idiots who have over-shadowed what was a joyful ride for England supporters.
Music is one of my great loves, ranging from the blues to my favourite country crossover song ever to our open air concert in Glyndebourne last year. My piece on Spooky Bob and his Crossroads date with the Devil is the first in my intended series of stuff about my favourite blues artists.
Posts on travel have kept me embracing the wider world at a time when we have been forced to look closer to home, leading mne back to trekking in Nepal and forward to British staycations in Cheshire and, er, Aylesbury. Don’t smirk, we’re going back to Aylesbury this Summer, too. Lily the unforgettable campervan, too.
And everyday stuff, like uni, diets and the fierce selection of board games to play during Lockdown.
And Jasper and Pagoda, our retriever and Burmese – absolutely not everyday stuff.
Some interlopers sneaked in…
That’s all for now. I look forward to the next 50, I hope you do too…
It’s my bespoke stomping ground in the Intermatrix. You are very welcome, and thanks for stopping by…
This time, a Burmese moment… As a gentle warning, if you don’t like cats (and, in particular, Burmese cats) you may want to look away now.
In the interests of balance, I want to put the limelight on Pagoda. A brief moment on a lazy Bank Holiday…
Her full-on, no-holds-barred, knock-down-drag-out name is, as decreed by the all-powerful Governing Council of the Cat Fancy, is:
Karriewhitchit Aligrea
‘Pagoda’ works better when yelling at her not to rip up one of the sofas.
Chocolate Burmese.
Date of birth: 22 January 2015.
I was delighted to find out that her mother is Karriewhitchit Allthatjazz. Pagoda certainly shows off some syncopated moves when she shreds a rug.
I thought I would run through her main characteristics.
Bloody-mninded. She has right of abode on my chest when I am sitting down and wearing an acceptably comfortable item of clothing. Preferably a wool jumper. She is able to detect me anywhere in the house and home in on me with a purr the decibel equivalent of a large washing machine tackling student washing, or a small light aircraft.
Moving is not an option, otherwise her Bad Side comes out, together with the pointy bits of her, ready to act like a grapnel on the North face of the Eiger..
Unwavering. Whether it’s shoulder-charging the utility room door, dive-bombing the sleeping dog or trying to squeeze through the window shutters, she pursues her twisted goals with Terminator-like efficiency…
…She can’t be bargained with, can’t be reasoned with, she doesn’t feel pity or remorse or fear, and she absolutely will not stop… EVER…
Kyle Reese
Ravenous. Whether stalking her kibble, trying to eat her toy mouse, inhaling her Felix or, best of all, heisting the dog’s food, for one so small that cat has a BIG appetite. I always keep my finhers and toes moving while she’s around me. But wait, doesn’t that make me…LIVE PREY?
Purr…
Mad. ‘Nuff said.
MWAH_HA_HA_HA_HA
Elegant. (Evil.) Either. Both. See above.
Sleepy. She’s a cat, what can I say?
Extreme. Whatever she does is at the far end of the cat continuum.
