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Hey, Sphaedrew, do you know my nephew and talented author, Ben Bamber? He lives in Montpellier, Cheltenham. I believe he contributed his book to the Book Crossing. Next time I pop down there I'll put my Escaping Reality in. I'm not likely to make any money anyway! Geoff

I agree with Stewart in principle. On the other hand real life can get in the way of utopia. I agree that £350 is a lot to pay up front, especially without seeing a full contract. I'd want that money to be refunded from the agent's commission so in effect it becomes a loan from you to him as a...

Novella has given you excellent advice. You seem to be following the correct path and finding, like the rest of us, that it is damned hard, as a new author, to be picked up. An extra help would be an endorsement from someone in the field. Preferably someone else who has had a book published...

The Truckers Trilogy by Terry Pratchett - they are not Discworld - apologies to those millions who already knew that. The Carpet People also by Terry Prachett. Another fantasy but not Discworld. Intelligent 13 year-olds will enjoy the lateral thinking as well as get much of the adult-irony...

It worried me to find a 20-page glossary at the back of Dune, but relieved to find that some of the terms eg Qanat, are present-day words used on Earth. So that whittled it down to only 19 pages of new words. But maybe that's what you need for a novel that has become a legend in its own pre-pulp...

Hi hi, Don't worry about the penguins, watch out for the Koontz readers... Geoff

Robert, you have to put yourself in Paul McCartney's shoes. His commitment to animal welfare through being a veggie is as important as his music is (see http://www.catanna.com/mccartney.htm). It would have been hypocritical of him to be promoting vegetarianism on his tour yet have his work crew...

OK, but I rarely follow recipes. I tend to look around the cupboards and throw whatever I fancy in there. But this really does work http://www.veganfamily.co.uk/cashew.htm but don't worry about stuff like vegan margarine if your daughter eats butter - and I prefer to use olive oil. Happy...

I have read most of your posts, Moto. At my 5 decades I am fairly unshockable and amazingly tolerant. :p You have a cool Website so you can't be as bad as you make out. Hah! That'll annoy you... Geoff

I assumed the "polar bear" was an albino grizzly. Unless some mad scientists are also on the island playing with genetic engineering. Is this Jules Verne "Mysterious Island" meets Lord of the Flies? I too wasn't too happy at the repeated flash backs but I suppose its necessary to keep us...

Motokid, you are a star! Most meat eaters smuggle nasties into their kid's food when they want to try something new like veggie foods. She will thank you for it whether or not she remains a veggie. I wasn't allowed to be a veggie until I left home for uni and became a vegan overnight. I used...

Interesting name Breaca. I've just returned from cycling and rambling up and over our Brecon Beacons in the UK - your name reminded me of my exhilirating break!! Thanks. and Welcome :) Geoff

Books like this make me laugh. The huge assumption is that scientists think they know the answers, when in reality they know they don't. It takes a very arrogant scientist to assume that their theory is the one and only correct one. Mark McCutcheon is being ingenuous in his implication that he...

Good for you, CrabbyPatti, I hope you have sent him a get well card. I haven't met Stephen King but know several who have. It is a shame he is so ill these days. Geoff

It all comes down to the personalities of the individuals providing the service - like in most careers. If they seek job satisfaction you'll get customer joy. To balance my tirade in favour of small indie bookshops, I went into one in Yr Wyddgrug, a small market town in Wales an hours cycle...

Looks like a bury-your-head-in-the-sands time. Big chains get you most of what you want - partly because they make you want what you want. If you don't get it, then stay with them, that's what they want. I shop with the independents when it suits and the big chains when it suits. Generally...

That's good news - I'll use that information when my book comes out in print form next month. So far the only institutions that have given my publisher a firm yes to displaying and selling my book are the independent bookshops Bookend in Carlisle; Booklands in Chester, and the Choice-Hotels...

Colour of Magic - to remind me of why I was hooked by TP's laconic wit and lateral thinking. Hitchhikers Guide - in order to compare with the first film, then again ditto with the 2005 film. Wind in the Willows and The Hobbit as bedtime reading to my eldest child, then again cos we had...

I prefer local independent bookshops. One reason is that they tend not to fill the front half of their shop with the season's "best sellers" or Top 100. We know that books largely sell in direct proportion to the publishers' promo budget (given the authors' fame and ability to write) and the...

Although I haven't made up my mind as to the overall literary merit of DBC Pierre's Vernon God Little, there are some great one-liners, such as when the overeating detective looks for slices of meat and Vernon says: “I am the meat.” I particularly liked the way his mother rules Vernon’s life...