Monthly Archives: July 2017

Author Interview: B.B. Kindred

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Author Interview: B.B. Kindred

A couple of months ago I reviewed The Cairo Pulse by B.B. Kindred I was lucky enough to receive an ebook via NetGalley. It is Kindred’s self-published debut novel and one I was thoroughly intrigued by. The ideas explored in the novel are mind-bending and paradigm shifting (see full review here).

I decided to contact Kindred and ask if she would consent to a brief interview. She was kind enough to oblige:

1. If you were to classify your novel, what genre would you place it in? If you were to walk into a bookshop, for example, where would you expect to find it?

Speculative fiction, but I’m fully aware that I’m somewhat genre defying, which is not recommended, but nevertheless true.  I could probably also be squeezed into hard science fiction, visionary and metaphysical and psychological.

2. How much research was involved in writing your novel?

It’s an interesting question because in a sense, my life and work is my research. (see professional background) A lot of genuine circumstances were utilised in The Cairo Pulse, for instance, I live in the Pennine hills above Manchester.  I have a substantial bank of knowledge and experience to draw upon, brushing up on specific areas if I feel it’s needed.

3. What is your professional background?

In one word – complicated.  After leaving school at sixteen, between then and the age of twenty-seven, I did jobs that ranged from being a Butlins Redcoat to managing a welfare advice service.  After getting a place on a degree course reading Social Science, I graduated at the age of thirty.  Subsequently I worked in community development, adult education and counselling.  In my late forties, I became a copywriter and began to take creative writing more seriously.  I consider myself to be an eternal student and am constantly expanding my knowledge of the subjects I love such as sociology, psychology, anthropology and the metaphysical.  I’ve moved in most spheres of society, whether professionally or personally, which gives me a great foundation for writing.

4.Why did you decide to self-publish?

Because I felt my novel would be too risky a proposition for an agent or publisher and because I wanted to be in control of the process.

5.Why too risky for a publisher? There are plenty of totally wacky novels out there in bookshops. 

Your question is piercing and pertinent and I want to respect that.  I generally only do honesty or silence.

As someone with an interest in publishing, I’m sure you’re aware it’s not just the novel that gets a writer to market.  And it’s not just the novel that ensures a high profile.  As a social scientist, I’m used to gathering statistics to form a conclusion.  After weighing numerous factors (including the ‘wackiness’ as you call it), I’ve concluded that this is the best route for me at this stage.  Time will tell if I’m right.  I think it’s wonderful that I can publish without having to get someone’s permission!

6. Are there any plans for another book?

Yes.  It’s about something called The Rapture.  I think intensively about a story for months before I write, but I’m ready to begin.

If you’d like to read more about The Cairo Pulse, then take a look at my full review here or you can go to this link to buy yourself the ebook.

Review: “My Body vs Me” by Amy-Louise Taylor

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My Body vs Me: Living with Chronic Illness

By Amy-Louise Taylor

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It is difficult to be entirely honest. With loved ones, with strangers, with yourself. You must face up to the ugly parts of yourself before you can show them to others. Amy-Louise Taylor has taken the decision to be as honest as she can be in this little book, My Body Vs Me: Living with Chronic Illness.

Frank, honest, self-effacing, funny and brave – Amy is quite phenomenal, really. She has a host of not-so-nice conditions she must battle every day, with varying degrees of success. But she is doing an excellent job at getting on with life, with a smile on her face. She’s got a job she loves, she’s just published a book and she’s planning her wedding. In fact, it’s wrong to say she’s just getting on with life: she’s living it.

It is difficult to describe this book, not least because it discusses difficult things. It is a very personal book. It is very funny. But it is also sad.

I am lucky. Lucky because I get to live a normal life. I get to make mistakes and complain about things like a “normal” person. Amy is less lucky. She has a number of chronic illnesses that affect her everyday life. She can’t know each morning whether she’ll be able to leave the house. There are also days when she doesn’t want to leave the house. But Amy doesn’t complain, like a normal person would. Like I would. Of course, I’m sure, she has her moments when things get too much and who could blame her? But another person might allow themselves to be held down by the weight she bears. Amy finds joy and holds onto it, and you can only admire a person like that.

This book is a letter to family and friends; a thank you for their continued patience and compassion. But more than that, it is a message in a bottle for those who might be struggling.  Whether you are coping with a difficult condition or are close to someone who is, this little book just might be what you need.

From Amy, I pass on this message: “You can do this.”

Title: My Body vs Me
Author: Amy-Louise Taylor
ISBN: 9781521359686 (paperback)

Buy ebook here.

Book Review: “A Horse Walks into a Bar” by David Grossman (MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2018)

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A Horse Walks into a Bar

By David Grossman (Translated from the Hebrew by Jessica Cohen)

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This book slaps you in the face with every page – sometimes quite literally – with its palpable tension and heartbreak. Powerful storytelling and jokes that make you snigger in spite of yourself, David Grossman is an artist of black humour and a well deserving winner of the Man Booker International Prize 2018.

In the city of Netanya, Israel, Dovaleh G is doing a stand-up routine. He’s been doing this a long time, but tonight is different. Dovaleh is going to tell some jokes, yes, but mostly, he will tell a story. And reveal a dark and painful truth. As the night wears on and the audience thins, his strange story intensifies and you can’t help but feel that you are part of his audience. I watched this man bare his soul on a lonely stage and I now know what it feels like to watch a man relive the most horrific moments of his life. In this theatre of (comic) cruelty, explosive self-abuse sees punchlines become punches to the face. This book, this performance, is cracked, fragmentary and broken – just like the man on stage.

Grossman takes the power of performance art and instils it in this novel. One man, a stage, a spotlight and a powerful story. The darkness, the loneliness, the commitment and the power. This performance, this one-man/stand-up/freak show, is painfully awkward but deeply engrossing. It speaks to that dark part of us that seeks out, will pay to watch, someone fall apart at the seams.

“The temptation to look into another man’s hell.”  (82)

Theatre, art, books, have the power to unite people. Whether that be in a moment of joy or despair, it is a comfort and a thrill to feel connected to those around us. Grossman whips the rug from under our feet repeatedly, in A Horse Walks into a Bar, by using his comedian to show us all the fetid nature of this desire we all feel. Dovaleh will make you laugh, but it’ll come with a price.

“It starts with an awkward hum, with sidelong glances, then something makes their necks swell, and within a second they’re up in the air, balloons of idiocy and liberty, released from gravity, rushing to join the one and only camp that can never be defeated: Hands together for death!” (69)

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