Testing 1-2-3. Is this thing on?

I am sorry that I have not written for a while. I will do so shortly. Promise. (Or threat, depending on how you see it).

I prepare for a photoshoot!!!

Somebody is coming round tomorrow to take photographs of me, for an Important Newspaper Feature. It is exciting, and I am planning to spend today worrying about what to wear. I am hoping that I won’t be put under any pressure to don deeply, deeply unfashionable shoes, as I wish to retain my dignity and artistic integrity. But if they order me to then I will, because it might sell a book.

I shall post a report soon. Until then, here are three things…

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I have been meaning for ages to link to Idiot Johnson’s E.P. Under the ridiculous assumed name of ‘Tim,’ Idiot has been reading and commenting here since the very very very early days; we’ve been in regular correspondence, and he has sent me regular MP3 files – I have been helping him out with some musical and production consultancy by telling him stuff like ‘yes, they are very good’ and things. Anyway, Idiot actually visited the Village during the summer, met Short Tony, and was present at an unfortunate golf cart/chicken owner accident. Go listen to the songs – they are seriously good (particularly the title track).

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I have received a postcard from the Snailr project!!! This is Anna Pickard’s record of her esoteric trip around the USA – I like to think that this was in part inspired by my own esoteric trip round the USA last year, despite the fact that she lives in the USA and had said to me previously ‘I am going to do an esoteric trip.’ Anna is – without question – the most frighteningly, frighteningly talented writer I know, and I was looking forward to her poetic and moving descriptive reportage of the American panorama. Anyway, I have scanned in her postcard here. The best thing about having a blog has undoubtedly been getting to know people like Anna. (And, of course, some nutters as well, but you take the rough with the smooth.)

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And finally, there is an interview with me at Caroline Smailes’s site (if you haven’t seen it already.) I’ve kind of been in awe of Caroline since I read Like Bees to Honey and I was a bit blown away when I met her over the summer to discover that she’d heard of me and liked my writing, plus her bazongas were just about to fall out of her dress, so short of offering me chips and introducing me to Leonard Cohen it was basically my dream fantasy meeting. The competition that ran with the interview is now closed, but Brom went and won it, and he’s also been a reader here for a grillion years, so that worked out nicely.

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That is all for now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I have had my hair done especially and am trying to work out the correct moody yet available expression.