Walking Thru' Fire

In this episode I read my as yet unpublished story, "The Piano Player".
I hope you like it.

A short story about how a dream can distort your view of the world and loosen your grip on reality - especially in Hollywood.

I would like to read you the draft opening to my new novel (which will be my eighth and will probably be published in the second half of 2022). What you are about to hear represents a work-in-progress, but I feel the opening deserves an airing. The draft is currently out in the market seeking an Agent...

I have yet to settle on a title for the book. The original working title was ‘The Reunion’, but - though accurate in terms of subject - it feels a little too bland. I am currently wrestling with ‘Once Significant Others’ as an alternative - though to be honest, I suspect I may move on a little from that too.

In any event, I hope you like this extract.

This is a reading of my long poem, Crash.

The piece was performed as a dramatic monologue on the 10th June at the Ripon Theatre Festival in North Yorkshire.

The performance opens with a man rousing himself from sleep. He stretches, puts on his dressing gown and glasses. Then he notices various items on a table near his bed - a mug, a knitted poppy, a restaurant menu, a clock - before looking up to realise he has an audience before him.

He scans the audience, then begins speaking...

In this episode I read sonnets 15 thru 21 from my collection, "not the Sonnets"

• Fearing Dementia
• The Claims You Made
• Conversations With My Muse
• Frost & Fog
• Constructive Criticism
• Compulsion
• The Shakespearean Lead