Welcome to IAAY number four!
This week it's all about British writer Russ King who's been known to double up as a pirate and/or Batman in North Somerset. He also works from home.
IAAY is published every Wednesday (yes, all of them), so there's plenty of time for you to join in too! Contact me via the comments or via Twitter: @mickdavidson.
It's All About Russ King
It’s all about Roald Dahl
Just to be different I’m going to ignore the obvious effect Roald Dahl’s children’s fiction had on my imagination and love of books as a child. Today I want to tell you about the legendary diaries of Oswald Hendryks Cornelius, ‘the greatest bounder, bon vivant and fornicator of all time’.
Dahl’s fiction for children featured fantastically nasty villains that you couldn’t wait to reach a spectacularly sticky end, but in Uncle Oswald we have a flamboyant, reckless and bad character that you somehow can’t help liking.
This dastardly seducer first appears in Dahl’s short stories but he gets a whole book in My Uncle Oswald and it is the most ridiculous, rude and funny romp you will ever read. It centres on the discovery of the ‘invigorating properties’ of the Sudanese Blister Beetle that makes Viagra look impotent. In partnership with the stunning Yasmin Howcomely he uses his potent sex potion to steal the most unusual and profitable substances ever.
We see Dahl’s compelling sense of mischief in a sexual context and the true skill of the book is that while it covers uncontrollable sexual urges it is never explicit or vulgar. Well, you might disagree with the vulgar claim, but the charm of the story telling far outstrips any possible feeling of shock.
There’s loads of info about Roald Dahl’s varied repertoire at: www.roalddahl.com
It’s All About Me
I've been writing for a living in some form or other for about 15 years now and that included working on social networks before MySpace and Facebook appeared on the scene. I’ve had three books published the most recent is almost still warm off the press - a romantic comedy - Working from home: Mixing with pleasure? - available as an eBook in all formats.
Being an indie author is both empowering and sobering as the competition to get people buy your book is immense. My latest ruse is T-shirts printed with a sales pitch for the book. This is great fun as strangers start talking to you when you least expect it. This can be quite surreal when you’re in the supermarket with two young children!
Oh yes, I am now a stay at home dad looking after our four and three year old kids, mixing with those yummy mummies and writing in spare time and evenings. The TV doesn’t get much of a look in these days…
So is Working from home inspired by My Uncle Oswald? Not directly. One aim was to give people an insight into what it is like to work for yourself; having breakfast meetings with strangers and getting clients via Facebook and Twitter.
The other aim was to make people laugh out loud while reading it. Not a wry smile, a little snigger, but a proper laugh that really annoys everyone else around you. From the reviews so far it seems I have succeeded and I have to thank Mr Dahl for the inspiration.
You can find out more about Russ's writing at:
This week it's all about British writer Russ King who's been known to double up as a pirate and/or Batman in North Somerset. He also works from home.
IAAY is published every Wednesday (yes, all of them), so there's plenty of time for you to join in too! Contact me via the comments or via Twitter: @mickdavidson.
It's All About Russ King
It’s all about Roald Dahl
Just to be different I’m going to ignore the obvious effect Roald Dahl’s children’s fiction had on my imagination and love of books as a child. Today I want to tell you about the legendary diaries of Oswald Hendryks Cornelius, ‘the greatest bounder, bon vivant and fornicator of all time’.
Dahl’s fiction for children featured fantastically nasty villains that you couldn’t wait to reach a spectacularly sticky end, but in Uncle Oswald we have a flamboyant, reckless and bad character that you somehow can’t help liking.
This dastardly seducer first appears in Dahl’s short stories but he gets a whole book in My Uncle Oswald and it is the most ridiculous, rude and funny romp you will ever read. It centres on the discovery of the ‘invigorating properties’ of the Sudanese Blister Beetle that makes Viagra look impotent. In partnership with the stunning Yasmin Howcomely he uses his potent sex potion to steal the most unusual and profitable substances ever.
We see Dahl’s compelling sense of mischief in a sexual context and the true skill of the book is that while it covers uncontrollable sexual urges it is never explicit or vulgar. Well, you might disagree with the vulgar claim, but the charm of the story telling far outstrips any possible feeling of shock.
There’s loads of info about Roald Dahl’s varied repertoire at: www.roalddahl.com
It’s All About Me
I've been writing for a living in some form or other for about 15 years now and that included working on social networks before MySpace and Facebook appeared on the scene. I’ve had three books published the most recent is almost still warm off the press - a romantic comedy - Working from home: Mixing with pleasure? - available as an eBook in all formats.
Being an indie author is both empowering and sobering as the competition to get people buy your book is immense. My latest ruse is T-shirts printed with a sales pitch for the book. This is great fun as strangers start talking to you when you least expect it. This can be quite surreal when you’re in the supermarket with two young children!
Oh yes, I am now a stay at home dad looking after our four and three year old kids, mixing with those yummy mummies and writing in spare time and evenings. The TV doesn’t get much of a look in these days…
So is Working from home inspired by My Uncle Oswald? Not directly. One aim was to give people an insight into what it is like to work for yourself; having breakfast meetings with strangers and getting clients via Facebook and Twitter.
The other aim was to make people laugh out loud while reading it. Not a wry smile, a little snigger, but a proper laugh that really annoys everyone else around you. From the reviews so far it seems I have succeeded and I have to thank Mr Dahl for the inspiration.
You can find out more about Russ's writing at:
- Blog
- Twitter
- Working from Home: Mixing business with pleasure? (His latest novel.)
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