My graphic is once again an acrylic on canvas.  I painted it in July 2010, basing it on a photograph I took of one of Amsterdam’s many canals.

‘Only Time Will Tell’ is the latest release by one of my writing heroes, Jeffrey Archer.  This book is the first in a series that come under the general heading of The Clifton Chronicles.  Jeffrey has used a technique I’ve never seen before which involves using a clever mix of first and third person viewpoint.  It brings the characters to life incredibly well and allows the story to unfold in a way that the reader will not forget anybody.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read and my only disappointment was that it had to come to an end.  I am now looking forward eagerly to the next one which is due for publication early next year.

On a personal note, I am still adding some of my artwork, poetry and short stories to the Apollo Blessed site.  Apart from reading Mr. Archer’s superb tale in four days I’ve been working on my own story this week.  My novel has seen so many alterations over recent months, but it is a good thing.  I first of all changed the name, then from autobiography to fact-based fiction.  In my latest sessions I’ve altered it from first person viewpoint to third person because I felt I needed more freedom.

In recent months I’ve taken to working over and over on my short stories to get them as polished as possible before entering them into any competition.  I have two underway so working on my novel is a good distraction.

I am once again trying to put poetry on the back burner so that I can concentrate on other things, but having said that I wrote and posted ‘Number 700’ a few days ago.  In one way it felt like a landmark and in another it felt like a good time to stop the regular verse writing for a while.