Today’s drawing is of a lovely young lady I enjoyed reproducing rapidly in colour, but sadly never met.

Some folk might suggest that ‘Those In Peril’ by Wilbur Smith takes the sex scenes and violence a step too far, possibly to the point of gratuitous but for me it was graphic and portrayed man’s inhumanity to man (and woman) clearly.  Imagination was still required but there was no doubt about the intention to spell out the true horror of the particular situations.  As always the main characters are sexier, fitter, better at everything and multi-talented, but that’s what makes them what they are.

The tale itself is well told and is written in the present day where the pirates are operating from the east coast of Africa.  Their only interest is money and they have scant regard for human rights or life itself.  Those in the position of having a loved one or colleague kidnapped for ransom have no room for complacency as graphic video is sent to assure them of the torture befalling the hostage.

It portrays well that even if you own a global company and you flit from one continent to another, all the money in the world is not going to make the position any easier to deal with.  The tale contains a healthy, or should it be unhealthy? mix of violence, love, sex, religious fanatasiscm, relationships in general and fierce loyalty.  I enjoyed it mainly because I knew what to expect at the outset.

Once captured by the reading bug I went on to pamper myself with ‘And Thereby Hangs a Tale’ a collection of short stories by Jeffrey Archer.  For me, Jeffrey Archer is the master of the short story and even in that type of writing he manages to lace each tale with a considerable amount of fact and detail.  It’s in that fact and detail that I feel there is a similarity in the writing of Jeffrey Archer and Wilbur Smith.  Some may say it’s the research, but even after research the material must be put across in an interesting and imaginative way.  They both manage it for me.

In my own writing I’ve composed another handful of poems this past few days and put the finishing touches to my anecdote piece for the monthly magazine Scottish Memories.  If my tale, ‘Brothers In Arms’ is published I will be paid a small amount in cash terms, but the important aspect for me is the publishing of my material, whatever the genre or publication.  The anecdote is about me and two of my brothers on one of our trips to the cinema a couple of miles from where we lived, when I was about 12 years old.

My recent poems have covered a factual piece on prostitution, a passionate encounter, my writing and two about natural history.