Another fine mess I got me into!

So it was a new experience to add to the litany of near disasters last week. But I am getting rather nifty at pulling a weird kind of success out of the jaws of despair. It was the end of a very long and tiring month that started in Bristol, finished in Wishaw and seemed to be everywhere in between. Writing events all over the place, Penguin’s PR having difficulty spelling my name right. At work some members of staff were breaking limbs or being caught up in the French traffic controllers’ strike. Nobody was where they should have been, or doing what they supposed to be doing. Me included.
                                       

                                                                    Aline, Lin and Moi

And I was trying my hand - my single hand - at a kind of stand up type gig at Cottiers Theatre as part of the West End Festival.  It wasn't a big audience. Indeed, I am sure that only four of them were my audience, most of them were just sitting  enjoying their drinks after the folk band had finished, soaking up the ambiance when this mad blonde climbed up on the stage and started talking about serial killing...

But they stayed and listened, and laughed and bought books.

I was tired, even more than usual due to extra hours at work and the fat free diet now being in week ten ... Feeling ok with that but before the gig PR mad Moira (the local PR who CAN spell my name right) and Lord Lushfield (my personal photographer!)) hurried over from the Chris Brookmyre, Mark Billingham gig and then realised they hadn't had anything to eat. So they sat in front of me (baked potato, no cheese, no butter, just a green salad no dressing thank you, yes that’s fine), munching their way through a fish and chip platter with extra side salad drizzling in vinegar and olive oil dressing... the smell of the batter wafting its way across the table to my nostrils... my thoughts really did turn to serial killing.

Cottiers is a fantastic venue, I hope that they really get the literary events onto the West End Festival map... they will miss out if they don't. I can see a great event in there next year, me, Alex, Craig and Michael Malone fighting over the chips.... what could be better.

Reading Gordon Brown Catalyst, very different from his other two books. It feels like he has settled into his voice with this one. A great book!