David Belbin

Just back from a few days in Derbyshire and the summer storms have begun in earnest. Not found time to write here recently, though I have been making random comments here. Most of my 'followers' seem to be self publicists, so I'd welcome some people I actually know...

While in Winster, I demolished one entire fat novel, Steve Tesich's 'Karoo', a comic masterpiece about a self destructive script doctor, as recommended by Frank Cottrell Boyce. I also read the first third of Philip Davis's fine biography of one of my favourite writers, Bernard Malamud, an absorbing, superbly researched study, particularly good on the drafting process. I continued my trawl through selected comic works of Brian Michael Bendis by reading the first half of his 'Alias' series, which is pretty good, but not up there with his amazing 'Daredevil' sequence, which got me reading about superheroes for the first time in about twenty years (not that I've stopped watching superhero movies - I'll be off to see 'Dark Knight' asap now that I'm back.) I've also started reading a novel that I picked up off a bookshelf in our borrowed cottage (I'll give it back, honest), John Wain's 'Hurry On Down', one of those seminal fifties novels that I've often heard about but never actually read. It looks like fun and is, of course, out of print. Above is the nicest cover I could find online, the first edition rather than the Penguin I'm reading (yours for a mere £168 here, bibliophiles). After this, I plan to move onto the second of David Peace's West Riding quartet, soon, I hear, to be a TV series. And next week I might just do some more writing of my own.

We've never really considered having a scarecrow in our allotment. However, with all the summer fruits out and under attack, one would come in useful. Seeing the beauty above at the Jardin Des Plantes in Paris last week, has made the idea tempting. The CD eyes and half CD mouth are very effective, and only the French would think to give a scarecrow that rather stylish jacket. Once my novel edit's out of the way, I feel a summer project coming on.