Kell

LOL - I thought I'd escaped being asked anything! Yes, I have read a Steinbeck novel - during school I believe it must have been roughly 5th or 6th year as we watched the film as part of our Media Studies class) I read Of Mice and Men and very much enjoyed it. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I loved it! I'm not quite sure why I've never got round to reading more of his work so far - I think I quite fancy the sound of The Grapes of Wrath.

After college, I became an expert at what my Mam calls "mish-mash" cooking - I can pretty much take whatever is in the cupboards and make a pretty decent meal out of it. My corn beef hash is to die for!

My Mam once managed to burn lime jelly, so it was odds on I wouldn't be an excellent cook. My sister and her husband are both trained chefs (although neither one of them works in the business) and I never cooked a thing till I was in my second year at college, and even then, it was stuff like beans on toast. When I moved back to Kirkcaldy in 1998, I had to learn to cook or starve. I just started simple with basic pasta dishes and soups and then expanded by repertoire as I grew more confident. I can now do a delicious roast with all the trimmings, but I'm useless at baking. I can pretty much do a cake from a packet mix, but my pastry turns out like cardboard 99% of the time and making a cake from scratch is something that I've not yet mastered, although I'm determined to get it right one of these days! It's all down to practice, really.

There was also Clare Quilty - the playwright - with whom Lolita has another, very strange, relationship - she seems to attract, and be attracted to, a certain kind of man throughout the book The novel is filled with unconventional relationships.

Mine all seem to sell in fits and starts. Some months I'll sell none and other months I'll sell a dozen one after the other. Children's books sell quite well, but also books that are part of well-publicised things such as Richard & Judy's book club sell quite quickly. I've sold books of every genre on there.

I adored this book when I read it as part of my Olympic Challenge last year - very vivid and compelling. It sort of twists everything and turns it all on its head - I often felt sorry for Humbert and horrified by Lolita, as well as feeling the opposite for both at times. Beautiful writing throughout and such strong characters! My review.

I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven last year with The Posh Club - very enjoyable, gentle, easy read.

I'm not sure how much I'm enjoying the slightly preachy style of this book. Every chapter seems to be imparting a lesson: "Treat your horse well and it'll perform better", but it's over and over the same thing. The stories of the other horses are the parts I'm finding more interesting that the story of the titular horse himself.

Weirdo indeed! He;s missing out on some fabulous books and not just by King either! Come on, Wraith - be a bit adventurous and follow your good lady's example!

I'll be starting my copy tomorrow, but in the meantime, I've been having a look at the info on the inside cover. Apparently Sewell wrote Black Beauty because she was appalled at the treatment of horses and other animals and wanted people to understand that better treatment and understanding of the animals would lead to the animals behaving better. She died not long after the book was published, having been a very sick woman, and so never lived to see even the beginnings of the lasting impression her work has had on people.

You may have noticed, the Archive Pixie has been waving her magic wand again and whisking away those old, defunct and out of date threads to a happier place. Fear not, though! Nobody's post count will be affected as the threads are not deleted, only tidied away. If there's anything in particular you think may have been moved in error, you can still contact me and, if it's deemed necessary, the thread can be reintroduced. Or, a new thread can always be started to promote fresh discussion.

you guys will give me a swollen head at this rate! And not to worry about long answers, Stephen - they're great! We all love getting to know more about authors and how they go about their writing. Speaking of which, Stephen; when you're writing, do you work from a set plan that you've written up beforehand, or do you just let it all flow out as it comes?

Yes, from what I remember, it was Valentine's Day - I recall seeing a small notice next to his section of the shelves in horror when I went to Ottaker's shortly afterwards & thinking to myself, "that's such a shame!"

Hello Stephen, and to the forum - I hope you'll enjoy your time with us. I have a couple of questions to start things off - obviously you've spent much of your professional career writing (being a journalist) - in what ways does writing novels differ from writing for newspapers and magazines, and what kept you going while you were writing your first novel, Black Dog?

Stephen Booth Website / My Space Review - Black Dog Interview Competition Stephen Booth is one of those rare people who, when you find out a little about them, are just so interesting that you want to know more, and this is reflected in his writing. His novels are at the forefront of the British crime genre and his intense style grips the reader from start to finish. Many thanks to Stephen for agreeing to spend the month with us answering our questions and letting us know a little about his books.

I forgot about this, but I actually went and bought 2 books of 12 stamps today (12 1st class & 12 2nd class) as I'd completely run out due to sending a letter yesterday - good timing there! Of course, that doesn't help with the packages...

Waaahhh! Noooooo! Can't do that! What would we all do without the forum?!

It also depends how you pack them - if you're wrapping them in bubble wrap or using padded envelopes, this adds to the cost as Royal Mail postage now goes by size as well as weight. If it can fit into a C5 envelope and have the excess taped up, or use one of those strong plastic envelopes, it costs less, as there's not as much bulk. As for those books that only cost about

I've read a fair few Richard Laymans over the years, but I kind of went off him eventually as they tend to get a bit same-y - they're usually heavy on the gore with quite a sexual slant to them. Some of the better ones (in my opinion) include: Funland (horrific happenings at a carnival)* The Travelling Vampire Show (a bit of blood-letting there)** Darkness, Tell us (Ouija board) Blood Games (an annual reunion goes disastrously wrong) He's definitely not a writer for the squeamish! * Bram Stoker Best Novel nominee (1991) ** Bram Stoker Best Novel winner (2001)

A small-to-average sized paperback will probably cost about 55-90p to send. Thinker ones cost a little more, but I think the most I've paid out to send a paperback was somewhere around the

Glad you'll be joining us, WoKK - my own copy arrived today so I'll be starting it as soon as I've finished my current read (Karma by Holly A Harvey). I used to watch the TV series, Black Beauty when I was a kid - absolutely loved it. If I remember correctly, it was essential Saturday morning viewing (along with Follyfoot Farm). Strangely, I never got round to reading the book, so I'm really looking forward to this one!

I really enjoyed The Historian when I read it last year with the reading circle - i think the general consensus was that it was pretty good, although many thought it had a bit of a slump in the middle (it's well worth reading past that though, so when you hit it, don't give up!).

Green Metropolis is a site where you can list the books you no longer want for sale and buy others very cheaply. For each sale, 5p is donated to the Woodland Trust, 70p goes to the running of the site and the rest goes to the seller (books are listed at £3.75 each - the seller pays postage on paperbacks, but can add a small amount to eh price of hardbacks to cover postage costs). There are thousands of books listed and it's the place I tend to check first when I am after a new book for reading circle as there are often several copies of books available, especially if they're popular ones. Then, when I'm done, I list them for resale. And you don't sound dumb at all - nobody should ever be made to feel dumb here just for asking a question.

I tend to get them wherever I see them. I've swapped a lot through Read it, Swap it and bought and sold many on Green Metropolis too. I occasionally buy from Amazon, but mostly only if I have some gift vouchers registered, as I hate the often long waiting periods. There are several "bargain" book shops in Aberdeen such as The Works and Book World that I often check out, as well as Fopp, as they often have very good deals. I've managed to get a few excellent cut-priced books from Virgin too, which is not a place I ever expected to get books! When spending birthday or Xmas money, however, I always loved to go to Ottakers. Now that it's been taken over by Waterstones, I don't like it half as much as I did.

The book chosen for April is Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: Suspenseful, deeply moving tale, narrated from the horse's point of view, follows Black Beauty from his carefree days as a colt through a variety of experiences at the hands of many owners - some sensitive and gentle; others thoughtless and cruel. I hope you'll all join us in reading and discussing the book.