WRITING:
I usually write these three or four days in advance, but I’m sitting here at the keyboard Saturday morning, feeling like death, having just gotten dressed for the first time since Wednesday.
Afflicted as I have been with an unpleasant1 nose/throat/sinus thing, don’t expect much in the way of news. Or coherent thought.
One thing I can fill you in on, however, is that I received a very nice email from a man named Andrew this week2, inviting me to do a thing.
The Norwich Book Slam is an event at the Anteros Arts Foundation on Fye Bridge Street on Norwich, where a group of emerging authors read from their books and then we all have a lovely Q&A. I think I’ll be in the line-up for June 4th, but I’ll keep you posted. Thrilled to be be asked, delighted to have the opportunity to flaunt my wares in front of potential customers, looking forward to feeling like a fraud in the company of ‘proper’ writers etc etc
This is NOT the event I’m participating in, but it’ll give you the idea.
I have enjoyed:
Helen McCarthy - There’s always joy to be had in watching someone who is both an excellent communicator and an expert in their field give a presentation. McCarthy is a longstanding expert in, and fan of, anime3 and used her knowledge to great effect to give a talk on Studio Ghibli this week at Norwich’s Epic Studios.
Presented by Seed Talks, we got a history of the studio and its main players, and a comprehensive look at the art that had inspired them, and who they went on to inspire. This focus on the cross-pollination of artistic ideas was particularly fascinating.
The Kid Detective - I’ve long been fascinated by the idea of what happens to the kids in children’s stories when they grow up4. In The Kid Detective, Adam Brody plays Abe Applebaum who, as a youngster, became a local celebrity after solving cutesy mysteries like who stole the school’s charity fund and who cheated on the big test. Years later, he’s still running his detective agency, haunted by the first serious case he ever got and which he didn’t solve, involving a missing classmate. Something of a town joke, he’s hired by a local girl to find her boyfriend’s killer, and spies a shot at redemption.
It’s a dark, dark tale and it’s this darkness, combined as it is with the surface banality and innocence of Abe’s backstory, that gives The Kid Detective an incredibly fresh feel. Sophie Nélisse is excellent as the bereaved girlfriend and the whole thing unfolds into one really intense, black-as-they-come comedy.
Drive My Car - Hidetoshi Nishijima and Toko Miura give absolutely compelling performances in this gorgeous three-hour adaptation of a Haruki Murakami story. Nishijima plays a theatre director mourning the loss of his wife while staging a production of Uncle Vanya, with Miura playing the young woman assigned to be his driver during his engagement. Both taciturn and reserved, they eventually open up and bond over the tragedy in their lives, which in turn allows them to move on.
Summed up like this, it doesn’t sound sparkling, but the performances and cinematography, together with the sheer amount of time the characters are given to develop and breathe, create true cinematic alchemy. An absolutely beautiful film.
Arkham Horror - Five mates, six hours, one Lovecraftian horror-themed co-op game… Never has rolling a succession of dice trying to get 5s and 6s involved so much emotional investment. We didn’t all survive, but we triumphed!
Greyskin (Deixis Press) and Playtime’s Over (Propolis) are both available direct from their respective publishers, as well as from all the usual places, online and off. You can also support my work by buying Ray Adams’ self-published books, or by simply buying me a coffee. You can also pay for this free newsletter, if paying for free stuff is your jam.
though thankfully non-COVID
Good to (finally) establish that the ‘Contact me’ page on my website works.
She was the first English-speaking author to write a book about anime
Some years ago I started writing a story loosely based on ripped off from E.T., about what happened if the cute alien never went home and instead sat on your couch for twenty years drinking beer and eating junk food. I didn’t get very far with it, you’ll be relieved to hear.
That event sounds interesting! Let us know when it's scheduled and I'll try to come along and say hi. :)
Feel better soon!