Extended Family

I'm back, after having had a very pleasant time at my brother's nuptuals. My reading (which N. and L. chose themselves in the end, none of my suggestions being what they were really after) went O.K., as did my toastmastery at the reception, and I successfully acquired a sister-in-law, a nice bottle of wine and a compilation C.D.

There were old friends and family who I hadn't seen for ages, and friends and family of the happy couple who I'd never met before but were very nice anyway. There was also much champagne, wine, beer, wedding-cake, cigar-smoking, music and dancing. I discovered that my brother's father-in-law (or my sister-in-law's father, if you prefer to look at him that way) looks (but otherwise isn't) frighteningly like George Galloway M.P., and also that I dance like a girl.

Generally a very nice time indeed, and since it happened during the week (although getting the time off has been a bit of a pain) it leaves me the weekend free for writing. Hurrah.

On which note, the first of the promised Extras to Peculiar Lives are now up at the website: two essays on the literary context of the novella, complete with Amazon Associate linkings to the various books mentioned (yes, I finally worked out how to do that). One goes into more detail about the book's roots in the works of Olaf Stapledon and his scientific-romantic contemporaries, while the other goes into some detail about its placement in the Time Hunter range. There will be some extracts from the notebooks of Erik Clevedon to follow, along with some material relating to "Minions of the Moon" once Wildthyme on Top is available.