Book Club

The February/March 2012 Platform Book Club Review choice is.... Never Trust a Rabbit by Jeremy Dyson.

This is the book blurb on Amazon...

Unsettling premonitions, fortune-telling cashpoints and disappearing mazes all converge in Jeremy Dyson's first book - a collection of short stories that established him as a formidable storyteller.

Jeremy Dyson was born in Leeds, studied Philosophy at Leeds and has an MA in screenwriting. He is the co-writer of the Bafta award-winning TV series The League of Gentleman.

So, you have until the end of March 2012 to grab/buy/borrow/download a copy, read the book and post your review here on this forum. Whether you loved it, hated it or only skimmed the first few chapters before giving up, we want to hear from you.

The review we like best scoops £20 in book vouchers. So get reading!

And don't forget to add your suggestions for future book club reads in this forum thread.

Julia Crouch started her career as director and playwright, retrained as a graphic designer to work from home and raise children and, after two creative writing courses with The Open University and support from her tutors, is now working full time as a writer and published author. Would she recommend OU study? “Absolutely,” she says, “the courses have completely changed my life.” Here, she talks to Platform and offers some tips to budding writers...

Little did Julia realise that when she stumbled on a magazine flyer advertising short courses with The Open University that it would lead to a professional writing career. With her third and youngest child at school, Julia had found herself at a crossroads.

“Having not written any fiction (apart from my picture books and plays) since I was a child, I had no idea where to start, or whether I was going to be any good at it. So I thought the A174 presented an ideal opportunity to find out.

"The commitment in terms of time and money was at just the right level for putting my toe in the water.

“I really enjoyed OU study - I loved being able to get the work done in my own time (I was still working full time and mother to three, with a largely absent actor husband). And I got a bit obsessed with the message boards, where you could share your work with other like-minded individuals.”

After a drama degree at Bristol University, Julia’s professional life started as a theatre director and playwright, but children changed that and she needed to work from home. She retrained at a local FE College and spent 10 years as a graphic/website designer but it was during an MA in Sequential Illustration at the University of Brighton that Julia realised she preferred writing over drawing.

'I think the major thing I took away with me was the ability to treat my writing seriously and to carve out time to do it'

“A174 was an ideal introduction and A215 taught me so much about the technical side of writing, as well as firing off all sorts of creative possibilities and opening up my reading and my critical thinking. I think the major thing I took away with me was the ability to treat my writing seriously and to carve out time to do it.  The tutors were marvellous, and particularly good at giving me the confidence I so badly needed.

“The courses have completely changed my life - two years after completing A215, I had finished my second novel and got an agent and a three book deal with a major publisher, as well as a whole host of foreign sales. I was able to give up my other work and now I write full time, in between talking, reading and lecturing at festivals and courses.”

Julia says encouragement from her tutors played a key role in boosting her confidence and it was the suggestion to enter National Novel Writing Month – a scheme to write a whole novel in one month, without looking back at what you’ve written - that really set her going.

'The courses have completely changed my life - two years after completing A215, I had finished my second novel and got an agent and a three book deal with a major publisher'

“My A215 tutor John O'Donoghue suggested it to me, and I realised that, like A174, it presented a great, low-commitment way of finding out if I could write long fiction - just one month of heavy duty sprint – 1,700 words every day for the whole month of November.

“The idea is you never go back and read what you've written and you never edit - you just put your head down and write until, 50,000 words later, you have reached the very quick and dirty end of your story. After my second NaNoWriMo sprint, I spent a year editing what I had produced, and that formed the basis of my first published novel, Cuckoo.”

Julia’s second book, Every Vow You Break, is about to hit the shelves and she’s currently working hard on her third, mostly from a shed in the bottom of her Brighton garden.

“I'm very happy where I am. Sounds smug, but it took me a long time to get here! I now write every day in the knowledge that there are people waiting to read what I produce. That's usually a good feeling, but sometimes it can be a little daunting.

"I now also have a much more varied life, with many more outings both on book business and for research and what I call 'feeding my beast' - living a life that nourishes my writing.

"I hope I'll get another book deal after this one (I'm shortly due to deliver the third out of the three) and that I can carry on writing books well into my dotage.”

 Would Julia recommend OU study to others?

“Of course! Absolutely and unreservedly. Whether to get professional qualifications or to follow or develop an interest, it's a fantastic way of fitting study around a life. Particularly if that life involves a lot of evenings in on your own while your children sleep!”

Here, Julia offers her tips to other writers:

1. It's contradictory really - you have to have self-belief and a thick skin, but you also have to be able to accept and respond to criticism without getting defensive.
2. You'll never have anything to edit until you have written it. So write first, THEN go back and edit. Never, ever let anyone see your work until you are happy with it. Then be prepared to change it again and again.
3. I suppose the nutshell of that is be serious about your work, but don't be precious about it.
4. Write every day. Read widely. Read fiction, read books about writing.
5. Make sure you get enough exercise. Make sure you get out and see the world.
6. The other thing to bear in mind is that EVERYONE I have met in publishing has been lovely. They are there to nurture and encourage good work. When you're on the outside looking in, it's easy to demonise those you see as the gatekeepers between you and publication. But they are there for a good reason. Listen to what they say.

You can find out more about Julia and her work at: juliacrouch.co.uk



 

In celebration of the release of his new book The Impossible Dead, author Ian Rankin answers questions submitted by The Open University community via Platform. Ian is the UK’s number one bestselling crime author and an OU honorary graduate. 

For those who submitted a question there was also a chance to win a signed copy of The Impossible Dead. Thank you to everyone who posted a question,. The winner is: David McIlveen

 

Here are Ian's responses to your questions:

The local colour of the various locations in Scotland shine through in your books and make it all so real, living in Aberdeen I have often walked near places you've written about and half expected to see your characters pass me in the street. Where do you start if you're needing that sort of local flavour in a location that is new to you? Beth Scott
Well, it certainly helps to spend time in a place if you intend writing about it. Even a day spent tramping the streets will give you a sense of the place. For the Aberdeen scenes in 'Black and Blue' I checked into a hotel just of Union Street for three or four days. I did a lot of walking, and asked a lot of questions.

I have just come back from a weekend break in Edinburgh and loved it! Which other major city would you set your books in and why? Maz Loton
I'm not sure which other city I would set my books in. I like Vancouver and Ottawa and Halifax (in Canada), and see some similarities between them and Edinburgh. Writing about them would be a good excuse to go stay there for a while....

Do you envisage more Malcolm Fox adventures coming along, or is he just making "guest appearance books" with his team from time to time? Debbie Pitt
I don't really know. When I begin planning a new book, I get the theme and story first, then decide which main characters would help me explore both. In real life, cops only join internal affairs for a short time (between 2 and 5 years), so Malcolm will eventually go back to 'normal duties'.

How do you find your continual inspiration and do you write in a good old fashioned book for ideas and research or do you write direct onto a word processor? Ray Packham
Inspiration comes from anywhere. Maybe a news story that makes me think 'what if...?' Or someone might tell me an anecdote. Or an idea might just pop into my head fully-formed. I then do some thinking/mulling, and scribble down ideas and such like. Then I type these up. When I start the actual book, I type all of it on my coal-fired laptop.

How much of yourself went into Rebus? Were you a dark and moody heavy drinker? Ian Simmins Was I dark and moody? I suppose I was. I spent a lot of time on my own and was never terribly gregarious. I had no direction in my life. I lost my mother when I was nineteen and I was maybe listening to too much 'dark' music (Joy Division, Throbbing Gristle, The Cure). But that's not to say Rebus is 'me'. It's just that he is imbued with some of that darkness from the man in his early twenties who invented him.

I have read nearly all the Rebus books, and some short stories too. I wonder where he is now? He had no life outside the job. Has he really retired? Is he sitting in the corner of the Oxford all day, doing the crossword and downing pints? Does Siobhan drop in now and again? Has he been beaten up by some lowlife as he staggered home, now he hasn't a badge? I can't believe I care so much, but I do! David McIlveen
As was hinted at in the 'final' Rebus book, Rebus himself is almost certainly working for the Cold Case unit of the Edinburgh police. They have also changed the retirement age, so it is possible he has asked to re-enlist. He certainly has not gone 'gentle into that good night'. And he still sees Siobhan.

Will you bring back Rebus? Anthony Blacker
I think so, yes. We have some unfinished business, Rebus and I....

How would you get away with murder? Phillip Tennant
I've been told by fire officers that one good way to get away with murder is to get someone blind drunk, then simply turn the heat up under a chip-pan and leave them in the kitchen. Another tip is to murder someone who won't be missed - a vagrant or similar. You're welcome...

Which was your favourite OU course and why? Christine Carrot
'Listening to Music' was interesting. I discovered that for over 40 years I had been hearing music passively rather than actively listening to it. The elder of my two sons also did the arts foundation year and I enjoyed sneaking a read of some of his course materials, and my wife has been an OU student for about ten years.

Are there OU courses currently, or possible ones in the future, that Rebus could deliver & Fox could take? (Not sure how you'd get Rebus into the teaching role but it would be fascinating to see the results) THEN you could work in the import of libraries & librarians LOL Lana Kamennof-Sine
I dread to think what OU courses Rebus could teach! I don't think I would trust him to impart the correct twenty-first century views to the students. He's too much of a throwback. But I can envisage Malcolm Fox doing all sorts of courses and modules. He is not set in his ways and is willing to learn - unlike Rebus!

Find out more

• The Impossible Dead
• Study literature and creative writing

Platform is offering you the chance to put a question to the UK’s number one bestselling crime author Ian Rankin.

Platform will be interviewing Ian - who is also an OU honorary graduate - to help celebrate the release of his new book The Impossible Dead - and we'd like you to submit your questions.

For those familiar with Ian Rankin novels, this latest in the series sees the return of Malcolm Fox and his team from Internal Affairs. They've been sent to Fife to investigate whether fellow cops covered up for a corrupt colleague, Detective Paul Carter. But what should be a simple job is soon complicated by intimations of conspiracy, cover-up - and a brutal murder, a murder committed with a weapon that should not even exist. The spiralling investigation takes Fox back in time to 1985, a year of turmoil in British political life.

Ian was born in Cardenden, Fife, in 1960, and completed an MA in English Language and Literature at the University of Edinburgh. His first crime novel, Knots and Crosses, was published in 1987. The hero of that book, Detective Inspector John Rebus, has gone on to appear in another 14 novels.

As well as receiving an Honorary Degree, he and his wife have studied with the OU and his mother-in-law was a tutor.

If you are interested in winning a signed copy of his latest book, please post your question in the comments box below by Monday 7 November. Please note that you'll need to be logged in to Platform with your OU username and password (or guest account) in order to post comments. Alternatively you post via Facebook (below) or email us at platformeditor@open.ac.uk

A winning question will be selected and put to Ian Rankin and the interview will be published on Platform at the end of November.

Find out more about OU modules:

• Literature and Creative Writing
• Arts and Humanities
• Study with the OU

Other Platform groups you may be interested in joining:

• A174 start writing fiction
• A215 creative writing
• Published authors  

 

Photo by: Rankin

The editor of The Philosophers' Magazine has hailed the OU's own Dr Nigel Warburton one of the most-read and popular philosophers of our time.

Editor of The Philosophers' Magazine Julian Baggini, reviews Open University lecturer Dr Nigel Warburton's new book A Little History of Philosophy and states that while Nigel lacks the media profile of Alain de Botton, over the years he has quietly become one of the most-read popular philosophers of our time.

Dr Nigel Warburton, an OU senior lecturer, has also been working collaboratively with philosopher and award-winning radio feature maker at the BBC World Serivce – David Edmonds and has produced a number of podcasts, Philosophy bites 

Want to hear more from Dr Warburton? Then come along to Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, on 23 September at 5pm where he will be introducing western philosophy’s great thinkers and the ideas that shape key questions about the nature of reality, the world and the human condition.

He will also be speaking at a number of other venues over the next few weeks, including Foyles, Charing Cross Road; Dillons, Gower Street; Blackwell Bookshop (Oxford); Toppings Bookshop, Bath; and the National Portrait Gallery. Details to follow.

The September/October 2011 Platform Book Club Review is Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton, the author's second novel.

This is the book blurb on Amazon...

There is a fire and they are in There. They are in there. Black smoke stains a summer blue sky. A school is on fire. And one mother, Grace, sees the smoke and runs. She knows her teenage daughter Jenny is inside. She runs into the burning building to rescue her. Afterwards, Grace must find the identity of the arsonist and protect her family from the person who's still intent on destroying them. Afterwards, she must fight the limits of her physical strength and discover the limitlessness of love.

You have until October 30 to grab/buy/borrow a copy, read the book and post your review here on this forum – whether you loved it, hated it or only skimmed the first few chapters before giving up, we want to hear from you. The review we find the most insightful scoops £20 in book vouchers. So get reading!

And don't forget to add your suggestions for future book club reads in this forum thread.