The Spoons That Are My Ears!

I have just finished writing my latest novel, Captains Outrageous. I typed the final word this morning. Naturally I am overjoyed with the result (if I wasn't, I'd work on it until I was; for better or worse) and it's always a sweet relief to successfully complete such a 'big' project. Not that short stories aren't also a delight to write; but the investment of time, energy and soul involved in composing a novel is so much greater that the difference is qualitative as well as quantitative. Now begins the even harder task of finding a publisher for it!

Captains Outrageous is a fantasy that begins in a sober manner and progressively gets wilder and stranger. The novel is told in three interlinked parts of equal length, respectively devoted to the exploits of Scipio, Distanto and Neary Faraway, the 'Fantastical Faraway Triplets'. There are many assorted villains in the book; but the one who simply refused to be removed from the plot is a fellow by the name of Jason Rolfe, based on a real person. I threw all sorts of perils at him; he survived everything. Some characters really do take on a life of their own. Mr Rolfe is an assassin mounted on a pulsejet-powered bicycle that is moving so fast he can never dismount. Condemned to live permanently in the saddle, he still manages to prosecute his dastardly schemes. Which reminds me: cycling weather has returned to Wales! Here I am, thumbing my nose at everyday worries such as tax and national insurance.