Launch No 2 for We Could Possibly Comment - Ian Richardson Remembered

This morning I had my second book launch, at a charity coffee morning within the Jewish community in Glasgow. There was a really good attendance and I had to speak as loud as I could without deafening the people listening right in front of me whilst trying to reach the overflow audience outside the room in which I was giving my talk. Not surprisingly, I was rather hoarse for the rest of the day. Methinks a hot toddy is called for!

As part of my talk, I did a reading from the book, in which I described spending time on the set of Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes , which was largely filmed in Glasgow. It was somewhat serendipitous, as I noticed the day before, when reading next weeks' Radio Times, that the drama is being shown on BBC4 this coming Saturday at 9.05pm.

With a cast that included Robin Laing as Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dance and Dolly Wells, I thoroughly recommend seeing it.

Waterstone's Launch - Ian Richardson Remembered

That was the Launch, that was. Last night in Waterstone's, Argyle Street, Glasgow, more than 60 people turned up to the first launch of We Could Possibly Comment, Ian Richardson Remembered.

After some initial hiccups - like Waterstone's central hub not sending the books in time to the branch who had to borrow some of mine, and the branch being understaffed and things running a bit late (fortunately, the bottles of wine I had brought had screw tops, which was just as well, because there was a major corkscrew failure), things seemed to go swimmingly. And a fair number of books were purchased too.

So, many thanks to Will, the Events Manager, who worked like a Trojan, Leonard Esakowitz, who took lots of great photos, Margaret Thomson Davis for the lovely introduction, Mary Brown and Morag McPherson for their assistance, and every single person who took the time to come along - with special mention to Denise Chambers and Jane Murray who came through from Edinburgh.

Oh, and I rather enjoyed giving the talk too.

All photos by Leonard Esakowitz 2009

Ian Richardson Remembered - the Launch Approacheth

The first book launch for We Could Possibly Comment - Ian Richardson Remembered is being held this Thursday, 17th September, in Waterstone's, 174 - 176 Argyle Street, Glasgow, at 6.30pm.

I suppose it's quite a momentous step in the career of a fledgling author - the first launch for a first book. I'm hoping that I don't get too many of the junior/senior moments I've been having lately and forget where I am, what I'm meant to be saying, or who everybody I should know is. Memory loss isn't really an embarassment when the people in question are having the same difficulties. Just hope that younger people who haven't got to that stage yet will understand.

The books still haven't arrived at Waterstone's - though they have been promised - so I will need to take a couple of boxes along in the car in case of emergency. A book launch without books would be a bit of a disaster! There should just about be enough room in the boot for them, along with the wine. Since I'll be driving, I will steer clear of the wine (shame) but might just have a sip of medicinal brandy beforehand.

I'm kind of looking forward to the event - especially to see a number of people I haven't bumped into for quite a while.

Will try to do Ian proud.

Slowly but surely

It's just over 3 weeks since I received my copies of the book and I've sold about a sixth of my quota to date. There's a charity coffee morning launch on the 23rd September and I'm just waiting for confirmation of a launch at Waterstones in Argyle Street, Glasgow on Thursday the 17th September. All being well, my local library will be holding an author event too.

So, things seem to be moving slowly in the right direction. The book seems to be in and out of the Amazon charts like a yo yo and the bookshops still haven't got copies in yet, but hopefully it won't be long.

As for feedback, amongst the comments I've had, are:

"It's great - much better than any biography. No dull details, no cheap gossip. Captures beautifully the times, the atmosphere and most of all - Ian's personality. A book not only for those who loved and admired Ian, but for any theatre lovers. Wonderful. " - Israela Shatsky-Greenbaum

"I enjoyed it very much - he certainly was a fascinating character, and so well regarded by his fellow actors. Celia Imrie talks about the naughty glint in his eye, so I looked again at the front cover - and she's right!" - Dr Ann MacLaren

And it has prompted Doug from York, who described it as 'excellent', to buy the House of Cards Series on DVD - which delighted me, as part of the reason for writing the book, was to remind people that there' s a wealth of superb performances available to be viewed.

Now all I need is some positive national press coverage.

Released at Last

The book was released today - a couple of weeks or so ahead of schedule.

It would be nice to think that, 2 years and 4 months on, my task has been accomplished. Indeed, you might very well think that my work is now done. There is at last a first book available on Ian and my goal to do something tangible to honour his memory and give people a sense of how highly he was regarded both as an actor and as a person and what he meant to so many, has been achieved.

However, there is still a lot to be done to promote the book and make people aware that it is out there. I'll certainly try my best to succeed.

As Ian said to me in our first exchange of letters in January 1994, 'Onwards and Upwards!'

The Book has Landed

After much angst and a plethora of phone calls and Emails, the books finally arrived yesterday and I've already dispatched a few orders abroad.

What was my feeling when I saw the huge truck trying to find the building I live in? Initially, huge excitement, as I ran down the stairs to greet the driver. Then sheer exhaustion, as I mopped up the perspiration after bringing books up to my top-floor flat. Then panic, as I scrambled to get the few books I really needed to get sent to arrive by today ready. Then puzzlement, as I sat down to sign my first book - what the heck will I write and where. Now, the feeling is one of relief tinged with the sadness of knowing that my first book is this particular book because Ian is no longer with us.

In the end, I had to cart most of the order - some having been sent direct to the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick and two boxes going straight into the car - up the stairs.

I'm heading down the motorway to Derbyshire in a couple of hours with my regular Swanwick passenger, prolific author, Margaret Thomson Davis. Hopefully there will just about be enough room in the car for the two of us and all our luggage, including two large suitcases, my books, Margaret's books for sale, flyers, lots of material for the non-fiction course I'm running at the Writers' Summer School, and some refreshments for a pre-dinner little launch party.

With a bit of luck, there might just be room for Cuddles

We Could Possibly Comment - Ian Richardson Remembered - should be in the shops by the 7th September.

Almost There

Hopefully this time next week I'll be happily settled in at Swanwick and might even have sold one or two books in the Summer School bookshop.

Barring disaster, my copies should reach me towards the end of the coming week, in advance of the official publication date, 7th September, when We Could Possibly Comment - Ian Richardson Remembered becomes available in bookshops. I've already received direct orders from abroad - thanks to PayPal - and hope to dispatch them as soon as possible after my consignment arrives in Glasgow.

Flyers and bookmarks have been ordered -

In the next month and beyond, the next phase will begin - contacting newspapers and revisiting bookshops and there's already a booking with a charity organisation for a coffee morning launch in September.

It's rather fortuitous that the Yesterday Channel have been showing the House of Cards series on Saturdays.

Wouldn't it be nice if some of the other great series Ian was in Ian Richardson - IMDB could be shown again too.

I've been tagged

Thanks to my dear friend, Brian Sibley (that's him above on the right) I've been tagged with a meme based on the Alphabet. It's my first go at something like this, but here goes:-

A - Age 55 - but not for much longer.

B - Bed Size Double. I currently share it with Cuddles the Teddy Bear, Herschel the Jewish Care Bare and Elliot the Elephant.



C - Chore you Hate Paying the bills.

D - Dog's Name Candy - a lovely boxer with an unwrinkled face and long nose who was our pet when I was a child. She used to wash my brothers ears and revived my grandmother, who had diabetes, when she fainted. Candy was stolen when she was around 10 months old and we never got another dog.

E - Essential Start to Your Day Turning on the PC.

F - Favourite Colour Jade.

G - Gold or Silver I tend to wear silver more.

H - Height 5' 4 1/2" - and I'm unable to wear heels higher than an inch and a half.

I - Instruments you play Qwerty keyboard - and my own vocal instrument.

J - Job Title Freelance writer and author - currently underemployed.

K - Kids Daughter Suzanne, aged 29, who lives with me.

L - Living Arrangements A chaotic spacious 2nd floor flat - one bedroom for me, one for Suzanne and one our Chinchilla Kylie lets us rent out for the PC and 2nd television.


M - Mum's Name Sadie, nee Jacobs - she's a real trooper (I'm sure my Dad agrees).



N - Nicknames Occasionally called Shazza or Sharonski and when I call my father Pops, he calls me Dops.

O - Overnight hospital stays other than birth 6 orthopaedic ops, and about half a dozen other ops.

P - Pet Peeve People without any manners - my philosophy is 'p0liteness maketh the person'.

Q - Quote from a movie I have to share with Brian, the love of 'If you can't say nuffin nice, don't say nuffin at all' (Thumper)

"Keep close to ze candles" - Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein (the candles were never lit)

Either "Savvie?" or "Oh Bugger!" - Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean (it's the way he says it)



I know it's not from a film, but of course I have to include 'You might very well think that... I couldn't possibly comment', and 'Dismal egalitarianism running rampant with the royal seal of approval' from House of Cards - delicious lines created by Andrew Davies and superbly delivered by Ian Richardson.



R - Right or left-handed Predominantly right-handed, but I'm fairly ambidextrous.

S - Sports Swimming and watching most sports - I used to play hockey and netball when I was at school and represented Strathclyde University at the Scottish Universities Championships in 1971/2 - there are four ladies in a team and there were four ladies at the club, so I was an automatic choice.

T - Time you wake up Your guess is as good as mine and certainly several times during the night.

U - Underwear More Bridget Jones than Grace Jones.

V - Vegetable you Dislike Does garlic count as a vegetable?

W - Ways you run late When I was in my last few years of school, at Hutchesons' Grammar, they were very strict generally, but certainly about punctuality and I always prefer to be early rather than late. Unfortunately, I don't always manage it these days - usually because I think I've got more time than I have.

X-rays you've had - Various.

Y - Yummy food you make Chicken soup and lockshen, plum sponge pudding.

Z - Zoo favourite - Animals that are cute, interesting and not too smelly.

Royal Mail - definitely no relation!

The proof corrections for We Could Possibly Comment - Ian Richardson Remembered arrived this morning - three days after Matador sent them out to me, First Class Mail. I've had post from America as quick at that! Not only that, but I posted the proof sheets needing changed to Matador, Special Delivery last Tuesday and they didn't receive them until Thursday. This service is meant to be guaranteed next day delivery - and you're certainly paying a lot more for it.

So, it looks like the Royal Mail has cost me a few days in what seems to be a tight schedule to have the book ready for when I want it. Perhaps I should change my name by Deed Poll so that no one confuses me with the shoddy service.

As for the amended proofs, there were very few things missed and I posted a maximum of ten sheets back early this afternoon - and I'd better get my fiver's worth for special delivery this time or I really will consider adopting a new surname.

Hopefully I should have sight of the cover proofs by Saturday and after I'm happy with them, be just about on the home strait.

Meanwhile, in what seems to be a very positive development, Matador today announced that it is employing a Sales Representative Company to sell its self-published books.

Let's hope this is another step in the right direction for self-publishing companies and authors like myself who decided to go for this option.

A Never Ending Process

I finally got the proof-checking finished yesterday and all the pages needing corrections sent back to Troubador .

It's quite incredible how a manuscript can be checked umpteen times by four different people - all with proofreading experience to varying degrees, and yet I was still spotting slight errors yesterday afternoon when I was on the point of popping the sheets back in the envelope.

I'm sure there's a good chance that there might be a couple of little things noticed when the corrected sheets come back, but at least I know that as much care as possible has been taken to eliminate them.

The photo proofs arrived last Friday and a good job has been done fitting them in to the two black & white and one colour sections. The most glaring mistake was in one of the photos, taken from The Master of Ballantrae. In the picture, Finola Hughes, Richard Thomas and the young actor who played their son, Alexander, in the drama are all smiling at the camera, but poor Ian has been totally decapitated (he's not even nearly-headless) - you can only see him from the lace ruff down.

I'm sure that the photo will look like this once the proof has been corrected

I look forward to receiving the corrected proofs - and having very little to do except check through them, sign them off, and be one step nearer to having the finished product in my hand.

A Very Suitable Resting Place

After 18 months at the Birmingham Repertory Company, Ian Richardson spent 15 glorious years from 1960 to 1975 (with the odd break for 'good behaviour') gracing the stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, for whom he was a true star and an inspiration to fellow actors.

It was in Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1960, that he met his beloved wife Maroussia, a fellow member of the Company. In Stratford, fans used to wander past his house in the hope of glimpsing their idol.

His roles for the RSC included Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antipholus of Epheseus in The Comedy of Errors, The Herald and Marat in Marat/Sade, Frank Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Chorus in Henry V, Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well, Vendice in The Revenger's Tragedy, Cassius in Julius Caesar, Pericles, Angelo in Measure for Measure, Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Prospero in The Tempest, Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost, Richard II and Bolingbroke (alternating with Richard Pasco), Iachimo in Cymbeline and both Buckingham and then the king in Richard III.

National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner begins his recollections of Ian in We Could Possibly Comment by saying, "My earliest memories as a serious theatre-goer are dominated by Ian Richardson’s incandescent performances for the RSC in the late 60’s and early 70’s."

John Sessions recalled, "He was my childhood hero and I’d grown up with all those wonderful performances at the RSC. "

Juliet Stevenson, remembers her first visit to see a professional performance of a Shakespearian play. It was in Stratford, with Ian playing Richard II. She said, "I walked into the theatre that evening one person and came out as another person. That was very largely due to Ian."

Many of his colleagues at the RSC have commented on the profound effect working with Ian had on them - how much they learnt from him, his absolute mastery of Shakespearian verse and technical brilliance and what a wonderful role model he was for fellow Company actors.

It is therefore so touching and appropriate, that Ian's final resting place is Stratford-upon-Avon.

Last November, Maroussia and younger son Miles, who has also acted with the RSC, placed Ian's ashes, with assistance from the construction workers, in the foundations of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, currently under reconstruction, Transformation Work, beneath what will be the front of the stalls.

I'm sure I won't be the only person keen to visit the new theatre when it opens next year, both to remember a dear friend, but also in the hope that there will be many glorious productions in the new theatre, worthy of the Company's great name and of a singular actor who gave so many wonderful performances at Stratford.

Choice of photo for the Cover

I've just received a Facebook message from fellow writer Gillian Philip (who won a staggering 4 first prizes for the different book categories plus a short story in her first appearance at the Scottish Association of Writers Annual Conference the year before last) saying how much she likes the cover photo for the book, We Could Possibly Comment .

Photo copyright Sam Farr for the Bath Chronicle

I suppose the temptation might have been to have used one of Ian as Francis Urquhart

or even one of the many lovely ones his wife Maroussia took of him as Dr Joseph Bell

But for me, Sam Farr's photo captures the essence of Ian as I knew him - as a very warm, caring person and a real gentleman, with a great sense of fun.

The Proof is in the Pudding

The proofs for the book We Could Possibly Comment - Ian Richardson Remembered were waiting for me on the doormat this morning when I got back from my swim.

I suppose the emotions I felt when I was opening the envelope were a mixture of relief that they were reaching me soon enough, hopefully, for me to get them back to Troubador in time for copies to be ready for the Writers' Summer School in early August, and trepidation as to how I would feel upon reading it again. I'm sure there will be the odd thing I look at and think I could have written/edited better - or perhaps not said at all, and other things I wish I'd put in, but that will always be the case with something you create.

The photo proofs - there will be two black & white and one colour section - and the cover proof should be with me shortly.

I know I'll have mixed feelings when the finished product arrives and I see 'the book' for the first time. Of course, there should be a sense of elation when your first book is published and you get to hold it in your hand for the first time. In this case it will be more a sense of relief that what I set out to do - to honour Ian's memory by getting a book on him out there - has at last been achieved. And there will be sadness too - the reason it has been completed is because Ian is no longer with us.

However, I hope it will awaken in those who read it, many memories of a wonderful actor and very special human being. And for those who read it but never got to meet him or see his performances on stage, film or television, a sense of the man - and perhaps the urge to obtain many of his visual or audio works that are still available.

Ian as Dr Joseph Bell

Every occasion in which I was in Ian Richardson's company was memorable, but there were some standouts.

One of them was when he came to Glasgow (where he had studied drama at what is now the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) for a couple of months to film his first appearance as Dr Joseph Bell in Murder Rooms - The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes in the autumn of 1999.

I made my own arrangements with the production company to watch some exterior filming one afternoon and Ian wasn't in the scene I observed being shot. After I'd finishing watching the actors, crew,extras and director Paul Seed (who also directed House of Cards and To Play the King and has provided some highly interesting input for We Could Possibly Comment) at work, I heard Ian's unmistakable tones.

Ian and Maroussia were just heading in for a night shoot and he had just finished doing an interview for the Radio Times. I trailed poor Maroussia round the Glasgow book shops for a book Ian was looking for and when we got back to where the car was waiting to take her back to Ian's trailer and I expected to say 'goodbye', the driver told me that Ian was expecting me to join him there.

Whilst enjoying a meal with Ian and Maroussia in the trailer, Ian decided that I should watch a scene being filmed that would be far more beneficial to me with my interest in scriptwriting, than the one I'd just seen. He left us and went to ask Paul Seed, assistant director Harry Boyd and co-star Robin Laing (who at that stage was playing Arthur Conan Doyle) for permission for me to come back and observe one of the main scenes being filmed.


A week or two later, I reported to the 3rd assistant director inside Glasgow's beautiful Pollok Park and he showed me to Ian's trailer. With Maroussia looking after me, we went down into the basement of Pollok House.

I was given a headset and a ringside seat in front of a monitor and watched first as the scene was being rehearsed and then filmed. It was a scene which mirrors the one in The Sign of Four in which Holmes examines Watson's pocket watch and makes deductions from it. Ian had himself starred in the film and so had a sense of deja vu, the difference being that he was making the deductions as Joseph Bell, from Doyle's watch.

It was so interesting observing Ian at work - he was totally focused and mindful of every minute detail - checking with the continuity girl to know exactly where he was coming in and moving Robin Laing so that the younger actor was in the best light.

He was also full of fun and had everyone laughing when he told the Director of Photography, John Kenway, 'I'm lining the watch up with your knob, John', to which he recieved the reply, 'I'm surprised you can see it from there, Ian.' Later on, the DP return the compliment by saying 'I'm lining the camera up with the first of your chins, Ian'.

The atmosphere on the set was extremely relaxing and I think a lot of that was due Ian's sense of fun and lack of self-importance or pomposity.

I spent nine hours watching that scene, which took several hours to rehearse and film from various angles, plus a further scene being rehearsed. I called it quits after eleven, whilst Ian and everyone else was there working into the 'wee small hours' of the next morning.

A couple of days later, Ian posted me out the Call Sheet from that day, which had my name on it as a visitor to the set. It was an act of thoughtfulness that was so typical of him.

The nearest I got to seeing Ian Richardson play King Lear

In his 15 highly distinguished years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Ian Richardson played a variety of roles, including Coriolanus, Richard II (alternating as Bolingbroke with Richard Pasco), Richard III, Prospero in The Tempest, Cassius in Julius Caesar, Iachimo in Cymbeline, Angelo in Measure for Measure, Proteus in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost and what is considered to be the funniest ever Frank Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

In the celebrated King Lear production that starred Paul Scofield, he played Edmund when the Company took the play on tour in 1964. But, he never actually got to play Lear and we can only imagine the power, depth of feeling and physical presence he would have brought to the role.

In 1999, I was privileged to see Ian perform the one-man show, The Seven Ages of Man, which ran for just under a week at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford.

I'd missed his glorious years at the RSC and seeing him performing Shakespeare on stage, including a couple of Lear's speeches, was a joyful experience. For me, as well as gorging on the fabulous feast of Shakespeare he provided, the evening was memorable for another reason. When we popped in (I was there with Shirley Jacobs who, for many years, has had a webpage on Ian) to see him before the performance, he invited us out to the pub afterwards. Till that point I'd enjoyed visits to dressing rooms and this was the first of very many occasions on which I subsequently had the pleasure of spending time in Ian and his wife Maroussia's company outwith a theatre.

Sadly, Seven Ages was the nearest he got to playing the epic role. In later years he said that he no longer had the physical capacity to perform it.

But, and it was actually around the time he performed in Guildford, he did play a role - Lord Groan in the BBC production of Gormenghast - in which there was a scene in which he gave a very Lear-like and moving depiction of the Earl's descent into madness.

Where would we be without friends

It's tremendous when you find a friend who happens to be a very talented writer, broadcaster and produces wonderful Blogs Brian Sibley that have become addictive to many readers, myself included. Indeed, his readership are living in dread of the day, in the not too distant future, when Brian reaches a remarkable 1,000 Blogs, as he is threatening to stop or drastically reduce his output. I don't think we could cope without our daily fix.
I'm particularly indebted to Brian for today's blog, You Might Very Well Think... in which he has provided some marvellous publicity for the book We Could Possibly Comment .
Brian has been a tower of strength in providing me with editorial assistance and advice and has been an absolute rock, particularly over the past few months during which the book has really taken shape.
His choice of video clips for today's blog include one from House of Cards, which is described thus by one of the contributors to the book, Susannah Harkerwho superbly played Mattie Storin:-
'I was just astonished watching him in the studio in particular, when we did all his office stuff.
I recall watching a scene where Urquhart was taking a pee and he had to address the camera whilst obviously appearing to be having a pee and doing several other things and it was just amazing.'
Another clip Brian chose, is from the 1972 film Man of La Mancha , which starred Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren, James Coco,Harry Andrews and Brian Blessed.
Brian Blessed who worked with Ian several times, and provided the most memorable of interviews I conducted, said of his performance in the film:
'I only had to look at Ian and he went into hysterics. I was always very naughty with him and it would have him in fits of laughter. Basically, he was a Peter Pan character and he had a wonderful sense of humour.
Ian played the priest wonderfully and with great sensitivity – and he had a lovely singing voice, which I think should have been used much more in musicals. His priest is so moving and it was a gem of a performance.'

Steady As She Goes

I entered the world of Bloggers on 12 April and somehow thought it was going to be plain sailing. After all, once you've got to grips with the basics (and have a good friend like Brian Sibley to explain how to make your links look a bit tidier and YouTube clips ready to view), all you have to do is write - whatever you want.

Not entirely true as can be gleaned from the fact that I've just deleted half a dozen paragraphs of blogging I suddenly realised wasn't going anywhere.

I remember the first time I wrote to Ian Richardson, in December 1993, saying that his acting as Francis Urquhart and Andrew Davies' scriptwriting had inspired me to return to my first love, writing.


Ian wrote back and said 'why not - after all, all writers have to do is write, whereas actors have to wait for work to come along.'


That's very true but, as Ian came to realise through getting to know me over the years, people have to want to read what you've written for you to be a successful writer and it can be an extremely difficult and frustrating career path in the same way that acting often is.


Of course that assumes that you want your writing to reach a wider audience. Many people write just for their own amusement or as a means of therapy or organising their thoughts. Letter-writing can be a wonderful means of expressing yourself and sharing your life with others. Some writers are content to share their work with fellow writers and perhaps enter competitions but have no desire to attempt to get anything published.

But, to earn your living as a writer, it's necessary to keep writing all the time and be aiming to produce something that a publisher or an editor wants.

So, although I hope my blogs will eventually reach a wider audience, I have to bear in mind the fact that 'paid' writing and all the other jobs associated with promoting it, has to take precedence.
Which brings me back to combining this Blog with a little more promotional work for We Could Possibly Comment (you'll notice I've now added my author details - another task to divert me from here).

Here's a little illustration and reminder of the explosive power of Ian's acting.

Writing a Book

One of my main reasons for becoming a Blogger was the fact that I've just completed a book, We Could Possibly Comment: Ian Richardson Remembered, which in the process of being published by Matador.

Matador.

When I sent the final manuscript to Matador, an imprint of Troubabor Publishing, a fortnight ago and signed the contracts, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. The principal reason for that was that I knew that what I'd set out to do - honouring a greatly missed, much-loved friend and brilliant actor - was at last coming to fruition.



I also thought, rather naively, that I could at last take a little breather - get my accounts in order, have a much-needed clearout of clutter that was screaming out for freedom, and do a bit of wardrobe-pruning.

Silly me! No sooner had I emailed the book to Matador MD Jeremy Thompson, than he sent me an Author Questionnaire to complete. That took a few days, including a 'photoshoot' after my skunk-like hair had received the tint and highlight treatment. Unfortunately, I haven't quite found out if Photoshop will help airbrush out a couple of chins yet.

Then came a link to my author's webpage on their site - to be populated, of course. Another task - after getting this blogsite set up.

On top of all this, I need to get the photos for the book finalised and since they are going to be in black & white and need to be 300 dpi, plenty of work to be done on them.

Well, that doesn't seem to bad after all. Except... I need to let people know about the book, starting with more than 50 contributors, including Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, John Sessions, Brian Blessed, Stacy Keach, Joanne Woodward. I've done the email, but of course many of the people who so kindly gave their input aren't on email, so I'll have to compose letters to them.

'Tell everyone you can think of'' - I'll make a list.

How are you going to promote it? I'll need to think of a suitable venue for a book launch plus make a list of bookshops to approach about a book signing. Book festivals - good idea - will get started on the research. Publicity - will need to get quotes for posters, flyers, postcards. Will I get a teeshirt made too? All things must be considered.

Somehow, I think that the clutter will remain and that I'll have to continue trying to shoehorn clothes into my groaning wardrobes and drawers.

I'm not complaining. It has helped me realise that there's more to writing a book than... writing a book and that the 'post production' work is considerable. I'll know what to expect with the next one - and that it will be a little while before I can get started on it.