READERS COMPETITION
A lean month, only two questions and only one worth dealing with. And it is okay to end a sentence with a preposition. Live dangerously, knock yourself out. Anyone who pulls you up on it, has revealed themselves to be stuffy and old-fashioned, and ruled by rules. Rhonda from Rhode Island who clearly loves alliterations⎯don’t we all, they are as much fun as eating ice-cream, but as with ice-cream, moderation is necessary. Rhonda asks:
This month'S WINNER - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
It was a busy month, had several questions, most of them were strange. Why wouldn’t they be, my readers are a little on the strange side of weird.
Here’s one from Alena who left a voice mail. Alena lives in Ormsk-a mid-sized Russian city. She claims she lives next to the ‘Love Me’, beauty salon. I have no reason to doubt this. Here is what Alena asked:
This month'S WINNER - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
I received a number of questions recently. I’ve picked the following three, not because they were the best, or the worst, but because they are the tapestry...and I don’t know where the car keys are.
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
An avid reader from ‘one of the Caribbean islands’ as she describes herself (she has a pet fish; she is at pains to tell me), asks:
Q. ‘What’s my ‘philosophy’ on life?’ She wins my question of the month. Well done, Cara. Cara is eleven years old.
This month'S WINNER - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
SM Genie: ‘Hey Boss, Peter from San Diego asks me, “How do we know you didn’t just make up these questions and the people who asked them?”
A: (Yawning) “You don’t. How do you know I just didn’t make up all the characters in my novel? Oh wait… If I had made you up, I wouldn’t have made you so lippy.”
SM Genie: Hey Boss, Princess from Peru asks me, “How come you haven’t won any awards?”
A: Are you saying ‘best knot’ when I was in the boy scouts doesn’t count? Oh, you mean literary awards? I have no fucking idea. But am I too white, too old, too bald, too male, too tired?
SM Genie: Hey Boss, “Do you ever get writer’s block?”
A: “No, I just turn myself off and on and reboot. “
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
There were some good questions this month but I’m working and can’t lend too much time just at the moment. Muriel from Townsville, Peter from Hong Kong and Meri from Legos, all good questions and I will answer them over the next few months—as soon as I can think of something funny, clever and insightful to say.
Nathaniel from Leesburg, Virginia asks:
Q. “I’m writing a novel and I want to include some Lennon/McCartney lyrics. Can I do this?”
This month'S WINNER - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
Q. SM Genie: "Hey Boss, Rally from Eureka, in the States asks if you would recommend your books for book clubs?”
Q. SM Genie: "Hey Boss, someone at a dinner party asked me if you think your characters are real, or more like cyphers? ”
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
A good month for questions. I picked out some, see below. If you don’t feature, don’t worry you may be dealt with on another occasion, unless you were the one who asked, ‘I’ve googled Dunleavy de Boston and I note he is evasive. Can you tell us more about him and how do I get hold of his book?’ I have withheld your name; it seemed the most humane thing I could do.
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
Q. I’m thinking of writing a novel. I won’t bore you with the subject matter. You use a lot of obscure and even some scientific references in your novel ‘What Will Happen To You?’, but also music and philosophical references. I found it all fascinating. Do you research all that stuff, or do you just know it? I’m worried that I will not have all that stuff to make my work intriguing or interesting.
Q. Do you get material from people you know, or just meet?
There were some intriguing questions this month—it seems everyone is ‘thinking’ and trying. I have selected one from the farthest distance from me by way of a criterion for selection. So, I had one from Alaska. Nice to know that somewhere in the frozen tundra of Alaska, my novel resides, unless it was burnt for heat.
Bobby from Anchorage asks:
On the same subject, I had a letter from Lucy, a student from Harvard University. It was a long letter; she apologised for that. Lucy asks:
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
Q. How do I use the term ‘absurdism’?
Baltic, from somewhere in Europe asks:
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
Q. ‘Dear Mr. Lines, you seem to have a love/hate relationship with your best friend/and enemy, the enigmatic and apocryphal Dunleavy de Boston. How do you manage such a relationship, and do you have others in your circle of associations similar to that which you share with Mr. de Boston? I only ask because I seem to have similar relationships. Loved WWHTY btw-fastest slow read I’ve ever had, couldn’t put it down, but had to go slow, even retrace at times, so I didn’t miss anything. Funny as… as well.’
Paul from London, England, has this question:
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
Q. ‘I adore how you write. Having said that, one of the enjoyments of your writing is the slight whiff of arrogance, or is it irritation, that you get away with? I think it evokes the pain/pleasure paradox. We discussed this in our book club. We discussed at length, the ‘how’. We mused over technique, method, voice and so on. But my question is more to do with the ‘why’, as in why do you write, or more broadly why do artists think that their work is of sufficient value that it should be inflicted, presented, offered to others? What’s your take on this?’
Jan from Washington DC has kicked off the year with an intriguing question:
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
Q. SM Genie: Hey Boss, Marty again, “How important is research?”
Q. SM Genie: Hey Boss, Marty, a lawyer in New York asks, “Do you research much?”
Q. I’ve read a lot about anti-detective fiction - you allude to it in one of your earlier answers about crime, and how it exists or doesn’t, in your work. I would like to hear your take on what anti-detective fiction is to you?
Q. SM Genie: Hey Boss, Joyce from Adelaide, Australia asks, “How many hours a day do you write?”
Alice from New York asks:
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).
Q. SM Genie: Hey Boss, Marty again, “How important is research?”
Q. SM Genie: Hey Boss, Marty, a lawyer in New York asks, “Do you research much?”
Q. I’ve read a lot about anti-detective fiction - you allude to it in one of your earlier answers about crime, and how it exists or doesn’t, in your work. I would like to hear your take on what anti-detective fiction is to you?
Q. SM Genie: Hey Boss, Joyce from Adelaide, Australia asks, “How many hours a day do you write?”
Alice from New York asks:
This month'S WINNERS - THE BEST OF 'ASK THE WRITER'
‘The Best of’ winners are arbitrarily selected by Gary N. Lines (criteria unknown) & enter the Readers Competition for the chance to win bragging rights for ‘BEST OF THE YEAR’. The final decision rests entirely with the whims of The Writer, immune to dispute or challenge—logic, rational thought, philosophical astuteness and fairness will not play any part most likely.
The full identity of each contributor is withheld from public viewing to protect privacy and possible embarrassment, but the writer applauds your bravery and appreciates your questions & comments (mostly).