Back to England

The back of my daughter's head as we prepare
to enter that oaken cavern of wonders, Liberty
Department Store in London

That's where I have been.  On a whirlwind four-day trip that concluded last Sunday.  The big draw for this trip was the Kate Bush show in Hammersmith.  (If you click the link you'll be taken to the review in The Guardian - all the big news outlets have run reviews of the same character).

I've been a fan of KB for as long as she has been singing for the public so, crazy/self indulgent as it may seem, I had to cross the Atlantic to see her perform.  She hasn't given a proper concert in 35 years so I reasoned it might be now or never.

I'll spare you my review - for now.  I'll just say that it was worth the trip.  Of course, an additional benefit was that I had four days in London with my daughter (who is 16 - I decided she couldn't miss this and she was all mine for a few days).  Also, of course, I had the chance to be in LONDON, ENGLAND. It doesn't take that much persuading to get me to go to London.

Back to the Book: A Whole New Look

Though I have been quiet here it's not because Up, Back, and Away has been out of my thoughts.  The opposite is true.  I've been working for months on a revamp.  I can't expect that the Great World will be quite as excited about the relaunch as I am, but I hope that some old friends will be curious to see the book's new face and that new ones will be lured in, snared, and held fast.

I plan to have the redesigned version available in October.  Stay tuned.  I will be splashing it out when it is splash-able.

All this has knocked me off the real job of writing work that I have set for myself: the sequel.  Note to self.  Write the next book.  OK.  That ought to do it.

By the way.  While you are waiting, I should mention that I also have made available a little sampler of my shorter works this summer.  It's called The Tiny Confinements Miscellany.  You can download the ebook on Amazon for 99 cents or, even better, get it for free on iBooks.  Amazon, as usual, provides lovely links.  There's one in the sidebar.  (I couldn't figure out how to post a link to iBooks but if you search in their store you should be able to find it).  Just to hold you over, mind.

For those of you with first editions of Up, Back, and Away, as we may say, since they will someday be valuable rarities, I hope you won't be sorry you got in early.  More later.  Cheerio.