Aw, Matt, you’re always very kind and it really does help give me a little more confidence than I feel as I’m drafting. I should have got JoJo to proof it for silly mistakes but I’m pretty pleased with the way the tale unfolded and grateful for the inspiration! A thousand thanks. X
I really enjoyed this! Had some pretty cool visuals from the writing and could imagine all the settings and characters...I always wonder how closely we all formulate these things given the same text! Without even a physical description I've conjured up a face, a street scene, a wallpaper...amazing. thanks for sharing
My goodness, what lovely things to say. I certainly write with pictures in my mind … but I couldn’t be happier to think that my words have painted some too. Thank you so much for the kind words and the encouragement they offer, Jules.
Wow! What a story. I knew something was off, but I'd guessed his WIFE was the client. Those two paragraphs beginning "There is a leather chair in the corner of the office..." ! Real crackers, Barrie!
"She didn’t write back but I guess she’s better at respecting the boundaries of my job than I thought." You think?
"I should have thought about that. I should have thought about a whole bunch of stuff." No kidding. You created a perfect schmuck, and gave him a perfectly unsympathetic wife. You are pretty damned good at this, my friend.
Aw, Sharron … you know how much it warms a writer’s heart to know which parts hit home - and even more so when it is a fellow writer with the knack quoting them. Thank you SO much. Most of all, I love that you were guessing throughout. It sounds like you enjoyed reading it and that’s such a lift for me. Thank you ~B
I am so glad I didn’t know that beforehand, Kathleen. It was daunting enough the moment I decided to head in an Auster-like direction. He, of course, does it so well, so originally (naturally enough!!) … ‘what was I thinking’ was my frequent refrain. So I couldn’t be happier with these kind words … an encouragement beyond measure. Thank you so much. ~Barrie
Mark, what a pleasure to think of you reading this with a morning coffee … sending greetings from a misty corner of rural France. Thank you for the encouragement of your words. I’m trying to move away from the micro fictions to these longer short tales … fewer of them but I spend a good deal more time wrestling them into shape.
Ooh this was good! I had an inkling the wife was somehow not to be trusted but hadn't guessed the end! A truly great story Barrie, as I said earlier it was a relief to be listening to something I was thoroughly enjoying while doing something else I was certainly not! Thank you!
I have two or three Paul Auster novels here but have never been drawn to read them, maybe I should!
I read Baumgartner as my first Auster (his last) and found it pretty unsatisfactory. Matt Inwood kindly gifted me the New York Trilogy and I could see how his reputation for genre defying, original work emerged. I was hoping to offer a sense of his writing, that kind of descent, a character for whom nothing goes to plan and all seems to drift out of control. So glad you enjoyed it (and the longer form - that’s what I want to concentrate on this year). Fewer pieces but more substantial. Thanks again for all the generous encouragement. ~B
Hooked me early. Made me care about what would happen but more made me think how I would respond to such a “contract” offer. Maybe a series from fellow writers.
Thanks so much, Jeff … I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get away with such a thin (inferred) back story with how he fell into accepting the contract. It would be fascinating to see how other writers would handle the idea behind it. Thanks for reading. ~B
Wow - that was a very interesting read! I was definitely drawn in, suspected the wife in some way but loved how it panned out. I felt very much that I was "in the room" which for me is the joy of reading
Thanks so much for reading, Hilarie, and I’m delighted to have given the tale some twists and turns. And especially pleased to have brought the setting to life sufficiently to draw you into the scenes. Very encouraging thoughts, thank you. 🙏
Such a good read, Barrie. And Auster-ish vibes throughout. So glad you enjoyed the book. x
Aw, Matt, you’re always very kind and it really does help give me a little more confidence than I feel as I’m drafting. I should have got JoJo to proof it for silly mistakes but I’m pretty pleased with the way the tale unfolded and grateful for the inspiration! A thousand thanks. X
I really enjoyed this! Had some pretty cool visuals from the writing and could imagine all the settings and characters...I always wonder how closely we all formulate these things given the same text! Without even a physical description I've conjured up a face, a street scene, a wallpaper...amazing. thanks for sharing
My goodness, what lovely things to say. I certainly write with pictures in my mind … but I couldn’t be happier to think that my words have painted some too. Thank you so much for the kind words and the encouragement they offer, Jules.
Wow! What a story. I knew something was off, but I'd guessed his WIFE was the client. Those two paragraphs beginning "There is a leather chair in the corner of the office..." ! Real crackers, Barrie!
"She didn’t write back but I guess she’s better at respecting the boundaries of my job than I thought." You think?
"I should have thought about that. I should have thought about a whole bunch of stuff." No kidding. You created a perfect schmuck, and gave him a perfectly unsympathetic wife. You are pretty damned good at this, my friend.
Aw, Sharron … you know how much it warms a writer’s heart to know which parts hit home - and even more so when it is a fellow writer with the knack quoting them. Thank you SO much. Most of all, I love that you were guessing throughout. It sounds like you enjoyed reading it and that’s such a lift for me. Thank you ~B
👍🏻🩷
One of my favorite books. You’ve done a wonderful job of the pastiche! Must have been fun to write.
I am so glad I didn’t know that beforehand, Kathleen. It was daunting enough the moment I decided to head in an Auster-like direction. He, of course, does it so well, so originally (naturally enough!!) … ‘what was I thinking’ was my frequent refrain. So I couldn’t be happier with these kind words … an encouragement beyond measure. Thank you so much. ~Barrie
Admirable and inspiring :)
☺️ 🙏
A great book, and this is a great read Barrie, thanking you on this sunnyish Saturday morning
Mark, what a pleasure to think of you reading this with a morning coffee … sending greetings from a misty corner of rural France. Thank you for the encouragement of your words. I’m trying to move away from the micro fictions to these longer short tales … fewer of them but I spend a good deal more time wrestling them into shape.
Sounds like challenging fun Barrie!
If the writing is no fun, there’s no point in doing it, I always say. None of that bleeding on the page for this old fella!!
🎯
Ooh this was good! I had an inkling the wife was somehow not to be trusted but hadn't guessed the end! A truly great story Barrie, as I said earlier it was a relief to be listening to something I was thoroughly enjoying while doing something else I was certainly not! Thank you!
I have two or three Paul Auster novels here but have never been drawn to read them, maybe I should!
I read Baumgartner as my first Auster (his last) and found it pretty unsatisfactory. Matt Inwood kindly gifted me the New York Trilogy and I could see how his reputation for genre defying, original work emerged. I was hoping to offer a sense of his writing, that kind of descent, a character for whom nothing goes to plan and all seems to drift out of control. So glad you enjoyed it (and the longer form - that’s what I want to concentrate on this year). Fewer pieces but more substantial. Thanks again for all the generous encouragement. ~B
Hooked me early. Made me care about what would happen but more made me think how I would respond to such a “contract” offer. Maybe a series from fellow writers.
Thanks so much, Jeff … I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get away with such a thin (inferred) back story with how he fell into accepting the contract. It would be fascinating to see how other writers would handle the idea behind it. Thanks for reading. ~B
Wow - that was a very interesting read! I was definitely drawn in, suspected the wife in some way but loved how it panned out. I felt very much that I was "in the room" which for me is the joy of reading
Thanks so much for reading, Hilarie, and I’m delighted to have given the tale some twists and turns. And especially pleased to have brought the setting to life sufficiently to draw you into the scenes. Very encouraging thoughts, thank you. 🙏
Wonderful! I really enjoyed this. Thanks, Barrie.
Well, that is a lovely surprise for an old scribbler on a Thursday morning! Delighted. Thanks for the encouragement, Victoria.
No, thank you! And I hope it’s a wonderful Thursday… ✨
A pile of logs cut, a walk with Mrs Feasts and an afternoon pecking away at my dystopian manuscript. A very fine Thursday indeed!
That does sound nice! :)
💛💛