I’ve been busy with the novel as well as a new series of short stories. I enjoy running the two in parallel: the approach seems to keep the creativity topped up. Like a good diet, I think, writing needs to have variety. The working title of the novel remains Auguste in September.

“The Novel is finished!” From the fifth draft onwards, that was my declaration after completing each revision of  my novel which has the working title, ‘Auguste in September’. It is a story of skulduggery in the world of art.

A few days ago I heard I’d got third prize in the 2016 National Short Story competition run by Nottingham Writers Club with my story A Call to Arms. Performing well in a big competition against accomplished writers is a very satisfying experience.

A zigzag trajectory is perhaps a reasonable phrase to describe my flightpath. In 2015 I didn’t write what I’d set out to do. But I wrote. I hardly stopped. It seems the writer can plan a destination but even if he has enough fuel to get there he still has to avoid missiles (in the world of writing think rejections, IT malfarts, etcetera).

Michael’s one act play, Debts, is currently being made into a film by local East Sussex enthusiasts. Michael wrote the play as part of his Master’s degree course.

How wonderful it was to learn that Alice Munro has been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Not only is it a just reward for a writer of huge skill, it is also recognition for the short story form. As a writer who sweats to get texture and subtlety into a short story, I have often turned to Munro to see how it should be done.