Spinal Tat

It seems I’ve offended some people. Well, not me actually. The book designer. Good on him.

Since the book hit the shops, a few people have been expressing their “offence” and “indignation” at the book design which features a painting by Egon Schiele wrapped around the entire book. The woman’s face and torso are on the front and her legs are on the back cover. That, logically, leaves her genitals on the spine.

It seems that a few prim ladies browsing the bookshelves in the Home Counties have come across the spine, recognised - in the words of Courbet - “the origin of the world” and run away, blushing and spitting discontent at the state of modern publishing.

I had never head of www.indignation.org until yesterday but it seems to be a rather amusing puddle of bile, which has become a focus of all things degrading and ungodly: i.e. me, the designer and Egon Schiele.

For god’s sake, she’s wearing undergarments.

Blogging = me, me, ME, ME, ME!!

Someone once said "if conversation is like intercourse; then writing is like masturbation." If that is the case then blogging is the most indulgent form of self-gratification. There is a presumption on the part of the blogger that whatever he or she says/does/writes is of interest to other people.

Well, although I reckon my little corner of Belgium is of little interest to anyone (apart from my mum who just wants to check that this little corner of Belgium is clean and tidy), I've been persuaded to offer a bit more content to those valiant people visiting this site to see pictures of Schiele and spit at my photo.

From other writers I know one thing is clear: we all need to be comforted by the process, by the assurance that our words - which we put into different orders and then litter with dots and commas - are one day going to be read by someone and then put on a shelf. So, that's what I am going to do: post a few things about the publishing process, writing, reading, researching and stumbling around in this new world.

I know little more about publishing than I do about Islamic prayer mats (they are often in black and red), but while I flounder along I thought I'd record some thoughts.

If you don't like that, then here is a link to a prayer mat.