In which I get to interview Gerald Lynch and live.

Not my writing, but no reason not to blog about it. Alexander McNabb, Dubai-ite and author, asked me to run up some interview questions for his character Lynch, the Northern Irish spy who is the hero of his new book Beirut. Always willing to help another author, I set to with the sewing machine and knocked off a few. This will take you to what he did with 'em. I think it brings out Lynch's character very well. I'm disappointed to discover that he's a man who will ruin a whiskey just to bully a poor English lecturer, but otherwise happy to have got out without being punched out.
I haven't seen the final edited version of the book, but if it cleaned up the way I think it might have, then it's a hell of a good read and one I'd recommend.

Book review Olives by Alexander McNabb

I attended a workshop that McNabb presented at the Dubai Literature Festival where he said he'd self-published Olives after being turned down by over 80 agents. What a crowd of pillocks they were. This is an incredibly well written book. The hero doesn't know what is the truth of his situation until the very last page and you won't either. The writing is very high level, the knowledge of the Middle East and the political situation very detailed. I've visited Jordan as a tourist and recognised places, scenes and bits of atmosphere that he describes, so know that he does all of that well.
I believed this book. Everything in it convinced me. The Arabs were like the ones I work with, those charming folk who can be so easy to like and so hard to understand. The characters were all real people to me, their motivations often confusing, but always credible. This is a book that I'll be lending to friends and nagging them to read. They'll thank me for it, though, I know they will.