June 2017 – Jack Sanger

The Act of Writing No. 3

How do you start a novel? You know yourself that when you go into a bookshop you will pick up books, maybe look at the dust covers and, more likely than not, read the first paragraph of the first chapter. Then you will dump it unless something arrests you, something which is like the shard… Know More
Read more: The Act of Writing No. 3
The Art of Writing No. 2

Novelists of the clay kind may begin with a great first sentence, a single idea, something overheard, a personal itch or trauma – whatever – and it becomes like grit in the oyster forcing the imagination to create a pearl. Novelists of the lego kind like to gather a mass of data in which to… Know More
Read more: The Art of Writing No. 2
The Act of Writing No. 1

I thought I’d write a series of blogs about writing. Having just published a three volume historical fiction called Azimuth that has taken ten years and 920 pages, maybe I have something to pass on to those who wish to follow literary careers. (For the validity of my thoughts you can see for yourself at… Know More
Read more: The Act of Writing No. 1
Dead Sure about Doomsday

Another prophet, like so many of his fellows, has proven inadequate to forecasting accurately the end of days. Instead of mass extinction last week, those of us who have not yet succumbed to natural wastage are readying ourselves for the next doomsday pronouncement, the very big one on December 21st 2012. Soothsayers, exactly like the… Know More
Read more: Dead Sure about Doomsday
The Death Divining Device

There is some interesting news today and long overdue, particularly if you are a science fiction reader. For the measly sum of 400 pounds (a thousand cedi) you can undergo a simple test that gives you an indication of how much longer you are going to grumble and stumble your way across the planet! Apparently… Know More
Read more: The Death Divining Device
The Black Hole of Islamabad

Continuing the theme of asking how it is possible to square the assassination of Osama Bin Laden with the US’s avowed intent of exporting democracy and the principles of a justice which is universal and does not discriminate between rich and poor, I see that the American administration is cementing its story that there was… Know More
Read more: The Black Hole of Islamabad
To Kill A Mocking Bin Laden

I remember liking a film starring Paul Newman, called Hombre. The scene which stuck in my mind was when the baddie takes off his weapons and goes to face Newman (white man brought up by Indians and despised because of it) who, nevertheless, is protecting stage coach passengers who hold exactly those racist attitudes towards… Know More
Read more: To Kill A Mocking Bin Laden
Spy-ders and webs of intrigue

I watched yet another programme about the end of the world happening on December 21st 2012, according to the Mayan calendar, the patterns in the I Ching, Chinese astrology, Revelations in the Bible, a variety of soothsayers and some scientists who say that the earth, the sun and the black hole at the centre of… Know More
Read more: Spy-ders and webs of intrigue
In the name of justice…

Well, it has been a week of it! Two billion watching the Royal Wedding just as they had when Princess Diana was the then royal bimbo of choice. The War Cabinet in the White House watching Bin Laden being blasted off this mortal coil by a US assassination squad, Pope Paul passing Go towards beatification… Know More
Read more: In the name of justice…
Royalty – the soap

Well, it is not exactly a day for Republicans in the UK. Gimlet eyed I turned on the TV to watch the world news and avoid any reference to the wedding, thinking that Al Jazeera would be the one to eschew the saccharine pomp and ceremony at Westminster Abbey. What was their main news story? … Know More
Read more: Royalty – the soap

Jack’s Blog