EDitorial ± 15-Mar-2010

Bumped

Another one of those Writers' Cafe wajoobies tonight at Starbucks and the usual ground rules about reading aloud have been defenestrated. Rather than the "me me me" approach, it's now:

Reading places will be allocated by names being placed in a hat on the night

Locked and loaded with a new short story, I sign a piece of paper. There being no sign of a hat, I place it in the tin. Organiser chappy comments that there's a good chance of being selected: 15 slots, only about 12 names so far. OK, thinks me, time to rewrite that ending. More people arrive, then off we trot and here's the opening quintet:

(Alison, Sarah, Kate, Mary, David)

Varied bunch of short stories, an extract from a soon to be published novel and even a charming kids' story from an Alan Bennett-alike. Next fivesome are announced before the intermission:

(Nancy, Ben, Helena, Steve, Suzanne)

Plenty o' poems here plus the first few pages from a promising supermarket western. Another break looms and my plans are gelling. I'll order a flat white and use it as a visual prop for that line: "Looks good, smells good and tastes amazing." Will go down a bomb with the Starbucks staff too. They're gonna love me.

(Martin, Angela, Isabel, Mike ... and ... John)

Wot no slot?! Sorry, they say, to the others on the list who didn't make it tonight, and better luck at the next one in the summer.