Monthly Archive for March, 2010

A new furrow

Published
by
Frank
on March 25, 2010
in Book Research
. 0 Comments

Bit of a change for me last night. I’ve given numbers of talks over the years but there’s always been a link to writing and writers. On this occasion, a gathering of ploughmen, the only connection was a chum who farmed the land around our house and turned out to be president of the Sussex Ploughing Championship Society. He was stepping down from his official duties to give himself more time to compete in the various national competitions and thought, for a change, that at their annual general meeting and dinner the members of the Society might like to hear from someone not involved in agriculture; last year, for example, the address was given by a land agent.

It went off all right though I think some of the audience were somewhat bemused. Afterwards, shaking hands, I was struck by their leather-like grasps that told of hard manual work, unlike mine, more akin to leather of the chamois variety. However, to my surprise a few had actually read my books and a couple even shared motor-racing as a pastime so I wasn’t entirely at sea. My disclosure that I had once bought a Fordson tractor for £100 aroused most interest however.

It was good to hear that the Sussex accent still flourishes. I’ve been researching the county dialect for the new novel and, while I didn’t detect any of the old phrases, the distinctive pronunciation that filled the meeting room gave a special colour to the event; close your eyes and you could be back in 1890…

I also recommend the venue, The Roebuck pub at Laughton on the B2124 not far from Lewes; family-owned and excellent wholesome cooking using local produce.

If you haven’t caught a ploughing match I recommend it as an interesting insight and at very close quarters into how it’s done these days and, more fascinatingly, was carried out in centuries past by teams of horses and oxen.

You can bank on it

Published
by
Frank
on March 23, 2010
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Someone once asked me, when they learned I was a published author: ‘ How’s it feel to be rich and famous?’ I remembered this when two things happened on the same day; the announcement that Barclays Bank is paying out £1.5 billion in cash bonuses as their profits soar by 92% to £11.6 billion, and a letter in the post box (or rather, old waste bin) from NatWest about a currency exchange matter involving me. This last sounds impressive until you learn that it related to a payment of 37.75 Euros by the Irish Libraries people who, like their UK counterparts, pay about 5p every time one of your books is taken out.

We were quite pleased, Jan and I, because this Gallic windfall just about covered a pub lunch, that is until we learned that NatWest were charging me £5.00 to change euros into sterling. Apparently this is quite reasonable. My local branch thought it might have been £10.00, almost 25%. But it does perhaps go some way to explaining why the bankers seem to be doing so particularly well at the moment. All this on top of hearing that some MPs charge £5,000 a day for lobbying which is almost the same as the annual state pension I receive aged 72. Of course I must remember my income from writing which was, now let me see, oh dear. So what am I saying? ‘Rats’ might cover it.

Call Off The Hounds?

Published
by
Frank
on March 21, 2010
in Reader Feedback
. 0 Comments

A Piece of Cake
Some of you dipping into this website will be aware of a recurring topic named Derek Robinson, the author of a number of best-selling novels about many subjects but particularly flying in both world wars. Piece Of Cake was nominated for the Booker and made into a popular TV series.

Mr Robinson has a loyal fan base that I’ve dubbed The Robinson Army and from its ranks over the past few years various champions have ridden out to compare my work unfavourably and even to suggest that they are derivative or worse. My protests that I have never read a Robinson novel for fear of being influenced by style or content are disregarded. So, I thought I would go to the man himself.

The following exchange of emails, or extracts at any rate, might be of interest:

From Frank Barnard to Derek Robinson, 9 March 2010
You’ve got a heck of a lot of loyal readers out there and quite a few of them accuse me of stealing your ideas. I’d like to reassure you that I’m absolutely not guilty. It’s quite okay for your fans to say my novels aren’t as good as yours but they are original work and only inspired by source material that inevitably we must share. I was given a copy of Piece Of Cake when I was about to embark on Blue Man Falling but never dared read it for fear of being influenced by prose or plot. In fact I almost junked the MS at an early stage because when I telephoned research at Hendon Aviation Museum and told them what I was planning the researcher said: ‘ Oh yes, Derek Robinson country.’ ‘ Oh my God,’ I said, ‘ you mean he’s covered the same subject?’ ‘ Don’t worry,’ he said,
‘ there’s always room for more.’ On such a small comment turned the somewhat belated career of a budding novelist aged 72. Meanwhile, I’ve borne in mind the fiercely critical comments of The Robinson Army and can only say I’m striving to do better…

Kind regards, Frank Barnard (5066609 LAC Barnard)

From Derek Robinson to Frank Barnard, 13 March 2010
First, let me congratulate you. To make it as a successful novelist at the age of 70-plus says much about your determination, and I reckon determination to be one of the key characteristics of a proven writer. There must be a hundred thousand people out there who said they were going to write a novel when they retired, and as a result there are probably fifty-thousand not-bad half-written novels gathering dust on a top shelf because the writer abandoned them when he discovered how damn difficult the job is.
You are right about my loyal readers and I am constantly surprised and impressed by their passion. I just wrote the books but now I seem to have become part of their lives. One unexpected bonus has been the emails I get from all over, especially the English-speaking countries (but even Finland, Switzerland and Greece). It’s very encouraging-but I can see that The Army’s attitude is a bit hard on you. Look at it this way: it’s just another occupational hazard. One day, some young journalist may be accused of stealing your ideas. Meanwhile I’d like to mention your email in my monthly column called Readers Write on my website. Maybe that will pacify some of the sharpshooters in Robinson’s Army,

Best wishes, Derek Robinson, (2533407 Corporal, acting, paid)

So, an interesting exchange and I certainly recommend Derek Robinson’s lively website, and of course his books. Meanwhile, here’s an anecdote that haunts me. Peter Cook met an acquaintance in Hampstead. ‘ What are you doing these days?’ he said.
‘ Writing a novel,’ said the acquaintance. ‘ Neither am I,’ said Cook. So easy to have gone that way…