Ra Signings

12:40 p.m.
I had a most fascinating time talking to Allan Guthrie in the Filmhouse Bar yesterday morning. Allan has had four books published in the last three or four years and is an agent for twenty writers, so he knows the writing business back to front. He's conspicuously smart and will make pots of money, I'm sure.

Somewhat bizarrely, I was the first writer he ever met ...when he was working the till in Waterstone's one day eleven years ago, and I asked him how many copies of Are You Boys Cyclists? had sold. This kind of info is accessible at the till. Anyway, I remembered the conversation because when I asked him if that was a reasonable number for a first book, he told me it wasn't the writer's first book. We had this conversation without me saying I was Hotboy. I was amazed that anyone knew I'd written City Whitelight, which had been published over a decade before.

He was very kind about Are You Boys Cyclists? which he seems to have read twice. He had copies of both books with him, which he asked me to sign. This was a bit weird.

He said the webpage was not a help at all and I should take it down. Since it is a useful repository, I've asked Onan The Bavarian to change the title, etc., so that you can't google me and find that.

He also said agents can't really sell two books by the same author at the one time and made me understand my agent's position much better. I don't think I'll be able to refer to him by name again in this blog. I think the best known agent is James Bond and I'll call him that, if anything.

Brian Wilson and I donned the viking helmets and rampaged through the beautiful, wonderful city last night after meeting at a memorial service for Angus McSorley, a character in the book I'm re-writing at the moment. I have vague visions of falling out of one of them bike rickshaws. I really enjoy binge drinking with Brian Wilson though I know I shouldn't. Bad boy!

10:40 p.m.
Sober and straight on Saturday night. That's the way to do it!

The lama said he allowed his students three hours sleep a night, and that sitting up in a lotus. Hmmm? I'll try sitting up in bed tonight and maybe wait till I fall over.

Would you like a piece of advice, Hotboy? What, Jack? Don't tell folk who don't know you well enough to realise you are crazy that your main ambition in life is to emanate as a deity. Allan Guthrie looked a bit phased by that. But it is my ambition, Jack! Just keep it under your hat, Hotboy.

You see a lot of sky if you look up the slope and pause from the diggings. A blazingly beautiful sunset tonight. Sunsets and birdsong in the middle of the city. What a fortunate creature I am, I am! What a fortunate creature I am!