Monthly Archives: February 2014

In which the Author gives a Writing Course in France…

On Saturday 8th March I’m giving a full-day writing course in Nogaro, a town in the southwestern French

department of the Gers, in the Midi-Pyrenees Region. It’s aimed at English-speakers who want to write either

fiction (novels, short stories) or non-fiction. The cost is €20. If you live in SW France and you see yourself writing a novel or a work of non-fiction, this is for you.

Here’s the details:

The day will cover: Being a writer – writing fiction – writing non-fiction – tips towards publication

       **No previous writing experience necessary**

The course will be in English only.

                             Venue: Communauté de Communes du Bas-Armagnac,

77 Rue Nationale, NOGARO (behind the Tourist Office).

10am-4pm. Fee: 20€

Places are limited – please book early. Free parking nearby. Tea & coffee provided. Wheelchair accessible. Cafés and boulangeries nearby for lunch.

To book, please call 06 48 00 03 06/05 62 09 81 19 or email geoffholder1@mac.com.

In which the Author rants about French driving in The Local…

Like many ex-pats living in France, I am often amazed at the inattentive and selfish driving seen on the roads on a daily basis. I’ve now focused my road rage into a snarky article for the English-language publication

The Local in France. My own version of Le Highway Code for the French  – everything from how to run a

wheelchair user off the road to a philosophical digression on the invisibility of zebra crossings, complete with a

Napoleonic subtext – can be found here.

The Local

 

Thanks to Ben McPartland of The Local.

In which the Author publishes a new book on Scotland…

Little Book of Scotland

My latest book, The Little Book of Scotland, has just been published. Here’s the blurb:

The ultimate compendium of trivia miscellany about Scotland’s unusual history

Take a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed look at the most frivolous, fantastic, or simply strange information that there

is to tell about Scotland. Here we find out about unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous

sons and daughters, and literally hundreds of other wacky facts about Scotland. This book contains historic and

contemporary trivia, including such gems as the real story of William “Braveheart” Wallace, which king was

murdered in a barn, and where the World War II Commandos were formed. With subjects ranging from Sir Walter Scott to Sir Sean Connery, Queen Victoria to Mary Queens of Scots, this remarkably engaging compendium is

essential reading for travelers and Scots alike.

scottish sun

The book has already picked up a fair amount of press interest in Scotland: here’s the full-page feature from

Saturday’s Scottish Sun. No doubt more to come.

The Little Book of Scotland can be picked up online here or here or at your favourite bricks-and-mortar bookshop – support bookshops, people, especially independent bookshops, they are Good Things.