You Are Unique

I don’t often write about writing. Once writing becomes your job, you start to get itchy to write anything for free. That’s a shame, but it’s human nature. But there are ways to write for free that can still reach a lot of people, and I wanted to put this out today.

My new book just came out, and any new book always makes you think about the old ones. My first, From Beyond Belief, published in 2002, has only just started to sell. Never fashionable at the time, I seem to see the zeitgeist about 20 years before it arrives. If you like aliens, real ones, then check it out.

But I digress. I wanted to write about me, which fiction writers only normally do in disguise. They dress themselves up and pretend to be others, but they’re not. My character Paul Locksley is much like me, almost. But nobody else in my books is much like me.

I just wanted to say, to any young writers out there, that today is the day. Writing has never been more accessible. It won’t make you rich, probably, but you may change the world. And 70 years after your death, your grandchildren will still be banking your royalty cheques. For me, writing is a need, and it is about legacy too, to a lesser extent.

Never think you are dull. Writers often under-rate themselves, real ones. The fakes are those who over-rate and exaggerate themselves. You can spot the difference, in time.

I believe I am the only person currently alive who is a fan of Warren Zevon, Formula One, MotoGP, Alpine Skiing, and Cricket. Who was born in Hull and lives near London, and once spent a weekend with a movie star in Laurel Canyon, California. And watched Australia beat Pakistan at the MCG in Melbourne, Australia. And lives for Hansard. Nobody else alive has done all of these things. Except me.