Our Book Reviews and Other Stuff

The lovely Maryom over at Our Book Reviews has given a definite thumbs up to TAKE IT COOL. This is what she says in her 4* review:

Having read Jonathan Pinnock’s fiction, I expected him to turn what could be a plodding piece of research into something interesting and fun – and he did!  The different threads are easily followed, and build an amusingly-told story that held the attention of a non-Pinnock with no interest in reggae.

Meanwhile, the excellent Dave Weaver has put up a post about TAKE IT COOL on his blog. Dave is a highly talented writer who has had three books published by Elsewhen Press, most recently THE BLACK HOLE BAR, which looks superb. I haven’t read that one yet, but I can say that JAPANESE DAISY CHAIN, his last one, was terrific: a short story sequence with a neat gimmick in which a minor character in each story becomes the main protagonist in the next one. Recommended. Here’s where you can buy it on Kindle.

This week, I had my most testing public appearance yet: the Allerton Women’s Institute. I think I got away with it, but I’m going to be more than usually paranoid about how people look at me in the village over the next few days. There’s nothing quite so unnerving as speaking for an hour in front of a bunch of people you know. Give me an audience of strangers any day.

Finally, for those of you who have already read TAKE IT COOL (which I guess means pretty much everyone reading this, right?), I’ve added a comprehensive picture gallery containing loads of images that didn’t make it into the book. So if you want to see what Dog-Face Phil really looked like, here’s where you need to go.