AlanP

Bringing a gun into a house changes it.

It doesn’t matter that it’s locked away, out of sight. There’s something tangible – a weight, a tension – that comes with the knowledge of its presence, which terrifies me more than him.

He explained the gun’s for protection.

What extra protection could he need? He has his expression, his speech…his…[Read more]

What fantastic news! Congratulations, Kaz, and I read that you met your agent at a successful speed-dating pitch-event. That’s a great reminder to make sure we writers are best prepared for such meetings.

I didn’t know of the Wheeler Centre. It looks like an amazing resource, and next time I’m home in Melbourne I’ll try to get along to an event there.

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YES YES YES!!!!!

Write on, Girl! Terrific news. Well done.

Bloody fantastic news, Kaz! Well done xxx

Well done, congratulations!

Bringing a gun into the house changes it; that’s the truth. It’s not as if it was much of a gun, just an old Spanish automatic called a Ruby. Piece of junk, but cheap on the street. I never knew my dad to be scared of anything but he was scared now. Really scared.

Before, when he hit my mother, we cowered in a corner of the kitchen, my sis…[Read more]

Thanks, again, for all the good advice and reasoning, too.

Nice. Might have a go as I’m in between edits…

“A Lyttle Goes a Long Way”
The Improbable Life of an Ulster Storyteller
gets my vote.

Improbable tale feeds into the stereotype of Irish blarney. That title tells the reader before they’ve turned the cover that what follows is not to be believed, so why bother buying the book?

Improbable life suggests a life fully lived, a life of intrigue and…[Read more]

Thanks again for all the advice, guys.
It’s clear I should stick with “A Lyttle Goes a Long Way”.

But the subtitle:
The Improbable Tale of an Ulster Storyteller
The Improbable Life of an Ulster Storyteller

The Remarkable Tale… or Life…
The Extraordinary Tale… or Life…

or some other type of Tale… or Life…?

I, too, think a subtitle (strapline?) works, though I’m rather partial to Kaz’s suggestion of ‘improbable’ which suggests an especially rollicking good story from an Ulster Storyteller.

Works for me! And with the subtitle, too…

Agree with you Raine, 100%! Loved Sandra’s start (among others!!) Well done, Sandra x

Further thanks to Kate, Kaz and John. It seems I really ought to stick with my working title. So how about:

A LYTTLE GOES A LONG WAY
The extraordinary life of an Ulster Storyteller

Or is it better without a subtitle?

Thanks for a good competition idea, Raine, and well done Sandra.

Has to be “A Lyttle goes a long way.” Excellent title.

Thanks, Squidge. No, I do like the original title (You should see the length of the list of “Lyttle” puns I rejected before choosing this one! There’s already a completely unrelated book out there called “Lyttle by Lyttle”, my first thought.) I just wondered if I could grasp readers attention without using his name. Maybe I’m worrying needlessly.…[Read more]

Tony – sorry, but Unrelenting Limelight doesn’t work for me either. Sounds like a tragedy set on a stage, and it sounds like your relative’s life was far from a tragedy.

You said that if you’re not familiar with the name, why buy the book?

Book buyers are a strange crowd, drawn in by all sorts of things. Surely it’s that ‘drawing in’ of…[Read more]