About this Site
My name's Jonathan Pinnock. I lead a dual life. In one half of this, I run a software development company called Jonathan Pinnock and Associates. If you've come here looking for that, here's where you need to go.However, if you've come here to find out about the other half of my life, as a writer of fiction and non-fiction, you've come to the right place.
If, on the other hand, you've arrived here by accident whilst searching for Japanese Tentacle Porn, I suggest you try using a different search engine.
If you'd like to contact me, my e-mail address is jon AT jpassoc DOT co DOT uk.
Books
Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens was published by Proxima Books in September 2011.
The Scott Prize-winning short story collection Dot(.), Dash(-) will be published by Salt in 2012.
Jan
11
Blue Hyacinths
Filed Under Anthologies, Publications | 4 Comments
Just got an e-mail to tell me that “Blue Hyacinths”, the anthology from last year’s Excel for Charity / Diversity House poetry competition has been published, containing my poem “In Giza”. I’m quite proud of “In Giza”, because it’s one of my first attempts to write a proper, straight poem without going for laughs (not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course). You can order copies of the anthology here.
Incidentally, as chance would have it, we were in Giza last November and it was interesting to see how little it has changed since my first visit there. Considering that it contains the only one of the seven wonders of the world still standing, it’s still a bit of a dump. Karnak, on the other hand …
Jan
9
Mrs Darcy, Episode Seven
Filed Under Mrs Darcy | 18 Comments
… in which Elizabeth has a visitor who is in a rather tragic state. Poor thing.
The story seems to be attracting some interest from the Jane Austen community, collecting mentions from El Salón de Té de Jane and Becca from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath. As a result of the former link, I now know that the title translates as “Mrs. Darcy contra los Alienígenas” in Spanish. I’m not entirely sure if they are being complimentary or not (I suspect the latter), although I do see the dreaded words “fan fic” in there, which is probably the last thing that the story is. Still, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. The PR machine moves on to another quarter on Sunday, but more of that in due course.
Jan
6
Tweet the Meat
Filed Under Publications | 2 Comments
Well, the word we got for the final of the NYC Midnight “Tweet Me a Story” contest was “below”. This didn’t sound at all promising at first, but I eventually came up with one that I really liked, plus a couple of so-so entries. To be honest, I’m not expecting a lot when the final shortlist of 25 is announced on Thursday night / Friday morning, but you can never tell anything in this game – especially with TwitFic.
In the meantime, my latest entry for “Tweet the Meat” was published last night. The subject was “Sin”, but you might have guessed that.
Jan
6
Mrs Darcy, Episode Six
Filed Under Mrs Darcy | Leave a Comment
… in which we meet the mysterious Dandy Highwayman, amongst others. I’m wondering at this point if I should be supplying some kind of Cliff’s Notes for this thing, because one or two of the references may be a tad obscure to overseas readers. I’m guessing that not many of them will have heard of Watford Gap, for example, let alone the gastronomic kaleidoscope that is the Little Chef chain. Having said that, it is entirely possible that the more erudite readers will have simply assumed that I was referring to the well-known coaching inn on the same site called “The Watford Gap”, the existence of which I was completely unaware of until I read this article just now. So that’s something I’ve learnt today. I love the internet.
The reference that I thought was entirely obvious – at least until I got my kids (21 and 24 respectively) to read it – was the Dandy Highwayman himself. Not a clue. And these people go to 80′s nights? Oh well.
There was another nice mention for Mrs Darcy on the esteemed “Jane Austen Today” blog yesterday and it’s getting a few helpful tweets too, with the result that the audience is visibly building. The most exciting thing about any kind of project like this is when you get endorsements from complete strangers.
Jan
5
Wow. Apparently I am the Audience award winner in Round Group 19. So a humungous THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me.
The only problem now is that the final is at 7PM EST tonight. Or 2AM in the morning midnight, UK time. Have a feeling that I may not be at my best …
Jan
4
The Language of Angels
Filed Under Publications | 3 Comments
The inaugural issue of “Eclectic Flash” has just been published, including my rather peculiar bilingual flash “The Language of Angels”. It’s been a while since I studied French at school, so it’s probably only a matter of time before someone points out to me that I’ve made some kind of elementary howler. Still, I must say I like the look of EF and I hope that they do well. It’s nice to be in at the start of something good.
The link to the free PDF is here, or you can order a print copy on Lulu here.
Jan
4
Preditors and Editors Annual Readers’ Poll
Filed Under Competitions, The Literary World | Leave a Comment
It’s that time of year again. Last year I found out way too late that my poem “School Uniform” had been nominated in the poetry section of the annual Preds and Eds readers’ poll, and I didn’t have time to muster up sufficient support to push it into the top places (or even vote for it myself). Despite this it actually did quite well – much to my amazement.
This year, however, I’m determined not to make the same mistake, so I’m asking you (once again, I’m afraid) for your votes. I’m in the following categories:
Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels (“Mrs Darcy vs The Aliens”)
Horror Short Story (“Anniversary Feast”)
Romance Short Story (“Hidden Shallows”)
Poem (“Professionalism”)
Nonfiction Article (“Anatomy of a Flash”)
Author
If you only have time to vote for one, please do vote for “Mrs Darcy vs The Aliens”, as it would give the project a tremendous boost. Here’s the link to the main page for the poll.
Many thanks in advance!
Jan
2
Mrs Darcy, Episode Five
Filed Under Mrs Darcy | Leave a Comment
Now this is where it starts to get a little strange, as we meet Mary Ann Nichols, an honest working girl trying to ply her trade in the streets of Whitechapel. If her name sounds a tad familiar, you may now be worrying about such minor details as dates and suchlike. But don’t worry, it’ll all sort itself out. Trust me. But remember not to ask for Prussian.
This is my favourite episode so far, I think.
Jan
1
Tweet the Meat Again!
Filed Under Acceptances | 2 Comments
Well, that’s a nice start to the New Year. Just heard that I’ve had an acceptance from Tweet the Meat of a tweet on the subject of “Sin”. That’s all, really. I think it comes out next week.
Jan
1
The Rhinocerous and His Thoughts
Filed Under Anthologies | 2 Comments
“The Rhinocerous and His Thoughts”, the anthology from the 2009 Whittaker prize is now available. This anthology includes all the short stories and poems that came either first or second in each of the nine rounds of the competition, so I’ve got two stories in there (“Farewell Symphony” and “The Magnolia Bedroom”, which both came second in their respective rounds) and two poems (“Spanish Echoes” and “Incursion”, which both came first). I could actually have had a third story in there, but I decided to hold it back because I thought it stood a decent chance in external competition – and in fact “Return to Cairo” did win 3rd prize at City of Derby. As it happens, I put “The Magnolia Bedroom” in for the Global Short Story Competition as well, where it got shortlisted.
As ever, Donna Gagnon Pugh has done a fantastic job overseeing production of the anthology. What really impresses me is that – as with “Scratching at Cardboard” and “Unforgettable Fire”, it looks like a proper, professional book. And that is a lot harder to achieve than you might think. Even better, I get my copy free because I came second overall in the short story comp!
Oh, and nearly forgot: Happy New Year, everyone! And a big welcome to new blogger Oscar Windsor-Smith (he’s in “The Rhinocerous …” too). His blog should definitely be worth keeping an eye on.