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.
Oct
10
Dinner with Sylvia
Filed Under Mrs Darcy, Performances, Publications | Leave a Comment
Today we make a brief return to the world of short stories. My piece “Dinner with Sylvia”, a story about some meat with unusual qualities, is in the last-ever edition of “The Battered Suitcase”, which you can get hold of here.
This is a story that searched long and hard for a home – much to my surprise, because there are plenty of lesser stories of mine that have been published. Still, who am I to judge?) Anyway, do take a look.
And if you’re in London tomorrow evening, do head over to The Phoenix in Cavendish Square, where by an odd coincidence a piece of mine called “Rare Meat” is going to be read at Liars’ League. Hmmm. There’s a bit of a theme developing here.
Finally, June Gundlack has reviewed Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens for issue #12 of The Pages magazine. No meat in this one, but a lot of tentacles.
Oct
9
A Couple of Reviews
Filed Under Mrs Darcy | Leave a Comment
I think this may well be the best review I’ll ever get. It’s from the lady who used to babysit for us years ago. She bought a copy of Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens on Friday, sat up most of the night reading it and came round the next day to tell me about it (the note was there in case I was out). What makes her note completely awesome is that she’s made reference to the footnote on page 114. I should perhaps mention that she’s well into her eighties.
And here’s another nice review from Rob Harkess. Protocol dictates that I should mention that Rob is a fellow Proxima author, but I’d like to think he didn’t feel obliged to be quite so nice about the book.
It’s odd. I’m picking up definite pockets of resistance out there from people who have heard about the book but no negative feedback at all so far from people who have actually read it. Although that’s probably because most of the people who have read and commented on it to date are known to me to a greater or lesser extent. However, it should get a bit more interesting this coming Friday, because I’m Skyping with a book group, sixteen of whom have been reading it but only one of whom I know. I guess that’s the point at which I’ll get to hear some home truths…
Oct
7
The View From Here
Filed Under The Literary World | 6 Comments
This is rather cool. I had an e-mail today from Mike French, the editor of ace literary magazine The View From Here asking if I fancied a spot as a regular contributor. Obviously I said yes, and within minutes my profile was up there on their website, alongside fab writers like Claire King and Elizabeth Baines, literary agents Simon Trewin and Annette Green, and recent blog visitor / host Scott Pack, whose launch party I had a fab time at last night (buy his book, BTW – it’s triffic). Exalted company indeed.
Now I’ve got to think of something to write about that doesn’t involve self-promotion. Well, it’ll make a nice change, whatever it is.
Oct
6
Brighton FantasyCon
Filed Under Festivals and Conferences | 2 Comments
Just realised I haven’t said a thing about FantasyCon yet, so here’s a quick summary.
Bad things:
- Being inside at a convention at the seaside on the hottest October day since records began.
- Being allocated a bedroom in the basement with no windows but with a central light that glowed ominously throughout the night. Mrs P christened it the Pit of Despair. There’s probably a story there or at least a really bad review on TripAdvisor.
- Those sausages at breakfast. Whoa.
- A vague feeling that everyone else knew each other (a feeling that did seem to dissipate after an hour or two leaning against the bar, so it was probably just me).
- Seriously, those sausages.
Good things:
- Proxima being launched! Yay!
- Finally meeting Steve Haynes and the rest of the Proxima crew (Charles Christian, Rob Harkess and Niall Boyce) and their respective partners.
- Finally meeting Geoff Nelder as well as bumping into Adrian Chamberlin again. Also had brief chats with Simon Marshall-Jones and Andy Bigwood.
- Christopher Priest’s interview with Brian Alldis.
- Oh yes, meeting Christopher Priest (although his reaction when I asked him if “A Dream of Wessex” was likely to make it back into print was oddly non-committal).
- Mrs P, Son P and Daughter P gamely coming along to support the Embarrassing Family Member.
- Mrs P buying a celebratory supper for the four of us at Jamie’s Italian.
- Son P upholding the family name by partying until the early hours on Saturday night after I packed it in at 2AM.
I didn’t hang around for the prizegiving on Sunday, which is probably a good thing as there seems to have been some unpleasantness. I can’t really comment apart from saying that Sam Stone came along to the Proxima launch and therefore qualifies for Good Egg status.
Will I go again? Y’know, I think I might. Although I may well avoid the convention hotel next time.
Oct
4
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Booking has opened for Get Writing 2012, the one-day conference organised by the bestest writers’ circle in the world ever, the Verulam Writers’ Circle.
What’s so good about this? Well, there are loads of really interesting and informative panels and workshops, as well as the opportunity to spend 3 or 5 minutes pitching directly to a leading agent or editor. Not only that, but for a small additional fee you can have the chance of 10 minutes’ face time. How cool is that?
Not only that, but this year I’m going to be running one of the workshops. Ah, now that made your ears prick up, didn’t it? Mine is called “Weird and Wonderful” and it’s all about unlocking the hidden power of your imagination. I’m really looking forward to this – should be a lot of fun.
So what are you waiting for? Go on, here’s where you need to go.
Oct
3
Blog Tour Extra! Extra!
Filed Under Mrs Darcy | Leave a Comment
So the Never Ending Blog Tour™ finally reaches its conclusion, on Scott Pack’s blog. Scott should need no introduction from me here, if only because I interviewed him for his blog tour on Saturday. Although if you’re a writer and you haven’t heard of him yet, you probably haven’t been doing your homework.
As Scott has oodles of high-quality followers on Twitter, I thought it was probably a good opportunity to highlight my challenge to PD James. Indeed, as Scott himself tweeted:
It’s not every day that someone offers to fight PD James on my blog but it happened today.
Hmmm. I hope I’m not getting myself into trouble here. Still, at least I haven’t threatened to blow up an airport or invite anyone to a riot.
In other news, there’s a nice new review of Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens on Amazon, courtesy of Kevin Bennett. He is, of course, absolutely spot on with his assessment.
And that’s about it for the blog tour. Hope you all enjoyed it. I certainly have, although I must admit I’d underestimated how much work would be involved in visiting 30 different blogs in just over a month. Thank you so much to everyone who allowed me into their online homes – it really was most appreciated. And I’ve actually got a whole load of other stuff to talk about, but it will have to wait for another time.
Oct
2
Blog Tour Extra!
Filed Under Interviews, Mrs Darcy | 2 Comments
A very quick post on my return from an exhausting but entertaining FantasyCon to link to a couple of blog tour extras. First of all, this comprehensive and rather splendid feature by Sandra Norval appeared on the Fantasy Faction site on Friday.
And secondly, I made an appearance on the awesomely talented Sarah Salway’s blog on Saturday. Sarah is a wonderful writer and I have her to blame for me accidentally going all the way to Reading instead of Paddington on my way back from a Firestation Bookswap once because I was so totally absorbed in reading her fabulous book of short stories, “Leading the Dance” (which, incidentally, is now available again, so you have no excuse any more for not possessing a copy).
And that picture is of the shop window of Waterstone’s in Brighton. Many thanks to the lovely Sara Crowley for making it happen.
Oct
1
I’ve spent the last month as a virtual hobo, living out of a suitcase as I’ve travelled the interweb touting my wares (and in fact I’m still on the road as I write). However, it’s time to offer my premises to another lonely author pounding the mean streets of promo: Steve Stack.
Steve has just brought out his second non-fiction book, “21st Century Dodos”, and I have to say that from what I’ve read of it so far it is pretty ace – an excellent choice for your loved one’s Christmas stocking, and certainly a damn sight better than that sodding meerkat book that a well-meaning associate of mine gave me last year. What’s it about, I here you ask? Well, it’s a celebration of all those inanimate objects that were once commonplace but which have either already become extinct or are threatened with extinction – to quote from the blurb:
Cassette tapes, rotary dial phones, half-day closing, milk bottle deliveries, typewriters, countries that no longer exist, white dog poo…
Now before I go any further, I should point out that Steve is actually the alter ego of publishing industry maverick Scott Pack, who runs The Friday Project as well as doing all sorts of other stuff for TFP’s parent Harper Collins. He’s also one of the duo behind the Firestation Book Swap (yeah, sorry about that) and an entertaining tweeter.
So whilst this purports to be an interview with Steve, some of it inevitably strays into Scott territory…
Which of the dodos in your book are you saddest to have seen go?
Well, I was a bit pissed off when Nestles (I insist upon the old pronunciation of ‘nessles’ rather than ‘nesslay’) stopped making the Maverick bar. And I think the death of the cardboard tube for Smarties was a low point on British confectionery. But I’ll nominate handwritten letters as the one I am most sad about. They haven’t died out completely but they are certainly endangered.
Which objects are still around that you wish had become extinct?
Jars of Marmite. The squat little yeasty fuckers.
Are there any objects that are still around whose continued survival you find completely baffling?
Those low-slung jeans that young men seem to be wearing. I saw a pair last week with clear daylight between crotch and jean.
I’m interested as to why you chose to issue this book in hardback and e-book formats. Do you see paperbacks as becoming extinct sooner than hardbacks?
An excellent question, but if I am to answer it honestly then I need to be quite dull. We see it as a potential Christmas gift book and that little B-format jacketed hardback for a tenner is the perfect stocking filler.
As a publisher, do you see yourself threatened with a disintermediated extinction?
I think publishers have to prove that they bring something of value to the party if they expect to still be around in ten years’ time. But then so do agents. And booksellers. How depressing is that?
On a scale of 1 to 10, please rate the ugliness of the term “disintermediation”.
7.2
Does your decision to become a serial author indicate a desire to have a secondary career in reserve if/when such a disintermediation occurs?
It indicates a desire for some spare cash with which to purchase cake.
For some time you kept your identity as a writer secret. Do you have any other secret lives? Are you, for example, one of The Residents? If not, who would you like to secretly be?
Yes, I am the one with the green eye. I am also Humphrey, Buzby and the Secret Lemonade Drinker.
What’s the audience question most often asked at a Firestation Book Swap and what would your answer be?
What is your favourite cheese? And the answer is a cheese called Rachel.
Finally, if you had a pet dodo, what would you call it?
Lulu.
Some good answers from Steve/Scott there, even if he is completely wrong about Marmite. I actually think we should all club together and buy loads and loads of copies of the book so that he can afford to set up some kind of Jurassic Park-style cloning facility on Mauritius just so he can recreate Lulu the dodo. So here’s where you need to go in order to purchase the hardback, or (if you really insist) the ebook. And many thanks to Scott/Steve for dropping in. Do keep following his tour: yesterday he was at Stephanie Butland’s Bah! To Cancer blog, and tomorrow he’s visiting Rena Rossner.