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Posts Tagged Fiction

Archive

October 8, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

RNZ Feature: Music-related novels

I’m usually on RNZ once a month to have a chat about some new albums. But the other day I got the call up to present a Music Feature for the Afternoons show. This topic was Music-related novels – books written about music and musicians that are not biographies, not non-fiction. We played some songs and talked about […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 2pm, Afternoons, Author, Feature, Fiction, Interview, Jesse Mulligan, Lyrics, Music, Music Feuds, Music-related novels, Novel, Novella, Poems, Poetry, Radio, RNZ, RNZ Feature, RNZ Feature: Music-related novels, Wallace Chapman, Whistling, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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October 24, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

Kirsten McDougall: Tess

Tess Kirsten McDougall VUP What I liked, a great deal, about Kirsten McDougall’s first book – The Invisible Rider (a set of connected short stories, not quite a novel, not just a novella…) was the way she painted the world. All at once daring but not flashy. Taking time to shape descriptions, allowing the world […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Book, Book Review, Fiction, Kirsten McDougall: Tess, Novel, Novella, Rain, Short Stories, Tess, The Changeover, The IInvisible Rider, Victoria University Press, VUP, Writer, Writing ·

Archive

April 3, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 156 Three Years of Weeks

156 divided by 52 equals 3 It’s the longest I’ve ever held a job I did have a week off when my computer went bung about six months ago Each week I seem to be able to come up with something or it presents itself But every now and then I’ll just want to throw […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 3, 3 Year Anniversary, 3rd Anniversary, Art, Autobiography, Column, Drawing, Facebook, Fiction, Guest Blog, Guest Post, Guitar, Jon Mcleary, Manslaughter, Music, Painting, Songwriting, Spines, The Ghost of Electricity, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 156, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 156 Three Years of Weeks, The Spines, Three, Three Years of Weeks, War Stories, War Stories # 156, Weekly, Wellington, Writing ·

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October 18, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

The Secret Behind Mr Dompling’s Secret: My First Music Book

Mr Dompling’s Secret was one of my favourite books when I was young. It told the story of a classical cellist, keen on Mozart. It had themes of overcoming fears, of being comfortable in your own skin – and of course there was music. Lots of music. It was my introduction to classical music – […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Archives, Blog, Blog Archives, Blog On The Tracks, Book, Children's Book, Classical Music, Diana Robinson, Didy, Fiction, History, Katy, Kids Book, Memory, Mozart, Mr Dompling, Mr Dompling's Secret, Music, Music Book, My First Music Book, Piano, Robbie, Robby, Signed Book, Story, The secret behind Mr Dompling's Secret, The secret behind Mr Dompling's Secret: My First Music Book, Violin, Writing ·

Archive

October 12, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

Bill Direen: Enclosures 2

Enclosures 2 Bill Direen Percutio Bill Direen’s latest “novel” is another excursion through cross-genre literary wanderings. Here in fact is not one novel but separate instances of poetry, stories, journal entries and narrative fiction combined under the pages of a single volume. It’s a website-approach to print and publishing, the banner being the theme – […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Bill Direen, Book, Book Review, Enclosures, Enclosures 2, Experimental, Fiction, Journal, Jules, Kiwi, NZ, Poems, Poetry, Stories, Travel, William Direen ·

Archive

July 17, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

Miles Ahead: Film

Miles Ahead Director: Don Cheadle Bifrost Pictures/Miles Davis Properties, LLC/Sony Pictures Classics In a boldly absurd almost blindly idiotic move Don Cheadle decides to simply invent a story for his Miles Davis impersonation. Here we have Cheadle as a more than passable Miles (not as great as some would tell you, but certainly as decent […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Biopic, Don Cheadle, Ewan McGr, Fiction, Film, Film Review, Impressionistic, Jazz, Miles Ahead, Miles Davis, Movie, Movie Review, Sony, Trumpet ·

Archive

June 20, 2016 by Simon Sweetman

Writers on Mondays: July-September 2016

Once again the popular Writers on Mondays sessions by Victoria Univeristy’s International Institute of Modern Letters will take place at Wellington’s Te Papa Museum (Level 4, Te Marae) from 12.15-1.15pm on Mondays from July 11 to September 26. The sessions are free and will feature writers in conversation discussing upcoming and already published works. It’s […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 2016), Anne Kennedy, Ashleigh Young, August, Bill Nelson, Briar Grace-Smith, Can You Tolerate This?, Chris Price, Circa Theatre, Claire Orchard, Creative NZ, Creative Writing, Criticism, Drama, Essays, Fiction, Free, Hera Lindsay Bird, http://www.victoria.ac.nz/modernletters/about/events/writers-mondays, In Converastion, International Institute of Modern Letters, John Newton, July, Kirsten McDougall, Lunchtime, Lynley Edmeades, Monday, Mondays, Non-FIction, Patricia Grace, Pip Adam, Poetry, Poetry Day, PR, Press Release, Promo, September, Te Marae, Te Papa, Victoria University of Wellington, VUW, Writer Session, Writer-In-Residence, Writers, Writers on Mondays, Writers on Mondays: July-September 2016, Writing ·

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May 8, 2015 by Simon Sweetman

Haruki Murakami: The Strange Library

The Strange Library Haruki Murakami Knopf Originally published in Japan in 2008 here we have the first English translation of Murakami’s novella. The Strange Library has been translated from Japanese by Ted Goossen and is supported by wonderful illustrations and design of Chip Kidd, but the real magic is in this creepy, intriguing tale – […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged Book, Book Review, Chip Kidd, English, Fiction, Haruki Murakami, Japan, Japanese, Kafka, Neil Gaiman, Novella, Ted Goossen, The Strange Library, Translation, Writing ·

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September 17, 2014 by Simon Sweetman

Authors I Admire: #8 Tom Robbins

“’Magnificent!’ exclaimed John Paul Ziller, pronouncing the word like he was a Kansas City intellectual describing the Louvre to his sister-in-law who’d called to tell him to bring his vacation slides over some other night because she’d burned the spaghetti sauce and the baby had colic”. You can’t always be sure if Tom Robbins is […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Another Roadside Attraction, Author, Authors I Admire, Authors I Admire # 8, Authors I Admire: # 8 Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, Fiction, Humour, Kinky Friedman, Kurt Vonnegut, Non-FIction, Phantom Billstickers, PJ O'Rourke, Richard Brautigan, Still Life With Woodpecker, Tom Robbins, Woody Allen, Writing ·

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September 9, 2014 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: Flatmate (Pts. 1-12)

I. He wasn’t all that smart. But – kinda naturally enough when you think about it – he didn’t actually know that. Probably he thought he actually was quite smart. But let me tell you now (which is what I’m doing) he wasn’t. He was kinda thick. Kinda pig-shit thick. But it could be funny. […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Fiction, Flatmate, Flatmate (Pts. 1-12), Short Story, The Whole Story ·

Archive

June 29, 2014 by Simon Sweetman

Dave Eggers: Your Fathers, Where Are They? And The Prophets, Do They Live Forever?

Your Fathers, Where Are They? And The Prophets, Do They Live Forever? Dave Eggers Knopf; Penguin Dave Eggers has released three novels in less than two years, he’s always seemed prolific but it’s foot-firmly-on-the-gas for the writer right now; he’s never seemed so inspired. In fact, his latest, Your Fathers, Where Are They? And The […]
Posted in Blog, Reviews · Tagged A Hologram For The King, Book Review, Dave Eggers, Do They Live Forever?, Fiction, Knopf, McSweeney's, Penguin, The Circle, Where Are They? And The Prophets, Your Fathers ·

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December 2, 2013 by Simon Sweetman

Short Story: Conceiving Michelle

Johnny was stoked. This latest girl – he said latest, but all concerned knew he meant ‘first’ – was entirely the one for him. Beautifully buxom and buxomly beautiful; she was clever in ways that couldn’t be measured through classroom attendance and her fond appreciation of classic rock music spoke in high decibel volumes. Thanks […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Conceiving Michelle, Fiction, Short Story, Story ·
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