i've been terrible at posting. been very, very busy. day job has been mad - the busiest we've ever been. And renovating my house has been worse. never believe it will be easy. will explain at another time.

meanwhile I've decided to move my blogging activities to

http://www.myspace.com/neilgriffiths

a few things

Daily Telegraph

'dramatic, dark, powerfully written story...'

My best friend has just had an emergency appendectomy...

I've never been busy at work

had idea for stage play which really excites me

new ambition: a short story in New Yorker

never renovate a house - it's a world of pain, especially when pulling down supporting walls

the booker shortlist this year really doesn't do much for me.

sup to your heart's content

Some people have asked that I post up the cocktails specially created for my book launch. Here they are - enjoy but beware...

Bacchus -
(25ml)Gin, (10ml)Campari, (10ml)Valpollicella & (10ml)Apricot Liqueur stirred with (25ml)Apple Juice & a touch of sugar. Garnished with a sunken Red Grape & served in a Martini glass.
This drink was designed to work with the subtle flavours typical to the Italian palate, & appear as the saucer of wine in Carravaggio's 'Bacchus'

Salomé -
(25ml) Ketel Citron, (12.5ml)Lemon Juice, (12.5ml)Cranberry Juice, Sugar & (5ml) Absinthe, all shaken together & served long topped with Prosecco & a white grape fan.
Designed to represent the Biblical Femme Fatale -Layers of Flavours veiled then unmasked to reveal the deadly allure of Absinthe. Keeping the italian wines theme with the prosecco top, this drink is beautiful - & deadly!

Recovering from Launch. It went very well. Made short speech, doing the thank you bit. Then read a couple of pages. Not sure I chose very well - I went with something violent and poetic. But I think the violence was stronger than the poetry (or at least seemed that way in the 'reading in public' environement', and so might have given wrong impression. The novel, despite being a thriller, is quite contemplative - it's an existential novel.
Toby Litt turned up - a very fine writer, and it seems a very fine gentleman. That was nice. The cocktails were a success - 100 going in under an hour! I had three and feel slightly worse for wear today.

Now it's review time!

Saving Caravaggio published today

Yippee.

Launch tonight...

Will report on that tomorrow...

Book Launch

last night I went down to Doon, the bar where my launch is being held, to sample the two cocktails that Jim, the bar manager, has specially created: the Salome, the Bacchus. They are quite something. I will post up recipes when I get them so you can try them at home, but suffice to say they are both very Italian, decadent, alcoholic, lethal. Everyone coming to the launch gets one of each - it will be enough. Those who opt for a third won't be going to work the following day. I had half of each yesterday and felt I'd been given crack cocaine about half an hour later. The drinking experience was sublime, however. I only hope I can make my short speech, read a little from the book after drinking one...

publication approaches

very exciting. hoping for wide review coverage. hoping they will be good. I was fairly certain last novel would get good reviews, and it did. this one is more problematic. it's a better novel, but there is more subversion, and that's something which might be taken against.

In other areas of my life things have never been busier - work is mad, with jobs for all the major broadcaster (as audience researcher); just moved out of house this weekend to let builders deconstruct it for 10 weeks; need to prepare 2/3 ideas for next round of radio offers; may well have comedy pilot to write...

am exhausted; not seeing enough of my children; broke (renovations gone up 30%)

mood, however, fairly chipper.

noticed today, an old acquaintence has new novel out - took him 12 years. Lost touch about 10 years ago. didn't know him well. But 12 years. It's very long. It's called The Religion, and it's by Tim Willocks. He once told me pretty sordid story about his time with Madonna. (they dated for about a month.)