Author’s full of praise for bookshop support
A RECENTLY-published East Garston author has praised the support he has received from Emma and Alex Milne-White at his local award-winning Hungerford Bookshop.
Brian Quinn has penned Unaccustomed As I Am – a collection of witty short stories originally written for online newsletter Penny Post.
He said: “Without having a wellrespected local retailer, though whom copies can also be ordered online, things would have been much more difficult.”
And the new book has been endorsed by comedian, actor and broadcaster Stephen Fry, who wrote on the cover: “What a truly delightful collection.
“There is such pleasure in being in Brian Quinn’s company as he ranges thoughtfully, insightfully and often comically over subjects major and minor, from vivid childhood memories and pitch-perfect parodies of Hemingway and Shakespeare to short stories of real punch and power.”
Mr Quinn, who co-produces Penny Post with his wife Penny Locke, said: “Most of the 26 stories in this book have been written in the last year or so for Penny Post.
“They’re either fiction, parodies of other writers – including Shakespeare and Hunter S Thompson – or tales of disaster, embarrassment or personal mishap that I either witnessed or, in most cases, was complicit in.
“We’ve been thinking of doing a book for some time, but lockdown provided an opportunity for getting this done.”
“I was also very glad to have been able to get local artist Christopher Turner to draw the cover illustration, my friend Oliver Keen from London to help design the cover and provide advice about the page layout and Stephen Fry to write some very kind words for the cover after having read a proof copy.”
Mr Quinn compared the different approach required to his work on the local newsletter, he said: “With the journalistic side one has to be aware of the facts and the background and present these in an accurate and objective way, even though I sometimes add my own personal opinion.
“With fiction, parodies or reminiscences, though, there’s much more freedom and I can write about anything that takes my fancy.
“The biggest difference is that journalism is often reporting things that are ongoing and so where the ending is uncertain.
“With the things I write for myself, however, I always start with deciding what the ending is going to be.
“That way everything, including any diversions I might take, leads up to this moment.
“After all, if you don’t know where you’re going it’s very hard to know when you’ve got there...”
Unaccustomed As I Am by Brian Quinn (RRP £9.95), ISBN 978-18382580-0-9, is published by and is available from the Hungerford Bookshop, over the counter or online.