Martin Jones

The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes – A Dedicated Follower of Fashion The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes is a 2019 history of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century period in France, known as the Belle Epoch. It features a huge cast of characters, all arra…

We all have to go to the doctor at some point. So, Julian Barnes has the great idea of building his history of the Belle Epoque around a surgeon who seems to meet just about everybody. And fancy clothes are involved too. The doctor will see you now.

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Red phone box next to Ziggy Stardust face makeup mural.

The phone box in Haddon Street, London, where Ziggy Stardust tried to call home. I visited to read a short section from my story Record Man…https://youtu.be/2uRppSsQPJA?si=e-NyeV24Vd2CYq0Z

On Monday I have been invited to take the books to Ladies’ Night at the Chequers, Laddingford. Does this mean I’m a kind of literary Chippendale? 6.30pm - 9pm, free canapés, a warm welcome from Tracey and Charles, Christmas shopping opportunities, and the chiselled good looks of my book covers. 🍷

Recent writer scams - two emails from the supposed leaders of enormous book clubs who think my books are the work of genius and want to share with their readers - the payment comes later. You have to pay to be a genius it seems.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: Re-reading In My Sixties The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel about a mysterious portrait of a young man, where the painted figure ages, while the youth himself lives on unblemished. I first read The Pict…

Re-reading The Picture of Dorian Gray in my sixties. How did that go for me?
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Milton Keynes Indie Book Fair. For the first time as an author I have a lanyard 📕

Celebrity endorsement - the Uckfield Town Crier reading Secret Street…

My experience as a ‘street stationer” in Uckfield High Street…

I’ll be at Milton Keynes Literary Festival on Saturday 25th October. The festival sent me this publicity picture. I am rather pleased to see it makes me look like the star of the show. Not entirely true, but very nice nevertheless. 📖

Thank you for sharing, Phil. I really appreciate it.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FTM9DT7K

My new book of nine short stories, originally written for competitions, one of which I managed to win!

The cats of Upnor in Kent. They’re like welcoming tour guides.

I’ll have a listen this evening

Dr No by Percival Everett – A Book About Nothing Dr No is a 2022 novel by Percival Everett. It’s about a maths professor Wala Kitu who studies nothing, as in the concept of nothing. A super villain in the James Bond manner tries to recruit Wala t…

Who’d have thought it? A very interesting book about nothing. Dr No by Percival Everett.
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Secret Street on The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells - reading a scene in the setting that inspired it.

Ubik by Philip K. Dick – Update Your Antivirus Ubik by Philip K.Dick is a science fiction story, published in 1969, now considered a classic. It appears on Times Magazine’s list of best novels since 1923. The book imagines a version of 1993 whe…

Classic sci-fi from the 1960s, which you could say is about antivirus software, and extremely effective hairspray.

martinjoneswriter.com/2025/03/24/u...

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon – Voting by Post Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, published in 1966, is about conspiracy. While the internet has become a Petri dish for conspiracy, people have long been attracted to the apparent presence of…

Predicting a conspiracy involving the postal service…

martinjoneswriter.com/2025/03/15/t...

Greek Lessons by Han Kang – Learning a Language Greek Lessons is a novel by the Korean author Han Kang, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature. It’s about a woman who can’t speak, developing a relationship with the tutor of her Ancient Gree…

Do I read a novel to goof off or to get it together? Discuss.

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Film posters on hotel wall.

Delighted that there were Rocky Horror Picture Show questions on University Challenge last night. But dammit Janet, I only got two out of three right. Picture from Oakley Court Hotel where some of the interior scenes were filmed.

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles – Going, Going, Nowhere Paul Bowles’ The Sheltering Sky is about a wealthy American couple, Port and Kit Moresby, travelling in Africa soon after World War Two. In a snobby sort of way, Port considers himself a traveller …

My commute to work, a poster in the window of Nationwide Building Society and The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. How does that all work together?

martinjoneswriter.com/2025/03/02/t...

Thanks for the comment! Against the speed dating advice, I did talk about myself and my work, but I think it well. Chatted to a few other writers in the bar afterwards.

🎤 Later today I’ll be doing my three minute book pitch on stage at the Alexander Centre, Faversham. Literary talk? Comedy club skit? Open mic night sing-song? We shall see. Sold out I’m afraid 🎤

I’ll be at the Faversham Literary Festival Local Writers’ Showcase this weekend. Each writer has three minutes to make a pitch. It’s like literary speed dating. I looked up speed dating tips. 1: Don’t talk about your work. 2: Don’t talk about yourself too much. Both tricky given the circumstances. 📚

I can do cats, but not at this level.

Black and white cat sitting on cyclist’s lap.

I hear this is a place for cats. I can do cats. Here is a very affectionate example, who for some reason came to see me in Upnor during a recent bike ride.

Must write about cats.

Thanks for the introduction, Phil. I appreciate that.

Thank you so much for the welcome, Joanne.

The Proof Of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe – White Doves and Pigeons The Proof Of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe, is a kind of self-referencing, meta-fictional (whatever the right term is) account of a group of 1980s Cambridge graduates, some of whom get involved in e…

Jonathan Coe’s new novel, The Proof Of My Innocence, manages to pack 368 entertaining and interesting pages into the length of the Liz Truss premiership.

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You just beat someone called EmpressSharon, but I don’t think she has any interest in 10% off my books.