Summer finds me still (A) Pitching a 60,000w Bob Dylan book; (B) Waiting to hear from an Agent about my Memoir; (C) Being asked about a Bob Dylan podcast; (D) Looking into an online folk magazine… So busy, but not… paid busy. But I keep writing.

Our monthly SE London Local Authors Group are a welcome reminder that it's not just me who faces these problems. It just would be nice to get something commissioned, though this week the Oxford Dictionary Of National Biography have been in touch with those who have gone during 2023/24.

Still finding my way round Substack, which allows me, in the words of Robert Plant to 'Ramble On'. Among topics to be included are my first exposure to the Grateful Dead and the new Nick Drake box set.

You should notice a new heading… 'Media' deals with some of my radio and TV appearances over the years. The subjects are usually Bob Dylan or Nick Drake. I find it extraordinary that there is no audio whatsoever of George Orwell speaking, so in the unlikely event that you are curious to hear how I sound, just click on.

I realise that to continue to get published I need an Agent. I have a 100,000w memoir of my life as a cancer survivor and going on to a career as a music journalist and broadcaster (interviewing 3 surviving Beatles, Springsteen, Lou Reed…) and bumping into Muhammad Ali, Harold Wilson and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Also contains reflections on architecture, logistics and watches. Any suggestions? And in 2025, all best to struggling authors - are there any other kind?

I carry on writing and was delighted to see a glowing review of my latest book in my local paper the South London Press - "extremely hard to put down", so thank you Pauline Atkins

With The Beatles is still available, 69% 5* reviews on Amazon. It is based on my interviews with Paul, George and Ringo, as well as looking at how the Beatle brand has developed since the group split in 1970. It is also the first full-length biography in nearly 20 years. So that’s everything from Liverpool in 1940 to their 2023 No.1 single.

If you go to the publishers website
‍
https://www.gnbooks.co.uk/product/with-the-beatles/

You can get a unique signed bookplate with each copy, every one with a Beatles lyric or song title…
Makes for an ideal  gift in the 60th anniversary year of Help!, Rubber Soul and Beatle MBEs. ‍.

Plenty of new old features have been added to my Archive section.

I have just joined Rocks Back Pages, so if you're a member you can see further examples of my work on New Musical Express and Melody Maker.