anthonyburt

A Snowy Edinburgh Castle, Challenging Times, No More Collecting Big Names, The Wrap Blogs, America, Taking Writing Seriously in 2012 & Merry Christmas

2011-12-17T14:39:00.018Z

I haven't blogged for awhile because I've not had a particularly easy ride over the past few weeks. I don't like writing negative things per se on this blog, but I've always promised myself that I will write honestly about my feelings, situation and thoughts.

After mum came out of hospital, she got severe depression and it has been a difficult challenge (for her and me), on top of dealing with her cancer. She has admitted that she's found life very hard lately, albeit temporarily. I can understand this as having a near-death experience is bound to change everyone.

My mum and I have a "fiery" relationship at the best of times, but it's been very stressful being in Weymouth and living at her house at times. Compound this by the fact my brother has depression (although he seems a lot better recently) and my girlfriend, Amy, has depression too (and she's trying her best to overcome hers), I feel as if it's a miracle and a test of my mental strength that, yes, I have had bouts of feeling bad, but seem to be continually bouncing back and getting on with things.

Everyone goes through hard and challenging times in their lives - and I've certainly been through my own - but I'm absolutely determined to make 2012 a far more positive, productive, peaceful and happier year.

I may not have any freelance work at all right now, but I think this has a lot to do with the fact I have "collected" work for big name organisation for my CV in 2011. I've been lucky to write and work for Disney, BBC, Doctor Who Adventures, Nickelodeon, Paramount Entertainment, London Zoo, Hollywood's The Wrap and the Roald Dahl Museum. All huge names in entertainment. All names most people would love working a life-time for.

Except, of course, I'm not most people.

I've started to think: Anthony, why are you collecting all these big names?

What is my motivation behind it? Is it credibility in my career - to show everyone that, yes, I AM good at what I do because look, look, look I've worked for these people, and these, and these...oh, and don't forget these! Or is it that I'm trying to persuade myself that I'm good at what I do - writing for children - by tagging myself onto organisations that already do this?

Perhaps a little of both, but probably more of the latter.

And so what that comes down is two things: 1) I've been having an extended period of a crisis of confidence in my own abilities and that 2) I need to remember that I am a unique, quirky, creative and talented individual and really don't need an organisation to work in to define my ability or identity.

In fact, I think working for "big names" has been a rather large distraction away from my own truth, my own path, my own projects. This may seem strange - especially as working for places such as the BBC and the Roald Dahl Museum is an honour, a confidence boost and a clear legitimisation of my abilities and I'm not belittling how fantastic it was working for them - but doing this work has meant my own bubbling creativity, my own stories, books and determination to be an author in my own right has - once again - been put on the back burner.

Damn, I'm too good at procrastination! And that isn't good.

Writers learn and become better from experiencing the world, and so my wonderful times working for the "big names" in 2011 has shaped me a little more (and I hope similar big names will assist me in the future when I need them to publish, film and create my work). But now, in 2012, it's time I took back control of my own writing again and focused, not on working for big names, but having a small job somewhere that gives me the time and energy to write my own work.

I know what I have to do to put myself in the best environment to write productively. It's taken a lot of upheaval and bad experiences to discover this over the past four years, but I know what I need and I actually managed to "experiment" with it being right for a short time when I lived in Chippenham.

I need a little house, a writing space, a part-time job, friends, a non-pressured relationship and plenty of time to feel less pressured about many other things.

Talking of girls, Amy and I went on a lovely weekend away to Edinburgh, Scotland a few weeks ago. We booked it very last minute - to take us both away from recent problems - and it was the first time I've been to Edinburgh in winter time, when the arts and book festivals aren't on.

I'm pleased to report, the city was equally as vibrant as it is in the summer. It snowed, creating a gorgeous winter wonderland, there were Christmas fayres off Princes Street and the castle was a stunning picture of white lights, white snow and old bricks towering over the town.

Amy and I had a great cup of tea (and the best flapjack in the world) at The Elephant House cafe, where J K Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books, we did lots of charity shopping, ate too much and went on a bus tour to St Andrews and a few fishing villages in Fife. We also discovered a fantastic little independent children's book store called The Old Children's Bookshelf. On Canongate, near the city's Old Town, it had loads of old-fashioned collector's items.

In the past few weeks, I've published another two specialist film blogs on Hollywood news website The Wrap. You can find them here:

Creative England Chief: Hard Times Ahead for UK Entertainment Industry

In 2012 Dark Fantasy, Fables And Fairytales Will Lift Our Spirits

And, I've had several more ideas for children's picture books too which I hope to find the time and space to write in the first few weeks of the New Year.

I'm pleased that I've booked my flights to America in February and March (for almost three weeks). I'm looking forward to going to my lovely good friend Charla's wedding and seeing all my amazing friends in both Northern California and Los Angeles again. Absolutely can't wait...!

So, here's to a fabulously, far more positive and magical 2012. I hope you can put any of your troubles behind you too, that you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Wink.

Mum out of Hospital, Cancer, London Zoo Storytelling, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Future Plans Paused & Back to Book Writing

2011-11-14T20:23:00.001Z

After a mammoth 10 weeks at Southampton General Hospital, my mum is finally back home in Weymouth, Dorset this week. She's been incredibly ill and was only, two weeks ago, diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer. But she is now a lot better and well enough to be home.

I purposefully haven't looked up anything on the internet about the cancer she has as I don't want to know but, from what I gather from doctors, her type is not operable. However, the surgeons have been amazing (the Southampton hospital staff are all great, they deserve a big shiny medal) and they've done some clever jiggery-pokery which means she can come out, live normally and have other treatment, such as chemotherapy, to slow the cancer down.

It's been a massive, soul-shattering shock to me and the rest of the family that mum has cancer but, after feeling very upset for her, I've now realised sympathy only goes so far. The only way to approach it - as far as I'm concerned - is with positive thinking. And have faith in the the fact modern medicine is very clever.

As mum seems to be taking the attitude of wanting to fight it and get on with life, she even said "everything will be fine" when she got home, then I see no reason why she can't live as long as she would have anyway. No doctor has said otherwise, and so I'm going on that basis.

That's my way of dealing with it because this moment in life, during mum's illness, has meant I've looked at my own priorities and thought about my future plans. It has felt a little like my own life has been "on hold" for some time now (10 weeks), whilst waiting to see the outcome of mum's treatment. It's as if, when you're in amongst the issue, as I am right now living temporarily back in Weymouth, it's very hard to pull yourself out of it and get on with things. As I'm sure anyone with a sick relative will agree.

I want to support my mum as much as I can over the coming months but I also need to deal with things that have happened (such as holding her hand and watching her almost die several times in intensive care) and also deal with getting my own life back on track.

In amongst driving up and down to Southampton hospital, I've managed several bouts of freelance work. The first, several weeks ago, was an enjoyable day in London acting as an entertainment journalist for movie studio Paramount Entertainment. I met up with the fabulous, lovely and very funny cast of hit Nickelodeon show, Victorious.

If you haven't seen the series, it's remarkably well-written, snappy and hilariously acted. It's about a girl called Tori Vega who "accidentally" joins a talent school in Los Angeles called Hollywood Arts High School. Her and her quirky friends learn confidence in their talents, plus there's lots of light-hearted singing, dancing and relationship intertwinings.

One of the characters is Robbie and he, randomly, has a puppet called Rex (Robbie is played by the friggin' hilarious Matt Bennett) who gets the funniest lines. When I met the cast they were full of the happy, positive joys of people who live and work in California - it made me wish I was there again! But, as I can't be right now, it was a bonus to meet the cast, especially the stunning "mean girl" in the series, Jade. She's sarcastic, straight-talking and quick-witted in real-life, and in the show Jade is played by the very gifted singer (in the pic left), Elizabeth Gillies.

The week after that job, I visited the Big City once again (a lot of my work is coming from there right now and that's good) but went to the zoo this time.

I delivered my I n spiration Station storytelling training to the exhibition presenters - or "Explainers" as they call themselves - at London Zoo. We had a fun-packed day, full of confidence-building antics, exercises that took us back to our "inner child", played my special "Loud Cowboy/Cowgirl Game" and did some great performance-led storytelling. A big thanks to the lovely Laura at London Zoo for booking me and a session of The Inspiration Station.

As I had such great feedback about my training, I've now expanded The Inspiration Station with creative writing courses. So if you'd like to know more info about these then click on the link or send me an email at anthonyburt@hotmail.com

This week, too, I was asked by LA-based sci-fi writer Marc Scott Zicree (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Twilight Zone, He-Man, Sliders, Babylon 5 and in the pic left with Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron) if I wanted to set up and run a British version of what's called The Table. This is a special and very supportive group of writers, actors, producers and directors that I'm a member of in Hollywood. They meet every thursday in a secret location to discuss new projects and find magical, inventive ways to support each other; they are about helping one another make it in LA. I was lucky enough to be invited along to, and join, this group when I was in Hollywood last year and have been a member ever since.

Marc wants to expand the group into Europe and believes that, with my positive approach, creative nurturing and motivation skills, as well as my own recent industry success, that I'd be the perfect person to launch the group in the UK. I was honoured to be asked and will be considering how best to do this in the coming weeks.

Lastly, and quite surprisingly with all that's occurring right now, I've finally managed to pick up where I left off with my Young Adult sci-fi adventure book. It's been over three months since I stopped writing it - after moving out of my cottage in Chippenham - but it was effortless to get back into it. I've swung straight into the story again, and the characters, which is a sure sign that this is a good book and a story that is crying out to be told.

Hopefully one day I'll be able to share the published story with the world. But, for now, I'm 40,000 words in and plan to get the first draft finished before Christmas.

As always, I hope that your life is going well, that you're being creative, are following the path you want and are happy. Positive thinking people. Wink.

New Creative Writing Training

2011-11-07T20:03:00.002Z

Due to the continued success of my Inspiration Station storytelling training, I've just developed and launched a new set of creative writing sessions and mentorship schemes. They are fresh, quirky and inspirational approaches to getting your creative juices flowing.

So, if you're a writer just setting out, or someone who has done a first draft and needs a blast of new, passionate energy, then look no further than my new Inspiration Station website.

The site has all the info you need for writers' retreats, storytelling training and an intensive three-day writing course delivered by me. Go on, you know you want to take a look...click here!

Inspiration Station Training: Engage Audiences, Inspire Children & Adults, Be Approachable & Confident and How to tell amazing Stories

2011-10-25T13:55:00.007+01:00

If you, your writing group, museum, entertainment venue or other organisation regularly do storytelling events or festivals for children - and want your staff to be more confident, passionate and engaging about stories and performing them, about customer service, their creative activities, and their daily work - then my new training "The Inspiration Station" is exactly what you need.

The Inspiration Station is a one-day intensive course that looks at how a team can be amazing at inspiring children, how they can approach groups of kids and their parents confidently, how they can draw people in to their presentations and how they can ensure visitors always remember the day out they had with you.

I've delivered the Inspiration Station successfully to the Roald Dahl Museum, Whipsnade and London Zoos' education and exhibits teams and I'm getting new enquiries about it every week. As a children's writer (see my work here) I'm passionate about stories and educating young people, so am very happy this training is helpful to people.

So, why not take a 4-hour stop at the Inspiration Station. It's a special little place, full of magic, where everyone gets to learn:

• Personal confidence
• How to be an inspiration to children
• How to interact with, not just talk to children, i.e. a step up from just imparting knowledge
• Better storytelling abilities and techniques
• Ways to engage with a crowd of children and adults
• Tips on how to deal with “difficult” individuals in a group
• To be emotionally open when talking to people
• Effective body language
• How to get across their passion for stories and creativity
• Introducing themselves and getting messages across to adults/children without hard sell
• Theatrical voice delivery
• New ideas for workshops, children’s activities and presentations/exhibits

For a more detailed programme about the Inspiration Station's content, structure, delivery and costs, please call Anthony on 07870 631358 or email him at anthonyburt@hotmail.com

Mum in Intensive Care, Doctor Who Shenanigans at the BBC, Whipsnade Zoo Storytelling & Writing Short Stories

2011-10-12T11:23:00.009+01:00

In the past week my mum has become very seriously ill and was transferred from Dorchester Hospital in Dorset up to a specialist intensive care unit in Southampton. She has a number of things going wrong at the moment and, yesterday, went on to dialysis after kidney problems.

Arriving at the intensive care unit - and seeing her for the first time with all the tubes, machines, nurses and doctors surrounding her - made my heart collapse. I burst into tears and so did she; it's not good at all seeing your mum so ill in hospital because, of course, parents are meant to be invincible. And immortal. It's a shock to discover they can get sick too.

With this happening, my brain has moved into hyper-stressed mode where I seem to be now living on adrenalin. But, saying that, it's amazing how fast my mind has adjusted to cope with the constant worry. The minutae of life - eating, doing your washing, catching up on current affairs, working - seems so unimportant and trivial in the scheme of things right now. I'm trying to focus on the day to day and stay as positive as I can - I'm especially focusing on how hard the doctors and nurses at the Southampton GIC are clearly working to make mum better.

I feel as if I have temporarily moved to Southampton as I've been there so much in the past few days. And it's thanks to fantastic, lovely friends such as Nicky and Emily who have and are happily putting me up and listening to me talk about dealing with how ill mum is. I'm reminded again that you must always look after friends when they need you as they will do the same for you; they are the best.

And, of course, so are girlfriends. My wonderful girlfriend Amy has also been very supportive and understanding. She has given me many great hugs when I've needed them and talked to me about everything too. It feels as if we're being tested with being apart from one another amongst a stressful situation and that we're coping very well with it.

But before Southampton, and before mum got so ill, I did actually work up in London at the amazing, open-plan, creative hub that is the BBC Media Centre in White City for a couple of weeks. I was writing (and designing) pages for the pre-teen magazine Doctor Who Adventures with the team at BBC Worldwide. I got a chance to write comic strips, come up with exciting features, watch Doctor Who episodes over and over and met the lovely people who work on the magazine.

I lived in Ealing Broadway for a few weeks and had a great time. But with mum getting ill it feels like those weeks in London were a long time ago and part of a dream. I'm pretty sure they weren't a dream because I found an underground Tube Oyster Card in my pocket yesterday and it reminded me I had actually been in London. A bit like when Charlie finds half of his golden ticket after he comes out of the Chocolate Factory and realised he just had the adventure of his life.

Either way, it was great to have a taster of working inside the BBC, instead of externally as a freelancer writing scripts, and I'd happily do it again - either at the Doctor Who Adventures or in another TV production or writing role.

And, talking of writing: even though I still haven't been able to find the head space to continue with my children's sci-fi adventure book right now, I have written several short stories. They are quite freaky little stories and I'm pleased that the creative juices are still working enough to be writing ideas in between the pause of writing my novel and the stress right now.

And now let's go to the zoo.

After successfully doing my storytelling, business development and creative training - The Inspiration Station programme I've created - for all the Roald Dahl Museum a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be referred by the team there to the education department at Whipsnade Zoo in Buckinghamshire. I will now be delivering my specialist audience development training at Whipsnade Zoo to all the team who do the live performances (as they involve storytelling, crowd interaction and communication) that everyone who goes to the zoo enjoys as part of their day out.

I'm very much looking forward to doing the training - especially as I haven't been to the zoo for years (the last time was San Francisco Zoo which was a great day) - as, not only will it help me focus on the positive side of life (even though I always do anyway) with everything that's happening with my mum, but it is also a firm recognition that - with now delivering my Inspiration Station to two esteemed organisations - I should feel more confident about realising I'm very good at storytelling, writing and inspiring people to do their work better and with passion.

I hope whatever you're doing, you do it with passion. And I also hope, along with yourself, that all your friends and family are well. Stay good and be creative. If you'd like to book an Inspiration Station training session, or more information about it, just drop me a line at anthonyburt@hotmail.com. Wink.

A Step closer to Doctor Who, Phone-hacking, Double Weddings in USA, Funky Cacti, My Book Progress & Writing to Winston Churchill

2011-09-15T10:36:00.001+01:00

It's exciting times in Anthony's world because, after last month's Roald Dahl work, I've now been asked (after keeping on to the editor for months) to join the BBC Magazines team in London's Media City to write for the fantastic and fun children's title, Doctor Who Adventures.

Whohoo!

Yes, that's right, I'm going to be writing about Doctor Who...and getting paid for it! And, of course, it means my goal of eventually writing an episode of the brilliant TV show gets one step closer with this move as I'll be constantly in touch with the entire cast and crew. A slightly skewiff way of getting my foot in the Doctor's door (or Tardis), but that's what I always seem to do: take an unexpected route to success and the risk pays off.

I literally am so excited about the job, I can't wait to start. It does, of course, mean working in London again which I really never expected to do. Quite some time ago I worked as a reporter for Lord Heseltine's media company Haymarket Publishing writing features and news articles for weekly trade magazine Young People Now (which is now called Children & Young People Now). After leaving that job, I vowed never to work in London again. But, you know, I've grown up a lot since then and "never say never" is a very wise and true saying.

Admittedly, going from that political and influential title at Haymarket to Doctor Who at the Beeb is a massive change in direction for me: from serious to fun. But why not? I may have grown up in many ways, but in many others I really have not. Especially as far as my creative work is concerned. I'll be doing something related to children's writing, so it all fits wonderfully into my life-plan and dreams.

But, of course, I do still dabble in "serious" adult writing with my entertainment industry blog in Los Angeles at The Wrap magazine. My latest published piece is a new, slightly sarcastic take on the Murdoch phone-hacking scandal. Here it is:

Open Phone Hacking by News Corp. vs Secret Hacking by the CIA and MI5

And, talking of America, I'm also excited because I now have two major excuses to return to California early in the new year. My very good, supportive and amazing friend Charla is getting married to her boyfriend Travis in February on the same day as her brother is marrying his girlfriend. A very cool, and everso romantic, double-wedding will be happening and it will be a fantastic party too. I shall be booking my flights soon!

I'm hoping that northern America won't be my only travel adventure in 2012 either because I've just finished applying for a special one-off grant from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. The late, inspiring British war-time Prime Minister set up a brilliant legacy project before his death that gives UK residents an opportunity to fulfil a travelling dream: the organisation will pay for useful, beneficial and "out-there" trips abroad of upto 8 weeks in length if you apply. Find out more at the website here.

My trip idea is to visit Southern and Central America on a five-week journey to Chile, Peru and Mexico. I've called it "Collecting Stories: Not the End of the World" because the ancient 5126-year-old Mayan Calendar comes to an end on December 21st 2012. I've linked this fact in with me wishing to visit Mayan, Inca and Polynesian temples and ruins to hear interesting local stories and experience the culture. I'm hoping, as part of my trip, to go to Easter Island too. How amazing would that be?

An exciting idea, I'll find out by the end of November if Winston Churchill likes it enough to give me a fellowship grant. So stay tuned.

I've been having some great fun and days out with my lovely girlfriend Amy lately too. We recently went shopping in Cardiff and Newport, Wales and tea drinking in various locations such as Glastonbury, Weymouth and Bath. Amy came down to Weymouth for the town carnival and we had a great day out.

Last week, we went to a cute little shop in Larkhall in Bath and spent the afternoon painting our own porcelain mugs. I haven't painted anything since I was little and it was a fantastic creative experience. A week later, after they had been fired in the kiln, we got our finished mugs back. Amy's was beautiful, with subtle and colourful hearts. Mine is not subtle at all: it is a rough beach scene with the words "Make Tea Not War" on it and is splattered in blood. Nice.

And, thanks to a little present from Amy, I rediscovered my love for gardening recently too. Amy bought me a teacup-shaped plant pot and, after some creative buying, I turned it into a very cool mini-cacti garden.

The end product looks great, but it was more the act of gardening that reminded me of when I designed and grew my lovely garden in my house in Portsmouth. I spent many happy evenings out there. Gardening seems to be a stereotypical writer's hobby - but the reason why is simple: it's relaxing, peaceful, gives you time to think, it's exercise and the connection with nature definitely helps with creative and spiritual thoughts. I'm certainly looking forward to the day when I can have my own garden again...hopefully with a summer house at the end of it where I can write my books!

Talking of which, I have been paused on my children's sci-fi adventure book for some weeks now. I know where I'm going with it, but moving and other jobs have taken up my time. I hope to get back to it again in the next two weeks.

That's all for now folks. I hope your dreams are big, going well and that you're enjoying the fun side of life. Stay strong and happy. Wink.

Back at The Wrap as a Writer, Roald Dahl Inspiration Station training and Positive Shenanigans

2011-08-26T19:29:00.005+01:00

Having moved away from Chippenham just over a week ago, it seems that my life is already taking a positive turn. This is because, of course, when you take action to rectify a bad situation - when you put yourself out into the world and take a risk for your future - you get rewarded with good things.

Last week I delivered a fantastic day's training for all the Roald Dahl Museum staff in Buckinghamshire. Called The Inspiration Station, my training is a unique, energy-filled, confidence-boosting and positive day of storytelling, motivation and self-esteem raising exercises.

Aimed mostly at young people, The Inspiration Station involved sixteen fantastic people at the RD Museum role-playing, exploring ways to be inspiring (to themselves and other people, especially children and parents coming into the museum), playing my Loud Cowboy and Cowgirl game (you'll have to book some training if you want to find out more), audience engagement techniques and practicing different forms of performance and storytelling.

One of the best things about doing this training was getting back to supporting, guiding and helping young people. I'd almost forgotten how energising, how fulfilling and how simply positively-fantastic it is to be involved in the development of a group of young people.

I got lovely, overwhelmingly happy feedback from everyone who attended the training and I was so pleased it made a difference to them. I intend to sell the workshop to other organisations. If you're interested please drop me a line, asking for The Inspiration Station, at anthonyburt@hotmail.com

As well as this brilliant work, the editor of the Los Angeles-based, award-winning, CNN-affiliated entertainment industry news website The Wrap emailed me to ask me to resume my blog column on the site.

The observational, caustic, funny and all-British column I started writing back in April 2010 (but finished in December 2010 because other projects took over my time) was excellent exposure whilst I was in America. So, I could hardly refuse going back to The Wrap when the editor said "we miss your voice over here in LA, Anthony".

I love Americans so much!

Here's my first column: The Digital Revolution's 'Citizen Journalists' Are Ruining Our Film Experience

I've also, in the past week, applied for a very special storytelling job and begun writing two sample chapters for a major company that produces children's books through a team effort and vision with worldwide publishers such as Egmont, Macmillan, Harpercollins and Bloomsbury.

Because of all this work, and the moving house, I've taken a brief pause in writing my own sci-fi conspiracy book for Young Adults but I intend to resume it with a couple of weeks time when I've finished the other projects.

I'm feeling great and looking forward to events such as the Bath Children's Literature Festival in a few weeks; if you've never been then check it out - there are so many cool things to do.

Stay well, keep busy, be happy and sing in the shower every morning. I'll be back again soon. Wink.

Pride before a Fall, Eastbourne, Negative UK, Yes-ness & No-ness, Children's Book Update, Changes & Leaving my Cottage

2011-08-11T20:54:00.007+01:00

It seems that 2011 is turning out to be the year when I say "no!" to almost everything, whereas 2010 was when I said "yes!" to virtually everything. Yin and yang years, perhaps?

But whether this new-found "no-ness" is because I'm becoming more focused in what I do and do not want to do in my life, or because I'm a fussy so-and-so who just wants to write my children's books, I'm not sure.

What I do know, is that it's no coincidence the UK's currently rather negative, un-supportive, draining culture (made worse by its current Tory government and their approach to undermining the working class and state of the nation's happiness...see the Margaret Thatcher government of the 1970s/80s for details of how this will pan out) has lead to my current "no-ness". On the flipside, the far more upbeat, positive, flowing and creatively dream-enhancing American attitude to life lead to almost permanent "yes-ness" in 2010.

I'm successfully writing my new sci-fi adventure-conspiracy book (40,000 words now) at the moment and enjoying it a lot, but I seem to be getting tested in the rest of my life. It may be an important balance to life, but I'm not enjoying this yin and yang stuff.

For me and many others 2011 has been quite hard. Nationally we have rising poverty, morally corrupt bankers, phone-hacking scandals, riots and a government of Tories who would rather suppress and oppress than encourage and develop people's potential. It's definitely not an easy country to live in right now.

And I've been feeling this very directly myself too.

I've learnt in the past two weeks that, when I'm struggling to cope with things, I should ask people for help earlier than I do. I might like to think it's a good thing to be proud and try to deal with life when it's not going amazingly, but pride can also be a manufactured and obstructive emotion that leads to internalising issues, preventing action for no reason apart from "saving face"... and which then builds up stress. In other words, I now know what Pride Before a Fall means.

I don't like writing negative things on this blog, but the truth is I've only got a small amount of paid freelance work left in the next week and then there's nothing. It's got so bad that I can no longer afford to pay for my lovely cottage in Chippenham and I will shortly be moving out of it. After this, I will need to think of somewhere else to go that actually has paying jobs nearby. Preferably this would be Los Angeles or Santa Barbara, but these two places require a work visa and lots of money - both of which I don't have right now. So, I guess, I will temporarily have to settle for work somewhere in this Blasted Land called Blighty.

I do, of course, have several ideas of where I'd like to be and work in the UK - some very lovely places. But these are in the long-term pipeline. I need to move first, go back to Weymouth for awhile to work out what I want to do and then take action. I'm glad I tried out Bath and Chippenham, but they turned out not to be for me. If you don't try stuff out, how do you know if you like it or not, right?

This recent "badness" was off-set by a very relaxing, lovely weekend I had in the seaside town of Eastbourne. Amy and I went to stay in a B&B by the sea, meeting her sister Fay and her boyfriend and Amy's parents there too. We stopped off at a cowboy-themed pub on the way called The Smith Western (see what they did there), we did an open-top bus tour in the freezing wind and rain upto Beachy Head, went shopping, hung out at the lake in Hampden Park, drank many cups of tea and went for a fantastically posh gastro-pub meal at The Wingrove in a place near Eastbourne called Alfriston. Fun and frolics were had by all; something both Amy and I needed very badly.

And now, as I write this, I'm sitting in my rather chaotic cottage with half-packed boxes of my worldly goods surrounding me. A sight I have got VERY used to seeing in the last three years of my rather adventurous life. And off I go, again, on another one. Wherever that may lead me.

I hope your life, dreams and creative activities are all going well. If they're not, change them. Don't wait. Wink.

Don't Look Back (Too Much)

2011-07-25T11:16:00.002+01:00

"You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present."

~Jan Glidewell

Writer in Residence at Dartmoor Prison, thinking about The Future, Roald Dahl Staff Training & Children's Book Progress

2011-07-11T16:38:00.010+01:00

Last week I was called to Dartmoor prison. Not because I’d committed a heinous crime, but because I got an interview to be the notorious jail’s Writer in Residence for a year. Naturally, I was very excited to get an interview, and the thought of working somewhere so different, so challenging, so unique was something that made me eye-wateringly curious.

So I set about planning a creative vision for the prison, writing workshops and coming up with a new set of processes on how I’d make the residency work for Dartmoor and the inmates who wanted to use their sentence in a semi-useful fashion by expressing themselves creatively (whether it be autobiographical thoughts about their crimes or genuine fiction, it didn’t matter to me).

At the same time, my active writer’s imagination headed out on its own romantic path. I began seeing how spooky and darkly creative it would be to live and work on the moors, how rewarding it would be to help prisoners do a form of therapy using my writing skills, and what an amazing change it will be to move to somewhere remote again, like northern California (just without the sun, gorgeous ocean views, happy people, friends and wonderful food...er...).

So I built it up to be a fantastic opportunity and a job I simply had to get.

I drove down there, over sunny and wonderful rolling moor hills. I passed baby horses, sheep and cows grazing openly next to the road, staying in a lovely B&B called Pixeycombe and went for a drink at the Royal Oak Inn in a small village called Meavy (the same pub that film-maker Steven Spielberg drank and ate in whilst filming his new movie War Horse).

Amy and I had talked the night before about us potentially moving down to Dartmoor together if I got the job. She was up for it.

All was positive.

Then I got to Her Majesty’s Prison, Dartmoor.

It was raining and foggy by then and the town Dartmoor prison is in – Princetown – looked like a misty hell of downtrodden buildings and abandoned cafes; somewhere only the crazy or depressed would choose to live. And, rising above the town like a dark monolith of 200-year-old stone was the prison. Its reputation slams you in the face at the sight of it. It looks like the sort of place condemned men should go.

Before my interview I went for a tour inside the prison which, admittedly, was quite scary.

The prison regime doesn’t really want you to know this, but there are over 200 sex offenders and a further 450 other criminals (burglars, thieves, murderers, fraudsters etc) residing within the rotten and rusty walls of this Grade II Listed Building. And, at the moment, the prison’s roof is leaking so badly that they have inmates up on it – on scaffolding about ten storeys high – attempting to mend it.

Amongst the high walls and massive gates is a tiny “education” building where most of the training, rehabilitation and workshops occur (unless, of course, you’re a convicted sex offender and then you get your own private and separate training area in case you get beaten up or killed by other inmates).

I waited around five hours in the staff room for my interview, which was a good insight into the work they do at the prison. It especially opened my eyes to several of the staff members – all of whom had clearly worked there way too long – who gave off a jaded, negative and thankless picture of working in the prison. One staff member in particular – and she knows who she is because she was looking at the prison magazine Tor Views when she spoke to me – was incredibly homophobic; her views were more appropriate for medieval times, definitely not the views of someone allegedly mentoring and rehabilitating prisoners, and it immediately started me thinking: do I really want to work here?

The interview itself went very well. So well, I got the job.

But I turned it down.

Even though it would have clearly been an interesting experience, and I would have seen a world not many people get to see, I took the decision not to take the role for several reasons:

1) The staff culture was clearly downtrodden, negative and it would have been like smacking my head against a brick wall to work with (I since discovered several members of staff working there went for the Writer in Residence job but didn’t get an interview, so there was – I’m speculating – some blatant jealousy and sabotaging going on in the staff room towards the candidates waiting for their interviews).

2) I felt the distinct possibility the residency could have made me stressed and depressed after just a few weeks. When I was working for the police I wasn’t a particularly calm or nice person to be around and I felt that Dartmoor prison had the potential to send me down a similar route. And this, quite simply, is VERY far from who I am now.

3) I was told in the interview the majority of the inmates who join the writing courses are the sex offenders (barristers, teachers, vicars, nursery workers who are all in here for doing bad things to children). Although initially I thought this wouldn’t bother me, I started to feel differently when I left the prison. Aside from the fact I might have wanted to ram their writing pens up their nostrils, hard, for being disgusting paedophiles, I was considering my future here too. I want to be a children’s author full-time at some point and I thought: how bad will it look if I’ve sought out work that involves helping paedophiles do creative writing? Very bad, was my conclusion. I’m not usually this “image conscious”, but my sensible side (I do have one sometimes) won out.

4) There was a strong possibility that doing this residency was an inner need of my own to be professionally recognised as a “writer”. Even though I know I am one, I still get regular insecurities where this is concerned, especially whilst I am still working towards the goal of being a full-time children’s author. So, therefore, taking such a residency – just because it had the word “writer” in the title and was a little interesting – would have taken me backwards instead of forwards in my goal because I would have spent an inordinate amount of time supporting other writers rather than focusing on doing my own. Classic writer procrastination on a massive scale. And, besides, my being offered the job as Writer in Residence is enough reassurance and recognition that I’m good enough to be a real writer every day of the week.

What I learnt, mainly, from this experience are two things: firstly, check whether you really want a job before spending lots of time applying for it and working on a creative vision (especially check if there are paedophiles involved) and, secondly, don't build up a job as the answer to all your creative prayers quite so much, you feel let down afterwards when it wasn't.

However, the day I turned down the Dartmoor job, I got confirmation from the Roald Dahl Museum that they want me to do two days staff training work for them. The training is based on a proposal I did on audience engagement, positive motivation, being inspiring, becoming more confident and children’s storytelling. It felt good to get this sorted; it is far more positive and far more me than moving to the middle of Dartmoor and working in a prison.

So there we go. Decision made. Future painted on my terms.

And, by the way, I'm now almost 30,000 words into the children's sci-fi-adventure-conspiracy book I'm currently writing. It's going very well and looking increasingly likely that it will be more aimed at the older teen market.

Until next time, stay well, be creative and follow your right path. You’ll know when it’s not right, there will be a feeling in your belly you don’t like. That’s intuition. Listen to it. Wink.

Dartmoor Adventures

2011-07-03T22:22:00.001+01:00

What hills are those, deserted, brown and bare,
Whose mouldering crags the spoils of Time declare?
Dartmoor! thy stately presence I perceive,
Seen first at morn, and lingering last with eve;
Thy Rugged pinnacles, unfolded clear,
Rising in solemn grandeur, wild and drear.

- Joseph Cottle

Another ornament we find
Stands on the dreary moor,
Which was first build and designed
For prisoners of war.
But now its turned to other use,
And convicts are put there,
Whose labours make the land produce
Much better than before.
Hundreds of convicts now are placed
To cultivate the land,
Which ever was a desert waste,
Untouched by human hand.

- Jonas Coaker

Freelance Survival, Roald Dahl Workshops, Paid to Inspire, Writing, Dr Who, USA, Glastonbury, Wookey Hole Witch, Xmas with Colleen Nolan & Healing

2011-06-21T18:23:00.014+01:00

Since finishing my job in Bath as a children's book editor back in April this year, I've been working freelance again as a writer and creative-type person. This seems to have suited me more than I expected because I've needed some time to myself to sort out a health-related issue. I've also had several ideas for big writing projects so the spare time for those has been perfect.

As the freelance work has been quite slow and hard to find, it's given me even more time to do my own projects. It's almost as if the universe said: "here, Anthony, have some time to do what you actually, really want to do with your life...now get on with it!".

So I have.

I'm now 25,000 words into book one of a new sci-fi fantasy-adventure series for children aged 10+. It feels good and great fun to be writing it, especially as it's epic in scale and exactly the kind of thing I would want to read if I was a 10-year-old boy or girl.

Even better, is the fact I have a major international publisher waiting for it. That's all the information you're getting on that for now.

My current invasion into the sci-fi world (see what I did there?), has meant a new-found love for the BBC's Doctor Who. Especially as Matt Smith, who is playing The Doctor at the moment, is fantastically quirky, hilarious and suitably pantomime enough to make his bizarre sci-fi adventures plausible. And this rekindled love of Doctor Who has given me a goal to work towards that I'd like to pin on my dream board (the dream board in my head, that is, as I don't actually have a real one): I want to write an episode of Doctor Who within the next three years.

That's right, The Doctor will be mine. Oh yes.

My Doctor Who dream can be added to another dream I’ve been contemplating for some time, since coming back from America. I want to be living and working in Santa Monica, LA in California or Santa Barbara within the next three years. I miss the sunshine, I miss the stunning coastline and I miss my amazing American friends...especially their positive attitude to life.

Two very big dreams but, after my life-changing journey last year, two very do-able dreams.

I've had an idea for a film. This is most definitely NOT sci-fi (but may have a fantastical element to it). It's based in the real world and, if I can get it right, it will be my first attempt at writing a rom-com. Yes, Anthony Burt writing a rom-com! WTF? But, hang on, because it will, of course, have a massive dark twist and won't be any kind of ordinary rom-com you’ve ever seen.

I appear to be regularly writing poetry (?) too. This is bizarre as I'm not a big fan of poetry.

I have also just written a detailed movie script treatment for an animated feature film idea. I’ve sent this off to my very gorgeous, good friend Leah in Los Angeles. Leah’s dad is the director of the Disney blockbuster The Lion King.

So, my mind is on a fantastic creative buzz. That, I’m sure, has a lot to do with my fantastic and supportive girlfriend, Amy, but also...

1) I love my little wooden-beamed cottage in Chippenham; it is a creative haven and is living up to the promise it spoke to me about - when I first moved in: that we would tell some tales together whilst I’m living here.

2) I’m far more confident, settled, happy and stronger than I’ve been for many years, meaning my mind is dancing with ideas.

And 3) because I have – after two years – successfully weaned myself off medication I was previously on. I was taking this during the difficult time after the break-up of my eight-year relationship with Lisa. This last one is very important because, since I have stopped taking the tablets, it’s like my brain has been flooded with idea after idea.

And talking of Amy, she has been very helpful in allowing me to talk about - and make sense of - my past experiences. This has had the positive effect of "clearing out" my mind of any lingering emotional issues connected to my relationship experiences with Lisa and, following her for a very short time, Anne-Marie.

I've now reached the point where I've let go of the bad experiences I had and, am happy to report, have even in the past few weeks had several warm, positive and funny memories come to mind of my time with Lisa that have made me chuckle to myself. Who knew that would happen?

Lisa is, as far as I know, getting on very well with her new boyfriend and new life and no doubt being as fantastically creative and inspiring as ever. I hope so. And also hope she is doing it in a calm, nurturing, beautiful place that suits her.

As for Anne-Marie, she was extremely full-on and made some serious mistakes, but she apologized for them back then (and so did I) and so I’ve finally acknowledged in my head (some things take awhile) she was in the wrong, but under pressure herself at the time and that she was (and is, I’m assuming) actually a funny, quirky, mischievous, stunning girl.

Which is why I can now say I wish both girls the best in their lives – in love, success, spiritual positivity, health and happiness.

There we go. Some more healing: done.

In other news, I've been asked by the Roald Dahl museum to deliver a set of children's workshops about writing, self-esteem and storytelling. The museum's head of visitor management has requested I also do staff training sessions to help them engage with young people better and know how to "be inspiring" on a daily basis for everyone that enters this wonderful museum.

The museum staff have said they love me, my personality and the way I always manage to make people - especially children - feel interested, engaged and positive, so they want to pay me to help the staff do all those things better. They want to PAY ME for being me. How unbelievably cool is that?

I'm truly honoured because, not only is this a lovely boost to my confidence and means the work I've done on improving myself over the past few years has paid off, but it also means the way I feel about myself now - as someone I want and am happy to be - is someone people want to be around.

Besides this, I've been doing freelance TV production work for ITV with some guys in Bristol. For the past two weeks I've been working at a (non-)glamorous studio in Portishead doing set design and construction for a series of adverts Colleen Nolan is filming for Christmas. It's not quite Hollywood but it's still a fantastic and varied bit of creative work that is keeping my life interesting.

My relationship with the wonderful, amazing Amy has been going brilliantly. She has visited my hometown Weymouth, Dorset to meet my mum, dad and brother. We spent a lovely few sunny days going to Portland Bill to see the lighthouse, eating at art galleries, walking around the cliffs and on beaches and shopping.

Whilst we were down that way in the UK’s southwest, we went to one of my favourite spiritual places – Glastonbury – as Amy had never been before. This was a fantastic day out and we managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the Wookey Hole caves, dinosaur park and paper mill (but I was quite disappointed to not see the rather hot-looking Wookey Witch…maybe it was her lunch break?) and – in the same day – a drive by the breath-taking natural stone cliffs of Cheddar Gorge too.

This was followed up, a few days later, by a day out in the beautiful, picture-postcard village of Lacock, Wiltshire. Full of ancient National Trust buildings and quaint, old pubs, it is the kind of place where time has stood still and, if you want to remember what Ye Olde England used to look like then this shows you. The recent British period drama series on ITV Downton Abbey was filmed here.

Amy has had a busy month too. She ran the women’s Race for Life with the lovely Lucy, raising money for cancer research (and, being a girl who detests feminism, she didn’t like the fact men couldn’t run and raise money too). She has been doing a lot of painting (one of a cool dragon for my cottage), is currently trying to change careers and move into arts administration and she also had her 30th birthday. We had a great day out for that and, as part of my gift for her, I re-decorated the large basement room of my cottage and turned it into an art studio for her to use every time she comes round.

So, all in all, the world seems good right now. It is creative, intuitive, challenging and happy. How’s your world going? Good, I hope. Until next time, chickadees. Wink-wink.

Knowing Freedom

2011-05-23T21:02:00.002+01:00

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth."

-John F. Kennedy

Love in the Ayr, Fat Nans, Castles, Scummy Scarborough, Yummy York, Roald Dahl's Magical Garden & Dave's Denmark Days

2011-05-07T20:01:00.000+01:00

As roadtrips seem to be in my blood - but I usually go on them alone - it felt right and exciting to do my first one in a long time with someone else: Amy. We've been together for two months and are now relaxed in each other's company enough to go on our first trip away.

I won't deny the fact I was slightly worried about spending 24/7 with Amy on a trip across the UK (as was she with me, no doubt), but I didn't need to be. Amy and I had a wonderful, hilarious, magical time...in many different ways.

I'm used to exploring my feelings, thoughts and adventures in this blog. These have sometimes helped me sort my head out, these have sometimes amazed me (and others) at my achievements and these have sometimes got me into deep trouble. It feels strange to be writing a post that is about me and someone else, but this is a VERY good thing. After being "officially single" for almost two-and-a-half years I am ridiculously happy to be with Amy and to, finally, be sharing adventures with someone who is so wonderful.

As Amy's Gran originally came from Ayr, Scotland, we decided to kickstart our roadtrip here. She had never been before so it was a treat to explore the many shops, restaurants and - because it was so sunny - have some lovely beach walks.

One beach walk in particular was more special than the others because it's when I realised I am completely and utterly in love with Amy.

Luckily for me (otherwise it would have been slightly embarrassing), Amy is in love with me too. And, without going into too much detail - as this moment was personal to us - we had a beautiful time on the Ayr promenade next to the beach. It involved morning sunshine, romance, hand-holding, kissing, hugging and laughing.

This was followed by a lovely cup of tea in a greasy spoon cafe by the beach: romance personified...perfect for us both. Love was truly in the Ayr.

And, no, I'm not passing you a sick bag because I think I'm allowed a little bit of cheesey, loved-upedness, okay.

Following this special moment, we spent the day at a windy, rainy Culzean Castle just south of Ayr. After a tour inside the austere castle, with its many huge paintings, we went for a cliff-side walk amongst the bluebells and trees as the sun came out. At the end of the walk was a Swan Pond (with just one swan in it), a deer park and a mini-forest.

That evening we had an unforgettable, hilarious evening meal at a place hidden amongst the backstreets of Ayr called the Grumpy Chef. If you're ever up that way, then please give it a try. Their chicken stuffed with haggis is the tastiest thing that side of the Scottish border.

Before leaving Scotland, we paid a flying visit to my wonderful, talented writer-friend and her family, Cathy Cassid y. Cathy lives south of Ayr and - as her, Liam, Callum and Caitlin were meeting Amy for the first time - we all went out for a posh afternoon tea at Kitty's in New Galloway. The cakes were amazing, but it was Callum and Caitlin's choice of a "Fat Nan" to eat that was the most memorable moment of the visit. With inappropriate visions of an overweight Nan coming out of the kitchen to be their meal, Amy and I got on the road again.

We headed on down through the beautiful Yorkshire Dales - with bright, illuminous yellow fields of rapeseed flowers on either side - to our next destination: Scarborough.

We quickly wished we hadn't.

For a long time, I've had a vague romantic notion that I'd like to sit on the seaside of this northern UK town and eat some old-fashioned, proper fish 'n chips. But, after discovering our B & B - The Palace Hill Hotel - was an oppressive, miserable little joint (run by a money-grabbing "wheeler-dealer" guy who served a disgusting, triple deep-fried, artery-clogging breakfast of sausage, egg, bacon and lard-infested crap) which embodied the seedy, depressive nature of this sorry little town, my romantic notion was quickly pummelled into submission by harsh reality.

Don't get me wrong, many of the people we met in Scarborough were lovely, but Amy and I made a quick decision that there was no way we could handle this place for more than one night. To me, it felt like a battered and bruised Blackpool; I had the same soulless, unnatural feeling in Scarborough as I'd had when I visited Las Vegas in America last year.

So, even though it meant I'd lose the money I'd been forced to pay upfront for two nights at the B & B, I was very glad to leave the horror of "Scarb-Vegas" behind. And I was even thankful that I never got to eat fish 'n chips on the seafront too.

Amy and I drove onwards from north to south, stopping off for a short time in the gorgeous, ancient city of York. As it's one of the northern English lands close to where the Vikings first invaded, York became a peaceful settlement for many of them. With its tiny, twisting streets, and its overhanging and skewiff houses in the corner of the city known as The Shambles, this place was oozing with history and character. It was a very needed remedy for the Scarborough experience.

After York, we ended up in a small town called Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. This may seem random, but the reason was clear: both of us love Roald Dahl (well, Amy loves his illustrator Quentin Blake more as she is such an amazing artist), and this town is where this ridiculously - or redonkulously, as he might say - creative children's writer lived for most of his life.

We stayed in a magnificent converted barn for two nights at the Rickyard Cottage near Great Missenden and enjoyed a PROPERLY cooked, beautiful, organic English breakfast before spending time exploring the local countryside and Roald Dahl museum and Story Centre.

The museum was a small place but rewardingly quirky enough to be a delightful experience. We had some BogTrotter cake in Twit Cafe and then walked to Dahl's house to visit his stunning garden.

Roald Dahl's widow, Felicity Crosland, still lives in Gipsy House in Great Missenden and opens the house's gardens around four times a year to the public. With the famous writing hut Dahl created all his stories in exactly how he left it, there is an avenue of lime trees leading to it that gives the place a potent air of magic and creativity. I felt very honoured and overwhelmed to have been lucky enough to visit the home of a master storyteller and a great man.

Following our departure from Buckinghamshire, Amy and I went our separate ways (temporarily, of course) because I flew to Copenhagen, Denmark the next day to stay with my friend Dave. I hadn't seen Dave for over six years, since a stag weekend we went on for our mate Chris back at the beginning of 2005. But I'm very glad we stayed in contact because I had a fantastic "boy's weekend" full of gossip, laughter, eating, drinking, mischievousness, putting the world to rights and a generally great time.

On the Saturday, Dave and I went out for a great night with his friend Peter. We did a bar crawl across most - if not all - of Copenhagen and got in at 4am. A brilliant evening and I don't think I've got in that late from a night out for many years. Then we had a trip to the beach and had a chill-out BBQ at Dave's house on Saturday.

Dave is married to the lovely Marlene and they have two children. It was a pleasure spending time hanging out with them and, bizarrely, also great to see first-hand what it was like dealing with two very young children. Stressful, yes. Rewarding, yes. I think Marlene was very surprised when I said that staying the weekend with them hadn't put me off wanting children of my own at some point in the near future.

We had a great final day out at the wonderful Tivoli park eating pizza and the biggest icecream in the world (the cone was bigger than my head and I felt as if I might need an extra seat on the plane home for my newly-enlarged belly), watching children's theatre shows and wandering around Tivoli's gardens. I'd like to thank Dave and Marlene for having me to stay.

And that, dearest friends, is a round-up of my latest adventures and stories. What will come next, I wonder? Well, whatever it is, I'm very pleased to be sharing the next part of my life with a very special girl.

If you'd like to see all the pictures from our roadtrip then click here.

Stay well, be in love, laugh, feel happy and enjoy the coming summer. Wink.

New Dreams

2011-04-13T21:10:00.002+01:00

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

- C. S. Lewis

The Wonderful Amy, Learning Lessons, Not Compromising on Your Identity, UK Roadtrip & Starting a New Book

2011-04-05T20:17:00.000+01:00

First of all, I have very happy news. I have a gorgeous, wonderful, caring and creative new girlfriend! Whohoo! Her name is Amy and she lives in Bath. She has a job and is an actual real person, but for reasons I won't explain here I will not be telling the world what she does or who she works for. All I need say is: take a look at the photo here and it will tell you all you need to know about how fantastic she is.

Especially how fantastic I think she is.

Since being together for just over a month, we've got to know each other and realised we have similar tastes in cheesey music and the same sense of humour (she is hilarious!). She relaxes me and makes me feel amazingly confident at the same time. We've been on lots of great little days out already, such as a day trip to the little city of Wells, drunk copious amounts of tea, chatted and had a great time together. So much so, we've planned an exciting UK roadtrip to various random - but meaningful - places around this little country.

First of all we're heading up to Ayr, Scotland as this is where Amy's family is originally from and she has never been there. No doubt we shall be visiting Scottish castles, Robert Burns' birthplace and having plenty of tea and cakes along the way. After this, we're off to Scarborough. I've always wanted to go and eat fish 'n chips on this Yorkshire seafront because it looks like a beautiful, old-fashioned seaside town.

Once those fun few days are ticked off, we plan to drive south to the colourful Roald Dahl museum in Great Missenden as both of us are huge Roald Dahl fans. Very much looking forward to sharing a Bogtrotter cake or a Whoopsie Pie in Cafe Twit with Amy.

But, enough of the gushing, I have other business too.

I have been working for a company in Bath since the beginning of the year, editing books. I got this job as a way to get myself some money - to help me settle into a new place after my travels in America. I wasn't planning to stay long as I already knew the work wasn't my kind of thing. It was simply for some security to pay the rent and a short insight into the publishing world (from the inside).

My curiosity about this world and the book writing/editing process took me there. But, it was no surprise to me that I found it hard to compromise on the type of writing I do whilst at this company. I wasn't particularly good at changing my style because my writing has a voice: it's quirky, epic, fantastical, passionate and it draws you in, taking you on a journey from your reality into a fantasy world.

Yep, that's right, I'm not being big-headed, that is how I write. And I think it's taken until now to have the confidence to say such a thing...and actually think it too.

So, being at this company helped in one way: it made me realise I am a writer, but NOT an editor. I shall leave the exceptional skill of an editor - and it is an exceptional skill - to the people who actually have the ability to do it. That is definitely not me, and it takes a lot for me to admit I can't do something, I'm usually good at most jobs. But what a revelation to be able to admit you're not so great at something! Fantastic. It's actually made me feel humbled at the amount of hard work, knowledge, commonsense and long hours of work book editors put into their jobs.

I will absolutely never take it for granted when an editor reads my work and provides me with constructive comments (not that I ever did this anyway), but those comments are very likely to be right, useful and meant to improve my work.

And so, with this new knowledge about my own skills, I was VERY thankful to have parted ways with this company. I've made a conscious decision not to mention the company or anyone involved with it here because - even if some of them might not think it - I do respect the people (and genuinely liked many of them) who work there and their ability to produce the kind of work they are asked to create. I wish them all the best of luck for the future, and the company continuing success too.

And, whilst we're on the subject of writing, I am also happy to report that I've now started a new series of children's sci-fi adventure books. I'm confident about them and can't wait to send the first book to the editor at one of the biggest publisher's in the world who has requested I write the series for her.

I'm now working freelance again and it feels rather good to be free of "office shackles" and to be my own boss for awhile, before I perhaps delve into other work again. Most likely I will be steering clear of working in publishing - I want to be an author, but that doesn't mean I need to work in publishing to achieve this. I have a strong feeling that film and TV production is calling me, especially after my experience in America. It seems silly not to continue down this route as I loved doing the film studio work so much.

Well, that's it for now. I hope whatever you're doing at the moment makes you happy. If it's not, change it. You only have one life and why on Earth would you want to do things you don't enjoy? It just doesn't make sense. Until next time, take care. Wink.

Meeting a Sexy Angel

2011-03-09T20:59:00.002Z

"We are each others angels, we meet when it is time."

-Chuck Brodsky

Moving On

2011-02-27T13:25:00.002Z

"It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives."

-Anon

My Gran - Kathleen Alice Carr: June 27th, 1924 to February 12th, 2011

2011-02-22T21:02:00.000Z

When I was a baby, because my mum was ill, my Gran and Grandad looked after me. This was just for the first few months of my life, but if they hadn’t done so I probably wouldn’t be alive today.

My Gran helped feed me, helped me learn to speak and helped me walk. And, to my mum's annoyance, the first word I spoke was "Gam". That was my interpretation of "Gran" at a very early age.

I’ve always felt that both her and my Grandad are two of the most special people in my life. They met one another when they were just 11-years-old as my Grandad moved just a few doors down from where Gran lived – back in 1935. They "courted" and eventually became boyfriend and girlfriend.

At aged 14, my Gran was put into service at Pennsylvania Castle, on Portland, just before the beginning of the Second World War.

Then, at 18, she became a Wren and during the war was stationed in both Scotland and Portsmouth (when she and Grandad visited me in Portsmouth, when I lived there, they showed me which pavements they had slept on before Grandad - who was a Lance Corporal in the Royal Engineers - left her to go off to fight).

Gran and Grandad were engaged to be married by then, but were apart from each other for most of the six years of World War II. Gran never knew when she said goodbye to my Grandad in Portsmouth if she'd ever see him again.

But, luckily, she did and at the end of the war they got married on July 18th, 1945. They had two daughters - Sheila, my mum and Maureen, my aunty. In total, Gran and Grandad knew each other for a staggering 76 years - married for almost 66 of those years.

And ever since the beginning of their relationship, they've been what I would call “true soul mates”. The word soul mate is used frivolously these days for couples who have been in a relationship for a number of years. But my Gran and Grandad have always had the air of a couple filled with love, trust and of two people genuinely caring for each other. But they have also, ever since I can remember, been very playful with each other too; they were best friends as well as husband and wife.

And it is these qualities – and the wealth of life experiences, wisdom, humour, family values and friends surrounding them on the isle of Portland, Dorset – that set them up to be a “forever couple”. A powerful union which would overcome anything.

Of course, I wasn't alive for the majority of the happy years they spent together. The years when they bought up my mum and her sister Maureen. The years when they, over time, bonded into the kind of couple that is indeed very rare these days.

The things I remember best about my Gran was that she always gave me chunky "doorstep" sized sandwiches whenever I visited, followed by tea and biscuits. She and Grandad had a black collie dog, Bob, that we used to all take for walks around the cliffs of Portland. And that Gran (and Grandad) would cook us the best roast dinners ever (sorry mum). We'd talk about how the world used to be and how it is now; my favourite thing ever was listening to both Gran and Grandad's war stories - I was always transfixed.

Most weeks when I was at University in Portsmouth, Gran would send me a lovely handwritten letter, updating me on family news and telling me all the things she and Grandad had been getting up to. It was something I looked forward to because the letters were simple, chatty and thankfully a world away from my Uni experiences (which I needed sometimes), they were about home and they were always filled with love.

My Gran was also one of the first people to read the stories I used to write when I was much younger. She encouraged me and that meant a lot.

I always made an effort to go up the Cenotaph every Remembrance Day with both Gran and Grandad. And, bizarrely, even when I visited Gran and she used to say to me "oooh, you've put on weight" or "when are you going to have a shave?" that was good too. I knew it was only light-hearted play, and it felt strangely good to be told to smarten my act up.

Not that I did, of course, but it was nice to be told. Gran had "earned her stripes" in life and was therefore allowed to say whatever she wanted.

When it was Gran and Grandad's 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary in 1995 Postman Pat delivered all their cards and gifts and they went on a very special holiday to Gretna Green in Scotland with their friends to get married again.

They subsequently went on to happily celebrate their 60th Diamond and 65th Blue Sapphire Wedding Anniversaries with official celebratory messages sent to them from the Queen.

But thinking about my Gran transcends any memories or thoughts, because I just remember feeling truly and unconditionally loved by her whenever I went to Gran and Grandad's house. It is a house full of love that they have.

Except, of course, this love was, sadly, tested in the past few years. My Gran was diagnosed with early on-set dementia but my Grandad kept this a secret from the rest of our family. He wanted to look after her at home, to keep Gran safe in the environment she knew best. My Grandad, you see, is a proud soldier and he always will be. He truly believes in the old-fashioned mantra of “soldiering on” and both he and Gran believe that you should help yourself and the person you're married to and not have to involve people in your private business.

But when my Gran fell over and broke her hip in November last year, she was admitted to Dorchester Hospital and we all started to realise just how much help she – and Grandad – needed. And how ill Gran was.

She was in hospital for a few months which gave my Grandad some respite from the 24-hour care he was obviously giving her. But then, my Gran had a stroke on February 7th, and everything changed.

Before this date, the doctors were confident she would recover. And so were all of us. She wanted desperately to get out of hospital and go home. But a few days later she had a heart attack too and became very poorly.

I took an emergency day off work and went back to Weymouth to see her. Except, of course, I wasn't just "seeing her"...I knew I was saying goodbye.

Gran was conscious enough to understand me when I told her that I loved her. I had a moment alone with her but in my heart I knew I wouldn't see her again. It made me burst into tears and I left.

And then my Gran - Kathleeen Carr - died in the evening of Saturday February 12th, 2011. She was 86-years-old.

I've been asked by my mum to lead the funeral service because my Grandad, mum and her sister don't feel they want to - which I totally understand. I personally see it as an honour, because Gran was so special, to write something about her life and read it out at her funeral.

And I won't be remembering the ill woman I saw in the hospital (who fought right until the end because she simply did not want to let her life go) and nor, I hope will any of my relatives. They and I will be remembering my Gran as the vibrant, sharp, quick-witted, playful, clever and loving woman that I and they have known during the whole of our lives.

So, ahead of saying goodbye to you at your funeral this week, rest in peace Gran. You were a very magical person who will always be in my heart. I love you. x

Enneagram Personality Type Four: The Artist

2011-02-17T22:49:00.003Z

"Healthy Fours are willing to reveal highly personal and potentially shameful things about themselves because they are determined to understand the truth of their experience - so that they can discover who they are and come to terms with their emotional history. This ability also enables Fours to endure suffering with a quiet strength. Their familiarity with their own darker nature makes it easier for them to process painful experiences that might overwhelm other types."

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T17:26:00.000Z

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.”

-Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Merry Christmas and a Look Back on 2010

2010-12-24T14:22:00.001Z

Well, it's been one helluva year for me. How about for you? And already 2011 is shaping up to be pretty cool too, but before that arrives I'd like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. I certainly hope Santa brings you all the things you want but, more importantly, that 2011 brings you love, happiness, success, magic and peace in whatever you do.

Please click on these words "Happy Christmas" for a little interactive animation treat for you to watch.

I'm just going to have a little rundown of all my achievements and experiences in 2010 - more for my own benefit and memory - so please stay with me and perhaps think about your own major success stories of the past year too...

-I left the UK and moved to a log cabin in the middle of a forest (but near a small town) in northern California for four months and had the most amazing time. I met some fantastic friends and saw some stunning countryside. I worked in the film office with the wonderful, positive Debra and her team. Fort Bragg and Mendocino will forever be my second home as the people and places did a lot to heal my heart and head after a terrible 2009.

-I had a wonderful on/off relationship (that sadly went sour) with Heather and, despite our differences in personality, and despite the crap and argumentative ending that I was responsible for as much as her, I still think she is a very, very special, clever and warm-hearted person who deserves eternal happiness. Heather - I wish you, Lucie and your family a wonderful 2011, in case you read this.

-I drove all over the west coast of America in my pickup truck. Just me and the never-ending straight roads of the USA. It was a strangely meditative and inspirational trip. Going to Seattle was so cool, seeing the rugged Oregon coastline, Vegas was disgusting and I never want to go there again, Death Valley was bizarrely magical with its ghost towns and blistering heat, Santa Barbara was relaxing with its Spanish architecture and laid-back approach to life and Sacramento was full of great friends and nights out.

-I moved to Los Angeles and arrived in Hollywood on my birthday. Knowing no one except Heather's family and a few other people, I got myself out and about and made literally hundreds of new inspirational friends. I joined script groups, set up a new writing partnership, went to 20th Century Fox and Universal studios for meetings, became an intern and writer at a downtown film studio for FilmLA, attended showbiz conferences, saw movie stars Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Quaid in person, spent time hanging out in Santa Monica, discovered the joys of Johnny Rocket cheeseburgers, watched the endless parade of beautiful people, visited the La Brea Tar Pits and saw the amazing Getty museum overlooking the 4 million residents of LA.

-I flew to New York in May to attend the biggest book fair I've been to: the Book Expo. It was a great experience, I made lots of contacts and it enthused my continuing passion for producing books and being involved in publishing.

-After helping to set up a new Los Angeles film campaign for FilmLA, I left America and moved back to Newport, Wales. I was lucky enough that my friend Craig gave me his house to live in for a few months over the summer where I exercised, ate well, wrote stories, relaxed, walked in the Brecon Beacons, went out, met new Welsh friends, spent time at the Edinburgh Festival and made a new Japanese friend there, randomly helped out at a dog show, rekindled my friendship with my old mate Stephen and spent time with his beautiful daughter Ella, and then planned my USA trip part two.

-Even though my ex-girlfriend, Lisa, and I had been talking on and off for some of 2010, we have - rightly, I think - stopped doing so for now. I'm very happy she has a new boyfriend and a new life after she's had an obviously turbulent year or so too, of her own, since we broke up. No more bitterness, no more nastiness, no more bad feelings. I only want to remember the good things we had now and, in the eight years we spent together, we did have many. Time for me to move on fully as she has and hopefully start a new relationship in the near future. Lisa, if you read this, I wish you an amazing and creative 2011 and hope it's full of magic and everything you want.

-I headed to Canada to visit my lovely friends Chris and Britta in Ottawa. It was great to visit a new country, spend time with them and see the magnificent orange and brown colours of the falling Maple tree leaves in Gatineau Park, and the boutique atmosphere of Montreal. Canada is a beautiful, open-minded and peaceful place.

-Had my eyes opened on Halloween with so many scantily-clad women on the streets of Sacramento.

-I had several potential job offers in the USA but these fell through so I took a road trip again from San Francisco to LA (where I met the wonderful and generous couch surfer Tasha), went on to see the Hoover Dam and then the absolutely breath-taking Grand Canyon. Visiting the Canyon is one of my major highlights of 2010 and, strangely, even though I would have liked to have shared seeing it with someone, I'm also glad I was there on my own to see it. It was my own special memory. I hiked around its southern rim - it was just me and the epic expanse of nature's work.

-I went on to the spooky town of Roswell and looked for aliens. I had an idea for a new children's book series here and, well, what's the chances it has aliens in it do you think?

-I visited Dallas (which was a rather bland place of no character) then flew to San Diego to stay with my lovely, caring and supportive friend Charla (and her family and friends) in Brawley. Here I saw my first ever American Rodeo, met some Cattle-Call Queens, hung out in the post-apocalyptic crazy-hot wilderness of Slab City, sand dunes and Salvation Mountain and basically had a great time. Thanks Charla!

-After largely avoiding LA for the rest of my trip, I went back here to stay with a friend from one of my script groups called Diana. By this time I'd ran out of money and knew it was time to fly home. So I spent time talking about writing, reading scripts, going out with some friends and had a wonderful Mexican-American Thanksgiving at Shannon's family house (thanks Shannon!). I also set up some potential writing work with a Disney producer in the new year too.

-Bizarrely I spent a lot of time hanging around animals - especially cats and dogs - and have become much more comfortable being around cats than I ever have been since I was a little boy. In fact, I used to hate them and now they don't scare me at all. I love them enough that I would think about getting my own cat to keep me company.

And all these parts miss out the "in-between" experiences, chats and meeting of people on my journey; all of which I'm very grateful to have had.

All in all, a bloody good - and adventurous, healing, inspirational - year in 2010.

Here's to 2011 and all the goodness it shall hopefully bring. Happy new year to you. Wink.

The Wrap: My 'Other Blog'

2010-12-15T01:40:00.001Z

As well as writing this meandering, thoughtful and sometimes challenging (for you and me) blog about my travels, work, writing and life, I also write a meandering, thoughtful and sometimes challenging blog for the Los Angeles-based film news website The Wrap too.

I've been writing this other blog for most of 2010 and will continue to do so even though I've moved back to the UK. I feel it helps me stay plugged in with the movie industry and with my friends in southern California.

If you're interested in seeing my views on movies, their politics and their inner workings in my everso journalistic-like articles about a variety of subjects then please click on the links below to see each blog post (so far).

Or you can simply click here to see them all and take your pick of my blog posts.

Here are the individual blog posts I've written so far for The Wrap:

"L.A.'s New Film Program: will it silence moaners, lessen Runaways?"

"Slicing up the UK Film Industry Pie - will this reform work?"

"Get out of your L.A. Comfort Zone and film in the rest of California"

"Box Office Prediction: The Dark Tower series will dwarf Lord of the Rings & Avatar"

"Time to bring Google down a Peg or Three"

"Did the UK Film Industry die in Secret?"

"Gibson: from a Brave Heart to over the Edge of Darkness"

"Dreamin' in California"

"Los Angeles Desertion Syndrome: how to solve it, Now"

"L.A. vs N.Y.: A tale of two Cities Rivalry"

"The 50 People I want to work With"

"I'll Sleep when I'm Dead"

New Adventures

2010-12-04T16:50:00.000Z

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Chillin' at Charla's, Brawley Cattle-Call Rodeo, Scary Salvation Mountain, Slab City, Veteran's Day & Thanksgiving in Los Angeles

2010-11-21T19:20:00.000Z

I spent a relaxing, fun-filled time at my fantastic friend Charla's place in the southern desert regions, near the Mexico border. Both Ranger Ted and I had several intriguing and slightly disturbing adventures.

We attended the Veteran's Day on November 11th (which is the equivalent of the UK's Remembrance Day, where everyone wears poppies to commemorate the deaths of soldiers who fought in world wars) and there was an unveiling of a new memorial in the town centre of Brawley - where Charla lives - and a fly-over by the British Royal Air Force. They have a training base nearby.

The Veteran's Day was slightly unique in that, after a sombre memorial service, there was a very loud cheer from the 300-strong crowd. I thought this was slightly inappropriate, until I realised it had nothing to do with cheering the death of war veterans but everything to do with the fact the town's American football team had won an important game the night before. They love their "football" over here.

This cheer was followed by the parading of the four "Cattle-Call Queens"; these are four lovely young ladies who have won the competition to be Rodeo Queens for the year. They didn't win this coveted faux-royalty title entirely on beauty, because this competition is based on horse-riding ability, rounding up cattle, lassooing animals and general "cowgirl" skills. Yee-ha! I was lucky enough to meet all the girls, with Ranger Ted, and we had our picture taken with them.

Of course, combining a memorial service with Cattle-Call Queens and football cheers is not something we'd do in England, but then that is the wonder of America. And, bizarrely, I think it's fantastic that this does happen; it's a mixture of dwelling on past sadness and celebrating happy future thoughts and events. I like that.

Now to the disturbing stuff.

Charla drove to an incredibly unique tourist attraction in these parts: Salvation Mountain. If you haven't heard of it, the place is like nothing else you've seen on planet Earth. It is a fifty-foot high, 150-foot wide rainbow-coloured hill proclaiming one man's slightly obsessive, slightly scary, but also quite incredible belief in God.

A very nice man named Leonard Knight, from Vermont, had "found Jesus" - whatever that means - when he was 35-years-old in 1967. After various adventures and travels, Leonard found himself visiting a desolate place called Slab City in Imperial County. Slab City is a town full of rundown trailers, gypsies, squatters, meth smokers, the mentally unhinged (which you usually become after doing too much meth) and what they call "snowbirds": people who travel down from their homes in the northern US states such as Alaska - and wandering Canadians too - to be in the southern Californian heat during the winter. Slab City used to be a World War II marine training base called Fort Dunlap, but now all that remains of it are the square concrete foundation slabs of the vanished buildings. Hence "Slab City".

Leonard found that he fit into this community very well and decided to promote his love of God by collecting junk, hay bales, trees and covering them in concrete, sand and clay to build a multi-coloured, twisted, beacon-like monument to Jesus.

My first thoughts on seeing the mound, with its huge red heart at its centre and the elevated word "GOD" at its top, were two-fold: 1) Wow, this is impressive! and 2) the guy who did this has had waaaay too much desert sun.

Walking around Salvation Mountain, it was hard not to be awed by Leonard's one-man achievement. It is a living, breathing piece of outside art - one that is still growing as he adds to it - and a statement of his beliefs for the world to see. I'm all for that. Fantastic.

Except, then I got thinking: there must surely be some kind of psychologically unbalanced, religious-based psychosis involved in this too. No one without a certain amount of manic behaviour and delusional thought could accomplish this on their own. Yes, it is his calling and that's magnificent - and it should be celebrated for its uniqueness - but the "mountain" and indeed its religious message also needs to be seen within some kind of human context, i.e. Leonard's background and his state-of-mind.

In fact, without wishing to sound too negative, this kind of over-the-top "sermonising" of the message of God is what gives so many Christians a bad name. Religious euphoria is often commonly associated with schizophrenia and other types of mental illness and so Leonard's message of "God is Love" should be seen through a guarded eye. Religious euphoria is great for awhile, I've felt it, but it can lead to serious psychological damage and a misperception of the world. It can, indeed, lead to a total breakdown of how individuals view their own identity, due to them being so intensely "wrapped up" in the experience of praising God...whatever that is; they're so busy focusing on some exterior being providingthem with love that they forget actually it is them that's showing themselves love. It is themselves who is taking action to make things happen in their lives. It has nothing to do with God.

At least, not in my opinion anyway.

But enough of this meaningful conjecture, let's continue on our journey.

After the visit to Slab City - and its underground drainage system where the local community crawls down a ladder to shower - we visited the local sand dunes, watching people drive at high-speed over the hills in their dune buggies. I didn't get to do this, sadly, but it looked like such cool fun.

Ranger Ted decided to hang off the "World's Tallest Flagpole" - a 184 feet tall pole with the Stars and Stripes flying at its top in Calipatria, Imperial Valley. Sadly, though, I think by "world" they mean "Imperial County in California" because the actual tallest flagpole in the world is 525 feet high - almost three times higher - and it's in Kijŏng-dong, North Korea. Still, no matter, who's counting? And who, for that matter, is planning a visit to North Korea to check? Not me.

The next day Charla and I pretended to be cowboys (well, Charla was a cowgirl obviously) as we went to one of the few remaining all-American Cattle-Call rodeos in Brawley. There were feisty cowgirls riding two horses at once, bucking bronco men trying to stay on angry horses and bulls (I didn't know they tied up the bulls testicles really tight so they bucked!), little kids clutching onto running sheep, and a general air of oozing machismo and cowboy swaggeriness. Charla was kind enough to help me join in the cowboyness of it all by buying me a decent Stetson. It was great fun.

For the next couple of days my visit to Imperial Valley consisted of hanging out with Charla's fantastic family and friends, going over to the lovely Vilma and Dave's house for some gorgeous homemade Mexican food, discovering the delicious icecream goodness of a chain called "Cold Stone" where they mix up the icecream you want in front of you on their ice-cold stone counters (a bit like a Subway for icecream - yummy!), pretending to be a cowboy, getting lots of dog hugs from Bugsy, going to a school to read children's stories to Brawley eighth graders (which I loved doing so much - especially when they said I talked like Harry Potter) and, of course, having lots of wonderful chats and laughs with lovely Charla and her bloke Travis.

And now, after a five-hour Greyhound bus trip where we were stopped by US Border patrol and "raided" for 30 minutes so they could take off some people and question them, I'm in Los Angeles once again. And for Thanksgiving this time, too. I've never been in the USA for Thanksgiving but, as the British are to blame for this, I might have to keep my head down.

I have several meetings lined up with people - such as a Disney producer - and I'm also going to catch up with some of my friends here too. But, as I have now totally run out of money, I have booked my flight home in two weeks time and so will be heading back to a cold England for Christmas and some brand new adventures in 2011.

To see my rodeo, parade, Salvation Mountain and other pictures click here.

Being Honest is Hard, It can lead to Being Misunderstood

2010-11-18T18:10:00.000Z

“I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.”

Halloween Nakedness, Autodriveaway, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Writer's Wisdom, Billy the Kid & Aliens in Roswell

2010-11-04T04:48:00.000Z

Following my bumpy start getting into America for the second time this year, I spent time at Lynne and Ben's place in Sacramento and enjoyed "cat time" as well as an exceptional Halloween night too. Ben and I went dressed up as criminal chain-gang members and we were stopped lots of times so people could have their pictures taken with us.

But this wasn't the best part about Halloween. Oh no.

I've never seen so many stunning, scantily-clad, big-breasted wonders of the female race in one place on one night! It seems that, in America (in California, at least), Halloween signals an excuse for girls to dress up - or dress down, actually - in provocative suspenders and skimpy, sexy underwear. A curvy young lady wearing a cupcake bikini and, er, not a lot else sat on my lap.

It was an eye-[popping]-opener to see that much fine flesh on display in one night (he says in a slightly pervy tone whilst rubbing my hands up and down my legs and repeating "Oh God!" over and over). My eyes are still aching; you can see my halloween pictures here.

Following this, I went briefly to Los Angeles for meetings. But, as my money pot is empty now, I'm inventing ways to save money and plumped for doing "Autodriveaway". If you've never heard of it, it's an excellent US-wide scheme of delivering cars to owners who have moved states but couldn't be bothered to drive there. You have to be flexible about where you go but, if you are, then all you have to do is pay $200-400 deposit (which you get back on delivery) and pay for the gas (petrol...!) and that's it.

So I'm the temporary owner of a Toyota Rav 4 - which is a feeble, lady-boy's four-wheel drive with no power at all, but it has wheels and goes. I have six days to deliver it from San Francisco to Dallas, Texas - approximately 2200 miles. Gulp.

More importantly, my everso manly Rav 4 enabled me to drive south to LA to meet up with the lovely Shannon. She is an ABC/Disney scriptwriter who has had fantastic success with Disney's writer's fellowship. We met because I - indeed, we - are hoping to become writing partners to come up with a new, original TV script we can write and produce together. We had lunch to make sure we "clicked" and could get along. I'm happy to report that Shannon is honest, hilarious, kooky and genuine and I can't wait to come up with something we can write together.

What was even more of a revelation was talking to Shannon about her writing pattern and how she gets on with it. Intriguingly, she has a day job in a tax office for a few days a week - completely unrelated to the film industry - and it allows her a stability and grounding to be creative in the rest of her time. Exactly the kind of scenario I used to have before I broke up with my ex-girlfriend, and one that I know I need to find again for my own creative stability. I thought I had it in Wales, but it wasn't quite right.

Shannon made me realise it's actually okay to give myself what I want and need. It's something I struggle with a lot; something I skirt around and do EVERY OTHER THING rather than what I know is best for me.

So, after chatting to Shannon, I've realised I need to do the following things for me because I simply cannot keep running away from being settled for much longer. Even though I've enjoyed my Year of Travel 2010, and loved the US of A and how it's changed me and made me a stronger person, how it's opened doors and helped me make wonderful new friends, I think my soul is tired. I need to:

-Find a place to live that is not in Wales and most probably not in Los Angeles as, in all reality, I'm not likely to find a company to sponsor my visa now
-Find a housemate, preferably a calm, creative woman who I can share a home with
-Get a cat to have in the house as they are calming but are also a mixture of dark and light magic
-Get a job that I can go to every day, either in the film industry or, alternatively, in a youth work role that provides me with some socialising in the day so I can write in the evening
-Earn money to pay off the massive credit card bill that this year has left me with
-Probably move to Bristol or Bath in the UK as these feel like the kinds of places that would suit me to settle in for awhile

But, before then, let's get back to my road trip. I drove across the 1931-built Hoover Dam, which was mildly impressive, but after that I went to the Grand Canyon...which was unfathomably impressive.

Ever since I was a little boy I've always dreamt of going to see the Grand Canyon, and now I've done it. If you've never been to see it (and you must!) it's incredibly hard to describe the way your breath gets caught in your throat the first time you walk to the canyon's edge. Looking out across the epic expanse of the six-billion year-old, multi-coloured, jutting rock edifices is just amazing. No pictures and no words will ever do it justice, simply because the depth-of-field and perception of looking at an 18-mile wide and 277-mile long canyon - that the Colorado River has eroded away - can only truly be appreciated when you're standing in front of it.

I hiked the 13-mile southern rim of the canyon where there are eerily twisted, dead trees and a blasted landscape that leads to the edge of the canyon. After looking at it all day, I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. And, in an attempt to try and give my pictures of the canyon some scale (and some childish fun), I got myself a little bear who I've called Ranger Ted. He's in lots of the pictures and many of my friends have already called on Ranger Ted to be in all my photos where ever I go in the world.

See my Grand Canyon pictures here.

After this wonderful day I continued on my journey eastwards where I stopped at my hero Billy the Kid's resting place in Fort Sumner, New Mexico before driving across an endless, shimmering desert to Roswell.

As those who are geeks, like me, will know in July 1947 the US military allegedly covered up the occurrence of a crash-landed UFO saucer-shaped craft. Despite various TV dramas, movies, books, thousands of newspaper articles and documentaries the legend of this alien landing lives on strongly across the world. And, as someone who is intrigued by the possible existence of extraterrestrial lifeforms, I just had to visit Roswell.

Whilst there I went to the Roswell Convention Museum and Art Center which has, amongst its artifacts, the "inventor of propulsion" Robert Goddard's original rocket designs, the launch pad he used and much of his experimental engine equipment. Ranger Ted got to stand next to some real moon rock, sit on an alien's head and look at the beautiful craftmanship of handmade Wild West guns too.

After the art center (centre!) I went to the town's main UFO museum. This was a glorious amalgamation of conspiracy theories, alien abduction stories, alien models, profiles and a timeline of the events surrounding the crash landing in 1947.

Having been in Roswell for the night by now, I had got the overriding feeling that this was a town on the edge of darkness. Or, perhaps, a better way to put it: a town full of people who had all, in one way or another, been abused, lied to, psychologically manipulated and become wrapped up in an aura of weirdness and true/untrue phenomena that has stuck around like a thick fog since 1947.

It's hard to understand exactly what I mean without going to Roswell. I chatted to the museum security guard who told me about his own UFO sightings a few years back when he'd seen "cigar-shaped objects" light up the night sky. The conviction with which he told his story was unnerving. Not that it was a conviction that necessarily meant he was telling the truth (I kept a healthy level of sceptism), it was more like someone who had persuaded themselves of a truth and, no matter what, was sticking to it. Whether that truth is the truth is another matter.

I'm not saying I don't believe he saw something like a UFO. He probably did because something very strange happened in Roswell. But whether he saw an alien spacecraft or an experimental aircraft flown by US airforce personnel is hard to say.

The UFO museum was very interesting and I discovered lots of accounts I hadn't known before. Such as the existence of a not so well-known "second crash site" that was discovered at the same time as the rancher found debris in July 1947. A second site that had more debris, an "out-of-this-world" egg-shaped engine and allegedly between three and six dead bodies and one live survivor too.

I'd like to believe these were aliens from another planet, or another dimension, but they could just as easily have been monkeys used during the experimental flight (the monkey's bodies charred, hairless and bulbous-headed from the extreme temperature and G-force on impact). Personally, the monkey explanation feels made up to help spread untruth so I'm going to go with alien lifeforms and a cover-up by the military. A cover-up to make people believe it was experimental flights organised by them. Aliens are far more intriguing and, it seems, countless American presidents thouht so too - many of whom, from Roosevelt to Reagan, wholeheartedly believing in the existence of aliens.

See my pictures of Roswell here.

And now, after going slightly mad driving across the endless plains of Texas (deserts do definitely do strange things to you - hallucinations, thinking too much, panic, seeing vultures overhead, thinking too much...), I delivered my Rav 4 to Dallas before heading to stay with my lovely friend Charla in the [more] desert regions next to the Mexican border.

After this I'll head back to Los Angeles before Thanksgiving where I'll stay with a friendly couch surfer, Tasha. She is letting me stay with her for a little while whilst I get myself together. And she too has acknowledged that sometimes the hardest thing to do is to settle somewhere, "kuckle down"and work hard to follow your heart's desire. But, like me, she knows there is no other choice other than that is what you must do.

Stay well. Wink.

Making a Mistake

2010-10-29T18:00:00.000+01:00

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."

Pork Pie Immigration, Ottawa & Montreal, Cats, Trees, Secret Magic Doors, Banned from USA & why the hell am I here again?

2010-10-21T00:19:00.000+01:00

On my way in to Ottawa, Canada I was detained by the north American immigration border police for what would be the first of two experiences with these wonderful, fascist assholes. This first experience involved a Walls' pork pie that I had in my bag for my lunch but forgot to eat before reaching the airport. And, because I didn't eat it, I discovered that bringing "meat products" from the UK to Canada is not allowed. I was searched and interviewed for half an hour before the authorities believed I wasn't a meat smuggler.

They detained my pork pie indefinitely at the border, but eventually let me through.

Following this incident, I went on to have a fantastic few days with my friends Chris and Britta who both live in Ottawa with their cute cat (who has a pink nose and is actually Sylvester from the cartoons). They showed me around Canada's capital and I saw the magnificent Parliament building, the vibrant market area and the stunning Gatineau Park in Quebec.

Gatineau was full of the beautiful orange, brown, yellow, red, green and purple leaves of the Maple trees changing from their summer to autumn colours. The place used to be the official residence of Canada's longest-serving Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, who stayed in power for over 22 years. In that time he put an extraordinary amount of effort into creating a magical landscape and home where he could live, away from the stresses of everyday politics. Part of the land includes some ruins of an abbey and a free-standing arched stone doorway that, with the yellow trees in the background, looked like a magical doorway to another world. If I'd walked through it I would have ended up somewhere very The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

This walk in Gatineau Park gave me some real creative rumblings; it was very good.

We visited Gatineau's beautiful Pink Lake (which is actually green) and I learnt that it's a "meromictic lake", which means a body of still water that has layers to it that do not mix with each other for thousands of years.

I spent a day out in Montreal and, even though everyone speaks French here - and my worldly experiences with the French usually leaves me thinking they're a bunch of grumpy, aloof wotsits - I still had a wonderful day. There were hundreds of boutique shops, cafes with scrump-didlee-umptious pastries in them and a picturesque old port. Mont Royal at the city's top (and where the city's name comes from, Montreal) provides a beautiful walk and views across the whole of Montreal and its surrounding water.

If you're going to Canada, a trip to the romantic Montreal is a must (ideally with a girl or boyfriend if you have one). And make sure you try a "Beaver Tail" whilst you're there too. These are not real beaver's tails - I think they'd probably be quite gristly and chewy - but flat, deep-fried donut-like pastries with any kind of sugary topping thrown on them you want. It's a heart attack in your hand, but it tastes bloody lovely.

After catching up with Chris, which was great to do so (and discussing life, the universe, women and why climate change deniers are uneducated numpties) I left for the airport and my onward journey to Sacramento, USA.

And my second experience with the border police.

Except, this time, there were no pork pies and it wasn't even a remotely funny experience.

I was interrogated for almost three hours by three different officials, all of whom asked the same questions about why I was returning to America for such a long period (they didn't water-board torture me or stick a lamp in my face, but they may as well have done). They searched every inch of my bag, cutting open my notepads, envelopes and several gifts I'd bought and got me to explain my life history three times over. They were rude, obnoxious, treated me like I was a terrorist and I felt more uncomfortable than when I'd visited the ex-communist state of Romania ten years ago and had guards point guns at me before they let me in the country.

The immigration knobheads kept me detained until three minutes before my flight was about to leave and then told me I had to run to get it. I was stressed, angry and my first thought at entering the USA this time was: fuck the lot of you, I don't want to be here now, how dare you treat me like this?

Fascist wankers. Clearly there is no "special relationship" between America and British citizens when it comes to immigration.

Nonetheless, perhaps I had the experience for a reason. Maybe I was meant to feel like an alien imposter for some future purpose? Whether that's to let me know I shouldn't really be in America or for some other reason, I'm not sure yet. Either way, the immigration police's final words to me were: "If you come back to the USA after this trip within 18 months we won't let you in the country".

Nice. An all-round hearty welcome to a country I thought I loved.

But I'm here now and need to figure out what the hell it is I'm doing this time. Any ideas?

To see all the pictures I took in Canada, click here.

Calculated Risk

2010-10-12T20:19:00.000+01:00

“Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one who has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act.”

Conquering Fear

2010-10-05T11:21:00.000+01:00

"Always do what you are afraid to do."

An ITV Children's Series, Ottawa/Canada, Returning to America, Broody, a Writing Partner & Halloween/Thanksgiving

2010-09-29T22:11:00.000+01:00

After much procrastination and consideration (two things I'm waaay too good at), I have taken the proverbial Bull by its magnificent Horns and booked my flights to return to the United States of America. It felt easy to do this so that makes me think it is the right thing to have done to shape my future. At least, I hope so.

Having been to the states earlier this year I now know exactly how things work, know my way around and also have a fantastic network of friends who want to help me succeed. Why wouldn't I want to be there? But I'm making this trip a lot different than the last (it has to be) as it is about trying to get myself a longer-term place in America.

I plan to fly out of the UK in a few weeks and stop over in Ottawa, Canada to stay with my friends Chris and Britta. I'm looking forward to seeing them and also visiting Canada as I've never been before. After this little halte I will continue west across the northern American continent to California. I will be staying with Heather in Mendocino and Lynne and Ben in Sacramento. I'm looking forward to going back to my adopted second home - and lovely small town - Fort Bragg as well as looking forward to seeing Emily, Samantha, Debra and everyone else I became great friends with there (and I'm also very excited about being in the US for both Halloween and Thanksgiving as I've not been there for these festivities yet).

After the relaxing Mendocino leg of my journey, this is when the hard work begins; it will be the calm before my intended storm.

If all goes well, I will head down to Los Angeles for the rest of my time in America, until next April. I will have approximately five months in this vibrant city to find a job I would enjoy with a company that will sponsor my visa...so I can actually earn some money.

"Money"...what's that? I don't think I remember it because, in the past two years, I've earnt exactly £100 ($160) in total. Yep, I've done so much volunteering that's all I've earnt. Aaaaargh! Anyone in Los Angeles needing a lovely British writer-type-man please get in touch by making a comment below.

But before leaving for America (which I've obviously paid for via the magic of The Credit Card), I am involved in what I hope will be a great new project for the national UK broadcaster ITV - perhaps that will bring me some money! It's a 52 episode prime-time children's series and I'm working very hard to get the contract to write some episodes as well as producing the tie-in books and other multi-media content too. I'm contractually obliged to keep the show a secret for now, so that's pretty much all I can say, except that we are at stage two of the broadcast commissioning process with 20% funding in place (the budget is £1.65m or $2.62m). We had our first team scriptwriting day yesterday which was a lot of fun. It will be very exciting.

And, whilst I'm on the subject of children, I'm so broody right now! Probably for the first time in my life, seriously so.

I'm not sure if this has a little to do with the fact I'm not committed to a girl at the moment - so therefore I really want kids as I have no one to have them with - but I do know it has a lot to do with the fact I spent last Sunday with my friend Stephen (who I haven't seen for years) and his fantastic, clever and fun little six-year-old girl, Ella. I got on very well with Ella, she has a brilliant personality for her age, and I've decided I would like two little girls of my own please (I'm not entirely sure who I'm asking here). If I have a boy, or obviously the woman I'm with has one, I think I might have to keep the receipt and give him back.

Except, of course, having a child requires me to commit to someone and settle somewhere in the world for longer than three months at a time. And, also, it involves finding someone I like enough, and someone who likes me enough, to have children with. All of which I don't appear to be very good at right now.

I'm sure I will want to settle soon as I'm getting quite tired of moving around (I haven't settled anywhere properly for almost two years now). But, as for the commitment thing, I'm still not sure about this after being in a near-eight year relationship.

But, who knows what destiny has to offer?

Although booking the flights to America was easy, I am still quite worried about going back. Perhaps because I know this time it's more about getting work. I have made some "in-roads" to this, though, because when I reach Los Angeles I've arranged to do some scriptwriting with a wonderful, successful film-maker who won the ABC/Disney writing fellowship several years ago. Even if an L.A. job doesn't work out (which it will, of course), having the chance to do this project will have been worth the trip alone.

I used to go out with and live with a writer and, even though we were very good at bouncing ideas off each other and reading each other's writing, we never wrote anything together. So I've never had a "writing partner" before. I'd really like to try and write an entire script with someone by my side. It seems to make sense that we'd be able to help motivate each other, provide different points-of-view on characters and scenes and basically work as a team to make a TV series or a movie as fantastic, as engaging and as magical as it can be. As long as we don't fall out over "creative differences" of course.

I've mellowed out over the past couple of years, so feel I could attempt writing with someone without getting annoyed at them for not having their cups of tea at the same time as me.

So, America. Here I come again. Get ready. This time, it's personal. Wink.

Change

2010-09-26T22:08:00.000+01:00

"One must lose one's life in order to find it."

Perception or Reality?

2010-09-18T15:42:00.000+01:00

There is often a lot of difference between what's happening in front of your face - in your actual real-life - to what you perceive is happening in your mind. The latter, perception, is obviously determined by your mood and thoughts and it's this latter that can, as the saying goes, "run away with the fairies".

Make up fantasy, in other words.

I sometimes struggle with the way my over-active imagination believes something is happening to me in the real world, but when I stop, look, listen and really see 'what's occurring' I find it actually isn't happening. It's a revelation to admit this, and it probably sounds a little disturbing too.

Well, I am a writer, so by default I'm slightly disturbed. Raaargh! See?

But, seriously, I am a storyteller. So not only does this mean I go about convincing others that characters, stories and situations are real enough to be believed, but I also convince myself of these things too - and I can do that either when I'm writing or when I'm living my life.

Determining between the two can occasionally be hard, there will sometimes be a bit of fuzzy cross-overness. It's quite intriguing to discover the way my mind works, it seems, is that - when I'm presented with a set of circumstances that intensely involve my emotions, beliefs, values and my passionate physical and mental commitment to someone or something - then I can, er, "run away with the fairies".

I love fairies, they're pretty sexy, so I actually wouldn't mind running away with some. But, what I'm getting at here is that no matter if something is not happening in reality I have an ability to convince myself otherwise; to paint a vivid world around myself of totally believable signs that all point towards that thing - whatever it is - as definitely happening.

And I'll involve everyone in this form of real-life story-telling, if they're willing to come along for the ride.

But, as much as you might be thinking "Oh God, this guy's a schizophrenic, a pathological liar and a deluded whatchamacallit", then perhaps you haven't considered that, to a certain degree, don't we all have differing levels of ability to do this type of real-life story-telling?

Surely we all try to build the kind of world around us that fits in with our beliefs, morals, goals in life, and values? And doesn't that life-building require a level of mental agility and imagination to perceive your world as the one you want it to be?

Everyone is different, of course, in how they go about this. There are scientists who think differently to circus entertainers. There are lawyers who think differently to fishermen. There are men who think differently to women. There are children who think differently to adults. All our minds work in subtly different ways, perceiving a small part of the universe in which we live.

You might believe that your fluffy cushions on your sofa (couch) make you feel relaxed, comfortable and de-stressed whereas someone else would see them as annoying, suffocating and a sign of laziness.

Those are two opposite ways you've both - separately - created as solid and individual perceptions, beliefs and feelings in your own reality. And, to a small degree, you'll include people around you in your perception of your fluffy cushions; you'll do this with all the parts of your life that you've built as your perception of your reality.

It's just a matter of how easy you find it to see, believe and act upon what's actually happening in front of your face compared with what your mind is trying to tell you to feel and believe.

Controlling your own mind is one of the most difficult challenges of being human because it effects every single type of story you tell - whether you're writing fiction or telling the story of living your life.

Close Every Door to Me, Hide all the World from Me

2010-09-14T21:45:00.000+01:00

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us."

Letting Go of All you Knew Before

2010-09-11T22:31:00.000+01:00

"Letting go doesn't mean giving up...it means moving on. It is one of the hardest things a person can do. Starting at birth, we grasp on to anything we can get our hands on, and hold on as if we will cease to exist when we let go. We feel that letting go is giving up, quitting, and that as we all know is cowardly. But as we grow older we are forced to change our way of thinking. We are forced to realize that letting go means accepting things that cannot be. It means maturing and moving on, no matter how hard you have to fight yourself to do so."

Reading & Children's Writing, Scripts, Mantras, The Brecon Beacons, Nuclear Bunker Jobs and the USA: The Return?

2010-09-05T15:47:00.000+01:00

Over the past couple of weeks, since getting back from Edinburgh, I've been re-writing my children's fantasy-adventure book after a lovely literary agent gave me some excellent advice on how to make it more commercial and accessible. I have now re-submitted it to the agent in the hope she might believe I'm worth taking a risk on. Fingers crossed everyone. Come on, are you crossing them?

I've also been having some good and some bad "Anthony Time". It's been great to have my own space to read lots and lots of books (which every serious writer should do, obviously), but I've also been feeling quite low too. Anthony Burt doesn't do alone time very well, I've concluded.

Applying for jobs in the UK feels a little like smashing my head against a nuclear bunker wall (it didn't feel that way in America) and, as much as I'm so very grateful to Craig for giving me his house for a couple of months, it is in the middle of nowhere in a "suburban hell" estate that reminds me a little too much of where I used to live in Portsmouth. Yeuck - that makes me feel sick. Portsmouth makes me feel sick. (Sorry to any residents of Portsmouth who might read this - no offence meant, but I have an incredibly strong mental dislike for the city, not the people who live there.)

It's lovely in the countryside here in Wales, but it rains so damn much! It did, however, stop for one whole day this weekend whilst I joined a group of National Park walkers on a "moderate" climb around the Brecon Beacons. "Moderate" being a bloody big understatement; I wish I'd bought some climbing gear along...phew!

The 10-mile Brecon's hike came about because I felt a sudden need for some nature after spending so much time in front of my computer editing the book. So off I went on a walk through rural villages, along canals, around high and abandoned mountain tramways and over massive ["moderate"] hills. We held our noses as we went past lots of dead and rotting sheep, buzzards circling above their carcasses, which was nice, and I had a wonderful day. So much so, I was even happy to get some blisters.

You can see my Brecon Beacon pictures by clicking here.

Through some of my more recent "difficult Anthony days" - where I've struggled to get motivated - I've been following some great, wise advice which is to have a mantra to wake up to every morning: a "go-get-'em" saying you tell yourself to help your mind get in the right gear to make the day go well.

Mantras are little mind pep-talks that trick yourself into believing today is going to be a great day; it's a little like when you hear a piece of music first thing in the morning and that music stays with you ALL day. Having a mantra that you tell yourself, in the mirror or just over breakfast, does the same thing to your mind as the music: it stays there, rumbles around and makes you believe this will be a fantastic day. Because it will be, right?

My mantras right now include: "You can handle today, go do it!" or "You're a fantastic writer, you'll write loads today!" or "You're confident, well-liked, happy and you rock!" They're very helpful, and I find they work most days.

The days when they don't work are the days when I think waaaaaaay too much about things. Do you think too much? Yes, perhaps you do. It's both a blessing and a curse having a creative mind (although I wouldn't change it for the world).

I guess, for me, after spending so much of this year in an American whirlwind, I feel as if I'm in the slightly negative - but still helpful - "yang" part of the year after a successful "yin" part. And, of course, having both light and dark in your life is healthy, it's something I've always thought. Because being in darkness makes you appreciate the light a whole lot more when it comes.

I also keep reminding myself that I've never really had the opportunity to spend a long period "on my own". I've never taken a good look at myself and appreciate just how much of a complicated - sometimes challenging - person I can be. Not all the time, of course, otherwise I wouldn't get along with anyone...and I clearly get on very well with lots of people. But it's important to know your weaknesses and work on improving them otherwise how can you develop as an individual throughout life?

For instance, I know I did - wrongly - lean too much on my ex-girlfriend to help support my life. Especially as I know now that I have no need to do this with anyone because I'm a very strong, unique person. But this "life lesson" has meant I know I wouldn't do that again. In any future relationships I have I'll be determined to keep my own identity and [although it's lovely, supportive and wondrous to be in a relationship] ensure not to just be in "a couple" where one person often takes precedent over the other but to be in a couple where I can enjoy and revel in what the other person loves to do, support the fact they do it and make sure they're happy...but also do my own thing too and hopefully they'll return the favour. Simple, right?

And, so...America. Yes, America...again. Beautiful, magical, fantastic America.

Last time I went it was about many things, but it amounted to a soul-searching discovery of me, the people I met and what I could do in the film/writing world; an adventure I will never forget. But, perhaps the trip was also a "try before you buy" journey in a place where I'm meant to be for longer?

Going there made me realise that I'll probably be one of those people who will be searching for a quenching of my creative and curious sides forever and, well, why not do this next part of searching in a country I felt I could be successful at doing just that? In a country that, quite frankly, made me feel happy.

But considering going back to America has to be for the right reasons, and this time - if I do go - the trip needs to provide me with a real chance of furthering my writing and producing career. And provide me with every chance of making lots of money...as I'm running out!

Today I discovered my US visa is a 10-year "multiple entry" visa. This means I can come in and out of the USA for six months at at time without having to re-apply for a visa each time and this new information has, in my head, brought down a barrier to going back there. I know California like the back of my hand now (well, almost), so there's nothing stopping me going back. Nothing stopping me spending more time with all my new friends. Nothing stopping me from doing more writing, from having more adventures and, importantly, nothing stopping me from conquering Hollywood.

So, shall I go back?

Writing from the Heart

2010-08-30T18:22:00.000+01:00

“If a book comes from the heart, it will contrive to reach other hearts.”

Perseverance

2010-08-26T23:52:00.000+01:00

"Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there."

Scotland: Cathy's Place, Edinburgh Festival, Writing Workshops, Fringe Plays, Japanese-Scottish B&Bs & Alone Lessons

2010-08-22T10:07:00.001+01:00

For the past week I've been travelling around the glorious countryside of Scotland. My first stop was a short and wonderful stay at my friends' Cathy and Liam Gilligan's house near the small south-west town of New Galloway. Their little cottage is in the middle of nowhere and they have a teepee in their garden, being as they are, like many of their friends, true hippies.

If you or your children are readers you may know Cathy as Cathy Cassidy - she writes sumptuous, fun-filled and poignant books aimed at young girls, published by Puffin. Her new book Cherry Crush is out in a few weeks, find out more about her and the book at her website here.

After eating lots and talking about life and how to write children's novels, I drove Cathy and I to the Edinburgh festival. She was doing a presentation at the book festival so I dropped her off before heading up to my B & B.

Now, I've been going to the Edinburgh festival every year for about the last six or seven years (for those of you who have never been, it is a tremendously over-the-top celebration of creativity, art, comedy and theatre...thousands of people block the city's streets; there are five main festivals that run simultaneously throughout August: the Fringe Festival, the Film Festival, the International Festival, the Book Festival and the Art Festival) and I've stayed in hostels, five-star posh hotels, rented apartments and one-star dumps with cockroaches crawling out the walls, but this year was my most unique living quarters.

I stayed with the warm and welcoming Japanese-Scottish Mr Kozo Hoshino (and his business partner John) in their bed and breakfast, the Morita - which is actually a registered museum, so I've slept in a museum (which is kind of scary). The Morita might be a 20-minute walk from the city centre, but after the Japanese-Scottish breakfast I had every day (porridge, toast, sausages with oyster flavour, vegetables and scrambled egg with miso sauce, bacon, beans, mushrooms, haggis, hashbrowns...), I needed the walk to stop my belly from exploding.

The Morita has a talking frog at the door which "ribbets" when you go in and out. Mr Hoshino said it either welcomed you to the house or wished you a good day, depending which way you were headed. Inside the place, there is an enormous, overwhelming array of pottery, paintings and collected silver antiques. I was a little taken aback by it all at first, but got used to the place's character when I'd talked with John and Kozo. Thanks to them both for making my stay so lovely and quirky. Find out about the Morita here.

My main reason for going to Edinburgh was the book festival. I had several writing workshops, lectures and "writer's retreat" sessions I wanted to attend. These were as much about encouragement for my writing as learning new skills and gaining professional advice. I saw some intellectually stimulating talks - to make me feel clever - by the scientist Lord Robert Winston and ex-cabinet secretary and Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling. (And, yes, his eyebrows really are as big as they look on TV. But, no, I didn't get a chance to "do a Blackadder" and say "thankyou, darling, for that talk".)

I went to see some of the "Fringe" theatre plays too. The Fringe has been going for about fifty years and has, until recently, been seen as the alternative and challenging part of the Edinburgh festival; a kind of avant-garde reaction to the mainstream art. Last year it was sponsored by Microsoft. That, to me, killed its "on-the-edge" image forever.

However, there was a really great one-woman show called A Way of Man by Dutch performers Michael&Caja that I saw. This was just Caja telling a coming-of-age fantasy story to the audience (a kind of Alice in Wonderland adventure). It was no-frills theatre; just Caja and a chair, but she had a very enticing, hypnotic voice that painted vivid pictures and if she'd talked about growing bananas for an hour I probably would have listened open-mouthed. Michael&Caja's website is here.

Whilst hanging out with myself in Edinburgh I also learnt several things:

1) that I've done a lot of advice-based learning in the past year - especially about writing - and at some point I just need to bloody well get on with the projects I feel passionate about.

2) it's starting to get hard spending lots of time on my own. I'm not sure if it's because being alone in a big city amongst thousands of people makes you feel even lonelier (although I never felt this way in Los Angeles), or because being alone makes you think, think, think way too much, or because I don't like myself enough to be alone with just me, or because I simply don't enjoy being alone. But then, who does all the time? Even if I am a writer, I am a very social being at heart.

Whatever it is, being on your own for too long sucks. Which is probably why it's a good thing I've signed up to be a temporary dog fosterer for awhile: someone who takes care of shy, abused and abandoned dogs for a few weeks after they've come out of kennels and before they're housed permanently. I think having a dog will give me something to do every day with the walking and something to love as well (because I am soppy and need a sidekick).

After being in several long-term relationships, I guess I'm finding it hard to adjust to spending time by myself without someone always by my side to share thoughts, dreams and even the dreary everyday boring things about life with. Yes, violins.

Having been a "serial monogamist" in the past - moving from one relationship to the next with hardly a gap in between - I do think that, as hard as it might be, this is a very good time to remain single and keep learning who I am, what I like doing, what I want to be when I grow up (not that I ever want to)...and generally explore what I want out of my life. It feels important to do this before committing in any fashion to sharing my life with someone else again. So there.

For pix accompanying this blog, go here. Stay healthy, happy and well everyone. Love and winks.

Writing in Wonderful Wales: Life after America.

2010-07-22T20:37:00.000+01:00

It’s been a whole month since I returned from California and - in between re-adjusting to driving on the left again, getting Burger Withdrawal Symptoms and returning my head to eight hours forward – I’ve been a busy boy. After spending a week or so at my mum’s place in Weymouth, Dorset I quickly decided I needed a space of my own so that I didn’t get too used to eating sponge cakes and bacon sandwiches.

So, after throwing much of my worldly possessions out of my parents’ garages, I took what was remaining and drove north up to Wales. I’ve moved into my mate’s Craig’s house; he has a place in a small village called Llanmartin – near Newport, Wales. And the little village is very much in the middle of nowhere – I think they only got the internet last year (and I thought Fort Bragg in Mendocino, USA was an isolated place!).

But, despite this, the house is a real retreat. I’ve already managed to settle in and begun writing a new TV pilot screenplay (and, no, I won’t be telling you about this until later). The house has a little conservatory so, when it rains (which, being Wales, it frequently does), the gentle patter of the drops on the roof is a very relaxing, writer-like sound. Combine this with a windy night, a warm cup of tea and some custard cream biscuits and I have myself a lovely place to live and write, temporarily.

I’ve also been sending my CV out to every independent TV and film production company in the area and I have meetings next week for possible writing and production work. I also discovered the man in charge of the UK film crew for Steven Spielberg’s new movie, War Horse, which is set to film in Surrey and the barren lands of Dartmoor in Devon and Cornwall. Mr Spielberg now has my CV too.

On top of this, I’ve been emailing lots and lots of literary agents in my non-stop attempt to be a regularly published author (children’s books hopefully, but I’ll give everything a go!).

I’m very grateful to my friend Craig (and his wife-to-be Mandy) for giving me the space and welcoming me to Wales. They’ve taken me to the local pub quiz nights and introduced me to the local Welsh community. It’s helped counteract my Los-Angeles-to-Welsh-Village shock to the system and made it not as bad as it could’ve been.

I’m also very happy that Craig and Mandy are to be married and that I will be their Best Man (never done this before, hur-hur). They’re are a great couple and compliment each other beautifully.

That’s all my UK news so far. Hope you’ve had an equally happy, healthy and productive month. Stay well and smile. Wink.

Anthony's America: The End. For Now.

2010-06-23T20:03:00.000+01:00

I've tasted many things whilst on my adventure in the United States. From the eye-opening experience of living in the woods and working in a small American town, to the celebrity and vibrance of Hollywood. From the desert heat and eerie, loneliness and creative quality of Death Valley, to the cultural explosion of Seattle. From the emotional lows of recovering from the devastation of a long-term relationship break-up, to the excitement, supportiveness and magical-quality of meeting lots of new, beautiful and caring friends.

Every moment of my journey has been worth it; it's been a journey filled with curiosity, self-discovery, happiness, sadness, joy, difficulty, ease and triumph.

Before I left for America I was told, for health reasons I won't go into, that I should not go for a six-month trip to America. But, as we all know, doctors don't know everything. You can choose to take your doctor's advice or leave it. I chose, with a lot of thought, that I needed a new direction and a new spark to my life and that this was more important than anything else.

The only person who was going to make that spark happen, was me. And the only place I felt it would happen, was America. That was what my gut told me anyway and, well, my intuition was one hundred percent right.

And one of the things I've learnt from my entire trip is how to trust my intuition. But, just as importantly, I've learnt how to act on what my intuition is telling me.

How many people can say this and mean it?

Acting on my intuition was something I simply did not know how to do before coming to America.

And, for those of you reading this and thinking: what the hell kind of fluffy talk is this? What I'm saying is, I've learnt that if something feels wrong to me before, during or after I'm about to, am or have done this thing (whatever it is), then it means I'm not on the right path; it means I need to drag my ass back in the direction I'm meant to be going so everything does feel right.

Everyone's intuition will tell them things in different ways. It will provide you with both physical and mental signs. You just need to know what your signs are. Especially when things aren't right. The signs could be as simple as a bad ache in your stomach; tiredness; headaches; feeling grumpy; not getting along with people; thoughts of needing to be somewhere far away; or a feeling as if you're pushing against the world instead of flowing with it.

Whatever your signs are, listen and act.

As an example, for several of the last weeks I was in Los Angeles I volunteered at the film office, Film L.A. This is the company that had offered me the job running a six-month, $500,000 interactive public information campaign about film. But the role didn't happen because America's visa immigration caps meant I could not apply for a change of visa status.

It was a pleasure to have this opportunity at Film L.A., at the heart of the film-making process, but after several days I felt sucked into a corporate world poles apart from the "free as a bird" one I've been used to whilst travelling around and being a freelancer. In my world I make up my own rules. And those new rules mean I can leave to go somewhere whenever I want.

This is not to say I can't do corporate - in small doses and at the right place - but Film L.A.'s job is to work in-between film-makers wanting to blow up streets and the residents of those streets who'd rather they didn't, thank you very much. As much as I appreciate the brief insight into this side of the entertainment industry (and know that a lot of my film commissioner friends around California do similar roles but in not such corporate conditions as Film L.A.), I know I need to be working on the production side of things - mainly writing and producing TV, films and books.

So, I made a decision to leave Film LA and, as soon as I did, I felt better about everything. The future looked more positive and my heart felt content again.

No offence to Film L.A. and I'm sure there's none taken either.

But what I'd like to say here is more about the lessons I've learnt on my trip and wish to pass on: that if you follow your intuition and ensure you're on the right path, your heart will reward you too: you'll feel more satisfied and energised because your mind, body and soul are in-tune with what they all want to be doing.

And, so, are mine in tune with going back to the UK? Well, I'd say probably 'yes'. I'm ready. And this is not because I feel that adventures ever have to end, but maybe you need a break from them to stand back, take stock of what you've discovered about yourself and the world, and then climb back on the Adventure Wagon after a period of reflection.

And even in my last couple of weeks in America, I still crammed in as many little bits of adventure as I could.

I went to a special workshop where Dustin Hoffman did a talk about acting and the entertainment industry; he was an exceptionally warm, friendly and funny man with the kind of in-built charisma that only comes from being a real person. As well as this I went out for a night of partying in Beverly Hills (at a terrible place called The Aqualounge) and saw the actor Dennis Quaid perform with his band The Sharks. I took a drive down through the huge houses and beautiful coast of Malibu, went for a meeting at the country club in the everso-posh-and-soaking-in-dollars Bel Air (which I hated), spent time watching a movie production team shoot scenes from season five of the AMC series Mad Men, walked along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, wrote another short film and bought myself new professional scriptwriting software (well, if I'm serious, I need to have this!).

I also experienced four earthquakes in one night, the first of which woke me up at 3am when my bed began to shake. I was half in dreamland and thought someone was crawling on my bed and shaking it around. But no, it was just Mother Nature flexing her very powerful tectonic muscles.

Aside from these mini-adventures, I was also given such amazing advice on scriptwriting in my last few days in L.A.; the kind of practical advice on what to write to succeed that I could never have got from reading a scriptwriting book 6000 miles away in the UK. And it is advice I fully intend to use to write some new material for a brand, spanking new Anthony Burt portfolio that will hopefully, eventually blow Hollywood away when I return.

And, this is the thing everyone keeps asking me: are you coming back to America?

I've been saying "yes, definitely when I get another visa". But thinking hard about it now, I know I will be coming back but need to ensure I'm armed with a new pilot script before I do so as the only place I'm likely to come back to is Los Angeles. I feel the possibilities of having a very fruitful film career are waiting to be tapped into in every corner of L.A. And, so, next time I come back it won't be such a sightseeing road trip, more a furthering of my writing career.

Yet, I decided I didn't want to spend the last week of my America trip in the big city. I wanted to see my friends again before I went home to the UK. So I drove up to Sacramento and helped Lynne and Ben move into their beautiful, big new home they've just bought. It is immense and I'm quite jealous of Ben's pool table on his upstairs landing area. Ben: get that bar to go with it.

After this I continued up north to - unexpectedly - head back to Fort Bragg and Mendocino; it felt like the natural thing to do to go back there to see all the people I'd become true friends with. A kind of "circle of life" thing but without The Lion King. Thank you to Heather, Luci, Debra, Emily, Samantha and Bonner, Nikki and Joe for making my last week in America such a wonderful, relaxing and pleasureable time.

I spent my final day roaming around the very un-touristified (is that a word? it should be) areas of Berkeley and Oakland in San Francisco. Looking at little market places in China town, shopping in downtown and strolling through "Old Oakland" - with an ancient pub that opened in 2007 - I walked around with the lovely Heather who kindly gave me a lift to one of the Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART) stations from Mendocino and also gave me a tour-de-force of her beloved college town.

Before leaving for the airport, I sold my beautiful little T100 pickup truck - which took me through seven US states on a 12,000 mile journey in six months (thanks Jim for buying it - you got a bargain and you know it). And, even though I've put on a few stone due to the hamburgers being way too tempting over here, I have a cross-trainer in the UK and will be straight on it when I find a new place to live and call my home. Because, don't forget, I'll be starting all over again from scratch when I get back. No home, no job. Scary and exciting.

And so a new adventure awaits me in England, which includes seeing my family and friends, finding a place to write in and a place to live temporarily until I eventually come back to America.

And, until then, I'd like to thank every single one of the people I came into contact over here - whether it was for a short time or longer - and for making my journey of self-discovery a wonderful, resounding success.

See my pictures here. Stay well and stay with me; you never know what might happen next. Wink.

Get on With It

2010-06-19T22:17:00.000+01:00

"Get busy living, or get busy dying."

Never Done By Half

2010-06-13T22:14:00.000+01:00

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."

Heart and Intuition

2010-06-05T05:21:00.000+01:00

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Anthony's America 10: New York City, Book Expos, Testicle Meat-Eating Plants, Jon Stewart, Literary Agents & Home Time

2010-05-30T04:46:00.000+01:00

For those of you who have faithfully followed my American adventures here [thank you], you may have noticed a slight leaning towards "home sickness" and "tiredness" lately. You know that feeling when some things you do in life come effortlessly, as if they're easy and as light as a feather. Whereas other things feel heavy, difficult and a little like you're wading through treacle?

Well, I'm getting the latter about being away from home now. Don't get me wrong, I love America and the wonderful friends I've made here (and who I will make sure I stay in touch with). And I'm more thankful than I ever have been at any time in my life for being in a country where the impossible seems possible; it's truly liberating to experience another culture for an extended period of time, instead of just for a few weeks holiday.

But, after spending a week in New York City, where I spent four days networking with publishers and literary agents at the Book Expo of America (one of the largest book industry events, aside from the monstrous Frankfurt tradeshow), I feel utterly exhausted. And it's not just jet-lag and tiredness, there is a clear underlying feeling - for want of a better way to put it - that I need to be back with my people now.

I miss my family, friends and the English countryside. I miss, unbelievably, the fog and rain. I miss driving on the left side of the road. I miss roast dinners and a real, proper pub. And, God, I miss British music so much. But, most of all, I miss having a space all of my own - including a garden - to live and create in.

In one way or another, I've been moving around and "on the road" since January 2009. I haven't sat still much for almost 18 months, sleeping on friends sofas, parents of friends houses, going to Scotland and Wales, climbing a mountain, using couch surfing here and there, living in the woods in northern California, driving the whole of America's 1300-mile long west coast from Seattle to San Diego (plus my amazing trip to Death Valley), working at a film office, writing half a novel, writing several short films, moving to Los Angeles, writing a Hollywood blog and now flying the 6 hours each way to New York City.

God, I'm exhausted just reading that back.

I've found it incredibly difficult to "settle" and feel content over the past year, and I'm still struggling with this. So, after spending time exploring who I am and what I want to do with myself in the near future, I think it's time for me to go back to England and make myself a new home where I can feel comfortable enough to flourish and create in.

I've made so many contacts here in LA for film-making, and now lots of literary agents and publishers after my trip to Manhattan too, but now I need to put my money where my mouth is in terms of my writing...and actually create - and FINISH - several different books and scripts so I can come back to Los Angeles and sell Brand Burt to Hollywood. I feel this will be the right move because I'll be refreshed and armed with a quality portfolio - one that has had professional guidance from people doing this work - that gets me a job as a staff writer on a TV show.

And this trip away has, I feel, improved my writing skills too; they feel more honed and I feel as if I understand how to write in different mediums a lot better than several years ago. And, also, importantly, that it's really okay to want to write and be successful in many artistic mediums.

My six months here in the US were, perhaps, healing time, full of adventure, self-realisation and also a fact-finding mission to discover what exactly it is I need to do to achieve my dreams (and fulfil many of them whilst I was here too, I mustn't forget). And this mission just happens to have been one where I've made tremendous contacts ready for the future, many of whom have helped me feel more confident in myself about my writing and networking successfully.

Hollywood doesn't scare me one bit now. It used to. But now it's not a faraway, impenetrable dream that I could never, ever reach...it's very much a real place with real people who - if you find the right ones - want to help you succeed.

Yet, as there are so many distractions in LA - going out, shopping, drinking iced teas, chatting and going to endless workshops - I think heading back to England with my newly-found knowledge of Hollywood (and the book industry too) means I can create a new pilot script for a TV series, finish my adult thriller book as well as start writing a non-fiction book. I can do all these projects safe in the knowledge that there are places - especially in America - where my work will come alive.

And New York may have been hot, sticky, smelly and disgustingly humid (35 degrees celsius, 99 fahrenheit with no wind - add to this the heat from millions of people and an endless supply of idling traffic, honking their horns all the time), but it is where virtually all of this country's publishing decisions take place.

At the Book Expo I was lucky enough to go to talks by authors John Grisham (intense), Christopher Hitchens (posh), Jon Stewart (hilarious), Barbra Streisand (yawn), the Duchess of York (witty) and Condoleeza Rice (nervous). After ex-Secretary of State Ms Rice had done a shaky, heartwarming talk about her family and upbringing in America's deep south in Birmingham, Alabama, the political satirist Jon Stewart came back to the microphone, paused with his comedic skill, and said: "Don't. Make. Me. Like. You."

Also at the expo I met a man who broke the Guinness World Record for answering the most amount of "life advice questions" on post-it notes in a 48-hour period; met the youngest all-body tattooed girl, which was slightly disconcerting; and discovered, rather distressingly, that Google appears to be attempting to take over the book industry through thinly-disguised subterfuge. But I'll leave this last story of corporate-giant-bullying-tiny-booksellers to another day when I'm a regularly published author and have the right to comment and an audience who will listen.

But, as far as attempting to reach my goal of being regularly published, I did manage to talk with several publishers and literary agents about them reading my work, so I'll keep you posted on progress with this. Whatever anyone says about needing a literary agent, I think for my kind of work I definitely need to get one before I can find the right publisher.

I also met a very talented young artist at the expo, Harvey Smith. He is from the West Midlands in the UK, and one of his passions is sculpting, movie special effects and making creatures. You can see his excellent work on his website here.

Before heading out to New York I drove south from LA to the city of San Diego (where CSI: Miami is filmed...no, seriously) and spent several weekends having fun with my friends Charla and Heather.

With the lovely Charla I spent the day having very insighful chats, going to several boat museums where we went on two submarines (American and Russian), and manned the wheel of the Star of India, the ship used in the filming of Russell Crowe's Master and Commander movie. We also visited the beautiful Balboa Park, where there is a science and natural history museum, lots of sculptures and a Shakespearian-style theatre-in-the-round.

But, as my love of nature always wins through, and the botanical gardens at Balboa Park were a relaxing joy to wander around and encased in an intricate dark wood cage. There was Spanish architecture, carnivorous plants that looked like testicles (see pic if you don't believe me), purple orchids and duck ponds.

With the gorgeous Heather I spent a fun day out at, er, a fun fair with her sister Nikki's two cute little girls. We went on the Big Wheel, played mini-golf and enjoyed the sunshine.

As I said, I feel very lucky to have met such wonderful people out here who want to spend time with me.

So, I have three weeks left, if no visa miracle is found between now and June 22nd. And, over the next couple of weeks I'll be volunteering at the Los Angeles' film commission, Film L.A. I'll be doing writing projects for them and hope that - when I head home to the UK - this will lead to longer-term freelance work that I can do via the internet. But I also have a lot more still to do before my Big Departure Date arrives, and some really exciting things too, so stay with me for now...and also stay healthy, happy and adventurous. Wink.

View the pictures that go with this blog post here.

Home Sick

2010-05-24T05:16:00.000+01:00

"One's home is like a delicious piece of pie you order in a restaurant on a country road one cozy evening - the best piece of pie you have ever eaten in your life - and can never find again. After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if you have a new home that has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up."

The 50 People You Want to Work With

2010-05-19T06:15:00.000+01:00

It's been suggested to me, by a successful scriptwriter here in Los Angeles - who has hundreds of hours of network TV credits to his name - that I should write a list of the 50 people I admire and want to work with; talented individuals who are excelling in their fields. Excelling in the same genres and similar styles I'd like to write in.

This list is a very good idea because, not only does it focus you to think "who I'd like to be like", but it also makes these famous, untouchable people seem that little more approachable. There's the possibility that, having written my list, I could actually go through and find ways to contact them, ask them to be mentors and, indeed, end up working with them.

Anything is possible, right?

It took me quite a while to put the list together and, probably, I've missed out some really key people I would like to work with. But, for now, here - for your delectation and no doubt endless mocking - is "Anthony Burt's List of the 50 People I'd Like to Work With":

Alan Ball (producer/showrunner True Blood)

David Goyer, Marc Guggenheim, Brannon Bragen (creators of Flashforward)

Frank Darabont (director of The Shawshank Redemption)

Stephen Fry (uber-genius, writer, TV presenter, actor, comedian...)

Mark Waters, David Berenbaum, John Sayles (The Spiderwick Chronicles)

Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, John Lasseter, Thomas Porter (Wall-E)

Rob Reiner (director of Stand By Me)

Stephen King (author of Carrie, IT, The Stand, The Dark Half, The Dark Tower series)

Louis Theroux (journalist, documentary-maker, discoverer of the weird and my twin)

Steven Spielberg (E.T., AI, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raider of the Lost Ark)

Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings trilogy)

Baz Luhrmann (creative genius and director of Moulin Rouge and Australia)

Jamie Oliver (the Naked Chef and all-round passionate, brilliant man)

Robbie Williams (singer)

Bon Jovi (rock band)

Peter Andre (TV presenter and all-round great guy)

Leonardo DiCaprio (fantastic actor)

Rachel McAdams (fantastic actress and stunningly beautiful)

Neil Gaiman (fantasy writer)

Bruce Willis (Die Hard and just because how cool would it be?)

John Connolly (Irish writer)

Russell T. Davies (writer of Dr Who)

J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek)

Marc Forster, David Magee (Finding Neverland)

Edward Zwick (director of Blood Diamond)

Anthony Hopkins (actor)

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald (Take That)

Christian Slater (actor)

John Williams (composer of Jurassic Park and Star Wars)

Ewan McGregor (actor)

William Nicholson (screenwriter of Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Shadowlands)

Ridley Scott (director)

Matt Damon (actor)

Emma Thompson (writer and actress, Nanny McPhee)

Matthew Vaughn (director of Stardust)

Jack Nicholson (actor)

Angelina Jolie (actress)

Brad Pitt (actor)

Clint Eastwood (writer, actor, director)

So, now it's your turn. Go make a list of people you want to work with. They don't have to be involved with film or in the entertainment industry, just whoever it is you admire; whoever is your hero. Go find them and be part of their lives (in a non-stalkerish way please) and you might discover they actually want to be a part of yours too. They are, after all, just people. Lots of love. Wink.

Anthony's America Part 9: Los Angeles

2010-05-12T18:06:00.000+01:00

Time does fly when you're having fun because, somehow, I've been in Los Angeles for a month now. I feel as if my feet haven't touched the ground from the second I got here; maybe because they haven't. I've been rushing around - like the proverbial blue-ass fly - going to scriptwriter meetings, conferences, networking events, workshops and lunches with people I might be able to work with in the future.

Being in LA is, obviously, a much faster-paced environment than Fort Bragg, the small town I lived in for four months in northern California. I've worked in London before, but Los Angeles is completely different to that. Aside from the hot sun, it's hard to describe how LA has a paradoxical feeling of both a "chilled out" approach to enjoying life (the Californian way) but also one very much of "work yourself HARD...all the time".

Most of the meetings and conferences happen at night and at the weekend, so you have to be prepared to be at places - talking to people - until after midnight and then be ready to get up early to do it all again the next day. But, you know what, that really is fine with me because I'm here and grabbing the opportunities LA can offer me with both hands...whilst I'm here; I can catch up on sleep when I retire.

And, not only have I been learning how to constantly sell myself at meetings (which is actually very tiring and a concept us British are not particularly adept at - we generally prefer, sadly, to watch and moan about what other people are doing), but I've also had to adjust to driving across immense freeways in this huge city for my meetings, which can take hours. The traffic here is disgustingly busy.

I've discovered the 405 Freeway was actually created by the Devil so he could watch us sat in our cars going nowhere and laugh. The evil bugger.

But, that's fine too. The traffic is the negative trade-off for being here (think along the lines of yin and yang), because LA has a certain vibrant, creative energy about it that draws you in. There are thousands upon thousands of people who have all gathered here to entertain and better themselves and that communal expression of creative energy gives Los Angeles its feeling of dreamy optimism, hope and makes it full of real possibilities to succeed in your chosen art.

Aside from the fact that I had a pretty bad crash on the freeway last week (where a dumbass student smacked into the back of my pickup and gave me whiplash), and the fact I got another police ticket (fines so far in the US of A: $550) for parking the wrong way on a two-way road and "more than 18 inches from the sidewalk"...aside from this, I like Los Angeles.

I'm developing a very good Bullshit Radar (BSR) being here too, because there are A LOT of people who say they're doing this project, that project, working with Leonardo DiCaprio or working with Steven Spielberg...and they're clearly not doing anything of the sort. I tend to ask these people "what're you working on right now?", which has become my Bullshit-finding question. The majority of them stumble and say "not much at the moment, but I am trying to do this...".

I really don't understand the mindset of wanting to lie about what you're doing, when you're not doing it; I was brought up to be honest. I want to achieve many things here - including writing scripts on a TV series, producing and directing my own films - but I don't feel I'm going to do this without being truthful to myself and others I meet. I want people to know that I'm genuine and, yes, I've had lots of writing experience, but very much want to learn afresh here and produce projects in an American style. I want people to know I'm a clean slate, open to advice, guidance and learning. Who doesn't love learning new things, right?

And because of this openness, so far I've managed to become a Multi-Media Man (think of a slightly less muscular Superman without a cape, but with the Clark Kent glasses) and get involved with: recording a voice-over for a training video; going to a secret weekly sciptwriters meeting attended by working writers, actors and producers; going to a Disney Fellowship writing workshop at Universal Studios; meeting the writer of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry movies; meeting Michael Winner's cinematographer; talking with writers who have written for TV series such as Ugly Betty, Glee, Dexter, House, South Park, The Simpsons and Sex and the City; attending a scriptwriters monthly meeting at 20th Century Fox Studios (in the building next to where they film the TV series Bones, meaning I'm getting closer to my goal of meeting Stephen Fry because he stars in this series!); having a great laugh with the very funny daughter of Roger Allers, the man who directed The Lion King; and talking with a producer about filming my own work too.

And, with all this film-like energy around me, I've been inspired to write a short film. It's called Dark Angel and I'd love to produce and direct it. I'll provide more information about it when I've let it rest for a while and re-written it.

I also, amazingly, got offered a full-time job at the Los Angeles' film commission - Film LA - as a writer and film campaign manager. This would be a 6-month contract and mean I'd stay in America until Christmas. However, due to this country's "immigration caps", it makes it illegal for me to start paid work here until October after I've changed my visa to a H1-B status, so the job won't work out. I'm looking into other visa possibilities to counteract this bureaucratic nonsense, as I think I might like to stay here a little longer, but the other thing I could do is get a writer's job on a show. Now that would be excellent and, also, a massive help in my career for when I go back to the UK.

For this, I've been given the advice that I have to write a "spec script" to demonstrate my writing skills for a particular American show. So I will be writing a True Blood script over the coming weeks as I have an excellent storyline idea for one.

But, as for other LA tourist-like things, I've spent time visiting the seaside area of Santa Monica. The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica has a great atmosphere in the day time and, at night, lots of bands and singers come out to play all along the pedestrianised road. They have a Johnny Rockets burger diner there (the burgers are the tastiest in the world!) and I was eating my approximately 15-inch thick double bacon cheeseburger the other day, with sauce running down my chin attractively, when the song Johnny B Goode came on the radio. In a matter of seconds, all the cooks, waitresses and most of the customers were singing and jumping out of their seats to dance and clap. It was a fantastic only-in-America moment that made me smile and cheer along.

I also took myself to The Getty; an art gallery perched on two mountains overlooking Los Angeles. The Getty's architecture is spectacular and the gardens are stunningly beautiful. You completely forget you're in an over-populated city, it's a very restful place (see pics) with 20-feet high structures and gorgeous pink and red bougainvillea arbors hanging from them.

I also went to the fantastic Farmer's Market in The Grove; a shopping area with a mix of food stalls and old stores that have been trading in Los Angeles since 1934. They have gorgeous homemade icecream, sushi, English toffee chocolate (which was, admittedly, quite close to the real thing - I asked for a discount as I'm English but they said 'no', the buggers), masses of chinese food, Gumbo from America's deep south, and a strange selection of candied fruit, such as green pineapple...which has to be wrong, surely?

Whilst at the market I visited the Avatar promo stand and morphed myself into a James Cameron Pandorian clone. I think I make quite a good mutated alien.

So, thankyou for listening, I'm off to find myself a True Blood script to read at the Writer's Guild of America screenwriter's library, and continue in my goal to conquer Hollywood.

As per usual, please just click here to see all the pictures that go with this part of my American Adventure. And, until next time, stay well and keep dreaming. Wink.

Miracle of Life

2010-05-05T07:38:00.000+01:00

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

No Time to Waste

2010-04-26T05:59:00.000+01:00

"Life is short and we never have too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind."