Something to buck me up

I'm still really suffering with this cold, and have had to cancel another trip to London today - and can't get hold of the guys I was meeting for a drink at 5: their mobiles are on voicemail, they're not on Facebook! (So much for technology; so much for our ridiculous delusions of permanent health!). However, finding out that Anne Brooke has made some great comments about Balancing has gone a long way towards restoring the balance (so to speak: is this a word-play virus, do you think?). Here's what she says:

Speaking of stories, I've finished Elizabeth Baines' short story collection, Balancing on the Edge of the World. A very high standard of writing indeed and I enjoyed it very much. The themes are the relationship between people and the power they hold (or the lack of it) - very human tales indeed. Particular favourites are Condensed Metaphysics (jazzy, edgy and strong), Holding Hands (a powerful tale of family dynamics and frailty - though she should have ended it 3 paragraphs earlier as the end line actually appears at the close of the 4th paragraph in from the finish, to my mind), Into the Night (a great erotic encounter which might or might not turn out to be more) and Condundrum (a wry look at child-rearing through the generations). I'd definitely read more Baines.

Interesting, that comment about the end of Holding Hands. Ending three paras earlier would certainly make a good story, but a very different one, with a very different conclusion. Mmm. See, you never know, do you?

Anne also adds some really nice things on Facebook: she calls it 'high quality writing that was a pleasure to read' and wants to know when I'm writing more...