I was on TV Last Week

It's not worth doing unless someone, somewhere, would much rather you weren't doing it.

-Sir Terry Pratchett, author

I worked the Greater Manchester Mayoral Elections in Manchester Central on Friday 5^th, where Andy Burnham was elected as Greater Manchester's first Mayor. I believe he's a good man for the job. Congratulations Andy!

I don't talk about work on the blog per se, but wanted to mention I ended up on BBC News.

Do I get my blue tick now, Twitter?

I finished Part Reptile, the autobiography of UFC fighter and commentator Dan Hardy.  Fascinating insight to the life of the British fighter who made waves in the American MMA tournament. Hardy's eloquent descriptions of his rise to the UFC through local tae kwon do tournaments through to training with Shaolin monks in China make for fascinating reading, and is better written than other sports autobiographies I've read. His dabblings with hallucinogens, his tattoos and the meanings behind them and his securing of his UFC commentator position form a unique story.

Also, I met him and got the book signed a while back.

We've just come to the close of Action for Brain Injury Week. Headway's site includes advice on what not to say to people with a brain injury. As someone with brain damage I can relate to most of these. Take a look at the video.

New fiction group Deansgate Writers Club Took place Tuesday night. Waterstones' new fiction club, fronted by published author Tom King, covered how to promote your finished manuscript to a publisher. He discusses what kind of advance payment you may get for a first novel, and what happens if it doesn't sell (it's pulped and used in motorway overpasses, FYI).

Deansgate Writers Group runs on the second Tuesday of each month at 6.30pm. Members get 10% off at the tills on the night of the meetings. Next month they'll be trying out some 'elevator pitches'- quick, enticing summaries of your novel, short enough to be summed up in a lift ride.