PICKING UP PEAS WITH CHOPSTICKS

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR:
It has been a busy period for me working on the new novel and creating some ebooks for authonomites. I'm just using this time to say thank you en masse to all those people below who have commented (good or bad). I do appreciate it and if I don't get around to you personally in quick time, I will do in the long term via your books or personally. Thank you all. Graham

I've been picking a tale out every day at random in my break.
It makes a nice change to reading the first half of a book and never knowing the ending.
They are just the right length to relax and lose everything around you for a few minutes.
I don't know why publishers don't print more of these what with the busy lives people lead.
So far I've read:
A Perfect Score – You'll be thinking about this for longer than it took to read.
Mick's Revenge – I didn't see it coming, so clever.
The News Said – Life is like that.
Holy Spirit Tours – Chilling.
There are typos but I didn't note them down as I didn't want to read these stories with a typo mission in mind. They didn't distract me.
It's a lovely book and so sad that one of the authors is no longer with us.
I'll comment again when I've read more. I'm taking my time with this one.
Jes.x

The authors are definitely disciples of Anais Nin, who prescribed, ‘The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say’. Absolutely damned right! When modern day so-called literature has been filled with conformist, template driven drivel about non entities and puerile pulp themes, it is a pleasure to come across authors who kick against the pricks, to quote from Acts 26-14. It is all too easy just to follow the latest status quo and become a sheep by replicating what is considered, or should I say contrived to be, a commercially winning formula.

Ask yourself the question, do you write for the monetary rewards that book sales bring, or do you write to get YOUR message out into the marketplace, and I capitalize your, because that message should be uniquely yours, not a facsimile of something you have read and thought, mmmm, I’d like a slice of that action. My feeling is that Dora Bona and Graham Whittaker fall into the latter category, and are driven by the desire to stretch and expand the art form, rather than gorge on its material rewards, should they come. That, I consider to be a noble and respected aim for a writer.

Picking up Peas with Chopsticks, is a great title and a metaphor for life’s challenges. It is not a novel in the conventional sense with a predictable beginning in which the whole plot is laid out on page one for those incapable of intrigue appreciation and who probably suffer from premature ejaculation, a soporific middle section and an even more sterile ending, but a compendium of tales extracted and extrapolated from real life observation and experience.

Dora Bona and Graham Whittaker have assumed a kind of Lennon and McCartney, Rogers and Hart approach to creating a myriad of stories that reflect their lives and the people who they have interacted with. Their madrigals and chansonnettes are often humourous and tragic, but they do reflect the width and breadth of human pathos. Why writers feel the need to make up lame fantasies when there is a plethora of much more interesting anecdotal themes to be gleaned as material from real life is beyond me.

The central message here is never trust anyone or any group with an agenda. They may masquerade under the flag of purity, but they are as hypocritical and self-serving,as those they say, oppose their particular life styles. Mendacity is the province of all, especially those who purport to be holier than thou do-gooders. Check out the BBC for example.

Of course, because this book is from the minds of inventive mavens who question accepted subject matters and who is allowed to present them, it remains on the margins, only being brought to the attention of the sleeping masses when renegades like this reviewer happen on the work. That is a great shame, and without doubt is a reflection of how badly dumbed-down English society has become over the past 15 years of regulated, sanitized, you can say that, you must say this, draconian big brother State bullying.

To all those who pass by this webpage and think what the fxxk is this guy on about, have a read of just one of the chapters at random, and you will find more enlightenment then in reading a whole set of novels about ghost and goblins, super-hero’s and other assorted mediocrities and fakes.

Starred to the max, on my WL and will end up on my bookshelf. Great stuff.

Clive Radford
Doghouse Blues

Hi Graham,
I read the beginning, the prologue, and I had the urge and desire to keep reading, thinking of you and Dora...

I chose a random chapter which was 7. It was an interesting one full of emotions and humanly reactions. Your characters Danny, Jack, David, Vera and Jackie sounded like they already existed somewhere in this world.

A great read for grown-ups, I mean open-minded adults, and thanks for sharing.

6/6 stars from me and in my Watch List for further comments. It seems like I'll delve into this book to check another random chapter soon.
Best wishes,
Lucette- Ten Deep Footprints

I can't stop laughing at the end of ch. 2.....as the story progressed, I'm thinking 'Mary and Joseph in the stable!' I love the humor....still trying tocompose myself.......ahhhhhh. Ok. I've had 2 children, my first a 'not sure I was going to get to the hospital moment' but did, thankfully! So well written, wonderfully believable. Love it!

A remarkable collection of stories and a seamless collaboration it would appear. I have dipped in and out and the only way to do the stories justice is to include them on my bookshelf. So I have backed, starred and will return to comment more fully. Cas

Very refreshing! These are well written and creative. You do a great job with descriptions and characterization, and dialog rings true. The workout tape story had a whimsical feel to it that made me think of James Thurber a little. The birth story was well-enriched with visual details and voices. Quite good all around.
Best of luck with this!
And if you have any interest in children's literature, do drop in on the Lost Wink.
Thanks!
Tod
http://authonomy.com/books/40646/the-lost-wink/

This collection of short stories is amazing for two reasons.
1) Two people wrote it which shows great cooperation.
2) All the stories are so different which shows such a great talent. I would have believed that they were all written by different people.
I am such a baby on here. I certainly don't have these skills.
I loved every word.
Highest stars from me!!
Violet Ivy

Just read the first of your stories and got caught up in it straight away - it brought back memories of being in a similar situation and flooring it past a speed camera to get to the hospital on time (which we did).
This was just the right kind of length to make it a casual read, but at the same time it was long enough to get stuck into. By the way, what's a carton of VB?
I found a few punctuation typos which I'll message to you, but otherwise, great!
Mike.
(Way Back To Devil's Mountain / Blitzen Goes Bananas)

An interesting collection of diverse, very short sories. As advertised, perfect for reading while riding the bus, waiting on a train, etc. Creative, intriguing, and well done.

Hi, welcome to Authonomy.
I went through your book. A big, all inclusive.
Something for everybody I noticed in it. It should be read by readers of wider spectrum. I am not pin pinting on anything specific at this momemnt, to avaoid spoiling the surprise. Good luck.