Tuesday 6 May 2008

And speaking of distractions…

I’ve discovered another fabulous way to waste time! God bless the Internet. And all praise to my guardian angel (who must have now deserted me) for keeping this off my radar for such a long time!

Which cornucopia of delights has taken an hour from my day? Meet the Author UK.

They have almost 1,500 video clips of authors talking about their books. The Sunday Times describes the site as “curiously addictive”. I’ll say.

To whittle the list down to something more manageable, I’ve decided not to watch clips of authors such as Rupert Everett and Emma Thomson. (Being an actor as well as an author gives an unfair advantage when speaking straight to camera. ;)) And if I rule out all memoir, non-fiction, and poetry too, there just might be time to view everything else!

I've already watched Zoë Sharp (because she lives in Cumbria), Roger Morris (because he blogs), Philip Pullman (because I have a crush on him), Santa Montefiore (because that’s such a great name),  Helen Cooper (because we attended the same school), Andy McNab (because he appears in silhouette) -- and there are hundreds more to see…!

But today, I must become un-distracted. Then get back to work. :)


Andy McNab on CNN

6 comments:

Cate Gardner said...

I want to say thank you but I'm now envisioning many wasted hours watching videos and procrastinating so I won't. :) Will check it out later. Must get at least 50 (non blog-comment) words done by tea.

Mary said...

Cate: I hope you reached your quota!

It’s a sad fact that enjoying websites and blogs doesn’t add to the word count of a short story or novel. :/

John said...

That is a fascinating site.
We need 200-hour days. I’m starting a petition.

Mary said...

John: What a brilliant idea! Where do we sign?! :)

Barrie said...

I can't check it out until I've revised several pages. But it's nice to know it's there...

Mary said...

Barrie: Something else to add to a list of things to look forward to!

I hope the revisions are going well. :)