Watching the Void

Guided disaster or daring genius?

When I heard about Cambridge’s – and that’s Cambridge in the UK, around an hour away from London – brand-new guided-bus idea, I was somewhat sceptical. Here is what I first learned about it.

1) It was to be the longest of its kind anywhere in the country.

2) It was going to be an alternative to the busy rush hour traffic.

3) It was going to give great views of the countryside.

4) The most important point: it was going to be ground-breaking…

And by ground-breaking, they seemed to be suggesting a new kind of transport which had never been seen before. The reality, of course, when you delved a bit deeper, was entirely different.

In fact, the guided bus had been seen before in a few other cities in UK, hence my negative first reaction. Had it been a success? Um…sort of. In reality, though, all it was was a bus which could go on both the road and on the funny guided rail things. So not that remarkable after all…

it cost an absolute fortune and promised no real payback

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If you’re going to self-publish…

Poland is not the most glamorous place on Earth, it has to be said. When I think of Poland, my Poland, I think about it with love but I am realistic.

Some people are not so realistic, though!

Recently I was searching on Amazon when I came across a thriller set in Poland. Now, I was excited; it wasn’t every day that I came across such a thing.

Then I found the cover and…well, I wanted to be as far away from thoughts of Poland as I possibly could be. This cover did not represent Poland in any way! Instead of putting forth an image of a changing country, it made Poland out to be somewhere where everyone smokes and it is constantly snowing. Now, I know that this is somewhat true – even I cannot disguise that – but do I want to see this on the cover of a book? I don’t think so (but then again, I am sure you already guessed that part).

…be sure to consult someone who is a designer. This is common sense

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