IT’S baffling: why marketing people spend so much on campaigns doomed to miss the target. So much time, brainpower, effort and materials wasted. To say nothing of the waste incurred in printing and distribution. Plus the waste of so much money. Wasted not only by the marketers themselves but also by the poor sods who pay for these useless campaigns. Mountains of junk mail, so much of which ends up as litter. Discarded as unwanted and unread. Maybe the mere act of designing and printing this multi-coloured mass of pleas to buy (or sell) is considered sufficient. It’s akin to… Continue reading
Welcome to my world. My name is Tony Berry, writer and editor (and lifelong pedant) with five crime fiction books and two memoirs to my name. Also running addict, failed chef, theatre 'luvvie' and dedicated cruciverbalist
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The past few weeks have been something of a Nordic escape – a binge into a series of crime novels written by Jorn Lier Horst. By my reckoning he’s the new Henning Mankell. He makes a worthy successor to that supreme leader of the Nordic Noir brigade who started really… Continue reading
Like all the best villians they creep up without warning. Seconds later, their deadly effect has been suffered. As sudden and unexpected as we see in the movies, or in the endless succession of gory TV dramas. Or read in the plethora of crime fiction. It’s all over before the… Continue reading
Twin terror Twins have long provided fertile ground for authors. Especially those who use such relationships to weave tales of murder and mystery. So much intrigue can flow around those whose lives are inextricably linked from the moment of birth. There is no escape. Emotions are heightened, mental ties are… Continue reading
Best news of recent times is that war has resumed. No, not that tragic and brutal one. But after a lull in hostilities, another far older fight can continue. There is a new leader to take up the cudgels against the barbarians. The enemy is about to be pursued with… Continue reading
Diction: a person’s way of pronouncing words Such a simplistic (and I do mean simplistic) definition of a word with so many shades of meaning. And one that is widely open to a plethora of subtle differences. Surely the emphasis should be less on the speaker’s way of pronunciation and much more on the clarity of what pours forth from their mouth. There are almost limitless ways of pronouncing a word. Factors include whether it is in the speaker’s native vocabulary plus their level of education, and hence, familiarity, with the word at issue. But no matter how much all… Continue reading