Andrew Blackman Asks Me Some Questions
Posted 14th December 2012
Category: Life But Maybe Not As We Know It Genres: N/A
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This photograph was taken by Chris Engelsma.
Last month, the book blogger named in the title of this post posed some questions for a short list of people, myself included. I don’t tend to join in memes, but considering he had created the questions himself, I thought I would answer the ones I could respond to best. I reckon they will also provide a better insight to me, and because I like reading about others on their blogs, I wondered if you all would appreciate the same in return. I’m rarely personal on this blog, apart from my about page, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be every now and then. So here goes.
What’s your favourite memory?
There are several to choose from, including hearing my musical compositions being played by a mini-orchestra, attending various concerts, and the weird feeling of a cog settling in place in my head the first time I met the guy who’s now my boyfriend. But I’d say my most favourite was years ago when I went with a group of people to look for the childhood home of an A-Lister – and we were invited inside by their parents. I probably ought to say that this was an A-Lister of another country, and there weren’t many fans from the UK. It was only about tens minutes, but when something like that happens you can’t really say it’s not your favourite memory.
Why do you blog?
I blog because I “have” to. I used to write a more personal blog, which is where Carnelian Valley comes from – I’ve been using the name since 2003. But because I didn’t want to commit to any niche my posting was sporadic and the topics random; my ideas and interest ran out. When I started reading avidly again, after years away, I found myself wanting to review the books, having already enjoyed reviewing music and films for my old blog. And I found book reviewing a lot easier, more straight forward, even if there are just as many different ways to approach it as there is a music review. When I read nowadays I find myself responding to the text in the ways my English teacher would have loved me to back in the day, and so that’s why I “have” to blog. The discussion and community that come with blogging pretty much sealed the deal, I’ve learned so much I’d never have learned if it weren’t for everyone else.
Why do you like reading?
The escape; the ability to go to different places (in my case namely the Middle Ages); to learn, whether from fiction or non-fiction; to improve my language skills; to better appreciate the written word.
What’s your most unrealistic ambition?
Sadly it’s my biggest passion, the thing I want the most: to compose music for a living. Nothing fires me up more than watching a concert, or a documentary about music where you watch artists recording. I’ve experienced a little of both those things first-hand, but nothing near what I would like. But it is an incredibly difficult industry to get into unless you want to sign your rights away to Simon Cowell. You could say it’s easier now, with You Tube, but in fact I’d say it makes it harder, there is so much competition, the same way there now is with ebooks. Maybe I’ll post some music one day, we’ll see.
Thank you, Andrew, for getting me out of my shell, and I hope my rambling was okay.
Over to you, my readers – do any of those questions pique your interest enough to answer them in the comments?
December 14, 2012, 2:08 pm
Music composition! Interesting! I enjoyed reading your answers :)
December 16, 2012, 10:03 am
Thanks for answering, Charlie! Loved your favourite memory, and it was also good to learn more about your music composition. It does seem like a hard industry to break into, but I hope you keep pursuing it, and then who knows!
December 18, 2012, 12:14 pm
Laurie: True, it does sound as though the Man Booker won’t happen, though there’s always other prizes if you did start writing!
Jennifer: Writing this has spurned me into writing lyrics again :)
Andrew: I decided to try writing lyrics again after a long time away, took a bit of practise but I got there. I’m hoping to make 2013 the year I get back in the studio.
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December 14, 2012, 11:42 am
Enjoyed reading your answers! I think my most unrealistic ambition is to win the Man Booker Prize. Since I don’t live in the UK and don’t ever complete a piece of fiction writing, it’s pretty darn unrealistic. But a nice daydream, nonetheless!