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Martyn Clayton's Interests
General
Writing, reading, Ms Rachey B the saviour of the universe, dancing in the kitchen, poncing about, cooking, baking bread, likewise baking cakes, photography, growing stuff in pots, wandering about,wide open spaces, dance, street art, contemporary art,taking the big blue train to London and Edinburgh, picnics, all things indie, folkie nonsense, clothes, daydreaming, finding interesting things on my doorstep, psychology, politics, conservation, conversation, Kate Moennig, living simply, pottering, cloud-watching, Old York City, Cornwall, Wales, Scottish Highlands, occassional gigs,trips to the theatre and cinema when I'm feeling so inclined, drinking coffee in a nice cafe, introversion, crazy INFP type business, examining my navel, Seabrooks Crisps, wacky diets,history, dogs particularly mad little terriers, beauty, truth, love, honesty, optimism, happiness.
Manic Street Preachers, Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, Hello Saferide, Beth Orton, Fionn Regan, Emmy The Great, Vampire Weekend, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Joan As Policewoman, The Clash, Johnny Flynn, Manics, Eels, Public Enemy, NWA, De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Noah & The Whale, Old Skool Hip Hop, Shonen Knife,Scott Walker, Seth Lakeman, Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby,Karine Polwart, My Life Story, Los Campesinos,Ladytron, MIA, The Smiths, Elastica,Robots In Disguise, To My Boy, Those Dancing Days, Saint Etienne, The Concretes, Billy Bragg, Sonny J, Hercules & Love Affair, Black Kids, The Sounds,The Ting Tings, The Sugars, Grammatics, The Pipettes, Tegan & Sara, 70s Disco, Motown & Northern Soul, stuff I can dance to, kitschy pop, far too much stuff to list. I've varied tastes you know.
Movies
The Hours, Juno, The Savages, Sweeney Todd, My Summer Of Love, Naked, Amelie, Breathless, Garden State, Motorcylcle Diaries, Il Postino, Little Miss Sunshine, Goodbye Lenin, Enemy At The Gates, Zulu, loads of crappy rom-coms and chick-flicks, tons more that it would be a bit boring to list here. The usual stuff, you'know how it is.
Television
Books
Virginia Woolf, Thomas Hardy, Irvine Welsh, the Brontes, William Boyd, Orlando Figes, Jeffrey Eugenides, Judith Butler, Aldous Huxley, Helen Dunmore, Alice Hoffman, Marian Keyes, Dostoyevsky, John Fowles, Stella Duffy, Simon Armitage, Charlotte Mendelsohn, Patrick Gale, Wiliam Boyd, history, art history, politics, popular science, psychology, all things Russian, loads of crime, general pop fiction and more books than you could ever possibly be interested in.
Heroes
My soul-mate, best-mate, partner-in-crime, entertainer in chief and saviour of the known universe, Ms Rachey B x That bloke who stood in front of a tank in Tiannamen Square.
About me: I'm a freelance writer, photographer, daydreamer, armchair idealist, devastating dancefloor technician and wanderer about in chief.
Please stand by your beds for the bit where I try and flog you my books like a shameless little tart :
Here it comes...
'Lauren Seymour enjoys a well-ordered existence. Passing her time in York she likes nothing better than the occasional crisp sandwich, reality TV, listening to her CD collection and ignoring the advice of her big gay housemate. An early morning phone-call suddenly shakes her out of her comfortable groove. How do you react when the odd guy you once tried to avoid befriending whilst at university claims that you are now the only person on the planet who could possibly help him ? When that man has been pulled half alive out of the icy-cold waters of the River Ouse after attempting to kill himself you might feel obliged to at least see what you could do. What she discovers in the 32 year old Robert P.Gorman is a man who has kept the ashes of his dead granny under his bed for ten years, and who hasn't bought an item of clothing for a similar length of time. Yet he doesn't seem completely beyond redemption. Could Lauren be the one to rescue Robert ? '
You can read the opening chapter on this clever little link right here :
And oh my giddy aunt, if you live in the UK, or the rest of the European Union, you can buy a signed copy direct from me for just ten pounds with delivery :
Or if you're in the US or further afield you too can get a highly collectible first edition with my scrawl in it, delivered to your door for just £15.
My follow-up novel Connection is out now.
Everything can change in 72 hours. The only trouble is Lauren Seymour likes things exactly as they are. It’s not easy being cool and aloof when the prettiest man you’ve ever set eyes upon is sitting on your floor eating your biscuits. Nor can you always be expected to keep it together when a slimy celebrity psychic appears to know your name. And just when your well-ordered life couldn’t be placed under any more threat of imminent upheaval a fat random perve seems intent on taking your photograph. Yet again, just when you think you’ve got everything sorted life throws up complications and choices that need making. Choices that could just change your life forever.
Connection is a book about friendship, love, desperation, madness, redemption, personal identity, what it really means to be a man or a woman and how exactly you remain true to yourself in a complicated world full of choices where nothing is certain and anything seems possible.
*Cover art by Jan Owen (Mute Records/Art Brut)
You can find out more and read the opening chapter at its very own Myspace page :
You can order signed copies direct from me on the link below for just £10 including shipping anywhere in the UK :
If you're overseas it's £15 on the link below :
You can order it direct from the nice people who print it on behalf of Garbled Noise, on the link below :
Or you can read more about me at BBC North Yorkshire
Oh and there's the Garbled Noise Books Amazon Associates Shop. There you can buy anything from the complete Amazon - books, music and DVD inventory. It costs you nothing more, and every purchase supports Garbled Noise and independent publishing in the UK.
Who I'd like to meet: People who like to read, and those who like to write. Clever, thoughtful dudettes and evolved dudes. People that like stuff that I like. Arty bohemians. Idlers. A tame otter. Tilda Swinton. Other people as well. You know the sort - heads, arms, feet, hair - the usual kind of thing. Smart clever people who think for themselves.
Book Butler is a great website that allows you to compare prices from hundreds of different online sellers. You can grab one of my books at a knockdown price by checking out the link below :
Hello there Marty Pants :0D Nice of you to drop by. Things are ........hhmmm well.....they just ARE is all I can really say about "things" at the moment. Getting ready for my big exciting exhibition moment in August and looking forward to seeing you soon. xx
We could indeed! Is that the Friday one? WE're going to be in town this Friday teatime as my daughter will be singing in the Minster, concert starts at 1700 lasts 45 mins. They've been doing gospel stuff so looking foward to it!Sh'll be going hom,e with my folks or her dad.
Yes I love crunchy nut. I'm trying that eat a bowl for breakfast and lunch diet. It would be working fine if it wasn't for midnight snacking on seasame seed biscuits!
