Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, The Long Blondes, Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Little Man Tate, The Hussy's, Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Manic Street Preachers, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Saint Etienne, The Sounds, CSS, Klaxons, Tegan & Sara
Movies
Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, My Summer Of Love, Kes,Juno
Television
is the drug of the nation
Books
Nick Hornby, Tony Parsons, Simon Armitage, Marian Keyes, Mike Gayle, Gervase Phinn, Ian Macmillan, Irvine Welsh, Danny Wallace, Dave Gorman, Daphne Du Maurier, Roddy Doyle
Heroes
Kate Moennig would make a damn good Lauren Seymour
About me:
TAKE ME OUT is a novel set in the City Of York, England.
Cover Blurb :
' Lauren Seymour likes a well-ordered existence. She bothers no-one and is bothered even less. 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. Whilst nurturing her resentment at the loss of her best friend to a proposal of marriage and a new life in New York 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. It's been over ten years since she last laid eyes on his awkward figure, but a drunken promise has now come back to haunt her. 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 she be the one to rescue Robert ? Knowing what to do for the best is not always easy, particularly when your mum is expecting you to provide her with grandkids and you're convinced you actually look like a skinny good-looking bloke. Life is full of surprises and even the best laid plans can sometimes go awry. TAKE ME OUT is a book about friendship, love, and making decisions. When stories begin to emerge about Robert's mysterious past Lauren has to decide who to believe and where her loyalties ultimate lie. No one ever said this life business was going to be easy.'
WHAT READERS HAVE SAID : "The first time I read this it sucked me right in and I had it finished in 3 hours. I've just re-read at a slower pace and enjoyed it just as much as first time round.
Immediately I found the characters real. Each and everyone of them are normal people we all come across in everyday life - in fact some of them may even remind the reader of themselves! It's so easy to relate to them and their lives and share their ups and downs. There's a whole mix of emotions in the book and many times I found myself laughing out loud. At the same time some of the situations in the book make me feel a little sad and thoughtful. A book that can do that to my emotions is always a good read for me. It's set in York so not a fictional place and for anyone that knows York and the places mentioned you don't just read the story, you see it. I was left wanting more and I can't wait for the follow up"
"I really enjoyed Martyn Clayton's first novel. It's well written and made me laugh out loud in places. The characters are brilliant, very likeable, and easy to relate to. I'd thoroughly recommend Take Me Out to anyone looking for a good read, it's entertaining, yet thought provoking, and has left me looking forward to the author's next work! "
"From Start to finish (which was one sitting in my case), Martyn Clayton has created an involving, funny and sometimes heart wrenching book which will keep you engrossed all the way through. A definite companion for the summer! "
"It is clear from the beginning that the author is very fond of his characters. He describes them with humour and compassion. The story is imaginative and is certainly a page-turner. I enjoyed the book enormously and would recommend it as an accurate, if slightly tongue in cheek, social comment on life in the UK now, or at least the life in York. "
"The reader is drawn in so subtly that it comes almost as a shock to find yourself so taken up in the narrative that from an early point you care about their fate. It's the humanity of his characters that make the book at points touching, raw, shocking and ultimately unputdownable. Highly recommended - the author is one to watch."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :
Martyn Clayton is a thirtysomething writer who minds his own business and enjoys a crisp sandwich. When not watching reality TV, listening to Camera Obscura or avoiding good advice, he can be found dancing in the kitchen and wishing he had cheekbones. He too lives in York but doesn't know anyone called Robert.
PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION CAN NOW BUY AN AUTHOR SIGNED FIRST EDITION OF TAKE ME OUT DIRECT FROM THE AUTHOR FOR JUST TEN POUNDS INCLUDING SHIPPING...JUST HIT THE PAYPAL BUTTON BELOW :
Who I'd like to meet: Readers, lots of readers !
Martyn will tell you more if you're interested.
We all love free books. So check out my contest at www.lindaciletti.net I’m giving away 2 romantic adventure books to one winner--a historical and a time travel either in ebook pdf format or trade paperback. (if outside the continental US, winner gets pdf copies) The historical is a 2009 Eppie Winner.
Thanks for the myspacial friendship, and here’s wishing you a happy week, heavy with hilarious hoaxes, hospitable headless horsemen, heroic hobgoblins, hopeful harpy healers, horrifying heaps of horseradish, humorous hamster hags, haunted hairy harmonicas, and heavenly hellhounds howling heartfelt haikus about horoscope-handy hippopotami.
I was wondering if you'd do me the honor of checking out one of my short stories. I'd love to hear what you think.
Happytimes, -Jeremy :)
Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.' Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.
a friend is like a flower that blooms just for you..and we can be our real selves when we see what's true..a friend is like a gentle rain when you thirst..and we are dancing rings around a rose called mother earth..a friend is like the moon choosing to reflect the light..and we couldn't see the beautiful stars unless it was for the dark of nights..a friend is like a flower we send to ourselves..a gift that just keeps on opening until the light of love is shown and felt.
Hey, another message just to say I loved Take Me Out. Got to a certain point and I genuinely couldn't put it down. Managed to get in everyone in my house's way because I was so absorbed in it. Many thanks for making a potentially boring week into an exciting one!
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