Last week marked the start of a busy time for Arachne Press, with the Launch of Stations only days away, we did a pre-publication reading at Clapham books on Wednesday.

Peter Cooper in full flow as Inspector Bucket copyright Cherry Potts 2012

This was my first chance to hear these stories read aloud by their authors and it was an interesting experience. I got so engrossed in Rosalind Stopps’ How to Grow Old in Brockley how to grow old in brockley snippet

I forgot to take any pictures – sorry Rosalind!

Peter Cooper‘s Inspector Bucket (stolen from Dickens but taking on an afterlife of his own) foiled thieves on a train, with Peter very much getting into it and doing multiple voices.

Peter Cooper Inspector Bucket snippet

Wendy Gill‘s Moving Mike also got multiple voices care of the eponymous Mike turning up to lend a hand. Moving Mike snippet

Wendy Gill (and Mike) reading ‘Moving Mike’ copyright Cherry Potts 2012

Jacqueline Downs held us spellbound with her eerie tale of cinephiles in Crystal Palace She Didn’t Believe in Ghosts,

She Didn’t Believe in Ghosts snippet

and I read Anna Fodorova’s No Prob at Canada Water, pronouncing Kochanie about eight different ways, (it should be Ko’han’ye) she says she’ll do it herself next time!

No Prob at Canada Water snippet

Jacqueline Downs reading at Clapham copyright Cherry Potts 2012

Then Thursday it was up to Waterstones on Oxford Street for a showcasing of London Lies.

A number of our authors couldn’t be with us, so we had a mix of actors and authors.

Emily Pedder‘s Are We Nearly There Yet? (Set in Selfridges – just across the road – in the run up to Christmas) read for us once again by the multi-talented Danielle Fenemore. (Her loud-drunk-in-a-shop-just-before-Christmas was extremely convincing!).

Still in the reading-on-behalf-of vein we had Katy Darby reading an extract from the excellent East End cautionary tale Thieves We Were from Simon Hodgson (who is based in San Francisco so unable to join us) and me reading a section of the delightful and witty portmanteau love story Made for Each Other by Nichol Wilmor (who was stuck the wrong side of a flood in Somerset).

Reading their own work we had Joan Taylor-Rowan with Renewal, a touching story of death on the railways and realising there’s more to life than playing safe, David Bausor exploring the British love of sausages and Royals with O Happy Day, and Liam Hogan giving us a single sentence from the hilarious Rat, followed by an extended and dramatic segment of Palio, in which some bankers are played at their own game.

Thanks to everyone who came along to make both evenings a success (and bought books!), and to the staff at Clapham Books and Waterstones for making us so welcome (and in the case of Waterstones running to the pub for more wine glasses!).

Waterstones have a small stock of signed copies of London Lies at the front of the shop, so pick one up for a loved one for Christmas!

Stations is now in the shops, and you can come and get a signed copy from us at either of this week’s readings: Canvas & Cream (nearest Overground Forest Hill) on Wednesday at 7pm, or Deptford Lounge (nearest Overground New Cross) on Thursday at 7pm.

Or you can come to the Launch! Brunel Museum, Sunday 2nd December, 12:30-14:30

© Arachne Press 2012