Doin' the Alfred

I heard from a Sydney bookstore that Hal Spacejock sold like hotcakes over Christmas. Either the customers have impeccable taste or the staff are armed with rubber truncheons and a list of books to get rid of pronto. Either way, Hal Spacejock is selling and that's damn good news because I've just finished two more in the series and my publisher would be most annoyed if the first one was still clogging up the sales channel.

By the way, I can never say, write or hear 'Sydney Australia' without remembering a 1980's ad on british telly. Mum and Dad are at the table noshing on fish & chips, and their daughter is nattering on the dog 'n bone in the background. She's been talking on the blower for ages, and the old man is getting antsy because they charge by the minute in the UK. Having set the scene, the conversation goes summat like this:

"Who's that on the phone?" he asks.
"She's talking to Sydney."
"Sydney 'oo?"
The wife rolls her eyes. "Not Sydney 'oo... Sydney Orstralia!"
Cue spluttering, choking, etc.

Back then it was about 6 pounds for a three minute international call. ($30 or $40 in today's money) Wonderful ad. (It was selling 'cheap' international calls. Probably 5 pounds for three minutes...)

Simon Haynes is the author of the Hal Spacejock and Hal Junior series (Amazon / Smashwords / other formats)