Drew Gummerson: a natural storyteller

This evening I attended the launch of Drew Gummerson's latest novel, Me and Mickie James.

The event was held at Waterstone's on Market Street in Leicester and was the first book launch I've attended in the five years that I've been in Leicester. It was very well organised and was, in itself, a very pleasant experience.

There was quite a gathering there. And some of the people who were present had come from quite far afield.

Drew read three extracts from the novel and then answered questions from the audience about the book, about how long it had taken him to write the novel and about how he approaches the stories that he writes.

The man is a natural storyteller and entertainer.

I first met him about three years ago. We'd both taken part in the Leicester and Leicestershire Library Services' first annual short story competition. His short story, "Teeth", took first prize. (Even though it's been three years since I heard him read the story, I can still remember it. I can still hear the narrator's voice and I can still see some of the action that drove the story. It was also the funniest story that I'd heard in a long time.)

I met Drew again about a year later at a writers' workshop which had also been organised by the Leicester and Leicestershire Library Services and we have, sort of, kept in touch since. From time to time, I visit his website and blog to see what he's been up to and to read some of the short stories he's written that have been published online.

A few additional notes:

• The photos above have been reproduced with the kind permission of the one and only, Ivory Fishbone, a.k.a. Alison Dunne.
• There's a chance to win a copy of Me and Mickie James on Pulp.net.
• One of the very first reviews of the novel is available on GaydarNation.