I have been known to throw the odd quote here and there. Followers of my itinerant wittering on here will be aware of that I am sure. I am something of a collector of quotes by the great and the good, and more than one post has been just a bunch of quotes from various authors around a central theme. They always seem reasonably popular as blog posts go, as everyone like a good quote. Occasionally it occurs to me that I will know I have finally made it as a writer when I see someone quoting back at me from my own novels. And sure, that’s nothing but vanity in my case, but who knows maybe someday someone will, my characters do occasionally manage the odd bit of profundity.

Case in somewhat shaky point, Hannibal Smyth, philandering bounder of the first order,  former gunnery officer in Her Imperial Majesties Royal Air Navy, traitor, liar, smuggler, condemned murder and latterly agent of The Ministry, of all my characters, needed his own voice and his own linguistic mannerisms. Not least because his stories are all told in the first person, narrated by old Harry Smith himself.  But perhaps there is an odd nugget of wisdom buried deep within his first outing which is due for publication on the 7th of January. Though that would be for readers to find not the author I suspect.

There is such a thing as being too close to your own work after all.

Regardless, here are a few ‘quotable’ Hannibalisums that made me smile when I was doing the final proofread, and will hopefully make others smile too. I should add they are all reprinted here entirely without context, but I’ll let Hannibal introduce himself on this occasion…

… a gentleman and an officer, despite my incarceration. Or at least that was how I preferred to present myself to the world. I am in actuality, a lying thieving swindler, who just happens to wear a uniform and hold pretensions to civility. Though truth be told I’ve always considered that to be the definition of an officer and a gentleman…

…something my old mum used to tell me when I was a lad. “If you’re going to lie, Harry, my son, then lie big…”    Of course, mother was generally off her trolley on Gin most of the time, but in essence, it was still sound advice…

…Lady Justice in London’s courts wasn’t exactly for sale, but she could be rented for a sizeable contribution to someone’s retirement fund…

…There are workers and doers in this world, and then there are also those who do the paperwork…

…Privately I always suspected not bombing a few villages for a while might go a long way towards resolving the problems, but don’t quote me on that. Such opinions have never proved popular…

…even thugs love a tale of smiling children…

…A wringing of hands you could almost hear in his tone. Like a politician caught with his trousers round his ankles and a King’s Cross rent boy’s lips on his… well, you get the gist…

…There was something unpleasant about him. Like that itch on your scrotum that you can’t scratch in public…

A Spider In The Eye will be available in paperback and as an ebook from the 7th of January and the kindle version with be available for pre-order in the next day or so.