It’s been manic here of late and regular blog readers will have noticed I haven’t had much time for reading and blogging. However, that doesn’t mean I’m not finding out about brilliant sounding books and it’s my pleasure today to welcome Blair J Collins to Linda’s Book Bag to tell me all about his debut novel.
Staying in with Blair J Collins
Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Blair. Thank you for staying in with me.
Good evening Linda. Thanks for inviting me over. I hope you don’t mind, I’ve brought a bottle of red, already at room temperature plus a few nibbles to accompany the book I hope you read and want to discuss further.
Ah! I’ll eat the nibbles as we chat but sadly red wine makes me really unwell so you’ll just have to drink that alone. So, tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?
The book in question is my first novel A Coastal Shelf.
The book is set in the world of the fire service. Having said that it is not the main theme, simply the plot device that carries the story. That theme being what we hand down to the next generation and the effects, both positive and negative, that they have.
That sounds fascinating. Where did the title come from?
The title A Coastal Shelf is taken from a poem by Phillip Larkin, This Be Verse.
I quote.
Man hand’s on misery to man / It deepens like a coastal shelf/ Get out as early as you can/ And don’t have any kids yourself.
Oh yes! I thought it sounded familiar. Thank goodness you’re only quoting that part! What can we expect from an evening in with A Coastal Shelf? Is it as bleak as Larkin’s poem?
No. Despite that dour extract the book is laced with humour, drama but most importantly love. Eddie Hart, the main character, is conflicted by the love heaped on him by his mother and the lack of it from his father. He needs to know why, while struggling with his own private agony regarding his mother’s recent demise. He is a lonely man. As a manager he is caught in a power struggle at work, his relationship with his father is poor to say the least, then there is Jane and the unrequited love that they both must deal with. Can he bring these differing strands together to a satisfactory conclusion?
Oh, I think those are themes so many of us can relate to Blair. And loneliness does seem to be becoming the prevalent human condition.
What else have you brought along this evening and why have you brought it?
It would be great to bring Eddie along so you could meet him. Despite his inner turmoil, Eddie is a nice guy. He is popular with almost everybody he comes into contact with. German people use the word sympathisch, it translates as sympathetic, the connotation however is more. This is a guy you would be happy to spend time with. His persona is interesting, he is clubbable and behind those eyes there is a hidden depth of which we want to know more which is slowly revealed in this book and the sequel already written.
Interesting. Tell me more.
‘It started to rain’ is the phrase from which this whole novel grew. As well as the wine and nibbles I mentioned earlier, I’ve also brought along a chapter of the book that starts to reveal the relationship between Eddie and Jane plus the heavy weight Eddie is carrying. What we don’t know yet is why:
Eddie drove out to Hullbridge. Hedgerow and trees were budding in various shades of green. The fields would soon be hidden from the road behind dense walls of foliage. The remainder of the day had been quiet apart from the volleyball that was always loud and abusive with the recruit getting most of the stick but he had played reasonably well. He was physically quick, his eye to hand coordination good. Verbal badinage was not his forte so he laughed at crude and corny comments that came his way and had done his best to let his game do the talking.
Normal day then Eddie thought. A shout, politics, sport.
He parked up and walked into the pub garden that ran down to the waters edge. It was sparsely populated in the chiaroscuro of early evening. Couples were dotted around in quiet conversation and a large family with kids that ran around noisily were being indulged by all the customers who hoped they would be gone soon. The tide had left for other shores leaving the Crouch low enough to make the riverbank on the other side almost accessible. A Heron stood stock still one leg raised. A gull flew close over the Herons head laughing. The Heron never moved.
Jane had chosen a sunny spot and was seated at a wooden table with a bench attached either side. In front of her was a pint and half of lager.
Eddie sat down opposite Jane, one leg either side of the bench.
“Bit clandestine,” he said.
Jane ignored the comment.
“Evening Eddie, I got them in.”
“Cheers” he said taking a swig of beer, “urgh what’s this?”
“Shandy, you’re driving.”
“Yes Mum.”
Jane thought the remark was a perfect in for the conversation she wanted to have but decided against it.
“Seriously why here. Have you come to tell me you’re leaving Neville so we can run off together.”
Jane sipped her drink and looked at Eddie. His face now had the shy embarrassment of his adolescence. He knew he had overstepped.
She could ask him why on earth would she leave such a good kindhearted man that has given her and her daughter so much. She could say she would leave Neville at the drop of a hat, ruin lives and throw it all away to be with him, if he asked her, if he meant it. She looked out over the river Crouch allowing a few seconds for her mind to reset.
“What and be next in the long line of women, casual dates a thousand flirtations.”
He was stung by her harsh comment.
“You were the first Jane. My very first girl friend.”
“Yea and I won’t be the last.”
She is not pulling her punches tonight he thought .
“I’m just saying we go back aways.”
They both took a drink.
“I asked you out here because I want to talk to you.”
“Talk to me or tear me off a strip?”
“Sorry,” she said.
“Couldn’t we do that in the shop I need a trim.”
“No I need to concentrate on what I’m talking about.”
“Must be the only woman that can’t multitask.”
“I’ll multitask you in a minute.”
They were back on familiar ground.
“You could come round the flat.”
“Oh yea and if Neville found out I’m going to your place on my own then what.”
“Neville wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh really! He knows our history, he ain’t as dumb as he is cabbage looking and for a smart bloke you can be pretty thick at times.”
“I know I know I’m just fucking with you Jane.”
It was unlike Eddie to use a course phrase in Jane’s company but after a day at work sometimes the boundaries blurred.
She ignored the vulgarity.
“I wanted to sit down with you where we would not be distracted and talk about your mum.”
Eddie grimaced and looked away.
“Eddie look at me.”
He watched the Heron fly off, the neck retracted, head tucked in close. Was it a fish in its long beak, he couldn’t tell.
He turned and looked at Jane, his face now drained of any warmth.
“Don’t Eddie, don’t look at me like that. You have not been right since the accident.”
“I’m supposed to be right am I Jane, OK I’ll just make myself right for you and everyone else.”
It was her turn to feel stung.
“Do you know how long it’s been. He never let her answer. Five years, three years, two ? No. Its been exactly 294 days. So still quite fresh in the mind. Give me till 300 and that should do it.”
Wow thought Jane. She never realised how much he was still hurting.
“I know Eddie,” she put her hand on his, “we all mourn in our own way and in our own time but Eddie you ain’t mourning.”
“What do you want, me collapsed on the floor crying my eyes out in a darkened room.”
“No but it would be more natural. I’ve been watching you and I’ve been asking about you.”
“Who?”
“Well just Jim and your Dad.”
“What do they say?”
“Not much it’s what they don’t say. Not bad, doing ok. He’ll be alright. Normal male rubbish. But I see you’re not OK. I remember a man that laughed easily, got on with people had an easy going manner was, she stopped, is respected and listened to. Always on a date, Mr cool who is now,” she hesitated “who is now Mr cold.”
They both took a drink becoming calm again with one another.
“I’m alright” he said after awhile. “I was having a joke with Jim and Adam today.”
“Were you, really having a laugh a big old belly laugh. Laughing your head off were you ?”
Eddie frowned thinking back.
They sat in silence Eddie running a thumb and forefinger down the condensation formed on the outside of his glass.
“Talk to someone Ed, it doesn’t matter who it is, a counsellor, your boss, one of the watch, me even but please talk to someone, you need to.”
“You are the only one who calls me that.”
“What?”
“Ed.”
“Well everyone knows Eddie Hart don’t they, but I know you. Please Ed for me.”
Eddie nodded.
“Do you want another drink” he asked.
“No let’s get out of here before people start talking.”
****
That’s a great introduction to the story and to Eddie. Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat all about it Blair.
Well what a nice evening. I thought for £2:50 the wine would be better than that, even so I hope I have enticed you to read A Coastal Shelf and recommend it in your blog.
You have! But if that was the cost of the wine, I’m glad I gave it a miss! You drink up and I’ll tell readers a little bit more about A Coastal Shelf.
A Coastal Shelf
Eddie Hart, a devoted officer at Langdon Fire Station, grapples with the lingering grief over his mother’s demise and the burdensome secret he harbors concerning her death, a truth he finds impossible to share with his seemingly detached father. At the firehouse, he faces the challenge of appeasing senior managers hell-bent on either reining in his Watch or disbanding it altogether, all while guiding the new recruit through the demanding facets of the profession. Amidst the workplace turmoil, the ghost of a past romance resurfaces: Jane, his high school sweetheart, now wed to the imposing Nev, but the lingering connection between them persists.
As the disparate threads of Eddie’s life converge towards a pinnacle, the pressure mounts. Will he navigate the tempest of professional challenges, mend the rift with his father, and reconcile the embers of a bygone love? Or will the surmounting adversities cause his life to unravel into chaos?
Published by Austin Macauley on 8th November 2024, A Coastal Shelf is available for purchase here.
About Blair J Collins
Blair J Collins was born and bred in Essex, close to the Thames River. A Coastal Shelf is his first work of prose fiction although he has always enjoyed writing but prior to retirement his busy life curtailed it to shorter forms of poetry and speech writing. He spent the majority of his working life in the fire service, retiring recently to concentrate on his writing. Blair and his partner divide their time between the UK and Germany. Blair has three children and so many grandchildren he’s lost count.
English (US) · 