Another spectacular stunt?
I was having coffee with Steven, property honcho, on Friday. He was not wearing his usual pin-stripe.
“Wearing jeans?” I said. “Dress-down Friday?”
“It’s supposed to encourage Blue Sky thinking,” he said. “Thinking outside the box. That sort of stuff. So how’s the book going?”
“Particularly slowly, thank you.”
“What you need is some sort of catalyst.”
“You don’t say -”
“Something to turn the thing into a go.”
“Wow - I’d never thought of that before.”
Steve paused to sip his coffee. For some reason I had bought him a double strength black Americano - when he had asked for a de-caf Latte. I don’t know why I did that. Maybe Steve just didn’t look like a Latte kind of guy. Didn’t seem to mind too much though.
“So here’s what I’m thinking,” he said. “Why don’t you send the book to the people who are really going to appreciate it.”
“Very good. In fact - positively brilliant. Who did you have in mind?”
“Well … well anyone in prison might like it. They’ve probably got loads of time on their hands. They’d love a good read - especially a romance, seeing as they won’t be getting any -”
“Not bad.”
“What about Conrad Black? He’s banged up for about six years. I’ll bet he’d love a copy!”
“Lord Black? Maybe he might! And he’s a romantic! He’s really loved up with Amiel.”
“And you’ve got the Nat West three serving time in the States -”
“This is good! I like it!”
“It’s a shame that Archer and Aitken are out of jail, but -”
“Anyone else?”
“Well you could just wait for Britney to go back into jail again; and that Paris Hilton, she’ll be banged up again soon.”
“I LOVE IT! This Blue Sky thinking is paying off! I’ll send copies to Black and the Nat West three, and then as soon as any other celeb gets banged up -”
“Either side of the Atlantic -”
“We just bung them a copy of the book.”
“If they like it they might read it 20 times before they get released!”
“Fan-damn-fastic!” [A small note for you literary types out there. That last little trick - splitting up a word and sticking something in the middle - is known as “Tmesis”. See - which other blog gives you gags AND an education?]