Simon Wood

SHELF LIFE: Culture Clash

I’m rounding out my features on NO SHOW today, I’m sure you’ve heard enough about the book, so I thought I’d make it a fun one.  I guess we think of ourselves as worldly—and why not.  The world is at our fingertips.  Things happen instantly.  Communication with anyone on the planet is just a dial up away.  Our cultures have merged.  We live in the global village.  But sometimes we’re reminded that we’re not as worldly as we like to think we are.  Some people’s misconceptions about Britain I find amusing and I incorporated some of these into Terry Sheffield’s life for NO SHOW—something that annoyed a reader as being improbable.  Oh, I beg to differ.  I’ve been asked some odd things over the years, so here are a few things that have been said to me in all sincerity over the years.  Enjoy!

“Do you have Christmas in your country?” (A coworker asked me this).

“Let me get this right—you’re English and she’s American and you’re married—is that legal?” (A waitress in a Sizzler quizzed Julie and me on this).

“Why don’t you people have the same holidays as us?” (A former boss annoyed that Easter is a four-day holiday in Britain).

“You are officially our ‘metric’ guy?” (Said by a former supervisor).

“Do you celebrate the 4th of July in your country?” (A friend of Julie’s at a party).

“So you’re telling me that England, Britain and the United Kingdom aren’t the same thing?” (A lot people are confused by the subtle nuisances on this subject).

“Are you Australian?”  (This is the most asked question I get.  Sorry Australians.  I swear I’m not doing it on purpose).

I hope you’ve enjoyed at the various insights into what made NO SHOW and that it’s enticed you into picking up a copy. But if need a little more arm twisting, here are some reviews and the first four chapters:

 
Reviews:

Publishers Weekly
OmniMystery News
Bookgasm
Over My Dead Body
Book reviewer,
Elizabeth A White


Excerpts:

Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

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