TONE DEAF: January 2026

Tuesday, 27 January 2026

A rather sadder message

Veronica, my wife of 65 years, now lives in a nursing home. I find myself incomplete and must get used to another kind of life.

Sunday, 4 January 2026

Best kind of New Year Message

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TWO HOMELANDS
Short stories
Roderick Robinson

Widely varying in time, subject matter, geography, politics, humour and the lack of it, and including a sharp awareness of the author’s physical deterioration, the Two Homelands collection starts in a German men’s urinal. Then widens out. After all, a soccer field’s very emptiness might well imply the roar of the fans. Speaking of which, try Beautiful Game Brought Low. Or, for a change, a godless man forced to contribute to a religious ceremony (Matins From the Front). Themes? How about: the rich language of working people in the USA; those whom the economy has chewed and spat out; technology and its fancies; sport, unexpectedly Stories should act as a spotlight. If raw material persists, chances are it deserves illumination. This is Two Homelands’ intentions
298 pp. Click on front cover pic for Amazon details

OPENING BARS
Singing at eighty - and beyond
Roderick Robinson

Retirement’s fine until old age closes down your options. First ski-ing went, then distance swimming. Gardening never appealed. Music? Yes, but listening wasn’t enough. Everyone has a voice so why not sing – but at eighty? This is the story of how far one man got in eighteen months, touching base with Mozart, Schubert and Britten en route. Finding a teacher who agreed that, at eighty, he might not have enough time to absorb musical theory from ground zero. Coping with ancient lungs that tended to run out of puff. Overcoming rhythmic incompetence which once saw him dance a quickstep to The Blue Danube. Learning to decode and love the printed score. Bursting into tears when he temporarily wore Sarastro's robes. Best of all - finding his own singing voice. I’m hooked. How about you?

AAArghhh! Rechecking Chapter 11 (Up to date) in preparation for the Kindle version I find I have confused two Magic Flute characters' names: Papageno (the bird catcher) and Papagena (his eventual mate). Too late to correct the book, alas. Please, please forgive.

138 pp. Paperback, £6.95. Kindle download £2.16
UK readers: Click front cover above to learn more and order
US Readers: Click HERE to learn more and order
Click HERE for Opening Bars extracts

OUT OF ARIZONA
A novel
Roderick Robinson
In the USA if your face is not your fortune, a plane cockpit is one place to hide it. When a major love affair goes sour Jana Nordmeyer moves to Europe and continues to fly professionally in south-west France. The blemish that reduced her to a foreigner among her fellow Americans is absorbed by a new culture, and she emerges capable of accepting and, finally, providing emotional support

364 pp. Paperback; Kindle download.
Prices vary according to Amazon
UK readers: Click front-cover image above to learn more and to order
US Readers: Click HERE to learn more and to order
Click HERE for Out of Arizona extracts

GORGON TIMES
A novel
Roderick Robinson

IT'S 1990, a bad year if you make things for a living, Andrew Hatch once had status and a salary as a production manager; now, in Damon Runyon’s words, he does the best he can. Clare Kepler, a high-flyer in the cleaner world of systems and electronics, seems insulated from the labour market but she too faces unexpected change. Work makes us what we are. Being out of work can be a visit to the abyss. GORGON TIMES tours both states
332 pp. Kindle download. Paperback. Prices vary according to Amazon
UK readers: Click front-cover image above to learn more and to order
US readers: Click HERE to learn more and to order
Click HERE for Gorgon Times extracts