what i'm reading

I just finished L.M.F., written by Matt Bin, known to friends of wmtc as M@. It was excellent!

L.M.F. stands for "Lacking Moral Fibre" - a former British military designation for what is now recognized as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

L.M.F., the novel, is a bit of military history from a personal point of view: one man's reaction to the stresses of war. It takes place during WWII, and the main character is a Canadian flying bombing missions over Germany. It's engrossing, very touching, and I learned some history, a great plus for me.

The best news is that Matt is an excellent writer. It's so nice to have talented friends! Conversely, it can be scary to see a friend's work and then compose yourself for a necessary fib. When I worked in theatre, I saw a lot of bad acting and bad plays. But now I have several friends who are very talented writers, to the point where I am often amazed and envious - in a good way.

Did I mention that Matt, Allan and I had dim sum together last week? We talked about dogs and travel - things we all love - and could easily have continued on like that all day.

I have two questions for Matt about the process of writing L.M.F., which perhaps he'll answer in comments. How did you research the details of the bombing missions? I'm also curious about the book's non-linear structure. Did you originally write it in chronological order, and then reorganize it to move slightly back and forward in time? Or did you write it in non-chronological order in the first place?

These questions give me a great idea: a website where writers interview writers about their recent publications. It could be a great publicity tool. Of course, I have no desire to create and maintain such a website. I'd just like it to appear and get lots of traffic - if it doesn't exist already.