: About Me

Hi. I have been a member of Helium for about a year now, and hopefully will get into the 'one article a week' habit soon, as a distraction from all my fiction writing! I may well add some of the shorter tales here in the future, but a lot of them have either been submitted to magazines or are being used as coursework for my Open University course, so we shall see.

I currently live in the UK and work as a Civil Servant and I spend my non-writing/day job time as a musician, with several varying projects. My partner's new job will bring about an upheaval soon, so I may very well br writing from the West Country or even London in a few months time. I plan to make a career out of writing and having to let go of my musical projects because of the pending relocation will (I hope) give me the extra time required to make the jump to more paid work.

As well as all this, and finishing my degree through the OU, I'll shortly be training in teaching English as a foreign language, as in the future my partner and I plan to move to China in the future, where I'll make my living by teaching English (I am learning Mandarin, but with all the other courses and projects bouncing round my head, it's taken something of a back seat for now!).

Either way, I'll use the time away from most of my friends and loved ones to focus on finishing my first novel. A blog monitering my progress (as well as my thoughs on various other things too wandering to be considered 'article' material) is available to voew via the link down the right-side column, or (if it works) on the link below:

http://www.timhiggins.wordpress.com

Feel to drop me line regarding my writing or have any suggestions/questions/comments - both positive and negative comments are welcome and I always reply to my messages. Bye for now!

My passion is ...

Music and Books

I know too much about ...

Rock'n'Roll! Seriously, I spent most of my teens hunched over a guitar or playing gigs in smoky pubs in the vain search of superstardom and girls!

My parents always told me ...

to respect others, but never let 'em walk all over you.

My favorite memory ...

Playing to a full house of musicians in Prague to tumultuous applause. Without a doubt the best gig of my career to date and the Czech Republic is a wonderful country to boot!

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Newly discovered authors I'm starting to get into: For crime/thrillers, Harlan Coben and for Sci-Fi, Iain M. Banks. Recent reads have been: 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseni; 'Goshawk Squadron' by Derek Robinson; Conn Iggulden's 'Conqueror' series and Auther C. Clarke's brilliant 'Childhood's End'. Also anything by Isaac Asimov.

My inspiration ...

Everything around me. Cheesy, I know, but it work's for me. After all, if the shoe fits!

Entertainment > Musicians & Bands Top five progressive bands

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As guilty pleasures go, there are few to match Progressive rock. Loathed by critics, many people are reluctant to admit to their loved ones their love this much-ridiculed genre. But there is a rich texture to be found, exemplified by the five bands I've selected for my 'best of prog' list. In these, you will find the characteristics which influenced not only the other progressive bands, but numerous musical acts across the rock palate. Come with me on a journey of musical prowess, extended song forms, unusual instrumentation, juxtaposition of styles and textures and of course concept album...

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