{"id":2363,"date":"2014-03-30T15:20:41","date_gmt":"2014-03-30T14:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewhiterock.co.uk\/?page_id=2363"},"modified":"2021-01-11T20:01:34","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T19:01:34","slug":"at-the-captains-table","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thewhiterock.co.uk\/?page_id=2363","title":{"rendered":"At The Captain\u2019s Table"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nAt The Captain\u2019s Table:\u00a0 Life on a Luxury Liner<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>Kindle Singles \u00a31.99<\/p>\n

Round the world the soft way. For less than the price of a cappuccino grande<\/i>,
\na frothy confection of a travel book with double shots of autobiography and
\nworld analysis thrown in.<\/p>\n

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\"Kindle_let<\/p>\n

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The rich man leans over to me. We\u2019re drinking vintage Salon champagne,
\na special bottle of which the barman has kept solely for him. There\u2019s a jazz
\npianist somewhere beyond our vision trying hard to play music that is bland
\nenough to sound taped. Canap\u00e9s of pecorino chunks, shrimps skewered with
\nchilli and prosciutto rolls litter a sidebar in abandoned and profligate confusion.
\nThe smoked glass of the Observation Bar windows diffracts the lights coming
\nfrom\u00a0the exclusive Virgin Islands bay.<\/p>\n

\u2018Carlo [the owner] told me that when they were first planning an open bar policy,
\nand were anxious about it, they overestimated the resulting costs by a factor of four.
\nBecause here\u2019s the thing. People drink less when it\u2019s free.\u2019 He pauses to take stock
\nof the effect of these words on me. I am indeed surprised. I\u2019ve always drunk more
\nwhen it\u2019s free. I\u2019m a writer.<\/p>\n

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Kindle Singles is an interesting new initiative.\u00a0 Kindle have commissioned established writers like Stephen King, Jon Krakauer and Amy Tan \u2013 and way down the pecking order, uh, me \u00a0\u2013 to do books directly for them, and put them in a specially branded bit of their store.\u00a0 Something which should be getting traditional publishers worried, as a harbinger of more to come.<\/p>\n

I certainly enjoyed writing this \u2013 \u00a0light-hearted, it involves all the classic elements of comedy:\u00a0 life on the high seas, some rampant snobbery and even a marriage at the end of it\u2026 \u00a0Mine.
\n.<\/p>\n

\"At<\/a><\/p>\n