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Toby Philpott wanted to write, even when at school, but his favourite authors all seemed to have lived colourful lives (when he read their biographies on the sleevenotes). So he went out to have one of his own.

Archaeologist, fairground worker, bar staff in a 60's folk & blues club, jewellery maker, street conjuror, comedy juggler, acrobat, fire-eater, unicyclist - teacher of circus and variety skills, film puppeteer (most notoriously inside Jabba the Hutt). Later a NoFit State circus performer - he has fulfilled most of those vague ambitions to appear on stage, screen, radio and television, but most recently has re-invented himself as a library worker focused on the use of computers (and he reads a lot of books, too!)

The seeds of his autobiography appear online, for now. An independent journalist - Colin McEvoy - researched all his online interviews, websites, etc and compiled a biography for Wookiepedia, which has migrated to Wikipedia. Toby seems to have a wyrd F-list celebrity status.

He wrote a book-in-a-month as part of the NaNoWriMo* marathon writing project. This turned into a semi-fictionalised version of some of his adventures in Spain during the 1980s, which he called 'Foolproof' - released 'as is' rather than polished up. His late friend and co-author Mick Swain turned up as a character to help him finish writing it, and to claim his happy ending.

In 2008 Toby wrote a second NaNoWriMo novel, entitled Infinite Monkeys, which he considers more readable, and which is available here.

You can also find here a version of the book that Mick left unfinished "Another Kinda Time" (edited by Toby from the abandoned papers) as it covers several similar themes - jugglers, troubadours, time shifts, writing about writing, hidden messages, anarchy, visits to parallel worlds, etc. They spent a lot of time talking about writing together. Would he have preferred Another Kinder Time? Toby appears (in disguise) in Mick's book, too.

And finally, getting into his role as literary executor - he has published some essays his mother wrote, summing up her teaching techniques. Just one last souvenir. Still needs format tweaking.

* National Novel Writing Month
Foolproof

FoolproofFoolproof (book)

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Foolproof draws on some real life experiences (notably, Toby finding himself once again poor, homeless and on the road, just one year after performing inside Jabba the Hutt for Return of the Jedi) - although he moved events about in time, made stuff up, and says he thoroughly enjoyed having no advance plans at all!

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Infinite Monkeys

Infinite MonkeysInfinite Monkeys (book)

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Infinite Monkeys with typewriters may eventually write something readable. Every November tens of thousands of people set out to write a book in a month (or even a Book of the Month!) Toby wrote this second novel as part of that NaNoWriMo challenge. He ended up with a story of hidden things, quests and mild adventures - no sex and violence, however...and only one rude word.

Five Essays on Voice

Five Essays on VoiceFive Essays on Voice (book)

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Sheila Moriarty worked with actors for many years, helping them find their own voice and the stamina to work with, and control, their voice for sustained periods. She also specialised in coaching people to speak verse, whether from Shakespeare or The ancient Greek Plays.

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Another Kinda Time

Another Kinda TimeAnother Kinda Time (book)

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Mick Swain met some entities who sometimes claimed to be time travellers, sometimes that they were characters from a book he would write in the future. He used fiction and his diaries to attempt to work out what this encounter really involved - and whether writing the book would free trapped time travellers, grant the characters a life of sorts - or if it was some kind of madness, a meeting with ultraterrestrial tricksters or a confrontation with his own psyche.

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