What is ‘cpink’? (Warning: contains explicit meat-based imagery.)

Yep...now you see why I warned you. I wasn't mucking about. Only a moron or a murderer on the run would pass up the opportunity to photograph a home-cooked meal as astonishingly impressive as this (in the case of the latter, you'd really have to question why he or she didn't just choose a Pot Noodle or some fish fingers, I think). Or a vegetarian, of course. Sorry vegetarians!

Cpink is where Cambridge-based freelance writer & artist Chris Pink blogs about his upcoming novels and any other things which take his fancy.

He hopes you like it, even if you hate meat.

Now, a bit of history if you care to stick around. And don’t worry, I hated History at school too, so I’ve done my best to make it as easy-reading as possible.

The boy who would be named “Chris Pink” was born in Kings Lynn on the monumental 22nd day of November, 1980. As a child he attended what we like to call ‘school’, shunning the logic and un-funness of mathematical complications for the more soulful and joyous activities of painting. This did not go down well. In fact, it was a disaster!

But anyway, after this Chris went on to secondary school, where more teachers insisted he spend more time ‘working sums out’. Chris yet again rejected the idea of this as a means of learning, and continued to paint, thus racking up more people for his list of ‘people who believe Chris is spending too much time painting and not enough time learning’.

Then (after sixth-form): Chris went out into the real world.

He entered into a variety of fruitless jobs, and, over the course of seven years, amassed enough knowledge to run an entire planet; as long as maths would be banned and this was a planet where complex things like nuclear power, plumbing and any kind of multiplication weren’t necessary, of course. Otherwise he’d have to hand over power to someone else or risk ruining that planet.

But let’s go back a bit to just before Chris became 20.

At the age of 19 Chris came into contact with the renowned Cambridge artist / writer Darryl Nantais. Together with Darryl and joint gallery proprietor Karl Backhurst, the ‘Darryl Nantais gallery’ was duly formed, which Chris helped with restoring, before both becoming an employee–framing pictures and consulting customers regarding framing–and exhibiting, ending in a string of sell-out shows. Woo!

After leaving the gallery three years later, Chris went on to ride BMX at professional level, travelling the world and touring Scandinavia in such famed vehicles as ‘the bus which Westlife used to tour on’.

Yes, WESTLIFE!

After Chris’s body politely, and then not so politely asked him to go a little easier (shoulder surgery, numerous breakages etc) and in the end just plain begged for retirement from the BMX world, he went on to work as a specialised picture framer and finisher, then as  a photographic technician. He does not miss that machine he used to work on because it was a nightmare that lost more than one person’s roll of film…

Oh, and once he dropped a film in the toilet. But he prefers not to talk about that…

Following the numerous rubbish and not-so-rubbish jobs, Chris moved to Cologne, West Germany. Not for any good reason — he was just bored and he fancied a change. He remained in Cologne for 3 years, but it didn’t go quite as well as planned as he somehow managed to pick up a lethal virus that almost killed him. Twice, in fact.

CURRENTLY:

Chris still draws and paints but is now a full-time freelance writer. Obviously that’s not what he wants to do forever, as there is only so much you can write about why cheese smells. No, in the long-term, Chris hopes to gain a following as a writer. He doesn’t want to be Marian Keyes or Harlan Coben or anyone. He definitely doesn’t want to be Marian Keyes. Really he just wants to write books that will put a big old smile on peoples faces.

If you have made it right to this last sentence then well, I’m not sure what to say. That was good of you.

Ah, last thing: have a look at the UPCOMING NOVELS section of this site to see where Chris is at with his coming projects.

He’s going for it, don’t you know!