Literature Wales Bursary

This morning Tyler seemed particular chipper: to start with he actually shaved, which is next to unheard of in the Keevil household.  And he didn't leave any of those irritating hairs (the short shaving hairs that look like iron filings) in the sink.  Then he was downstairs, in the kitchen, frying and flipping pancakes.  In our publicity team office, we turned to look at each other, puzzled.  What had gotten into him?  He was acting like Trevor when he huffs whippets in The Drive.  Then we remembered: it's an auspicious day for Tyler.  Literature Wales has awarded him a bursary to develop his next story collection, and the bursary period begins today, on October 1st.  As he dashed around the house we cornered him and cajoled him into giving us a few words.  We wanted to know: how much did it mean to him?  'A heckuva lot,' he said.  'I've been waiting to get started on these stories for a long time - too long.  And the bursary is massive.  It gives me enough breathing room to get a day or two a week to devote to them.  But more than that, it changes your mentality, somehow.  It gives you license to put a sign on your door: Do Not Enter - Work in Progress.  They've backed me, and now it's time to come through.  I'm grateful for the support and I'm taking this seriously.'  We can attest to that.  We rarely see him this focused, driven, raring to go.  We'd barely finished writing up this copy before we heard the attic door slam (Tyler works in the loft room) and then the gentle, yet momentous, hum of the computer booting up.  Time to write.