Sharon Maria Bidwell's Blog, page 41

Polished website and Poisoned Apples

Having spent (who said wasted?) more hours working on the website than I care to tally, I finally managed to do the two things I wanted to do to ‘polish’ it off — I put up my cheeky changeling free reads as downloadable pdfs, and I made a slideshow of works for the front page — not random as I had hoped, but at least it’s working. Naturally, ‘finished’ is as relative as Einstein’s theory, but it’s done for a good long while. I’ve also cleared out many old posts that were just taking up room, and that’s something for me to do on a yearly basis, possibly the same way I shred all those old bills and statements that seem to feed themselves through my letterbox with alarming frequency. There’s certainly no need to keep every announcement once the news equals a release that has its own page. Besides, opening the windows and sweeping out the cobwebs is cathartic.

I need a totally different type of purgative when we get to the subject of poisoned apples, namely referring to my iPad. This expensive little ‘toy’ was meant to help me with my writing and, for a time, it did. It enabled me to get online and check in with all my contacts when away from my main computer. It allowed me to type on it, to proof-read in a different format — something I found very useful — to catch up on some reading generally and for research purposes. Still, it only had moderate use, and, unfortunately, the ‘time’ it lasted has proven to be annoyingly short. Not even two years old and it’s died on me. This lead me to a poisonous experience at an Apple store.

So much for booking in to make an appointment to see someone at their ‘Genius Bar’. We were dutifully ten minutes early and yet waited over thirty minutes beyond our time slot. This in itself, though irritating, wouldn’t have been so bad if someone had the courtesy to tell us and all the other people waiting that there would be a delay. Basic training in customer service one would think, but it’s as if everyone is too afraid to apologise these days — an apology seems to amount to admitting wrong-doing and no one does anything ‘wrong’. And thank you ‘Patrick’ for the first constructive comment coming out of your mouth being one of, “Oh, you’ve probably dropped it.” That equalled the woman beside us being told she had got ‘sweat’ into her phone — like we haven’t heard *that one* before.

I would KNOW if I had dropped my iPad, but it was worth hearing Patrick accuse me and for me to deny it just to see the awe-struck look on his face when he couldn’t find a mark on it. Yes, even Patrick had to admit my iPad looked immaculate and I hadn’t damaged it. Not. One. Scratch. I take care of my things — I’m funny like that.

My poor sickly iPad was taken away from me for all of five minutes for the ‘Genius’ to attempt the same restart I had failed to accomplish, only to admit it was faulty, and to tell me that the iPad is a sealed unit that is non-repairable. The only thing they could offer was to exchange it so they could dissect it for re-usable parts and give me a ‘new’ iPad for £199 made out of refurbished elements. Erm…no thank you. Mostly no thank you because this so-called ‘new’ tablet would only have 90 days warranty. The salesman tried to sell me on statistics, but if the unit is so likely to last, why only the 90 days guarantee? I’m afraid I horrified him by pointing out I can take the £199 and buy a competitor’s tablet with a full year’s warranty.

There may be better news. We’ve been referred to an Apple store that may do repairs even on iPads. Don’t know how accurate the information is, but if this proves to be the case…Well, I’m curious to find out because if it can be repaired, I’ll be thanking Apple for providing inaccurate information and trying to sell me what they tried to make look like a nice shiny rosy apple that I suspect was rotten inside.

In the Blood (Blood Sacrifice) by Rick Reed

Republished as ‘Blood Sacrifice’.

In the Blood is the story of Edward, Maria, and Terence, vampires all, and Elise, the human who initially catches Terence’s eye, and the attention of Maria. For Elise, working the streets, the idea of finding affection with a female makes perfect sense. Her story also mirrors the past reflections of Edward’s once human life and unfulfilling relationships, including the fact that Terence initially entices them both. In many ways, Elise and Edward have more than their love of art and their creativity in common.

If you’ve never read Rick Reed before, it may surprise you to find that, if he feels it suits the story, he does write chapters in alternating styles, including points of view and tenses, although I now think of it as very much something he handles well and I quickly grew used to it. In addition, the author has a good command of each method, proving that he knows what he is doing and has chosen to do it with a purpose. Even if you dislike the switch, the story is simply a must-read.

A personal reason why this book had such an impact on me is that all too often vampires have conformed to a romantic image, which is fine for a certain type of story. The trouble is that it’s all too easy to forget they originate from a darker idea. They were human once with everything that encompasses human qualities and flaws. Consider a Vampire is a creature with all this human capacity for greatness and weakness coupled with physical power, unrestrained emotions, and a thirst for blood.

Although I’m a sucker (pun intended) for a silly or sweet vampire love story as much as anyone is, I’ve always wanted to read something that depicted vampires as the creatures they should be: less than human, more than monsters. I’ve often longed to write (or read) a book capturing the essence of Dracula, but I never followed this idea through because I’ve always wondered even if I could create such a story where would it find an audience? The closest I’ve come to a similar theme was with a short story ‘Effigy in Garnet’ published in Aoife’s Kiss. Truly too vicious to be a love story and too much love to be horror, how could you capture that essence, and where would you market it?

This is precisely what Rick pulls off. Vampires endure in our mythos and our psyche because they are representations of our most basic needs and wishes. They encompass anger, desire, sex, power (even if only physical for self-defence), and yet they pull at our emotions because they also represent our fears: addiction, isolation, love lost or never found, and selfishness. The vampire’s only redeeming quality is the search for love, but can such a monster truly love or be loved? The mere idea of affirmation gives us hope.

In The Blood captures this. Is it a love story? Yes, absolutely, though you may be wondering how to the very last page. If, however, you’re expecting to be romanced, think again. Rick writes thrillers and is not afraid to include the gore and blood. The story is harrowing as much for the vampires as for their victims.

I sympathised for Elise but she is human. She has choices, although some are a question of choosing the lesser evil as can happen all too often in life. Some may be a question of swallowing pride, and I instinctively felt that Elise needed to sink to the depths of despair in order to find her way out. Still, a sense of hope lingers over her.

Terence you want to love. You long for him to be other then he is. You long for him to show Edward a degree of kindness. You don’t want to believe that someone so devastatingly handsome and so charismatic can be so dark. Yet he remains undeniably seductive; he makes you want to reach out and touch that darkness.

Maria I didn’t want to like. She seemed aloof, unknowable, untouchable. In some ways, she remains the greatest enigma of all.

Ultimately, my sympathies lie with Edward. He is the most tragic figure of the book, and not solely because you can’t help feeling frustrated with Terence’s obvious and evil delight in seducing him. Edward longs for acceptance and is denied at every turn. Denied love, denied the life he should have lived. You are left wondering if he’ll be denied what he has left of his humanity, which after being a Vampire for less than a century he still clings to.

Undoubtedly, though, you’ll connect with these characters on many different levels. They represent many different traits of humanity. This is a seductive and thought-provoking read. It not only asks what we would do for love but also explores the very condition of being in love. It begs the question what is love and what does it mean to you?

In this manner, the author puts the same sex theme to good use, either intentionally or inadvertently raising the bar on how we view love. This is very much a multi-layered story, where the reader needs to examine what lies beneath the action on the page. Nevertheless, sexual preference has no bearing on whether you will enjoy this book. It’s an exploration of love rather than sex.

Visit Rick’s website: www.rickrreed.com

A Dangerous Man by Anne Brooke

I’m starting to clear out some old posts and gradually bring some old ones forward. Nothing better than to start with some recommended reads.

As incongruous as it is to compare this book with my ‘Snow Angel’ as they are in totally different genres, completely different stories and different characters, I couldn’t help thinking one thing — of how both Anne and I created a story based around a character’s very human flaws and how that makes for a very captivating read. My Dean is in many ways his own worse enemy, who has apparently had everything in life handed to him, but like many of us, sometimes that doesn’t always lead to a satisfying life. Anne’s Mikey comes from the opposite track — he’s had a difficult life and, alas, this colours his future for all time.

Although I love the romance industry, which allows me such freedom of cross-genre writing, I write many different things in various genres, and remain equally interested in all forms of storytelling and here, Anne Brooke excels. There’s an underlying tension that permeates the book reminiscent of a thriller, even though the story, initially at least, largely seems to involve one man’s hopes, dreams and desires as the antagonistic force constantly pushing the story forwards. Even in the happiest moments, you have the sense it will all, shortly, be snatched from Mikey’s grasp, and you want to shake him, maybe to imbibe him with more sense than he was born with, or just for the hell of it. I felt equally irritated with Michael as I was in pain for him.

This book uses London as a character as much as the people, and acts as a lesson in class and class-divide. It’s disturbing, mysterious, and plays havoc with your emotions. In addition, Anne has written a perfect rendition of a romance that often is as delightful as it is harrowing, proving that you don’t always need overly graphic language and images to have an audience cheering. Just because this book involves a gay relationship, don’t let that confuse you. You’re not getting overly explicit sex scenes, and yet many of the intimate moments between Michael and Jack are so touching that they make the bad moments of the story hurt more.

As a reader, I know what I like when I see it. As a writer/reader a good reading scale to judge by is whether I wish I’d written a similar book and this falls into that category. Saying that, often, as a writer, I can spot an ending and, in many ways, I knew what was coming. Ultimately, I would have written this with a softer ending but maybe because Anne chooses the harsher route this makes for a more unforgettable read. I have to confess I felt essentially uneasy while reading this, but that’s no fault of the writer — it’s even what she intends, and the work deserves more recognition than many of the books that end up on some celebrity’s recommended list.

Visit Anne at her website.

Gone Live!

It’s done! It’s here. The new look site is live. I will clear out some old posts and bring any interesting ones forward a few at a time. Maybe even take a good look at my categories…but the new site is up and ready to play with. Now someone serve me coffee!!! *Look around pleadingly*

Slight change in the proceedings

Just for a break in the website work, I’m today’s guest on the Musa Publishing blog discussing electronic books versus print. Do drop by!

The makeover continues

Thank you for bearing with me. I’m still working on the site but have listed many of the works by publisher. Next I’ll work on dividing on site available to read items from those that have been published and then looking at the other miscellaneous entries and old posts. It’s still a work in progress but it’s started to improve.

Makeover

Just a shout to say I’m giving my website another makeover. This will be the layout although things may be moved around for a while, and I may clear out some old stuff/posts etc. The background and header will change again once I’m done.

Space 1889 Season Two launches with Conspiracy of Silence

It’s here! And yes, I have a book in this series. As the first is out (and well worth a read it is, too), mine’s going to follow towards the end of the season in a few months. Nervous and excited all at once.

For more information stop by the site of Andy Frankham-Allen, editor to the series to read on…

And don’t forget to then make a pass at The Untreed Reads Store to buy the ebooks.

A Few Publisher FYIs

The Loose-id site was down awhile and although it’s back up, there are some glitches while it gets its new look and more ways to navigate. I’ll be updating my links very shortly, though.

And a shout about Musa Publishing. For those who may not know they have a blog. Well, more than one, and I’ll add them to my links but do drop in at the Musa Publishing Blogspot and also their blog for Penumbra Magazine. This is a wonderful magazine that’s getting great reviews and is worthy of them.

A Limited Offer

A few people have been asking whether Untreed Reads will be doing a season-pass for the second series of Space: 1889 & Beyond. Originally the answer was ‘no’, due to the initial behind-the-scenes chaos with getting the series together. However, that’s all changed and UR are pleased to announce that ‘yes!’ they are now doing a season-pass. But there is a catch!

It’s a good one, mind.

The season-pass is only available until August 15th – so if you fancy saving £3.20 ($5) off the entire second series, then run along now and pick up the season-pass for only £10.87 ($17). Yes, that’s just over a tenner for six books! Who can pass up such a deal? But hurry, this only lasts for two weeks.

Visit the Untreed Reads Store by clicking this image: