F.R. Jameson's Blog, page 9
January 11, 2019
Me, Writing, in 2019
Happy New Year, all!
Hope everyone is well.
Just wanted to give you an update from FRJ Towers, and possibly create myself a hostage to fortune in the process.
This year it is my avowed intention to publish four novellas and one novel.
(And maybe a collection of short stories as well, but that’s only if everything else goes according to plan. I learnt from last year that you can spin infinite numbers of plans out in the air, but there is only so much time.)
Absolutely though, four novellas and one novel.
The novel – which will come out the latter half of the year – is the fourth ‘Screen Siren Noir’ thriller. I’ve written it and now just need to go through the manuscript, get it to the editor and then work towards its publication.
And the novellas?
Well, they’re my priority right now and they’re returning me to my first calling: supernatural thrillers. I have four distinct tales of creepy horror that I will publish under the umbrella of ‘Ghostly Shadows’.
(What are Ghostly Shadows? Stay tuned, I will tell you in good time).
They’re all written, with the first ready to go to the editor. I am slaving over the second right now.
(As for the short stories, they’re taking form in the background – don’t worry.)
So, four novellas and a novel. My intention, my aim, my goal for 2019.
Wish me all the best!
Happy reading!
FRJ.
If you’re interested in jumping into my fiction, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND OTHER STRANGE TALES – my frankly must read collection of scary and quirky short stories is available for free now!
January 9, 2019
Bird Box (2018)
Everybody – and I mean EVERYBODY – has seen BIRD BOX in the last few weeks. Okay, I have heard rumours that there are horror fans in the remotest reaches of Siberia who haven’t yet got around to it, but I refuse to give these stories credence. It seems that in places where Netflix is an unheard of commodity, whose name just sounds like a lot of randomly jammed together letters, the residents have still watched BIRD BOX.
And there’s a reason for that – it’s a really welldone thriller. Intensely gripping with great performances. Sandra Bullock has never been better; John Malkovich is doing what John Malkovich does, but few doit better; and I knew you were trouble from the moment you walked in, TomHollander. And, contrary to what some voices have said about it being a cop-outthat we don’t see the monster, I thought less being more truly worked. That’sthe lesson too few people take from JAWS. It’s not a film about a shark, it’s afilm about the threat of a shark.
Of course, the other reason BIRD BOX is so successful is that it’s not really that scary. Now I don’t mean that as a criticism. Undoubtedly, it’s edge of the seat stuff, but one that will rarely force you to jump out of that seat. As such it’s a great horror film to show to non-horror fans. It’s a wonderful introduction to horror.
My nieces (younger than 15) have watched it and enjoyed it and I’m sure for them – and their generation – it will be a formative experience. A proper gateway to horror, with a movie which didn’t scare them witless at the outset. And they will always look back on it fondly. As greater scares may be ahead, but you never forget that first time a film made you grab the sofa cushion just that bit tighter.
If you’re interested in my own writings, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND OTHER STRANGE TALES – my frankly must read collection of scary and quirky short stories is available for free now!
January 7, 2019
The Dark Half by Stephen King
I last read THE DARK HALF not long after it came out in the
early nineties. It’s a book I loved. A book that gripped me and stayed with me
so much so that, until recently, I would have named it as one of my favourite
of Stephen King’s oeuvre.
It just goes to show that you should never go back.
THE DARK HALF isn’t a bad book as such, yet reading again it again, I can’t help thinking it’s somewhat insubstantial. There’s one fantastic chapter where our villain goes on a murder spree in NYC, which is great gory fun and you can feel King letting go. But a lot of the rest is just people sitting around and talking about what’s happening. It’s at least a hundred pages too long (yeah, that’s a complaint I’ve never made about a King novel before), spends an age getting anywhere and – when it does – the denouement feels oddly rushed.
Suffice to say, I would no longer regard it as one of my
favourite King books.
Thad Beaumont is an unsuccessful literary author who makes
most of his money writing brutal crime fiction under the name George Stark. For
various reasons he decides to kill his Stark nom de plume off, but this
pseudonym is suddenly made flesh and goes on a murderous spree.
The fact that Stark wants Beaumont to write a new book has, of
course, real shades of MISERY. But the work it reminded me most of is the last
King novel I read – this year’s THE OUTSIDER. Both have killers who are pretty
much exact doubles of our hero, who have the same fingerprints (and DNA) and
cause all kinds of problems when they go on a murderous spree.
This notion of duality is clearly one which interests King,
but he hasn’t got it right with either book. He hasn’t yet given us his version
of Jekyll and Hyde that we can all love.
THE OUTSIDER went wrong as he tried to write it as a straight
thriller and couldn’t pull the material together. THE DARK HALF – in contrast –
is a far more magical horror novel, but he can’t pull it together here either.
The dramatic momentum is bumpy, the ending feels convenient rather than earned,
and there are all kind of odd loose threads if you sit back and think about it for
even a moment. (I’m not sure how Thad and the sheriff are going to convince the
other police officers that Thad isn’t the guilty man, after all.)
That’s a shame as I think there is a great King novel that hinges around the idea of an untethered self, but unless I’m missing it elsewhere in the man’s canon, we still don’t have it. Third time lucky then?
If you’re interested in my own writings, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND OTHER STRANGE TALES – my frankly must read collection of scary and quirky short stories is available for free now!
January 1, 2019
Doctor Who Reviews – Resolution
My one paragraph, instant reaction to the final episode of this series of DOCTOR WHO
That was more like it! The other week I came across an
interview Jodie gave at the start of October in which she was asked her
greatest secret, and she said that she knew what happened in the finale. Given
what actually happened in ‘The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos’, that didn’t sound
like much of a secret to boast about – so I can only presume that she was
referring to this. As this was a much better way to end a series. A proper
alien knockabout, with the Earth under attack, explosions and an actual sense
of peril. Plus, it put a spin on the Daleks that we haven’t seen before. Okay,
it was basically the ‘iconic monster leaves its armour and causes havoc a whole
new way’ notion that Mark Gatiss gave the Ice Warriors in ‘Cold War’, but I so
loved the home-made casing the Dalek gave itself that I’m prepared to forgive
any derivativeness. (I really, really LOVED the home-made casing and would like
one for my DOCTOR WHO shelf, please and thank you.) There were a few flaws, but
then I have a dark suspicion that Chibnall is never going to produce a script
good enough for me to overlook the flaws: I could have done without that bloody
microwave oven being so foreshadowed; and, really, what the flipping hell was
the point of that call centre lady? Most of the time when Earth is being invaded
The Doctor doesn’t call UNIT, why start now? But, I feel at this moment, those
are just niggles. I really enjoyed ‘Resolution’ and it put me into great
spirits as we begin the long wait to the next episode.
If you’re interested in my
own writings, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND OTHER STRANGE TALES – my frankly must
read collection of scary and quirky short stories is available for free now!
December 31, 2018
Things I’ve learned as an Indie author in 2018
Be realistic about what you can achieve. I have over the last year published three novels and a novella, which by most people’s standards is not a bad achievement. However, at the start of the year I thought I could write and publish a whole other novel, a couple more novellas and a collection of short stories. The lesson here is that you can achieve a lot when you put your mind to it, but you can’t achieve everything.Marketing is the big beast which needs taming. I’m probably a bit behind where I should be, but I’m now signed up to Mark Dawson’s course and working my way through the lectures. But there’s a lot to master (the Kindle course alone has given me hours and hours of work to do) and it will take time. Once again, I am setting my expectations in the knowledge it will take six to nine months to get on top of it. I will get there though.There are only so many hours in the day. When I used to write my weekly writing diary (which I’ve let slip because, well, there wasn’t enough time in the week), I used to write a lot on the subject of time management. This may be the most important skill of all for an indie author with a full-time job. Between the actual writing, the marketing, the admin, there is a hell of a lot to do. And working out a system where you can get it done in a reasonable time frame is hard. If you dedicate yourself to it, make lots of little sacrifices (I read nowhere near as much as I used to; watch far less TV than I used to) then you can get there.But you need to take breaks. Essentially, I am starting a business while also working full-time and not neglecting my family. There’s a lot that needs to be done and if I let it, it would be on my mind every moment of the day and night. But working so hard means I get physically tired and mentally exhausted. (As I type, I feel utterly run down.) I have to look after myself and make sure I take breaks, as if I don’t, I will crash. And if I crash, I won’t be any use for my family, my job or my indie author career.I still want this! I’m ignoring comparison-itus. I don’t care, and am not disheartened if there are people who made enough three weeks after publishing their first book to buy their own Caribbean island. I am on my path and my path will be what it will be. Absolutely I will write the best books I can, learn as much about marketing as I can, and try to make a good income from them. Undoubtedly, I will endeavour to give myself the best shot. But whether it’s my fifth book that’s successful, or my fourteenth – or if none of them break out, but all end up selling enough that I earn a decent living – then so be it. I am doing the best I can, learning as much as I can, and I am not giving up. I know this is the life I want, and I will do all I can to try and get it!
If you’re interested in finding out more about my writings, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND OTHER STRANGE TALES – my must-read collection of scary and quirky short stories is available for free now!
December 26, 2018
Why DIANA CHRISTMAS changes everything for me!
I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday! To continue my (Diana) Christmas theme for the holiday, here’s a post I wrote earlier this year about how important it is for me. Okay, the book itself is set around Christmas, and has a festively titled leading lady, but I can’t honestly claim that IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but it’s the most festive tale in my catalogue at the moment so I’m going for it.
via Why DIANA CHRISTMAS changes everything for me!
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December 24, 2018
Who is Diana Christmas?
It’s Christmas! (Or it nearly is.) And I’m one of those people who’ve actually written a book with the word Christmas in the title. What’s more, it’s available this festive season at 99c/99c.
Earlier this year I write a post introducing Diana, here it is.
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December 19, 2018
My Dead Blue Caterpillar by R.D. Murray
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Part thriller, part horror, part wife’s quest, MY DEAD BLUE CATERPILLAR is an odd concoction of a book. It rams all kinds of different elements together – a bit of scandal here; a sickening crime there – and tells it all in a breathless, excited tone. The whole shouldn’t work. It should be a gigantic mess. And yet I found myself strangely enjoying it.
A young wife discovers a diary indicating her hubby isn’t as faithful as he could be. But when she investigates, things turn out to be so much worse.
The narrative at the outset would seem to be heading a fairly straightforward direction: discovery, revelations and revenge. But what really makes MY DEAD BLUE CATERPILLAR interested is how often, and how easily, it subverts expectations. It frequently escalates the situation seemingly from nowhere, as well as taking leftfield diversions. The result is that a book which might have been utterly predictable, becomes something quite, quite intriguing. Yes, there are mis-steps (if you don’t like an open conclusion, then this is not going to be for you), but in a book that’s this much organised chaos, there’s always going to be flaws. It’s not perfect then, but what we have here is most definitely entertaining.
If you’re interested in my own writings, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND OTHER STRANGE TALES – my frankly must read collection of scary and quirky short stories is available for free now!
December 17, 2018
A Nerd Girl’s Guide to Cinema: Reviews of 200 Cult Classics, Overlooked Gems, and Interesting Failures by Kelly Cozy
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If, like me, you grew up with a well-thumbed copy of Michael Wheldon’s superb THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM, then you’ll have felt something of a gap in your life because that book was published in 1983. (Yes, I know there was the video version [and I have that too] but I never liked that as much). Well, steel yourself, fellow geeky cinema fan. as A NERD GIRL’S GUIDE TO CINEMA will go a way to filling the absence.
There’s a similar love in these pages – a palpable desire to watch and enjoy monster movies, cheesy sci-fi, challenging horror and full on oddities from the world of film. There aren’t as many films as in Psychotronic, as this is a guide rather than an encyclopaedia (and Cozy writes much longer entries), but anyone who grew up reading about the wildest films ever made, will love this one.
Cozy is a wonderful guide through these various wild and whacky films (actually, there are some proper classics here as well and she does well by them too). She is endlessly enthusiastic, finding positives even if she clearly doesn’t like a certain film much.
If you’ve read any of my reviews, then you’ll have seen that I’m a horror buff, a sci-fi fan and have a real penchant for crime fiction. I will also, out of some curiosity (morbid or otherwise) try to watch any and every film branded as ‘weird’. As such A NERD GIRL’S GUIDE TO CINEMA was perfect for me and really filled a psychotronic hole in my life – and I can think of no higher praise than that.
If you’re interested in my own writings, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND OTHER STRANGE TALES – my frankly must read collection of scary and quirky short stories is available for free now!
December 12, 2018
Evolution by Kate Wrath
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EVOLUTION is a return to the dystopia of Kate Wrath’s E world, a series of books which – for the uninitiated – is essentially a female led Spaghetti Western with killer robots. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Picking up where the last novel (simply called E) left off, the narrative finds Eden in Outpost 3, but angling to get out and take her friends with her. Eventually she manages to convince her captor – who’s in love with her – to let her and her friends out into the wilderness on a mission to save their town. But is Eden lying even to herself about what she’s trying to achieve?
Quest novels can be great on their own terms, just giving the reader chance to admire the wonder of this created world. But I’m one of those grumpy old stick in the muds who likes the quest to reach a its conclusion in the narrative. The journey has to have a destination, after all.
We do build-up to a large twist here, but the actual conclusion – and what it all means – is clearly been held over until book three.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot here that I like. The action of the adventures is exciting, the character development is affecting, and Eden remains a compulsive character to hang a book around. But as much as I enjoyed what went before, the lack of a proper conclusion means that this is a book I simply cannot love. It’s a stepping stone story, some extra course slipped between starter and main which doesn’t fill the belly
That’s not to to say that I won’t enjoy the next one. I’m sure I’ll race through the pages, but to continue with the culinary metaphor – I just wish the meat had arrived sooner.
If you’re interested in my own writings, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND OTHER STRANGE TALES – my frankly must read collection of scary and quirky short stories is available for free now!
