Tim Slee's Blog: How's the Serenity?, page 5
May 19, 2018
Middle Seat On the Plane: EBook or Real Book?
Flying back from London the other day, checked in late, only seat available was a squeezy middle seat...get to my row, now I have to decide! In my bag I have a paper novel AND my Kindle. Obvious choice, right?
Go for the Kindle, because in the middle seat you can't spread your wings out and a Kindle just needs a finger swipe to turn the page. Jam myself into the little space between two friendly fellow commuters, buckle in, take off and...
Out of battery. NOOOOOOooooooooooooo!!!!
The poor guy on the aisle is fast asleep, I don't want to wake him so what am I going to do for two hours? No inflight movies. Wait, I have the Kindle app on my phone, right? Or not?
Yes! But no. Haven't downloaded any books to it. Grrrrrrrrrr. The crew approach selling snacks.
Idea. Buy a lot of snacks, and read the packs! Awesome. Here are my reviews.
Love Corn BBQ snack (I didn't) - too many languages not much of a plot ONE STAR.
Real Olive Company Olives - bit of a mystery. Is it the company that is real, or the olives? After tasting I'm still not sure TWO STARS.
Wicked Cake Company Blueberry Muffin - sounds a bit naughty but turns out to be predictable 'Blueberry Muffin made with (wait for it) Blueberries'. ONE STAR
But thank god for the Grate Britain Cheddar Crackers, made from 'Cave Aged Cheddar'. Now that gave me a few good minutes of thinking. How does one age Cheddar in a cave, I wondered. Do you hang it from the roof like a bat? Or pile it up on the floor like a stalagmite? More to the point, WHY would you age cheddar in a cave? I mean, I totally get why you would age a stinky blue cheese in a cave to get it all mouldy and green, but cheddar? FIVE STARS for intrigue.
I fell asleep and dreamed of stalactites dripping on my cheesy head, and woke to find it was condensation from the airconditioning vent overhead.
Next time I shall charge my Kindle AND download a few books to my phone AND put my paperback in the seat in front of me.
Go for the Kindle, because in the middle seat you can't spread your wings out and a Kindle just needs a finger swipe to turn the page. Jam myself into the little space between two friendly fellow commuters, buckle in, take off and...
Out of battery. NOOOOOOooooooooooooo!!!!
The poor guy on the aisle is fast asleep, I don't want to wake him so what am I going to do for two hours? No inflight movies. Wait, I have the Kindle app on my phone, right? Or not?
Yes! But no. Haven't downloaded any books to it. Grrrrrrrrrr. The crew approach selling snacks.
Idea. Buy a lot of snacks, and read the packs! Awesome. Here are my reviews.
Love Corn BBQ snack (I didn't) - too many languages not much of a plot ONE STAR.
Real Olive Company Olives - bit of a mystery. Is it the company that is real, or the olives? After tasting I'm still not sure TWO STARS.
Wicked Cake Company Blueberry Muffin - sounds a bit naughty but turns out to be predictable 'Blueberry Muffin made with (wait for it) Blueberries'. ONE STAR
But thank god for the Grate Britain Cheddar Crackers, made from 'Cave Aged Cheddar'. Now that gave me a few good minutes of thinking. How does one age Cheddar in a cave, I wondered. Do you hang it from the roof like a bat? Or pile it up on the floor like a stalagmite? More to the point, WHY would you age cheddar in a cave? I mean, I totally get why you would age a stinky blue cheese in a cave to get it all mouldy and green, but cheddar? FIVE STARS for intrigue.
I fell asleep and dreamed of stalactites dripping on my cheesy head, and woke to find it was condensation from the airconditioning vent overhead.
Next time I shall charge my Kindle AND download a few books to my phone AND put my paperback in the seat in front of me.
May 17, 2018
Goodreads Giveaway: Bless Me Father
On Goodreads this weekend, you can win an ebook copy of the PW BookLife thriller genre winner 'Bless Me Father''!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
Read the wonderfully tongue-in-cheek spy novel that topped the Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize shortlist for crime/thriller novels!
“This marvelous story, brilliantly written, chronicles the exploits of Charlie Jones, a former member of Australia’s Security Service and currently a novice in Mercy Sisters, where she is slated to soon become a full-fledged nun. When the Pope decides to visit, the Archbishop taps Sr. Jones to oversee security and what follows are highly amusing escapades that put this unorthodox and extremely intuitive nun on the trail of would-be Pope killers. This story has it all – a logical and credible plot, brilliant writing, engaging and well-developed characters, and an appealing heroine. 10/10” (PW BookLife Prize assessment)
Jason Pinter
Best selling Author:
“Highly original, well-written, with an engaging, sparkplug of a heroine in Security Service agent-turned-novitiate Charlie Jones. There’s a little Lisbeth Salander, a little Stephanie Plum, but Slee creates a world that is unique, immersive, and above all fun to lose yourself in. By the time I finished reading, I wanted to start from the beginning with Charlie Jones’s first story, and was eager to see what comes next.”
If you aren't lucky enough to win, just follow my author page - I often have dollar deals!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
Read the wonderfully tongue-in-cheek spy novel that topped the Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize shortlist for crime/thriller novels!
“This marvelous story, brilliantly written, chronicles the exploits of Charlie Jones, a former member of Australia’s Security Service and currently a novice in Mercy Sisters, where she is slated to soon become a full-fledged nun. When the Pope decides to visit, the Archbishop taps Sr. Jones to oversee security and what follows are highly amusing escapades that put this unorthodox and extremely intuitive nun on the trail of would-be Pope killers. This story has it all – a logical and credible plot, brilliant writing, engaging and well-developed characters, and an appealing heroine. 10/10” (PW BookLife Prize assessment)
Jason Pinter
Best selling Author:
“Highly original, well-written, with an engaging, sparkplug of a heroine in Security Service agent-turned-novitiate Charlie Jones. There’s a little Lisbeth Salander, a little Stephanie Plum, but Slee creates a world that is unique, immersive, and above all fun to lose yourself in. By the time I finished reading, I wanted to start from the beginning with Charlie Jones’s first story, and was eager to see what comes next.”
If you aren't lucky enough to win, just follow my author page - I often have dollar deals!
May 13, 2018
Are you Reader Zero?!
Be the first person in the world to read the new novel from TJ Slee: The Æsirim (sequel to the BookLife Prize award winning novel 'Vanirim').
All proceeds go to Plan International, the #girlsrights organisation providing education and support to girls in 75 countries.
Check here: https://www.gofundme.com/readerzero
The winner will be the first in the world to receive a signed and dedicated first edition print copy of the new novel.
It's simple: every dollar donated gets you a ticket in the prize draw, so the more you donate, the more chance you have to win!
$20 can provide two weeks disaster relief for a girl and her family
$30 gives a child breakfast at school for a whole year. This will provide the energy and nutrition needed for a child to concentrate in class and make the most of their education.
$45 supports safety education for girls in cities to help them confidently navigate the streets.
$70 helps a young woman set up her own business.
$100 can set up a school garden in Cambodia. The garden will provide much-needed nutrition to help children’s development, and give students the energy to focus at school.
Help spread the word!
All proceeds go to Plan International, the #girlsrights organisation providing education and support to girls in 75 countries.
Check here: https://www.gofundme.com/readerzero
The winner will be the first in the world to receive a signed and dedicated first edition print copy of the new novel.
It's simple: every dollar donated gets you a ticket in the prize draw, so the more you donate, the more chance you have to win!
$20 can provide two weeks disaster relief for a girl and her family
$30 gives a child breakfast at school for a whole year. This will provide the energy and nutrition needed for a child to concentrate in class and make the most of their education.
$45 supports safety education for girls in cities to help them confidently navigate the streets.
$70 helps a young woman set up her own business.
$100 can set up a school garden in Cambodia. The garden will provide much-needed nutrition to help children’s development, and give students the energy to focus at school.
Help spread the word!
April 27, 2018
Goodreads Giveaway: The Vanirim!
April 24, 2018
Wassup with republishing and reissuing in a new name SLEE?
Just got this question on another forum (in a slightly more polite form...)
Yes, I previously published five titles under the name TJ Slee on Amazon and then they were taken offline and now they are re-published under the name Tim.
WTF?
Well, after winning the Publishers Weekly BookLife fiction prize I got an offer of representation I couldn't refuse. I signed over representation rights to my prize winning novels and agreed to take the novels off Amazon and effectively 'disappear' from indie publishing.
We gave it our best shot finding a trad publisher but got no bites. Such is life!
But in the meantime the novels had been re-edited, much improved, and it seemed like a nice idea to relaunch them 'under new management'!
That's why they have suddenly reappeared, fresh and new and ready for new reader reviews. The first has just rolled in and was a full 5 stars, so that's a nice a start!
Thankyou 'ATX' wherever you may be!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079VL4DHD#...
Yes, I previously published five titles under the name TJ Slee on Amazon and then they were taken offline and now they are re-published under the name Tim.
WTF?
Well, after winning the Publishers Weekly BookLife fiction prize I got an offer of representation I couldn't refuse. I signed over representation rights to my prize winning novels and agreed to take the novels off Amazon and effectively 'disappear' from indie publishing.
We gave it our best shot finding a trad publisher but got no bites. Such is life!
But in the meantime the novels had been re-edited, much improved, and it seemed like a nice idea to relaunch them 'under new management'!
That's why they have suddenly reappeared, fresh and new and ready for new reader reviews. The first has just rolled in and was a full 5 stars, so that's a nice a start!
Thankyou 'ATX' wherever you may be!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079VL4DHD#...
April 1, 2018
Old noir new noir same noir?
You ever tried alternating books in the same genre that were written about ninety years apart?
Yeah why, right? I just happened to start Dash Hammett's Red Harvest and then Altered Carbon appeared on Netflix and I watched an episode of that and realised I was sooooo late to the party and had to read the books before seeing the series and so right now I am trying to finish Red Harvest and start Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan.
What a headspin. What's interesting is the style similarities that define noir hold true nearly ninety years apart (Red Harvest was written in 1929!) Both have:
Messed up protagonist with sketchy history- check!
Almost impossible to follow plots with sub-plots that wind through wormholes to nowhere before deciding where they are going and leave you asking, 'wait, what happened there?'- check
View of women characters (sigh) either as victims or as sex objects - check
This last one is pretty disappointing considering that Red Harvest was written 90 years ago and the sexism is almost to be expected given the period in which it was written whereas a novel like Altered Carbon, written in 2002 should show that the equality needle has moved a notch or two in the intervening years but ... nah. Altered carbon does have a female protagonist who is a cop, which wasn't the case in 1929, but she basically just bumbles along behind the hard boiled hero, one step behind the whole way except of course when she inevitably falls for/under him.
Why read noir (especially two at once!) if it hurts so bad?
Because I love the snappy pulp dialogue and writing so much:
“Be still while I get up or I'll make an opening in your head for brains to leak in.” - Red Harvest
“I lay still for a while, picking up the scattered garments of my mind and trying to assemble some kind of reasonable outfit from them.” - Altered Carbon
Both books are full of such gems, coming close to, but not quite reaching the heights of the master, Raymond Chandler:
“I lit a cigarette and dragged a smoking stand beside the chair. The minutes went by on tiptoe, with their fingers to their lips.”
“I went back along the silent hallway. The self-operating lift was carpeted in red plush. It had an elderly perfume in it, like three widows drinking tea.”
“I'm an occasional drinker, the kind of guy who goes out for a beer and wakes up in Singapore with a full beard.”
No list of noir quotes is complete without a little Elmore Leonard too:
“I spent most of my dough on booze, broads and boats and the rest I wasted.”
"Wonderful things can happen", Vincent said, "When you plant seeds of distrust in a garden of assholes."
“You thinkin bout the time I shot you and you rose from the dead? It only happens once in your life."
“You know what people who go to nude beaches look like?"
"Tell me."
"People who shouldn't go to nude beaches."
And of course, my favorite piece of author advice, from Chandler...
“In writing a novel, when in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns.”
For melodic writing like this, I can cringe and bear the off-notes!
Yeah why, right? I just happened to start Dash Hammett's Red Harvest and then Altered Carbon appeared on Netflix and I watched an episode of that and realised I was sooooo late to the party and had to read the books before seeing the series and so right now I am trying to finish Red Harvest and start Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan.
What a headspin. What's interesting is the style similarities that define noir hold true nearly ninety years apart (Red Harvest was written in 1929!) Both have:
Messed up protagonist with sketchy history- check!
Almost impossible to follow plots with sub-plots that wind through wormholes to nowhere before deciding where they are going and leave you asking, 'wait, what happened there?'- check
View of women characters (sigh) either as victims or as sex objects - check
This last one is pretty disappointing considering that Red Harvest was written 90 years ago and the sexism is almost to be expected given the period in which it was written whereas a novel like Altered Carbon, written in 2002 should show that the equality needle has moved a notch or two in the intervening years but ... nah. Altered carbon does have a female protagonist who is a cop, which wasn't the case in 1929, but she basically just bumbles along behind the hard boiled hero, one step behind the whole way except of course when she inevitably falls for/under him.
Why read noir (especially two at once!) if it hurts so bad?
Because I love the snappy pulp dialogue and writing so much:
“Be still while I get up or I'll make an opening in your head for brains to leak in.” - Red Harvest
“I lay still for a while, picking up the scattered garments of my mind and trying to assemble some kind of reasonable outfit from them.” - Altered Carbon
Both books are full of such gems, coming close to, but not quite reaching the heights of the master, Raymond Chandler:
“I lit a cigarette and dragged a smoking stand beside the chair. The minutes went by on tiptoe, with their fingers to their lips.”
“I went back along the silent hallway. The self-operating lift was carpeted in red plush. It had an elderly perfume in it, like three widows drinking tea.”
“I'm an occasional drinker, the kind of guy who goes out for a beer and wakes up in Singapore with a full beard.”
No list of noir quotes is complete without a little Elmore Leonard too:
“I spent most of my dough on booze, broads and boats and the rest I wasted.”
"Wonderful things can happen", Vincent said, "When you plant seeds of distrust in a garden of assholes."
“You thinkin bout the time I shot you and you rose from the dead? It only happens once in your life."
“You know what people who go to nude beaches look like?"
"Tell me."
"People who shouldn't go to nude beaches."
And of course, my favorite piece of author advice, from Chandler...
“In writing a novel, when in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns.”
For melodic writing like this, I can cringe and bear the off-notes!
March 18, 2018
2018's charity of the year is...
Plan International!
For me at least. I write for fun and to raise money for charity. Last year it was Medecins Sans Frontieres.
In this #metoo year, it is Plan International, which works in countries around the world to advance child rights and equality for girls.
Such as? Right now they are running a campaign to support Rohingya girls in refugee camps in Bangladesh:
- Build latrines so people, particular women and girls, can go to the toilet in safety
- Construct sanitation facilities to halt the spread of disease
- Identify and register unaccompanied children so that they don’t become invisible
- Run education sessions about hygiene and avoiding waterborne diseases
- Create safe spaces where women and children can be protected from violence, exploitation and neglect - and have somewhere to learn and play.
If you'd like to support too, you can donate here:
https://www.plan.org.au/give/appeals/...
For me at least. I write for fun and to raise money for charity. Last year it was Medecins Sans Frontieres.
In this #metoo year, it is Plan International, which works in countries around the world to advance child rights and equality for girls.
Such as? Right now they are running a campaign to support Rohingya girls in refugee camps in Bangladesh:
- Build latrines so people, particular women and girls, can go to the toilet in safety
- Construct sanitation facilities to halt the spread of disease
- Identify and register unaccompanied children so that they don’t become invisible
- Run education sessions about hygiene and avoiding waterborne diseases
- Create safe spaces where women and children can be protected from violence, exploitation and neglect - and have somewhere to learn and play.
If you'd like to support too, you can donate here:
https://www.plan.org.au/give/appeals/...
March 14, 2018
Thankyou Doubleshot Doublecream guy
I am grateful to the Universal Supreme Being everyday for the fact I live in a safe country with universal welfare and a strong economy and don't have to worry about getting shot, bombed or gassed on the way to work.
So my daily challenges are mostly challenges of the mind.
Like the Doubleshot Doublecream Guy. I just changed my home-work commute and DDG has the same morning routine as me apparently. We both get to the office at the same time, walk down from the bus stop together, say hello at the door (I do know his name, but DDG suits him better) and then both hit the coffee machine on the way up the stairs.
The coffee machine has a setting for Doubleshot Doublecream, but DDG is an individualist. Use the pre-programmed DD algorithm just because it's quicker? No way. He goes two single shots (press button and wait, twice), then one shot of hot milk (press button and then cut the foam off mid stream because only losers let the machine decide how much milk you need), then a shot of cold milk foam (sometimes two, if he cuts it off too early).
It's lucky they only have those thin wooden stirrers by the machine or I would have stabbed him in the neck with a teaspoon mid cold milk flow by now.
I tried using the long waiting time for conversation but he's not that interested and he has to focus on all that button pushing and milk flow stopping. I tried racing him up the stairs to get to the machine first but he has longer legs and just started taking them two at a time. He's onto me.
So I'm reading the Tao Te Ching on the bus these days and Lao Tzu is telling me 'that the musical tones become harmonious through their relation with one another, thus being before, and being behind, are needed to create music.'
As I stare at DDG's neck while he laboriously pushes all those buttons I'm listening for the music. All I hear is the fizz of milk foam. So I have to look hard for the music in this predicament and after many mornings I found it.
You know how you always get annoyed when you are reading on the bus/train/subway and you get to a good bit and then your stop comes up and you have to stop reading (or you miss your stop because you didn't?).
Thanks to DDG, I don't get that so much because when I am standing behind him listening to all that whooshing and gurgling and button pushing I just pull my book out of my coat pocket and read that page I had to stop reading on the bus.
Flow and balance achieved. DDG turns, happy as he can be that his coffee is the perfect balance of expressoeyness with the ideal balance of warm/cold creaminess and I smile at him because I got in a few more precious pages.
And no one got arrested for grievous bodily harm with a coffee stirrer today.
So my daily challenges are mostly challenges of the mind.
Like the Doubleshot Doublecream Guy. I just changed my home-work commute and DDG has the same morning routine as me apparently. We both get to the office at the same time, walk down from the bus stop together, say hello at the door (I do know his name, but DDG suits him better) and then both hit the coffee machine on the way up the stairs.
The coffee machine has a setting for Doubleshot Doublecream, but DDG is an individualist. Use the pre-programmed DD algorithm just because it's quicker? No way. He goes two single shots (press button and wait, twice), then one shot of hot milk (press button and then cut the foam off mid stream because only losers let the machine decide how much milk you need), then a shot of cold milk foam (sometimes two, if he cuts it off too early).
It's lucky they only have those thin wooden stirrers by the machine or I would have stabbed him in the neck with a teaspoon mid cold milk flow by now.
I tried using the long waiting time for conversation but he's not that interested and he has to focus on all that button pushing and milk flow stopping. I tried racing him up the stairs to get to the machine first but he has longer legs and just started taking them two at a time. He's onto me.
So I'm reading the Tao Te Ching on the bus these days and Lao Tzu is telling me 'that the musical tones become harmonious through their relation with one another, thus being before, and being behind, are needed to create music.'
As I stare at DDG's neck while he laboriously pushes all those buttons I'm listening for the music. All I hear is the fizz of milk foam. So I have to look hard for the music in this predicament and after many mornings I found it.
You know how you always get annoyed when you are reading on the bus/train/subway and you get to a good bit and then your stop comes up and you have to stop reading (or you miss your stop because you didn't?).
Thanks to DDG, I don't get that so much because when I am standing behind him listening to all that whooshing and gurgling and button pushing I just pull my book out of my coat pocket and read that page I had to stop reading on the bus.
Flow and balance achieved. DDG turns, happy as he can be that his coffee is the perfect balance of expressoeyness with the ideal balance of warm/cold creaminess and I smile at him because I got in a few more precious pages.
And no one got arrested for grievous bodily harm with a coffee stirrer today.
March 11, 2018
How's the Serenity?
Hi all. Karma is a funny thing right? Good intentions and good deeds give good karma and happiness. Bad intentions and bad deeds lead to unhappiness. So just keep the karma battery charged and all is well!
2017 was a funny year as far as the writing karma goes. I must have been doing something right because I won an Indie writing prize, and then signed with an agent to see if I could get a publishing contract with a traditional publisher for the Charlie Jones series.
My agent advised I should disappear from the internet if possible as the publishing industry is not excited about signing Indie authors. So I did (which is why you haven't seen a post here for a year!). After a year of that, we got nary a bite from a publisher so I am back as an Indie writer again! Is that good or bad karma? Only time will tell.
Probably it was good, because it wasn't a wasted year. While my agent was pitching the Charlie Jones series, I had plenty of time with nothing to do but WRITE! And so in 2017 I completed the first drafts of a sequel to The Vanirim (now in final proof stage), PLUS two new mystery novels, half a new Charlie Jones novel and over Dec-Jan 2017-18 a new techno thriller. YAY!
So 2018 is going to be a busy year as I get back into publishing again. I put my titles up again in mid Feb, have sold 165 books since then ('Bless Me Father', formerly published as 'Cloister' was at number 5,249 out of 1.5 million books on Amazon last night) - so we are off to a good re-start! YAY!
Last year I donated the sales of my books to Medicins Sans Frontiers. This year I will be donating to Plan International - more on that later. I'm hoping my good friends who have supported me before will do so again in 2018.
So now you will find the books here:
https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Slee/e/B07...
In coming weeks I will be posting extracts from the sequel to The Vanirim, cover art options, launch updates and getting ready to host the launch eBook giveaway so stay tuned!
2017 was a funny year as far as the writing karma goes. I must have been doing something right because I won an Indie writing prize, and then signed with an agent to see if I could get a publishing contract with a traditional publisher for the Charlie Jones series.
My agent advised I should disappear from the internet if possible as the publishing industry is not excited about signing Indie authors. So I did (which is why you haven't seen a post here for a year!). After a year of that, we got nary a bite from a publisher so I am back as an Indie writer again! Is that good or bad karma? Only time will tell.
Probably it was good, because it wasn't a wasted year. While my agent was pitching the Charlie Jones series, I had plenty of time with nothing to do but WRITE! And so in 2017 I completed the first drafts of a sequel to The Vanirim (now in final proof stage), PLUS two new mystery novels, half a new Charlie Jones novel and over Dec-Jan 2017-18 a new techno thriller. YAY!
So 2018 is going to be a busy year as I get back into publishing again. I put my titles up again in mid Feb, have sold 165 books since then ('Bless Me Father', formerly published as 'Cloister' was at number 5,249 out of 1.5 million books on Amazon last night) - so we are off to a good re-start! YAY!
Last year I donated the sales of my books to Medicins Sans Frontiers. This year I will be donating to Plan International - more on that later. I'm hoping my good friends who have supported me before will do so again in 2018.
So now you will find the books here:
https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Slee/e/B07...
In coming weeks I will be posting extracts from the sequel to The Vanirim, cover art options, launch updates and getting ready to host the launch eBook giveaway so stay tuned!
How's the Serenity?
A blog about the fun of balancing life, work, family, friends, writing and karma... mostly writing and karma.
- Tim Slee's profile
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