Paula R.C. Readman's Blog, page 10

On To The Next Adventure

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

― Barack Obama

Even though I and the other authors published by the company, who published my three novels, knew something was on the card, it still came as a bit of a shock when we received an email telling us that all our rights and royalties would be back with us by September, and by December the publisher will cease to be. In the last four years, six books of mine have been published and I hope to have four more in print in the next five years published.

For the last few days, I’ve been feeling rather numb. I wasn’t sure whether to give up writing altogether and focus on my art. My paintings have been selling rather well. With no overheads, no one taking a slice of the sales, plus no money spent on marketing, the profit is mine. When I finish a painting, I just post it online to see what others think of it. I was shocked to discover people liked them enough to message me with requests to buy them.

I had just given the butterfly painting its first coat of varnish when I received a message asking for the size of the painting and its price. I was amazed as I had only just posted a photo of it on my Facebook page after finishing the painting.

I’ve been left in a bit of a limbo not having a publisher, but maybe being in this situation isn’t so bad. Now I’ve become a published writer and enjoy the process of creating books, I want to take it to the next level and find a publisher who works hard to help their authors. Now I’m on the hunt for a publisher willing to take my writing to the next level.

A bit of positive news, I’ve just had my short story ‘To-Do List’ nominated by Spillword for April’s Publication of the Month.

Please vote for me. Thank you

If you haven’t read my story yet click here: https://spillwords.com/to-do-list/

You have the power to decide the winner by casting your vote here: https://spillwords.com/vote/

Please note that voting will conclude on 4/29; soon after, Spillword will reveal the well-deserved recipient of their prestigious title. To vote, kindly register and/or log in to ensure your voice is heard.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Chat again soon,

Bit of a Shock

Yesterday, I received an email from the publisher of my novels. They are closing down and are returning all book rights to their authors. They hope to sort out all royalties and book rights by September and have everything completed by December. So now I’m at a loss.

Published by Darkstroke

I’m a bit stunned by it, but hope to find a new publisher next year. All of Darkstroke’s authors are just as stunned. I am hoping that it will be easier now I’ve been published to find a new one. Though, I hope to republished my three novels. So I don’t know whether this will make it harder to get them published again because all three novels are quite different from each other.

The publishing world is a crowded market place, if you think about it. Millions of books being published across the world, with no real gatekeeper. Anyone can self-publish these days without worrying about a publisher or agent, so there are thousands of books available for readers. It would be interesting to know whether books outweigh the number of readers, or should I say buyers of books.

Relaunching my novels will be difficult as my followers won’t want to buy copies again, and I will have lost the reviews they already had received. Luckily, I still have three other books on Amazon with two other publishers.

The sad thing was last Friday I gave a book talk to a writing group. I set my notes aside and just chatted. It worked really well and I sold three books, now I feel like I have lost part of my soul as I can’t proudly say I have a publisher for my novels. I’m guessing it’s a case start writing a new book, and seeing what happens next.

Happy painting and writing everyone because you never know what’s around the corner.

Thank you, if you leave a comment.

To-Do list.

When a To-Do list leads to trouble. Please check out my latest short story. I hope you enjoy reading it. It’s a short crime tale. Thank you.
https://spillwords.com/to-do-list/

Sunrise and To-Do list.

At the moment, I’m busy painting. Here’s my latest picture.

Dandelions growing in by a kerb.

Another Trees in Dreams

I’m busy painting.

In our local library, the librarian told me that the bigger library in the nearby town holds an art exhibition for local artists. Of course, we have to pay a fee and any paintings we sell the library takes a commission.

I’m now busy creating paintings for an exhibition just so I can say I exhibited my work. Who knows where it might take me next?

Trees in Dreams: Sun and Moon

I had a lady message me on NextDoor asking me if I gave art lessons. How amazing is that?

I’m self-taught. At sixteen, I tried to get into college to study Art but was unable to pass the entry exams of math and English. Like my writing, I taught myself. I’m so pleased to discover others really do enjoy seeing my paintings.

Chat again soon,

Have a great week,

One Happy Artist

Today, I sold my first abstract painting.

What started as an experiment in paint has become a new style of painting for me.

Trees of Dream

Painting and Rain ☂️

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Bright and Sunny. The call of the garden took me outside. Before heading out, I wrote 1k words to add to my new novel.

On Friday, I started to play around with my paints and created my first abstract. Maybe, I should give it a title. How about: Trees in My Dreams

Today, more rain, so no time in garden. More playing with paint. Come Monday, I’m back to writing.

Thank you for dropping by.

Chat again soon.

Not Any More.

Daily writing promptAre you superstitious?View all responses

“If a black cat crosses your path, it signifies that the animal is going somewhere.”

― Groucho Marx October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977 was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer

The older I get, the less I believe in such things. The world continues turning on the path that was mapped out for it, at its conception. From the dawn of time, there have been things that the human mind can’t comprehend, so while searching for some explanations, humans have created their own theory, or idea of why certain things happen to them. This is what is known as superstition. Anything beyond human understanding is supernatural.

The meaning of the word explains a lot. Middle English supersticion, from Anglo-French, from Latin superstition-, superstitio, from superstit-, superstes standing over (as witness or survivor), from super- + stare to stand — more to stand and stare.

Even in these modern times, there are many questions we don’t know the answers, too. Whether it is clear to us or not, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

So stop worrying, just be happy and enjoy your life.

Chat again soon.

In The Library.

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of a Library.”

Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986. Argentine writer)

A gothic library created by A.i.

I’ve loved libraries since my mother took me into one as a small child. As I sit here writing, I’m surrounded by books. Apart from the bathroom, every room in my house, including the attic has some of the collection of books I’ve built up over my lifetime. I’ve always wanted a room dedicated to just books, a bit like my header picture (kindly created for me by AI.) Though, I would be worried about all the candles in the library, especially when they are so close to the books.

For me, books are the key to unlocking knowledge, and knowledge gives you the freedom to make choices in your life. I couldn’t afford to go to university or even to college, but I could escape into a library and read books on any subject I wanted to teach myself. My collection of books has come from car boot sales, charity shops, eBay, and ex-library books. The oldest book in my collection is dated 1624.

Today, you can find me in a special library being interviewed by Head Librarian, Aisha Kandisha at Kandisha Press. She asked me to join her among the dusty shelves in the library of Horror. So if you would like to join Aisha and me please click here.

I’m busy working on the follow-on novel to my novella, The Funeral Birds. I’m 18k words in and the ideas are flowing, which is wonderful after a rocky start. I can’t wait to get the first draft finished. The book has three timelines, but I’m sure my readers are intelligent enough to handle the jumps. I’m very excited to see where my characters take me as Martha finds she has access to the future. What a strange place the world has become after she and many other people were put to death for witchcraft and black Magic. Can you imagine what the church of 1645 would make of today’s world. Would it seem like the devil is at work with mobile phones, cars, planes, hospitals etc?

Thank you for dropping by and reading my post

Chat again soon.

Propaganda Works.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

― George Orwell

Take any moment throughout history and you’ll find the best tool to manipulate the masses to further an agenda is propaganda. During the Renaissance era, a period in history regarded as the age of enlightenment and reason, the old established order felt threatened, especially the main religious orders. Medieval society had been relatively stable, but the collapse of the feudal system, coupled with famines, warfare and splits within the Roman Catholic church signalled a fundamental change happening all at once, not just in Britain, but across Europe, too.

 On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the castle church at Wittenberg Image via Wikimedia Commons, painted by Ferdinand Pauwels, public domain)

The medieval mind was not unduly troubled by the activities of natural healers who practiced folk magic, or Old Wives’ lore. These early herbalists passed on the knowledge of plants from mother to daughter and down the generations. This was also the time when our modern-day medicine was still in its infancy, and every community relied on its wise women. After all, wasn’t it women who held the power of life and death? Women brought men into the world, nursed them through sickness, and dressed and cleaned the body at the end of life.

The English Reformation took place when Henry VIII created the Church of England, wanting to break away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. This led to the Catholic Church losing its grip as the leading world religion. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Puritans were English Protestants who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices. They maintained that the Church of England had not been fully reformed, and should become more Protestant. Originally, the word reformation (from the Latin reformare, “to renew”) suggested the removal of impurities and corruption from church institutions and people, rather than separation from the unified Roman Catholic Church (the word catholic meaning “universal”). The reformers were not initially called Protestants, but the term later was applied to all groups opposed to the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church.

How Witches have been depicted.Puritan Lady’s dress

This brings me to the point where I can explain to you, why witches are always depicted with pointy hats and where the propaganda comes into play, too. Propaganda being by dehumanising certain group of people by creating caricatures of them.

Take the way the Puritans dressed, along with the fact most elderly women wore black widow’s weed (from the old English word ‘Waed’ meaning garment) as they mourned the loss of their husbands. Clothes were expensive (no fast fashion in that day) Money was short so they continued to wear widow’s weed. It was said that witches’ bodies were marked by the devil, so any mole, wart or scar singled you out as a witch. Propaganda added a wart to a witch’s nose and a point to the Puritan’s hat. The Roman Catholic church circulated propaganda about witches by quoting a passage from the bible.

Witch:

Occurs only in Exodus 22:18, as the rendering of mekhashshepheh, the feminine form of the word, meaning “enchantress” (R.V., “sorceress”), and in Deuteronomy 18:10, as the rendering of mekhashshepheth, the masculine form of the word, meaning “enchanter.”

Now you can see how a language change alters your perception from a witch wearing a pointy hat with a wart on her hooked nose to an enchantress who is a fascinating, beautiful woman. Doesn’t that create a different picture in your mind? You can’t imagine some aged, poverty-stricken old crone, living apart from normal civilised society with only a cat for company.

The power of propaganda relies on no one questioning the behaviour of the mob rule, even when the courts were caught up in the hysteria. Accusations were born out of petty jealousy or trivial quarrels. Suspects had little hope of escaping once they were denounced as a witch.

In the past, no one was free from superstition and lived in fear of even their own shadow. The wrath of God haunted them day and night. It’s easy for us to question their behaviour in our more enlightened times, we have the power of electricity to light up the darkness and help in storing food. Our knowledge and understanding of illnesses, viruses and medicine allows us to live long, healthy lives. Modern farming and a better understanding of how to predict the weather allow us to plan ahead when feeding the country.

It’s a sad fact thousands of innocent people died at the hands of the witch hunters in the name of God, but in fact, it wasn’t the word of God at all. The truth is, it was the interpretation of the bible by men. Men who feared their loss of power, and control over the masses.

I hope you find this interesting. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Flash Fiction

“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.”

― Edgar Allan Poe

Decluttering (image created by me using A.I.)

I enjoy writing short stories, and flash fiction is fun, too. Just recently I had one story rejected, but another was accepted. Writing has swings and roundabouts. Highs and lows, but all writers must bite the rejection bullet and move on to their next project. My plan was to write ten short stories and see how many of them I could get published this year. So far, I have written five short stories and two have been published.

Here’s an extended version of one I wrote for a writing prompt. It’s called Decluttering and it’s now published on Cafelit. Please do check it out.

Thank you for dropping by. If you do read my short story, please let a comment either here, or on the Cafelit site. Thank you.