Tim Atkinson's Blog, page 35
April 13, 2016
On tour, day two...
I'm delighted - really pleased - that the second stop on my virtual book tour (a virtual tour for what's virtually a book) is the lovely Katyboo's Weblog And I'm pleased for a variety of reasons.
First, I really love her blog and have done for years. Second, she's always been supportive of my fledging authorship ambitions. She's one of the few people I know who has read (and liked) Writing Therapy.
But third, and most important (and she may not even realise this herself) she inspired me to write my present book (the one I'm touring with right now, the one that doesn't exist yet, you know).
Yes. Some years ago she recommended a book 'The Missing of the Somme' by Geoff Dyer, highly recommended it in fact, and rightly so. Because when I read it I was bowled over.
It's about the war, of course. But it's about the end of the war, the Remembrance, memorials, commemorations and what they say about us as a nation, then and now. It's fascinating, factual and set on the social or civic scale, whereas my own book is fictional, personal and set in the minds of the men who do the Empire's dirty work, making the grand memorials that we all now almost take for granted.
But it was reading that book that first sparked my interest in the subject. Now, six or more years later, I have my own book to show for it. Or I will if enough of you - the readers - support it. That's how Unbound works - authors pitch their work and readers choose what gets published. And Unbound is the topic of my guest post on Katy's blog. So why don't you head over there now and have a read.
She'll make you very welcome!
https://katyboo1.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/15140/
First, I really love her blog and have done for years. Second, she's always been supportive of my fledging authorship ambitions. She's one of the few people I know who has read (and liked) Writing Therapy.
But third, and most important (and she may not even realise this herself) she inspired me to write my present book (the one I'm touring with right now, the one that doesn't exist yet, you know).
Yes. Some years ago she recommended a book 'The Missing of the Somme' by Geoff Dyer, highly recommended it in fact, and rightly so. Because when I read it I was bowled over.
It's about the war, of course. But it's about the end of the war, the Remembrance, memorials, commemorations and what they say about us as a nation, then and now. It's fascinating, factual and set on the social or civic scale, whereas my own book is fictional, personal and set in the minds of the men who do the Empire's dirty work, making the grand memorials that we all now almost take for granted.
But it was reading that book that first sparked my interest in the subject. Now, six or more years later, I have my own book to show for it. Or I will if enough of you - the readers - support it. That's how Unbound works - authors pitch their work and readers choose what gets published. And Unbound is the topic of my guest post on Katy's blog. So why don't you head over there now and have a read.
She'll make you very welcome!
https://katyboo1.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/15140/
April 9, 2016
On tour...
My blog book tour (bit odd that, when you think about it - a virtual tour for a book that doesn't yet exist!) begins today and I'm delighted to be a guest on Iain Standen's excellent blog 'Historic Musings'.
If you don't know Iain, he's a former Colonel in the Royal Corps of Signals, now CEO of the wartime code-breaking HQ Bletchley Park, as well as being an historian with a wide range of interests - from the American Civil War to World War One Battlefields, where he acts as a part-time tour guide.
Anyway, he kindly agreed to let me plug my new book The Glorious Dead on his blog. We had a chat about it earlier this week and he's published the post today, in the context of a fascinating article about the war cemeteries in general, and one specific grave in particular.
It's an really interesting read. Do pop across and take a look: https://historicmusingsblog.wordpress...
If you don't know Iain, he's a former Colonel in the Royal Corps of Signals, now CEO of the wartime code-breaking HQ Bletchley Park, as well as being an historian with a wide range of interests - from the American Civil War to World War One Battlefields, where he acts as a part-time tour guide.
Anyway, he kindly agreed to let me plug my new book The Glorious Dead on his blog. We had a chat about it earlier this week and he's published the post today, in the context of a fascinating article about the war cemeteries in general, and one specific grave in particular.
It's an really interesting read. Do pop across and take a look: https://historicmusingsblog.wordpress...
April 1, 2016
Drama on the East Coast
I'm delighted to welcome guest-blogger Adrian Cory this morning. Adrian runs one of the most original and innovative start-ups I've come across in recent years - KidzDrama - which supplies scripts for parties, sleepovers, wet Bank Holidays, just about any occasion really. And as all parents know, it's almost impossible to think of something new for the kids to do and planning a party (that doesn't break the bank or hasn't been done before by the rest of the class) can be a nightmare. Step forward, Adrian...
Holidaying with the children when they were in their preteens was a simple affair. We’d rent a cosy caravan somewhere along the Suffolk coast, stock up on food that would squeeze into the bijou microwave and wait to see what the elements threw at us. When the sun shone, nothing beat crunching through the ubiquitous shingle of the more southerly shores of East Anglia and if the temperature ventured into double figures, we often braved the murky depths of the North Sea in lieu of any warm, turquoise Mediterranean waters.
However, on the days when the coastal gales and horizontal rain were leaving red scorch marks on my children’s faces, we were forced back into the fibre-glass haven of the two-bed mobile home. With the storage heater on full blow, I would enthusiastically encourage the playing of world-class board games: Cluedo, Trivial Pursuit, Frustration and Ker-Plunk! among others. This was, however, before the days of the smartphone and the tablet and the thrill of these competitive tests had a finite shelf life. After several days of weather-enforced confinement and the constant, torturously-loud beating of rain on the caravan roof, I was met with a mutinous cry: “Find something else for us to do…or it’s no more washing up!”
This ultimatum was indeed a challenge. As a child, my parents always tasked me with washing up at weekends and on holidays; it was the only way to open up the world of sweets and 45 rpm singles via pocket money earned. I was determined to pass this burden onto my own children as soon as they were old enough to know which side to dry a carving from. I didn’t want the chore back on my holiday roster, that’s for sure.
Suddenly, an idea! I picked up the video camera.
“Okay, guys, here’s what we’re going to do.”
Blue one eyed me suspiciously and pink one just huffed and waved the remote control at me by way of suggesting daytime television would be eminently better than any scatterbrain plan of mine.
“You two are going to write a report on something that’s happened while we’ve been away and you’re going to present it like a real newsreader. I will video it on the camera, so it’s like you’re in a proper news studio.”
“Does the story have to be about us or can it be about anything?” said blue one.
“Can we dress up and wear make-up like Fiona Bruce?” said pink one.
As I confirmed these barriers to the task as non-barriers, the pair happily began planning their news story and their wardrobe. (Although, to be fair, the wardrobe was less of a deal breaker for blue one!) I set up the camera and after an hour of pencil chewing, word scribbling and applying of Bratz eye-shadow, we were ready for the local news live from Bawdsey Quay. The kids had even crafted an impressive BBC logo which they positioned as a backdrop.
Pink one delivered a perfect monologue describing how a golden Labrador had fetched a long stick out of the sea and, as it walked back up the beach to its owner, managed to knock a 99 Flake cornet out of a toddler’s hand with the end of said stick. The ensuing screaming and wailing could be heard for miles and only abated when full reparations were made by the dog’s owners.
Blue one spoke briefly about the latest space shuttle launch.
We played the resultant video back a few times and both were particularly pleased with their efforts and the masterful filming proved a fine addition to our holiday video archive (ahem!).
“Why don’t you write a whole news programme, Dad?” said pink one. “Then we can act it out.”
This then was the inspiration for my first play, Panic in Toy Town. I had the newsreader commentate on the ensuing credit crunch and how it was affecting the characters of Toy Town. I then built in roles for the family to play out as part of the script. It was a limited version which was fun to do and, ultimately, the basis of what is now a full Kidz Drama comedy play.
I didn’t take the idea forward as a business project properly for another seven years. Back in September, pink one picked up another play manuscript she’d discovered lying around and found herself giggling at the antics in The Missing Pyjama Case. She said it was about time I put the plays on tinter-web. Which I did.
And now other families have access to what are essentially “space fillers”; children’s plays which can be enjoyed on holidays, quiet weekends or rainy days. They are also ideal activities for kid’s parties and sleepovers; the result of just one parental idea borne from a summer of drama on the east coast.
Adrian Cory
Playmaker
Kidzdrama.com
team@kidzdrama.com
Holidaying with the children when they were in their preteens was a simple affair. We’d rent a cosy caravan somewhere along the Suffolk coast, stock up on food that would squeeze into the bijou microwave and wait to see what the elements threw at us. When the sun shone, nothing beat crunching through the ubiquitous shingle of the more southerly shores of East Anglia and if the temperature ventured into double figures, we often braved the murky depths of the North Sea in lieu of any warm, turquoise Mediterranean waters.
However, on the days when the coastal gales and horizontal rain were leaving red scorch marks on my children’s faces, we were forced back into the fibre-glass haven of the two-bed mobile home. With the storage heater on full blow, I would enthusiastically encourage the playing of world-class board games: Cluedo, Trivial Pursuit, Frustration and Ker-Plunk! among others. This was, however, before the days of the smartphone and the tablet and the thrill of these competitive tests had a finite shelf life. After several days of weather-enforced confinement and the constant, torturously-loud beating of rain on the caravan roof, I was met with a mutinous cry: “Find something else for us to do…or it’s no more washing up!”
This ultimatum was indeed a challenge. As a child, my parents always tasked me with washing up at weekends and on holidays; it was the only way to open up the world of sweets and 45 rpm singles via pocket money earned. I was determined to pass this burden onto my own children as soon as they were old enough to know which side to dry a carving from. I didn’t want the chore back on my holiday roster, that’s for sure.
Suddenly, an idea! I picked up the video camera.
“Okay, guys, here’s what we’re going to do.”
Blue one eyed me suspiciously and pink one just huffed and waved the remote control at me by way of suggesting daytime television would be eminently better than any scatterbrain plan of mine.
“You two are going to write a report on something that’s happened while we’ve been away and you’re going to present it like a real newsreader. I will video it on the camera, so it’s like you’re in a proper news studio.”
“Does the story have to be about us or can it be about anything?” said blue one.
“Can we dress up and wear make-up like Fiona Bruce?” said pink one.
As I confirmed these barriers to the task as non-barriers, the pair happily began planning their news story and their wardrobe. (Although, to be fair, the wardrobe was less of a deal breaker for blue one!) I set up the camera and after an hour of pencil chewing, word scribbling and applying of Bratz eye-shadow, we were ready for the local news live from Bawdsey Quay. The kids had even crafted an impressive BBC logo which they positioned as a backdrop.
Pink one delivered a perfect monologue describing how a golden Labrador had fetched a long stick out of the sea and, as it walked back up the beach to its owner, managed to knock a 99 Flake cornet out of a toddler’s hand with the end of said stick. The ensuing screaming and wailing could be heard for miles and only abated when full reparations were made by the dog’s owners.
Blue one spoke briefly about the latest space shuttle launch.
We played the resultant video back a few times and both were particularly pleased with their efforts and the masterful filming proved a fine addition to our holiday video archive (ahem!).
“Why don’t you write a whole news programme, Dad?” said pink one. “Then we can act it out.”
This then was the inspiration for my first play, Panic in Toy Town. I had the newsreader commentate on the ensuing credit crunch and how it was affecting the characters of Toy Town. I then built in roles for the family to play out as part of the script. It was a limited version which was fun to do and, ultimately, the basis of what is now a full Kidz Drama comedy play.
I didn’t take the idea forward as a business project properly for another seven years. Back in September, pink one picked up another play manuscript she’d discovered lying around and found herself giggling at the antics in The Missing Pyjama Case. She said it was about time I put the plays on tinter-web. Which I did.
And now other families have access to what are essentially “space fillers”; children’s plays which can be enjoyed on holidays, quiet weekends or rainy days. They are also ideal activities for kid’s parties and sleepovers; the result of just one parental idea borne from a summer of drama on the east coast.
Adrian Cory
Playmaker
Kidzdrama.com
team@kidzdrama.com
March 28, 2016
Win AfterShokz Bluez 2S Bluetooth Headphones
AfterShokz bone conduction headphones sound like an instrument of torture, rather than the state-of-the-art aids to listening pleasure that they are.
The AfterShokz Bluez 2S open ear wireless headphones combine the convenience, reliability and performance of Bluetooth wireless connectivity with the comfort and safety of open ear bone conduction technology to provide consumers with an entirely new way to stay connected.
Unlike conventional Bluetooth headphones and ear buds that use the eardrums to transmit sound, Aftershokz Bluez 2S headphones utilize patent pending bone conduction technology to deliver sound through the listener’s cheekbones to the inner ear. This enables anyone using them to make/take phone calls and stay connected to both what they are listening to and the outside world - such as warning sounds outdoors while walking, running, cycling or driving.
AfterShokz patented design guides mini vibrations through your cheekbones to your inner ears, delivering stereo sound without plugging or covering them. Sound waves travel directly to the cochlea, bypassing the eardrums completely—an alternative for anyone concerned about potential hearing damage caused by traditional headphones and ear buds, and even a solution for those with certain forms of hearing loss.
Most Bluetooth devices are designed for use in one ear, but AfterShokz Bluez 2S sit comfortably in front of the ears and provide listeners with a stereophonic sound experience. The innovative and elegantly simple design of AfterShokz Bluez 2s open ear headphones is built around a beautifully designed, highly ergonomic, extremely stable, one-piece wraparound headband. The open ear design and the light weight of AfterShokz Bluez 2S make them extremely comfortable and stable, even when used over extended periods of time.
AfterShokz Bluez 2S open ear wireless Bluetooth headphones deliver the safest and most comfortable way of staying connected on the planet and you can win a pair worth £89.95 by entering today's great Bank Holiday Monday giveaway. There are any number of ways to enter, so get clicking and then get crossing those fingers. If you win these, they really will revolutionise the way you listen.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The AfterShokz Bluez 2S open ear wireless headphones combine the convenience, reliability and performance of Bluetooth wireless connectivity with the comfort and safety of open ear bone conduction technology to provide consumers with an entirely new way to stay connected.
Unlike conventional Bluetooth headphones and ear buds that use the eardrums to transmit sound, Aftershokz Bluez 2S headphones utilize patent pending bone conduction technology to deliver sound through the listener’s cheekbones to the inner ear. This enables anyone using them to make/take phone calls and stay connected to both what they are listening to and the outside world - such as warning sounds outdoors while walking, running, cycling or driving.
AfterShokz patented design guides mini vibrations through your cheekbones to your inner ears, delivering stereo sound without plugging or covering them. Sound waves travel directly to the cochlea, bypassing the eardrums completely—an alternative for anyone concerned about potential hearing damage caused by traditional headphones and ear buds, and even a solution for those with certain forms of hearing loss.
Most Bluetooth devices are designed for use in one ear, but AfterShokz Bluez 2S sit comfortably in front of the ears and provide listeners with a stereophonic sound experience. The innovative and elegantly simple design of AfterShokz Bluez 2s open ear headphones is built around a beautifully designed, highly ergonomic, extremely stable, one-piece wraparound headband. The open ear design and the light weight of AfterShokz Bluez 2S make them extremely comfortable and stable, even when used over extended periods of time.
AfterShokz Bluez 2S open ear wireless Bluetooth headphones deliver the safest and most comfortable way of staying connected on the planet and you can win a pair worth £89.95 by entering today's great Bank Holiday Monday giveaway. There are any number of ways to enter, so get clicking and then get crossing those fingers. If you win these, they really will revolutionise the way you listen.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
March 24, 2016
No news...
I've come to realise I don't need the TV news. I don't need to see the pictures, or endure the awful 'thump-thump' soundtrack telling me how serious it all is as if I didn't know already, don't need the overpaid and studiedly eccentric correspondents standing in front of someone's door or in a Westminster corridor, competing with each other for mannerisms, ticks and verbal twists as they endlessly analyse what we've already been told has happened.
No. I gave up TV news earlier this year at the time of the General Election. I imagined it would only last until the end of the campaign. But no. It lasted until yesterday, when I turned on - feeling slightly grubby as I did so - to see and hear the news of the atrocities in Belgium.
'The headlines are... our top story is... a reminder of today's main story...' Nothing's changed. It was all complete with manipulative music and on location images and - get this - nothing I didn't know already, nothing I hadn't heard on the radio (just the hourly bulletins, none of the aural equivalent of TV news-junkie-dom that is the Radio Four Today programme) or read online in the daily newspapers.
I haven't missed The News, nor have I, it would appear, missed any news either. I seem to be just as well informed; better, even. I put this down to having more time. TV news takes so long and at the end of the day, says so little.
I won't be going back in a hurry. I will admit to one thing, though. I still turn on at the end for the weather. Somehow, that always seems to need a picture.
No. I gave up TV news earlier this year at the time of the General Election. I imagined it would only last until the end of the campaign. But no. It lasted until yesterday, when I turned on - feeling slightly grubby as I did so - to see and hear the news of the atrocities in Belgium.
'The headlines are... our top story is... a reminder of today's main story...' Nothing's changed. It was all complete with manipulative music and on location images and - get this - nothing I didn't know already, nothing I hadn't heard on the radio (just the hourly bulletins, none of the aural equivalent of TV news-junkie-dom that is the Radio Four Today programme) or read online in the daily newspapers.
I haven't missed The News, nor have I, it would appear, missed any news either. I seem to be just as well informed; better, even. I put this down to having more time. TV news takes so long and at the end of the day, says so little.
I won't be going back in a hurry. I will admit to one thing, though. I still turn on at the end for the weather. Somehow, that always seems to need a picture.
March 21, 2016
Everyone's a winner...
Well, not quite. But if your name isn't on the list, have no fear - there'll be another fabulous competition later this week. Watch this space!
Meanwhile, those of you asking for details following the KidzDrama script giveaway will be delighted to know that they're guesting on the blog shortly. Again, keep watching.
But now, the moment you've been waiting for. First, the winner of the wonderful Seagate Cloud 2-Bay personal home back-up and storage system. This competition attracted a huge number of entries. But unfortunately there is only one prize. And the prize goes to... Stephen Barnes, who visited this page on Unbound. Well done, Stephen!
Next, the amazing and entertaining KidzDrama scripts. There were two prizes here, and the winner of the amazing 'Doctor What' script it *drumroll* Darrell Perry, who tweeted a link to the competition. Well done Darrell, have fun with the script. Next up, Cinderolla... and who's foot will fir the slipper? It's none other than Miss Natalie Crossan. She also did the Twitter thang. Well done Natalie, you shall go to the ball.
Meanwhile, may I remind you that my book, the book described by one extremely well-known and ennobled actor, famed for his cunning plans among other things but whom I've been unable to contact to get permission to use the quote so who will have to remain nameless... Anyway, him, he said (to me personally, when I bumped into him at a House of Lords reception, as you do, that is 'sounds like a book that needs to be written' is still funding. The book he was talking about was this, and YOU - yes, you - can help it get written and make both him (and me) very happy
And here's a picture taken at said House of Lord's reception which in no way whatsoever should be construed as a clue to the identity of the speaker. Oh no. Not at all...
Meanwhile, those of you asking for details following the KidzDrama script giveaway will be delighted to know that they're guesting on the blog shortly. Again, keep watching.
But now, the moment you've been waiting for. First, the winner of the wonderful Seagate Cloud 2-Bay personal home back-up and storage system. This competition attracted a huge number of entries. But unfortunately there is only one prize. And the prize goes to... Stephen Barnes, who visited this page on Unbound. Well done, Stephen!
Next, the amazing and entertaining KidzDrama scripts. There were two prizes here, and the winner of the amazing 'Doctor What' script it *drumroll* Darrell Perry, who tweeted a link to the competition. Well done Darrell, have fun with the script. Next up, Cinderolla... and who's foot will fir the slipper? It's none other than Miss Natalie Crossan. She also did the Twitter thang. Well done Natalie, you shall go to the ball.
Meanwhile, may I remind you that my book, the book described by one extremely well-known and ennobled actor, famed for his cunning plans among other things but whom I've been unable to contact to get permission to use the quote so who will have to remain nameless... Anyway, him, he said (to me personally, when I bumped into him at a House of Lords reception, as you do, that is 'sounds like a book that needs to be written' is still funding. The book he was talking about was this, and YOU - yes, you - can help it get written and make both him (and me) very happy
And here's a picture taken at said House of Lord's reception which in no way whatsoever should be construed as a clue to the identity of the speaker. Oh no. Not at all...
March 18, 2016
What a pain!
News today in the Daily Express that 'paracetamol has no effect on arthritis pain' comes as something of a surprise. As a long-time sufferer with a repeat prescription for a combined (and high) dose of paracetamol and codeine I can only think it must be the latter that makes me feel a little better. But you don't want to feel that much better, not with codeine.
In fact, I'd rather do without the painkillers completely - but the pain won't let me. A new product from the BioElectronics Corporation, however, might be the answer.
A few weeks ago I was sent the ActiPatch® Musculoskeletal Pain Relief band to try. Initially I had back pain, and tried the patch there for several days. Then I was troubled with my knee, and laterally my feet and ankles have been swollen and painful.
The idea is you keep the ActiPatch on (both turned on and in position) indefinitely. The battery last for over 700 hours, emitting an electromagnetic pulse that is supposed to ease pain caused by arthritis, sciatica, fibromyalgia, strains, sprains and more. It's drug and ingredient-free so safe for continuous use and for use while taking other medication. Unlike a TENS machine, you don't feel any heat or vibration. In fact, ActiPatch® is completely sensation free, so the only thing you are going to feel, they claim, is better.
And that, of course, is the $64000 question. Do I feel better?
It's hard to say. Would I feel worse if I wasn't using it? I think, on balance, the answer is 'probably, yes.' It certainly cleared up my lower back pain quicker than anything else ever has. My knee, too, is now much less troublesome. Feet and ankles? Well, the jury is still out. But as I said, I've no way of measuring how much worse they'd be without the patch.
The BioElectronics ActiPatch® range retails at £19.99 per product and includes:
ActiPatch® 720 hour Knee Pain Relief
ActiPatch® 720 hour Back Pain Relief
ActiPatch® 720 hour Muscle and Joint Pain Relief
For more information about BioElectronics ActiPatch®, please visit www.tryactipatch.co.uk
In fact, I'd rather do without the painkillers completely - but the pain won't let me. A new product from the BioElectronics Corporation, however, might be the answer.
A few weeks ago I was sent the ActiPatch® Musculoskeletal Pain Relief band to try. Initially I had back pain, and tried the patch there for several days. Then I was troubled with my knee, and laterally my feet and ankles have been swollen and painful.
The idea is you keep the ActiPatch on (both turned on and in position) indefinitely. The battery last for over 700 hours, emitting an electromagnetic pulse that is supposed to ease pain caused by arthritis, sciatica, fibromyalgia, strains, sprains and more. It's drug and ingredient-free so safe for continuous use and for use while taking other medication. Unlike a TENS machine, you don't feel any heat or vibration. In fact, ActiPatch® is completely sensation free, so the only thing you are going to feel, they claim, is better.
And that, of course, is the $64000 question. Do I feel better?
It's hard to say. Would I feel worse if I wasn't using it? I think, on balance, the answer is 'probably, yes.' It certainly cleared up my lower back pain quicker than anything else ever has. My knee, too, is now much less troublesome. Feet and ankles? Well, the jury is still out. But as I said, I've no way of measuring how much worse they'd be without the patch.
The BioElectronics ActiPatch® range retails at £19.99 per product and includes:
ActiPatch® 720 hour Knee Pain Relief
ActiPatch® 720 hour Back Pain Relief
ActiPatch® 720 hour Muscle and Joint Pain Relief
For more information about BioElectronics ActiPatch®, please visit www.tryactipatch.co.uk
March 16, 2016
The Glorious Dead: A Progress Report
It's just over two weeks since The Glorious Dead launched on Unbound. Since then, it's made almost 10% of it's funding target and attracted a huge amount of interest. But one question keeps recurring - what is crowdfunding and how does it work?
Well... it works by people pledging their support in advance - a bit like buying before the book gets written (in order to make sure it is). The great thing about this way of doing things is that readers get to choose what gets written, rather than wait and choose what someone else (usually the marketing department) has commissioned.
But what if it doesn't get written, I hear you asking? Well, in that case you get your money back - but still have all the wonderful insights into the writing process and the inspiration and research via ‘The Shed'. But we're not going to have defeatist talk like that. Oh no.
Unbound publishes the likes of Terry ‘He’s not the Messiah’ Jones and Raymond 'Snowman' Briggs (to name-drop but two) but I think it must be easier if you've already got an established public profile, like they have. Some books takes days to fund; others weeks and months. At the present rate, mine will be in the latter category, but hey - onwards and upwards!
The really great thing about crowdfunding from my point of view as an author is the opportunities it affords for interaction. I've already had some quite lengthy conversations (usually on Facebook) about the novel. People have been interested in my motivation, fascinated by the research, and amazed - as I was - that there has been so little written on this subject before.
Which brings us to the book. The Glorious Dead is the story of a group of soldiers who stay on after the Armistice, clearing the battlefields, burying the dead and slowly rebuilding their own lives. This is in fact what thousands of Allied troops did, not always voluntarily - although the Army did offer men an extra 2/6 a day to undertake such unpleasant duties.
Some men stayed on, after their demob, marrying local Belgian girls and establishing a small but significant English community in and around Ypres. Many of them were employed by the War Graves Commission, landscaping the cemeteries they themselves created and establishing the permanent memorials to the dead that today we know so well.
There are plenty of books on World War One. There are books on Ypres, The Somme, Gallipoli & Verdun but there has never been a war book quite like this one. With your support, this remarkable story can at last be written.
Well... it works by people pledging their support in advance - a bit like buying before the book gets written (in order to make sure it is). The great thing about this way of doing things is that readers get to choose what gets written, rather than wait and choose what someone else (usually the marketing department) has commissioned.
But what if it doesn't get written, I hear you asking? Well, in that case you get your money back - but still have all the wonderful insights into the writing process and the inspiration and research via ‘The Shed'. But we're not going to have defeatist talk like that. Oh no.
Unbound publishes the likes of Terry ‘He’s not the Messiah’ Jones and Raymond 'Snowman' Briggs (to name-drop but two) but I think it must be easier if you've already got an established public profile, like they have. Some books takes days to fund; others weeks and months. At the present rate, mine will be in the latter category, but hey - onwards and upwards!
The really great thing about crowdfunding from my point of view as an author is the opportunities it affords for interaction. I've already had some quite lengthy conversations (usually on Facebook) about the novel. People have been interested in my motivation, fascinated by the research, and amazed - as I was - that there has been so little written on this subject before.
Which brings us to the book. The Glorious Dead is the story of a group of soldiers who stay on after the Armistice, clearing the battlefields, burying the dead and slowly rebuilding their own lives. This is in fact what thousands of Allied troops did, not always voluntarily - although the Army did offer men an extra 2/6 a day to undertake such unpleasant duties.
Some men stayed on, after their demob, marrying local Belgian girls and establishing a small but significant English community in and around Ypres. Many of them were employed by the War Graves Commission, landscaping the cemeteries they themselves created and establishing the permanent memorials to the dead that today we know so well.
There are plenty of books on World War One. There are books on Ypres, The Somme, Gallipoli & Verdun but there has never been a war book quite like this one. With your support, this remarkable story can at last be written.
March 14, 2016
Win £100 VISA Gift Card DC Super Heros Girls competition
If your kids are looking for action-packed girl power, then look no further.
DC Super Hero Girls is DC Entertainment’s latest animated series, featuring a dynamic group of Super Heros on their journey of discovering the power of their unique abilities and friendships. The characters are dynamic - from strong and fearless to edgy and fun and there is a character for everyone.
The DC Super Hero Girls YouTube channel makes it easy for our kids to watch their favourite characters, on-demand, and from any device.
For even more fun for your readers, there is an extended online experience on the website where kids can play games, download free printable activities, and more.
And finally, there's a £100 VISA Gift Card giveaway for you to enter, using the Rafflecopter widget below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What's not to like?
Good luck!
DC Super Hero Girls is DC Entertainment’s latest animated series, featuring a dynamic group of Super Heros on their journey of discovering the power of their unique abilities and friendships. The characters are dynamic - from strong and fearless to edgy and fun and there is a character for everyone.
The DC Super Hero Girls YouTube channel makes it easy for our kids to watch their favourite characters, on-demand, and from any device.
For even more fun for your readers, there is an extended online experience on the website where kids can play games, download free printable activities, and more.
And finally, there's a £100 VISA Gift Card giveaway for you to enter, using the Rafflecopter widget below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What's not to like?
Good luck!
March 12, 2016
Win a party script from Kidz Drama
If you're children are more than, oh, a few years old you may have already run out of party inspiration. You can't always take them to the local soft play centre; you can't always afford that expensive trip to the cinema. And they did the laser-quest extravaganza with Algernon last weekend.
Fear not, for help is at hand. It comes from Kidz Drama, a family start up in Suffolk offering parents at-home comedy plays for their kids. Of course, it's not just for parties - they could be family events, when they have friends round or just for your own in house entertainment.
The idea is simple - choose from a range of scripts (from as little as £6.99) and the kids get to do what so many of them love - dressing up, preparing and rehearsing the play before performing it in front of friends and family.
There's quite a range to choose from - ranging from Dr Who-themed plays to those based on well-known stories (but with a twist?). Here's what they look like:
There really is something for everyone, and I'm delighted to be able to help both spread the word AND offer you, lucky readers, the chance to win one of them for free!
Yes, you could get your hands on either this wonderful creation...
or this...
Enter below via Rafflecopter, and we'll select two winners (one for each play) next weekend. And if that's not in time for this year's round of birthday parties, there's always next year. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Fear not, for help is at hand. It comes from Kidz Drama, a family start up in Suffolk offering parents at-home comedy plays for their kids. Of course, it's not just for parties - they could be family events, when they have friends round or just for your own in house entertainment.
The idea is simple - choose from a range of scripts (from as little as £6.99) and the kids get to do what so many of them love - dressing up, preparing and rehearsing the play before performing it in front of friends and family.
There's quite a range to choose from - ranging from Dr Who-themed plays to those based on well-known stories (but with a twist?). Here's what they look like:
There really is something for everyone, and I'm delighted to be able to help both spread the word AND offer you, lucky readers, the chance to win one of them for free!
Yes, you could get your hands on either this wonderful creation...
or this...
Enter below via Rafflecopter, and we'll select two winners (one for each play) next weekend. And if that's not in time for this year's round of birthday parties, there's always next year. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
