Stuart Aken's Blog, page 229

Author Interview with Raani York.

I'm interviewed by Raani York on her blog today. Her questions, and my answers, reveal some new stuff for those interested in the writing process, inspiration and motivation. Why not pay a visit to the blog? It's just a click away, here.

Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #12

Okkyntalah:
This is the 12th in a series on characters and places featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky . This background information isn’t covered in the book but will enhance the reading experience. For some of my people there are character drawings, supplied by Alice Taylor or myself, maybe a video interview, and accompanying script. I’ll do short pieces of fiction, deepening knowledge of certain minor characters as well.For the places, I use sections of the map to indicate location or a sketch to illustrate the place, along with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate, links with characters. Sometimes, I indicate the way of life there with a short anecdote or story. I don’t reveal any of the main story, either as already published or as written in the series, simply enhance readers’ enjoyment of the trilogy by providing more information. I hope this gives pleasure to those who’ve bought the book and, perhaps, persuades others to take that step.
Pronunciation hints:Okkyntalah – ock-in-tar-lahTumalind – tum-a-lindNames are pronounced phonetically. But this is my take on them; how I hear them in my head. You may pronounce them as you wish, of course; reading is, after all, active rather than passive.

An interview between the author and Okkyntalah, one of 3 male heroes in the tale: A young man who grows through the story, but starts off as innocent and naïve, though intelligent, Okkyntalah is a buck looking forward to joining with his beloved Tumalind. A hunter by trade, and definitely an outdoorsman, he is well built, handsome, confident and brave.
SA:         Good day to you, Okkyntalah. I’m going to ask you a few questions.
Okkyntalah:       Ask away.
SA:         You’re a good-looking young man. Do you have any trouble with women?
Okkyntalah:       Thanks, but I don’t know what you mean. I’m a virgin buck. Waiting for the joining ceremony so I can become one with my betrothed, Tumalind.
SA:         Yes. But, in the meantime…well, a young man has certain needs?
Okkyntalah:       Oh, that sort of thing. I’m a Follower. You know what happens if we break the rules. I’m not risking violent punishment for a bit of fun. Anyway, I love Tumalind and she knows how to deal with those urges.
SA:         Tumalind’s very beautiful and much admired on the island. How did a young hunter like you manage to catch her?
Okkyntalah:       We’ve known each other all our lives. Fell in love cycles ago. Tumalind loves me; I didn’t have to ‘catch’ her. We have fun together. Want to be together, want to raise a family. What else is there, after all?
SA:         If I told you there are plans for you that involve adventure?
Okkyntalah:       Adventure? Sounds interesting, and fun. No one’s going to get hurt are they?
SA:         As to that, I’m not able to tell you. But you may be placed at risk.
Okkyntalah:       Risk? I hunt every day. If you’d ever hunted a terzet horn on your own with a spear and arrows, you’d know what risk means.
SA:         How about travel to other lands?
Okkyntalah:       As long as I have Tumalind, I’ll go wherever I’m needed. Just don’t let her be in danger. I won’t stand for that.
SA:         Sometimes a character must do things he doesn’t like, you know.
Okkyntalah:       What are you not telling me? I won’t have my Tumalind put at risk. I won’t! I’m having none of your adventures if she’s in any danger. Understand?
SA:         Well, Okkyntalah, it’s been interesting talking to you. We’ll just have to see what happens, won’t we?
Okkyntalah:       Hey! You can’t just go and leave me like that! I want to know….
SA:         Fun being the director, making your creations jump through the hoops. Not sure Okkyntalah would agree, though.
I wonder if it’s that sense of power over others that makes most leaders into absolute bastards?
Buying links for Joinings; A Seared Sky - Paperback, from Fantastic Books Publishing StoreEbook or paperback from your local Amazon store.Paperback, post free anywhere in the world, from Book DepositoryEbook via Ask DavidRelated articles Joinings: A Seared Sky. Couldn't put it down The Full Reveal and 5 Stars Joinings: A Seared Sky; All You Need Know. Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #6

Are You Very Very Sure of This? #6

Better Than Today (Photo credit: Wikipedia)For these six weeks, I’ve been looking at how writers very often use ‘very’, which, as you know very well, is very bad.
Okay; that may be very silly, but we all do it: use ‘very’ to modify verbs or adjectives rather than search for a stronger way to say the same thing better. So, here are the last few examples to make it easier for you to overcome the easy option. Choose with care; synonyms aren’t exact matches, so consider context. And bear in mind that I have my prejudices, and I’m male; hence the (sometimes) jokey, and sometimes admiring, suggestions at the end of each sample.
Very clever – brilliant, talented, bright, brainy, forward, scintillating, gifted, capable, sharp, perspicacious, Professor Mary Beard.Very fast – quick, swift, rapid, speedy, zippy, lively, dashing, darting, instantaneous, nimble, man having sex.Very serious – solemn, sober, stolid, grave, stern, unsmiling, weighty, critical, of consequence, using your vote.Very tired – exhausted, fatigued, spent, fagged, pooped, done, overworked, strained, bone-weary, me during 10 years of ME/CFS.Very ugly – hideous, foul, monstrous, frightful, loathsome, repulsive, repellent, odious, Freddy Krueger.Very cold – freezing, bitter, biting, raw, piercing, frigid, wintry, icy, glacial, Siberian, George Osborne.Very small – tiny, teeny, minimal, meagre, skimpy, compact, scant, flimsy, microscopic, dainty, Kylie Minogue (good things come in small packages).Very fierce – ferocious, raging, mad, wild, vicious, blood-thirsty, ravening, rabid, frenetic, the Balrog.Very valuable – precious, invaluable, priceless, costly, rare, unique, blue-chip, rich, inestimable, freedom of speech.Very good – superb, excellent, superior, ace, A1, superlative, choice, select, meritorious, best, sustainable energy.

This is the very last batch. Next, I’ll be looking at something a little more subjective: emotional v intellectual words to use for effect.Related articles Perspicacious

Unknown Unknowns, by Adam Bromley, Reviewed.

Adam Bromley’s Unknown Unknowns is a spy thriller set in a non-existent land and featuring a feisty female protagonist. It has the usual cast of educated gentlemanly service head, fanatically loyal killing machine sidekick and a clutch of suitably villainous baddies.
But, it is written with humour and doesn’t take itself seriously. The story is well structured and carries enough detail for credibility without boring the reader with the usual fine points about guns, plots etc. It is different. The pacing is good and much of the story believable. The barriers placed in the way of success are difficult and challenging without being impossible.
Unusually, for a spy thriller, the characters, in spite of fitting the usual profiles, are drawn with care and given depth so that the reader actually cares about what happens.
The plot, involving a secret weapon of immense danger to the world in general, a soviet-based antihero and those who wish to illuminate him, and a rogue CIA man on a mission to save the world, is entertaining and gripping. I read the book in a couple of sittings. The final half holding my attention so well that I completed that in one go. The denouement is satisfying but leaves the reader wondering just enough.

For lovers of thrillers, this is a must read. For those who generally find such works uninviting, I suggest you give this one a try; you might be pleasantly surprised. I was. As a reader who tends to avoid thrillers, I was entertained, surprised and amused by this one.

Cave & Julia, by M. John Harrison, Reviewed.

A book that is small in page numbers, but larger by far in content, Cave & Julia is set in Autotelia and London. I’ve not come across the author’s work before and was intrigued enough by the story to do some research. Autotelia is the name given to an imaginary place in which other stories are set. The word itself struck me as real rather than imagined, so I looked further. I found a Portuguese dictionary that told me it means: the doctrine that a work of art, especially a work of literature, is an end in itself or provides its own justification. I found no other entries in English dictionaries.
Enough. The story, if that’s what it can be called, is about relationships and, possibly, dreams. But, oddly, that doesn’t seem to matter. It’s a work that recalled to mind D.H. Lawrence’s The Trespasser in tone. It’s a piece of narrative without the usual hooks on which to hang a story. We are introduced to the narrative character, Cave, a journalist, and to Julia, much married and partially destroyed by an unclear event in her childhood. Some attempt is made by Cave to investigate the event, but it is left a question, with insufficient detail to determine what really happened.
The language is fine and always appropriate. An air of mystery and uncertainty pervades the whole tale. Nothing is as it seems, or, perhaps it is. This is a piece of writing that leaves the reader full of questions; impressed but uncertain why that should be.
It’s one of the Amazon Kindle Singles, and is tagged as a fantasy short. At 15 pages it is short, and, existing, as it does, in a space difficult to identify or even in some senses understand, it is fantasy, but fantasy of a literary sort.

I found myself intrigued, curious, disturbed and entertained. But be aware, this is not a story for those looking for a beginning, middle and end, with a denouement or indeed any formal structure. This is more an evocation, an illustration, an account. I enjoyed it, as, I suspect, will those who like things that are not spelled out for them.

Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #11

Pampahn:

This is the 11th in a series of pieces on characters and places featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky.This background information, isn’t covered in the book, but should enhance the reading experience. For some of my people, there’ll be a character drawing, supplied by Alice Taylor, maybe a video interview, and accompanying script. I may do short pieces of fiction, deepening knowledge of certain minor characters as well. For the places, I may use sections of the map, to indicate location, along with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate, links with characters. Perhaps I’ll indicate the way of life there with a short anecdote or story. I won’t reveal any of the main story, either as already published or as written in the series, merely enhance readers’ enjoyment of the trilogy by providing more information. I hope this will give pleasure to those who’ve bought the book and, perhaps, persuade others to take that step.
Pronunciation hints:Pampahn – pam-parn.Muhnilahm – murn-ill-arm.Aklon-Dji – ak-lon-djy (think of the Dj sound in the name of tennis player, Djokovic.Phildrad – fill-drad.Lasdilyss – lass-dill-iss.Kaz-Ca-Porlesah – kazz-ka-por-laze-ar.Names are pronounced phonetically. But this is my take on them; how I hear them in my head. You may pronounce them as you wish, of course; reading is, after all, active rather than passive.
Pampahn, a little isolated and a bit backward, is one of the Followers’ settlements on the island of Muhnilahm. It’s home to Phildrad, Lasdilyss and Kaz-Ca-Porlesah, amongst others in the trilogy. Lying toward the south of the island, it’s bordered by a shallow lake to the west, extensive marshland to the north and mountains to the south. Due east, some leagues distant, lies the Southern Ocean. The nearest settlement to the infamous Point, it’s home to a Village Priestess with a soft spot for the island’s most wanted criminal, the Renegade, Aklon-Dji. Kaz-Ca-Porlesah risks a great deal to befriend this handsome folk hero, but he’s even more at risk in this dangerous relationship.
Phildrad fishes from a coracle on the lake and has developed some pretty unusual recipes to make the food as tasty as he can. In fact, he has a reputation as something of a wonder as far as food preparation is concerned, though he is otherwise considered a rather dull chap. His wife, Lasdilyss, is a pretty woman who devotes far too much of her time to Phildrad’s ungrateful bedridden parents. She is also a sometime lover of Aklon-Dji and a member of his Few.
The houses, in common with most on the island, are built with wooden frames filled in with mud baked and hardened by the sun. They’re painted with oil-based pigments of various colours (mostly natural browns, ochres, and dull yellows), which help keep the rain off. Thatched with reed or with long leaves from the many trees, they generally consist of sleeping areas for the adult couple, separate quarters for any children, and a living area that serves as kitchen, dining and relaxing area. This is a tropical environment, so the windows are open but often shaded by woven blinds. Internal walls are made of woven pliant branches, so light and movement tends to seep through from one room to another. External doors tend to be made of rough wooden planks hinged and fastened with metal parts. Internal doors are wicker, like the internal walls. Floors are bare earth, trodden flat and hard by occupation.
Furniture is basic, wooden framed and undecorated in the main. Beds consist of fabric (usually linen) bags filled with down, dry moss, straw or any combination of these, often confined in a wooden frame on the floor. A blanket or covering is rarely actually needed but these are usually made from woven cotton of the spun yarn made from the fleece of a sheep-like wild goat that roams the island.

Household utensils include such items as canvas buckets, cups made from horn and earthenware crockery made by specialist potters. Eating implements are metal, again forged by specialist smiths. Tallow candles and vegetable oil lamps provide illumination after dark.Related articles Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #7 Joinings: A Seared Sky. Couldn't put it down The Full Reveal and 5 Stars Launching a Novel: How it *should* be done!

Are You Very Very Sure of This? #5

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY by Royo (my artistic fake!) (Photo credit: The PIX-JOCKEY (visual fantasist))For these few weeks, I’ve been looking at how writers very often use ‘very’, which, as you know very well, is very bad.
Okay; that may be very silly, but we all do it: use ‘very’ to modify verbs or adjectives rather than search for something stronger to say the same thing better. So, here are a few examples to make it easier for you to overcome the easy option. Choose with care; synonyms aren’t always exact matches, so consider context. And bear in mind that I have my prejudices, and I’m male; hence the (sometimes) jokey suggestions at the end of each sample.
Very clean – spotless, scrubbed, spruce, sterile, stainless, immaculate, unsoiled, unsullied, pure, Mountain Air.Very rude – vulgar, gross, crass, coarse, yobbish, disreputable, improper, sordid, ribald, obscene, Mel Smith.Very dry – parched, arid, waterless, desiccated, desert, seared, wrung out, xerophilous, drained, Sauvignon Blanc.Very tasty – delicious, mouth-watering, appetising, rich, palatable, tangy, spicy,
This is the fifth lot; last batch next week.Related articles Increase in yobbish behaviour in Jesmond area of Hartlepool Listen to Keira Knightley Sing 'Lost Stars' From 'Begin Again'!

Amazon V Publishers: The Book Wars?

Books (Photo credit: henry…)Almost daily, we’re bombarded with attacks on Amazon by publishers and attacks on Publishers by Amazon and writers. Many can see that neither Amazon nor the major publishers are doing the book world a lot of good. In fact, it’s been suggested that the current war on books, and its major antagonists, will soon effectively destroy literature as we know it.
Amazon has other interests as a retail outlet, but it’s the book side that engages writers and readers. Major publishers long ago stopped pretending they had any concern for authors other than those who are already celebrities. The bean counters took control of reading choice decades ago.
Whilst these two large parties slog it out to the detriment of both creators and consumers, the world of books slowly drowns in the conflict.
It seems to me there must be another way. Self-publishing appeared a likely alternative for many authors, but Amazon took control there as well, devouring or disabling all major opposition in its rush to rule the game and satisfy its investors.
The major publishers, of course, continue to refuse to come to terms with the modern world and, in spite of the very clear example of inaction in the music industry, take a wait and see approach, which has left them floundering and at the mercy of the giant in the field.
Another way?
Seems obvious to me, but then I’m neither businessman nor accountant; I’m just someone who loves reading, books, and writing, so what do I know?
Obvious?
If the major publishers, together with the multitude of small independents, could get around the table, bury their idiotic jealousies and petty squabbling for celebrity crap, and set up their own online sales and retail-based distribution company, they could out-Amazon Amazon. The current situation is dangerous for books and readers: any industry in which an effective monopoly governs the market is doomed to dictatorship by that giant. But a co-operative of publishers, acting in concert, could act as an effective modifier in the marketplace and undo the damage currently being done to the world of books.Of course, I realise this is a pipe dream: the publishers have demonstrated their idiocy, their ‘head-in-the-sand’ attitude, their total lack of concern for developing the very talent that supplies them with new products, and their petty rivalries over shelf-space etc.

But this is a war unlike any other. This is a battle for the very survival of literature. Do we want to lose a whole generation to games and social networks, or will publishers actually do something to stop the rot and return to doing what they once did so well? Are they going to get back into the business of developing and selling books, or will they allow inaction and misplaced self-interest to destroy a world so many of us hold dear?Related articles Amazon Won't Sell You The Paperback Version Of The Anti-Amazon Book To Save the Kindle, Should Amazon Make it Free? How Hachette made the rope that Amazon is hanging it with German trade body files Amazon complaint Author James Patterson Calls For Action Against Amazon Amazon's scorched-earth campaign: Why the Internet giant started a war Amazon's war on books, writers and publishers Amazon Living Wage campaigners place dummy book on site as protest Amazon is not a bookseller, and why that matters for writers Stephen Colbert likens Jeff Bezos to Voldemort, declares 'war' on Amazon over Hachette dispute

Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #10

The tabard.
This is the 10th in a series of pieces on characters and places featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky . This background information, isn’t covered in the book, but should enhance the reading experience. For some of my people, there’ll be a character drawing, supplied by Alice Taylor, maybe a video interview, and accompanying script. I may do short pieces of fiction, deepening knowledge of certain minor characters as well. For the places, I may use sections of the map, to indicate location, along with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate, links with characters. Perhaps I’ll indicate the way of life there with a short anecdote or story. This week, I’m diverting from the usual post about location or character and letting you see how some of the people dress.I won’t reveal any of the main story, either as already published or as written in the series, merely enhance readers’ enjoyment of the trilogy by providing more information. I hope this will give pleasure to those who’ve bought the book and, perhaps, persuade others to take that step.
Pronunciation hints:Names are pronounced phonetically. But this is my take on them; how I hear them in my head. You may pronounce them as you wish, of course; reading is, after all, active rather than passive.
How Followers dress.
The population of Muhnilahm, known collectively as Followers, all dress in a standard item: the tabard. This is fashioned from a single piece of fabric, which can be anything from jute sacking to the sheerest silk, with linen being the choice of most. That choice depends more on wealth and status than on piety. It’s the only garment worn by men and women on this tropical island and is intended to be easily removed for prayer: naked is sacred here. The tabard accommodates the head through a central hole, which can be round, diamond shaped (to give a V opening front and back) or square. The degree of upper body exposure is up to the wearer, but excessive display is frowned upon. The garment is fastened by tags through loops at each side and these can number from two to five, again depending on the wearer’s attitudes to modesty. Tags can be bone, wood, worked stone or metal.A belt or cord cinches the tabard at the waist. This fastening can be anything from plain cord to the finest and softest leather or even woven gold thread. Many married women wear a cord woven from the cut locks of their own hair entwined with that of their buck taken at their first public joining ceremony.According to taste, status and wealth, the item can be completely plain, dyed with a pattern, or adorned with embroidered designs of any sort. And the hem of the garment generally falls from a length that’s barely decent to one that reaches the knee.
Accompanying this piece are a couple of sketches to show how the garment looks as an item of clothing and as worn. Please bear in mind I’m no artist, so these are pretty rough illustrations, but I hope they give an indication of the design of the tabard.
Related articles Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #7 Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #9 Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #8 Joinings: A Seared Sky. Couldn't put it down Romancing the Fantasy - Stuart Aken

Are You Very Very Sure of This? #4

English: Kaley Cuoco (Photo credit: Wikipedia)For these few weeks, I’m looking at how writers very often use ‘very’, which is very bad, as you know very well.
Okay; very silly, but you know we all do it: use ‘very’ to modify a verb or an adjective rather than search for something stronger that will say the same thing, but better. So, here are a few examples to make it easier for you to reject the easy option. Choose with care; synonyms aren’t always exact matches, so consider context. And bear in mind that, like you, I have my prejudices.
Very capable – skilled, accomplished, dexterous, efficient, masterful, competent, smart, resourceful, Jeeves.Very roomy – commodious, spacious, expansive, capacious, cavernous, voluminous, vast, Baggy Trousers.Very hot – fiery, scalding, fervent, white-hot, smouldering, blazing, incandescent, ardent, molten, Kaley Cuoco.Very wet – dripping, soaked, drenched, saturated, deluged, sopping, waterlogged, swamped, drowned, David Cameron.Very conventional – conforming, conservative, orthodox, ingrained, unoriginal, traditional, customary, Republican.Very strong – vigorous, unyielding, lusty, irresistible, omnipotent, powerful, overwhelming, overpowering, Popeye.Very dirty – filthy, squalid, grimy, befouled, polluted, slovenly, unwashed, mucky, sleazy, soiled, Professional Footballer.Very stupid – asinine, idiotic, senseless, fatuous, inane, foolish, risible, ludicrous, simple, apish, Religious Extremist.

This is the fourth lot; there’ll be a few more next week.Related articles Eye on Emmy: Kaley Cuoco Dishes on One of The Big Bang Theory's Biggest Moments Ever: 'I Had Chills!'