Stuart Aken's Blog, page 331

Published Authors: Do You Want an Interview?

Image by dalcrose via FlickrIf you are a writer who has published any form of writing, (fiction - novel, novelette or short story, poetry, non-fiction, biography, drama, film script, articles, anything where words appear in some form) in any medium and by any route from the traditional paths to the rocky road of self-publishing, I'd love to hear from you and have the opportunity to interview you here.

If you're interested, please contact me here
It would be helpful if you give me an idea of your writing and include any appropriate links, but don't worry if that's a technological nightmare for you; I can generally discover what I need.

Stuart's Word Spot: Nab

Nab: noun - part of a hill, peak, promontory, summit, a spur on lock bolt, Verb: to catch someone, arrest or apprehend, catch in the act, seize snatch, steal.
'Jennifer not only reached the summit, but managed to balance on one foot on the small nab that formed a natural nipple on the suitably shaped hill.'
'Keep it quiet, Nigel, or the cops'll come and nab you as you're breaking in to nab that priceless scarab brooch.'

Editing Progress Update

Well, that's the first 7 chapters done. Not too bad for a day, especially as I've prepared some short blogs for the future in between.
Another 61 to go. But, so far, very little need to change things in the writing, though the timeline has had to be adjusted here and there.

Stuart's Word Spot: Ma'am,

[image error] Image via Wikipedia
Ma'am: noun – short for Madam, usually as a respectful form of address, often used for royalty or a superior officer in the women's armed forces.
'Seeing the attractive female officer approach his lonely guard station, the brash soldier stood to attention and suggested that ma'am might like to avail herself of the offered opportunity of a bit of rough.'

Now to the long-awaited edit

For the past few weeks, I've been threatening to start the editing process on the first volume of my adult fantasy trilogy. Keeping up the blog, updating my website and widening my contacts in the social media circuits, along with the duties, pleasures and disturbances of everyday life have prevented me starting.
This morning, I finally cleared my desk of the gathered clutter and discovered I had no more excuses.
The Seared Sky: Joinings, the first volume of the book currently runs to 68 chapters over 661 pages in 277,000 words. There are 52 named characters roaming a landscape that emerged from my imagination, and living in societies diverse and odd, worshipping sometimes bizarre idols and deities and participating in customs alien to our modern world.
In order to know where everyone is at any given time during the three years of the complete story, I had to develop a comprehensive timeline. Using Excel, I've listed the characters down one side and drawn the dated timeline as the horizontal axis. There are phases of the moon, notes as to which chapter each action occurs in and, in the individual cells, notes about what each character is doing on any given date during the story so far.
I am reading every word aloud, as this is the only real way to spot errors and find clumsy sentences. A glass of water to hand, music playing softly to exclude other external interference, and specs perched on the bridge of my nose, I go through page by page and excise the unnecessary, expunge the pompous, delete the inappropriate and murder my darlings in the hope of producing something readers will actually want to read.
So, if you wish,come with me on this journey. I might, from time to time, elicit your help, opinions, encouragement or comments. But I'll keep you informed of the progress.
I started the exercise this morning and have so far completed 2 chapters. So, another 66 to go. Wish me luck; I'm going to need it!

Wizard's Wife by Toni V Sweeney

So, Toni, how did Wizard's Wife come into being?
The Harmonic Covergence occurred on August 16-24, 1987, and some of you may remember hearing about it on the Evening News on TV.  It was an astronomical event:  a time when our planets aligned themselves with the sun.  This isn't an unusual thing; there have been more harmonic convergences than you can shake a stick at. What was different about this one is that it involved all the planets, not just two or five or even seven.  As usual, the doomsayers came out to make their dread pronouncements of what was to follow.  When nothing happened, they faded back into the woodwork and the world went on, waiting for newer dire predictions to raise their chaotic heads.
Perhaps I should say nothing obvious happened.  After the brouhaha died down, I found myself asking:  What if something did happen but we just don't know about it?  Because it didn't happen here on Earth?
So…in my little scenario, something did happen…in another dimension far, far away, a magical realm called Ais Linn, and thus the story of Wizard's Wife was born.
Cross the Portal into Ais Linn, where Unicorns roam and werewolves prowl, where a faery wizard struggles to protect the Earth from the Lord of Dark Fire…where a skeptical but brave young woman follows her husband into danger, into a dimension where she's the only mortal in a land of magical beings…
Where she's the Wizard's Wife.
Wizard's Wife was released by Class Act Books in late January, 2011.www.classactbooks.com

Stuart's Word Spot: Laager

Image via Wikipedia
Laager: noun - an encampment; a Boer camp, often made and protected by a circle of wagons.
'The leader of the expedition formed the wagons into a circle, placing armed guards at each sector to make a defensive laager against the expected insurgence of the enemy troops.'

Stuart's Word Spot: Kakistocracy

[image error] Image via Wikipedia
Kakistocracy: noun - government by the worst citizens
'Most countries, whether ruled by dictators or elected groups, fall into the category of the kakistocracy, as those who seek to rule are generally those least fitted to do so.'

Stuart's Word Spot: Jabber

Jabber: -  verb talk indistinctly and quickly; chatter, prattle, gabble; make inarticulate sounds like a monkey or a bird, etc: noun- the act of talking gibberish.
'The curate would often jabber at his congregation, prattling on at length in a way that made his listeners wish they'd never bothered to attend his services.'
'I do wish you wouldn't jabber so, Mary; it makes it very difficult for me to concentrate on your much prettier and quieter sister.

Stuart's Word Spot: I

Image via Wikipedia
I: noun - 9th letter of the alphabet, roman numeral for 1, I-beam an I-shaped girder, with a shape like the capital letter; personal pronoun - used by a speaker or writer to refer to himself as the subject.
'When I speak on a divisive subject, I always intend to create a fuss amongst my listeners and incite them to discussion.'