Barbara G. Tarn's Blog, page 197
July 24, 2011
Six Sentence Sunday
OK, here's the beginning of the short story The High Priestess that will be featured in the collection Tales of the Southern Kindgoms out as soon as I can get my hands on an editor, haha. Consider it a WiP.
***
The doctor straightened his back and looked sternly at Neeraj who was lying in bed at the royal palace knowing exactly what his sickness was but eager to hear an expert's opinion.
"Too much alcohol, your majesty," the doctor said. "One more glass and it will kill you. It has become poison for you. Stop drinking now if you care for your life."
Neeraj scoffed and shooed him away.
***
Wanna know more of what's going on? Any more comments? Thank you for dropping by… now hop off to the official blog for more Six Sentence goodies!
July 23, 2011
Birthday Bash Blogfest
This is for JC's Birthday Bash Blogfest – happy blogoversary, JC! 
A lot can happen in a year…
You can decide to become an indie author in spite of the fact that an approaching menopause slows down your thoughts and processes. You can notice you went one step down in the staircase of life and know that you will have to adjust to it before you can keep going. You can be aware of time flying by and wonder what happened to those previous years that look so far away now – almost like another life. You can learn to live in the present, accept who you are or turn your life upside down. You can blog about life!
WoW Saturday
Both "writers on writing" and "words of wisdom" can be shortened with the same word. Thus, welcome to WoW Saturdays, June to September 2011. Enjoy this collection of writers quotes throughout the summer.
"I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it."
- Ernest Hemingway
"Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity itself — it is the occurring which is difficult"
- Stephen Leacock
"The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium."
- Norbet Platt
"A writer is someone who can make a riddle out of an answer."
- Karl Krauss
"Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will."
- Goethe
July 22, 2011
Book review – Legacy of Ghosts by Joleene Naylor
Official review:
it's good to be back in this world, even if Katelina is sometimes annoyingly stupid… but then, no conflict/wrong choices/stupid reactions, no story, right? Looking forward to the third book…
Ahem… should I elaborate on that? OK, it means a lot of repeating of the review of the first book. And I probably won't read the third as soon as it comes out 'cause my TBR list is ever growing. But I'm interested in seeing where this is going.
If I were dumb Katelina, I'd have already asked Jorick how old he is, although I guess he wouldn't have answered, but at least I'd have asked, haha! 
But I'm not Katelina, I'm a history buff, so I'm curious to know in which century he was born (although long hair is out of fashion lately, so I'm guessing he's pretty old). Hints have been given in this installment, but it's still quite vague. And no, I'm not asking for a spolier, I'm just sayin'! 
My admiration for authors capable of writing series in third person limited with one character POV is growing exponentially. I wish I could do it! But I'm the multi-protagonist-buff and off the window goes the mystery of slowly uncovering the other characters from the main's POV… Maybe one day I'll try to find one character I can stick to for a whole novel, haha!
Next I'll move to other authors, hoping to get back to this one soon… I still have to read most of the short stories – although I'll probably wait for the collection at this point – and read some six sentence excerpts of what's to come, and it's intriguing! If she posts more, they will probably make more sense now that I've actually read the first two books – but she has to remember to sign up first, right, Jo?
OK, tomorrow extra post for JC Martin's blogoversary, then the usual… have a great weekend and see you next week!
July 21, 2011
Guest post: Krista D.Ball
I reviewed her books and interviewed her, but now she's on a blog tour to promote her work and her brand. Here are some words of wisdom from a funny great author you should definitely check. Please, ladies and gents, welcome Krista D.Ball!
Readers are Made, Not Born
Have you given a kid a book?
I've asked this question and the majority of people say no. Usually, it is parents who don't read themselves and say that their kid doesn't like to read. Or, perhaps it's someone who only reads one genre, and either it isn't appropriate to give to a five year old or the child doesn't like pink dragons falling in love with each other. So, the kid is given video games and despaired about never liking books.
Others have told me books and reading is what the school system is for. Tell me, hands up for those who enjoyed the books they were forced to read in school? I'm guess not that many.
Books are about more than just learning material. They have the ability to challenge the status quo, transport readers, and change lives. Even the books that don't aim to be that lofty can give a person a few hours of peace and entertainment while they hide from the real world.
Even reluctant readers (the term used for kids who "hate reading") often come around when given books that appeal to them. Graphic novels and comic books *are* books. Books with World War II planes in them are books, and so are reference books about dinosaurs. There is an entire world of literature out there to appeal to every kid inside us, from baby to 100 years of age.
The next time you have to get a kid a gift, give a book. Ask on Facebook for recommendations. Ask your local bookstore.
You might even change a life.
July 20, 2011
daily prompts
A mishmash as usual! The oldest being when is it acceptable to kill things/people/animals/plants/ideas/dreams? Answer: never. Not living beings, even less abstract nouns. Never ever kill your ideas or your dreams (or somebody else's for that matter). And respect life in all its forms.
And about the movie vs.book version – for me it's really a matter of what I get first, it's what will shape the story for me, no matter what was made first.
The weekly photo challenge is "hot", and because it's hot indeed and my brain is fried, I'm posting a picture with the other meaning of hot. But as I don't own the copyright of the picture, I won't link back to the weekly prompt. So here's my darn hot muse – I hate the photographer, but she takes wonderful pictures of him.
Keanu Reeves by Amanda De Cadenet
On a final note, I got the email for the next Blog Jog. It's on a Sunday. Which means I won't participate this year, as I'm already overwhelmed with entries at Six Sentence Sunday. Add to that that I didn't see those hundreds of hits mentioned neither in the previous two blog jobs nor on Sundays, in spite of the over 150 participating authors. My most busy day is still a 170hits last year, and my record on SSS is around 60 visits. So I'm not really participating in a paid blog jog anymore, and will stick to the free one. If you want to sign up for either, though, links are provided!
July 19, 2011
Updates
Hope your weekend was good. Last week I got Water back from The Editor, so I went through it with final edits, to be ready for an August release. Next weekend I'll give it one last read while working on the book trailer (BTW thanks for the comments on the book blurb) and then I'll let it go too. Phew!
I also wrote a couple of short stories for the Tales of the Southern Kingdoms collection, one recycled from the 1980s, the other original. I have two more to go (again, one recycled and one original) and then I can put the collection up on Smashwords and Kindle. I don't think I'll issue any more free reads, at least not on Smashwords because I'd rather be drawing SKYBAND than another short story cover! Oh, and I uploaded a new version of The Orphans (and took it out of Feedbooks) with a couple of added scenes. Also, while writing the last original story I re-read Tarun and… it needs a major rewrite. That's not Keiko speaking. So I will soon take it off (even if I love that cover) and then it will come out again revised (and probably censored) in the collection.
I also got back my sci-fi romance novella from the beta-reader, so I'm waiting for the Other Editor who has it before putting it out there. Now I plan on getting back to add the fiction to the historical novel, as so far I managed to work only on the prologue, but I want that first draft done by the end of summer.
Also, I signed up for JC's Birthday Bash Blogfest so you'll have 2 posts on Saturday, the usual WoW and the extra a couple of hours later. And then there's a guest post on Thursday and hopefully a review on Friday. Now I better go typing those short stories so I can get back to work on the historical novel… have a great week!
July 17, 2011
Six Sentence Sunday
Welcome Sunday visitors! I'm glad wonderful Sara Brookes explained the rules again as it had become almost impossible wading through the now almost 200 authors participating. I know I certainly didn't leave many comments, but I visited all the active links at the time of my checking (which is your morning, but it's my Sunday afternoon, as I'm 6 hours ahead of the US east coast!).
So, let's continue with Falcon's awakening. He's now back on his feet, still trying to figure out what happened after being hit by a powerful spell…
***
"How long did I sleep?" Falcon asked.
"One hundred years," was Kyler's flat reply.
"That long?" Falcon wondered, feeling a pang in his heart.
"That's the time your Sila blood employed to get rid of the Dark Magic that hit you."
"Shania's."
Kyler nodded.
***
Books of the Immortals – Fire is out on Smashwords, Kindle and in print on Lulu. Or you can read the first chapter for free here.
Now hop back to the official blog for more six sentence goodies! Happy Sunday!
July 16, 2011
WoW Saturday
Both "writers on writing" and "words of wisdom" can be shortened with the same word. Thus, welcome to WoW Saturdays, June to September 2011. Enjoy this collection of writers quotes throughout the summer.
"Virgil Thomson, recognized my condition right away. There are two kinds of writers, he said. Those who demand absolute silence and those, like you, who need to hear music, the better to concentrate."
- Edmund White
"The chief social role of writers may well be the extension, complication and enrichment of human intimacy. It is exercised through story, the oldest and most pleasurable way of organizing experience. The primacy of story wasn't first declared by Oscar Wilde or Stéphane Mallarmé, James Joyce or Marcel Proust. It's older than Genesis."
- Richard Stern
"I consider myself primarily a storyteller. I usually start with an idea, some cool scenes in mind, then I develop the plot. As the story starts to come together, then I build the characters who DO the actions. As I get to know the characters, then it becomes clearer what they will do under certain circumstances, and the plot grows and changes."
- Kevin J.Anderson
"I believe that if someone must write a novel, then they must, regardless of the state that publishing is in. However, this doesn't obligate anyone to publish that novel. I have never thought of the current state of publishing when I've written a novel. If it needs writing, it needs writing. I'd encourage anyone with an idea, a dream, and who's up for the hard work involved, to pursue writing fiction, if that's their interest." – Douglas Clegg
"We are none of us really writing about history, but about our own time. What we write speaks to us today, and a few books — those that touch on some universality in the human condition — will continue to speak to people who read them a hundred, five hundred, and even a thousand years from now. What we can do as writers is try to create cultures that provide a window onto another way of looking at the world, so as to reflect ever so slightly back some element of our own — or to create worlds that simply exist for the pleasure of existing."
- Kate Elliott
