David M. Brown's Blog, page 113

Guest Post: A.F. Stewart

Today's guest post comes from fantasy author, A.F. Stewart, and explores the growing industry of Indie Publishing and the many obstacles it still faces. You can find out more about A.F. Stewart and her latest release, Killers and Demonds, at the end of the blog. Thanks for a great post, A.F. Stewart, and let me be the first to bid you a warm welcome to The World According to Dave.

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Why Indie Publishing Isn't a Dirty Little Secret Anymore

I am an indie author and I'm proud of that fact.

The world of independent publishing is flourishing.  The ease of getting a book or ebook self-published through companies like Lulu.com, CreateSpace, Kindle or Smashwords has pushed indie publishing from the shadows into the spotlight.  More and more writers are going indie and doing it right, with edited manuscripts, artful covers and shrewd marketing ideas.  Some of them, like John Locke and Amanda Hocking are even making the big bucks with their books.

So why do some people treat indie books like second class citizens?  Probably because some of the old attitudes are still prevalent and like many things are slow to change.  Now as the naysayers constantly point out, there are bad, sloppy indie books out there, but with the increasing popularity of free excerpts and previews they are becoming easier to avoid. And more and more, great new writers are using this arena to test out their audience and marketing skills.

As well as being an indie writer I review indie books and I'm reading innovative and creative books, far more than being published by bigger traditional publishers (I mean you can only read so many cookie cutter paranormal thriller/romances/YA before you need something different).  Not all these books work, but at least chances are being taken, new and fresh ideas are being experimented with and explored.

The recent indie sensation, John Locke, calls the term "vanity publishing" in reference to self-published writers "hogwash" and I agree.  The majority of independently published authors are not indulging their vanity, or "cheating" or any other derogatory term I've seen used to describe the industry and its writers.  We work as hard, if not harder, than the mainstream writers.  Maybe some of our books are a bit rough around the edges, but the talent of the indie writers I've read is genuine and worth giving a shot.

 

Author Bio:

A. F. Stewart was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, and still calls it home.  She has always had an overly creative mind, and an active imagination.   She is fond of good books (especially science fiction/fantasy), action movies, and oil painting as a hobby.

Ms. Stewart has been writing for several years, her main focus being in the fantasy genre.  She also has a great interest in history and mythology, often working those themes into her books and stories.  She has authored and published several books, including Killers and Demons, Chronicles of the Undead, Shadows of Poetry, Passing Fancies and Once Upon a Dark and Eerie…

Website:

http://afallon.bravehost.com/

Blogs:

http://afstewartblog.blogspot.com/

http://afstewartpromotion.blogspot.com/

Killers and Demons Book Link:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/59000

Things you probably didn't know about me #1

Following on from the excellent idea given in 'things you probably didn't know about me – 25 at a time', I have compiled my initial list.

So 25 things you probably don't know about me…

1. My middle name is Michael

2. When my wife adopted our 5th and 6th rescue cats I found out the following:

Names: Bilbo and Frodo
Breed: Norwegian Forest
Breed featured in Norse Mythology

My three favourite reads have been:

The Lord of the Rings
Norwegian Wood
Norse Mythology tales

3. My wife was first a colleague, then a friend, then my girlfriend. The one constant is she's always been hellish critical of my work. She's made me a better writer.

4. I support my home town team of Barnsley FC.

5. I have one brother, Paul.

6. I own an online store with Mrs B called Helping Hand Holistics.

7. I went travelling on my own in 2008 and got left behind on a night safari.

8. I got married on my father-in-law's 65th birthday.

9. My wife suffers from depression and boy have I dispelled a lot of myths from my own head about it!

10. Of our six cats, we only named one: Charlie.

11. One of our cats only has one eye after 'blunt force trauma' to the other one. He was found on the streets with the injury at just five weeks old. His name is Buggles.

12. My father lives in Thailand.

13. My favourite book used to be The Lord of the Rings until I read Norwegian Wood several years ago.

14. I love World Cinema and Anime.

15. My wife makes me watch appalling horror films because she finds my reviews funny.

16. I'm not very sociable and often prefer a film, a beer and a pizza at home to a night out.

17. I don't like any vegetables but I love fruit.

18. I love jigsaws.

19. The other day Kain got into the bedroom, mistook a jigsaw I was doing for a litter tray and did a wee on it. Needless to say I did not finish that one.

20. I went to Cologne, Germany for a belated honeymoon and loved it.

21. I'm quite introverted and promoting myself feels wrong and hard work. Mrs B is very forceful when it comes to such matters though!

22. I will be 30 next year.

23. I am very clumsy, as is my wife. We try not to buy breakables, such as ornaments. Our crockery and glassware supply is beginning to diminish.

24. My favourite film is Blade Runner.

25. I can eat an obscene amount of chocolate in a day.

So, what are your 25 things?

Film Review #82: Outbreak

With prices for cinema tickets now reaching ridiculous heights it's not often I will treat myself to a new release unless it's something I simply cannot wait for. Instead, I'm happy to content myself with a cheap DVD or a film on TV which may have slipped through my critical net and, believe me, there have been far too many. Whether the films featured here are recent or old I'll still be providing my honest opinion on them and, with the benefit of hindsight in many cases, may offer a slightly different take to contemporary reviewers.

 

Outbreak (1995)

Thinking back to my British history I recall that the Black Death came to England in the mid-14th century reducing a population of 6 million to less than 2 million during its relentless killing spree. Wolfgang Petersen's Outbreak is quick to remind us that the biggest danger to mankind would be a deadly virus and indeed the premise of the film is such an epidemic that proves devastating once it is unleashed but beneath the battle to contain it and save as many people as possible are those in higher places with greater priorities and very different agendas.

The film opens with a snippet from 1967 where a virus known as Motaba has brought a mercenary camp in Zaire to its knees. Rather than try and tackle the problem some soldiers bomb the camp and eliminate all trace of the deadly outbreak. The film switches to 1997 where the virus in Zaire reappears and virologist Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) takes a team to investigate. Having never witnessed anything as swift and deadly as this new virus Daniels returns to the US and informs Brigadier General Billy Ford (Morgan Freeman) of the danger and its potential to go global but Daniels' fears are dismissed as unlikely. Meanwhile one of the hosts of the virus, a Capuchin monkey is smuggled into the US and when James Scott (Patrick Dempsey) steals it from a holding facility and takes it to Cedar Creek in California only to release it into the wild after a pet shop owner refuses to buy it. James takes a plane to Boston where he proceeds to infect many people on arrival while the pet shop owner who also been exposed helps spread the virus in Cedar Creek. It is down to Sam Daniels and his team to work closely with Daniels ex-wife Robby Keough (Rene Russo) to contain the virus and save the infected people but General Ford and Major General Donald McClintock (Donald Sutherland) have their own ideas on how to deal with the virus.

After an intriguing opening in the 1960s Outbreak settles down into a predictable storyline with Sam Daniels and his ex-wife Robby having nothing nice to say to each other, particularly when Sam brings their two dogs for her to look after while he jets off to Zaire. During the film we know the outbreak of the virus will bring them closer together and indeed it does. Daniels' two colleagues include Major Salt (Cuba Gooding Jr) who has extensive training but when faced with infected victims of the virus he initially struggles to cope. Major Casey (Kevin Spacey) also joins Daniels in his work and has plenty of marital advice for him in between their efforts to contain the virus. Daniels' friend Major Ford struggles to keep him in check but overlooking the work of the military is the ruthless General McClintock whose methods of dealing with the virus mirror those of the 1960s exploits where killing innocent people is a more preferable option to the virus spreading further. As the victims pile up Daniels and his team try to trace the origins of the virus and what was the host, not knowing the infected monkey is wandering around the forests of California!

The film does a great job in emphasising the deadly nature of a virus. James Scott is infected on his drive to California when the monkey spits at him. The pet shop owner he tries to sell the monkey to is infected when his arm is scratched and even though James releases the host he and the pet shop owner are both infected and begin spreading the virus. Daniels' research of the dead and infected finds that the virus actually comes in two varieties and both are being spread throughout California and Boston thanks to James taking a plane there. Assisted by Robby the virologists manage to gather all the infected in Boston but Cedar Creek in California is surrounded by the military who don masks to protect themselves but the locals are forced to wait their turn to learn if they have been infected or not. Complications arise when Daniels learns from General Ford that the military knew of the virus thirty years ago and they developed a makeshift serum to combat it! What follows is a race against time for Daniels to develop the serum further but this can only happen by locating the host of the virus!

Outbreak starts really well but as we move into the second half we do get the melodramatic moments. After tearing a hole in his suit while testing the virus Major Casey becomes infected as does Robby leaving Daniels facing the prospect of losing the woman he loves and having to join with Major Salt in stealing a helicopter and rushing to find the host before his ex-wife perishes. Happy endings are Hollywood's forte and that doesn't change here. The inevitable defeat of the ruthless General McClintock is worth the wait but by the end you'll find the experience has been a relatively good but slightly over-dramatic one.

Outbreak isn't a bad disaster film especially during the opening half when the virus is transported to the US and spread in Boston and California but once we enter the race against time to save Cedar Creek it becomes predictable and not as exciting as it really should have been. The cast on offer here are always worth seeing but this film isn't really worthy of their undoubted acting talents.

Verdict: 6½/10

In Search of Inspiration – The Journey of the Writing Pilgrim #6

In January 2011 I sent the Writing Pilgrim out on a worldwide journey in search of ideas and inspiration for stories, novels and blogs. I would have liked to make the journey myself but I'm not a rich man and I have a wife and four cats that need me, a blog to maintain and novels and short stories to write so my hands are a bit tied. The Writing Pilgrim is a free spirit, travelling on the crest of a creative wave and looking to experience the world in a lifelong journey he has long wanted to take. Whatever insights he can share I hope you'll look forward to as much as me.

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© Hordur Vilhjalmsson

Land of Viking Sagas

Greetings Dave. You'll be pleased to know I've fetched up somewhere a little warmer than the Arctic this time round. My American friends in their yellow submarine (well it wasn't really yellow but I couldn't resist that quip!) decided they could only tolerate me for so long before deciding to give me my marching orders. This wasn't your walk the plank territory as you might get with Jack Sparrow but more a case of handing me a rubber dinghy and sending me out into the open sea. They obviously knew I wasn't far from land as I was told to head east and I'd be just fine.

It's hard to tell what the direction is when you don't have a compass and I had a momentary lapse of memory in trying to recall where the sun rises and sets. I was sure it wasn't Sicily or India but beyond that I couldn't think. When land did appear I wasn't sure what to expect. The temperature was pleasantly warm but what struck me was the sight of thick bands of clouds rising from somewhere on the island. Closer inspection revealed that this was a volcano and those exhalations were ash clouds. I immediately recalled you telling me something of current affairs and a volcano whose ash cloud had caused havoc to planes in Europe. With that I nodded and knew I had landed in Iceland.

First permanently settled by Norwegian Vikings around 874AD Iceland has remained faithful to its Norse tradition. I was worried there would still be Vikings wandering up and down the island but the locals were anything but. The main language is Icelandic which retains the essence of the Old Norse language but I was delighted to find the locals also spoke English as well as Danish and it seems its part of their curriculum which sure sounds tough having to grasp three languages in your youth. I know how pathetic your language skills are, Dave, so there's no way you would have survived if you had been born on this fascinating island.

Iceland has its settlements dotted along the coastline and extremities of the island while the central lands remain uninhabited. You should see this place for yourself, Dave, it's truly amazing. Vegetation is at a minimum, there are volcanoes such as Eldgjá and Herðubreið, geysers such as the oldest one on record i.e. Geysir, magnificent glaciers and even Europe's largest waterfall. The terrain is pretty harsh considering these natural wonders and though the Icelandic people have turned the island into a prosperous one there are many dangers. Those recent volcano eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull (2010) and Grímsvötn (2011) forced some people out of their homes. Imagine living in such a place where natural disasters could be just a stone's throw away. That said you used to live within walking distance of Barnsley FC's stadium didn't you?

The Icelandic people are a delightful bunch, very friendly and proud of their heritage. I don't shy from my knowledge of some of their famous exports such as the footballer Eidur Gudjohnssen, that singer Bjork and that wonderful group Sigur Ros. I know it's wrong of me to mention them but, yes Dave, here I am in their homeland and it's a pleasure to be here. I do like what the Icelandic people do with their surnames. A tradition common amongst the Vikings dictates that a father's children will take his name as part of their surname e.g. Olaf could have a son called Eric and his surname would be Olafsson or son of Olaf just as a daughter say your wife Donna would have the surname of Olafdottir or daughter of Olaf. Simple right?

Fishing is an important industry here and I'm pleased to find the Icelanders have remained faithful to their heritage. Continuing to live on this island is akin to the tough characters their ancestors possessed during their many raids through Europe. Icelandic sagas are still popular here and I can't resist picking up a small book for my travels. While undoubtedly fiction in many places these sagas still evoke the spirit of the Viking age of colonisation and I know you won't forget that these amazing men were the first to reach America, nearly 400 years before Mr Columbus did! How do you like them apples Chris? I'd like to stay a bit longer but the desire to push onto another country is outweighing my need to bring my journey to a halt.

So what does Iceland have to offer to Elenchera? Well, this harsh terrain is certainly befitting of the likes of Gremilda and perhaps Fedwino whose people are similar to the Vikings. You should utilise these magnificent volcanoes, geysers, glaciers and waterfalls throughout your world. They're too beautiful not to be included. I'll leave the rest up to you of course. If you feel the need for a bit of Iceland for yourself then listen to your Sigur Ros albums or read the sagas again!

I'm penning these last words at the airport in Reykjavik and where my journey will take me next I really don't know. I'm inclined to return to Europe this time I think but certainly won't be harbouring any thoughts of coming back to the UK just yet. There are simply too many countries out there to see and experience.

Farewell for now.

W. Pilgrim

Guest Post: Angela Panayotopulos

Today's guest post comes from Angela Panayotopulos, author of The Art of War: A Novel. You'll find a Smashwords link to Angela's book at the end of the blog so be sure to check it out. Welcome to The World According to Dave. Angela, and many thanks for an awesome post. Absolutely loved it! Wishing you the best of luck with The Art of War. 

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Here's my two cents, for whatever it's worth. I don't care what you write about. (No, I mean I do. but I mean. oh, you'll see.) For all I know, you might be writing about apocalyptic zombie vs. vampire wars, or intergalactic odysseys, or an analysis of seventy nations' worth of steak recipes, or heart-throbbing romances set in New York City, or dangerous escapades of epic proportions in WWII Greece. Whatever. It doesn't matter. What really matters-apart from darn good writing, which we simply can't skimp on-is how you write it. How you spin your yarn with threads of connection.

What matters is relatability.

If you want an audience, you've got to make the very first move. You've got to foster connection. In other words, your reader has to nod his head and be like okay, a fusion of Star Wars, Dune, and Sense & Sensibility. I get it, I buy that. Not, oh my God, no way, wait what? Uh, what the dickens am I reading?

So what does that mean?

If we're talking fiction (okay, heads-up, let's talk fiction), I don't mean that what you write need be real. All I'm saying is that it should be believable. Just enough for that valuable nod to be nodded above the pages (or screen, if it's an ebook).

Why? Because, yes, we humans fancy originality. Uniqueness enchants us. We flock to fresh ideas, we cheer about new modern twists on things. But we also love comfort. We warm to things grounded in familiarity. We adore what we understand. Familiarity and connection breed this comfort. And that, in turn, is the cousin of trust.

You've got trust? Bam. You've got readers.

It isn't about writing "what you know." Because you're going to do that anyway. No matter how random or unfamiliar your topic is-initially (because you're going to do tons and tons of research, right? Right??)-your perspective, your experience, your emotion is eventually going to bleed all over the page. If you're a devoted, die-hard, my-writing-is-my-baby sort of author, it's delightfully inevitable. If you get caught up in your work, your work is going to catch and cling to pieces of you. It will reflect what you know-be it in a depiction of setting, a choice of P.O.V., a wording of dialogue, an overarching choice of theme-and it will ring with the universal human truths that surround you.

In my novel, I didn't plan my "universal human truths" (basically, that's my prettier phrase for "theme") right from the get-go. Themes, I think, like titles, have a way of evolving along with the story. I suppose it could help to consider your universal truths of choice before you finish your draft, but you can always pinpoint and develop them later; sometimes they simply jump out at you from the page (as mine did). My vague theme eventually became my novel's mantra: first, that life can be at once a heaven and a hell; and, on the same note, that potential good and evil exist in us all.

The Art of War: a Novel revolves around a very specific issue: a web of Greek, German, and Italian relationships on an occupied Greek island during WWII. It fuses classic mythology and timeless love stories with horrific twists and modern warfare. Nobody has ever written this particular storyline before. It's unique. But the main theme is, in contrast, very universal. By the conclusion, I'd definitely fathomed a clear idea of what I was trying to express through my writing: that there must be light to cast a shadow, and that a candle can still flicker in the darkness. There is no complete evil and there is no unflawed earthly good.

Not only is there familiarity in this; there is continuity. The beauty of universal truths is in their very universality and their patterns. Just the other day in the paper I was reading about the current riots in a debt-ridden Greece. An infernal mess of protestors were clashing with police in the streets of Athens, Greek versus Greek, occasionally becoming quite ugly despite a peaceful preamble to all the wild drama. My heart clenched when I read this. Greek versus Greek? Man versus man? Brother versus brother?

Have we learned nothing?

                Then I kept reading. Amidst the tumult, a policeman's finger got blown off when a stun grenade exploded in his hand. The unbelievable part is that everyone around him stopped fighting, and right there in the middle of the teargas and debris-cluttered street they got on their knees and crawled around until someone finally found the missing finger. Then the man was rushed off to the hospital, where his finger was promptly sewn back in place. Or how about the scene where a violent protesting woman was cursing her restraining policeman with a withering diatribe, and then-do you want a kiss?? he demanded jokingly. Tension gone, dissolved by the laughter from protestors and policemen alike.

Is that awesome, or is that awesome? It's that angel at the base of Pandora's box that likes to spontaneously stick up her little head and blow kisses of hope in our general chaotic direction. It's the eye of the storm. It's the candle in the dark. And it could happen anywhere at any time. It's the proof of underlying compassion and solidarity in the fury of every struggle. (You can read about all that here, by the way:http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite3_1_30/06/2011_396608.)

Oh, and my heart unclenched.

In conclusion, you know these universal truths, whatever they may be. Your readers know them. It's a foolproof steppingstone for fostering that connection you need. Be familiar. Get comfortable. Write rawly of raw human nature, and you cannot help but speak of these universal truths.  If you write from the heart, you will touch hearts. If you dare to delve deep into the human psyche, you will tickle and torment others' psyches. You cannot help, then, but reach out to your audience.

And you will be glad to find that they reach right back to you.

 

By Angela Panayotopulos, author of The Art of War: a Novel, available at Smashwords:http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/67583.

Film Review #81: Hot Tub Time Machine

With prices for cinema tickets now reaching ridiculous heights it's not often I will treat myself to a new release unless it's something I simply cannot wait for. Instead, I'm happy to content myself with a cheap DVD or a film on TV which may have slipped through my critical net and, believe me, there have been far too many. Whether the films featured here are recent or old I'll still be providing my honest opinion on them and, with the benefit of hindsight in many cases, may offer a slightly different take to contemporary reviewers.

 

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Whenever I approach a new film to review I'll have a brief look at what it's about and assess the quality of the title. Some films have titles that are worrying from the start and usually spell a disastrous film. When faced with Hot Tub Time Machine alarm bells began to ring. It wasn't that the title was bad it just seemingly explained the plot of the film and the idea sounded utterly ludicrous but was I proved wrong?

The film begins in 2010 with three friends Adam (John Cusack), Lou (Rob Corddry) and Nick (Craig Robinson) who are all living unfulfilling lives. While Adam has just split up with his latest girlfriend, Nick has an unfaithful wife and has no job satisfaction in his role at a dog spa. For Lou things are much worse, culminating in him being rushed to hospital following carbon monoxide poisoning in what is believed to be a suicide attempt. Adam and Nick decide to take Lou away to the Kodiak Valley Ski Resort, a now run down place but back in the eighties a place of fond memories for the friends. Adam brings along his nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) and soon the quartet are at their hotel with a one armed bellman Phil (Crispin Glover) to contend with and of course a hot tub outside. Having one too many drinks and enjoying the hot tub the friends accidentally knock over a Russian drink called Chernobly (I shouldn't need to tell you what reference the drink is to!) and when they wake the following day from their drunken slumber it's 1986! The audience sees the friends as they are in 2010 but for everyone else they see the quartet as their younger selves except Jacob of course! Worried about inserting paradoxes into the timelines the friends have to relive their pasts precisely as the events played out in 1986 but does the temptation to change things become too much?

The opening part of Hot Tub Time Machine I found okay but not spectacular and I blame this on my worries about the film beginning with that title. Once the quartet hit 1986 the laughs begin to accelerate starting with Nick confirming they're in the eighties by asking the nearest person what colour Michael Jackson is! Reliving the past isn't especially easy. Adam recalls breaking up with Jenny (Lyndsy Fonseca) who responded by sticking a fork in his eye and, yes, Adam has to go through it again! Lou has to face the resort bully Blaine (Sebastian Stan) and take yet another beating, while Adam's sister Kelly (Collette Wolfe) conceives Jacob at this point and it is a somewhat harrowing experience for Jacob to witness his mother who loves to enjoy herself much to his disgust. Nick is the lead singer in a band which back in the eighties did a terrible gig but having to be faithful to the events Nick has sex with Tara (Jessica Pare) and weeps through the exchange, lamenting being unfaithful to his wife which he insists on explaining to Tara who loses interest, especially when Nick tells her his wife is only nine years old in 1986!

The temptation to change things in the past becomes too much for the group. While Jacob tries to keep everyone focussed on not disrupting the timelines Adam decides to take the initiative with Jenny and keep their relationship going only for her to dump him! By this point Adam has met music journalist April (Lizzy Caplan) so the audience will wonder if she's a part of his future. Lou thrives in the eighties where partying and sex are his forte, a far cry from his meaningless existence in the present. Nick rediscovers his passion for music and in one of the best moments of the film he rings up his then nine year old wife-to-be and proceeds to verbally abuse her for being unfaithful to him. Another joke which lasts the entire film is the friends' encounter with bellman Phil who has both arms in 1986 but Lou is convinced he will lose one while they are there. What follows is a series of incidents where we think Phil is about to lose that arm, be it getting his arm trapped in a lift or slipping on some ice while performing tricks with a chainsaw.

I had my doubts about Hot Tub Time Machine and the opening reels still had me worried but very quickly I settled into the film and began to enjoy it immensely. The ludicrousness of the film's title and concept seems to be addressed when Nick actually says "Hot Tub Time Machine" then looks at the camera as if he wants to roll his eyes. There are many laughs on offer here and Cusack, Corddry, Robinson and Duke are all fantastic and great fun throughout the film. Even comedy legend Chevy Chase makes an appearance as a hot tub repairman and by that point I was hooked on what is a very silly film but it never takes itself seriously or tries to be anything other than absurd.

Hot Tub Time Machine may sound too bizarre to be worth your time but you'd be making a big mistake. The film is full of good laughs and nostalgia for one's younger days when life seemed very simple. Even though the friends go about changing their pasts you'll find yourself right behind them throughout and even when inevitably melodramatic moments creep in the comedy makes a mockery of them and prevents any sentimentality. A worrying title but a very funny film.

Verdict: 8/10

Classic Film Scene #30: The Neverending Story

Article first published as http://blogcritics.org/video/article/classic-film-scene-the-neverending-story/'>Classic Film Scene: The Neverending Story on Blogcritics.

Great films appear every year and with them are potentially classic scenes that may become more famous than the film itself. The shower scene in Psycho, the chariot race in Ben Hur, the chest bursting moment in Alien, and the opera music sounding across the prison yard in The Shawshank Redemption are just some of the examples of the classic celluloid moments that we may be familiar with even if we've never seen the film. I'll be sharing my favourite film scenes, some you will know others may be unfamiliar, but hopefully they'll be moments you enjoy as much as I do.

The Neverending Story (1984)

Growing up I used to frequently go to a video rental just down the road and in the late eighties/early nineties enjoyed some terrific films. Wolfgang Petersen's The Neverending Story was one of my personal favourites from childhood and it has lost none of its appeal today. Depicting the world of Fantasia (Fantastica in the novel) there are many wonderful moments but one stands out vividly in my mind whenever I think of the film.

The film depicts quiet school boy Bastian (Barrett Oliver) who is the victim of a trio of school bullies. At the outset he flees from the group, taking refuge in a bookshop where the owner (Thomas Hill) is eager for Bastian to leave. Challenging Bastian about his knowledge of books, the owner is stunned when the boy reels off an impressive list of novels he has read before enquiring about a strange book resting in the owner's lap. When told the book isn't safe, Bastian can't resist borrowing it, taking it to school and skipping his lessons so he can begin reading. The book, entitled The Neverending Story, tells of the story of Fantasia, a fantasy world that is being destroyed by a malevolent force known as the Nothing. Races across the world head for the Ivory Tower, home of the Empress, to beseech her for aid only to find she is ill and dying. A quest is prepared to find a cure for the Empress and a young boy, Atreyu (Noah Hathaway), is sent forth with his horse, Artax, to roam Fantasia. While Atreyu sets out on his quest, a wolf known as Gmork begins a quest of his own to stop Atreyu. The quest leads Atreyu to the Swamps of Sadness where Artax sinks into the muddy waters to his death after being overcome by despair. Atreyu seeks out Morla, a giant tortoise, that is the wisest being in Fantasia. Despite persistent sneezing and signs of fragile sanity, Morla points Atreyu towards the Southern Oracle which is 10,000 miles away! Atreyu narrowly avoids being killed by Gmork when a Luck Dragon, Falkor, plucks from the young hero from swamps and carries him to safety.

The best moment in The Neverending Story comes when Atreyu wakes to find Falkor has brought him to the Southern Oracle where two gnomes Engywook (Sydney Bromley) and Urgl (Patricia Hayes) live. Engywook is a scientist studying the Southern Oracle and he informs Atreyu that in order to reach the Oracle that has the answers to saving the Empress, he must pass two tests. The first is to walk a narrow passage between mountains where two golden sphinxes line the pathway. Atreyu learns that the eyes of the sphinxes remain closed until someone approaches and if that hopeful believes in themselves enough then the eyes remain shut. If one passes beneath the sphinxes and has just a glimmer of doubt about themselves then the eyes open and shoot at the one that approaches. Atreyu takes on the challenge and it's a fantastic moment, almost matched by the second test where one looks into a mirror and sees their true self which is in fact the opposite of everything they believed. Atreyu, who is strong and brave, looks into the mirror and sees a boy reading a book. Suddenly the reader looks up and Atreyu is staring into the eyes of Bastian! A memorable fantasy film with a terrific concept.

Film Review #80: Don't Look Now

With prices for cinema tickets now reaching ridiculous heights it's not often I will treat myself to a new release unless it's something I simply cannot wait for. Instead, I'm happy to content myself with a cheap DVD or a film on TV which may have slipped through my critical net and, believe me, there have been far too many. Whether the films featured here are recent or old I'll still be providing my honest opinion on them and, with the benefit of hindsight in many cases, may offer a slightly different take to contemporary reviewers.

 

Don't Look Now (1973)

Nicholas Roeg's chilling horror thriller, based on a short story by Daphne Du Maurier, was initially more noteworthy for an erotic sex scene between stars Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie than the film itself but with more relaxed censorship over depictions of sex since the 1970s the film is now assessed as a whole and having heard good things about it I was fascinated to see if it was worth all the fuss.

The film begins with couple John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) working at home while their two children Christine (Sharon Williams) and Johnny (Nicholas Salter) are playing outside. John suddenly senses something isn't right and heads outside to find Christine submerged in a nearby lake and though he tries to resuscitate his daughter it is too late. The film moves to Venice where John is working on the restoration of a church while Laura is struggling to pick up the pieces of her broken family. An encounter with two sisters Heather (Hilary Mason) and Wendy (Clelia Matania) changes everything with the blind Heather saying she can see a little girl in a red coat sitting with John and Laura and laughing. John is sceptical of the sisters' claims but Laura is given a new lease of life with the thought that her daughter is still with them. What begins as a positive vision for Heather becomes gradually darker and John and Laura find the streets of Venice are not as safe as they initially seem.

The notable thing about Don't Look Now is how effectively atmospheric it is. After the tragic opening the main setting is in Venice and after watching this film you'll probably want to think twice about going there. Images of Sutherland and Christie wandering by the water's edge are somewhat eerie and there is an underlying feeling of something sinister lurking in the shadows only to become manifest when John sees a small figure in a red coat running around the streets. The film takes on a new twist when Laura is told to leave Venice for her own safety. John is reluctant to leave but then the couple receive a call from their son's boarding school informing them he has been injured in an accident! Laura leaves Venice but John stays to continue his work only to witness his wife on a barge seemingly in attendance of a funeral. With bodies being found in the water and a killer on the loose, John believes his wife has suffered the same fate and goes to the police only for her to answer the phone when he rings the boarding school!

Much has been made of the infamous sex scene in this film but by today's standards it will seem quite tame. Censors called for editing and even removal of the scene altogether but it is important to the film, marking a turning point in fortunes for John and Laura. Having been told their daughter is still with them, Laura becomes rejuvenated and the emotional void between the couple is bridged. The sex scene itself alternates between the couple in bed to them getting ready to go out for the night in Venice. You'll honestly wonder what all the fuss was about. That scene aside the most striking image must surely be at the very end when Laura returns to Venice and is told by Heather that she must follow John who is on the dark streets of Venice pursuing the small figure in a red coat that is surely his dead daughter. What happens next is a shocking but brilliant conclusion which you'll have to discover for yourselves.

Don't Look Now is a more unnerving horror film rather than a scary one. The most frightening scene is that moment at the very end and rather than incidents that make you jump the film retains an atmosphere of foreboding throughout. The motivation of the two sisters is questionable, especially when they're seen laughing together, making you wonder is it at the expense of John and in particular Laura who lives by Heather's every word once she knows her daughter is nearby. Something very sinister is at work in Venice and all the locals are seemingly in on it, even an inspector (Renato Scarpa) that John visits when he believes Laura has gone missing. By the end you'll be relieved to be able to relax for the first time in nearly two hours such is the effectiveness of the film at leaving the audience so uncomfortable.

Don't Look Now is worth all the praise it receives today. For too long notorious for that sex scene, the film has many other merits that go far beyond a brief but erotic moment. If you're looking for a horror film that will make you jump out of your skin then this won't be it but if, like me, you can appreciate a film that is eerie and atmospheric then this one is up there with the best of them.

Verdict: 9/10

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Music Legends – Morrison T-Shirt

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I am the Lizard King and I can do anything

I'm a hoarder of T-shirts, owning more than there are days in a month, and if I get rid of one, two or three more immediately replace whatever has been jettisoned. T-shirts that have links to TV/Film are always highly favoured but I think music is my preferred area, especially if it's a treasured

T-shirt I have picked up from a gig performed by one of my favourite groups.

Being a child of the eighties I was more than a decade too late to be caught up in the music scene of the late sixties when The Beatles were writing the last of their legacy, Scott McKenzie was heading to San Francisco with flowers in his hair, and Jim Morrison and The Doors first came to the fore. The brief career of The Doors, ending with the mysterious death of Morrison, in the bathtub of a Paris hotel in 1971 did nothing to diminish their status as music legends. Light My Fire, Touch Me, The Crystal Ship, Strange Days, Riders On The Storm, Love Street and The End are just a selection of the magical songs The Doors brought to the world and managed to fit into a few successful but controversial years.

As magnificent as The Doors were as a quartet, this fantastic T-shirt from www.iffyton.co.uk is all about Jim Morrison. The large sketch on a white background captures the essence of the Lizard King on stage, one hand clutching the microphone, the other a cigarette (or more probably something more illegal given Morrison's reputation) with its smoke rising visibly in Jim's eye-line. His face is in profile but we still get an idea of the good looks that made Morrison such an emblem before heavy drug and alcohol abuse began to take their toll and he took to the stage with a

thick beard. The image of Morrison even contains his trademark belt I've seen in footage of many of The Doors' live shows.

For fans of The Doors this is an absolute must. Morrison is beautifully captured doing what he did best, entertaining thousands of adoring fans with magnificent songs that have stood the test of time and continue to inspire generations today. Jim alone didn't make The Doors, just as Freddie Mercury didn't make Queen, but the once shy frontman was the talisman for their music, the figurehead that led their fabulous

performances. For me, this T-shirt from www.iffyton.co.uk is a great way to pay homage to the Lizard King, especially if you're lucky enough to make a trip to Pere Lachaise to Jim's resting-place.

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Guest Blog: Amy Tupper

Today's guest post comes from Amy Tupper, author of Tenderfoot. May I bid you a warm welcome to The World According to Dave, Amy. Thanks for a great post. 

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN INDIE AUTHOR

I wrote a book last summer. I did it with no thought as to how to get published, remaining solely focused on completing the story. In three months, the first draft was finished. I began the editing process, assuming the next step would be to find an agent.

Then I stumbled across the now famous online conversation between Mark Coker of Smashwords and Joe Konrath, indie author hero. In the space of five minutes, the map I had for finding a home for my book and for my voice changed dramatically. Instead of waiting for a positive response to an agent query letter, for contracts to be signed, for a publisher to be found, for the book to acquire cover art and formatting and shipped to stores, a journey that might average two years, if I was lucky enough to be chosen, I could do it myself. I could self-publish in as little time as it took me to format and upload my own word document. 

Suddenly, my eyes were open. I had stumbled onto a fantastic secret! Only it wasn't a secret – it was knowledge posted all over the Internet, there for the taking. My quest as an indie author began.

It turns out in order to be an indie author, you need a whole new skillset, involving computer skills and networking. There is formatting to be done as you coax Word into submission and then convert it to multiple file formats for different ereaders. Creating or working with someone to create a piece of art known as a book cover. Opening up accounts on various online bookstores such as Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Google, Xinxii, OmniLit/ AllRomance, and many smaller publishing sites. There is research about tools and the publishing marketplace to be done. There is a Facebook fan page to be set up, a website or blog to be created (and maintained), and the learning of a whole new language on Twitter. There are author accounts to be set up on Goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari, and communities to be joined like Kindleboards, Facebook author groups, and many other websites. Then comes the reviews. There are many ways to get your book out in front of readers, but all of them equate to time on the computer; setting up another profile, tweeting, or emailing book bloggers. Because to be an indie author, or Author 2.0, means you have a web presence, that you are accessible to readers. All of which mean a thousand little daily tasks on email and the web, any one task potentially the tiny snowflake that starts an avalanche where your book is brought to the attention of a large numbers of readers.

For all these reasons, when I talk to someone about being an Indie Author and they get that funny look on their face where "self-published" evokes the stink of vanity presses, I laugh. If only it were as easy as handing $2,000 to someone and walking away! But no business in their right mind would handle all of the above for so little money! My guess is the amount of work I do on a daily basis equates to a part-time job, and if I could get away with it, a full-time job. And that's in addition to… writing another book. 

My name is Amy Tupper. I write books. I self-publish books. I blog, I tweet, I network, I enter minutiae on a million different forms. Like my follow Indie Authors, I work really, incredibly hard to promote my work and get it in front of readers.

I am Amy Tupper, Indie Author. Please sample my book.

 

You can find out more about Amy at the following links:-

 http://www.amytupper.net
 amymtupperhttp://www.facebook.com/
www.twitter.com/amytupper

 

 

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