K.J. Bennett's Blog, page 5
April 29, 2012
Cover art - Rathbone Kydd
Hi,
I've just had an operation to reshape and reconstruct my left Achilles tendon in order rectify a chronic rupture, (misdiagnosed by the NHS for 12 years), and shall be sitting around on my backside for quite some time over the next few weeks. In preparation for my lengthy recuperation, I designed the cover of one of my book projects, Rathbone Kydd, as encouragement to stop feeling sorry for myself and to get on and write. I originally wrote RK several years ago, but he is currently being reworked and will be a much better read once I've tinkered with the manuscript.
Rathbone Kydd is a humorous thriller with quantum stuff, set in Devon (UK) and the Greek Island of Rhodes in the mid 1970s and the current day. This is the cover -
Also, I am working on the sequel to Pike's Quest , aptly named Pike's ReQuest, the cover of which can be seen HERE.
I've just had an operation to reshape and reconstruct my left Achilles tendon in order rectify a chronic rupture, (misdiagnosed by the NHS for 12 years), and shall be sitting around on my backside for quite some time over the next few weeks. In preparation for my lengthy recuperation, I designed the cover of one of my book projects, Rathbone Kydd, as encouragement to stop feeling sorry for myself and to get on and write. I originally wrote RK several years ago, but he is currently being reworked and will be a much better read once I've tinkered with the manuscript.
Rathbone Kydd is a humorous thriller with quantum stuff, set in Devon (UK) and the Greek Island of Rhodes in the mid 1970s and the current day. This is the cover -
Also, I am working on the sequel to Pike's Quest , aptly named Pike's ReQuest, the cover of which can be seen HERE.
April 14, 2012
Hungering for accuracy
– how the Hunger Games movie fails to capture the spirit of the books.
After reading and falling in love withSuzanne Charlton’s trilogy about a dystopian civilisation oppressing thepopulace by making their children take part in an annual blood-bath, I wasapprehensive about seeing the first Hunger Games movie. How could themovie-makers possibly do it justice?
In my view, they didn’t.
Not that they didn’t make a very enjoyablefilm: it’s just that Charlton ’s first person/present tense narratives are so well-written and take thereader so deeply into the soul of the main character, Katniss Everdean (playedbeautifully well by By now, most people will be familiar withthe basic storyline: every year, each of the 12 districts of Panem (NorthAmerica, as it is after a breakdown in society) must supply one girl and oneboy (aged 12 – 18 years) to take part in the Hunger Games. Katniss becomes a contestantwhen she volunteers to take the place of her twelve-year-old sister, Prim.
I’m not giving out any spoilers out here,but I can tell you that the trilogy is about corruption, exploitation, manipulation,divided loyalties and love. Where the book succeeds the film fails: all it couldever be is a form of edited highlight of the actions scenes. Lawrence comesvery close to capturing the cynical and dour personality of Katniss, but the movie-makershave restricted her with a limited script and also by pandering to a young audience.In an attempt to trim the storyline theyhave altered what, to my mind, is the single most important element of thefirst book – how Katniss obtained the mockingjay pin (a small broche displayinga hybrid bird). The mockingjay is an insult to the Capitol: it representsrebellion and become the symbol of the uprising that soon take place.Mockingjays are descended from Jabberjays – genetically altered birds that theCapitol used to spy on the instigators of the previous uprising that precededthe Hunger Games. The earlier rebels used Jabberjays against the Capitol, sothe capitol tried to dispose of them: some were not destroyed and cross-bredwith mocking birds: these were symbol of the Capitol’s failure. Then there isthe history of the physical object itself: as I said, no spoilers here, but itwas important enough for Charlton to name her third book Mockingjay. Doubtless the movie-makers will fudge the issue in thesequels, but the whole impact will be lost.
Another thing that totally lost its impact wasthe attack by wild dogs just before the games are ended and the winner isannounced: in the book it is clear that the Capitol has manipulated the genepool of these animals and there is a specific and chilling horror that provesjust how far they will go to unhinge its population and keep them undercontrol.
After seeing the movie I re-read the entiretrilogy. I enjoyed it far more than I did the first time. To anyone who thoughtthe third book was an anti-climax after the first two, I urge you to read themagain. The third book is a magnificent novel that details the total mentalbreakdown and gradual reconstruction of Katniss who, by the age of seventeen,has been subjected to more corruption, manipulation and violence than mostpeople will see in a lifetime. And she’s still being manipulated, this time by the people she thinks she can trust.
Book 1 was violent; books 2 and 3 are more soand have far deeper themes running through them. I hold out no hope of the movie-makersdoing them justice.
March 24, 2012
Book Review - The Forever Girl (Sophia's Journey)
The Forever Girl: Sophia's Journey by Rebecca HamiltonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've just seen a Tweet from Rebecca, quoting Harper Collins's comments about this book: "At times the writing is genuinely brilliant."
Mean ba???rds!
At times, the writing is far above averagely brilliant, and at others, higher. This is what sets Rebecca Hamilton apart from other authors of so-called urban fantasy. There are only so many ways that vampires, wiccans and shape-shifters can be portrayed, and in the end it comes down to the author's style as to whether or not it's a worthwhile read. In Rebecca's case, is certainly is.
This book is a joy from the opening line. If Rebecca Hamilton re-wrote the Yellow pages, she'd make it a great read.
View all my reviews
March 20, 2012
Spring awakenings
Goodness me. Spring has arrived in the UK,and I've just noticed that my last post here was WEEKS AGO.
I'm afraid that family life rather took over frommy writing one and I've had to sort out a few problems I'd rather not have had.I just hope they remain sorted out and that I can concentrate some of mynon-working time to writing again. It's frustrating to have four major ideasand know I can barely spare the time to commit one to paper (OK, hard disk).
I am currently working on the Pike's Questsequel, and have some cool ideas for some more-adult works, but there is onlyso much time in the day. I've promised myself, and advertised in the back ofPike's Quest, that part 2 will be out in autumn/winter this year, so I'd betterget on with it!
The plan 1: Write Pike 22: Place to one side for a few weeks before editing3: Commence adult sifi/thriller4: Edit Pike 25: Pass to proof-reader6: Carry on with and complete adult sifi/thriller7: Publish Pike 2
We'll see ...
February 25, 2012
The final hours
This week I placed
Pike's Quest
on the FREE list at Amazon (UK, US, DE, FR, ES, IT) for a five day period: it is now inside it's last 24 hours. The deal expires at mid-night Saturday PST, or around 8 AM GMT Sunday.
You still have the chance to grab Pike's Quest for free.
Why have I done this? I want as many people as possible to read it. Like most writers, I crave a readership. What's the point of writing if the only person who reads it is me? I'm certainly not making the big bucks out of it, but maybe some small ones will follow, once I have an audience.
So, follow the links HERE, download my Kindle book, and maybe check back in a few months to buy the sequel, or anything else I put onto Kindle. You may also like to get your personalised cover.
Enjoy.
You still have the chance to grab Pike's Quest for free.
Why have I done this? I want as many people as possible to read it. Like most writers, I crave a readership. What's the point of writing if the only person who reads it is me? I'm certainly not making the big bucks out of it, but maybe some small ones will follow, once I have an audience.
So, follow the links HERE, download my Kindle book, and maybe check back in a few months to buy the sequel, or anything else I put onto Kindle. You may also like to get your personalised cover.
Enjoy.
February 20, 2012
Virtual Book Signings
Want a signed copy of Pike's Quest or K J'sShorts, but can't get it 'cos it's on Kindle? Just go to Kindlegraph , sign inwith a Twitter ID (while you're at it, you can follow me on Twitter -@kj_bennett), and search for my books by name. Then send me a request.
Update your Kindle account to accepte-mails from Kindlegraph (the site provides you with the actual address), andyou will get a personalised cover, message and autograph from me - it's a free service,but Amazon may charge a small delivery fee if you connect via their 3GWhispernet network.
Virtual Book Singings
Want a signed copy of Pike's Quest or K J'sShorts, but can't get it 'cos it's on Kindle? Just go to Kindlegraph , sign inwith a Twitter ID (while you're at it, you can follow me on Twitter -@kj_bennett), and search for my books by name. Then send me a request.
Update your Kindle account to accepte-mails from Kindlegraph (the site provides you with the actual address), andyou will get a personalised cover, message and autograph from me - it's a free service,but Amazon may charge a small delivery fee if you connect via their 3GWhispernet network.
Pike's Quest for free!!!
It's here: the Pike's Quest give-away!
Starting on 21 February 2012 - 08:00 hrsGMT, (00.01 PST), Pike's Quest will be available for free download for Kindlefrom Amazon on these links -
UK - USA - ES - DE - FR - IT
The times are approximate, as I am at themercy of the Amazon servers
Pike's Quest has received several 5-starreviews on Amazon UK and US and on Goodreads: this is your chance to get it forfree. Why am I doing this? To get readers: I am writing the sequel and wouldlove to have more readers for the first book before I release it. I have a zeroadvertising budget, so this may be the best way to find them.
Spread the word. Tell your friends, tell your enemies. Grab it now (well, when it starts, at least).
February 8, 2012
My Shorts rule!
Well, my weekend of giving away K J's Shorts was quite a success. In league table terms, the good old USA came out tops, with nearly three times the downloads of the UK (proof that things are bigger an better over there?)
I just hope the British sense of humour is fully understood by my American readership, or I may have shot myself in the foot.
Oddly, I had one download in Spain and one in Italy. Ex-pats?
The Amazon terms prevent me from saying how many in total were downloaded, but let's say I am quite happy with the result.
Now, how happy will the readers be? Will anyone post a review on Amazon?
I just hope the British sense of humour is fully understood by my American readership, or I may have shot myself in the foot.
Oddly, I had one download in Spain and one in Italy. Ex-pats?
The Amazon terms prevent me from saying how many in total were downloaded, but let's say I am quite happy with the result.
Now, how happy will the readers be? Will anyone post a review on Amazon?
