David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 116
June 9, 2014
No Tuesday Recipe! - Presentation
I went off for a few hours this weekend so ended up not cooking seriously. I did eat out however!
Hot steak sandwich
I felt rather self-conscious taking the photograph and so rather snatched at the view instead of taking my time hence the not great finish. However, you can see the presentation ideas. The salad is in an enamelled mug, the sandwich was served on a wooden platter, the triple cooked chips are in a half pint mug at the back of the sandwich. Irrespective of what you think of the presentation in comparison with the previous owners, it is innovative. The food was delicious by the way.
The presentation is the interesting part. When we write quite a proportion of the final article is dependant on things such as font size, line spacing, paragraph indent and so on as well as the cover for our stories. We also must decide on the blurb, the author information and advertising previous works. All of these are about how the work looks rather than how it reads.
As a self-published author I'm learning on the job and castled represents my latest effort.
Castled is available from Amazon at the slightly increased price of £2.99. Just click on the title.
God Bless
Hot steak sandwich
I felt rather self-conscious taking the photograph and so rather snatched at the view instead of taking my time hence the not great finish. However, you can see the presentation ideas. The salad is in an enamelled mug, the sandwich was served on a wooden platter, the triple cooked chips are in a half pint mug at the back of the sandwich. Irrespective of what you think of the presentation in comparison with the previous owners, it is innovative. The food was delicious by the way.
The presentation is the interesting part. When we write quite a proportion of the final article is dependant on things such as font size, line spacing, paragraph indent and so on as well as the cover for our stories. We also must decide on the blurb, the author information and advertising previous works. All of these are about how the work looks rather than how it reads.
As a self-published author I'm learning on the job and castled represents my latest effort.
Castled is available from Amazon at the slightly increased price of £2.99. Just click on the title.
God Bless
June 8, 2014
Writing - 10 things we didn't know last week
More weird and wonderful facts from this weeks news.
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1. Female-named hurricanes are deadlier than male ones.
Isn't that true of all female things.
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2. Coffee ice cream had to be constantly available on France's presidential Airbus when Nicolas Sarkozy was in power.
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3. Most of England's World Cup squad cannot recognise Morrissey.
They're not unique
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4. Koalas hug trees to keep cool.
I could give it a try!
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5. J.D. Salinger's publisher was in 1996 still using the same letter to ward off fans that had been drawn up on 3 March 1963: "Dear Miss So-and-So: Many thanks for your recent letter to J.D. Salinger. As you may know, Mr. Salinger does not wish to receive mail from his readers. Thus, we cannot pass your kind note on to him. We thank you for your interest in Mr. Salinger's books."
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6. British feet have grown by two shoe sizes in the last 40 years.
Mine haven't!!!!
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7. Dead passengers on British Airways flights used to be given sunglasses, a vodka and tonic and a copy of the Daily Mail to disguise them from other passengers.
What a way to go!!
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8. Prince William is a Coldplay fan.
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9. Hungry men are attracted to voluptuous women (but once they've had dinner they like fewer curves).
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10. Jonny Wilkinson dislikes the past participle "dropped goal" so much that he went through his autobiography and replaced every one with the noun "drop goal".
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Castled is available from Amazon at the slightly increased price of £1.99. Just click on the title.
God Bless
June 7, 2014
Writing - My Hero
My hero is my father. A simple fact and wholly personal. He died 21 years ago but I'm still finding things out about him of which I wasn't aware! Of course my created hero, Patrick A Steele, is nothing like my Dad.
Steele is complex by design, but then the majority of writers would say that about their creation. It is difficult to whet your appetite enough to read the Steele novels, without revealing too much of the man. There is no great secret in producing a lead character, the blank page is your only barrier, what you need to do is start.
My guy, like all of us, is a product of his upbringing, good and bad. In life we fight to maintain the qualities we've been raised to embrace, or we fight to lose them! If there is a lack of guidance in the beginning we can end up a mess.You decide which Steele is.
Steele has skills. In trying to develop the character it is important to describe what you want his/her capabilities to be. I believe that it is good to create an element of vulnerability.What are Steele's weaknesses?
Steele behaves in certain ways according to given situations. It is important that your lead doesn't become predictable.Is it always clear what Steele will do?
Steele can pass the ball. I believe that characters, like the rest of us in our lives, need to be able to delegate responsibility and show trust. That may set up internal conflicts which need developing so that the reader understands what is going on.Can Steele delegate?
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Castled
As another strategy for generating sales, I'm not going to increase the price of this book straight to its full value immediately, but increase in stages. So grab this opportunity as soon as possible folks, there is a link below.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Castled-Steele-Novels-Book-6-ebook/dp/B00KRGAQP6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1402160659&sr=1-1&keywords=david+l+atkinson
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Oh! Back to my father. I found out today that he was not just a fitter in the coal mines but a foreman fitter. I don't understand exactly what that means but have the idea that it was somewhat more elevated a position than he led me to believe. That was typical of the modest man my father was. When we write it is small snippets such as that which indicate character traits and are worthy of inclusion where relevant.
On VG today.
http://venturegalleries.com/blog/writing-to-satisfy-my-own-personal-needs/
Find out more about me, the writer, and why I do what I do.
God Bless
Steele is complex by design, but then the majority of writers would say that about their creation. It is difficult to whet your appetite enough to read the Steele novels, without revealing too much of the man. There is no great secret in producing a lead character, the blank page is your only barrier, what you need to do is start.
My guy, like all of us, is a product of his upbringing, good and bad. In life we fight to maintain the qualities we've been raised to embrace, or we fight to lose them! If there is a lack of guidance in the beginning we can end up a mess.You decide which Steele is.
Steele has skills. In trying to develop the character it is important to describe what you want his/her capabilities to be. I believe that it is good to create an element of vulnerability.What are Steele's weaknesses?
Steele behaves in certain ways according to given situations. It is important that your lead doesn't become predictable.Is it always clear what Steele will do?
Steele can pass the ball. I believe that characters, like the rest of us in our lives, need to be able to delegate responsibility and show trust. That may set up internal conflicts which need developing so that the reader understands what is going on.Can Steele delegate?
-------------------------------
Castled
As another strategy for generating sales, I'm not going to increase the price of this book straight to its full value immediately, but increase in stages. So grab this opportunity as soon as possible folks, there is a link below.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Castled-Steele-Novels-Book-6-ebook/dp/B00KRGAQP6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1402160659&sr=1-1&keywords=david+l+atkinson
----------------------------------
Oh! Back to my father. I found out today that he was not just a fitter in the coal mines but a foreman fitter. I don't understand exactly what that means but have the idea that it was somewhat more elevated a position than he led me to believe. That was typical of the modest man my father was. When we write it is small snippets such as that which indicate character traits and are worthy of inclusion where relevant.
On VG today.
http://venturegalleries.com/blog/writing-to-satisfy-my-own-personal-needs/
Find out more about me, the writer, and why I do what I do.
God Bless
June 6, 2014
Writing - Castled launch continues
The launch of a book is something that I've done 8 times! You'd have thought I'd know what I was doing by now. However, like with all new things I seem to be a slow learner. This book is doing okay for a start which in terms of best sellers is really poor but in terms of my book sales I'm quite pleased.
The link below is for the Kindle version of the book on amazon.co.uk and is at the introductory cost of £0.77
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Castled-Steele-Novels-Book-6-ebook/dp/B00KRGAQP6/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402046737&sr=1-6&keywords=david+l+atkinson
For amazon.com the price is $1.29 and the link is net,
http://www.amazon.com/Castled-Steele-Novels-Book-6-ebook/dp/B00KRGAQP6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402060517&sr=1-1&keywords=david+l+atkinson
Having discussed strategies to encourage more sales these introductory offers will follow a slightly different pattern. I will increase the price by £1/day until the actual selling price is reached.
The book is available in paperback from completelynovel.com at £4.99 It's quicker to follow the following link,
https://completelynovel.com/books/castled
On VG today.
http://venturegalleries.com/serial/could-he-justify-the-murder-he-was-assigned-to-commit/
God Bless
June 5, 2014
Writing - D-Day 70, decoys and deception
When we construct a story to entertain, baffle or even confuse our readers we introduce deceptions and decoys. The story of the Normandy landings, Operation Overlord, included such strategies to ensure success.
Operation Overlord
Seventy years ago Kent and Sussex were at the heart of a phoney war - a key element of the D-Day invasion.
The aim was to con German commanders into believing they would be attacked across the Dover Straits, and the plan was carried out using a highly secret and elaborate series of deceptions, hoaxes and decoys, known as Operation Fortitude.
Decoy tanks
Operation Quicksilver
The key element of Quicksilver was the creation in German minds that "First United States Army Group" (FUSAG) commanded by General George Patton supposedly would land in the Pas-de-Calais for the major invasion of Europe, after the landings in Normandy had lured the German defenders to that front.
Joan Pujol Garcia, known by the British code name Garbo and the German code name Arabel, was a double agent loyal to the Allies who played a crucial role in the deception by supplying Germany with detailed information from a network of non-existent sub-agents supporting the idea that the main invasion was to be in the Pas-de-Calais.
In a sense these deceptions are what make interesting stories even though the above were very much fact. The creation of such false leads showed a high level of creativity.
In fact the overall strategy was given the code name Operation Bodyguard and had the overall aim of convincing the Germans that the Allied invasion would take place from Dover and across toe the Pas de Calais. It was created by the London Controlling Section. This was a group established in 1941 with the specific intention of coordinating Allied military deception. The planning for D-Day deception actually began in 1943. The existence of this group wasn't revealed until 1969.
LCS was made up of seven people led by Lieutenant- Colonel John Bevan with the deception of the enemy as its main remit. He added double agents and code breaking.
[image error]Dennis Wheatley
In a situation where great creativity and imagination was required it is interesting that author Dennis Wheatley was a member of LCS. It just goes to show that those of us who write have a powerful, if slightly scary, skill set.
Release
As always I am grateful to those who have already purchased Castled eBooks from Smashwords. The promo will have to end but I am repeating the same offer on the Amazon site when the book becomes fully active for Kindle. It will initially cost £0.77 or in the USA $0.99. I have already received one very favourable comment about the beginning so to whet your appetite if you click on the Extracts TAB above then you will be able to sample a couple of pages. Enjoy.
God Bless
Operation Overlord
Seventy years ago Kent and Sussex were at the heart of a phoney war - a key element of the D-Day invasion.
The aim was to con German commanders into believing they would be attacked across the Dover Straits, and the plan was carried out using a highly secret and elaborate series of deceptions, hoaxes and decoys, known as Operation Fortitude.
Decoy tanksOperation Quicksilver
The key element of Quicksilver was the creation in German minds that "First United States Army Group" (FUSAG) commanded by General George Patton supposedly would land in the Pas-de-Calais for the major invasion of Europe, after the landings in Normandy had lured the German defenders to that front.
Joan Pujol Garcia, known by the British code name Garbo and the German code name Arabel, was a double agent loyal to the Allies who played a crucial role in the deception by supplying Germany with detailed information from a network of non-existent sub-agents supporting the idea that the main invasion was to be in the Pas-de-Calais.
In a sense these deceptions are what make interesting stories even though the above were very much fact. The creation of such false leads showed a high level of creativity.
In fact the overall strategy was given the code name Operation Bodyguard and had the overall aim of convincing the Germans that the Allied invasion would take place from Dover and across toe the Pas de Calais. It was created by the London Controlling Section. This was a group established in 1941 with the specific intention of coordinating Allied military deception. The planning for D-Day deception actually began in 1943. The existence of this group wasn't revealed until 1969.
LCS was made up of seven people led by Lieutenant- Colonel John Bevan with the deception of the enemy as its main remit. He added double agents and code breaking.
[image error]Dennis Wheatley
In a situation where great creativity and imagination was required it is interesting that author Dennis Wheatley was a member of LCS. It just goes to show that those of us who write have a powerful, if slightly scary, skill set.
Release
As always I am grateful to those who have already purchased Castled eBooks from Smashwords. The promo will have to end but I am repeating the same offer on the Amazon site when the book becomes fully active for Kindle. It will initially cost £0.77 or in the USA $0.99. I have already received one very favourable comment about the beginning so to whet your appetite if you click on the Extracts TAB above then you will be able to sample a couple of pages. Enjoy.
God Bless
June 4, 2014
Poetry Thursday 113 - Lizards, Lite Bites and much more
Lizard
Quick intermittent motion makes her unpredictable.She hunts the vermin in our housesand smiles at her own success.When replete she finds the warming sunand tries to absorb its heat tocheer her icy blood.Tails are two a penny but no needto catch her – she is good.©David L Atkinson June 2014
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Lite Bite
Did you ever bite an apple and find a wriggly worm,or eat a ripe banana that made your tummy squirm?
Did you have to visit the dentist to have a crown repair,because you bit too hard on a pip from a juicy pear?
Did you order a salad in a café and share it with a caterpillar,or eat an avocado that tasted like Polyfilla?
Have you never learned the dangers of eating too much fruit?That with a surfeit of good things off to the loo you’ll shoot!
A brighter idea would seem to me to leave the evil fruit on the tree!©David L Atkinson June 2014
The Bull
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The bull, and I make no mistakegives us rib, rump and sirloin steak.Some would say we should be thankful.I call it stupid of the bull!
©David L Atkinson June 2014
The Sheep
The sheep if I am quite correctgives mutton, shoulder, leg and neck,some wool to stop us being chilly.I just think that sheep are silly! ©David L Atkinson June 2014
Book Launch
The 6th Steele novel Castled is now available on Smashwords and at a promotional price. Just follow the link below:-https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/444641
Hopefully it will be available on Kindle tomorrow.
God Bless
June 3, 2014
Writing - Castled is launched
As usually happens this book launch has happened all in a rush. It is only available at Completely Novel at £4.99 from the link below, at the moment.
https://completelynovel.com/books/castled
It could end up being the longest launch in history as the publishers tend to control the distribution to 3rd party sites. If the Smashwords process is being friendly it could be available there in eBook format this week.
Stop Press
Available on Smashwords at $0.99
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/444641
Blurb
Patrick Steele is placed in a position unfamiliar to him when his own personal space is burgled. The consequences are extensive at a personal level and to his property. The ghost of a previous operation drives Steele to take measures to retrieve the artefacts stolen from him and to avenge the death of a member of his team. He is handed a possible solution but then there arises a threat to his identity which he must keep hidden at all costs. The question is how high is the price that is paid to remain elusive?
Sales
I have had some pre-orders of the paperback version and they could arrive by the end of the week.
On VG today.
http://venturegalleries.com/serial/healing-he-had-reached-the-limit-of-his-patience/
God Bless
June 2, 2014
Tuesday Recipe - Chorizo and Smoked haddock bake
It's amazing what communicating face-to-face brings you in terms of rewards. I was chatting to a friend about recipes and she came up with the combination you'll see in full on the Recipe Tab today.
The bake's main ingredients are chorizo sausage and smoked haddock which may seem to be a strange sort of surf and turf combination but with the addition of tomato and basil they work really well together.
On the plate the layer of tomato, basil and potato is more visible as is the cheese sauce. I served it with garden peas but any green vegetable would go well.
Launching
No I haven't gone into building my own rockets just about to launch the 6th Steele novel called 'Castled'. I have finalised the manuscript and uploaded to completelynovel.com and have also changed the cover design. (See below)
By the end of the week this could be available as an eBook and in paperback next week.
God Bless
The bake's main ingredients are chorizo sausage and smoked haddock which may seem to be a strange sort of surf and turf combination but with the addition of tomato and basil they work really well together.
On the plate the layer of tomato, basil and potato is more visible as is the cheese sauce. I served it with garden peas but any green vegetable would go well.
Launching
No I haven't gone into building my own rockets just about to launch the 6th Steele novel called 'Castled'. I have finalised the manuscript and uploaded to completelynovel.com and have also changed the cover design. (See below)
By the end of the week this could be available as an eBook and in paperback next week.
God Bless
More poetry - Light Bite
An offering for #PromptMonday
Light Bite
Did you ever bite an apple and find a wriggly worm,or eat a ripe banana that made your tummy squirm?
Did you have to visit the dentist to have a crown repair,because you bit too hard on a pip from a juicy pair?
Did you order a salad in a café and share it with a caterpillar,or eat an avocado that tasted like Polyfilla?
Have you never learned the dangers of eating too much fruit?That with a surfeit of good things off to the loo you’ll shoot!
A brighter idea would seem to me to leave the evil fruit on the tree!©David L Atkinson June 2014
June 1, 2014
Writing - Building excitement or staving off boredom!
The England football team left this sceptred isle on their journey to Brazil via Miami. At the last competition in S Africa the team performed badly and put 'boredom' at the top of their list of excuses.
SCENE 1 - EXTERIOR, SWIMMING POOL Two young men in small swimming trunks recline on sun loungers next to a pool. The sun is shining, there is not a cloud in the sky. Impeccably dressed hotel staff hover attentively. Women in bikinis float by. FOOTBALLER 1: God I'm bored. Who are we playing next? FOOTBALLER 2: Uruguay. Thursday. We've got another four days of this - training, lying about, watching DVDs. I'm not sure I can take it much longer. FOOTBALLER 1: This is what the public don't understand about being an exorbitantly paid footballer playing for your country at a World Cup - it's so torturously dull. I bet our nurses don't have to put up with this. FOOTBALLER 2: If only they knew that we're not really living, but merely existing in a gilded prison. How on earth will we fill the rest of our day? FOOTBALLER 1: Another free round of golf at that exclusive course followed by dinner with the rest of the lads and a film in the hotel cinema. FOOTBALLER 2: Damn that exclusive golf course, damn the lads, damn that hotel cinema… Anyone fancy a game of Call of Duty? Facetious? Perhaps. Flippant? Certainly. Populist? I'll probably find out on Twitter. But I suspect there is not much sympathy among the people of England for fabulously rich footballers acting out the dreams of millions and complaining that, actually - and you might be surprised to learn this - it is all a little bit boring. After all, what will you be doing this June? Grafting, probably. Just like you always do. But also hoping beyond hope that Roy Hodgson's young squad can brighten up an evening or two. If only they can rise above the weariness.
As a mad keen spectator I was affronted by the self-confessed ennui. There is no need to list the reasons why boredom is an issue but one other slightly disappointing aspect was that when the footballers listed their activities to alleviate their boredom, reading didn't figure! Roy Hodgson, the manager, is a real bibliophile and I've no doubt will be packing books. It is to be hoped that the overpaid 'children' learn more than tactics by watching Roy.
When we write our stories we have a plot in mind and we hope that we can draw readers into that situation and maintain their interest. So there is an untapped, wealthy customer group who we need to write for. Footballers! This really is linked with a conversation that I was party to today about the fact that children are tested in UK schools on their grammatical ability but there is a lack of success and the reason given - they don't read. Another marketing opportunity! I taught children from ages of 7 to 16 over a period of 34 years and, apart from when teaching a specific subject in high school, took every opportunity to read to my charges. An actor/author named George Layton tackled the lack of enthusiasm for reading in boys by writing a series of books some of which I have read in class.
[image error]George Layton
George Layton has written three books of fictional short stories, entitled The Fib and Other Stories, The Swap and Other Stories and The Trick and Other Stories. The tales describe family life in the North of England in the post-World War II era. The books have been part of the National Curriculum in British schools, and film versions are in the work. Myles McDowell quotes Layton's The Balaclava Story as an example of how adults are often mostly absent from children's fiction.
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I read the first one 'The Fib and other stories' in the 1990's. The stories are about life as a school boy and give boys something with which they can identify. The plots are simple and true to life but there is something there for the adult also. Perhaps the England squad should dip into the stories for a little light relief. I doubt whether Mr Layton will ever achieve a Man Booker prize but he wrote for a purpose and the fact that his work is not likely to be for the pseudo intellectual classes that cleave to such awards, it is worthy stuff.
We who write need to do so and in some ways are writing from experiences that we've had and books we've read, so do we need to target an audience? I don't believe so. I believe that we write what 'fits' us and an audience will be drawn to our work in the fullness of time.
God Bless
