David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 56

Writing - Fantastic Flight into Secrecy

I was recently told that even when you are accepted by a traditional publisher, you are required to have your own range of media on which to promote your work. One area in which I am failing is having a website. I have tried on a couple of occasions to produce one and somewhere out there in the electronic ether there is such a website, however, there is a huge knowledge leap from running a daily blog and other social media, to having a dedicated website with its own domain space. I have neither the knowledge nor the patience to learn such skills. It also costs and when you're not making much, adding to your expenses bill is rather foolish.


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For now you'll have to stick with my blog!
I have some reviews on some books and yet I know people have bought all of my books and some of them haven't left a written review. I can see the same thing happening with Flight into Secrecy even though a number of people have bought the book and several have downloaded sections to read. In an effort to spur you on I report a true quote from someone who purchased the new book,
' ... fantastic - it really makes you think ... '
The first time that adjective has been applied to one of my works but sadly I don't know whether it will make it into those places that will attract more readers to dip their toes into Atkinson's waters.
I am also aware that reviewing on amazon.com doesn't make it to amazon.co.uk and vice versa, I have copied reviews from one to the other to assist fellow authors.
LIKE - found on numerous sites is easy enough to click on if that is the extent of a positive message you wish to convey.



It is worth reminding people that this is not only a fictional story linked to a true story but also contains some analysis of the 'facts' released by various governments. Perhaps governments may learn from the mistakes made over MH370 and cooperate with each other when issuing statements concerning such incidents.
The rest of my portfolio is outlined below.
December 2015

Steele   My hero was created post recession and so has no concept of how 'good' things were pre-2008. In 'I Have To Get It Right' when he began to flex his muscles he was working in an accountant's office. Then after the Gurentai took him under their wing and removed all of his financial worries, it was justice that was his major concern. He did become involved in international relations in 'The 51st State' but it was for the maintenance of a respectful distance between countries, rather than economic reasons. His trips into the USA had repercussions which can be read about in 'The Biter Bit' but then by the time things began to change in 2011 and the recession was really biting, Steele was trying to make sense of the state of the nation in 'A Changed Reality' and coming up against some really nasty people taking advantage of the shortage of money. By the time the USA are out of their recession Steele's steps are still being dogged by an unknown enemy from the same country. In 'Inceptus' we also find out more about what makes the man tick. The most recent Steele book 'Castled' where Steele is once again at risk from unseen enemies. It would seem that he has become quite recession proof!The most recent addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure.
All books are available in paperback or ebook through Amazon, Smashwords and all good book shop websites.


Cessation 


This is a dystopian story that hinges directly on the state of the nation as a result of fiscal mismanagement. Having said that it is more a story of human relations, privations, love and loss.


Poetry - there are also two thoughtful collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.


The Musings of a Confused Mind 


and


Words from the Raindrops 

God Bless

Writing - Recommendations and Mad Madge

Its like going to the cinema, or a restaurant, or maybe reading a book. It could have been recommended by a friend or acquaintance and in your mind, the secret part that no one else knows, that little voice is yelling at you to avoid it like a plague.


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A friend was advised to read a certain book which took him a deal of time and which he didn't enjoy and he has never let the guy who recommended it forget! Almost like recommending a restaurant and the people who go end up with food poisoning!
We've all had recommendations but its like everything we buy, better to have several points of view rather than just one. I have holidayed in France many times and told people how relaxed I feel when I go there but have had comebacks such as 'the service (in restaurants) is too slow' or 'I don't like the French' and so on. A recommendation is only as relevant as the tastes of the person who is being given the recommendation.
On the other hand I recommend my books to anyone who likes action, mystery and a bit of fun.
[image error]Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel is a Man Booker prize winner and surely that should be enough of a recommendation but I read an interesting comment, it wasn't a review as such, about one of her books.I have read her Wolf Hall which was historically great but I wasn't enamoured with her style, it was a qualified recommendation. The qualification being that her sequel was better. The article I read was about Beyond Black and the author of the article was bucking a trend among acquaintances who didn't like the book. It just goes to show that taste in art is incredibly personal.
Of course there is a very powerful corollary to those who don't take up on recommendations - its good to try something different. We should keep an open mind to the new.
So who was the poet, author and thinker that Samuel Pepys queued for hours to catch a glimpse of and who seriously disturbed the Scientific community of the day.
[image error]Margaret Cavendish 1623 - 1673
Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is variously described as a revolutionary scientist and prolific writer in many genres. By the 1660s she was often referred to as 'Mad Madge' for her frequent use of oaths and obscenities in her conversations and for the many social gaffs for which she was renowned. Her mode of dress was often deemed eccentric in high society and she published her works in her own name which was very unusual for a woman in the 17th century.She was the first women to attend a meeting at Royal Society of London in 1667 and she criticised and engaged with members and philosophers Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes, and Robert Boyle. She has been claimed as an advocate for animals and as an early opponent of animal testing. (Nothing new under the sun!)
There is a degree of comfort in discovering that such a lady challenged established ideas 400+ years ago and long may there be divergent thinkers such as 'Mad Madge'.
God Bless

Poetry Thursday 198 - Be afraid, be very afraid!

Some seriously heavy stuff this week. We have had the deaths of Rickman, Bowie, Wogan and Finlay; the defeat of Trump in the first vote for Republican candidate; genetic engineering of embryos; and, Cameron claiming great success in negotiating with EU ministers. Where do you begin?
I began with a political effort.
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Governments Be Afraid
None as blind as those who won’t see!The possibility of a Trump worries me.A redneck convinced of his invulnerabilitycan only dictate to those on bended knee.
To a man of such inhumane foolishnesswho would limit the freedom of our humanness,and strive to imprint upon consciousnessthat all peoples are of uniform oneness.
Long live the uniqueness of humanity,it is good to encourage diversity,the freedom to explore our differences,and try change regardless of consequences.
God preserve us from the political class,who would have us kiss their collective ass,and know our place and pay our dues,for those in power to benefit and use
We are the people and have our rights,less fortunates who need respite from their plights.How dare the rich and well-healed classes,pressure to control the labouring masses.
A fairer and supportive system,would benefit more people and maybe lift them,to full potential given the opportunity,of realising the benefits of their ability.
Government should exist to serve common mannot as a self-perpetuating political clan,and should be afraid of the populations’ will,then revel in the individuals’ personal skill.© David L Atkinson February 2016

The possibility of designer babies came a step closer this week when scientists in the UK were given permission to begin experiments on embryos. I shudder to think of the long term consequences of that decision.

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Cut and Paste Humans
Rheumatoid arthritis in the family?Cut, paste and make it better.Cystic fibrosis the inherited enemy?Cut, paste and make it better.Colour blindness in the lad?Cut, paste and make it better.Downs syndrome make the parents sad? Cut, paste and make it better.
Ginger hair the inherited curse?Cut, paste and make it better.Long, blond curls make matters worse?Cut, paste and make it better.Sticky out ears, like taxi doors,Cut, paste and make it better.A Roman nose one of the flaws,Cut, paste and make it better.
Not as tall as you’d like to be?Cut, paste and make it better.Not as small as you’d like to be?Cut, paste and make it better.Not exactly as sharp as a knife?Cut, paste and make it better.No guarantee of a longer life?Cut, paste and make it better.
Where is God in all of this?Is he snoozing in ignorant bliss?Or is deity biding its sacred time,to execute retribution sublime?© David L Atkinson February 2016

I have genuine concerns that man playing God is a dangerous road to take.
God Bless

Writing - Signs of ageing

It is often said that you know you're getting old when police and doctors start looking younger. I've been in that boat for some while although when I consider my father when he was my age, he seemed older. A very subjective opinion.

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In the last few weeks there has been unrest and a strike by the doctors and seeing them on the news it was clear that they were all from high school!
[image error]Boxer David Haye (35)
There was an interview today of the boxer David Haye about his return to the ring after three and a half years out due to injury. There were one or two indications that the guy is feeling his years which tends to be different in a sporting context than in everyday life. He admitted that he couldn't train as hard at 35 as he could at 25 and also named another boxer who he said had almost had his whole career while he'd been out of commission.
[image error]Decimalisation 15th February 1971
Of course another indication that you are getting old is when key events in your life appear in the BBC History magazine. I was almost 21 years old when we in the UK changed from base 240 to base 100. Almost as complicated as the above poster! I was obviously taught the old system with 12d in a shilling, and 20 shillings in the pound. It changed to 10p in a shilling (ten pence piece) and 10 shillings in the pound, an altogether simpler system. We lost things like guineas, farthings (1/4d) and eventually 1/2p; and pounds shillings and pence. For the uninitiated 1 guinea = £1 1s 0d
Cost 5 guineas in 1950
So prices, as for my teddy above, stopped 45 years ago.
So what does this have to do with writing? Well it springs from the fact that I was asked a question last weekend about how much I write by a much younger fully employed person. In fact I write a tremendous amount most of which would come under the heading of practice. The question was about my daily diary and what goes in there. It was jokingly suggested that all that would go in was things like 'went to the pub, had three pints'. In fact to make that a relevant phrase add 'costing £3.10 each', suddenly gives a concrete fact that will be historically pertinent. A simplistic example, but one that can change the quality of the diary you write.I also include significant world events, my feelings on a variety of subjects and even the deaths of people who have had some significance in my life. This weekend Terry Wogan (77).
The point is that I am writing. I am also retired now and it hasn't always been the case that I produce the quantity of work produced just now. The diary has been going 20 years but writing in longer forms only for seven years. I have written poetry for longer than my diary but much of my early stuff has been lost in house moves.
If you have the ambition to write - then write. It can be good therapy to write a diary and is as time consuming as you want it to be, but it is good practice and may lead to more exciting forms.Just do it!
God Bless

Tuesday Food Blog - I don't like this/that stew

As a child of the babyboomer era I was brought up on fresh fruit and vegetables, home roast dinners and broth! I must have been a pain to feed because even I have to admit to remembering the whinge that accompanied mother's announcement that it was broth for lunch.

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The definition of broth is no more appetising,
Broth is a liquid food preparation, typically consisting of water, in which bones, meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been simmered. Broth is used as a basis for other edible liquids such as soup, gravy, or sauce.
What Mum dished up was much more packed and resembled a stew or Victorian broth than the watery stuff that broth often is.
This/that Stew

One of the reasons I wasn't keen on mam's version was the barley that was always a part of the dish. I still don't like it.When looking for a recipe for the weekend I came across one which claimed to be Irish Stew but it contained yet another vegetable of which I am not particularly fond - CELERY! It's genetic. My mother's mother, my grandma whom I never knew, suffered from rheumatoid arthritis which was a severe problem. In the 1920's and 30's with no NHS and little money there was no availability of painkillers. So it was a case of reverting to old wives' remedies and for pain it was to drink the water from boiled celery! Mam grew up with the smell, didn't like eating it herself and that feeling has been passed on in the genes. 
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I hate it in all its evil forms. It is the food of the devil and those that stick it in every damn recipe are the spawn of the devil!
Rant over!

So I considered the recipe and was thinking I don't like THAT and Idon't like THIS so decided to call it the This/That Stew and made suitably Atkinson friendly adjustments.Out went the celery and in came a red pepper, it was supposed to be green but the supermarket weren't selling any loose green peppers so I bought a red one. Instead of lamb I found some lean cut beef and with the addition of carrots and onion had the basis of the stew. Of course I still had the recipe in front of me and finished it off with a layer of potato on the top.Like all stews it is bunged in the oven and cooked slowly for hours, except for the last half hour when the lid of the casserole is removed, butter dotted on the potatoes and allowed to finish with a nice crusty top.Now of course you can design your own family friendly stew. Mine would have suited many members of the family as there was no garlic, not too many herbs (I did use parsley), and no alcohol. You could use all or some of those, and use different vegetables. The tastiness and suitability for your loved ones is up to you and when complete there is only one person to blame if it isn't popular!
No Pressure!

(Apologies for the messy formatting)
God Bless

Writing - Colouring books a new trend

Before Christmas 2015 I heard that colouring books were going to be popular as gifts for adults. I was quite surprised when I walked into W H Smith's and saw a whole display unit full of colouring books for adults!

[image error]Secret Garden
Remembering back to my own children and to teaching in junior school, the art of colouring in was a real skill. As a child I have uncomfortable memories of failing to colour inside the lines and being criticised for the lack of motor skills. It is also true that a child's early development was partly assessed for fine motor skills by looking at their ability to colour in.
Even though it was considered a fun activity to carry out on a rainy Sunday afternoon or as an end of term task, there have been adults quite happy to join in with the children in carrying out the activity. It is unsurprising then that finally a publisher has produced books for adults to colour. There are some interesting spin offs.

In a busy world, increasingly dominated by time spent in front of screens, grown ups are turning to the soothing art of colouring in. But the books we're talking about are not reminiscent of the freebie colouring sheets handed out at chain restaurants that we remember from our childhoods. These are intricately designed books, some created specifically to help you de-stress and focus the mind.
Can we really find relief in colouring carefully in between the lines? Hephzibah Kaplan, director at the London Art Therapy Centre thinks so.“When choosing a colouring-in book with more complex or abstract images the convention is generally to keep different colours within different lines. This requires a relaxed focus where the outline is containing and the mark-making repetitive and smooth. So a bit like repeating a mantra where repetition is a means to relaxation, colouring-in is also a type of mediation.”She added: “Meditation, whether secular or otherwise, has known benefits to mind, body and spirit. When focusing deeply on a simple yet safe task, other anxieties become less present, less pervasive.”So that is the theory and you can see the reasoning behind what she is saying so having used the much criticised, non-taxpaying search engine Google (excuse the political dig), I wasn't altogether surprised that all major booksellers are advertising this type of book online as well as in their stores. The latest to be advertised are colouring books by Mills and Boon.[image error]Mills and Boon, who have been the butt of many mickey takes over their romantic bent, have produced the Art of Romance.The publisher said it records "the most iconic Mills & Boon moments since it was founded in 1908".Adult colouring books have been a publishing success over the past 12 months, with five currently in the UK's top 50 book chart."Colouring is a key trend in publishing at the moment, and as a heritage brand, with our archive of over 100 years of iconic covers, we were spoiled for choice in creating the book," Lisa Milton, of Mills & Boon publisher Harlequin, said.


"In bringing together the vintage covers, snippets of social history and utterly fabulous fashions across the decades, I can't think of a better way to tell the story of Mills & Boon than through The Art of Romance."So you can justify buying one of these, if you feel that you need to, by referring to stress busting and social history.[image error]Of course the real point is that we are talking about people buying books. Books is the operative word. It is an encouragement to people to go into bookshops and spend and way back when raising my own children buying this type of book was part of the process of getting them interested in reading. There is no reason why it shouldn't be as relevant today for adults as it was when they were five years old.God Bless

Writing - Last 10 for January

The news diced and sliced for your consumption.


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1. You could probably outrun a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I would need more surety than 'probably'

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2. The best time to get Tinder matches is 21:00.


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3. Stalin may have had Mao Zedong's excrement analysed.

Holy shit!


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4. Music played in the 50 minutes before Donald Trump rallies must come from a set list assembled by the candidate himself that includes Tiny Dancer by Elton John and songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals.

Not a total idiot then!


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5. US opinion pollsters now have to make between 30 and 35 calls to get one interview.

I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure
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6. People with a pub they call their local are significantly happier.

Tell that to the liberal, lefty, anti-alcohol lobby.


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7. Fish stop swimming in space.

Of course they do - they're dead.


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8. Some 76% of lines in Disney's Pocahontas are spoken by men, as are 77% in Mulan and 68% in The Little Mermaid.


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9. The signalling information for switching Economy 7 electricity meters is carried on BBC Radio Four long wave.

Duh!!!!


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10. Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone stopped buying cheese because it doesn't decompose.

He always missed the point - it has to be digested Ken 


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God Bless

Writing - America's first female president

It could be that by the end of November 2016 that the USA will have its first female president in the form of Hilary Clinton but she is not unique in trying to attain that position.

[image error]Victoria Woodhull (1838 - 1927)
In fact the first lady attempting to become president was as far back as 1872. Victoria Woodhull was more than just a politician, she was a free-love activist and there I was thinking that we babyboomers growing up in the atmosphere of free-love in the 60s and 70s had invented the term.
Victoria Woodhull - clairvoyant, entrepreneur and women's rights campaigner experienced a plethora of upheavals in her long life. On Tuesday 5th November 1872 instead of being at party headquarters awaiting the election results she was languishing in prison in New York on obscenity charges. I'm fairly sure that won't be the case with Hilary Clinton. This was undoubtedly Victoria's lowest point in he life.A few months previously at a gathering of the Equal Rights Party, which Woodhull had founded, she took the stage seeking political power not prison. She spoke of political trickery, despotic assumption, and industrial injustice. The audience was so impressed by her rhetoric that they promptly nominated her for president. Sadly, at that time in a male dominated society, the decision was received with a mixture of horror and amusement. 

Victoria's influence wasn't limited to political activities. In 1868 when she moved to New York she met Cornelius Vanderbilt one of the richest men in America. She discovered a natural talent for buying and selling stocks and shares and with Vanderbilt's backing, began the Woodhull, Claflin and Co brokerage, the first all female company of its type. Her partner was her sister Tennessee. The two women also launched a newspaper, Woodhull and Claflin's Weekly in 1870. The following year she presented a petition to the Senate and House of Representatives, before addressing the House Judiciary Committee on the citizenship of women, which single handedly revitalised the campaign for women's rights.

Of course all that Mrs Woodhull achieved was to antagonise those who were died in the wool establishment types, so much so that she was kicked out of her lodgings because of her radical views. She moved to her companies offices only to have the landlord to increase her rent by $1000/year payable immediately. Convinced that she was the victim of a conspiracy, Woodhull pursued two men who were big in women's suffrage. To cut a long story short she revealed in her newspaper that one of the men was having an affair with the wife of the other. No regular newspaper would take it so she published in her own Weekly. The scandal was picked up by Anthony Comstock, dry goods salesmen and self-styled guardian of public morals who sought a warrant for the arrest of Victoria and her sister Tennessee for sending indecent material through the mail. Both women were thrown into jail which was why Victoria was in jail when the election results were awaited. They were eventually found not guilty but had lost the political momentum and her number of votes was never recorded.
[image error]Woodhull in England
As time went by the sisters emigrated to England where Tennessee married a Lord and Victoria a wealthy banker. Victoria died thousands of miles away from the seat of American power on her estate at Bredon's Norton, Worcestershire.
An interesting story, which has been turned into a book by Myra MacPherson The Scarlet Sisters: Sex, Suffrage and Scandal in the Gilded Age
I have related my aborted attempt to write an historical story centred around a real event, it is quite a skill. I may well go back to it eventually.
God Bless

Writing - YA and the Costa Book Award

 I am in my mid-sixties and I enjoy Young Adult and Children's fiction. No I'm not losing the plot but I do enjoy the freshness and uninhibited way in which this type of fiction is produced. Well the adjudicators of the Costa Book of the Year Awards must have felt the same.


[image error]Frances Hardinge
I wasn't there but Ms Hardinge was apparently dumbfounded when she won the award with her children's story The Lie Tree. Part of the surprise would come from the fact that it is only the second children's book to win the award, and it is over ten years since Philip Pullman's Amber Spyglass picked up the prize. I thoroughly enjoyed that and the rest of the trilogy as I have of many children's works since attaining adulthood.
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I have never been lucky at winning things but when I was 11 years old I won a copy of the above book in a word competition at my local cinema. (There was also an orange as part of the prize!). The film version of the story was showing at the cinema at that time. There of course is the key for babyboomers interest in this genre. We were brought up on stories which are now described as classics. There was no Dahl or others of his expertise in the area of producing children's stories. We had Billy Bunter, Just William, The Famous Five and so on, but no BFG or Northern Lights. 
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Of course when we write, whether we intend to or not, we tend to write from where we are at and that is influenced by culture which is a dynamic and evolving factor. It is hardly surprising then that the nature of children's books has changed quite dramatically. Also it doesn't mean that the intended audience for a story, reduces or increases the quality of the writing, and it is this factor which is key.
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Hardinge, delivering the winner's speech she had not thought she needed to prepare, urged more people to explore the "beautiful jungle" of children's and young adult (YA) fiction, whatever their age. Well Frances the news is good, older people are enjoying YA and children's fiction and long may they do so.

Of course it would be remiss of me to omit the significant role that J K Rowling had in the advance of children and YA fiction with the Harry Potter series. It was that series adults started talking about and there was a falling away of the embarrassment of admitting they read children's books. In my circle of friends it was interesting the way in which the habit spread and people were soon talking about other books of the genre. It was how I discovered The Dark Materials trilogy. Of course there is an important interaction that feeds the older end with new books - children. The kids at home have friends, they talk about an amazing array of subjects including stories, and in turn they may ask to have a book bought by parents, either paperback or ebooks. The parents then talk with other adults and when the subject of books arises out come the new stories or authors. I find it all amazingly positive. So spread the word and watch the interest in books continue to grow.
Congratulations Frances Hardinge!
God Bless

Poetry Thursday 197 - The Staff of Life

Writing poetry is very much part of being human and as such is intensely personal, however, in the last week I've had two requests for poetry on specific issues. Here we go.

 Staff of Life - Bread
A Slice of Life
There is no limit to the versatilityof the humble loaf of bread.A symbol of human domesticity,the baked foodstuff we’re often fed.
The ‘staff of life’ a parents goad,to Olivers wanting more,an addition to the carbohydrate loadthat’ll swell their tums till sore.
It comes in many different forms,cob, bun, bagel, iced and sliced.Culture influences accepted norms,with added fruit and even spiced.
But flour, water and salt – the least,baked in the oven till nice and crusty,forced to rise with added yeast,until it appears swollen and rusty.
It has been around 30 000 years,and will likely pertain as long again,nourishing folk from paupers to peerswith one form or another of the baked grain.
This verse is for the person requesting the poem! A joke.
We pray to God for our daily breadwhich is baked in Mirfield before the dawn,then sold at reasonable prices it’s said,by a local purveyor called Maughn’s.
© David L Atkinson January 2016

Just a bit of fun really!

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Timothy Taylor’s Landlord
Refreshingly smoothwhen settled a day or morequick bite of bitter.© David L Atkinson January 2016


So there you go my version of commissioned works for which I will charge nothing more than a smile.


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Melopsittacus undulatus
A long-tailed, variegated chatty creature,its raucous speaking voice sometimes a featurethat annoys the family, over and over,till the application of the night time cover.
‘Who’s a pretty boy then?’ oft repeated,learned by repetition and accurately tweeted.A real pet if sitting quietly on a barthe green, yellow and black budgerigar. © David L Atkinson January 2016

Just to be able to say that I did some work for myself this week.


God Bless