M.D. Eyre's Blog, page 4
May 24, 2012
Facebook IPO
So a company that produces nothing, that doesn't make anything, is worth $90 billion..?
Madness.
Madness.
May 22, 2012
Amazon v. newspaper book reviews
Again some very interesting opinions about the impact of book reviews.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/books...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/books...
Writing Historical fiction with a 'modern' voice
I'm currently re-reading Julian Rathbone's novel Kings of Albion and I notice he gives his medieval characters a decidedly modern voice and I really like it- he also includes some really clever anachronisms- there's references to The Shining and the film Titantic to mention just two.
Another author who employed this method is Steven Pressfield in The Afghan Campaign and again it really worked for me- some of the dialogue in that book sounds very 21st century but you never lose sight of the fact that you're reading about events that occured 2,300 years ago
I decided to employ this in my book Tabnit Gisgo, giving the narrator a voice that was mediated through an early 20th century tranlation of an unearthed ancient manuscript.
I suppose it comes down to the idea that the people of the past had a sense of humour- not all of them were Platos or Aristotles and it's my guess they laughed at pretty much the same things we do.
Another author who employed this method is Steven Pressfield in The Afghan Campaign and again it really worked for me- some of the dialogue in that book sounds very 21st century but you never lose sight of the fact that you're reading about events that occured 2,300 years ago
I decided to employ this in my book Tabnit Gisgo, giving the narrator a voice that was mediated through an early 20th century tranlation of an unearthed ancient manuscript.
I suppose it comes down to the idea that the people of the past had a sense of humour- not all of them were Platos or Aristotles and it's my guess they laughed at pretty much the same things we do.
May 18, 2012
Recently joined and been having a bit of fun putting together a pretty eclectic set of boards.
If you're interested check them out here:
http://pinterest.com/mdeyre/
If you're interested check them out here:
http://pinterest.com/mdeyre/
May 16, 2012
Designing a website
I've been reading a lot about how having a website can help get you noticed a bit more as an author so I thought I'd give it a go...big mistake!
Visiting websites and clicking is about the extent of my net expertise and trying to design a site is well beyond me.
I think I need some help.
Visiting websites and clicking is about the extent of my net expertise and trying to design a site is well beyond me.
I think I need some help.
May 14, 2012
10 Best Historical Fiction novels
Some pretty controversial choices in this Guardian feature-no Renault,O'Brien or Fraser ( Bernard Cornwell doesn't get a mention either)
The below the line comments suggest that the compilers need to think again!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/gal...
The below the line comments suggest that the compilers need to think again!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/gal...
May 13, 2012
Football-bloody hell!
For 95 mins I forgot about writing.
What a match, what a finish from Aguero (the Wrath of God), what an expression on Alex Ferguson's face when he found out the score from Manchester!
Classic.
What a match, what a finish from Aguero (the Wrath of God), what an expression on Alex Ferguson's face when he found out the score from Manchester!
Classic.
May 11, 2012
Off work today...
...not feeling that great. It's funny, but when I think about days off work ( and this is my first one in nearly 2 years) I say to myself 'Well, at least I might get a bit of writing done...'
That's definitely not the case here- writing these few sentences is proving hard and all I want to do is go back to bed and sleep.
And maybe read a bit more of this author who I think is brilliant
Julian Rathbone
That's definitely not the case here- writing these few sentences is proving hard and all I want to do is go back to bed and sleep.
And maybe read a bit more of this author who I think is brilliant
Julian Rathbone
May 5, 2012
Historical Novel Society review for my novel Tabnit Gisgo
Really pleased with this review from the Historical Novel Society for Tabnit Gisgo.
http://historicalnovelsociety.org/rev...
M.D. Eyre has created an antihero to rank with the best of them: cowardly, crass, bumbling, and thoroughly unpleasant, along, of course, with being immensely entertaining. In the novel he is elderly and writing his memoirs while fending off the amorous attentions of his mother-in-law and arguing with his dolt of a neighbor who is building a tomb for himself in his backyard. The point of this memoir, it seems, is to set the record straight about how Alexander the Great really died. Gisgo warns you from the start that his memory may not always be precise, setting the reader the enjoyable task of sorting out fact from double fiction.
The story is told in first person as translated by an antiquarian using the slang storytelling style of the 1910s or ’20s (so Alexander is “a bloke” and women’s breasts are “melons”). It is wonderfully effective, revealing more about the characters than an attempt at scholarly Macedonian and offering flavor to Gisgo and other characters through their speech. There is one poignant moment when Gisgo looks into Alexander’s eyes and sees real grief and exhaustion, but once that is over with you can relax: there is no more sentiment but many, many more laughs. One of my favorite characters is the Persian eunuch, a nod perhaps to Alexander’s other famous lover, whose style of speech would be worth the read all by itself. The battle scenes at Camelsford would make Bernard Cornwell proud but unlike Sharpe, Gisgo is no hero; he participates only because Ptolemy discovers his hiding place. You will find a rip-roaring great tale that also has a subtle message about how a hero can mess everything up for everyone, and that goes double for “the great.”
http://historicalnovelsociety.org/rev...
M.D. Eyre has created an antihero to rank with the best of them: cowardly, crass, bumbling, and thoroughly unpleasant, along, of course, with being immensely entertaining. In the novel he is elderly and writing his memoirs while fending off the amorous attentions of his mother-in-law and arguing with his dolt of a neighbor who is building a tomb for himself in his backyard. The point of this memoir, it seems, is to set the record straight about how Alexander the Great really died. Gisgo warns you from the start that his memory may not always be precise, setting the reader the enjoyable task of sorting out fact from double fiction.
The story is told in first person as translated by an antiquarian using the slang storytelling style of the 1910s or ’20s (so Alexander is “a bloke” and women’s breasts are “melons”). It is wonderfully effective, revealing more about the characters than an attempt at scholarly Macedonian and offering flavor to Gisgo and other characters through their speech. There is one poignant moment when Gisgo looks into Alexander’s eyes and sees real grief and exhaustion, but once that is over with you can relax: there is no more sentiment but many, many more laughs. One of my favorite characters is the Persian eunuch, a nod perhaps to Alexander’s other famous lover, whose style of speech would be worth the read all by itself. The battle scenes at Camelsford would make Bernard Cornwell proud but unlike Sharpe, Gisgo is no hero; he participates only because Ptolemy discovers his hiding place. You will find a rip-roaring great tale that also has a subtle message about how a hero can mess everything up for everyone, and that goes double for “the great.”
