A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 152
July 2, 2016
The Somme 100
http://www.cliparthut.com/transparent-poppy-field-clipart-MpS2j2.html
I meant to post this yesterday.
The Somme -100
July 1-November 18 1916
The Somme, Picardy, France.
One hundred years ago, on 1st July 1916 the ‘Bloodiest day in the history of the British Army’ began. The Battle of the Somme – France. The allies of France, Britain and Russia had been at war with Germany/Austro-Hungary for two years but this particular Offensive was the bloodiest yet. The First World War has been called ‘The War to End All Wars’ – but alas it was not to be so. It was the greatest loss of human life in battle until that date.
Britain and France commemorate the site and the battlefield, but many other countries, including the US, know little of this region and its blood-soaked history. So why was it so awful?
“The Battle of the Somme was fought at such terrible cost that it has come to symbolise the tragic futility of the First World War. Its first day of conflict remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army and it was felt deeply at home.”
http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/ww1-centenary/somme-100
F Scott Fitzgerald describes it poignantly, “This land here cost twenty lies a foot that summer….. See that little stream – we could walk to it in two minutes. It took the British a month to walk to it – a whole empire walking very slowly, dying in front and pushing forward behind. And another empire walked very slowly backwards a few inches a day, leaving the dead like a million bloody rugs.” (Tender is the Night – F Scott Fitzgerald – Chapter 13)
Young men from all walks of life fought, and died that summer. Pals brigades, boys of 14 who had lied about their age, father, brothers, sons, husbands, friends. Death took them without favour. The Grim reaper cares not for ties of family or friendship, and his scythe was busy indeed.
Over 400000 men died in just six miles, and over a million in that battle alone. In the first DAY 19240 men fell in that field. 19420. That’s over twenty men a minute! That is incredible. And so terribly tragic.
‘The official number of British dead, missing or wounded during that period is 419, 654. There were 72,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died at the Somme with no known graves and whose names are recorded on the British memorial at Thiepval.’
Including Allied soldiers over 600000 died, and half a million Germans.
51 Victoria Crosses were awarded for gallantry. 9 in the first day.
Read more about these men here: http://www.hellfirecorner.co.uk/9vcs.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_First_World_War_Victoria_Cross_recipients
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/ten-facts-about-the-battle-of-the-somme/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_I_memorials_and_cemeteries_in_the_Somme
It was believed the weight of the shelling in the week before would reduce the German lines and destroy them before the British even got there. It was a terrible miscalculation. The British shells were not well made, and could not get into the deep German bunkers. The average solider had to carry 30kg of kit. Many had not seen battle before and were not professional soldiers. They were ordinary men in an extraordinary situation. 90% of a Canadian Battalion died in the first day. 90%.
From Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme
‘The first day on the Somme began 141 days of the Battle of the Somme and the opening day of the Battle of Albert. The attack was made by five divisions of the French Sixth Army either side of the Somme, eleven British divisions of the Fourth Army north of the Somme to Serre and two divisions of the Third Army opposite Gommecourt, against the German Second Army of General Fritz von Below. The German defence south of the Albert–Bapaume road mostly collapsed and the French had “complete success” on both banks of the Somme, as did the British from the army boundary at Maricourt to the Albert–Bapaume road. On the south bank the German defence was made incapable of resisting another attack and a substantial retreat began; on the north bank the abandonment of Fricourt was ordered. The defenders on the commanding ground north of the road inflicted a huge defeat on the British infantry, who had an unprecedented number of casualties. Several truces were negotiated, to recover wounded from no man’s land north of the road. The Fourth Army took 57,470 casualties, of which 19,240 men were killed, the French Sixth Army had 1,590 casualties and the German 2nd Army had 10,000–12,000 losses.[21]‘
At Thiepval memorial site miles of pristine white headstones (British/Commonwealth) and wooden crosses (French) fill the area around and the fields themselves are filled with shell -holes, and replica trenches. There is a cemetery in that region with graves as far as the eye can see. And these were just the graves of the men they FOUND. The memorial itself is the most tragically beautiful thing I have ever seen. I was 16 when I visited that region on a school trip and I can honestly say that I will never forget it. Some of those soldiers were no older than I was then. And they didn’t return. It’s an astonishing place. I remember – we went in winter and it was snowing, bloody cold but we all stood in the snow and just stared that this could have happened. Thiepval commemorates 72ooo men whose bodies were never recovered, but lost their lives in 141 days of hell. That’s three times larger than the population of the town I was raised in. More than the current population of British towns such as Shrewsbury, Aylesbury, Crewe, Tunbridge Wells, and many more. It’s more than the total population of Greenland, and twice the population of Leichenstein. That is ONE memorial. Teenage boys, who like to be seen as tough stood weeping silently. I think every British child should visit that site. It’s something that will stay with you.
This year the Royal British Legion are producing poppy pin badges from shell metal actually found in the battle field. One for every person who died. I am proud to own one – mine commemorates Lance Corporal William Dengate – London Regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifle – service number 3408.) He died on 1 July 1916. He was from Clapham, in London. He was likely awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk
See his profile here
So far that’s all I have managed to find out about him, but I’ll keep searching. Who was he? What did he do for a living? What was his age? Was he some one’s husband? Was he someone’s father, or brother.
The Somme Offensive was, eventually, a strategic success – the Germans were damaged and it was one of the factors which brought the USA into the war. And the British began to use tanks from September 1916 – modern warfare was born. It relieved the pressure of the French and Verdun and many argue it was a pivotal battle – but at such a cost.
Remembering the Great War – because the War to End all War didn’t.
July 1, 2016
Smashwords Summer Sale! A. L. Butcher – The Light Beyond The Storm Chronicles
It’s that time of year again – Smashwords is having their month-long Summer Sale!
For now I’m only adding the novels – but the short stories may follow.
50% off until the end of July – with this COUPON only.
The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles – Book I
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/290716?ref=ALB123 (affiliate link)
Use the code SSW50 at checkout for 50% off during the site-wide promotion!
(Offer good through July 31, 2016)
The Shining Citadel
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/352783
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/352783?ref=ALB123 (affiliate link)
Use the code SSW50 at checkout for 50% off during our site-wide promotion!
(Offer good through July 31, 2016)
Look out for more featured books coming over the next few days and weeks.
Happy July!
June 23, 2016
Reader Interview Number Twenty – Amanda Kent
It’s been over a year since I’ve posted a reader interview so it’s great to be running one again.
*Welcome to Amanda Kent
Where are you from? United Kingdom
Please tell us a little about yourself.
Retired IT Programme/Project Manager. Labour Party activist and ward chair, currently campaigning to remain in the European Union. Member of local Amnesty International group. Fluent in French and German as well as English mother tongue. Married with two sons.
On average how many books do you read in a month? Approx 80–90-120 per year. Of these, I read a small amount of books in French and German each year, maybe 5% and hope to add Italian to this eventually. I don’t read translations of books that I can read in the original French or German.
A quarter to a third of the books I read will be re-reads, mostly genre fiction to unwind. A quarter to a third of the books will be by women. With a conscious effort, I managed to make it half and half last year, but it doesn’t really seem worth a conscious effort, because it was lowering the overall quality. More of the women authors I read seem to be crime or SF/fantasy than serious.
Where is your favourite place to read? Anywhere and everywhere. I almost always carry a book.
*What genres do you prefer and why? Do you have any genres you avoid?
I have no prefered genre though I’m finding that I read more non-fiction as I get older than I used to. As well as novels and non-fiction, I quite often read plays but only a little poetry, usually short poems.
I don’t like horror/ghost stories at all, or misery memoirs. I rarely read chick-lit/romance. I’m not usually much interested in travel books.
Why are books important to you and what does reading bring to your life?
Fiction, notably genre fiction, provides escape and relaxation. Non-fiction provides information and food for thought which may influence moral and political choices, as does quality fiction.
Do you have a favourite book or author? Why do you think you like this book/author so much?
No, I would spend hours trying to work out even a top 100.
What medium do you prefer – e-books, audiobooks or paper books? Would you care to expand on this?
I prefer physical books, paperback or hardback. If I re-read a paperback too often, I may need a hardback replacement because it fell apart. This happened to my childhood paperback of Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings – and the hardbacks of it which my sons have shared are now showing a pale skin pink under the leather of the binding.
Good covers, presentation, illustration do contribute to the pleasure of reading. I don’t like e-books, possibly because I was in IT: screen-reading is work not pleasure to me. I never really got into audiobooks – unless you’re travelling a lot by car or have a visual handicap, they just take too long compared with reading. Also most audiobooks are abridged and I want to read the real thing. That may, of course, change if I go blind in old age.
How do you usually find the books you read? For example: recommendations from friends, promotion on social networks, your local library, following authors you already know?
I read things I’ve earmarked from the Guardian’s Saturday Review of Books, friends recommendations and further works from authors I already know.
I buy books firsthand from Waterstones, Foyles, Daunts, second hand through Amazon marketplace(not from Amazon direct if I can possibly avoid it) or charity shops and I borrow books from friends and from the library, especially books where I have any doubts if I’m going to like them. Occasionally if I love a library book, I may later buy it to re-read.
When choosing a book what makes you stop and give it a second look? What makes you turn away?
Mostly I read books I’ve already identifed I want to read so what attracts my eye is a known author or title, very occasionally an intriguing cover and blurb.
Do you read reviews by others and if so do they influence your choice?
I rarely read on-line reviews but read some newspaper/magazine ones.
Do you “judge a book by its cover?”
Occasionally a cover will put me off reading a book, which sometimes I may return to a later edition of, but not very often and very occasionally a cover & blurb will attract me to a book I might have overlooked, but it’s definitely secondary .
What do you think is the most important aspect of a book for you? Plot, world-building, strong characters etc.? What turns you off?
Plot and the construction of the story is important in fiction/drama, except in poetry where form to a large extent takes over from plot. I hated Stephen Donaldson’s Lord Foul’s Bane because after a really interesting opening idea it went into chapter after chapter of he met some strange beings, did some unconnected stuff (repeat, repeat, repeat, stop) with no linking or development of character or apparent point to the tale. Fernando Pessoa’s Book of Disquiet I couldn’t read because of the absence of plot; there were beautiful passages but the lack of overall shape made it well nigh impossible to remember what you’d read 10 pages ago – it can only really be done as a kind of poetry and that’s hard.
Plausible characters and events are critical in fiction whether in a totally imaginary or a realistic tale. Style/narrative approach matter, at their best they reinforce the story e.g. Primo Levi: the Periodic Table or Jeannette Winterson: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit; at their worst they give a gimmicky feel to the book.
The way some authors write can put me off, if their style is very ‘look how clever I am’ for example or outright pretentious – I’m not a big fan of Salman Rushdie or John Fowles because of this. Stylistic tics and bad proofreading can be an irritant – for example it is sadly obvious that Bloomsbury gave up proofreading JK Rowling after book 3 and the quality is affected even if the overall narrative is still strong.
In non-fiction, I like information to either to be a story eg biographies or to present a coherent argument on an issue or issues.
My favourite books tend to be ones that give you some food for thought on issues of ethics, politics or approach to live.
Does the behaviour of an author affect your choice to read one of their books?
Potentially yes. If the author is obnoxious in real life, it’s likely to come through in the books. And there are so many other books… If I hate the first book I read by an author, it takes a personal recommendation to get me to try another. I have an accumulated ‘To read list’ of about 500 titles so why waste energy on things I probably won’t enjoy!
It’s only rarely that I give up part way through a book, though, and that’s partly because I read quite fast. However, some books I couldn’t finish are supposed to be very good e.g. Don Quixote but I was so bored by the end of part 1 I just couldn’t manage any more.
What are your views on authors commenting on reviews on sites such as Goodreads?
I wish they would keep away and I absolutely hate it in when they promote their books, it almost guarantees that I won’t read them: if their books were any good they wouldn’t be doing it. I don’t buy from door-to-door salesmen for the same reason.
If you had to pick three favourite books to take to a desert island what would they be?
I doubt if I could really, but for example Mrs Gaskell: North and South; Victor Hugo: les Miserables and Erich Maria Remarque: A Time to Live and a Time to Die (sometimes mistranslated as a Time to Love because of the film).
Or on a different day, Hermanne Hesse: the Glass-Bead Game, Antonio Tabucchi: Pereira Maintains and Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
Do you think bricks and mortar bookshops are in decline?
They have been but seem to have stabilised at a lower level and physical books are not in decline, at least here in Britain.
June 21, 2016
Review – Golden Sword – Janet Morris
The Golden Sword – Janet Morris
5 stars
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Golden-Sword-Silistra-Quartet/dp/0996898271/ (UK link)
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Sword-Silistra-Quartet/dp/0996898271/ (US Link)
Let me start by saying this is the SECOND book in the SIlistra Quartet – and it helps to have read the earlier book, although I think you could get by without it.
The action starts immediately, and thus some prior knowledge of the world and the main character is useful. That said The world building, like Janet Morris’s other books is superb and there is a helpful glossary at the back for the unfamiliar alien terms. When Morris creates a world she doesn’t hold back and this darkly sensual book ticks all the boxes for drama, cleverness and the ability to make the reader think. What is duty? What is love and how does it bind a person. Is sex merely pleasure or is there something far more profound in our genetic and cultural identity – and for that matter how fixed is it? Silistra is a world once ravaged by a war and environmental damage which almost destroyed everything – greed, vanity, selfishness and all the dark deeds of which an ‘intelligent’ society is capable. From these ashes rise the Wells and the alien but hauntingly possible culture of this world.
Silistra is a world where the ability to reproduce is perhaps the most important aspect – as wars and a bloody history almost destroyed the races. Thus sex, and the relationships between men and women, the way their society sees them, is important. And women ofter hold the power. Yet it isn’t that simple (these things rarely are), for the various factions fight between themselves, try to hold the more technologically advanced races at bay, and seek to find themselves. Love of those simply not worthy of it by the rational mind and of the call of one person’s allure to another. The role of men and women, master or mistress and subordinate, of slave and free, of tribe and tribe, city and city, Silistrian and environment are woven about a tale of one woman’s quest to find out who she is and not necessarily liking the answer.
The secret of the Silistran longevity is threatened, and with it the Silistran way of life and all they hold dear. This is more than just Estri’s own fight for survival as allies and enemies duel, intrigue and switch allegiances. Secrets are revealed, bargains struck and betrayed and threats loom from the stars without, the people within and the treachery of one’s own fear.
It’s not a book for those looking for a simple adventure, or a happy ever after. It’s not a love story, and it’s not a story for those who are easily offended. But it is a great story. There is sex, violence, betrayal, blood, death, loss, love, hatred, fear, power struggles and people being really quite shitty to one another, and in this I found a reflection of ourselves – our world as could be, and might well be. This is a book which makes one’s blood sing and one’s mind ponder.
I loved the first in the series and enjoyed this as much, perhaps more. The ending leaves the reader desperate to know what happens to Estri next – courtesan, slave, warrior, lover, rebel. What is next for our heroine?
June 16, 2016
Meet Marcus Brutus from Exordium of Tears by @WestonAndrew #SFF #books
A great character post
POTL: All Things Books, Reading and Publishing
My name is Marcus Brutus, onetime Triari Centurion of the 9th Legion Hispania, dispatched with my brothers to quell the Celtic uprising in the cold and misty wastelands of Caledonia, north of Britannia. We failed in our mission due to the interference of powers beyond our understanding. Thinking we had been extended a reprieve at the moment of death, my brothers and I awakened on a far distant planet where we were given a simple ultimatum. Fight or Die. Yes, it seemed our skills were needed again, and thus began an unbelievable journey that emphasized a stark reality. Death is just the beginning of the adventure.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
To fulfill my duties with honor, and then be given an opportunity to leave a life of bloodshed behind. Before all this happened, I’d served Rome for many years and was determined to see the day…
View original post 2,283 more words
June 12, 2016
KDP and Self-Publishing – A Noob’s Guide Part 2
More helpful info on publishing on Amazon’s KDP forum:
Creating an account:
Already have an Amazon.com Account?
Sign in to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) with your existing Amazon username and password. (This can be found via the link at the BOTTOM of the homepage.
Don’t have an Amazon Account?
Click “Sign up” from the KDP homepage, provide your email address and select “I am a new customer.” Enter your first and last name, and a secure password.
REMEMBER THESE DETAILS! If you need to contact support they will ONLY respond to the email you provided when you set up the account, or attached to the account if you have changed it. Sometimes people accidentally log in with a new account – this means not only will you not be able to see your bookshelf, your reports etc. but you are actually breaking the TOS. You are only allowed ONE KDP account. One. If you do accidentally create a second account then contact support and explain – ask them to remove it. People have had their accounts terminated for multiple accounts.
You MUST provide your legal name and address when you set it up. This is for tax purposes, and payment purposes. Even if you decide to use a pen name you have to provide your real name (more about pen names in a little bit). Don’t forget this is a LEGAL contract. You must declare any earnings to your country’s tax office, and unless you want to get stung for 30% with-holding to the US IRS you must provide an EIN or your relevant tax codes. This is a rule for any business that sells in the States – not just Amazon. They have no choice. It is also the case for Createspace, ACX, Smashwords, Lulu and any other publishing platform. In fact if you were selling books via your website you’d still have to legally provide this. Of course – if you don’t that is your business – but don’t say you haven’t been warned.
You can access your account details -if you move house/change banks etc) by clicking on ‘Bob’s Account’ or whatever your name might be.
https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=AE2UUB8RKZIHN – tax information
https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A1OYOT0ESBAU69 – account help
Pen names:
Once you have set up an account, registered your tax number, bank account etc and are ready to publish you can select a DIFFERENT author name if you wish to publish as M Mouse, or D Duck. The first tab you see on your KDP page is BOOKSHELF. This is where you upload your manuscript, cover art, and set the metadata. CREATE A NEW TITLE then follow the steps. If you do wish to use a pen name simply add in the required name – this will attach to your author page and should match the book cover. You can have up to three author pages. Some people like to do this for different genres.
If you co-write only ONE of you can have the book attached to your account, but the other authors can claim it via author central.
Author Central:
https://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk/
Author central is, basically, your author home page where readers can learn about you, see what other books you have and such like. It’s worth setting up a page. (Annoyingly you have to do one per store….)
Don’t forget to claim your books by clicking on bibliography and the typing the ASIN or title of your book and the ‘this is my book’ when it brings up the correct one. Sometimes they automatically attach themselves, sometimes they don’t so it’s worth checking. You can direct fans to your author page. You can also view your recent reviews (see previous on reviews). Here’s mine –
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alexandra-Butcher/e/B008BQFCC6/
Sales and Orders (again)
I went through this on the last post but I’ll say it again. If the sales you think you’ve had aren’t showing up then either you’re looking in the wrong place or they weren’t sales.
Ignore the graph – that’s ORDERS and collates them all. The reports state actual sales BY STORE. Most indies don’t sell a lot. Sad but true. There are millions of books on offer and it is very hard to get noticed. That said don’t be discouraged- with time, effort and patience your book will start to sell eventually. Decide why you write and what you want and measure success by that. Success is relative. Be realistic – if you have one book then you may not ever sell that many, so write more, blog, do the marketing etc and go with it.
Most of the indies who make a decent living form their books have lots of books, have been in the business for ages and spend a lot of time promoting, blogging, interviewing etc. And some are just lucky. I often see newbies coming on the forums upset because their book is not the latest bestseller. Honestly they expected that? Every author hopes his or her book is the best thing ever but every book can’t be the best….
Let me tell you a story – when I was writing book I my mother was terminally ill with the cancer she’d fought for 18 years. The book was published in June and she passed away in September. Honestly I probably published a bit early but I really wanted Mum to see it. Anyway I produce the first edition (with the old cover) and took one to show her, hoping it would cheer her up. It did, of course. This was a woman who was in pain, knew she only had a few weeks left, and was largely bedbound. Yet she smiled when she saw it. She told all the family, all the neighbours, all the carers. Everyone. It didn’t save her (nothing could by then) but it made her happy, and proud. It gave her something else to focus on. I’ll never forget the look on her face when she held the book. That, to me, is success. THAT makes it worth it. Success is relative.
Writing that book helped me through that awful time, and give me some something else to focus on as well. It gave me peace. Decide why you write – is it for yourself, for the story or to make money? If it’s option 3 you may well be disappointed, if it is option 1 or 2 then you won’t.
June 11, 2016
Character Interview Number Thirty-Eight – Estri of Silistra
Tell Us About Yourself
Name (s) Estri Hadrath diet Estrazi
Age: Three hundred forty Silistran years old
Please tell us a little about yourself.
First, I must say that your language is difficult, not one intuitive to me. Nevertheless I shall try to answer you in your own tongue. Excuse my syntax, and I will tell you what I can.
Once I ruled the greatest house of pleasure in the civilized stars. When I reached my majority of three hundred years, I undertook a quest to find my father at the behest of my dead mother. So I left my position as Well-Keepress in my beloved Astria, and nothing has been the same for me since. All I thought I knew, I now question. So many truths proved false, so many assumptions groundless, so much love lost and found. I have greater powers now than I once did, but wisdom can triumph over power, and color all life anew.
I have been many things: aristocrat, outcast, picara, slave, ruler. I have served powers greater than my own, and baser than my soul could stand. I have had everything, lost everything, and gained knowledge by seeking love along the way. Doubtless I am wiser now than when I began my journey out of Astria, having learned that true wisdom comes only to a loving heart. But where love lies, there hatred takes root, and envy, and fear, and dangers undreamt. And yet, love is the key to every mystery: to life and death and creation itself. For without love, what are we, but a brief glimmer seen against eternal night? Where are we in this combustible universe? What arms hold us safe? What we learn, exploring, brings us home to ourselves, to our own loves, our own hearts. Creation plays no favorites, seeking only change. Love can surmount all, I once believed as a naive girl, and believe it yet.
Describe your appearance in 10 words or less. Copper -skinned, copper-haired, with a body to please the gods.
Do you have a moral code? If so what is it? Silistra’s moral code I still hold as mine: my world was wrecked and sundered by unbridled lusts for power. We who remain must rebuild not only our population, but our faith that whatever man destroys, nature can put to rights . . . given time.
Would you kill for those you love? I have done so, and killed that I myself survive.
Would you die for those you love? Would that I had the chance. To die for something is an honor. To die for nothing is a cruelty greater than any other.
What would you say are your strengths and weaknesses? Ha. You must not know my people, to ask such a thing. Some say my strengths are in my blood, that I was bred to this battle between the spirit and the flesh, between man and woman, between life ineffable and life everlasting, a battle long conceived before ever I was born. Some say my coming was devoutly to be wished, and others say I and those who love me are travesties, a flaw in the natural order. I myself say that life and love are their own justification, where passion rules.
Do you have any relationships you prize above others? Why?What entitles you to know my heart, my mind, my soul? Shall I feed you platitudes, disarming truisms and children’s tales? Of my beloveds, you need to know very little, perhaps only one thing: “We are all bound, the greatest no less than the meanest,” as my lover says. I prize the sky and earth and every creature upon it with a love fierce enough to defeat even the foolishness of man.
Do you like animals? Do you have any pets/animal companions? I have whatever walks or crawls or slithers or swims, slinks or flies free in our air. We are part of our world’s nature, sometimes its victims, but never its masters. I have friends among the honest killers of the wild, for all kill to eat and thrive and risk their own lives so their offspring will survive. Sometimes I ride on the backs of those who roam the plains or stalk their prey, or live cheek by jowl with them; sometimes not. But they are not mine any more or less than I am theirs.
Do you have a family? Tell us about them. You haven’t the time to hear my story. I’ve written some of it; look there to see my mother, my father, my lost child, my relations, deadly every one. My bloodline is old: to live so long, to prowl the universe and shower in star’s breath, my family well learned the wisdom of survival, when to destroy and when to succor.
Can you remember something from your childhood which influences your behaviour? How do you think it influences you? Where I live, some can survive for hundreds of years or more. When my mother bade me seek my father, she sent me on a trek more dangerous than my young and foolish self understood. Before then, I thought that men and women were put on the ground to reproduce, to conserve, not to destroy. To claim my heritage, I learned hard lessons — about the nature of life, and the degree to which we are all controlled by the wisdom of our sex. And thus did I blindly go forth to claim my inheritance, thinking all I had to do was ask and the universe would serve my pleasure. I learned otherwise, in the doing; that the world turns by a greater will than mine; that reality is the child of biology, that all things come into being by strife; battling against men, against women, and sometimes against the gods themselves.
I learned many lessons about what men will do to win, and what women will do, and why. I learned that men who punish men and women lust to rule all; that women who punish men and women lust after dominion, and how dangerous both can be.
From childhood’s days to these, I have strived to keep my wits well about me, and shape my own fate.
Please give us an interesting and unusual fact about yourself. In my three hundredth years, I was known as the most beautiful and exotic courtesan in the civilized stars. I commanded a great price.
Tell Us About Your World
Please give us a little information about the world in which you live. Silistra is a planet in the Bipedal Federate Group. Our main exports are our life-extending serums. Our men, in their romance with machines and technology, warred until our planet and its ecology were nearly destroyed and life on the surface became nearly impossible. One result of this war was that conception became very difficult, and those who could conceive a child had power. Then did our leaders develop the life-extending serum which gave us some hope of not becoming extinct. For thousands of years, a few survivors languished in underground shelters, while women took power away from the men that had nearly destroyed us all.
When the time came that Silistrans could live above the ground, we instituted the Well system, where fertile women could come to find a man who could impregnate her, and the nature of our culture, under the guidance of our spiritual leaders, became life-conserving, rather than life-destroying.
Does your world have religion or other spiritual beliefs? If so do you follow one of them? Please describe (briefly) how this affects your behaviour. On Silistra, some believe in gods, some are descended from gods, some meet with gods, face to face. Whether or not we believe in gods, the gods who made us take a hand in our fates. We are a culture that values those skills by which an individual mind can shape the future. Our dhareners, interpreters of the will of those gods who walk with mankind, guide our development by choosing our paths and making our laws.
Do you travel in the course of your adventures? If so where? I have been to places on Silistra that are thought mythical and mystical, where few outsiders have ever been; I have gone to the places where gods hold sway, and seen what few Silistrans have ever seen. I have traveled among the stars, and farther.
What form of politics is dominant in your world? (Democracy, Theocracy, Meritocracy, Monarchy, Kakistocracy etc.) On civilized Silistra, our government is controlled by our dhareners, our spiritual leaders, and by the Well-Keepresses, hereditary matriarchs, or by the cahndors, hereditary patriarchs. But our governments have no simple rule by the lowest common denominator as seen on other worlds, nor the rule by wealth, nor are we controlled by a theocracy as you will know the term. The composition of our high councils varies, depending on where one lives or travels. Like our government or not, it has kept us safe from the depredations of plutocracy and the tyranny of mercantilists and their machines. Some parts of Silistra are timocratic, some oligarchic, and some, such as the Wells, are controlled by a hereditary matriarchy or patriarchy.
Does your world have different races of people? If so do they get on with one another?We are few, and some are black, brown, copper-colored, red or white. On Silistra, what is in the heart, the mind, and the bloodline determines status, not the color of skin.
Name a couple of myths and legends particular to your culture/people. Silistran myths are predominantly memories, from before the fall of man. My favorite is the legend of Se’keroth, and if you read my writings, you will see why.
We also have a divination system, called Ors Yris-tera, that guides some of us and helps us forecast the Weathers of Life. But on Silistra, any legend that survives is a memory of truths from the past or a portent of the future. Or both.
What is the technology level for your world/place of residence? What item would you not be able to live without? Most of us live without technology, as you know it, by choice. The off-worlders who visit try to seduce us with their machines of ease and speed, but we have lived upon and below the surface of a world ravaged by technology for too long to be fooled. True strength lies in the one’s mind and heart. If we wish to do more than a person should, the old weapons and tools of our fallen past still exist in our ‘hides,’ where those who lust for those can still find them.
Book(s) in which this character appears plus links:
High Couch of Silsitra: https://www.amazon.com/High-Couch-Silistra-Quartet-Book-ebook/dp/B01B1M1JBY/
The Golden Sword…………. https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Sword-Silistra-Quartet-Book-ebook/dp/B01FCMA7LM/
The Silistra Quartet consists of four books in chronological order: High Couch of Silistra, The Golden Sword, Wind from the Abyss, and The Carnelian Throne. The first two books are now available in hardcover, trade paper, and e-book “Author’s Cut” editions from Perseid Press. The final two books will be available from Perseid in 2017.
The Bantam and Baen editions of the Silistra Quartet are out of print.
Author name: Janet Morris
Website/Blog/Author pages etc.
http://www.theperseidpress.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Janet-Morris/e/B001HPJJB8/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
https://www.blackgate.com/2016/03/19/vintage-treasures-the-silistra-quartet-by-janet-morris/
June 8, 2016
Prophet of Chaos Tour – Spotlight and Character Interview
Tell Us About Yourself
Name
Amy Reese, Acolyte of, well, I suppose I should say both Lord Hate and Lady Lust, but I do a lot of work for all of Hell’s Pit Lords. We’ll just stick with Amy, I guess.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
It may sound like a cliché, but I grew up in a really religious family. My parents were hugely active in the church, I was in the youth group too. Then there was, well, something really terrible happening with our youth pastor. I won’t go into details, but the whole church imploded after that. It set me out looking for something different, something that spoke to me. That was when I heard the good news about our Dark Lord! Some would say I’m bad, that I’m evil. I’d challenge them to check their perspective. I’m evil according to who, the Bible? Everyone’s evil according to that. That’s how they get you and control you.
Describe your appearance in 10 words or less.
Some say I’m like an alt-model, but that’s pretty reductivist.
Do you have a moral code? If so what is it?
I’d say moral codes are the whole problem with humanity right now. It has us all as slaves to Heaven’s endless rulebook, and it’s so arbitrary! Well, I shouldn’t say arbitrary. It’s really about God and all of his prudish angels trying to control our bodies and our minds like good little sheep. I don’t buy into any of that. I look out for my fellow acolytes, but if I have an ethos I would say it’s all about liberating humanity from those oppressive bible-thumpers. That’s my cause. Morality doesn’t necessarily enter into it, because it’s really more about the objective. If you want to liberate people, sometimes that means getting your hands dirty, and that’s something I’ve shown I’m totally willing to do. It’s all for the greater good.
Would you kill for those you love?
I’ve done more than my share of wetwork for my church and for my fellow acolytes. It’s all part of serving the Dark Lord’s cause. People who stand in the way often deserve what’s coming to them. I’ve even had to do some of the other acolytes in. Reverend Matt has sent me after members of our church that have turned their back on us. Those have been the hardest. Not that I don’t understand that we have to get rid of traitors, they pose the biggest threat to us since they know too much, but because knowing they were so close to really living for themselves. They almost broke Heaven’s hold over their mind and body. It’s always a shame, but I suppose I’m doing them a service.
Would you die for those you love?
There was a man named Ethan, he was a Hell of a Necromancer. He almost brought Heaven to its knees. I didn’t know him for very long, but I wish I’d been there when he made his last stand fighting by his side. I would’ve died for him, but he turned me away. He said I could do more, inspire more if I stayed alive. He might’ve been right, but it would’ve been amazing to go out in a blaze of glory with him.
Do you have a family? Tell us about them.
I don’t really talk to them anymore. After my Betrayal Rite, the thing I had to do to join my church and become an acolyte, it caused a big public scandal. They disowned me. My fellow acolytes and Reverend Matt, my Sorcerer, they’re my family now. And I’m always out recruiting, bringing more people into the fold. Reverend Matt says I’m one of the best in his entire flock.
Tell Us About Your World
Please give us a little information about the world in which you live.
Well, I’m from the DC suburbs. I suppose that is like a whole separate world. So much politics, news, and media. I follow all of it, but it’s more like a disease. The whole system sickens me, because in the end it’s nothing but a big web of oppression designed to keep us all in line and marching to Heaven’s drum.
Do you travel in the course of your adventures? If so where?
Occasionally I go out of town to pick up relics, network with other acolytes, and even recruit some out-of-towners that can be helpful to our cause. Sometimes I go to less normal places, I’ve even seen parts of Hell in visions. Mostly I stay around the DC area. That’s where Reverend Matt and the Pit Lords need me.
Does your world have magic? If so how is it viewed in your world?
You know, most people don’t know about it, but magic’s kinda common. Well, not that common, but it’s certainly out there. Most people think it’s not real, but it’s all around them. Maybe not one in a hundred, or even one in a thousand, but at least one in every ten thousand either has some innate power or has figured out how to claim some for themselves. Those of us that serve Hell can get it even if we don’t have any innate talents by forming a Covenant with a Demon (“selling your soul” like most people say really dumbs down the significance of the bond it forms) or, how I’ve gotten most of my powers, by bringing people into the fold. The more souls we turn to Hell’s cause, the greater our power grows. That’s why Reverend Matt is so strong, he’s done both and brought countless souls over to the service of the Dark Lord.
Others, of course, get their powers from different places. The churchies get it through praying, following the rules, doing the bidding of the Seraphim, whatever it is that earns them God’s favor with its accompanying blessings and consecrations. The Grays, though? The people that serve Limbo? I honestly have to admit I don’t understand how their power works. There’s a reason people call the Demigod running the whole show “Chaos.” From what I understand, it’s just sort of available to them? Where’s the fun in that? It sounds like cheating, but I understand it’s much harder to call on and control than the uncut stuff we get from Hell.
Does your world have different races of people? If so do they get on with one another?
Race is a social construct, like religion. Something the powers that be have created to keep us fighting among each other instead of uniting and overthrowing our real oppressors. At least, that’s if you consider people, or humanity alone. There are people out there that are not quite human, I guess. I recently met a Defiler, someone who’s kept alive by having Demon blood injected into them. He certainly doesn’t look very human any more, he’s all mutated. Then there are the other hybrids. There are half-Demons, you may have heard of them. The ignorant call them Devilkin. They look mostly human but typically have a lot of arcane power with them. Then there’s the Nephilim, what’s born when a human and an Angel have carnal relations. That’s naturally frowned upon, by almost everyone. The right way for an Angel and a human to have children creates an Archon. They conceive it via immaculate conception, like Jesus, I guess. They, I don’t know, hold hands in a church for awhile until it just happens? I’m no expert on that stuff.
Does your world have any supernatural/mystical beings? Please tell us about some.
There are countless! So many different flavors of Demons, Angels and celestial creatures, and then there’s all the other stuff that comes from Limbo. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the Demons, though. Since Reverend Matt is a Summoner, he can pull them from Hell to our world. It really comes in handy when we have to deal with hostiles from Heaven or Limbo. I’ve seen Cerberi, those cute and vicious three-headed dogs that roam all of Hell’s Circles. I’ve also spoken with a Malthus, the pink bird-man sorcerors of Hate’s Circle. I’ve even beheld the beauty of a Sitri, the seductive life-draining Demons that wander Lust’s Circle. I’ve also seen an Astaroth, another of Hate’s creatures with it’s spiny arms and body. I never care for those, though. I’m always worried I’m going to trip and kill myself just running into it. They’re seriously sharp, with those knife-like quills popping out of all of its body.
Within your civilisation what do you think is the most important discovery/invention?
I don’t know how any of us would do what we do without the internet, particularly the Deep Web. It’s where I can connect to so many other servants of Hell, meet the disaffected, rejected people that are ripe for hearing the good news of our Dark Lord. It’s how I found Reverend Matt and his flock, after all. The possibilities for connecting with like-minded or susceptible people are endless . . .
Author notes:
Book(s) in which this character appears plus links
Hand of Chaos – https://amzn.com/B00F64S25A
Prophet of Chaos – https://amzn.com/B01D8RE7DW
Author name – J. Hamlet
Website/Blog/Author pages etc. – http://www.jchamlet.com, http://www.twitter.com/jayhamlet
Synopsis
Nathaniel is a man of many gifts. First and foremost is the power of Prophecy. Whenever he sleeps, he dreams of triumphs and tragedies alike, and how to either make them happen or prevent them. With that knowledge, he’s thwarted the world-shaking schemes of Angels and Demons alike. Not surprisingly, every elite agent of both Heaven and Hell are always hunting him, wanting to be the one to take down the notorious man known to most as The Prophet. He’s spent most of his life as a homeless drifter: hiding, dreaming, and passing along the intel from his revelations to those who can take actions, be they government agents, freelance wizards, or less savory occult figures.
Recently, he’s been plagued by a series of recurring visions that threaten to force him out of his shadowy life and into the spotlight. He’s seen the world ready to plummet into a new dark ages. A Senator with presidential aspirations is on one side, backed by the most ruthless of Heaven’s forces and seeking to transform the world into a brutal theocracy. A church of Demon-worshipping terrorists also stand ready to launch a bloody revolution through mass murders, demonic possession, and civil war that will literally bring about Hell on earth. Nathaniel stands in the middle, struggling to stop both sides from realizing their chosen versions of humanity’s future with everything in his mystical arsenal. And he can’t do it alone.
Author Bio
J. Hamlet has made what you might call a career out of being a red tape slinger and beltway bandit and has lived in and around Washington, DC for most of his adult life. Originally from the dirty sands of Chesapeake, VA, he’s been writing to pass the time and exorcise his demons since he was a teenager. He wrote many horrible books back then. These are better, at least he hopes so. His writing blends many different genres: spy thriller, supernatural thriller, and philosophy into an intoxicating and original mash. He also enjoys nerding out about food, baking, beer, homebrewing, and taking too many pictures of his dog.
Social Media Links
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr
Giveaway: There is a giveaway for this tour. One (1) $25 Amazon giftcard and five (5) $10 Amazon giftcards. Ends 6/17. Open Internationally. Void where prohibited.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ff6a4f1f186/?
June 6, 2016
D-Day – remembered
I don’t often post my poetry up but having spent the weekend with some military veterans I’ve been reminded of the sacrifice many paid, and still pay so that I may live in a country which is free. Both my parents served in the military, and my father was wounded in action and still carries the scars (physical and otherwise). Admittedly this was not from the WWII but there are few lives in Europe that weren’t touched in some manner by that war. The Normandy Landings were a masterstroke of planning and strategy but it’s hard to imagine, at least for most of us, what went in then and the price paid on those beaches.
There were nearly 20000 casualties (from both sides), including very many dead. Many argue this was the turning point of World War II.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/06/d-day-landing-sites-pictures_n_5458026.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings
Originally written in 2004 for the 60th anniversary of D-Day – it’s now 12 years on and still rings true. To those who fell, and those who survived – this is for you.
D-Day Remembered
They stand abreast, so proud, so sombre.
Old men now, some blind, some lame,
Upon chests of valour medals gleam.
They reflect upon the past,
Comrades buried beneath the serenity.
They ran on that day, they fell. They died. For our future.
They charged into the mouth of hell,
Upon that summer day.
Numbers dwindling then as now.
Men of such honour,
Heroes of our time.
All time.
Then, now and forever.
(c) A.L Butcher, 2004, 2016.
Withering Rose (Once Upon a Curse #2) by @DavisKaitlyn #BookReview + #Giveaway! #BATB
Withering Rose (Once Upon a Curse #2) by Kaitlyn Davis Genre: YA Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retelling Release Date: May 17th 2016 Summary: A USA Today Recommended Series! Wha…
Source: Withering Rose (Once Upon a Curse #2) by @DavisKaitlyn #BookReview + #Giveaway! #BATB
