Phil Rowlands's Blog, page 2

Calling Aspiring Science Fiction Writers

Who doesn't love the story of Orson Welles radio production of War of the Worlds which caused many listeners to head for the hills - literally. Deliberately introducing the play as a news broadcast proved too realistic especially when one of the actors described the emergence of an alien from its spacecraft:

 "Good heavens, something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake," he said, in an appropriately dramatic tone of voice. "Now it's another one, and another. They look like tentacles to me. There, I can see the thing's body. It's large as a bear and it glistens like wet leather. But that face. It...it's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate....The thing is raising up. The crowd falls back. They've seen enough. This is the most extraordinary experience. I can't find words. I'm pulling this microphone with me as I talk. I'll have to stop the description until I've taken a new position. Hold on, will you please, I'll be back in a minute."

Many people didn't bother to hang around as panic began to grip the population. Instead of suppressing a superior snigger at all those naive folks perhaps we shouldn't be too quick to cast the first stone of ridicule. Technology is moving so fast the lines between science and fiction are becoming increasingly blurred. Perhaps there never has been such a great time to be an aspiring writer of science fiction which brings me to the point of this post. If anyone would like to provide a paragraph from their work, unfinished or published, I will feature it on this blog next week along with a link to whatever you provide.
To kick us off I'll include a few paragraphs from my own project that I will have to finish one day soon! It is set in a post apocalyptic world where some of the survivors live within vast cellular domes protecting themselves from the anarchic wasteland beyond. Genetic technology has been developed to such an extent that it is now possible to identify deviant genes that give rise to anti-social behaviour. 

There was little traffic on the auto link. Occasionally they would speed past huge land transporters ferrying goods from zone to zone. Once, the monstrous bulk of an interstate freighter moved deferentially to one side in acknowledgement of the distinctive markings displayed on the sleek black limo. Only essential personnel owned petrol powered vehicles. Most drove solar powered transporters that were by law restricted to zonal sectors only. The advances in cellular construction which had made possible the development of the vast  'zonal domes' also concentrated the suns energy providing all necessary power. The domes also protected the inhabitants from harmful effects of solar radiation that so easily penetrated the impoverished atmosphere.

At least traffic jams were a thing of the past. Chief Inspector Dale had read of this late twenty first century phenomenon with amused fascination. He afforded himself a wry smile. The problem appeared insoluble to scientists and politicians alike as the multiplying mass of humanity threatened to exhaust rapidly decreasing global resources. Pollution, the suppurating wounds of industrialised society, festered openly. A disease many believed incurable. Overshadowing these horrors hung the threat of the nuclear holocaust.

Oblivion.

When the end came no one even recognised its coming. The collapse of the Western monetary system proved disastrous. Economies disintegrated. Inflation soared. Nations plunged into a world wide depression deeper than an ocean trench. Swept away by the tidal wave of events governments lay stranded and helpless like beached whales. Anarchy prevailed. Continents became one vast battle ground. Wars raged within and between nations. Nuclear weapons of unimaginable destructive power were unleashed and a second Dark Age enshrouded mankind. Famine, the camp follower of war, carried her children, disease and misery, at her breast. The human race teetered on the brink of destruction.

Out of chaos arose a saviour.
But salvation carried a price. Theirs had been Jonathon.

The car sped through the nightmare landscape. Beyond the elevated auto pass security patrols wailed as they passed along the restricted area that marked the boundary of the Outworld. The occasional staccato roar of a helipatrol thundered a primal challenge across the reddening sky as it swept over the wasteland in scything arcs. A vivid sunset seeped through the heavens bloodying the scarred earth. Against the skyline the wreckage of a lost world cast its grotesque silhouette like the exposed bones of an ancient beast time has long since devoured. Camp fires flickered amidst the sepulchres of dead cities. Still the car sped on.

Dale glanced at the window and saw his face reflected against the desolation.
Kay still believed he was out there.
In exile.
Punished.
She must never know the truth. No one must."

 That's my contribution folks the rest is up to you. If you are interested please contact me at philiprowlands@ymail.com.

* * * *You may or may not know that I also write educational programs for children. If you have a young child I am currently giving away free copies of an app that simulates Cuisenaire Rods. My grandson, who's seven, loves using it. If you would like a free copy follow this link FREE APP

Horror - Back To Basics.

One of the main reasons I set up Kindle Authors was to try and help other Indie authors in any way I could. That’s why occasionally I come up with ideas like the Authors Lottery that hasn’t received much support (IT BOMBED!!!). So let’s get back to basics.
Who loves a good horror story? If I could see you I imagine a whole lot of hands would be raised in the air. That analogy sort of gives away my teaching background doesn’t it? As a retired teacher it’s great to meet former pupils who still want to talk to you. It’s even more rewarding when one of them proves to be a very talented young writer of Gothic horror stories.
Paul Worthington’s short story entitled ‘Six for Supper’is shortly to be included in Issue 2 of Eto. I was thrilled when I read it and feel sure that if the Pan Book of Horror Stories was still going strong ‘Six for Supper’ would be included. Here’s a brief extract: 

“The bodies lay about fifty metres apart in a ditch that ran alongside a country lane. A man and a woman both in their early twenties probably a couple, their lives brutally and prematurely ended. The ferocity of the attack was evident due to the victims torn clothes and the several deep gaping wounds present on each corpse. The chalky white gravel that lined the ditch had splatters of blood all over it; the blood had an eerie glow under the moonlight. It was 7.25pm on the 10th of February 1928and on this secluded path that linked two tiny peaceful villages lay the fourth and fifth victims of what could only be a madman. The local constabulary had no suspects and no clues. . . “

There are lots of talented writers working within the horror genre waiting to be discovered.Two of them are featured below:
Adrian Lilly
 Below is an extract from'Th e Arrangement' a free fiction story you can read from Adrian's blog.

“Lucy did not need to remember the full moons and the monster they made her; the mornings after, and the looks on their faces told her everything. And each time she changed, the walls of the vault became more gouged and pummelled so that she doubted Jared’s assertion that they “could use it until we find a cure.” Lucy feared that one day the door would rip from its hinges and she would awake with them dead, and no memory, just a new morning of regret.”

The Wolf in His Arms is Adrian'a latest novel and available at these stores:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Amazon UK

"Werewolves are forming the ultimate pack—and only one family can stop them. The Wolf at His Door: Book One of The Runes Trilogy is a “multi-layered and unpredictable” novel that “oozes brilliance” and builds to “an absolutely epic ending.”

You can also find Adrian on Facebook.


Mike Yowell















Excerpt from The Dogcatcher:

"This time the bullet hit its mark.  Clearing the half-open window, the slug buried itself into the neck of the werewolf, knocking the beast to the ground.  The purity of the silver instantly attacked the monster’s vile, diseased blood, and spread quickly throughout its body.  Fuelled by the successful shot, Slant kicked the door open and leaped from the vehicle.  He stood over the creature, watching while it growled and writhed in pain, confused as to why it was dying."

The Dogcatcher 2  is Mike's latest novel currently available on Amazon.
Below are some more of Mike's novels:


[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] The Dogcatcher Devilhouse Fragments and Shards Red Pines
* * * * * * * * * *I haven't completely given up on the Author's Lottery. I still think it could give authors a boost at no cost to themselves. There is no obligation if you subscribe to the free Twitter Author's Marketing Course (top right) - just very useful information.

 * * * * * * * * * *

The Authors Lottery UPDATE

The concept of an Author's Lottery doesn't seem to have grasped the imagination and that's putting the best possible spin on it! (If you missed last week's post and want to know more then simply click on the Authors Lottery Tab above).

I'm going to give it one more try simply because I think it could benefit lots of us. First let me be clear, there is no financial outlay required or demanded of any one at any time. Our commitment would be to download the winning Author's ebook each week. What we do with it is up to us. Should the winning author decide to charge a small fee then he/she runs the risk of less people downloading his/her book. Authors who publish on Amazon Kindle may want to may use of their new Kindle Countdown feature for example.

The underpinning principle is one of support and trust. Personally I am willing to set aside $4 a month to support other authors. What's more I'm happy to forgo my own inclusion in the lottery itself. This blog is dedicated to supporting indie authors in practical ways. I don't know about you but I'm fed up of all the offers to attend events for this or that promotion that drop into my inbox. A lot of time and effort goes into these promotions but there are just too many to respond to everyone. Please Tweet this blog post or let others know about it on your blog.

Everyone who subscribes to the Authors Lottery - and all that means is that your name and number go into each weekly draw- will receive genuinely useful information on how to promote your books via email on a regular basis. Just provide your name and email in the  TWITTER AUTHORS MARKETING COURSE subscription box and you'll receive a five part information course on how to use Twitter to effectively market your books. There will be other courses to follow. Here is PART ONE of the TWITTER AUTHORS MARKETING COURSE to give you an idea of what to expect in the future.
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In this first lesson let's talk a little about how you can start building a large network of friends, potential readers, associates, and customers using the social networking website Twitter.
Many new users of Twitter are constantly asking how they can use the site more effectively for their business and since the site has grown into an Internet mega monster that is globally known and talked about, they are right to ask.
The fact is Twitter is a fantastic tool for authors who want to build a fan base within a particular genre. Jonathon Gunson is an author who specializes in helping aspiring and established authors amass a readership via Twitter. You can read his guest blog post here.
Internet relationships are very different from actual personal relationships. They are based primarily on like, know, and trust. Many people are reaching out to others through social network websites like Twitter, Facebook and many others.
If you are new to Twitter you may not realize that you can create your personal brand and virtually dominate your genre, simply by building a list of followers. Let's talk about some of the ways you can you achieve this.
Once you've set up your Twitter account you will want to work on your profile. This way you can quickly customize the look and feel of your page to reflect your particular genre. This is something I have attempted to do. You can check my website at http://www.psrowlands.com You will want to pay close attention to your one line bio. Because this is what people will read before they decide whether or not they want to follow you. You will only have 160 characters to describe who you are and what you do, so you have to make it good!
The next thing you will want to do is get ‘followers’. If you have any contacts that are already using Twitter, invite them to follow you. Put link's in your emails, on your websites and blogs asking people to follow you. You could even put your Twitter url on your business card, so that you can gather followers offline as well. -  Yes, authors should have business cards.
Don't be shy tell everyone you meet about your Twitter page. Make it  sound exciting and let them know that you will be sharing important updates about your books, extracts and information with them if they follow you. You may be surprised to find out that almost everyone will click the follow button just to see what you're up too!
Another thing that I feel that is important especially for authors using Twitter is to seek out and follow the ‘big names’ in your particular genre who are on Twitter. J.K. Rowling immediately springs to mind.This will benefit you in more than one way. It will give you a bird’s eye view of what they’re doing on Twitter, so you can learn how to improve your own results and it will also put you in front of all the people they are in contact with.
Curiosity, you can't fight it, so you may as well take advantage of it. People are curious by nature! They like to see who is following who, so often they will click on the links and check out the followers of people they know and follow them as well and by following the genre leaders, so to speak you may naturally end up will new followers as well. Just try and keep your readership in mind when you choose ‘best selling authors’ to follow.
Now let's talk about meeting even more people and making hundreds of new friends by using 'retweet’s’.With this method, you take the original twitter message someone else has posted, and rebroadcast that same message to your followers. When broadcasting the message, you should definitely give credit to the original poster.  I know at first it may sound like this will only be good for the original tweeter, but retweeting can actually benefit you just as much if not more because:
1.  It provides more value to your followers.When you provide value to your followers, you make them happy!You are also more likely to attract followers. Providing quality content is always a great way to build your list of potential readers no matter what platform you use.
2. It will benefit your brand especially if you are writing a series within a specific genre.If you point a reader to a source of good information that is truly relevant and beneficial to them, the amount of trust that they have in you will increase.
3. It will help you build relationships with the original posters.
Retweeting someone else’s content is an act of kindness, and for the most part bloggers like to return the favour. You shouldn't expect someone to retweet your content just because you retweet theirs.Just keep in mind that your chance of being on the other end of a retweet increases as you retweet.Retweeting is all about providing value to your followers so if you want others to retweet your post then you want to make sure that you are providing them with quality content worth tweeting about.The bottom line is retweeting is a great way to add quality and value to your Twitter page. If done right, retweeting can help you educate your followers, build your personal brand, increase future traffic, and connect you to other great people in your genre or niche.
Just be careful if you use it incorrectly, retweeting can actually hurt your personal brand and future traffic. You want to treat your followers like gold. Don't ever send them to inappropriate websites or spam them with one sales pitch after another. I mistake I made once when enthusiastically over promoting my book!Remember you want them to like what you have to say, so they will follow your lead. Then when you do recommend something to them you will get the results you are looking for every time!That's it for today's lesson. Now go to Twitter and start building your followers by providing them with great content that they will love you for!

We have a lot to go over in the next few days if you want to learn more about how to use Twitter as an author make sure you look for your next lesson tomorrow. I will be talking about some tools that you can use to make your Twitter page more interactive and successful.
I hope this has whetted you appetite! As I see it if we are not prepared to help each other in as many ways as possible we make life that much harder for ourselves.

Amazon - Knight In Shining Armour or Emisssary of the Dark Side

Okay so I‘m not the greatest author in the world. Maybe I will never make the best seller lists but that’s no excuse for ripping me off.
As Indie authors we know how difficult and time consuming it can be promoting our books. Sometimes I feel like Hansel lost in a forest of social media never able to find my way out with new trees being planted around me all the time. HELP!!! Then one day I discovered a clearing in the wood. It wasn’t a house made of candy but an enormous edifice called Amazon - pretty appropriate for an empire in the forest!
I was enticed inside with the promise of self publishing on Amazon’s incredible electronic device called the Kindle. Amazon dangled before my eyes a dazzling array of world wide distribution rights and sales channels. I was tempted. Well more than tempted actually. I didn’t think twice. No more submitting work to publishing houses who just weren’t interested or agents who were even less so. The publishing dragon had been slain, or so I thought.
At the moment I am wondering if Amazon is my Knight In Shining Armour or an Emissary of the Dark Side. 
WHY the sudden change of heart?
It’s all down to personal experience. My first published book on Amazon’s Kindle was a novella entitled ‘A Christmas Carol Revisited’. It had received an excellent review on BBCRadio Wales and in December 2012 the New York City Bar Association adapted it for a concert in the City Bar Building in Manhattanthat proved a great success. I duly got some sales on Amazon.
So far so good, with Christmas fast approaching I bombarded my Twitter (4,000+) account with promotional tweets courtesy of Social Oomph. APOLOGIES TO ALL MY TWITTER FOLLOWERS I BOMBARDED!!!! Guest bloggers promoted it on their sites and my Google+ groups also got the full treatment! While I wasn’t expecting to top the best seller list I was expecting some sales. Some hope, NADA, NOTHING, NOWT!!! Not one measly sale showed up in my reports for November or December. I had more sales on Create Space and I hadn't done any promotion for any of them.
Okay, you’re probably thinking this is the case of another deluded would be writer with no talent and less hope having a gripe. You may be right but unfortunately my experience is not unique.  John R Clark, Managing Editor at Age View Press wrote on this very issue under the title:
DO AMAZON AND CREATESPACE RIP OFF INDIE PUBLISHERS WITH FAILURE TO CORRECTLY REPORT SALES?
Alright! Seems like there might just be a wicked witch lurking in them thar woods. So, what to do?As I see it we can sit back and hope things improve OR do something about it ourselves.BUT WHAT - How can we possible influence the LEVIATHAN that AMAZON has become?
I have an idea. Take a look at the lottery widget on the right sidebar.What I propose is that we set up our own AUTHOR’S LOTTERYusing the free widget (see sidebar).Instead of winning money everybody who opts in would have to agree to buy or download the winning author’s book (reasonably priced or free!) either from Amazon or from the Author’s website. At least this way the winner each week would know for certain that their book had been downloaded x number of times and could check with their Amazon Sales Reports. It would also give most Author’s a much needed boost as well as a little income. Everything would of course be based on TRUST.
HOW IT WOULD WORKEvery Friday at 11.00 GMTI would click the ‘Pick a new Lotto Number’ button on this blog. The author whose number was drawn would be notified. His/her name and details of where to download his/her book would be publicized on this blog.
TO MAKE IT WORTHWHILE WE WOULD ONLY START ONCE WE HAVE 50 AUTHORS SUBSCRIBED.
To show your commitment all you need do is enter your email address and name in the subscription box. Once you have done this I will allocate a number. Mine for example is 1. I will set up another page on the blog with each other’s name next to their allocated number.I am using a free version of GETRESPONSE software for the simple reason if not enough interest is shown after posting this blog I will abandon the idea. I don’t intend wasting money pointlessly also. . . AS A WRITER YOU ALL KNOW HOW PRECIOUS TIME IS! None of us can afford to waste it.
Hopefully enough of us will grasp the potential of what authors can do if we decide to stand together and help each other.

To make it worth your while subscribing I plan to run a number of courses designed to help you promote your books using social media. These will be delivered by email and the first course focuses on Twitter. It's called The Twitter Authors Marketing Crash Course. Some of the things you will learn about include:

The man who has made it his business to help authors build their readership on Twitter.Free tools that will make your Twitter marketing extremely effective.Integrating Twitter tools in Wordpress.How to chat in 'real time' with your followers.How to schedule regular postings using free or paid tools.The basic rule you MUST follow.Mistakes to avoid at all cost.Please email me if you have any thoughts or suggestions at philiprowlands@ymail.com
WARNING: I am a married man and therefore impervious to abuse.
I think its's time for us Kindle authors to circle the wagons! What about you?

Next Week
Expand Your Literary Horizons.
Also - update on the Author's Lottery.

Mister Author, why are you Blogging so much when you ‘should’ be Writing?...

What better way to start the New Year  than with a post from a Scotsman.

An early career as a trainee banker led to a spell in London, where his pretence to be a missionary converting the English fell on deaf ears.
Escape to the Far East in 1980 opened up access to cultures and societies on a global scale, eventually bringing the realisation that the world is simply one large, extended village.
The lifelong desire to write resulted in THE VIOLIN MAN’S LEGACY, the first in a planned series. Seumas’ sequel novel, VENGEANCE WEARS BLACK was launched in early July 2012. The third, SAVAGE PAYBACK, was released in late 2013 with at least two other books to follow in the same vein. Ebook downloads on his novels exceed 70,000 to date.

Seumas lives in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Seumas is a committed blogger and in his guest post he explains why. 
" …Mister Author, why are you Blogging so much when you ‘should’ be Writing?...
…there’s a teasing wee topic headline for yeez, eh?... I don’t expect to split the literary WURLD opinion down the middle with it… nor create too much disharmony in the Quill-Scrapers Society… however, let me ‘fess up… I have a kinda LUV/LUV relationship with the whole nine yards of the writing ‘business’ … like most of us, its genesis is in the thought process prior to even scribbling or laptop-tapping a single WURD of the masterpiece all the way through the tracking of Amazon Kindle sales figures after the baby’s launched… in between, yeez have the actual writing, the editing, the more editing, the proof reading, the creating-the-cover-art bit, the boxing into Kindle format or whatever your publishing channel poison of choice may be, and over-arching all of that is the marketing and publicity effort, which is constant … yeez are almost mandated these days as a self-publisher to immerse yerselves in the SOSYAL NETWURKIN whirl… yeez Tweet and ReTweet until yer fingers are falling off… yeez share like billy-o on Facebook, trying all the while to avoid Master Zuckerburg’s Jail sentences for being too friendly with yer kindred Webbies… yeez build up trillions of Goodreads Brownie Points for indulgence in myriad ‘readers interest groups’ … and with whatever’s left of yer brain time, yeez sprinkle around in other assorted linkages… presence , Mabel… it’s about presence … this is where the Blogging becomes the master-key… the elusive missing bit of the jigsaw… this ol’ Jurassic happens to use Wordpress to host the blogging website… and it must be said, at first it was because Wordpressis free … and being a true-tartan-bloodied Scot, the not-having-to-pay-element was a prime attraction… then, as time wore on, lo and behold, I was able automatically to connect every blog post to all my major SOSYAL NETWURKS… from direct contacts of a mere 200 souls two and a half years ago, the direct base has grown to 14,500+… not a bad reason to Blog… and the more yeez Blog, the more ye’re reaching out to yer global markets… but, wait… there’s more to it than that… reaching out is one thing, but aren’t yeez supposed to be writing? ... well, yes… in the interim I’ve produced three crime thrillers and two Blog Post anthologies/collections… and so far Amazon downloads exceed 70,000 to date… not much wrong with these numbers… the attractions in producing the Blog continue… the crime thriller scribbling can be quite intense… the little grey cells get hammered incessantly… the attempted humour in the Blog is a healthy distaff to that… and what’s developed?... the novels contain my ‘Author’s Voice’… but the Blog carries my ‘Author’s Brand’… and finally, don’t let emb’dy ever tell yeez that Blogging isn’t writing … condensing yer thoughts into a limited amount of WURDS is great practice… go try it…I am in the process of preparing a post on the subject of blogging and mutual self help for next week so, many thanks to Seumas. Great post and a great start to the New Year. Here's some links to Seumas and his books.




Click Here for Amazon U.K.
Click Here for Amazon U.S.
Blog                 : seumasgallacher.com
Twitter             : @seumasgallacher
Facebook         : http://www.facebook.com/seumasgallacher
Email                : seumasgallacher@yahoo.com


If anyone would like to feature on this blog as a guest writer please email me at philiprowlands@ymail.com

Flirting At Whose Funeral

Seeing new places and meeting new people has to be one of the most rewarding aspects of travel. The picture opposite combines both. The cool guy in the leather jacket and shades is author Chris Keil whom I had the pleasure of meeting while in Portland. If you are wondering, the magnificent river in the background is the Columbia which flows through the heart of Portland itself.

Chris is the author of 'Flirting at The Funeral.' The title refers to a hit song one of the main characters in the book once had. I enjoyed Chris' company so much I bought a copy even though it meant my wife would have to forgo a gift (only kidding). I really didn't know what to expect but I was determined to read it through to the end.

The thing I demand most of any work of fiction is a compelling story. Regardless of how the book is constructed that has to be the bottom line. Chris did not disappoint but 'Flirting At The Funeral' is much more than that. Characterization is also key for me. Chris has created a diverse and vibrant cast of characters. Such is their vibrancy that you feel you know or recognise them in a very personal sense. This is quite an achievement because at another level each can be seen as representative either of a section of society or of specific beliefs and philosophies. Set against the uncertainties of a world peering uncertainly into the abyss of financial collapse 'Flirting At The Funeral' becomes almost a parable of our times.

Matty James, who for me was the focal point of the novel, can appear at first glance to represent all that is superficial and facile in our society. Forever 'pursuing her star' in seeming disregard of the consequences to herself and others, she personifies the desperate desire to achieve celebrity status we witness on our television screens every week. Mammon rules and before we point a finger how many of us bought a  lottery ticket this week? Yet Chris' characters refuse to be judged at a superficial level. Like all really good works of fiction uncomfortable questions are continually asked of the reader. There is one scene that epitomizes this.

Matty and her friend Howard are engaged in a conversation. They stand in the ruins of an ancient building that in a distant past had been as imposing as the modern citadel built by the super rich Dr Arno Bendt. Howard attempts to persuade Matty to leave Dr Bendt and to return to London to be with her lover Morgan. Her response is pragmatic and in one sense profound:

"I have to follow my star." She took a breath."At any rate I have to make the best of it. I have to keep flirting at the funeral, like the song says."

Flirting At the Funeral is beautifully crafted and infused with sumptuous imagery. It is a book I wish I had written.




To misquote another once famous song, "It's my blog and I'll do what I wanna, do what I wanna. . ."
Which is a pretty tacky way of announcing some blatant self promotion. Well it is nearly Christmas and the book I'm attempting to promote is a reworking of Dickens classic. I promise to get back to featuring more Indie Authors in the New Year!

It's contemporary New York City and Clinton Ebenezer Scrooge III shares his thoughts on Christmas.

"Scrooge gazed out of the window. Somewhere below, the river flowed blacker than the Styx through the city’s dark heart into the eternal depths of the poisoned oceans. But Scrooge’s eyes were fixed upon another river. The unceasing flow of humanity condemned as surely to follow the course of existence to its inevitable conclusion as the river was compelled to flow into the embrace of the blind and restless sea.Christmas held out hope that the journey was not in vain. That was one of the reasons he despised it. Christmas was for the weak, for sentimental fools who had never grasped that salvation in this world was something to be wrung forcefully from life’s unwilling grip. Once the presents had been opened and the parties were over what was left apart from hangovers and a bigger overdraft? He smiled. He was above that now, had been for years. Just as detached and aloof as the gigantic reflection of himself superimposed on the vista upon which he cast such a scornful eye."

A New Twist To A Classic Christmas Favourite  
 
 
    
 
'A Christmas Carol Revisited' is a great way to enter into the Festive Spirit and it's available NOW on Amazon in Print or Kindle format.
 Prefer PRINT?              Prefer KINDLE?    Just click on the thumbnail of choice.
               
CLICK HERE  to listen to a brief audio excerpt.
CLICK HERE to download an extract in pdf format.
  


  
 
   "View the Video Trailer . . . "
 
              




   Have a Wonderful Christmas and may 'God Bless Us All."

WORDSTOCK: Close Encounters of the Cultural Kind

Portland Oregon is the home of the 'Wordstock' festival that describes its primary aim as:". . .  dedicated to providing the public with unprecedented access to artistic excellence and instilling a lifelong love of reading in our community."It is an unlikely place to meet an American author with a love of Wales and all things Welsh. Actually it's an unlikely place to meet anyone who is aware that Wales even exists.
Sarah Woodbury is an Oregon girl extremely proud of her Welsh ancestry and given the fact both her parents are historians it was almost inevitable that when she eventually succumbed to the writing bug her genre would be the historical novel. Fortunately her visit to Wales was to prove a catalyst in the context of her development as an author and consequently she has written a whole series of novels set in medieval Wales. 
The previous day Sarah and I had been part of a panel discussion entitled 'Culture Wars - Other Voices In British Literature' jointly hosted by AmeriCymru and the Portland Centre for Public Humanities at Portland State University. The other members of the panel were Dr Tracy Prince, whose book formed the basis of the discussion and Welsh authors Mike Jenkins and Chris Keil. The discussion was animated and stimulating to say the least. If you would like to include it in it's entirety you can view it below.




It was the following day at the Woodstock festival that we got the opportunity to talk. Sarah is one of the new breed of authors who realises the importance of self promotion and has been extremely effective in using social media to get her books noticed. She has sold over 150,000 copies and has a following of loyal fans, including me! Sarah did not sit back and wait for an agent to ride by on a white horse and wave a shiny contract in her face. Her success has been down to hard work and a willingness to take responsibility for her own success. Of course there is one element of the equation that always has to be present and that is the ability to write a good story and Sarah certainly possesses that in spades. 
Naturally I would like to think that her Welsh heritage and love of Wales has inspired her to reach the heights she has already achieved and those she is sure to reach in the future. In all honesty she would have made a successful author whatever genre she set her mind on I am just grateful she drew her inspiration from her Celtic roots. Just like the character Valarie in 'A Christmas Carol Revisited' Sarah is so proud of her heritage she even persuaded her husband to give their four children Welsh names.  

“Megan?” 

Megan. It was the name Valarie had chosen in deference to her Welsh ancestry of which she was inordinately proud. For once he let her have her way. What did it matter anyway, the child would never be born. It had proved a serious error of judgement for the very act of naming the child bestowed on Valarie a moral strength he never imagined she possessed. Thereafter she resisted him at every turn but the effort drained her vitality and she took refuge in drink. The miscarriage had been a fortuitous consequence.

“That’s impossible. Valarie lost our child.” 

Even now he refused to speak her name. Even now he refused to accept his portion of blame. 

“Nothing that has ever lived is truly lost Papa." 

She looked at him and the revelation of what he had lost swept over him, a chill wind announcing the onset of a long and bitter winter. Images of what might have been flashed through his mind and he tried to grasp hold of them but they evaded him like autumn leaves scattered in a sudden storm."

Knowing who we are and where we come from gives us strength. I wish Sarah every success for the future and hopefully she will agree to an interview in the near future.
"Iechyd da Sarah!" 
Below are a few of Sarah's books. I am currently thoroughly enjoying 'The Good Knight'.
The 'After Climeri' Series.         The Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mysteries        
"If You Haven't Got A Kindle To Enjoy This Addictive Series On Why Not Get One This Christmas?"

 

When Our Characters Confront Us

Every major city in the world is haunted by an unwanted underclass largely ignored by the rest of us like some secret shame.They are shadows in a dark room passing their days in a twilight world that exists somewhere between the living and the dead.

The great Victorian novelist Charles Dickens was one of the first authors to focus the light of his literary genius on their miserable existence. His social conscience would not allow him to pass by on the other side.

 However it is one thing to wax lyrical about the homeless and destitute but quite another to be confronted with their plight first hand as I was to discover on my recent visit to Portland, Oregon. It was my first visit to America and during the drive from the airport I caught sight of an individual staggering from a store clutching a paper bag. Gaabriel, my host, explained that homelessness was a problem within most American cities and Portland was no exception. Where Portland stood in stark contrast to many others was the liberal stance it took towards this unfortunate section of society. Many States employ aggressive measures to clear their streets of the Great Unwanted and although there is no Government or State support for these individuals at least Portland has a Mission where fortunate individuals can get a bed and a roof for the night.

It is human nature to pass judgement on others. Most of us cannot help wonder how anyone gets to end up living on the streets. Hopefully very few of us hold the same views as those expressed by one of my characters, Ebenezer Clinton Scrooge III. Arriving at the steps of his Manhattan headquarters he is confronted by a less affluent member of New York City society.

"Scrooge smiled, this was no hired assassin sent on a mission to destroy only a common beggar chancing his arm, or what remained of it. A diseased symptom of the times. New York was infested with such hopeless individuals seeking solace and oblivion in alcohol or drugs, authors of their own destruction, and as such deserving of no sympathy or special favours. Still they never usually surfaced in this district preferring instead to haunt the more stagnant cess-pits of the city. Perhaps the fact it was Christmas Eve had emboldened this particular specimen into venturing further afield in the false hope that honest citizens would be more inclined to lunatic displays of charity many being so imbued with festive spirits they would carelessly part with their hard earned dollars." (A Christmas Carol Revisited).

This is the dark side of the American Dream. Every good Doctor Jekyll has his own Mr Hyde to some degree or another. Perhaps it is how we react to the darkness that defines us as individuals and nations. Or is it if we are even prepared to confront that darkness in our society and in our selves? The 'hopeless individual' in the story is called Stephen, the 'hopeless individual' who confronted me on the streets of Portland was called Arnold.

We were down town waiting for a bus when Arnold approached. He was obviously distressed. Apparently he had been attempting to gain access to one of the toilets in the city precincts. It was locked and from what we could understand Arnold had been forcibly removed because he kept complaining that someone had hurt his arm. I learnt later that it was common practice to lock the toilets as they were in constant danger of being commandeered by the likes of Arnold on the lookout for somewhere dry and secure to sleep. It was also obvious Arnold had significant mental health issues. He insisted we call the cops otherwise he would kill someone.

I don't think anyone felt threatened but we all felt uncomfortable. I pretended to phone the cops but Arnold wasn't fooled for a second. Eventually the bus arrived and we got on board. Arnold followed. It soon became obvious Arnold was going nowhere until someone called the cops. As he became more distressed so his threats became more extravagant to the point he was now prepared to kill everyone on the bus. People began to get off not because they felt threatened but because they realised it would probably be quicker to walk home. Throughout the whole incident the lady bus driver spoke soothingly to Arnold and even provided him with a drink. Her compassionate attitude had a marked impact upon Arnold who became an increasingly less threatening yet more tragic figure by the minute. Eventually Arnold got his wish and the cops arrived.

'Street Roots' is a paper sold by the homeless on the streets and is Portland's version of the 'Big Issue'. The lead story the week I was there was regarding the way certain States were dealing with the problem of  homeless people with mental health issues. Their solution was to provide these vulnerable individuals with enough food and money for a few days and a bus ticket to some place else. There they would duly arrive with no contacts or support and whatever provision they had left. Problem solved. It staggers me that large sections of American society still oppose ObamaCare.

It was with a sense of relief that we watched Arnold being escorted away. He was obviously known to the local police who dealt with him courteously and gently. Whether he got a nice dry, warm cell for the night is another matter. My thoughts often return to Arnold and I wonder how he possibly survives life on the streets. Could I have done more to help? There is a gulf between feeling compassion at some general esoteric level and acting upon that compassion at the subjective level of reality. If I am honest, Arnold was a burden I did not want to bear. He was not my responsibility after all. Like the Pharisee I shuffled by on the other side. It is not always a comfortable experience when our characters turn up on our doorstep.

A Halloween Special.

Halloween special Some time ago I wrote a blog post entitled "Need Inspiration? Dig Where You Stand." If you never left your city or town during your lifetime there would still be countless 'touchstones' to inspire your imagination.
 
Every child has a unique perspective on the world. Sometimes they allow us to catch a glimpse through their eyes if only we are sensitive and attuned to the rich and fantastic worlds they inhabit.
 
When I decided to write a children's fantasy novel I realised I neded to bring these two aspects together. The biggest challenge by far was attempting to once again become the child I left behind long, long ago. The child who spent a whole day collecting dinosaur bones in a sack that turned out to be those of a sheep. The child who with his friends explored the entrance to old colliery levels that pitted our encroaching mountains sides imagining them to be portals to dark mysterious worlds.
 
Recently we took our grandson Ewan to visit Llancaiach Fawr, an old Tudor Mansion. A talented group of actors ensure that with each visit you are transported into the past. What memories Ewan will hold of the place in future years I cannot say but such is its unique atmosphere that you are always half expecting to encounter a ghostly spectre down each dimly lit corridor.
 
Billy, my fictional child, is taken on a school visit to Miskin Manor which bears a striking resemblance to Llancaiach Fawr in almost every respect. Many of the children eagerly anticipate encountering ghosts. Some are not so enthusiastic but Billy knows if anyone is likely to meet a phantom presence it will be him because Billy is not like other children
 
Here then is my Halloween offering:
A 'Billy and the Pit of Shadows' Halloween Special
Download 'A Promise of Ghosts'.

Download Here.
Enjoy ghost stories. What about an update of Dicken's Classic Tale set in contemporary Manhattan?

Available on Kindle or in Print.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

In The Footsteps of Meriwether and Clarke (Sort Of).

To be honest, I didn't literally follow in their intrepid footsteps. I caught a plane instead. Fortunately the pilot knew the way. Just as well because map reading was never my forte. Never could quite get the hang of a compass and all that Magnetic North stuff. Flying over the breathtaking beauty of the Rockies into Vancouver almost made me wish I was more of an outdoor type.

From Vancouver I flew down to Portland to meet up with Gaabriel Beckett and Ceri Shaw. Gaabriel is president of the Lewis Meriwether Foundation  while Ceri is founder of AmeriCymru.net a social network for expat Welsh folks living in America. Ceri created the website to help raise the profile of Wales as most Americans have never even heard of the place. The average U.S citizen probably knows far more about Hobbits than Taffs!

This was part of the reason I was flying out to Portland. Not that I expected my arrival to be the catalyst for a sudden upsurge in an awareness of Wales and all things Cymru. At one point I doubted whether I'd make first base past Homeland Security. Why is it we always feel guilty and look shifty when someone in authority scrutinizes our passport? I think my attempt at an ingratiating smile almost earned me a seat on the next plane back home. It was with a mingled sense of relief and excitement I stepped onto American soil for the first time, my mission to help promote Welsh writers in my capacity as author and co-editor of eto magazine.

It was not my first collaboration with an American organization. Last December the New York City Bar Association Entertainment Committee performed a staged reading of my contemporary adaptation of Charles Dickens wonderful novella 'A Christmas Carol', which with staggering originality I entitled 'A Christmas Carol Revisited'. It was particularly exciting because not only had I set the story in Manhattan, where Ebenezer Clinton Scrooge III presided over his vast global media empire, but it was also 150 years to the day that Dickens' 'Christmas Carol' was first published. I was invited to attend but unfortunately due to prior engagements (I'm one of Father Christmas' official helpers) was unable to make it. 



This time I really had made it even if it was a little further west than New York. I was to meet up with two more Welsh authors, Chris Keil and Mike Jenkins. In an inspired moment Ceri Shaw dreamt up a wonderful publicity campaign involving the three of us. As I stood in line waiting to be interrogated by Security at the airport I began to wonder whether the source of Ceri's inspiration might have been a little too liquid.

All funds raised through the Purchase of eto will contribute toward securing Transportation of these  Malefactors to the Colonies in October for Hard Labor at the 2013 Wordstock Literary Festival.Chris Keil has received critical acclaim for his novel 'Flirting at the Funeral' and having read it I can fully understand why. He was due to speak at Wordstock alongside local author Chelsea Cain and also run a workshop entitled 'Sex and the Serious Novel.'
Mike Jenkins is a very gifted poet and author from Merthyr. Mike's work is written in Valley's dialect and is quite brilliant. I wasn't sure how it would be received but everyone loved it. If you've not read any of Mike's work yet I suggest you start with his latest book, 'Barkin'.



The three of us with the Columbia River in the background.












The three of us bunked down at Ceri and Gaabriel's place. They were generous hosts and we all appreciated the way the whole family allowed us to disrupt the noiseless tenor of their way (I must remember that line). One of the most pleasant discoveries, apart from the stunning snow capped Mount Hood, was the fact that Portland is home to numerous micro-breweries. I made the discovery on the way from the airport when Gaabi stopped by the local supermarket to stock up with more bottles. Mike and Chris had arrived the day before and supplies were inevitably running low.

It was good to meet with my eto co-editors Ceri and Gaabi face to face as well as Chris and Mike. We celebrated with a few beers and then Ceri introduced us to something that was to become a staple diet of our visit, 'Breaking Bad', washed down with a few more bottles of beer. What a start! Wordstock, Portland State University and Mount Hood Community College lay on the horizon along with other experiences that will remain with me for as long as I live but for now I had really followed in the footsteps of Lewis and Clarke. 

Next: Our Mission Begins.