Graham Downs's Blog, page 35
June 10, 2014
12 Things to do Without Power
Welcome to the writing prompt for June 2014. You know, I enjoyed last month's prompt so much, that I thought I'd go back to the same site as last month to get this one.So, once again, this month's prompt comes from creative writing prompts . com (It's prompt #7 on their homepage), and it goes like this: Electricity is a recent discovery. Think of 12 things to do when there's no power.This prompt actually turned out to be very appropriate, because we've had quite a few power failures lately. On Thursday night, our power went off at home, and didn't come back on until early Saturday morning. On Sunday, the power was out for about 10 minutes, and even today at work, it went out at around 15:30 and stayed off for 20 minutes. Eskom is really struggling to keep up with the winter demand, it seems.Anyway, on to the prompt. It's actually not as easy as it sounds, but let me think.... If it's daylight, you could always read a book, so long as you read a print copy, because a tablet or e-reader would require power, and thereby break the rules. If you need a bit of inspiration for what to read, check out My Books!If the weather is warm, how about lounging around outside?Take a swim, if you have a pool, or visit a public pool, or a friend who has one.Take a nice relaxing stroll through nature.How about riding a bike? When last did you do that?It's fun to make a fire (outside, please!) sometimes. Just sit around it and chat, or cook your dinner on it. Either way.Instead of phoning, texting, or hopping on social media, go visit a friend in person. Talk.Go fishing.While you're at the water, skim stones.Speaking of throwing things into the water, if you're near a bridge over a stream, stand in the middle of the bridge and drop leaves or twigs into the water. Run to the other side of the bridge, and see if you can spot them.Write. "But how?" you ask, "There's no computer!" Ah, young grasshopper, what do you think people used before computers were invented? No, I'm not talking about a typewriter. Stop over-complicating, you probably don't have one of those. What I'm sure you do have is a pen or pencil, and some paper. It's an amazingly freeing experience.Finally, when the sun sets, the obvious suggestion springs to mind. If you have a partner, or perhaps even if you don't....I have to tell you, the first four came easy. As did the last one, but I wanted to keep it until last. But the others? I really had to rack my brains! And I'm sure some of these can be construed as duplicates of each other, and you could of course do two or more of them at the same time.So what are your suggestions for things to do when there's no power? I'd love to know; comment and tell me!
June 3, 2014
Books - Print or Electronic (or Both)?
Just under a month ago, I tweeted a link to an article entitled Data Point: People Still Like to Read a Good (Printed) Book, and asked my followers whether they preferred print books to ebooks. That tweet caused a little bit of consternation, with two people responding emphatically that, for them, print books are the way to go: 
I know that this topic in particular is one that just keeps cropping up, with plenty of arguments for and against. It obviously boils down to personal preference, but in my personal opinion, people will be debating it for the next hundred years!Before I ask you, my dear readers, where you stand on the issue, I thought I'd summarise my personal opinion:Personally, I prefer ebooks for convenience, although I appreciate the feel and smell of a printed book. I don’t think I’ve actually read a printed book in about three years!My eyesight is rather bad, so with an ebook, I can adjust the font size, background colour, and brightness of my tablet to my optimal reading style. For example, on my tablet, I read white text on a black background, with the backlight set very low so that the text feels more light grey than white. I find that that’s easiest on my eyes. My wife, on the other hand, prefers black text on a white background, with very loose margins and line spacing, but uses a slightly smaller font (my margins and line spacing are very tight, but the font I use is pretty large).Then there’s the advantage of me being able to keep pretty much my entire library of books on one little tablet. They’re all backed up to the cloud, so should I ever lose my tablet, I can still get all my books back (contrast with someone breaking into your house and stealing all the books off your bookshelf). Of course, there’s also something really amazing to me about the fact that I can be reading a thousand page book, but it only weights a couple of grams, and is just over 10mm thick! I’ve almost always got my tablet (or at least my smartphone) with me, so I can whip it out and read a couple pages whenever I have a spare moment.Having said that, if you’ve ever tried to read an ebook on a computer screen, then I can understand why you didn’t like it! I’ve tried that before as well. It just feels weird, is tiring to the eyes, and puts a strain on your back and arms. If you have a tablet or dedicated ebook reader, it feels much more natural, and you get used to it really quickly. Even a smartphone, as I said above, works better than a desktop or laptop screen; it's not ideal, but it works in a pinch.The cost aspect is also a huge plus for me. Just by way of example, Heritage of Deceit costs just over R10 on Kobo (at the time of this writing) as an ebook. This is around $0.99 for my American readers, and approximately £0.77 for my British ones. In paperback, it costs no less than R60/$5.60/£3.65 (plus shipping) as a paperback. And you’ll have to wait for it to arrive! Plus you can read the ebook free if you're a Scribd subscriber. There’s just no comparison. Of course, you do have to get over the initial outlay of a device on which to read the books, and that can be expensive, but you only ever need pay it once.Compare all this to the disadvantages, the only ones I can think of, anyway:Can’t read in the bath: Well, for me, I never did like reading in the bath. I can’t see well enough without my glasses, and with my glasses, they get all foggy. Plus, generally when I’m in the bath, I’m pretty rushed. But if you want to, I hear you get nice water-tight bags for your Kindle, and probably other tablets as well, although I haven’t tried them.Your battery could run flat: Well, yes, that is a concern. But if you have a tablet, and all you use it for is reading, then these days you’ll probably get about a week on a charge. If you have a dedicated e-reader (like an actual Kindle), your battery could last you up to a month!Like the smell/feel of books: This is a biggy for me, I must admit. But you get used to it. My tablet is a little smaller than an A4 book, and when I read, I hold it like a book, so it’s very similar. The only difference really, is that I tap to turn pages, instead of actually turning them! I also have a nice leather cover for my tablet, which gives me a nice leather smell while I’m reading. Not exactly like paper, but it makes me feel good anyway.You can’t sign an ebook and give it to someone: Okay, I have no answer for that one. When I wanted to sell signed copies of my latest book, I had to get paperbacks printed (But see below for a comment about just that).I watched a video a while ago, where they asked Stephen King to weigh in on the paperback vs ebook issue. His comment was that paperbacks will continue to fall out of fashion, but not to worry because, in his opinion, books are not paper – paper is the delivery mechanism, and it’s similar to music being delivered on vinyl, vs Compact Discs, vs MP3 files.To which someone else replied that, in his opinion, printed books will become very much like music on vinyl is today: serious collectors will still collect them, and if you want to give special, signed editions, etc, to someone, you might get them a vinyl. I tend to agree with that.But this whole argument might be moot anyway, because guess what else is coming back? Audiobooks! They might just over-take both other methods of delivering books!So, where do you personally stand on the whole "Print books vs Electronic books" debate? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!Whatever your opinion, rest assured that I will continue to accomodate you - you will always be able to get my books in paperback, eBook, and sometimes even hardcover!*Image used in this post
In fact, it caused so much consternation that my friend Steve wrote a post on his blog, entitled Are printed books an endangered species? In it, he explains his own preference for printed books over electronic ones. This post, in itself, sparked a little bit of debate.Interesting stats. Where do YOU stand? >> People Still Like to Read a Good (Printed) Book http://t.co/JDvy6vnxBR via @gilliangodsell
— Graham Downs (@GrahamDowns) May 5, 2014
I know that this topic in particular is one that just keeps cropping up, with plenty of arguments for and against. It obviously boils down to personal preference, but in my personal opinion, people will be debating it for the next hundred years!Before I ask you, my dear readers, where you stand on the issue, I thought I'd summarise my personal opinion:Personally, I prefer ebooks for convenience, although I appreciate the feel and smell of a printed book. I don’t think I’ve actually read a printed book in about three years!My eyesight is rather bad, so with an ebook, I can adjust the font size, background colour, and brightness of my tablet to my optimal reading style. For example, on my tablet, I read white text on a black background, with the backlight set very low so that the text feels more light grey than white. I find that that’s easiest on my eyes. My wife, on the other hand, prefers black text on a white background, with very loose margins and line spacing, but uses a slightly smaller font (my margins and line spacing are very tight, but the font I use is pretty large).Then there’s the advantage of me being able to keep pretty much my entire library of books on one little tablet. They’re all backed up to the cloud, so should I ever lose my tablet, I can still get all my books back (contrast with someone breaking into your house and stealing all the books off your bookshelf). Of course, there’s also something really amazing to me about the fact that I can be reading a thousand page book, but it only weights a couple of grams, and is just over 10mm thick! I’ve almost always got my tablet (or at least my smartphone) with me, so I can whip it out and read a couple pages whenever I have a spare moment.Having said that, if you’ve ever tried to read an ebook on a computer screen, then I can understand why you didn’t like it! I’ve tried that before as well. It just feels weird, is tiring to the eyes, and puts a strain on your back and arms. If you have a tablet or dedicated ebook reader, it feels much more natural, and you get used to it really quickly. Even a smartphone, as I said above, works better than a desktop or laptop screen; it's not ideal, but it works in a pinch.The cost aspect is also a huge plus for me. Just by way of example, Heritage of Deceit costs just over R10 on Kobo (at the time of this writing) as an ebook. This is around $0.99 for my American readers, and approximately £0.77 for my British ones. In paperback, it costs no less than R60/$5.60/£3.65 (plus shipping) as a paperback. And you’ll have to wait for it to arrive! Plus you can read the ebook free if you're a Scribd subscriber. There’s just no comparison. Of course, you do have to get over the initial outlay of a device on which to read the books, and that can be expensive, but you only ever need pay it once.Compare all this to the disadvantages, the only ones I can think of, anyway:Can’t read in the bath: Well, for me, I never did like reading in the bath. I can’t see well enough without my glasses, and with my glasses, they get all foggy. Plus, generally when I’m in the bath, I’m pretty rushed. But if you want to, I hear you get nice water-tight bags for your Kindle, and probably other tablets as well, although I haven’t tried them.Your battery could run flat: Well, yes, that is a concern. But if you have a tablet, and all you use it for is reading, then these days you’ll probably get about a week on a charge. If you have a dedicated e-reader (like an actual Kindle), your battery could last you up to a month!Like the smell/feel of books: This is a biggy for me, I must admit. But you get used to it. My tablet is a little smaller than an A4 book, and when I read, I hold it like a book, so it’s very similar. The only difference really, is that I tap to turn pages, instead of actually turning them! I also have a nice leather cover for my tablet, which gives me a nice leather smell while I’m reading. Not exactly like paper, but it makes me feel good anyway.You can’t sign an ebook and give it to someone: Okay, I have no answer for that one. When I wanted to sell signed copies of my latest book, I had to get paperbacks printed (But see below for a comment about just that).I watched a video a while ago, where they asked Stephen King to weigh in on the paperback vs ebook issue. His comment was that paperbacks will continue to fall out of fashion, but not to worry because, in his opinion, books are not paper – paper is the delivery mechanism, and it’s similar to music being delivered on vinyl, vs Compact Discs, vs MP3 files.To which someone else replied that, in his opinion, printed books will become very much like music on vinyl is today: serious collectors will still collect them, and if you want to give special, signed editions, etc, to someone, you might get them a vinyl. I tend to agree with that.But this whole argument might be moot anyway, because guess what else is coming back? Audiobooks! They might just over-take both other methods of delivering books!So, where do you personally stand on the whole "Print books vs Electronic books" debate? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!Whatever your opinion, rest assured that I will continue to accomodate you - you will always be able to get my books in paperback, eBook, and sometimes even hardcover!*Image used in this post
May 27, 2014
Crossword Puzzle - May 2014
'Allo, 'Allo! It's time for another crossword puzzle. Let's see who can solve this one:
Across
1 Stardust (5)
4 We call it a "Serviette" (6)
7 Suffix of feminine name (3)
8 Bacon (5)
9 He has pointy ears (6)
10 A smear of something (7)
12 Turn around (6)
15 A humorous imitation (6)
18 It sucks blood (7)
21 The Fuzz (6)
22 A loose Roman garment (5)
23 Off (Golf) (3)
24 Quiet and rather dull (6)
25 A sad song (5)
Down
1 Scrapes a lemon (5)
2 Interrogate (5)
3 Gave forth (7)
4 Showing even less wisdom (6)
5 Straw mattress (6)
6 Annie's pet name (6)
11 In a pod (3)
13 Architect's County in Minnesota (7)
14 Publishing company (3)
15 Songbirds with brown streaky plumage (6)
16 Newton-John (6)
17 'Allo 'Allo! waitress (6)
19 Situated inside (5)
20 Master of Ceremonies (5)
How do you solve it?Well, you could print it out, and solve it with a good old fashioned pencil and eraser. Or you could try and recreate it in Excel. Or how about taking a screenshot and drawing the answers on the screen using your favourite image editing or note taking program? However you choose to do it, be sure to let me know when you have all the answers! Head on over to the Contact page on this site, and pick your favourite way to contact me (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or e-mail). Send me a screenshot or scan of your answers, or just copy them all into a text message. However you do it, if you've solved it, I want to know about it! What's in it for you?If you're the first to correctly solve this puzzle, getting all the answers right, and yours are the first correct answers I receive before Tuesday, 17 June 2014, I'm going to respond to you. In that response, I will ask you were you would like me to link your name. It could be your Twitter account, or your private or company Facebook or Google+ pages, or your website, or anywhere else you like. When I publish the answers on 17 June, and you are the first person to have answered this puzzle correctly, I will mention your name on this blog, and link it to your preferred location. Free advertising on the blog, and perhaps your 15 minutes of fame! Sound good? Then get solving. Good luck!
Across1 Stardust (5)
4 We call it a "Serviette" (6)
7 Suffix of feminine name (3)
8 Bacon (5)
9 He has pointy ears (6)
10 A smear of something (7)
12 Turn around (6)
15 A humorous imitation (6)
18 It sucks blood (7)
21 The Fuzz (6)
22 A loose Roman garment (5)
23 Off (Golf) (3)
24 Quiet and rather dull (6)
25 A sad song (5)
Down
1 Scrapes a lemon (5)
2 Interrogate (5)
3 Gave forth (7)
4 Showing even less wisdom (6)
5 Straw mattress (6)
6 Annie's pet name (6)
11 In a pod (3)
13 Architect's County in Minnesota (7)
14 Publishing company (3)
15 Songbirds with brown streaky plumage (6)
16 Newton-John (6)
17 'Allo 'Allo! waitress (6)
19 Situated inside (5)
20 Master of Ceremonies (5)
How do you solve it?Well, you could print it out, and solve it with a good old fashioned pencil and eraser. Or you could try and recreate it in Excel. Or how about taking a screenshot and drawing the answers on the screen using your favourite image editing or note taking program? However you choose to do it, be sure to let me know when you have all the answers! Head on over to the Contact page on this site, and pick your favourite way to contact me (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or e-mail). Send me a screenshot or scan of your answers, or just copy them all into a text message. However you do it, if you've solved it, I want to know about it! What's in it for you?If you're the first to correctly solve this puzzle, getting all the answers right, and yours are the first correct answers I receive before Tuesday, 17 June 2014, I'm going to respond to you. In that response, I will ask you were you would like me to link your name. It could be your Twitter account, or your private or company Facebook or Google+ pages, or your website, or anywhere else you like. When I publish the answers on 17 June, and you are the first person to have answered this puzzle correctly, I will mention your name on this blog, and link it to your preferred location. Free advertising on the blog, and perhaps your 15 minutes of fame! Sound good? Then get solving. Good luck!
May 20, 2014
Crossword Puzzle - April 2014 Answers
It's time to put everyone out of their misery, methinks. Thanks once again to my glorious wife, Elmari, for helping to put last month's crossword puzzle together. Sorry that nobody got it right (although I'm sure many of you gave it a bash), but here are the answers:
Across
1 A drink that is very popular amongst computer guys (6) coffee
3 This popular U.S. Reality Game show has been around for 28 Seasons (8) Survivor
5 The two Popes who were declared Saints on 27 April 2014 have this name in common (4) John
6 In oil (5) fried
9 Steak Ranch (4) spur
11 A long time (3) eon
12 How were 16 Nepalese Guides recently killed on Mount Everest? RIP (9) avalanche
14 Nocturnal, catches mice (3) owl
15 Eastern Province (2) EP
16 This play was written by a well known female author and made #1 on the New York Times best seller list in April (5) power
18 Manganese (2) Mn
21 Egyptian symbol of eternal life (4) ankh
23 Greek Goddess of Beauty (9) Aphrodite
24 Gloomy appearance (4) dour
25 Unisex name (3) Pat
26 He's in charge (4) boss
28 Another name for The Devil's Triangle (7) Bermuda
29 Babies need more of this than older people (5) sleep
Down
2 In South Africa it's called Soccer (8) football
3 Which popular cellphone company produces the Galaxy range? (7) Samsung
4 Love, a song (5) radar
6 Name of the last South African Public Holiday in April (10) Freedom Day
7 Old hotel (3) inn
8 Austin powers lost it (4) mojo
10 This animal has excellent vision (4) hawk
13 A well known luxury car, or part of a book title by Stephen King (8) Mercedes
17 He was released from prison in 1990 (7) Mandela
18 End Of The Middle Ages Day gets celebrated on the 29th of .......? (3) May
19 Political party ruling South Africa before 1994 (2) NP
20 Flower, or a name for a National Cricket team (7) Proteas
22 2014 in the Chinese Zodiac (5) horse
25 Take a selfie (4) pout
26 It buzzes (3) bee
27 The colour of this star is actually white (3) sun
In case you don't know how this works, let me enlighten you: on the last Tuesday of every month, I release a new crossword puzzle. You have three weeks to solve it, and send me the answers, and on the second-last Tuesday of the following month, I announce the answers and the winner.I also post the month's crossword puzzle as part of my monthly newsletter. The next one goes out on Tuesday, 26 May 2014, and if you don't want to miss it, you can visit my Contact page, and sign up for free.See you next week.
Across1 A drink that is very popular amongst computer guys (6) coffee
3 This popular U.S. Reality Game show has been around for 28 Seasons (8) Survivor
5 The two Popes who were declared Saints on 27 April 2014 have this name in common (4) John
6 In oil (5) fried
9 Steak Ranch (4) spur
11 A long time (3) eon
12 How were 16 Nepalese Guides recently killed on Mount Everest? RIP (9) avalanche
14 Nocturnal, catches mice (3) owl
15 Eastern Province (2) EP
16 This play was written by a well known female author and made #1 on the New York Times best seller list in April (5) power
18 Manganese (2) Mn
21 Egyptian symbol of eternal life (4) ankh
23 Greek Goddess of Beauty (9) Aphrodite
24 Gloomy appearance (4) dour
25 Unisex name (3) Pat
26 He's in charge (4) boss
28 Another name for The Devil's Triangle (7) Bermuda
29 Babies need more of this than older people (5) sleep
Down
2 In South Africa it's called Soccer (8) football
3 Which popular cellphone company produces the Galaxy range? (7) Samsung
4 Love, a song (5) radar
6 Name of the last South African Public Holiday in April (10) Freedom Day
7 Old hotel (3) inn
8 Austin powers lost it (4) mojo
10 This animal has excellent vision (4) hawk
13 A well known luxury car, or part of a book title by Stephen King (8) Mercedes
17 He was released from prison in 1990 (7) Mandela
18 End Of The Middle Ages Day gets celebrated on the 29th of .......? (3) May
19 Political party ruling South Africa before 1994 (2) NP
20 Flower, or a name for a National Cricket team (7) Proteas
22 2014 in the Chinese Zodiac (5) horse
25 Take a selfie (4) pout
26 It buzzes (3) bee
27 The colour of this star is actually white (3) sun
In case you don't know how this works, let me enlighten you: on the last Tuesday of every month, I release a new crossword puzzle. You have three weeks to solve it, and send me the answers, and on the second-last Tuesday of the following month, I announce the answers and the winner.I also post the month's crossword puzzle as part of my monthly newsletter. The next one goes out on Tuesday, 26 May 2014, and if you don't want to miss it, you can visit my Contact page, and sign up for free.See you next week.
May 13, 2014
On My Radio
This month's prompt is not so much writing practice (although all writing counts as writing practice) as memory practice. It comes from Creative Writing Prompts.com, and goes like this: Close your eyes briefly. Think of one object that's in the room and focus on it. Without opening your eyes, recall as much detail as you can about it. After three minutes or so, open your eyes and write about that object without looking at it. I chose the radio on my desk: I have a TEAC portable radio on my desk, which I like to listen to while I work. It's quite small, perhaps a ruler's length across, about half as high, and less than ten centimetres thick. On the left hand side of the front is a large circle containing the speaker, which takes up about half of the face. Slightly smaller than the speaker, on the right, is the tuning dial (it's analogue). Near the bottom of the radio, between the speaker and the tuning dial is the combination volume control/power knob. A long metal antenna sticks out of the top, on the right hand side, but it's currently held in place by cello-tape. On the right hand side, along the width, are two jacks, one for my headphones (which I keep permanently plugged in, as I'm in an open-plan office), and an auxiliary out.At the back, on the right hand side, is the figure of eight power jack and the battery casing (although there isn't a battery in it, as I keep it plugged in).And now, let me turn to look at my radio, and see if I described it accurately. What do you think?
Well, I did pretty well, I think. I forgot about the power LED, and I could have described the labels on the volume/power knob. Other than that, I think I got everything! You should really try this prompt sometime. How about doing it now, in the comments below? Tell me about an object that's in the room with you, right now!
May 6, 2014
Spread the Word, Win Three Books
Last month, I told you that, if you pre-order Stingers, you would get Heritage of Deceit free. Well, that offer is still valid, and will continue to be until 16 June, when Stingers officially releases. However, here's another deal for you, in an effort to try and get as much exposure as possible for Stingers before the official release date. How would you like to win all three books published by Graham Downs to date (including Stingers, when it releases)? That's right, you can not only win Stingers, but also Heritage of Deceit and A Petition to Magic! Interested? Here's how it's going to work:Post a link to this page (copy the URL from your address bar) onto social media. You can use Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, your blog, or whatever other network you like.Paste the link to your post into the comments at the bottom of this page.Remember that your post must be publicly visible.You can post links to this page from multiple networks. If you do, paste all the links into the comments. You'll get one extra entry per valid link that you post.So that I have your e-mail address, e-mail me at preorders@grahamdowns.co.za, telling me the name that you used when you posted your comment, and the date and time of your comment.On or after 16 June 2014, I will select one qualifying entry at random. If you are the winner, you will receive three seperate gift e-mails from Smashwords, one each for A Petition to Magic, Heritage of Deceit, and Stingers. Sound fair? Well, go on then: get marketing!
April 29, 2014
Crossword Puzzle - April 2014 (Collaboration With Elmari Downs)
This month's puzzle is a special one. My wife, Elmari, offered to do a guest puzzle for me, to which I eagerly agreed.The puzzle she came up with, though, was sadly too wide for this blog. So we sat together to come up with a smaller one (by dimensions, not by clues). The result was that 95% of the words in this puzzle are still her original words. Although we had to leave two of her words out because of the space constraints, we added a few extra.Because the majority of this puzzle consists of Elmari's original words (and her original clues!), I still wanted to call this puzzle a guest puzzle from Elmari. But she refused, and instead insisted that I call it a collaboration instead.So here it is, the April 2014 Crossword Puzzle, which is a collaboration with Elmari Downs. If you like it, why not head on over to her Twitter account, and tell her so?And by the way, if you don't want to miss another one, then please consider visiting my Contact page, and entering your e-mail address into the box provided.Here are your clues:
Across
1 A drink that is very popular amongst computer guys (6)
3 This popular U.S. Reality Game show has been around for 28 Seasons (8)
5 The two Popes who were declared Saints on 27 April 2014 have this name in common (4)
6 In oil (5)
9 Steak Ranch (4)
11 A long time (3)
12 How were 16 Nepalese Guides recently killed on Mount Everest? RIP (9)
14 Nocturnal, catches mice (3)
15 Eastern Province (2)
16 This play was written by a well known female author and made #1 on the New York Times best seller list in April (5)
18 Manganese (2)
21 Egyptian symbol of eternal life (4)
23 Greek Goddess of Beauty (9)
24 Gloomy appearance (4)
25 Unisex same (3)
26 He's in charge (4)
28 Another name for The Devil's Triangle (7)
29 Babies need more of this than older people (5)
Down
2 In South Africa it's called Soccer (8)
3 Which popular cellphone company produces the Galaxy range? (7)
4 Love, a song (5)
6 Name of the last South African Public Holiday in April (10)
7 Old hotel (3)
8 Austin powers lost it (4)
10 This animal has excellent vision (4)
13 A well known luxury car, or part of a book title by Stephen King (8)
17 He was released from prison in 1990 (7)
18 End Of The Middle Ages Day gets celebrated on the 29th of .......? (3)
19 Political party ruling South Africa before 1994 (2)
20 Flower, or a name for a National Cricket team (7)
22 2014 in the Chinese Zodiac (5)
25 Take a selfie (4)
26 It buzzes (3)
27 The colour of this star is actually white (3)
As always the answers will be published on 19 May 2014. Whomever is the first to supply the correct answers before then, via either Facebook, Google+, or e-mail, will receive a mention from me on this blog.Good luck!
Across1 A drink that is very popular amongst computer guys (6)
3 This popular U.S. Reality Game show has been around for 28 Seasons (8)
5 The two Popes who were declared Saints on 27 April 2014 have this name in common (4)
6 In oil (5)
9 Steak Ranch (4)
11 A long time (3)
12 How were 16 Nepalese Guides recently killed on Mount Everest? RIP (9)
14 Nocturnal, catches mice (3)
15 Eastern Province (2)
16 This play was written by a well known female author and made #1 on the New York Times best seller list in April (5)
18 Manganese (2)
21 Egyptian symbol of eternal life (4)
23 Greek Goddess of Beauty (9)
24 Gloomy appearance (4)
25 Unisex same (3)
26 He's in charge (4)
28 Another name for The Devil's Triangle (7)
29 Babies need more of this than older people (5)
Down
2 In South Africa it's called Soccer (8)
3 Which popular cellphone company produces the Galaxy range? (7)
4 Love, a song (5)
6 Name of the last South African Public Holiday in April (10)
7 Old hotel (3)
8 Austin powers lost it (4)
10 This animal has excellent vision (4)
13 A well known luxury car, or part of a book title by Stephen King (8)
17 He was released from prison in 1990 (7)
18 End Of The Middle Ages Day gets celebrated on the 29th of .......? (3)
19 Political party ruling South Africa before 1994 (2)
20 Flower, or a name for a National Cricket team (7)
22 2014 in the Chinese Zodiac (5)
25 Take a selfie (4)
26 It buzzes (3)
27 The colour of this star is actually white (3)
As always the answers will be published on 19 May 2014. Whomever is the first to supply the correct answers before then, via either Facebook, Google+, or e-mail, will receive a mention from me on this blog.Good luck!
April 22, 2014
Crossword Puzzle - March 2014 Answers (Congratulations Denise Smith!)
Hi, there! When I posted the March Crossword Puzzle on the 25th, I said that I would be giving you all an entire month to solve it, since it occurred to me that maybe a week (which you'd been accustomed to up until now) was a bit short. As it turned out, the winner didn't need a month, because I received the answers from her the very next day! And the winner is... Denise Smith! Denise won my January 2014 puzzle, if you'll recall, and she explained to me that the only reason she didn't win the February one, is because she missed it. She's since punched her e-mail address into the newsletter sign-up form on the right hand side of this page, so she never misses another issue. You might want to do the same. Anyway, this woman is on fire. If you'd like to try your hand at beating her, check back next week. Well done, Denise! Here are your answers:
Across
1 A Latin-American (6) Latino
3 Merged with Exxon in 1999 (5) Mobil
5 Counts down to something (5) timer
8 Fencing sword (6) rapier
12 About nothing (3) ado
13 Shows authenticity (8) hallmark
16 American war (3) Nam
17 Female sheep (3) ewe
18 Unit of current (3) amp
19 British exclamation (3) wot
22 Type of poem (3) ode
24 Booyens, South African race walker (3) Ada
25 Someone who can't swim does this (8) flounder
27 Electrically charged atom (3) ion
28 Annoying (6) irking
29 The Blade Runner (5) Oscar
31 Concubine (5) harem
32 Body art (6) tattoo
Down
2 Water you can't drink (3) ice
4 Waters, arsonist (6) Briana
6 One thousandth of an inch (3) mil
7 It wasn't built in a day (4) Rome
9 A question (3) ask
10 Dutch cheese (4) Edam
11 One who frolics (6) romper
13 Island state (6) Hawaii
14 Having run away (4) AWOL
15 Do over (4) redo
20 A smell (4) odor
21 Carries oil (6) tanker
23 Europeans not in the UK use it (4) euro
25 What I hope this puzzle is (3) fun
26 What's up? (Bugs) (3) doc
30 Military rank (3) Sgt
Across1 A Latin-American (6) Latino
3 Merged with Exxon in 1999 (5) Mobil
5 Counts down to something (5) timer
8 Fencing sword (6) rapier
12 About nothing (3) ado
13 Shows authenticity (8) hallmark
16 American war (3) Nam
17 Female sheep (3) ewe
18 Unit of current (3) amp
19 British exclamation (3) wot
22 Type of poem (3) ode
24 Booyens, South African race walker (3) Ada
25 Someone who can't swim does this (8) flounder
27 Electrically charged atom (3) ion
28 Annoying (6) irking
29 The Blade Runner (5) Oscar
31 Concubine (5) harem
32 Body art (6) tattoo
Down
2 Water you can't drink (3) ice
4 Waters, arsonist (6) Briana
6 One thousandth of an inch (3) mil
7 It wasn't built in a day (4) Rome
9 A question (3) ask
10 Dutch cheese (4) Edam
11 One who frolics (6) romper
13 Island state (6) Hawaii
14 Having run away (4) AWOL
15 Do over (4) redo
20 A smell (4) odor
21 Carries oil (6) tanker
23 Europeans not in the UK use it (4) euro
25 What I hope this puzzle is (3) fun
26 What's up? (Bugs) (3) doc
30 Military rank (3) Sgt
April 15, 2014
Cartoon Survival Guide
This month's writing prompt comes from Reddit, and it goes like this:A real human living in a cartoon world creates a How-To guide on staying aliveSeems like an interesting concept, right? I mean, I loved Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the story about Eddie Valiant, the private eye who investigates the murder of Roger Rabbit's wife, and subsequent framing of Roger for the deed. If you haven't seen the movie yet, I strongly recommend that you give it a watch. Anyway, that's not what this story is about, but I thought it would be fun to imagine what advice someone would give, who's been stuck on an island full of cartoon characters for years. Well, that man has written a book, and here's an excerpt:
DON'T PANICSo, you've been marooned on Toon Island, have you? Things seem without hope? Well, don't despair, Freddy's here! Oh, make no mistake, son. I've been on this island since before you were born, just look at my beard! Stick with me, and you'll be fine.But you didn't come here to learn all about me; you came here to learn how to survive in this zany unforgiving place. So let's get to it. Before we begi-WATCH OUT FOR THAT ANVIL!Phew! That was a close one! Okay, so I guess we should talk about falling objects. Lots of things fall out of the sky in this place, all the time. It could be anything really, but anvils—like that one—and pianos seem to be the most common. Sometimes Toons throw them or drop them off cliffs, but other times they just appear out of thin air. And they're always falling on Toon's heads. Sometimes they knock teeth out, or their eyeballs pop out of their heads, but they just shake themselves off like wet dogs, and everything's right as rain again.That's another important thing to remember, son: Toons can't die. And they think you can't, either, so they'll drop a great big piano on your head just for kicks or to play some kind of "innocent" practical joke. The idea that someone could actually die and never come back is completely beyond their reckoning.Did you like this little story? If you did, I'd appreciate it if you'd use the social sharing links below to share this post far and wide. You can also tell me your thoughts in the comments below.Oh, and if you want to read a bit more of my writing, click on the All Books link, to find out where you can buy one of my stories.Until next month, happy reading!It's this inability for Toons to die, that's the biggest problem on this whole damn island. You might get shot with a hunting rifle or have one of those ridiculous big black bombs thrown at you. Some particularly violent Toons (mostly cats and mice) will literally hack off each others' limbs with swords and knives. If you're a Toon, you'll end up with a big gaping hole in your chest, or covered in soot, or squirting blood from your shoulder, and one of those quick dog-shakes will put you right back together again. But if that happens to you or I, son, we're deader than a doornail, and we ain't never coming back!Okay, okay, whoa. Yes, I've made my point. I'll stop scaring you now. Just don't forget, okay? This stuff is important!So what's next? Oh, right, food. What can you eat? Well, first of all, Toons don't need to eat, near as I can tell. They're immortal, as I say, so that seems to make sense. I know of this rabbit, lives over the rise there, who likes to munch on carrots all day, but it doesn't seem to affect him much if he doesn't eat them. He's always chastising this other Toon, who walks around with a big old fashioned musket gun and claims to eat rabbits, but I've never seem him eat any.
Fruits and vegetables seem to be fine to eat. They look much the same as they do where we're from, just much more brightly coloured, with this same glossy sheen that everything has in this world. Don't eat anything with eyes, mouths, arms, or legs, though. And don't eat any Toon animals. They can't die, remember? They'll burst through your stomach, and you'll be a goner!Sleep? Hah! What's sleep? Sleeping characters are the most favourite characters for Toons to play their practical jokes on, and don't forget, they don't know that you can die. I haven't slept in years. not properly. Which is one of the reasons I'm so glad you're here, kiddo; one of us can sleep while the other keeps watch.Well, I can see that I've really got you shaking in your boots, now! He he he. No, really, it's not so bad, once you get used to it. Can be kind of fun, actually. Hey, we're not going anywhere, right? I mean, nobody knows how to get off this blasted island, after all. We may as well make the most of it. Just stick with me, remember everything I've told you, and let me know if you're ever unsure of anything!Now, let's go find something to eat. I'm starving!
April 8, 2014
Pre-order Stingers, get Heritage of Deceit Free
Are you being bullied? Or, are you a parent who's afraid that your child is being, or might be bullied? Maybe you are or were a bully yourself?If the answer to any of these questions is Yes, then you, my friend, might enjoy the new novelette by Graham Downs, Stingers. Here's the synopsis: James is always being picked on in school, and he particularly hates Stingers, a schoolyard game in which children throw tennis balls at each other in an attempt to cause as much pain as possible. His physical education teacher, Mr Evans, has no sympathy for the boy, believing he just needs to toughen up a bit. When James returns home from school after a rough game of Stingers, his mother is mortified when she sees the bruises on his arm and chest. She phones the school to try and put a stop to the cruel bullying of her son. But her phone call only makes things worse, as the bullying escalates to levels that nobody imagined possible.Sound like your cup of tea? Graham Downs' new book, Stingers, officially releases on 16 June 2014, but you can reserve your copy today! Click here to find out how.
Now, do you also like office thrillers, with a little bit of romance on the side? How about stories about artefacts from old genocides? Well then, you might also enjoy the previous novelette by Graham Downs, entitled Heritage of Deceit. Check this out: While surfing the Internet at work, Lloyd believes he's found a relic from an old genocide. If he's right, the artefact would be worth a ton of money, and it will give lots of people closure when they find out what really happened to their families. But there's one problem. The artefact--if it really exists--is in the possession of Carla, a shy woman in the company's Accounts Department, and she never lets it out of her sight. Lloyd seeks the help of his friend and fellow employee, Robert, whom Carla is desperately in love with. Will Robert agree to use Carla's feelings for him to get information about the mysterious object?Here's the good news: until Stingers releases on 16 June, you can get both these books, for the price of one! All you have to do is pre-order Stingers at one of the fine stores on this page, and forward your pre-order receipt to preorders@grahamdowns.co.za. You will receive a coupon code, entitling you to 100% off Heritage of Deceit at Smashwords. Already read Heritage of Deceit? No problem! Just let me know in your e-mail, and I'll send you the same 100% off coupon code, for A Petition to Magic at Smashwords, instead!
