K. Morris's Blog, page 799
December 7, 2013
Enid Blyton Removed From School Library
I have happy memories of my grandfather reading Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five as I sat on his knee. As a child it never crossed my mind that Blyton’s books could be construed as being racist. Today however a number of reprints of the author’s works have been published with certain words and passages having been amended to avoid giving offence. Today’s Daily Mail has an article concerning a school who removed Blyton’s books from it’s shelves, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2519806/Enid-Blyton-Famous-Five-childrens-classics-axed-school-win-race-equality-award.html. If you read the entire article it becomes clear that most of the books which where deemed to be unacceptable have been replaced by versions with the language which some deem offensive, having been removed.
Racism is ugly and it is right and proper that children are taught that all ethnic groups possess equal worth and everyone, irrespective of their origin should be treated with respect. Having said that, would it not be possible for teachers, parents etc to explain the historical context in which Blyton was writing to youngsters, explaining that words and phrases which where once deemed acceptable are now (rightly) not so deemed. Blyton as with Kipling was a product of her time. Even great authors such as Dickens used language which we now view as unacceptable, for example his reference to “the jew” in Oliver Twist. I love Dickens, Kipling and Blyton, however to say this does not imply that I or any other reader shares their views on race or any other issue. We need, as I said above to judge authors in accordance with the historical context in which they wrote. Obviously it is easier for adults to make such judgements but, with sensitive and appropriate explanation it ought to be possible for children to continue to enjoy The Famous Five.
She Lingers
Here in London’s Crystal Palace autumn lingers. The perfume from fallen leaves scents the air. How strange that people spend vast amounts on expensive scents when nature produces perfumes more fragrant than anything man is capable of producing.
Autumn is melancholy and beauty inextricably interwoven. The gorgeous smells emanating from the newly fallen leaves make me feel good to be alive. Yet it is, at the same time the dying of the year, the interlude between life giving summer with it’s blooming roses and winter which will, inevitably clasp us to her icey bosom. Yet life continues far beneath winter’s frosty grip and, come the spring we will be delighted by birds building their nests, roses budding and the sound of lawn mowers as the powerful aroma of newly mown grass scents the air. The great cycle, turn and turn again. We are part of something beautiful and a little mysterious.
Autumn
Trapped
Boxed in, unable to escape. Dark. I feel wardrobe and door but, no exit. Trapped, I am caught, no way out. Don’t panic of course there is an exit.
Feel, this is the hall, the shape of the storage cupboard. I turn, blessed light, dim but perceptible reaches me from the living room windows. Free!
(I am blind with a small amount of residual vision which means that I can see light and dark. I am also able to distinguish shapes so, for example I can see the outline of a person but I am unable to recognise them. This morning I was in my spare room, the one in which most of my writing takes place. I know the room, as with every other part of my flat like the back of my hand, however, this morning I became disorientated. I have no idea why but perhaps it stems from the fact that I was carrying my iPad and, not wishing to drop it all of my thoughts where concentrated on preventing an accident, consequently the part of my mind which deals with orientation went into slumber mode hence the above. My spare room opens out into the hall. The door is usually open and this morning was no exception. The logical part of my brain told me that the door was open yet, for a moment I was unable to locate the exit).
December 6, 2013
And the Lord said... "Let there be Ads."
The clock in Ava's brain ticks over to 6.5 and she woke instantly.
She had not remembered going to sleep, nor did she recall her dreams. Ava never remembered her dreams. Her eyes hadn't come online yet. She was still lying down. All she could see was the time, in small print in the distance. It ticked over to 6.51 and began to flash.
Read more… 4,377 more words, 3 more videos
A disturbing glimpse into a distopian future which I would recommend reading, Kevin
When Does A Book Review Become Trolling?
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. The old saying seems particularly apt when discussing the issue of trolling and, more specifically it’s relationship to book reviews. For anyone unfamiliar with the term, a troll is an individual who makes comments in order to provoke conflict. Here we are not talking about a reader who provides a 1 or 2 star review and furnishes a reasoned explanation for his/her perspective on the work. Authors may not like such reviews (although one can learn from constructive criticism), however they can not be considered as constituting trolling. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and the taking of offence at the expression of opinions with which authors (or anyone else) may disagree is not a valid reason for labelling such expressions as trolling.
Genuine trolling is, however sadly alive and well on the internet. Take, for example the following review and the comments generated by it, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/499148682. The reviewer takes a positive delight in ripping the author’s work apart. It is, to the reviewer a source of considerable hilarity to point out grammatical errors (real or imagined). He appears to revel in making his followers laugh and laugh they do in response to the reviewer’s tearing apart of the author’s work. What should be a serious forum for discussing literature degenerates into an arena in which the reviewer and his/her followers rip their quarry apart. Blood sports are banned or curtailed in many countries but they remain alive and well on the internet.
As a libertarian (with a small l) I am wary of banning activities. There is a thin line between a person expressing their strong objection to a book and an individual deliberately looking to stir up conflict for the sake of so doing. However it strikes me that forums such as Goodreads need to look at whether they have strong enough measures in place to prevent, so far as is possible, unproductive and often vicious attacks on authors.
(Disclaimer: I have not read the book in question nor am I acquainted with it’s author).
December 5, 2013
The Free Promotion Of Sting In The Tail Ends Tomorrow at 12 PM
The free promotion of my collection of short stories, Sting In The Tail And Other Stories ends at approximately 12 pm on Friday 6 December. To download Sting In The Tail free please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 (UK), or http://www.amazon.com/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0 (USA).
A Quarter Of The 100 Best Selling Books On Amazon Are By Self Published Authors
Today’s Daily Mail has an article regarding Amazon’s statement that a quarter of the company’s 100 bestselling books are by indie authors. The figures pertain to the USA, however it is believed that similar statistics apply as regards the United Kingdom. There are, perhaps not surprisingly a lot of sour grapes in the comments following on from the article, to the effect that all indie works are of inferior quality and “real” authors are published by established publishing houses. In reality there are, of course poor quality works in the indie sector and that of traditional publishing. The article provides hope for all us self-published authors and those considering self-publishing. For the article please visit http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2518546/Amazon-reveal-quarter-100-Kindle-books-written-self-published-indie-authors.html
December 4, 2013
Author Kevin Morris's Guidedog Trigger and his NEW BED photo
Reblogged from Chris The Story Reading Ape's New (to me) Authors Blog:
In response to an emergency email from Author Kevin Morris
I am DELIGHTED to show the world how much Kevin's Guidedog TRIGGER is enjoying his new bed :)
A photo of my colleague, Trigger in his new bed which my colleagues have kindly purchased for him as a Christmas present.
A photograph of my guide dog, Trigger taken this morning. Many thanks to Chris for blogging this on my behalf. Kevin
December 3, 2013
Did You Think About It, Before Writing Your Book?
Reblogged from Savvy Writers & e-Books online:
.
.
There are a couple of hard questions you should ask yourself before writing and publishing a book. Having heard all these stories during the last years about (very few) authors who self-published their books and became famous / rich, might tempt you to follow their path.
90% of all authors I talk do haven't done their research:
how many books of this topic (sometimes even with the same title) are out there already…
This post contains some good advice about the importance of marketing your work. However the purpose of writing for me at least is pleasure (I love putting fingers to keyboard although it can be frustrating at times). It is important not to get so wrapped up in marketing that you fail to derive pleasure from writing, or the promoting of your work gets in the way of your writing time. Research to ensure that your book does not contain errors is important but the fact someone else has published a book (or many people have released works dealing with the same subject matter) should not put you off writing a book on the same topic. You will, hopefully have unique insights and provided your work isn't reproducing existing material my advice is, go for it and publish that book.
The Bogeyman
The child dreads the bogeyman, the figment of fevered imaginings. The creature lurking in dark corners, croutched, like a cat ready to pounce. Adults frighten children half to death with ghosts, ghouls and other things which go bump at the dead of night. Kids lie in the dark, needing the toilet but not daring to leave the relative safety of their beds, for ghastly demons lie in wait for the unwary child. But the abused child, he who is to terrified to speak knows that there are no goblins waiting to torment him for he lives in hell and endures the torment of a flesh and blood devil. Oh to be the child frightend of ghosts and ghouls. How lucky in comparison is he?
