Lance Greenfield's Blog, page 59
September 7, 2016
Review: Speak Swahili, Dammit!
Speak Swahili, Dammit! by James Penhaligon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I found that I was able to relate to so much in this autobiographical account of Jimu’s childhood. Being about five years younger than the author and having learned more outside of the classroom than inside and having traveled and run away a lot during my formative years, the chords were striking and the bells were ringing all the way through.
The description of the book gives you a very good idea of what goes on in Jimu’s life, but you have to read it to make the full discovery. I guarantee that you wil laugh a lot, and you will probably empathise with his antics. Furthermore, you can learn a smattering of Swahili. There are many basic phrases which are then repeated in English without interrupting the flow of the narrative. I admire that writing technique.
All in all, a lovely book and well worth picking up.
September 6, 2016
Review: The Writer’s Treasury of Ideas
The Writer’s Treasury of Ideas by Linda Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Imagine a fruit tree.
Fill its branches with an abundant crop of your favourite fruit: apples, pears, plums, oranges, papayas, figs, lemons, limes, nectarines, peaches, pomegranates or any other fruit that you fancy.
Now imagine that it is weighed down with an excess of all of those fruits.
That is how I see Linda Lewis‘s book. If each fruit on that over-laden tree were an idea for a short story, then the tree represents The Writer’s Treasury of Ideas very well.
There are more ideas in this book than the average writer could cope with in a lifetime. They may not all be right for you but read this book will be feasting on its fruits for the rest of your life. If you are serious about writing commercial short stories, fillers or even a full length novel, then I advise you to pick up your copy of this book and get stuck into it immediately.
September 5, 2016
Review: The Iron Pendulum
The Iron Pendulum by Eloise De Sousa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Declaration of interest: I am the editor of this book.
The author is already well known for her superb children’s stories and for a previous thriller, Deception. I was delighted to be invited to beta-read and edit her latest book.
It captured me from the first paragraph. I warn you that it is a fairly gruesome tale with lots of blood and flesh [literally] hanging around. The main story is interwoven with a lot of intrigue and a share of puzzles for the detectives and the reader to work out. I am sure that you, like me, will go off down several wrong tracks as you try to solve the mysteries.
What I particularly liked was the way that the characters of the rather strange family members and the detectives are built into the main story. This challenges you to wonder about the possible connections all the way through to the end, which is a shocking reveal.
Talking of shocks, there are a few throughout the book which may startle you.
Eloise De Sousa is a great story-teller and I can guarantee that this one will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Review: The Double Comfort Safari Club
The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I just love all of the characters in this series, even the ones who are a little bit miscreant, and I always enjoy the little stories within the main course of each book. Mma Ramotswe always finds a happy conclusion, sometimes when that seems impossible.
is not exception. It is a very good holiday read as it is light and airy and doesn’t strain the brain.
As always, the flavour of Botswana is perfectly captured by the author, and I particularly like that Mma Ramotswe and her assistant detective, Mma Makutsi make a brief venture north to Maun in the Okavango Delta.
However, I am beginning to get a little bored with all of the repetition of the attributes of the main main characters and their relationships. I find that the expressions “traditionally built” and “it is well known” have been over-done in the extreme.
Having said that, I’ll probably find myself reading another case for the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency during my 2017 Summer Holiday. It’s almost an addiction. One a year is enough though.
Recommended to all lovers of Africa and as a nice light read.
September 3, 2016
Professional courtesy
This is a great post. All writers and their connections should read it and take note.
It has certainly helped me and made me think.
Recently I was asked what I meant when I termed something a ‘professional courtesy’ so I’ve decided to use my spot on Take Five Authors to explain it.
Professional courtesy especially useful with your publisher
I’m an author. I consider myself a professional and I try hard to act professionally. In the course of my work I’m in contact with readers; publishers; agents and rights managers; promo and PR team members; bloggers; writers; conference, event and course organisers; booksellers; librarians; writing organisations; journalists and presenters; and a huge number of social media users. Obviously, all of these people can help or hinder my career but I’m not professionally courteous to them just because they’re useful to me – it’s because anything else would mean that I’m not doing my job well.
But the fact is that making myself easy to work with is advantageous to my career.
It’s surprising how…
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September 2, 2016
Review: Crossing Qalandiya
Crossing Qalandiya by Daniela I. Norris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book consists a series of letters between two ordinary, yet remarkable, women. One is Israeli, the other is Palestinian. They met in Geneva and agreed to correspond.
In their homelands, they are brought up to regard the others as hostile aliens; as enemies who wish to kill them.
Over the course of a year, they discover that there are many similarities between their societies and very few differences. In fact, the histories of Judaism and Islam have much more in common than either have with Christianity, although bth have much in common with that faith too.
As I, and many others, have often said, there is only one race: the human race.
I refer to a post on my own bog regarding prejudice. Please read it if you have time.
If more people in Palestine and Israel, and around the world, could follow the path of discovery of these two ladies, we would have more peace and tolerance in this world. Shireen reveals to Daniela that children in Palestine grow up to adopt a hobby of throwing stones at the occupying Israeli soldiers. One can understand why, but children from both societies could so easily be brought up differently and be friends from an early age. I have always believed that one of the biggest keys to world peace is to ban faith schools in every country and only allow integrated schooling from an early age. That way, all children will develop with an understanding that all other children are just the same as them: some good, some bad, but just humans.
There are so many passages of this book that I would like to quote that I would run into the danger of reciting the whole book. Here are just a few of my favourites to whet your appetite. I won’t tell you whether they flow from the pen of Shireen or Daniela. I’ll let you decide and you should read the book to find out more.
I reach the conclusion that all we need is better communication. We have to find a solution, because so few people realise how much this could change their daily lives.
He [Israeli-Arab journalist] describes the difficulties which this boy went through and the dilemmas he faced as an Arab in Israeli society, But you know what? If this little boy is him, then in the end it all paid off, because he is successfu now – and this proves what I have always believed: if you want to succeed, you have to work hard, even if the odds are against you.
Maybe it’s a cliche, and perhaps it’s obvious, but if both sides could educate their children to respect each other and to grow up as good neighbours, then there is a chance that those children who fear each other today could be good friends in the future.
[Do you see what I mean about integrated schooling?]
My little boy, Saif, has started talking, and is now making all sorts of demands. It’s really funny – I thin he started talking just so he could make all these demands! And my daughter Ghazal has started dressing herself up. She wants to wear jewelery – necklaces, earrings . . . and she is only six years old! God knows what wil happen in a few years. Now I understand why my mother wanted to know each and every detail about my day when I was growing up.
I am sure that there are many beautifu aspects to all religions, and it is just sad that people tarnish religion by committing horrendous acts in the name of it – acts that no God would approve of.
There are many people here who are completely blind to the way things look from your point-of-view, and to what your people are going through. I am sure this is also true for some of the people on your side. But suddenly it has become clear to me that so many of our problems are the results of miscommunication and misunderstandings. Maybe it is naivety (as some of my people would surely say, or perhaps it is incredible injustice (as some of yours may claim), but I truly think that if only there was a way to walk in each other’s shoes for a little while – to have a glimpse of how the world looks through other people’s eyes, even for one day – many of these probems could be resolved. For example, the issue you raised in your last letter of people coming to Israel from all over the world.
I am grateful to my father for gifting me this book. He knows both of the autors personally.
Having read it, I have gifted it on to a most delightful and impressive teenage girl [Kallia] in the local supermarket in Kefalos where I am currently on vacation. She is the daughter of the owners. She studies hard and wrks in the shop in the evenings. She will be successful and will achieve her dreams through her own belief and her hard work. I have visions of her going on to become an international peace ambassadoer. Whatever path she chooses, I hope that reading this book will inspire her and hep her to achieve those dreams.
Review: Writing Guide No 3
Writing Guide No 3 by Linda Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A very useful little book, packed with information about where to target fillers and what sort of level and content you should aim for in order to have them published and, more importantly, get paid for them.
It is spoiled by some production errors such as a whole page being duplicated.
Fantastic value for money. A single paid filler will give a multiple return on investment.
Read the book and give it a go.
Review: Unconscious Knowledge
Unconscious Knowledge by Beaird Glover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As I read through this, my rating swayed between 3 and 5 stars, increasing towards the top end as I went.
The story is very good. It reminded me a little bit of Bonny and Clyde. A young couple believe that they are on their way to Hollywood and that life and death are just scenes in a movie. There is a great deal of violence, dark humor, backwoods incest, strange relationships and there are bent cops.
Despite all of that, I found myself empathizing with Syd and Marcy, particularly Marcy, as the story evolved. They are murderous, but very likable. That may sound strange, but you should read it and you may feel the same. I can’t say much more without telling you the whole story.
By the end, which is unpredictable by the way, I’d worked my way up to four-and-a-half stars. It could easily have been five.
I would definitely recommend that you read it and form your own opinion.
August 30, 2016
Review – Dialing Dreams
Dialing Dreams: A sweet clean 1940s historical romance novelette by Jessica Eissfeldt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this short read, which I completed in a single session. The action ebbs and flows. Probably more than that, it advances and recedes like waves on the beach. The same goes for the moods and thoughts of the two main protagonists, Belinda and Nick. This sweeps the reader along.
Through much will-she, won’t she, I always felt that the ending was rather predictable but that didn’t stops the smile that appeared on my face as I read the final words.
I could almost hear the song in my head. Almost, but not quite. I’d love to hear it.
My thoughts are that this story would make very good material for radio, with a relevant mellow jazz playing in the background and closing with the full length version of the duet.
Recommended for those with a 44-page interlude in their life to fill with a nice little story.
Review – New Moon Rising
New Moon Rising by Anuradha Gupta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sparkling Words and Beautiful Paintings
Almost forty years ago, I lay on my back on a hill-top in Northern Kenya in the middle of the night. For a while, I was oblivious of the nocturnal scorpions and spiders and the other potentially nasty creatures which populated that hill. I was totally captivated by the night sky and the billions of stars in our universe. I was drawn in by light which had taken millions of years to get to me. My immediate surroundings became irrelevant as I was confronted by that awesome universal beauty.
Reading this book reminded me of that experience. Each word of Anu’s poems became a twinkling star in my universe. She has taken great rouble to lay them out on the paper so that they convey her feelings from within her heart and the memories she carries around in her brain. These lovely poems are further enhanced by her thoughtful water colour paintings which relate strongly to her words.
The current troubles of our planet disappeared from my mind, just as the wild environment of northern Kenya had for me all those years ago.
I read this book twice, back-to-back in a continuous single session.
Thank you Anuradha Gupta for a truly delightful experience!
