Shehanne Moore's Blog, page 20
July 28, 2016
A fossicking good road trip with Noelle Clark
by Noelle Clark
‘When I was quite young,
I was a mad rock hound. I loved fossicking, a hobby I enjoyed with my Dad who carted me all over the countryside, searching for agates, jasper, quartz, and any little speck of rock that took my fancy.
One year, when I was about 11 or 12, Dad and I travelled to a little place called Proston in Queensland. We spent several days working like dogs in the quest to unearth garnets, those gorgeous claret-red gemstones which often take a back seat to other popular gems.
Dad and I stood knee-deep in a muddy creek, shovelling, sieving, sorting, and searching for the elusive garnets. It is a memory I still hold dear, and one that came back to me vividly as I did exactly the same with Andy, my grandson.
Fossicking is such a great hobby. It’s a quest to find riches – not in the financial sense – but in the sense that these small stones which look so drab coated in clay, turn – like Cinderella – into an object of utmost beauty once washed. Of course, if the gems are cut, faceted, and polished, then their true beauty really shines.
But I love rough gems. I love spotting them in the sieve, then washing them, then holding them up to the sun to see their colour. It is so satisfying to find something that no other human hand has ever held. Almost a primeval desire to be the first.
I still have my rock collection from childhood. It’s buried somewhere in my shed. Andy loved the trip away with his Nana. Hopefully one day he’ll inherit my old rock collection and become a fossicker too.
You can camp at the fossicking areas, or do as Andy and I did, and rent a cabin. It’s an easy four or five hour drive from Brisbane, and a similar distance from Sydney.
Fossicking gets in your blood. It’s a great hobby that all the family can enjoy, and it’s inexpensive. And what, you may ask, are the chances of finding a gorgeous sapphire or two?
The road trip to Inverell and Glen Innes was also a great refresher for my gem hunting skills. You see, I have a new book coming out in July and it is pretty much based on fossicking.
About the Author
Noelle Clark is an Australian author 
of contemporary romance novels, rural romance, and historical fiction. Her books weave romance, intrigue, and adventure into colourful and interesting settings. They feature characters who deal with love and loss; and who experience the often difficult facets of life, such as forgiveness and redemption.
Noelle lives in a secluded cottage in sunny Queensland, Australia, surrounded by lush rainforest trees such as piccabeen palms, ferns and strangler figs.
She shares her home with a cat and two dogs, and shares her garden with all manner of sub-tropical rainforest wildlife including red-legged pademelons, pythons, brush turkeys, the amazing land mullet, lorikeets, and parrots, and the endangered Richmond birdwing butterfly.
She has two grown up children and four very small grandchildren. 
When Noelle’s not writing and travelling, she enjoys
growing her own organic vegetables, tending her chickens, photography, playing guitar, and art. Noelle admits to being a confirmed procrastinator, often daydreaming about travel to exotic places, and perfecting ways to avoid housework.
Links:
Website: www.noelleclark.net
Facebook: NoelleClark_Author
Twitter: noelle_clark
Pinterest: NoelleCBooks
Instagram: clark.noelle
Blurb
Dave Buckley is heading off on a road trip to nowhere, licking his wounds and trying to rebuild his life.
Charlie Moore is stuck in a dead end job, but toughs it out because she knows how much she is needed.
Dave and Charlie are both coming to terms with loss and sadness.
In the little town of Bindarra Creek, their lives crash into each other, and they find in their fledgling friendship a rapport, a warmth that they both desperately seek.
This is the tale of two young people alone in the world. The chances of them meeting would have been non-existent if it hadn’t been for one thing. Is Charlie’s friend Cecil watching over her, guiding her life, steering her towards happiness? If that’s so, Cecil has his work cut out for him, because both Charlie and Dave are stubborn and neither are ready for the complications that surround them.
There are only two chances that Dave and Charlie will solve the riddle of Cecil Crawford’s secret and end up finding riches beyond their dreams—Buckley’s and none.
Buy Links for Buckley’s Chance
Amazon.au http://tinyurl.com/hvuf33g
Amazon.com http://amzn.to/29ZawUW
Print edition http://amzn.to/2a6Pi8f
A little about the Bindarra Creek Romance series:
13 months. 13 authors. 13 romances.
Welcome to Bindarra Creek, a struggling country town where people work hard and love deeply. Set in the picturesque tablelands of New England, Australia, Bindarra Creek is a fictional, drought stricken community full of intrigue, adventure, drama and romance.
Life and love in a small country town has never been more challenging.
Filed under: blogging, book tour Tagged: Australia, Bindarra Creek Romance, Buckley's Chance, Fossicking, NoelleClark, Proston
July 20, 2016
Like the Outlander on Crack
“‘Malice Mallender, the heroine of The Viking and the Courtesan, is not nearly as malicious as her name suggests. She is just trying to survive in the harsh world of 19th century London by running a business that breaks up people’s marriages. She’s also trying to distract herself from her unhappy personal life by obsessing about shoes. But one day, a lady enters her establishment who asks Malice to break up her own marriage.
Now, this is what I like about Malice: she quickly comes up with a plan not only to avoid the breakup of her marriage, but also to cement it for the future.
Just as she is about to seduce Cyril, her rakish husband, she is swept away to the Middle Ages, where she is abducted by the incredibly handsome viking Sin Gudrunsson.
The heroine is faced with some grim historic realities, such as being the property of a Viking, but she also eventually finds out that her captor is not as ruthless as he appears. Could he actually turn out to be the first man ever to find her attractive?
I really enjoyed reading about Malice’s adventures because she’s so wonderfully awkward. But then again, who wouldn’t act awkwardly when thrust into the midst of an unfamiliar Viking world? Only an idealized heroine, which Malice is not. Don’t get me wrong, she’s tough, and not in that token way that romance heroines sometimes have where they can take out eight desperadoes armed with nothing but a can opener.
Malice is tough because she has been forced to survive on her own in dire economic straits. She lives by her wits, whether in 19th century London or 8th century Norway.
Shehanne Moore portrays Malice’s personality so well that the reader unquestioningly accepts that the heroine will “swallow a crocodile” as she likes to say, if push comes to shove. Of course, she would rather use her guile and talk the crocodile into eating its Aunt Sally.
My overall impression of The Viking and the Courtesan is it’s like the Outlander on crack, and I mean that in a good way. While I enjoyed reading Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, I sometimes found the pacing a little slow.
In contrast, Viking and Courtesan moves the plot forward at a dizzying speed, and it kept me compulsively turning the pages wondering what will befall the unfortunate Malice next, and unexpectedly for such a dramatic tale, enjoying many laughs along the way. It’s a must-read for all fans of historical fiction.
The Viking and the Courtesan is available on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
It’s an arranged marriage, but young Martha Darrington wants to do a little arranging of her own.
Her fiance is an arrogant knave, and she will not marry him until he has learned to love her.
But is Martha getting just a little carried away in her romance with her own servant? Maybe she could find a way to satisfy all their desires…
To buy Engaged to the Earl… on Amazon click here
About CAROLEE CROFT.
Enchanted by romance on page and screen, I have always tried to write my own numerous versions of the perfect fairytale. No matter whether the story takes place in Ancient Rome or on one of the moons of Jupiter, romance always beguiles and charms us with its fairy tale magic. My first inspiration to sit down and write came from watching the movie The Princess Bride.
This was a “modern” fairy tale with plenty of action, humour, and of course, true love. I resolved that my stories should have the same light-hearted, fun, and romantic spirit.
As for real life… I believe I may have already found the man of my dreams, but I still haven’t found the dog of my dreams. Currently, I am obsessed with greyhounds, but I live in an apartment that doesn’t allow pets. I guess this means my perfect dog is still a fantasy, and I hope it is a story yet to be told…
I usually live on the west coast of Canada, but I’m currently in Oxford, UK, not actually attending the university but absorbing all the smartness that emanates from its general vicinity.
https://caroleecroft.wordpress.com/
Filed under: heroes, heroines, time travel, Vikings Tagged: Book review, Buckley's Choice, Carolee Croft, Engaged to the Earl, Romance, The Viking and The Courtesan, Time travel books, Vikings
July 13, 2016
Aspects Of Writing. On location with Michael Dellert
Michael. Writer, editor, consultant.
Before I answer, let me say what a great honor it is to be interviewed by—uhm—hamsters. I can’t say I ever imagined this glorious day would come.
As to your question: Is there such a thing as a petty hamster? I wouldn’t have thought that so grand and magnificent a creature as a hamster might have lesser cousins?
But a petty hedge-king, that’s a king over a very small territory, a mere tribe of some 3000 souls. The “hedge” of such a kingdom might be the shrubberies we know today, or stone walls, or even a hedge of spears.
The word “hedge” is used in the sense of a form of protection (“a hedge against a loss”) and also in the Samuel Johnson sense of “something mean, vile, of the lowest class.” So a hedge king is a king of the lowest class, responsible for the protection of his people. Ancient Ireland (the inspiration for my stories) had several ranks of king, from the 150 or so merely tribal kings up to the High King of All Ireland himself, so to avoid confusion, I use “hedge king” to denote the lowest rank of those kings. Rather a lot like a Scottish Laird or an English Baron, only before the days when the kings of Scotland and England could claim any real authority over such lesser lords and they could still put on grand airs and call themselves “kings.”
MICHAEL.
I think location is at least as important to a hamster as it is to a writer. A Syrian Hamster in the arctic wouldn’t last very long, I expect. Hamsters spend most of their time during the day in underground locations to avoid being caught by predators. So a hamster in an above-ground location at high noon is at much more risk than a hamster abroad at twilight. So it seems location should be very important to a hamster.
In the same way, location is important to a writer.
Location can help develop a character’s backstory, for one thing. A character raised in New York City or Edinburgh has a very different set of environmental influences on his character development than one raised in remote monastery of the Himalayas, for example. Different religious influences, different linguistic influences, different historical influences, and so, different characters.
Location in a story can also be important because it can be used to establish the “character” of the story in terms of tone, suspense, and the opportunities for conflict and action. My own stories are set in a small kingdom surrounded by potential enemies who provide lots of opportunities for storytelling, and who limit in a way what kinds of stories I can tell, as well as the way I tell those stories. A peaceful suburban subdivision would provide a much different set of storytelling opportunities, and require a much different kind of a story-telling style.
Another reason why location is important is because it can be used to drive the story forward toward its conclusion. The use of the light, darkness, weather, and climate in a location can determine the tone of the story at different points and help to reinforce the emotions that the writer seeks to elicit from the reader in those story moments. When the hero is facing his most desperate moment in the story, a dark and stormy night on a desolate, rocky, wave-swept isle can be just the right location to reinforce the dark night of the soul that the hero (and by extension, the reader) is experiencing.
So location is important to a writer because it influences the behavior of the story, just as location can influence the behavior of hamsters.
Michael
I would have to say both. For one thing, you can never separate the character from the setting in which he was raised. Even if you physically pick him up and plop him in another setting, he will—at least initially—behave as if he were still in his original setting. This is why the “stranger in a strange land” archetype is such a popular one in literature.
However, the setting of the story might be very different than the setting from which the characters originate, or it might be the very same setting. Which to choose depends on what kind of story one wants to tell. In my recent book, the main character and the antagonist are both native to the setting of the first act of the story, while the romantic interest is a stranger in their land. In the second and third acts of the story, all of the characters travel to yet another setting that is similar to their own, but more hostile to them because they’re strangers in it.
By varying the setting like that, I was able to heighten the tension for all of the characters involved, and limit the resources available to them in resolving their conflict.
In comparison, the main character of my second book was a complete stranger from a far distant country, with a different language and a different culture. Placing him into a setting with which the other characters were already familiar allowed me to highlight elements of the setting to which the other characters were blind. This allowed me to bring a sense of wonder to that story that might not otherwise have existed if the main character were a native to that setting.
Michael.
I would have to say harder, although I enjoy the challenge. My fantasy world is very “low fantasy,” in the sense that it’s grounded very much in the historical realities of our own world. That being said though, we moderns are still a long way removed from the medieval agricultural society in which my stories are set. In some ways, describing “Earth” from such a far distant past is as difficult as describing Mars today. One has to set up the context for occupations like “harrower” for a modern audience. He’s the fellow who follows along behind the sower of seeds and closes the furrows in the soil where the seeds have fallen, so that birds—and hamsters—don’t steal them. As well, one has to know that such an occupation ever existed in the first place. So a lot of research goes into the “everyday life” part of my fantasy world.
On top of that, the fantasy part requires at least as much research (how have other fantasy storytellers handled magic and dragons,
for example) and then some imagination (what new element can I add to that wider genre discussion about magic and dragons?) as well as a fair bit of logic (if magic can do anything with the wave of a wand, why do we need harrowers?).
By comparison, a more contemporary story in a non-fantasy setting doesn’t need to explain who the plumber is, what the sink is, or why the crack of the plumber’s bum is showing. That’s just the way our real world is.
Michael.
I definitely mapped out my medieval setting, and not just the Celtic part of it either. Because I wanted a deep sense of realism in my story, I mapped out a whole continent. But that scale of mapping is not necessarily very detailed. The smallest-scale map I had when I started writing the stories was about 1/3rd mile per 1/4 inch, and covers about 300 square miles, showing all the villages, settlements, rivers, streams, roads, and trails in the hedge-kingdom of Droma.
But as I’m writing the stories, I often find myself mapping out much smaller areas (a battlefield, a village) in greater detail. I’m a very visual person, and these maps help me to visualize the setting in greater detail.
“Oh, look, that part of the hill is really more like a cliff. Guess the hero’s army can’t go charging up that way. But what if the hero and a small band of warriors scaled that cliff? Would the villain at the top be expecting that? Especially if the hero had the rest of his army mounting a diversion on the other side of the hill, where the going is less steep?”
And so on like that. By visualizing the setting, I can find limits and opportunities for the story-telling.
Michael.
In a way, I have already set my books in the Greater New York City area. I grew up in a very rural community on the far northwestern fringe of the New York area, and that location has influenced my writing immensely already, with its slower pace of life, its farmlands, and its large swathes of wilderness to explore.
But yes, I’ve considered stories set in a more urban contemporary setting. I have a work-in-progress that I turn back to now and again called “Last New Jersey Exit” that is set in New Jersey and New York City during our own modern period. Of course, that’s a very different kind of a story than those I’m currently publishing. No wild-eyed warriors charging over the hills with spears and chariots (more’s the pity, really).
Michael.
I think some writers sometimes make the mistake of plopping very contemporary attitudes down in a location that can’t support them. For example, in my medieval setting, literacy isn’t common, and the number zero hasn’t been introduced yet, so one has to imagine a middle-class adult merchant who has maybe a modern six or seven year old’s education, trying to do basic arithmetic without using a base-10 math system or the number zero. I’ve seen other writers in similar settings who make it seem like the modern developed-country literacy rate of 90%+ would be common in such a setting, and it just isn’t so.
One also has to be careful about cultural artifacts. We have this idea that Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were running about the English countryside in full suits of plate mail armor. In fact, the stories from which those images derive were written during the later medieval period, whereas Arthur himself would have existed (if at all) during the late Antiquity period, centuries before such suits of armor were invented. So one has to do one’s research and be careful about the kinds of technology that are available in the time and place of one’s setting. One can’t bring a gun to a knife fight if gunpowder hasn’t been invented yet.
Another common mistake writers make with location is that they tell us about it (“look, a cherry tree”) rather than showing it to us (“the drooping branches of the pink-coated cherry blossom swayed in the wind”), and fail to engage all of the senses (“I saw a kitchen,” versus “the kitchen smelled of cold chicken broth, rotting bones, wilting lettuce, and the desperate sweat of many generations of misfortunate cooks”).
While people are generally very visual creatures, smell (as one example) is particularly acute and strongly associated with memory. And a raunchy, lustful scene will seem very flat without the touch of silk, leather, and latex that might be present in that location.
I highly recommend spending time in the sort of locations in which one expects to set a story. Take the time to notice the feel of the air at different times of day and year, and how people move and behave in that setting.
New Yorkers on the streets of the city move very differently in June than in January, and they move very differently on the streets of Los Angeles than native Angelenos do—LA natives actually wait for traffic lights to change before they cross the street, even if there’s no traffic; New Yorkers don’t.
Notice the smells and the sounds. Taste all the foods, and even things that aren’t food. Learn to describe the feel of things: smooth, rough, bumpy, and so on.
If one has the opportunity, travel broadly, to settings quite different from familiar ones, and try to know them as intimately as possible. Get a sense for the scope of the world we live in, and the scope of the world in one’s story, and appreciate how setting and location influence attitudes and behaviors.
Takes notes of all of this, and keep those notes handy and dip into them liberally while writing. This will lend a deeper sense of realism to one’s stories, which will draw readers in and have them believing in the world of the story as deeply as they believe in their own world (which is really just a different kind of story, after all).
Michael
The Romance of Eowain is a novel that questions the nature of love. The two primary characters have been maneuvered into an arranged marriage for political reasons, and this arrangement has been sanctified by their religious order for its own mysterious reasons, but the two characters are very concerned that “love” (whatever that is) should be a part of their decision to marry. This is especially important to the female character, who has the right to refuse the arranged marriage, but also wants to do right by her family and her kingdom.
So the two characters struggle to understand what love is and whether they can find it in each other. They are opposed by the rival cousin of the hero, who wants both the bride and the kingdom for himself, and questions about loyalty, trust, pride, honor, respect, and family obligations are all raised.
It’s also an adventure story, so the characters find themselves carried from one harrowing threat to the next in their quest for an answer to the question: “Can two people in an arranged marriage find love?”
Michael
I’ve just started working on the fourth book in the series, I already have a draft written for the fifth book in the series that needs rewriting, and I have material for another half-dozen books beyond that. So a resounding yes, the Matter of Manred Saga will definitely continue.
Beyond that, I also write creative advice that I publish on my Adventures in Indie Publishing blog at mdellert.com. I’m also developing a soon-to-be-released novel-writing course. And of course, I’m always dabbling with other stories—both in this setting and beyond—as the mood strikes me. I try to stretch the limits of my craft to bring my readers the best stories I know how to write, and readers can keep up with news and information about my projects through my Adventures in Indie Publishing newsletter.
“I would not sell myself so cheap as to be nothing more than a pawn in such a fickle game. If peace and goodwill are to come of our marriage, then peace and goodwill must go into it first. And so I tell you true, and may the Gods and the Ancestors punish me if I prevaricate: I do not yet know my own heart and mind in this matter.” – Lady Eithne of Dolgallu
The Hedge King’s family has feuded with hers for a generation. Marriage between their two clans would bring peace.
But the Lady Eithne of Dolgallu has a right to refuse his marriage suit, and withholds her decision from him like a badge of honor.
Meanwhile, his cousin Tnúthgal jealously covets his throne, a renewed threat of banditry endangers his people, and rival heroes emerge to challenge his reign.
And what interest do the mysterious priests of the Order of the Drymyn have in Eowain’s wedding plans?
Can young King Eowain hold his kingdom together?
Can he convince the Lady Eithne to be his bride?
Can two people in an arranged marriage find love?
Find out in this exciting, new, full-length adventure novel, The Romance of Eowain!
The Romance of Eowain is the third installment in The Matter of Manred, a new cycle of medieval romances, action adventures, heroic fantasies, mysterious priests and their dark and forgetful gods, brought to you from the fantasy fiction workshop of Michael E. Dellert.
Now Available!
Launch Week Specials!
Order a signed author edition and get
a digital download of
the complete, same-as-print
Hedge King in Winter and A Merchant’s Tale
ABSOLUTELY FREE!
You’ll can also get a free digital download of the exclusive bonus PDF
The Epistles of Eithne & Eowain
AND
The Wayfarer’s Guide to Droma
AS WELL AS
Membership in a unique and exclusive online Facebook community!
This offer is only good through
Midnight Eastern Time 19 July 2016
through my own online bookstore!
Order TODAY!
Filed under: Author Interviews, blogging, book tour, heroes, heroines, writing Tagged: Action, Adventure, Location, Medieval, Michael Dellert, The Romance of Eowain, Tips on location for writers, Writing Locations
July 6, 2016
A Respect Award for certain dudes
https://wwwpalfitness.wordpress.com/
For reasons they know and understand
Jean Lees https://jeanleesworld.com/
Catherine Cavendish http://t.co/NekQqtJiEc
Jane Hunt https://jolliffe01.com/blog/
Filed under: Award Tagged: The Respect Award
June 22, 2016
Discussing life with hamsters and Mike Steeden
MIKE……
Not until just now! That said, when I started blogging I did write the tale of ‘Joan of Arc & Her Beloved Hamster’ regarding Joan’s heartfelt desire to get her house in order pre the burning at the stake the very next day, hence a new home for her pet hamster was required! With hardly any ‘followers’ at the time it was largely ignored – probably for the best in hindsight!
https://mikesteeden.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/joan-of-arc-her-beloved-hamster/
THE SAD DEMISE OF ERIC THE HAMSTER
In Hamsterland I have heard say
That the energy supply is ideal
For hamsters’ spin around all day
Generating electricity via their treadmill wheel
However, they ran into a problem once
Generating their power thus
For one such wheel did detach itself
Span off, hamster inside, under a number 37 bus
Eric, that was the wretched hamsters name
To the A&E was rushed
Yet there was nought the nursing staff could do
For poor Eric was mortally crushed
Yet to this day the ghost of Eric
Travels far and wide
And in Scotland, on its eastern shores
With Shey’s own hamsters his lost soul doth confide
Of health and safety issues
Forgotten or overlooked?
Yet in this place he has an addiction
For upon delicious hamster Olga he is hooked
MIKE
For my ‘proper’, poetry and ‘almost’ poetry I’m am inevitably inspired by my admiration and love of the fairer sex.
Gal’s should rule the world and make it a better place I truly believe. Even in those more serious musings I make sure the gals win out. Lessons from history are important things to me also. I regard, certainly when considering social issues in ‘the now’ that those lessons of yore can be drawn upon to point a better way forward.
I think a lot of this is covered in Question 7 below?
Mike.
The new book, ‘The Shop That Sells Kisses’ is a collection of poems, ‘almost’ poems and very short stories that might have been poems had they not been born stories. My previous book, ‘Gentlemen Prefer a Pulse’ was tagged ‘Poetry with a Hint of Lunacy’ whereas the new one is tagged, ‘Poetry with a Hint of Magic’.
The reason? Purely in that most of the poems the new book contains rely upon the impossible more than the improbable to get the truly possible and/or plausible tale or message across to the reader. Much of the material in this book revolves around the workings of the mind. Over the time it took to write I drained myself of both thought and the words that thought provokes. I think the end result a worthwhile one, pleasing even, yet cannot claim that subjective view to be fact.
MIKE. Having achieved ungraded status for my O Level English at 16 years because I couldn’t (still can’t) spell all the words I knew, I did, upon my retake of the exam when the paper asked to write a verse about misfortune, answered thus.
A geezer in a boozer, was in a bar one day, when sadly the dartboard he was aiming at, fell off the wall and rolled away. Out the door, and down the hill it rolled, to another bar in the another town, where a hapless geezer in another boozer, sadly was mowed right down. The Coroner at his inquest, could but say these words, “Death my misadventure, killed by a dartboard, man that’s just absurd!”
There you have it. My first poem as such!
Also within that re-take was a proposed essay titled, ‘A Policeman’s Lot is not a Happy One’ that they expected me to write 500 words about. Having no idea at all what to write I, in panic with time running out and knowing I needed at least a ‘C’ grade or become one of the great unwashed wrote about a policeman who was always working overtime leaving his poor dog named ‘Lot’ bored and unattended at home. They gave me that dubious ‘C’ grade second time around, the fools!
MIKE
Surreal stuff. Leonard Cohen in particular, either put to melody or read as straightforward lyrics, or indeed his poetic musings in the form of books, ‘Flowers for Hitler’ comes to mind. Lord Byron’s poem, ‘So, we’ll go no more a roving’ is a particular favourite of mine. A short, magnificent piece. I mull over its excellence perhaps too often. The lines, ‘…the heart must pause to breathe, and love itself have rest’ inspires thoughts of love in dotage, yet he wrote the piece (indeed died) a worn out young man. Another songwriter whose early lyrics especially are poetry in its purest form is Joni Mitchell, mistress of introspection and metaphor.
MIKE.
Away from the ‘silly name’ stuff the more serious poetry and ‘almost’ poetry is based mainly, yet not always on the things I observe when people watching – more often than not when taking coffee outside a street café. Relationships twixt friend and foe, lover’s new and seasoned, justice and injustice, war and wasted lives, reflective musings upon the interactions twixt dearest Shirley and me, that sort of ‘stuff’. However, I like to treat the final product ‘dreamlike’; blessed with a smidgen of magic.
By the way, I name it ‘almost’ poetry simply because I am prone to take liberties and add dialogue between characters within a poem. Makes them seem more ‘real’ ensconced within the ‘surreal’. Whether it works or not is another subjective thing. Readers seem to take to it though.
Additionally, for me writing is an antidote for my lifelong self-doubt. Self-doubt manifests itself in the form of reticence to act for fear of getting it all wrong; paranoia through reading of things into a situation that aren’t or were never there (paranoia did however help me in my days as a PI; every detective needs a bit of distrust of information gathered in order to out think a miscreant); and also, (and this is a plus amid a riot of negatives I think) a self-imposed prohibition never to blow one’s own trumpet. I can’t stand people who think they are God’s gift to whatsoever might be their crusade or quarry. I am well aware of both my faults and demons.
I do have a musical toe as it happens. Big toe on the right, size 12 foot (thankfully the other foot is the same size). The joint of said toe ‘clicks’ rather loudly. It is thus that it plays percussion and sounds not unlike a castanet. Gypsy goddess flamenco dancers actively seek out my toe (bloody shame it’s my toe and not an alternative appendage, mind). Regardless, it is in constant demand with such gals. Even as I write my musician son George (aka Zoolon) is working with a recording of my big toe’s audio accomplishments, turning them into electronic loops and eventually some form of melody or sound art.
MIKE
I wrote a lot of ‘Extracts from the Diaries of Twattersley Fromage OBE’ when first blogging. He is one of many ‘silly name’ characters I invented. Good old Twattersley is an upper crust, stereotypical English idiot quite insensitive to the feelings of others. He is active, for the main part at least, within and including the period spanning WW1 and WW2. More often than not he is charged with saving the nation from impending doom through covert action. Along the way there is always a gal he hankers after but never successfully woos. Wherever he may be in the world conducting his quests he forever returns home to Blighty having succeeded in his mission yet ‘a broken man’ in that he lost the gal he sought to have as his own. There are certain traits both Twattersley and I share, most specifically perhaps that of reading a situation incorrectly resulting in accidentally pissing off those around us. I thought him ideal at the time to take pole position on my ‘Home’ page!
MIKE
A chum once told me I was pulling my punches when writing. He was correct, so these days I write whatever (literally) that comes into my head and edit that which is overcooked after the event. Also, I believe one should write for themselves rather than writing what you think others might like. That way you stay true to yourself insofar such a thing is possible. I cannot help being an atheist, anti-monarchy sort of bloke so if needs be, or it suites I may write in a vein that reflects that and bollocks to what others think. However, I do not let my world view prevent me from reading and enjoying the words of the polar opposite. Respect for fine, thought provoking words and the writers of such words is key.
Additionally, and a difficult one for me yet important, I think. Where a piece is a confessional of sorts, or on the cusp of the same, never worry about what readers might think of you – unless, of course you are a serial killer.
MIKE.
Currently, well if truth be told for the past couple of months, I have been attempting to write a book, a fictional story. I am finding this project far more difficult than writing poetry. As I said to Shirley just the other day, “Writing a poem is akin to a lunchtime ‘quickie’, whereas writing a book is more like an ‘all-nighter’” – you will understand that I was likening them both to time spent in a pub drinking lager, nothing more! In saying that I am not decrying poetry at all, it is an exquisite art form where the mind wanders free, yet book writing requires daily discipline and long term commitment, an alien thing to a scatterbrain such as me.
In terms of what the book is about the closest I can provide at this juncture is a piece I wrote for the blog entitled ‘107345’ https://wordpress.com/post/mikesteeden.wordpress.com/4536 that may, or may not end up being the prologue. Thus far I have approximately 30k worth of worthwhile words, and another 30k skeleton story words still to be worked on; padded out, plus a chunk I haven’t even written yet. I estimate completion late this year or early next.
Notwithstanding what I have said, this is an enjoyable project in that I am writing in the first person and have to do a bit of method acting thus getting in character each day. Given that my key character is nothing like me, in part or at all, makes the whole thing a worthwhile challenge as along the way I am discovering that my mind is even weirder than I ever thought it was. I have a working title, ‘Notoriously Naked Flames’ although I expect I will change that eventually, especially so as the storyline is rather ‘dark’ in a ‘Surely he can’t think he’ll get away with that?’ way and I am presently inclined to publish under a pseudonym, mind if its rubbish it will never see the light of day!
UK Paperback edition of ‘THE SHOP THAT SELLS KISSES’ at;
UK Kindle edition at;
US Paperback edition of ‘THE SHOP THAT SELLS KISSES’ at;
US Kindle edition at;
And available at all AMAZON wherever by searching ‘Mike Steeden’ or ‘The Shop That Sells Kisses’
Filed under: Author Interviews, book tour, writing Tagged: Gentlemen Prefer a Pulse, Lord Byron, Mike Steeden, New book, poems, Poet, poetry, Poetry collection, The Shop that sells kisses
June 8, 2016
The Epically Awesome Award
https://wwwpalfitness.wordpress.com/
Kate McClelland
https://katemcclelland01.wordpress.com/author/katemcclelland01/
Linda Rose https://writerldrose.com
Ann Field https://annfields.com/
Noelle Clark http://www.noelleclark.net/
Catherine Cavendish http://t.co/NekQqtJiEc
Aquileana https://aquileana.wordpress.com
Jean Lee. https://jeanleesworld.com
Janni Styles https://jannistyles1.wordpress.com/
DG Kaye http://dgkayewriter.com/
Filed under: blogging Tagged: The especially awesome award
May 30, 2016
May 21, 2016
May 15, 2016
If you met a sexy vampire…. The writer Q and A tag.
https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/ MARJORIE MALLON
If you met a sexy vampire what would you do? Hook up, get the garlic and crosses out or run a mile?
What’s your favourite genre of book and why?
Who is/are your favourite author (s) , poet (s)? What is it about them that inspires you?
If you had to control a classroom of year 6 kids would you bale, or enjoy the challenge? Would you be (a.) too undisciplined to do so, you’d just join in the general mayhem, (b.) enjoy bossy them around, or (c.) pray in a corner for the bell to sound.
What made you become a writer/blogger?
Do your family support you or do they think you’re crazy, bored, attention seeking, or all of these? Tell us a bit about your current WIP and/or books…
What is the most awful job and/or experience you’ve ever done/had?
Are you a plotter or a pantser? Does this spill out onto other parts of your life? Are you generally organised/disorganised?
Do you believe in Ghosts? Fate? Love at First Sight? Fairies? Psychic happenings?Numerology, Mermaids, The Loch Ness Monster, Demons…etc…
What is the worst haircut/clothes/hats you’ve ever had/worn? Photos please, or describe in vivid detail…
Please finish this sentence with more than three extra words: Life is one foot in and one foot out, you ….
Catherine Cavendish
www.catherinecavendish.com/
Jane Hunt
Elizabeth Ellen Carter
eecarter.com/
Noelle Clark
www.noelleclark.net/
Jean Lee
Christy Birmingham
https://poeticparfait.com/author/chri...
Jenni Styles
https://jannistyles1.wordpress.com/
DG Kaye
dgkayewriter.com/
QUESTIONS.
1 What is your favourite line of poetry about a hamster? Oh okay, we mean a small furry creature, or animal.
2 What was your favourite children’s book if it was not Mrs Tiggywinkle?
3 You’re in the forest, it’s dark, it’s cold, it’s mysterious, suddenly the bushes part and there snarling before your is a savage, giant hamster. What happens next?
4 Is there any place in the world you would like to set a book or poem and why?
5 You can have dinner with your favourite book hamster, character. Who is it and what will the first course be? Recipes are welcome. Of course if you can’t find a hamster, just choose another animal.
6 Tell us a bit about what you are working on now.
7 What was the last book you read?
8 How much of you is in your characters or your poetry?
9 Forget all this hero stuff. You’re being cast as the villain and it’s your choice who you pick so long as they are from a book.
10 Who or what inspires your writing?
Filed under: Author Interviews, blogging, villains, writing Tagged: books, Question and answers, reading, writing
