Ingrid Hall's Blog, page 50
July 29, 2013
The Female Messiah of Suburbia
Reblogged from The Haunted Palace:
On an ordinary English suburban street, in an ordinary English town, there lies an extraordinary secret....
Welcome to the world of the mysterious Panacea Society...preparing the way for the second coming of Jesus in a very polite, practical and idiosyncratically British kind of way.
How an Edwardian Lady became The Female Messiah
I recently found myself in Bedford for a week and curious as to what the sights of Bedford might be, I did a little research.
July 28, 2013
Review of The Pregnant Mule by Sola Odemuyiwa
Dr Sola Odemuyiwa trained in cardiology at Newcastle, London and Southampton before taking up his position as consultant cardiologist at Epsom General Hospital in 1994. Until recently he was lead cardiologist for the merged trust which was created when Epsom merged with St Helier’s hospital. He also teaches medical students and lectures on postgraduate courses. The Pregnant Mule follows DEADLY CONCEPTION and is his second novel.
I was intrigued when I first received a copy of this novel in the post. The blurb instantly hooked me and the book cover is incredibly imaginative and inviting. I also like the fact that I received a physical copy rather than an electronic version as it meant I was able to take it out and about with me. It is not often that you find yourself sitting reading a book in the very place that a book is actually set. In fact, I can in all honesty say that I have never done it before in my life – except of course with my own novel! However as many of you will know my mam has been very ill of late and so it was with a sense of trepidation that I found myself in the WH Smith cafe cafe in the Freeman Hospital (Part of the Newcastle group of hospitals) and the very place where the main character, Mensah, lost out on a job.
Set in a dystopian Britain the book skips seamlessly between the Freeman and the Royal Victoria Infirmary (R.V.I). It is extremely descriptive and well written and the author paints a very grim picture of life, particularly for those living up North whereby during a deep recession, a previous nationalist coalition government adopted a policy of vaccinating all non-British men against ADHD in an attempt to control street crime. The story unfolds several years in the future where the full effects and consequences of this policy are now being felt. Odemuyiwa also adeptly uses his inside knowledge of working within the NHS to paint an almost apocalyptic picture of the dysfunctional and politically motivated decision making within the hierarchy of the hospitals so much so that you are repeatedly left wondering how much is “fact” and how much is “fiction” as he contrasts and compares the state of the art Freeman with the shabby and decaying R.V.I. which the author describes as being “decades behind” I thought his description of the grubby, shambolic cardiac laboratory with it’s antiquated procedures was particularly compelling and in the wake of recent hospital scandals and with at that time my mam an in patient in these very same hospitals I did initially wonder whether maybe this was all going to be a bit too close to home for me and whether I should pass the book to Lenora for review. However my macabre streak won through and after repeatedly reminding myself that I was reading a work of fiction and not fact I found myself reading with a renewed, almost voyeuristic interest!
I should also point out at this point particularly for those of you who are unfamiliar with the area that whilst I have no way of knowing what really goes on behind the scenes, all of my real life dealings at the Freeman have been great and the R.V.I has recently enjoyed a multi million pound makeover.
I loved the code words that doctors in the novel used in surgery to warn when things were going wrong without alarming patients as I thought this definitely had a ring of truth to it and I could imagine this happening daily all over the world. Mensah’s height and sheer physical presence is also beautifully summed up with the size of his shoes and I felt early on that whilst the book was most definitely going to force me into some difficult mental places, I was probably going to enjoy the ride. On a downside there are a lot of medical terms in the book which are clearly totally normal day to day words for the author that the casual reader may not instantly understand and might be off putting. For example referring to Mensah “…cannulated the target vessel and decided to complete the procedure himself…” I ONLY know what a cannula is because of the sheer amount of time I have spent recently in hospital with my mam.
The flashbacks in time in the novel are well sign posted and nicely executed and I was interested to discover how the author would handle and portray the fictional British Government as I do something similar in my Granny Irene series. The fact that the book is clearly dystopian gives the author free reign to fully utilise his creative license and he does this remarkably well.
The Pregnant Mule is strange because of it’s unconventional view point and I can hand on heart say that it is unique, different and bold and that I have never read anything remotely like it in my entire life, which is where potentially I think the author may have a problem. He has already proven in his previous work DEADLY CONCEPTION in which he tackled issues such as extremism that he is prepared to step outside of the box and as someone who writes from an alternative and unconventional viewpoint herself I fully respect the fact that the author is willing to put his head above the parapet and write about a series of events and from a view point which some readers might not identify with and may struggle to resonate with. However I do wonder if maybe he has taken it just a step too far in this novel as there were times when in spite of willing myself on I struggled to read more than a page or two at a time due to the intensity and heaviness of the subject matter. There were also times when I simply couldn’t relate at all to the world that the author had created.
I have no doubt at all that there is a market place for this book. That there are people out there, incredibly intelligent people, who will love this book and will pick apart all of it’s many layers however I also think that there are vast swathes of people who will find the book daunting and because of that will hastily put it to one side and whilst I am glad I have read the book and whilst I fully take on board the message the author was attempting to convey, I am not sure if I actually enjoyed it and can’t help but wonder if maybe it was just a little too “intelligent” for me…
IF anyone would like to read and review this book to see if you agree with me, then please let me know and I will run a full spotlight on you as well as your review as I do feel that THE PREGNANT MULE is a book that warrants discussion…
The Pregnant Mule is available from http://www.troubador.co.uk
Interview with the Geordie Tennyson: S.A Todd
Before I get started on this interview I will confess to being biased. S.A Todd is a local poet and a very good friend of our very own LENORA. I have devoured his collection of poetry which is exceptional and Lenora will also be posting her review later this week… Steve it is a JOY to finally meet you, tell us as much as you can about yourself?
At the time of writing I’m a few weeks shy of 35 years on the planet, very happily married with two daughters of 7 and 2. I had a burning passion for literature of all kinds as a kid, with a very early edition Alfred Lord Tennyson poetry book being probably my most prized possession. I work in complaints resolution for a national regulator, which keeps me extremely busy and various energy drink companies financially sound. When not being witty and yet slightly jaded, I’d describe myself as ‘a decent bloke with marginally too much to say for himself’.
You can NEVER have too much to say for yourself and having worked in a complaints department for a well known insurance company previously I would say that wit is probably a useful tool to have in your kit…So clearly writing is not your full time career at the moment…
It’s not, but there’s still time. I have a million and one good concepts for poems and stories, but I’m not exactly a prolific writer and it takes some time for the germ of an idea to mature into something worth putting pen to paper for. I also have that ‘I’m-knackered-from-work-and-just-want-to-doss-about’ thing going on when I get in for the day, which often robs me of motivation. If I can beat that, I guess we’ll see.
Motivation and juggling the work -life – need to be creative balance is a problem for most indie writers. I am lucky that I have had over 1 year now without having to work a regular job, however my husband is self employed which is always a worry and I am currently considering whether I need to find a part time job on top. The thought of not having enough time for my writing gives me nightmares…Speaking of jobs, what is the worst you have ever done, and why?
I think my very first job was an agency contract for a week, basically photocopying bits of paper (the purpose of which I can’t recall, though I think it was some sort of University paperwork) stapling them and then stuffing them in envelopes. Still, when you’ve never had a wage and then you get paid for the first time, it’s a small fortune. I’ve been quite lucky in that I’ve never really had what you’d consider a really, really bad job. Even the most repetitive, basic tasks had a certain clarity to them in that you could see that the task at hand had a definite end. Some days, I would kill for that kind of clarity – it tends to get lost in the mists of continuous improvement and reassessment of future goals.
If you could have written any other book by any other author, what would it be, and why?
Probably The Bible, if only for the ongoing royalty payments. Besides that, probably Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. I have a kind of love/hate relationship with Terry Pratchett novels; I think he’s a fantastic writer and an amazing fellow as well, but I had half written my first novel before I read Good Omens and then realised that my writing style was pretty much identical to his. ‘Well, it’ll be well received then!’ you might think, but my thoughts were ‘Mine will just look like some cheap knock-off, so I better let it go’. It kind of knocked the wind out of my sails a bit. As a writer, you need to find your own voice and I guess I just wasn’t old enough or confident enough at the time to go with it. I could use the endless cover versions of songs these days as an analogy – they make lots of money, some younger folk might even think that they did the original song after all (as their first exposure to it) but in 99% of cases the original was just better and should have been left resplendent in the quiet dignity of its own excellence. I take this approach with most things in life; if I don’t feel I can do it as well or better than the top 10% of people doing it, I won’t do it at all. Best leave others to shine in their sphere, and I’ll shine in mine.
NOOOOOO that is a dangerous attitude to have because you could talk yourself out of a potential gold mine. Write the book and be damned. Sod the consequences and stick two fingers up at the haters. Write the book, I want to read it! How would you think your parents would describe your poetry? Does this differ from how you would describe it?
I’ve lost track of the amount of really bad early poetry I exposed my parents to, but they were always very supportive. I think they knew that it was my release valve, and didn’t do too much of the ‘the sun is shining, you should be out running about’ thing. They did some of that, sure, and I did spend much of my childhood running about playing Armies and taking my cricket stumps home in a huff when I was bowled out, but the urge to create was always there. A lot of my early work was incredibly macabre, laughably so now. But I can look back at it and see the beginnings of a writer, hacking blissfully away at awkward rhymes with all of the clumsy yet vigorous inexperience of youth.
Do you have any plans to work outside of your comfort zone?
My problem, with prose, has always been that I am incapable of prolonging suspense. This is probably a nod to my own personality of really not liking surprises, even good ones. With any new book I read, I read the first few pages then skip to the end and read the last few pages. You may clap your palms to your collective cheeks in The Scream-type poses, fine, but my enjoyment comes from appreciating how it gets from point A to point B. I like to know what’s coming, so I can appreciate the nuances of how it got there. I think by nature I’m a fairly risk-averse person.
This has led me to the conclusion that poetry (of all forms) should be my weapon of choice, as it is by nature much tighter and distilled than a full novel. Short stories, especially flash fiction, is something I want to explore further though.
I do the same. I ALWAYS read the end before the beginning, purely because I am a nosey cow and NEED to know how it ends before it starts. I do the same with T.V shows. I always hunt out the spoilers before watching. It drives my husband nuts because I can’t keep my mouth shut! You should definitely give flash fiction a bash, however I STILL think that you should take a leap of faith and write that novel…What inspired you to write your first collection?
It was less an inspiration than an exhalation – it was all stuck inside me, and just had to be got out. Between the ages of 15 and 18 I would regularly write into the early hours, furiously pouring out onto the page everything that came to mind. Some of the scribblings I’ve kept from those periods look like an epileptic spider stood in ink then had an episode before expiring at the bottom of the page. But it was ideas… raw, unfocused ideas. I still go back to them sometimes, to remind myself of where I was and where I am now. My book Esto Perpetua has a core of that early work, though much refined, and surrounded by a far denser muscle of more mature pieces.
Apart from that poem about the Farting Rocks of Majuba Gorge. That wasn’t very mature, but it was a lot of fun.
I do have a copy of Esto Perpetua however I have moved house recently and a lot of my books are still packed away in boxes, so LENORA please post THE FARTING ROCKS OF MAJUBA GORGE along with your review… Do you ever get ideas at random moments, and if so how do you hang onto them?
All the time, especially on the bus going to and coming back from work. I tend to write them down at the time on my hand or a scrap of paper, or sometimes I text them to myself for review later. I used to keep a pen and notepad next to my bed as a young kid because I would have incredibly vivid dreams but by the time I’d woken and remembered to write, the memory was gone. Check out my earlier post Hold that dream!
Do you have a structure when you are writing, and if so what?
Not a structure, as such, but I do like to experiment. I always critique what I’ve written and ask the question – ‘Did I say the same thing that this poem is trying to say in an earlier one, and is it better?’. If it’s not, it goes back into the grinder. Or, just sometimes, I re-evaluate the earlier poem and see if it can be made better by incorporating elements or images from the later one.
Do you read for pleasure or out of habit?
Definitely for pleasure. Though I try not to have a book on-the-go when I’m writing, because I subconsciously absorb the style of the writer and it comes through too much in my own work!
What are you reading at the moment, and why?
I have just finished reading the whole of the Song of Ice And Fire series by George R.R Martin (the Game of Thrones series). I came late to the TV series, but after watching two episodes I got all of the books and just devoured them way in advance of the TV series progressing! I had read a number of fairly generic fantasy novels in the past so had low hopes, but it was just absolutely incredible. It was so hard to put down, even the books in the series that other people who had reviewed it said were the ‘weaker’ or ‘slower’ ones I adored. Besides those, I tend to revert to my other favourite author, the absolute genius that is Dan Abnett. I periodically re-read his Eisenhorn and Gaunt’s Ghosts novels just to remind myself what a real master writer can convey in terms of characterisation, plot and descriptive flair.
Meat eater or vegetarian?
Meat eater. I saw a funny quote not so long back which summed it all up for me, in relation to a vegetarian abroad trying to get a veggie dish who was responded to with ‘But…vegetables is what food eats.’
Left or right and why?
Left, just because it’s more sinister.
Rubbish Latin jokes aside, I was one of the last of the primary school generation who had their pen forcibly taken out of their ‘incorrect’ hand (the left one) and put in the ‘correct’ hand (right). Hence my classwork was often very messy, and my homework was better because I could write left-handed. I ended up being one of those classic left-handers who now write with their left hand, but do everything else with their right. If I was ever a ‘Columbo’ villain, they’d never catch me.
What is your favourite movie and why?
Tough question, as there’s so many to choose from. I like my sci-fi (am a bit of a Star Wars nerd) but also love fine pieces of film-making such as Shawshank Redemption, and Malcolm X. They both had a real power and depth to them that resonated with me long after I’d watched them.
Do you have an opinion on life after death, and if so what?
My own personal view on this is cobbled together from various bits of Science that sit well with me and I am completely comfortable with. I’ll try to explain it in basic terms, and hopefully won’t sound too much of an intolerant wacko while doing it.
As it stands, Science (I will use this term broadly to reflect all currently accepted learning accrued through repeatable testing and demonstration, but in this case I refer to the Law of the Conservation Of Energy) states that almost no energy in the universe is truly lost, it only transforms into other forms of energy. All that we are, as human beings, is electrical current moving over and through biological matter. When we die, that electricity ‘earths’ and goes back into the universe. From there, it could just as well be unleashed moments later in a terrible storm as being ‘reborn’ to animate a garden slug.
This is not reincarnation, in the commonly understood sense – that electricity is no longer ‘you’, as ‘you’ were the unique action of that power over similarly uniquely configured biological material. ‘Self’ is a concept humanity needs to understand and traverse life, but I don’t see the need to put any kind of religious dogma or teaching into it. The idea of strict sets of rules of holy conduct, divine prophesy, ultimate redemption or reward seem suspiciously hollow and man-made to me; I will be content knowing that everything I am now will become every thing that is or could be when I finally shrug off this mortal coil. It’s the end of a wonderful period, but then the dice get rolled again, the energy is redistributed and the universe just keeps on rolling. Accepting what a tiny, tiny part of it I am doesn’t intimidate or depress me; it’s kind of like surfing a really, really big wave. It’s exhilarating, if you can swallow your fear and remain balanced until the end.
You know what? Strange as it may sound, I actually quite like your interpretation and it is a concept that I might pick up on again at a later point. Thank you for embracing and answering this question so fully – a lot of authors try to side step it…Totally changing the subject, when you eat out would you choose Chinese, Indian or Italian, or other, if so what?
I love Italian, so that’s usually my eat-out place of choice. There’s a really great little place in my hometown which has been there forever and I’ve never had a bad meal there in 20 years of visits.
London, Paris or New York and why?
As a born-and-bred northerner, London just felt really hostile and terribly grey to me for some reason; everyone was scowls and has pointy elbows. I’ve not done Paris, but would like to do New York again at some point in the Winter. My wife and I honeymooned there 10 years ago at the height of summer, and the heat and humidity were so high that it kind of laid me low.
What do you have in the pipeline?
Flash fiction, and more poems. I’m thinking my next volume will be a mix of both.
How do you overcome writers block?
I worked out a kind of free-association exercise which helps to warm up my brain and get things flowing again. I pick a random book in my house, or article in a newspaper perhaps, and look at the first letter of the first ten words there. I write these down in a single string of letters, so it looks something like this – ASICTPTTMD. This sentence could originally have been ‘A source in China Town proposed the twenty most deadly…’
Much in the way that myself and my older brother would make phrases out of car number plates on long journeys, I would then look at the letters, and try to make a new sentence using them. In this case, I might come up with ‘And So It CameTo Pass That The Man Died.’ – ASICTPTTMD.
I’d then do another block of ten letters, then another, then another, and try to build on the same thought or sentence I’d wrote originally as the ‘new’ one. Pretty soon I’d have a paragraph which had required a lot of thought, while being completely random at the same time. Most of the time, just the exercise itself clears out the cobwebs and lets me get on constructively. Sometimes it leads to some really weird poetry though.
That is a VERY useful tool to use and incredibly intelligent! Everyone take note! Where would you like to be in 5 year time?
Semi-retired, writing and doing voice overs for stuff. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do – commercials, animated films, documentaries, anything. It’s one of my few remaining ambitions. If I’d been a braver soul, I’d have gone into acting as a career but that boat has well and truly sailed and I don’t regret in any way how life has turned out.
What advice would you give your 18 year old self?
I spent my teenage years in true poet style, being self-absorbed, sullen and depressed when I wasn’t mistaking raging hormones and unslaked lust for for falling in love. I’d go back and just tell myself to chill out, start looking beyond the end of my nose and see the possibilities out there more. The problems I felt I faced at the time were insurmountable, but that was only because I had zero life experience and couldn’t put anything into context. Although I still do struggle with depression even now, I can usually spot the signs, take action and just keep on … well, keeping on. If at 18 I had known that before I was 40 I’d have a good, steady job that used my wordsmithing skills, was settled down and married to a wonderful woman and had two gorgeous children, I suspect I’d have found it a damn sight easier to cope. But then, hindsight is always 20:20; to paraphrase what Soren Kierkegaard once said, ‘life must be lived forwards, but can only be understood backwards.’
What a refreshingly honest and beautiful answer! Thank you Mr Todd for brightening up my weekend!
You can find out more about S.A Todd and buy Esto-Perpetua by clicking the following link. Don’t forget to watch out for Lenora’s review which will be coming up later this week…
http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/3397402-esto-perpetua
7 Steps to Better Character Development
Brought to you by your in house book worm, A.C. Haury.
There are few things that bother me more in the world of books and literature than flat, uninteresting characters. I am a big fan of deep character development. As an author you should know your characters almost as well as you know yourself. After all, you are their creator. This brings to mind a conversation I had with a colleague of mine, who was so excited after reading my first novel, …
This is a really useful, informative article - A must for all aspiring writers!
Hold that dream…
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Morning everyone Well, it was lovely being back in our own bed last night and being in our own bed means of course lots and lots of sleep: Sleep inevitably leading to dreams…
When I interview an author, I always usually ask them how they hold onto their random thoughts and ideas and I commented during a recent interview that whilst I am good at noting down and logging the thoughts which pop up during the waking hours I am terrible at chronicling my dreams, some of which are incredibly vivid.
Last night however was different because I awoke in the early hours having just come out of the wildest dream that I have had in a long time and I knew instantly that no matter how knackered I was, no matter how much I wanted to just roll over and snuggle up into my husband’s back I HAD to hold onto the dream. Not just because of it’s vividness, but because I knew that it linked back to dreams which I have been having for a while, but which I have been too lazy to chronicle.
However knowing how lax I had been previously, the universe chose this moment to test me. Normally I would note ideas down on my Iphone, so I dutifully reached for the hiding place under my pillow only to discover that the battery was DEAD at which point I seriously considered just going back to sleep. However a little voice kept pecking away at me inside my head that no matter what else I did today, I had to hold that dream. So I stumbled out of bed, I fumbled around on my bedside table for a pen which wasn’t there, I seriously considered turning the bedroom light on, but my husband muttering and cursing and wondering WTF I was doing persuaded me that maybe that wasn’t the brightest of ideas…So I tripped and stumbled my way down the stairs. I emptied out my handbag onto the sofa. I raided the cupboard in our dining room/office. Cursing and by this point totally desperate I raided my daughter’s pencil case and I dutifully scribbled down all of the pertinent points about the dream: Then I went back to bed.
The dream however wouldn’t go away, there was more: Stuff that I had failed to note. Fool that I am, I had considered it job done downstairs and had left the pencil and paper in the office. I wasn’t going back downstairs again, however the dream would not go away. So, I tried something that I have been meaning to do for a while. I mentally picked up each piece of the dream that I hadn’t recorded, I chose some “string” and I “tied” it to a piece that had been noted and you know what? Crazy as this may sound, it has worked. The whole dream; the bits that I have noted as well as the bits that I haven’t are still fresh as a daisy in my mind.
Try it.
Am I going to tell you what the dream was about? NO of course not, don’t be silly. I am going to save it all and let it bubble away nicely in the darkest corners of my mind and one day I will unleash it all upon an unsuspecting world…
July 27, 2013
Getting paid to write articles…
Afternoon everyone.
Well, we have survived the family getaway to Scotland – although it was certainly not without it’s mishaps! First and foremost our caravan was right out in the wilds (18.5 miles away from the nearest town – in spite of the brochure saying it was just 3 miles – I will be saying something about that!)
Then when we did finally find it, we discovered that there was no phone or internet access – a pain in the backside for my 15.5 year old son – but more worryingly a headache for us seeing as we had my mam who as most of you will know has been very ill with us! To be fair upon learning about mam’s situation the manager of the site did tell us we were welcome to knock them up out of bed at any time of the night should we need any assistance
On a positive note, we have toured the Border region of Scotland, the rain managed to hold off until everyone was tucked up safely in bed, my mam got to visit her beloved Scotland, my son discovered the genius that is Stephen King, the dog only leapt out of the caravan window in search of rabbits once, and the midgies saved their attack on on us until we were packing up this morning.
I also got a solitary walk and found some inspiration during a rare moment of reflection in the absolutely beautiful Ettrick Valley, a place that I have never previously thought to visit but will most definitely visit again (although maybe next time it will be just me and my husband!!) I have long since been drawn to Scotland and I will definitely be using the Border Region as a setting for some of my future works…
Back home now and have a busy week ahead of me in terms of catching up on the blog and doing some work on The Tunnel of Love – I also need your help! I have been looking at some freelance writing sites
1. As a means of earning some extra money myself
2. To build up a guide of the best and the worst freelance sites
There are however hundreds of them, so if any of you have any suggestions as to where I should start, or which ones I should avoid then please shout up!!!
LOVE
INGRID xxx
There is No Such Thing as Writer's Block
There is a seemingly incurable disease plaguing writers worldwide. This disease is called writer's block and it's all in your head! Yes. That's right. I said it. Writer's block is all in your head. How many hours have you wasted sitting at a computer staring idly at your screen? Or are you the workaholic type like me, who pushes themselves to write when they really should be catching some quality sleep?
Just back from my little trip away and saw this great post from our very own Amanda Haury.
July 26, 2013
Book Review: Cats in charge: A guide to the training of humans by CM Barrett
Prrrrrrrrrrr, welcome to our review. As this was a book all about how fabulous felines such as myself and Billy can train our less than purrrrrfect humans how to behave we decided to commandeer the keyboard from Lenora for the purrrrrposes of this review. My name is Samaru Kye, and I am the divine Blue Point on the right, while Billy is the superior Chocolate Point on the left. As you can see we are Siamese if you pleeeeze (and if you don’t pleeez - we are cats after all and therefore we are far to aloof to be concerned with what mere humans think!). But enough about us (if that can ever be possible – being as divine and fascinating as we both are) and on with the review…
Billy and Samaru Kye. Be under no illusions: we are watching you – and taking notes….
CM Barrett is the human scribe who has produced a very helpful manual for Cats, narrated by Tara the Chosen Kitten (who later became the Chosen Cat – see Ingrid’s interview). Tara, acting as agony aunt, provides some sound advice for felines when entering into relationships with humans. And lets be clear here: cats demand unconditional worship. Half measures will not do. We are not dogs, we do not do devotion or servitude. You must earn our love and you must live to serve us or we will leave. The advert says ‘be more dog’ – cats say: I don’t think so!
We found this book to be both highly amusing and very purrrrrtinent to the sometimes thorny situations that we fabulous felines sometimes find ourselves in. Everything from how to choose your human wisely (especially those with little humans in tow) to how to manage a multi-cat or even (quelle horreur) a DOG based household and come out on top. She throughly examines how a cat can effectively manipulate their environment to ensure the best possible treatment: from the most effective way to carry out a hunger strike (vital to ensure that every cat gets only the BEST possible food and treats) to how to punish a human who misguidedly abandons their cat-worshipping duties in favour of a cat-free holiday! She also does her best to provide an easy to read cat-human translation manual – an invaluable aid to even the most tuned in human.
All in all a thoroughly delightful and practical guide for cat and human alike. And now, Billy and I must depart, after all plans for world domination don’t simply create themselves you know - oooooo is that some chicken I spy….must go…. Meowwwwww!
Samaru Kye & Billy
xx
You can (purrrr…..and we think you should) buy Cats in Charge by CM Barrett from Amazon:
Visit our human scribe, Lenora, at www.hauntedpalace.co.uk
July 24, 2013
Women are Crazy (The way to lose your female readers)
This is now an old article. Please be patient if you comment and I don't see it right away. Thanks! This is not a relationship blog, but occasionally I will write about and share some revolutionary facts that I discover in my life. Here is one fact that I would love to write about (but not discuss) women are crazy. I would go so far as to say “most” women are crazy and the funny part is they make sense to each other.
Something a little lighter than usual seeing as I am going away on my jollies - Came across this blog and just couldn't resist re-blogging because a few years ago this kind of article would have made me furious, now it simply makes me chuckle!! Thank you opinionated man for putting a smile on my face...
July 23, 2013
Song of Existence by PD Allen
You may remember that I reviewed Song of Existence by PD Allen a few weeks ago and that I absolutely loved it. Well, I am pleased that my review has prompted at least one of you to go out and buy it and want to share this review which Stephen Boka has written. Review of: Song of Existence” by PD Allen (Reviewed by Stephen Boka)
Loosely based on the legend of Kokopelli, a spiritual being of Southwest Native lore, PD Allen shows his creative nature by building on this iconic character and endowing him with a back story and trials and tribulations that build empathy in the reader. Written as a parable to illustrate the author’s views and beliefs about the cosmos and the forces that direct it, the story is so well written and engaging that it will hold the interest of the casual reader looking for a good story, well told. Early on, I felt a similarity to Stephen King’s “Gunslinger” series in terms of the setting of the story and it’s allusions to other planes of consciousness. A striking similarity is the description of lotus flowers each containing a universe within their centres – The Gunslinger novels also described a rose that contained a universe within it’s centre. I enjoyed reading this book and found the author’s ability to illustrate his views on the unseen forces around us through the analogy of music to be clever and engaging. I would recommend this book and definitely look forward to reading “Complete Tales of da Yoopernatural” in the very near future!
I would also love it if we could get more of this… more reviews by YOU. Let’s start showing some love to all those wonderful indie authors out there. If you would like to submit a review of a book that you have read AFTER reading about it on this blog then go for it…send it to Ingrid@grannyirene.com Our recent reviews can all be found in the SPOTLIGHT section and older reviews can be found in the INDIE ARCHIVE
