Chris Johnson's Blog, page 4

Interruption

I’m feeling happy and frustrated at the same time.

My current Work In Progress, Demon Blade, is nearly complete. I’m halfway through the last chapter after the climax. All plot points are almost tidied, apart from two I will deliberately leave open.

Then the bell rings. It’s time to re-enter life. And I itch to return and finish the rest.

Sometimes writing is like reading. There’s nothing like an interruption during a good bit. :)

To Credit Or Not To Credit - That Is The Question

Some know I work as an entertainer. A mentalist, I read minds on stage, bend spoons, and perform a range of other things that require concentrated use of trained mental ability.
As a performer, originality is a big thing. Ask a songwriter or poet. Ask a comedian or even a magician. We each have our signature moves or pieces because they help us stand out from the crowd. Because although we are a community and love each other, we still compete hard with each other. Originality is important. It'...

Review: The Master and The Sorceress

I recently received a review copy of The Master and The Sorceress.

It's the second book by Bernadette Rowley, and I remain impressed. The novel combines magic, sword , and sorcery with a healthy dose of romance and intrigue.

Bernadette's style is mostly light and easy-to-read, and most of all, it's original. The settings are vivid in my mind's eye, and the action is crisp. I recommend this for readers of fantasy and historical romance.

Sacrifices

I’m so close to my words target for Demon Blade, but so much is happening in it, it will be much longer than its prequel Dead Cell.

Without ruining the story, one of your favourite characters is undergoing torture. But it’s not just the physical kind. Most physical wounds heal. Mental and psychological torture, however, can severely harm someone for life.

You see, the antagonist (is it a he or a she?) knows plenty about our heroic character. And is connected to his/her past in such a way...

&nbs...

Review - Sold - by Blair Denholm

This is one of my favourite stories by an Australian - Sold, written by Blair Denholm.

My review:

"Sold fits my warped sense of humour to a T. It's a noir crime thriller centred upon the hapless but resourceful Gary Braswell. He will gamble on anything, even which raindrop reaches the ground first, drinks like a thirsty fish, and this lands him in deep shit with his local bookie Jocko.
You see, Gary owes him a bucket load of cash and has to pay it ... or else. But like any loan shark, Jocko...

Review - Road To Tamarlin

I recently picked up a copy of Road To Tamarlin by KM Steele. It's a good read, reminding me of some of the classic Australian literature I read so many years ago in high school.

I want to review more Australian works, and so I will include this in my blog for you all.

""Return to Tamarlin" proved a good read for me. While I expected another version of "Jasper Jones", "Return to Tamarlin" stands on its own.

The descriptions reminded me of when I lived in Perth and travelled out to Kalgoorlie for...

Characters - What If?

You have noticed it. Right?

Some people cruise through life with a silver spoon up their arse. Life is easy for them, and everything goes their way. They have the perfect spouse, beautiful kids, and their house sports a sparkling jetty on the river with their own yacht looking pristine and beautiful. And why aren't they caught fucking their hired help in their gigantic mansion?

There we have the lower classes. Some of them are born with hypodermics jutting out of their arm, pumped with poison....

Time Travel and Rockhampton

Time travel fascinates people.
What would you do if you could travel back in time? Go back to when you were a kid and make things easier? Take $10,000 back to yourself to invest in term deposits, making you a millionaire in the future? Maybe you'd go back and beat up the bullies who hurt you. Or would you go back and kill Hitler before the War began?
As many know, I grew up in Rockhampton, Queensland. Back in the 1980's, we figured nothing happened there and saw the town as a hole. Or at least,...

The Who's Behind Bootstrap's Journey

My recently-published novella Bootstrap's Journey is a fun romp through time, travelling from the 2040's to 2017. I'm happy to say it's receiving a great response from readers.

One of them asked where I come up with the names. It's not a new question either as a friend asked me the same question, along with "Where do you get your ideas?" - but that's a tale for another time.

Knowing the story's main theme was around a fish-out-of-water, the fish being a 20-something-year-old's invention of a ti...

A Town Called Rockhampton

Many years have passed since I left my hometown of Rockhampton. There was a time when I could see myself living there until my dying day. But life happened.One of my high school friends once called it a hole. Another friend said: there's no life there, only existence.But it suited my purposes while I lived there. I enjoyed growing up a car trip away from the beach at Yeppoon; visiting my maternal grandparents at Zilzie (a suburb in Emu Park) and fishing with my Granddad in his boat. There I h...