Callum McLaughlin's Blog, page 74

The Wheels are in Motion

The selection process involved quite literally surrounding myself with poetry.

The wheels are certainly in motion for my upcoming poetry collection. The title has been chosen (Seeking Solace), the cover is ready (I���m planning to do a reveal here on my blog soon) and the poems have been selected (60 of them in total).

I���m in the process of tidying up the formatting and bringing everything together, at which point I will be able to order a proof copy to make sure I���m happy with the finished result.

As things stand, I���m on track to hopefully have the book ready by the end of this month and I���m incredibly excited to share it with anyone who may be interested.

Chandeliers

She took the pieces of her shattered chandeliers

The crunch of broken dreams epitomised in tears,

They cut her hands as she scooped them up with haste

A cleanse of bitter blood, each drop a tragic waste

Resting within a box by guard of lock and key

In case those foolish shards should fall in love and flee,

But now a hollow void is swirling in her chest

A wound unflinching, no matter how it���s dressed

How can she gift these ruins, tainted and impure?

Her misty eyes, you see, are blinded to the cure,

Hiding in solitude will let the blackness spread

Step out into the light and open up instead

With careful stitching and a tenderness of care

From hands that mend such pain with ease and modest flair,

One chandelier may resume its former reign

And then those very hands may make her whole again

Reading Update

January in books!

Since this is the first time I���ve set myself a reading challenge over on Goodreads, I thought it would be a nice idea to post a sort of monthly update throughout the year to keep track of my progress so far. My official target is at least 40 books and within that I am hoping to include a mix of adult, YA, kid���s lit, graphic novels, poetry, traditional and indie books ��� a bit of everything!

As things stand, I���ve read 9 books so far this year, which I���m pleased with (here���s hoping the momentum lasts). Within those, there���s a decent mix of fiction genres, a poetry collection and 3 indie books which feels like a pretty solid start to my 2015 reading ventures.

How is your reading going? Any good books to recommend?

Resurgence

The bite of icy winds

Snow swells on the horizon

Winter���s stubborn hold

A Boy Named Rabbit is Out on Kindle!

callummclaughlin:

Congratulations to Marcia on the launch of her new book! A talented writer and a supportive blogger – check out her awesome work.

Originally posted on The Write Stuff:

Now Available on Kindle

Wooohoooo! Finally, in spite of all kinds of obstacles in my way, I was able to upload A Boy Named Rabbitto Kindle last night, and it���s live and available for purchase today!! Those of you who have been asking when it would arrive���it���s here! Lots of launching bells and whistles have fallen by the wayside, due to my long bout with the flu, but no matter. Nothing can make me feel sad today! My third novel, the sequel to Wake-Robin Ridge is out!

If you are one of the ones who read Wake-Robin Ridgeand asked if the sequel was coming, you���re in luck. Check it out��here! If you haven���t yet read Wake-Robin Ridge, hang in there another day or two, and a boxed set with both books in it will be available at a special, discounted rate, so you can read��Book���

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Recovery

I cut myself open and bleed on a paper bandage

Ink-black dressings must mute the threat of scars

Lurking beneath the surface, biding precious time.

The wonder of a flawless flower from dreadful soil

I can���t foresee a beauty ��� I am but one wound weeping.

Reader Questionnaire

books, books, books!

I���ve been following (and loving) Jackie���s blog for a long time now and when she recently reached out to her readers to find out more about them, I couldn���t resist. By all means answer the questions yourself ��� I (and Jackie, I���m sure) would love to hear your perspective.

What is your favorite book?

I���m the typical ���my answer changes all the time��� kind of person when it comes to this question but Tess of the D���Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy is a failsafe classic for me and in terms of recent favorites, I fell in love with A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

What are your goals? For the year? For your life?

For this year my main goal is to publish my first poetry collection. For life? Just to be happy.

Are you a writer? If so, tell me about your work.��

Yes, I���ve written two books ��� The Vessel and False Awakening. Both are thrillers, but while the former is a dystopian about a woman in a depleted world trying to expose the truth, the latter follows a teenage girl trying to find out her own truth after waking in hospital with no memory of what put her there. (Wow, I think that���s the most succinctly I���ve ever described them.)

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Iceland, definitely. (And funnily enough, I���ll be ticking this one off my bucket list in March, having recently booked a trip there at long last.)

What was the last movie you saw in the theater and was it worthwhile?

It was Mockingjay. I liked it!

I���m curious, are there any books that you���ve tried to read and simply couldn���t finish? This is a no judgment zone.��

I���m not sure this counts because I never even tried but I just couldn���t bring myself to go near Fifty Shades of Grey. Sorry ��� That���s one bandwagon I���m happy to let roll on by.

Are you currently working on a new book/project right now? If it���s secret, you don���t have to tell me about it. If so, however, I hope it���s going well.

I���m currently sorting through poetry to put together a collection. I���m hoping to have it out in February-March but we all know the bumps that can crop up along the way in the wonderful world of publishing.

If you could live in any of your favorite books, which one would you choose?

Someone book me a ticket from Platform 9�� because Hogwarts, here I come! (That may also be just about the nerdiest thing I���ve ever said.)

Are there any book-to-movie adaptations that you think are just incredible? ��That you absolutely hated?

My last answer was most likely a big clue that I love all things Harry Potter, including the movies.

What do you look for in a book that you want to read? ��What���s the first thing to capture your attention?

Something with enough intrigue to keep me reading but enough answers to keep me satisfied along the way. A solid concept with relatable characters is always good and in terms of initially capturing our attention, we shouldn���t admit it but a pretty cover helps.

If you���re an author, what do you do when you first get an idea for a book?

I just jot down whatever thoughts come rushing to me, however incoherent they seem, and then simply try to make sense of them later by giving it all some structure.

How do you feel about different genres? Romance? YA? Sci-Fi? Poetry? Do you have any favorites? Any least-favorites?

I���m a big believer in branching out when it comes to genres. I understand their importance for official publishing and categorizing purposes but at the end of the day, a good story is a good story. I���m not snobby with literature at all (let���s gloss over the Fifty Shades thing) and really do try to read bits of everything so long as the story sounds interesting.

If you could meet any writer��in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?

Even putting Harry Potter to one side, I think J.K. Rowling is a remarkably talented writer and a fascinating person.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Definitely fiction ��� but then I do love a good coffee-table book on things like art, cinema, photography and whatnot.

Are there any characters that everyone loves that you can���t stand? Or vice versa?

There aren���t any coming to mind right away, which I suppose is a good thing.

What do you like to do besides reading/writing?

I���m a huge music lover and have a modest vinyl collection. You���ll often find me wasting time with my pets too. Though on second thoughts, I���m not so sure it is wasted.

If you could be remembered for one thing, what would it be?

A grand question that seems to beg a grand answer. I suppose as someone who did their best ��� be that as a writer, friend or otherwise.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure book?

I have the full set of S.D. Perry Resident Evil novelizations from my teen years. They aren���t going to go down as classics by a long shot but I remember them being great for what they are. I haven���t read any of them for years but they are still on my shelves somewhere, so you never know���

Do you have a reading goal set for this year?��

I���m hoping to read at least 40 books this year. It���s the first time I���ve done a challenge or set a goal so I wanted to be a little more modest than some others with my target. It���s early days but I���m at 7 so far, so fingers crossed I���ll get there.

Tell me anything about yourself that I haven���t asked. Random fact. Weird human trick. Whatever.

I have a bizarrely accurate memory of even my very early childhood, to the point that it used to freak my family out a little bit.

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So there you have it; a little more about me. Now I’d like to know more about you guys, so by all means make a post or answer some of the questions in the comments.

Compassion

#1000Speak

I first became aware of the 1000 voices speak for compassion initiative thanks to a post over on Mel���s blog. Immediately, I was taken by the brilliantly simple yet powerful concept and knew I wanted to get involved.

The goal is to get at least 1000 bloggers talking about compassion in all its guises all on the same day (20th of February), essentially flooding the internet with positivity.

Upon suggestion from Mel, I hope to mark the big day itself in the best way I know how ��� with a poem. I���m excited to see how everyone else chooses to spread the joy and lend their support and in the meantime, here are a few words from other people about mutual collaboration and compassion towards this world and all her inhabitants to help set the scene for next month.

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���Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.��� ��� Dalai Lama

���Solar power, wind power; the way forward is to collaborate with nature – it’s the only way we are going to get to the other end of the 21st century.��� ��� Bj��rk

���If we’re destroying our trees and destroying our environment and hurting animals and hurting one another and all that stuff, there’s got to be a very powerful energy to fight that. I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that.��� ��� Ellen DeGeneres

���Humankind seems to have an enormous capacity for savagery, for brutality, for lack of empathy, for lack of compassion [���] Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world.��� ��� Annie Lennox

Circle

I crave your icy labyrinth ���

Let me melt into your cold embrace

and join you on your way.

We���ll sink beyond the case of soil ���

Absorbed for all your brilliance

the spark of a revival.

A glimpse of life amongst the loss ���

Shoots of freshest, timid green

that flex their lungs in gratitude.

Think Positive

It goes a long way!

I���ve written a couple of posts in the past sharing some stories from the world of literature concerning all kinds of books and authors who overcame adversity to one day reach the dizzying heights of success. In the spirit of wanting to continue to spread positivity and to satisfy my own curiosity regarding such cases, here are a few more.

Renowned poet E.E. Cummings had work rejected by 14 publishers. In an amusing twist of fate, he self-published the collection, No Thanks, in which he named and shamed them all in the dedication.
Even after the first Harry Potter book was finally picked up for publication, JK Rowling was told not to quit her day job as success was very unlikely. She was also told to use her initials rather than her full name as boys ���wouldn���t want to read a book written by a woman���.
In a rejection letter for classic novel Moby-Dick, Herman Melville was asked, ���does it have to be a whale?���
Stieg Larsson was refused a place on a journalism course, being told he wasn���t good enough. He later went on to establish a powerful political magazine and became a best-selling author with his Millennium Series, which also spawned successful film adaptations.
It took Jack Kerouac six years to attract a publisher for On the Road. Before that, it was described as a ���badly misdirected talent���.
Charles Dickens��� education was constantly interrupted by the need to work in factories to help his family financially, but his poverty stricken childhood would later inspire and influence much of his now celebrated works of fiction.
An illustrated children���s book by a young Tim Burton was politely declined for publication. He went on to become a hugely successful and multi-award winning director, writer, poet and artist.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bront�� invited some harsh critical reception, with one reviewer going as far as to say ���the success is not equal to the abilities of the writer���. Regardless, it has endured as a beloved classic and continues to be considered by many as a benchmark of its genre.

So there you have it. Even the greats of the literary world suffered their own set-backs. It didn���t stop them and it doesn���t have to stop anyone else either.