Michael Andrews's Blog, page 3
July 24, 2014
Patriotic? Support our Armed Forces? Not if you are a member of Solihull Council
Okay then, I hope you all forgive me for this as it is not my normal blog post. It isn't very often, heck, it rarely happens that I talk about things that affect me or the things that I want to be involved in. However this has got me really wound up.
Last year, a wonderful lady within a small village called Dickens Heath, on the outskirts of Solihull in the West Midlands, put together a charity night in aid of the charity Help For Heroes. It was extremely well supported within the village and raised within the region of £5000 on the night. It was an overwhelming success, and one that I helped in a very small way to support by donating a signed copy of "For The Lost Soul". A large proportion of the village pulled together and there was a real sense of community spirit.
With the 100th anniversary commemoration of the outbreak of World War One on the 1st of August, that same wonderful lady, Debbie Hobson, wanted to recreate that atmosphere of community spirit and respect for our current and past serving men and women of the armed forces, and so the next Help For Heroes function was arranged. Poppies were ordered and grown at her home and planters bought. These were soon arranged around the venue, The Chalice Bar & Restaurant, in the heart of the village.
Tickets, priced at only £10, were being snapped up and with the regular live band, "New York Minute" booked, everyone was looking forward to a chilled night of entertainment, socialising and of course, fundraising for Help For Heroes. Raffle prizes were coming in thick and fast, myself included of course, and the whole of the village was expecting a fun filled night that would honour those men and women who have served our country so proudly.
OR SO WE THOUGHT
As it turns out, a local resident, one single person, put a complaint into Solihull Council saying that it would be too noisy and that it would ruin their evening's entertainment. Apparantly, the council, in their wisdom as only councils can do, agreed and allegedly have threatened the landlord of the bar and restaurant with losing his license if the event goes ahead and someone complains. This is a local business that has been running for over seven years in the village. A business that supports local charities, such as the Maddie Fighting Fund, which raises money for a young girl suffering from leukemia, who lives within the village. A business that is a focal point for the community of the village.
At every charity event, party, heck even a normal night, the owner ALWAYS insists that no-one is allowed outside the bar with a drink after 10.30pm. Music is always turned down before then. Even though they have a license to run until 2AM, they always ask the customers to respect their neighbours when leaving the premises.
YET Solihull Council has decided that the event is going to be too upsetting for that one resident to endure and so they have killed it off before it starts. There was no consultation with the residents of the village. No consultation with the owner. No consultation with the local Parish council. Someone sat in their ivory tower, with no knowledge of what the majority of the village residents want, has made a decision which has caused the organisers to cancel the charity function. After all, if someone has complained BEFORE the event has actually happened, do we really think that small, petty minded individual will not be on the phone as soon as the evening starts?
Our brave soldiers who fought for freedom from oppression, those very people who the charity night was there to remember and commemorate, must be turning in their graves.
Solihull Council... you need to have a long, hard look at yourselves and decide if you are the type of person that your mother would be proud of.
Last year, a wonderful lady within a small village called Dickens Heath, on the outskirts of Solihull in the West Midlands, put together a charity night in aid of the charity Help For Heroes. It was extremely well supported within the village and raised within the region of £5000 on the night. It was an overwhelming success, and one that I helped in a very small way to support by donating a signed copy of "For The Lost Soul". A large proportion of the village pulled together and there was a real sense of community spirit.
With the 100th anniversary commemoration of the outbreak of World War One on the 1st of August, that same wonderful lady, Debbie Hobson, wanted to recreate that atmosphere of community spirit and respect for our current and past serving men and women of the armed forces, and so the next Help For Heroes function was arranged. Poppies were ordered and grown at her home and planters bought. These were soon arranged around the venue, The Chalice Bar & Restaurant, in the heart of the village.
Tickets, priced at only £10, were being snapped up and with the regular live band, "New York Minute" booked, everyone was looking forward to a chilled night of entertainment, socialising and of course, fundraising for Help For Heroes. Raffle prizes were coming in thick and fast, myself included of course, and the whole of the village was expecting a fun filled night that would honour those men and women who have served our country so proudly.
OR SO WE THOUGHT
As it turns out, a local resident, one single person, put a complaint into Solihull Council saying that it would be too noisy and that it would ruin their evening's entertainment. Apparantly, the council, in their wisdom as only councils can do, agreed and allegedly have threatened the landlord of the bar and restaurant with losing his license if the event goes ahead and someone complains. This is a local business that has been running for over seven years in the village. A business that supports local charities, such as the Maddie Fighting Fund, which raises money for a young girl suffering from leukemia, who lives within the village. A business that is a focal point for the community of the village.
At every charity event, party, heck even a normal night, the owner ALWAYS insists that no-one is allowed outside the bar with a drink after 10.30pm. Music is always turned down before then. Even though they have a license to run until 2AM, they always ask the customers to respect their neighbours when leaving the premises.
YET Solihull Council has decided that the event is going to be too upsetting for that one resident to endure and so they have killed it off before it starts. There was no consultation with the residents of the village. No consultation with the owner. No consultation with the local Parish council. Someone sat in their ivory tower, with no knowledge of what the majority of the village residents want, has made a decision which has caused the organisers to cancel the charity function. After all, if someone has complained BEFORE the event has actually happened, do we really think that small, petty minded individual will not be on the phone as soon as the evening starts?
Our brave soldiers who fought for freedom from oppression, those very people who the charity night was there to remember and commemorate, must be turning in their graves.
Solihull Council... you need to have a long, hard look at yourselves and decide if you are the type of person that your mother would be proud of.
July 20, 2014
Rory is the main story in a weekend dominated by Unlimited news.
Well, what a weekend of golf it has been at The Open Championship and once again, Rory McIlroy has rediscovered the form that lifted him to number one in the world and he picked up his third major of his career. What is more impressive is that he has now won three different majors and is on the verge of becoming one of the few players in history to do the clean sweep.
You do have to give a lot of credit to the chasing pack though as well. Although Rory never had a lead of less than two on the final day, Sergio Garcia and an ever improving Ricky Fowler certainly made sure that Rory couldn't relax. Talking of the Californian, that is now three top five finishes in the three majors in 2014 and surely it is only a matter of time before he picks up a win. His interview on the BBC afterwards was one of respect and intelligence and he certainly has made a lot of friends in the UK this week.
Roll on the PGA in a couple of weeks, and of course, The Ryder Cup at the end of September.
The big story that is going to rock the world of reading is the announcement by Amazon of their new subscription service called Kindle Unlimited. At the moment, it is only in trial in the US but it certainly looks like the more active readers amongst us will get great value for money. Priced at $9.99, it allows the customer to download upto 10 books at any one time. Once read, you can return the book and download another. You can do this as often as you want, hence the Unlimited nature of the name.
I believe that this can only be a good thing for us aspiring authors as it should encourage readers to take more risks on the unknown names, trying their books "for free" which may lead to full sales rather than the hire of the books under the subscription.
As for me? I have been receiving some nice reviews for my latest book, Under A Blood Moon, including one where a reader from the USA stating that she has fallen in love with my new teenage vampire, Alex. I have also just been interviewed this afternoon by Heibooks, a new website that helps advertise books. I've been told that it should go up in the next week or so. I have also started work on my next project, which is book two in The Alex Hayden Chronicles. I've been hard at work, re-reading Blood Moon so that everything is fresh in my mind again, and with the general plotline and ongoing series plots laid out, I am just about in a place where I will start putting the proverbial pen to paper and start writing "The Howling Wind". I know that Lucy, my cover designer, has already started putting together ideas for the front cover so it's all exciting once again.
I have also been hard at work with reading and reviewing other books and here is one for you to have a look at.
4.0 out of 5 stars Quick fire fun actionBy Michael AndrewsFormat:Kindle EditionThis short story is a quick paced action book based around the Hartman siblings, who's company run the online game Dragonfire. This is a game where you transpose your human self inside the game, but while there are safety measures in place to protect you, things can go wrong.
It is an intriguing read as the author meshes in the idea of the game, the differing characters of the "real" world with the computer world and in my opinion, would work well if he ever decided to turn it into a full length novel.
If you want to pick it up, it's priced at just 99c or 77p and you can do it here for the US and here for the UK
In other news, it was with sadness that I have just heard that James Garner has died at the age of 86. Famous for his roles in Maverick and the Rockford Files, as well as appearing in The Great Escape. He will be missed.
Well, that's my lot for this week. Hope you have all had a good weekend. Peace!
You do have to give a lot of credit to the chasing pack though as well. Although Rory never had a lead of less than two on the final day, Sergio Garcia and an ever improving Ricky Fowler certainly made sure that Rory couldn't relax. Talking of the Californian, that is now three top five finishes in the three majors in 2014 and surely it is only a matter of time before he picks up a win. His interview on the BBC afterwards was one of respect and intelligence and he certainly has made a lot of friends in the UK this week.
Roll on the PGA in a couple of weeks, and of course, The Ryder Cup at the end of September.
The big story that is going to rock the world of reading is the announcement by Amazon of their new subscription service called Kindle Unlimited. At the moment, it is only in trial in the US but it certainly looks like the more active readers amongst us will get great value for money. Priced at $9.99, it allows the customer to download upto 10 books at any one time. Once read, you can return the book and download another. You can do this as often as you want, hence the Unlimited nature of the name.
I believe that this can only be a good thing for us aspiring authors as it should encourage readers to take more risks on the unknown names, trying their books "for free" which may lead to full sales rather than the hire of the books under the subscription.
As for me? I have been receiving some nice reviews for my latest book, Under A Blood Moon, including one where a reader from the USA stating that she has fallen in love with my new teenage vampire, Alex. I have also just been interviewed this afternoon by Heibooks, a new website that helps advertise books. I've been told that it should go up in the next week or so. I have also started work on my next project, which is book two in The Alex Hayden Chronicles. I've been hard at work, re-reading Blood Moon so that everything is fresh in my mind again, and with the general plotline and ongoing series plots laid out, I am just about in a place where I will start putting the proverbial pen to paper and start writing "The Howling Wind". I know that Lucy, my cover designer, has already started putting together ideas for the front cover so it's all exciting once again.
I have also been hard at work with reading and reviewing other books and here is one for you to have a look at.
4.0 out of 5 stars Quick fire fun actionBy Michael AndrewsFormat:Kindle EditionThis short story is a quick paced action book based around the Hartman siblings, who's company run the online game Dragonfire. This is a game where you transpose your human self inside the game, but while there are safety measures in place to protect you, things can go wrong.
It is an intriguing read as the author meshes in the idea of the game, the differing characters of the "real" world with the computer world and in my opinion, would work well if he ever decided to turn it into a full length novel.
If you want to pick it up, it's priced at just 99c or 77p and you can do it here for the US and here for the UK
In other news, it was with sadness that I have just heard that James Garner has died at the age of 86. Famous for his roles in Maverick and the Rockford Files, as well as appearing in The Great Escape. He will be missed.
Well, that's my lot for this week. Hope you have all had a good weekend. Peace!
July 5, 2014
"Pulled" into a Flawed universe
Well it's been a busy week or so since my last post, with new books being read, adverts being accepted and World Cup matches to watch. Firstly my stuff. "Under A Blood Moon" is now officially up and running with sales coming in from Europe and the UK. Still waiting for that first US sale, but with it now up on Goodreads as well, who knows? Received my first copies in paperback which is always a cool feeling. I've also been accepted for an email shot by eBookSoda which goes out on the 12th July so hopefully that will help push things along. I've started laying the groundwork to book two of the Alex Hayden Chronicles, which is called "The Howling Wind". No prizes for guessing what paranormal creature is going to make an appearance in this one haha! I've set myself a tough deadline though, having announced in the first book that "Howling Wind" will be released in time for Christmas this year. It took me around eight months to write "Blood Moon" so with only five months realistically for "Howling Wind", I am going to have to make sure that I am not distracted as I have been by other projects. Talking of other projects, I received an advanced copy of a short story by Becca J Campbell called "Pulled". This is a short story from her "Flawed" universe, something that I had not been aware of before receiving the book but one that has now tweaked my interest. This is my review that I have left on Amazon for Becca's book. “Pulled” is an interesting short read that introduces the reader to the “Flawed” universe. I have assumed this is written as a prequel to a future story, “Pulled” introduces the eight year old Juniper, a girl with the ability to be physically transported to the location of other ‘Uniques’, other people with special abilities.The story is fast flowing, which at twenty eight pages it needs to be, but you are drawn into the plight of the young girl who has been in and out of foster homes due to her ability. It was an enjoyable short read and is billed as a standalone story so you do not need to have read any of the other “Flawed” stories, which I have not…yet. A nice introduction to the author’s other books which I will now be taking an interest in. If you are interested in taking a look, here is a link to the UK site. Pulled by Becca J Campbell
I have also recently read another short sci fi book called Rescue One: Breaking Point by a New Zealand author called Michael Gardner. This is a prequel to his new book which I picked up through seeing it on Goodreads. Again, here is my review. Roll on the first book proper!!
I bought this book as I had seen it on Goodreads and I liked the front cover, it grabbed me straight away and as a fan of sci-fi, I thought, heck why not!!
I read another review comparing it to the Star Trek universe and I can see where he was coming from in that this is the Star Trek First Contact to the next set of films.
This prequel sets the background to how humanity discover faster than light space flight and the main protagonist is someone that you want to like, while wanting to dislike as well. Going back to the Star Trek similarity, he is the James Cromwell!
All being said, it is a short story that has grabbed me and is making me wait for the first book in the series, as I am sure that I will be hooked. Again, here is the link for it if you want to check it out on Amazon. Rescue One:Breaking Point
And finally, England decided to cut short their summer vacation in Brazil, a nearly pointless exercise, and with two of the four quarter finals completed, I think Germany are now looking strong favourites to win it. With Neymar now out of the tournament, I think that the Germans will be too strong for the hosts. On the domestic front, Leicester are signing their players to longer term contracts, which is great news. Only Lloyd Dyer has left the club but should easily be replaced with the signing of Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton. How and why the Villa let him go I've no idea! Just need to add a little bit of quality to the squad and I am sure that we will survive next season, which is all that matters after a ten year absence. Peace!
I have also recently read another short sci fi book called Rescue One: Breaking Point by a New Zealand author called Michael Gardner. This is a prequel to his new book which I picked up through seeing it on Goodreads. Again, here is my review. Roll on the first book proper!!I bought this book as I had seen it on Goodreads and I liked the front cover, it grabbed me straight away and as a fan of sci-fi, I thought, heck why not!!
I read another review comparing it to the Star Trek universe and I can see where he was coming from in that this is the Star Trek First Contact to the next set of films.
This prequel sets the background to how humanity discover faster than light space flight and the main protagonist is someone that you want to like, while wanting to dislike as well. Going back to the Star Trek similarity, he is the James Cromwell!
All being said, it is a short story that has grabbed me and is making me wait for the first book in the series, as I am sure that I will be hooked. Again, here is the link for it if you want to check it out on Amazon. Rescue One:Breaking Point
And finally, England decided to cut short their summer vacation in Brazil, a nearly pointless exercise, and with two of the four quarter finals completed, I think Germany are now looking strong favourites to win it. With Neymar now out of the tournament, I think that the Germans will be too strong for the hosts. On the domestic front, Leicester are signing their players to longer term contracts, which is great news. Only Lloyd Dyer has left the club but should easily be replaced with the signing of Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton. How and why the Villa let him go I've no idea! Just need to add a little bit of quality to the squad and I am sure that we will survive next season, which is all that matters after a ten year absence. Peace!
June 26, 2014
New release!!! Under A Blood Moon and a little bit of Flash!
Hi everyone so my biggie news is that my latest book, "Under A Blood Moon" is now out there for you to have a look at on both Kindle and paperback, through Amazon. I have already had a couple of nice reviews for it and it is my latest project exploring the paranormal world of vampires, witches and warlocks. Here's the cover, which I have to thank Lucy for designing and of course, my wonderful proof reader Debbie for her work on finding all my errors. 
Under A Blood Moon When Detective Harry Shepherd stops a young teenager throwing himself from the end of Blackpool pier, he has little idea that the world around him would change forever. As the boy scampers away, he vows to discover why the lad was so willing to die.
However, Alex Hayden is no ordinary teenager, but one with an insight into the multiple murders that are occurring within the town. Sensing a loss within the soul of Detective Shepherd, he becomes embroiled in the search to stop the killer at the risk of exposing his own secret.
As the worlds of mortals and the paranormal collide, Alex and Harry battle to stop the vampire pack from achieving their goal of forming an army that would rip apart the fragile balance between the two worlds.
Under A Blood Moon is the first book in the Alex Hayden Chronicles. So it has been an exciting couple of weeks for me with the release of my book, and I have been doing the social network thing, with an interview on Rosie's blog to come soon.Of course I have been looking at other things as well, and one thing that I have found is some of the groups on Goodreads do flash fiction threads. Having seen one of the pictures, I looked at it long and hard and despite it supposed to being a romantic thread, I wrote this little piece of flash fiction. I hope you like it as much as my friends on Facebook.
Missing You by Michael Andrews I’m sat here with my besties less one, not quite believing, not quite understanding that you are gone. You were the best of us, the smartest, the cutest, the most loving. Is that why they turned on you, on us? Is that why they made your life, our life, hell? We tried to stop it, the sneers, the names, the punches and kicks, but in the end it must have been too much for you to bear. Now you’re gone and the world has lost a beautiful person, and we are left here, sitting, wishing you were still with us. Other than my own stuff, I've been reading other books as well and here is my review of the latest one that I have read. I thoroughly recommend this if you like a different genre to the norm. I had never heard of Clockpunk but boy, this has me into a whole new genre of fiction.
Forever Boy
More please!
May 23, 2014 By Michael Andrews Format:Kindle Edition I received a free copy of Forever Boy in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review and boy, was I pleased that I did.
I’ll admit that I had never heard of Clockpunk, or Steampunk, before reading this story but now that I have, it has opened up a whole new genre of reading for me to look forward to.
The story in itself was well written and constructed with likeable characters and a fast flowing plot, but for me it finished just as it really should have gotten going. I am hoping that this is the first book in an ongoing series as I could see this one as the ‘pilot’ episode introducing you to the characters where episodes two onwards gets to the meat of adventures.
Overall an enjoyable read and I will be keeping my eye out for a hopefully second release in the series. Well, other than the news that Nigel Pearson has signed a new three year contract at the mighty Premiership Foxes, I am gonna sign off!! Peace!
Under A Blood Moon When Detective Harry Shepherd stops a young teenager throwing himself from the end of Blackpool pier, he has little idea that the world around him would change forever. As the boy scampers away, he vows to discover why the lad was so willing to die. However, Alex Hayden is no ordinary teenager, but one with an insight into the multiple murders that are occurring within the town. Sensing a loss within the soul of Detective Shepherd, he becomes embroiled in the search to stop the killer at the risk of exposing his own secret.
As the worlds of mortals and the paranormal collide, Alex and Harry battle to stop the vampire pack from achieving their goal of forming an army that would rip apart the fragile balance between the two worlds.
Under A Blood Moon is the first book in the Alex Hayden Chronicles. So it has been an exciting couple of weeks for me with the release of my book, and I have been doing the social network thing, with an interview on Rosie's blog to come soon.Of course I have been looking at other things as well, and one thing that I have found is some of the groups on Goodreads do flash fiction threads. Having seen one of the pictures, I looked at it long and hard and despite it supposed to being a romantic thread, I wrote this little piece of flash fiction. I hope you like it as much as my friends on Facebook.
Missing You by Michael Andrews I’m sat here with my besties less one, not quite believing, not quite understanding that you are gone. You were the best of us, the smartest, the cutest, the most loving. Is that why they turned on you, on us? Is that why they made your life, our life, hell? We tried to stop it, the sneers, the names, the punches and kicks, but in the end it must have been too much for you to bear. Now you’re gone and the world has lost a beautiful person, and we are left here, sitting, wishing you were still with us. Other than my own stuff, I've been reading other books as well and here is my review of the latest one that I have read. I thoroughly recommend this if you like a different genre to the norm. I had never heard of Clockpunk but boy, this has me into a whole new genre of fiction.
Forever Boy
More please!
May 23, 2014 By Michael Andrews Format:Kindle Edition I received a free copy of Forever Boy in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review and boy, was I pleased that I did.I’ll admit that I had never heard of Clockpunk, or Steampunk, before reading this story but now that I have, it has opened up a whole new genre of reading for me to look forward to.
The story in itself was well written and constructed with likeable characters and a fast flowing plot, but for me it finished just as it really should have gotten going. I am hoping that this is the first book in an ongoing series as I could see this one as the ‘pilot’ episode introducing you to the characters where episodes two onwards gets to the meat of adventures.
Overall an enjoyable read and I will be keeping my eye out for a hopefully second release in the series. Well, other than the news that Nigel Pearson has signed a new three year contract at the mighty Premiership Foxes, I am gonna sign off!! Peace!
June 23, 2014
Oh wow....I didn't realise I'd left it thing long!
Sorry everyone...I knew that it had been a while but November??? Jeez...sorry peeps. So what's been happening? Well, I have been a busy bunny on Goodreads, finding new authors to read and review their books. I have found a couple of absolute crackers. 
The Proposition by Vardan Paramyan - 5 stars out of 5 This is an enthralling, sardonically funny tale of man versus the Devil as a down and out, long term liar is given the chance to be granted a wish by the Devil. All he has to do is race him to the habour, some five miles or so away and he wins. If he loses, the Devil gets his eternal soul. As Louis ventures through his nine levels of personal hell, the constant monologue of description of his feelings and thoughts are at times laugh out loud material. In fact, I was attracting some very strange looks on the bus as I sat reading my kindle.
At 47 pages of Kindle viewing, it is a story that you will fid yourself unable to put down and easily readable in one sitting, which is what I did.
Thoroughly recommendable to all readers who like the supernatural with a twist that caught me unawares, I will definitely be looking into other books that this author has written.
After that, I moved on to a longer length novel...and boy did I??? At over a quarter of a million words, Deneb by Pearson Moore which was a challenging read, but one that I gave four stars out of five.
I always worry when an author proclaims his own work as an epic and so approached Deneb with cautious anticipation. However, my fears were allayed within the first few chapters as I discovered the wealth of interesting and differing characters mixed into a complex plot that certainly pushes itself into that category.
From the moment that flight Pacific 159 is hit by a blinding flash of light, you are thrown into a story of how the passengers try to survive not only the weird new environment that they find themselves in, but also the mysterious appearance of an 18th Century French navy ship as well as the native inhabitants who believe in an ancient prophecy that the passengers seem to be fulfilling.
The story does involve some violence and sex but the fact that it is over a quarter of a million words long will probably take it out of the range of any younger readers who may be offended. However, I feel that this is important to the story and it would certainly be less without it. I would liken my reading of this book to that of The Lord of the Rings, in that it is now a book that I can say that I am pleased to have read it.
There are two versions of the book, the “normal” version which includes maps and sketches in a style similar to Matthew Reilly’s Scarecrow and Jack West series of books, as well as an “illustrated” version which includes the author’s impressions of the characters and places. So after completing some reading, I got back to writing and in my next blog, which I promise not to be too long, I'll tell you about my new release as well as a little piece of flash fiction that I have written. As for other things, the World Cup is upon us, but for my lot, it's already over. England have to do something against Costa Rica tomorrow otherwise this team will have our worst ever results in Finals history. I've just heard the team and it is basically giving everybody who hasn't played yet a taste of the action. Hopefully they will be hungry to prove themselves and not leave us with the dreaded NIL points! So, with a promise to you that I will be back to regular posts, I'll sign off and wish you all a goodnight!
The Proposition by Vardan Paramyan - 5 stars out of 5 This is an enthralling, sardonically funny tale of man versus the Devil as a down and out, long term liar is given the chance to be granted a wish by the Devil. All he has to do is race him to the habour, some five miles or so away and he wins. If he loses, the Devil gets his eternal soul. As Louis ventures through his nine levels of personal hell, the constant monologue of description of his feelings and thoughts are at times laugh out loud material. In fact, I was attracting some very strange looks on the bus as I sat reading my kindle.At 47 pages of Kindle viewing, it is a story that you will fid yourself unable to put down and easily readable in one sitting, which is what I did.
Thoroughly recommendable to all readers who like the supernatural with a twist that caught me unawares, I will definitely be looking into other books that this author has written.
After that, I moved on to a longer length novel...and boy did I??? At over a quarter of a million words, Deneb by Pearson Moore which was a challenging read, but one that I gave four stars out of five.
I always worry when an author proclaims his own work as an epic and so approached Deneb with cautious anticipation. However, my fears were allayed within the first few chapters as I discovered the wealth of interesting and differing characters mixed into a complex plot that certainly pushes itself into that category.From the moment that flight Pacific 159 is hit by a blinding flash of light, you are thrown into a story of how the passengers try to survive not only the weird new environment that they find themselves in, but also the mysterious appearance of an 18th Century French navy ship as well as the native inhabitants who believe in an ancient prophecy that the passengers seem to be fulfilling.
The story does involve some violence and sex but the fact that it is over a quarter of a million words long will probably take it out of the range of any younger readers who may be offended. However, I feel that this is important to the story and it would certainly be less without it. I would liken my reading of this book to that of The Lord of the Rings, in that it is now a book that I can say that I am pleased to have read it.
There are two versions of the book, the “normal” version which includes maps and sketches in a style similar to Matthew Reilly’s Scarecrow and Jack West series of books, as well as an “illustrated” version which includes the author’s impressions of the characters and places. So after completing some reading, I got back to writing and in my next blog, which I promise not to be too long, I'll tell you about my new release as well as a little piece of flash fiction that I have written. As for other things, the World Cup is upon us, but for my lot, it's already over. England have to do something against Costa Rica tomorrow otherwise this team will have our worst ever results in Finals history. I've just heard the team and it is basically giving everybody who hasn't played yet a taste of the action. Hopefully they will be hungry to prove themselves and not leave us with the dreaded NIL points! So, with a promise to you that I will be back to regular posts, I'll sign off and wish you all a goodnight!
November 1, 2013
The Empty Chair now released on Kindle
It's been a busy few weeks for me, so firstly apologies for not blogging!
The big news from the World of Michael Andrews is that my anti bullying poetry book "The Empty Chair" is now up and running and available on Kindle (and other smart devices via the free Kindle app). It contains seventeen poems, all based on bullying and the effects that it has, not just on the victims themselves, but friends and family as well. There are also weblinks to my chosen charity Beatbullying.org and some concerning statistics from various studies into bullying in the UK.
Did you know that on average TWENTY schoolage children in the UK kill themselves each year because of the effects of bullying.
However, there is help out there and in the UK, anyone concerned can go to www.beatbullying.org and find a lot of advice, adult counsellors and even mentors of schoolage children who have had training to help other children their age.
If you think it's a worthwhile cause, and want to help in a roundabout fashion, for each copy of "The Empty Chair" that is sold, I am donating royalties towards the charity. So if you want to grab a copy, please click on https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G4TA2SG for your copy in the UK, or http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G4TA2SG in the US.
Talking of the USA, I need to give a big shout out to Alisha, who has invited me to guest on her internet radio show, Bully Survival Radio. It's very short notice but it is TODAY at 6pm GMT and I will be reading some of the poems from my book, as well as talking about it, the inspiration behind it and bullying in general. You can find the link to it on my facebook page which is here...Michael Andrews Facebook
And as I am in a generous mood, as a teaser and a sign of goodwill to all and sundry, here is one of my poems from the book. So if you do like it, please help me support the charity by grabbing a copy and leaving a nice review if you do enjoy it.
Thanks!
Sometimes you don’t know what to do.The so called cool kids pick on him,And you think you should step in Not knowing if they’ll start on you.Do you stand up and see it through? Up to now he’s been alone. Plant a foot forward, be like stone. To support the kid who gets so hurt , Over how the thugs treat him like dirt. The things they do and things they say, He barely makes it through the day, Even though he says he’s okay. But you know he not and so you’ll stand Under pressure but you’ll take his hand. Like all bullies, they won’t like it Like all bullies, they’ll hide from you If you show the needed grit. Each one of us must take a vow to Stand up to the bullies.
The big news from the World of Michael Andrews is that my anti bullying poetry book "The Empty Chair" is now up and running and available on Kindle (and other smart devices via the free Kindle app). It contains seventeen poems, all based on bullying and the effects that it has, not just on the victims themselves, but friends and family as well. There are also weblinks to my chosen charity Beatbullying.org and some concerning statistics from various studies into bullying in the UK.
Did you know that on average TWENTY schoolage children in the UK kill themselves each year because of the effects of bullying.
However, there is help out there and in the UK, anyone concerned can go to www.beatbullying.org and find a lot of advice, adult counsellors and even mentors of schoolage children who have had training to help other children their age.
If you think it's a worthwhile cause, and want to help in a roundabout fashion, for each copy of "The Empty Chair" that is sold, I am donating royalties towards the charity. So if you want to grab a copy, please click on https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G4TA2SG for your copy in the UK, or http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G4TA2SG in the US.
Talking of the USA, I need to give a big shout out to Alisha, who has invited me to guest on her internet radio show, Bully Survival Radio. It's very short notice but it is TODAY at 6pm GMT and I will be reading some of the poems from my book, as well as talking about it, the inspiration behind it and bullying in general. You can find the link to it on my facebook page which is here...Michael Andrews Facebook
And as I am in a generous mood, as a teaser and a sign of goodwill to all and sundry, here is one of my poems from the book. So if you do like it, please help me support the charity by grabbing a copy and leaving a nice review if you do enjoy it.
Thanks!
Sometimes you don’t know what to do.The so called cool kids pick on him,And you think you should step in Not knowing if they’ll start on you.Do you stand up and see it through? Up to now he’s been alone. Plant a foot forward, be like stone. To support the kid who gets so hurt , Over how the thugs treat him like dirt. The things they do and things they say, He barely makes it through the day, Even though he says he’s okay. But you know he not and so you’ll stand Under pressure but you’ll take his hand. Like all bullies, they won’t like it Like all bullies, they’ll hide from you If you show the needed grit. Each one of us must take a vow to Stand up to the bullies.
September 28, 2013
Beating Bullies Under A Blood Moon
Well it's been a couple of weeks since my last musing, so I thought I would take the time to catch up with the world of Michael Andrews.
In the last couple of weeks I have been trying to hit the marketing trail, learning more and more how to make an impact on twitter (which you can follow me @forthelostsoul ) and in 5 days I have over trebled my followers, and am gaining new ones daily.
For me, this most important event in the last two weeks was the contact that I had with the UK anti bullying charity, BeatBullying.org. I am in the process of finalising my poetry collection for release on Kindle, called "The Empty Chair", which aims to highlight the effects that bullying can have. I wanted to have a section of the book dedicated to the help that victims of bullying can receive and BeatBullying is the largest charity in the UK dedicated to this. I had found a superbly powerful poster that they produced some time ago and I want to use it within the book, but of course, the big thing is permission. Hence the desperate need to make contact and on Thursday this week, that was achieved. I am still thinking about price, but as I will be donating a big part of my royalties to the charity, I am hoping that people will look to this as a way to donate while still enjoying my poetry so I will be looking at around the £3.99 mark.
The next project is also underway. I have been throwing ideas around for what I want to write next in terms of my fictional writing and having taken some advice from the author forum that I am on, I have decided that rather than a full length novel, I am going down the line of shorter, novella style books, but in a series. Sort of like a TV series where each book is a separate story, but there will be a series plot running across all of them. As well as the main two characters, there will be reoccurring minor characters, both good and bad! The first book has the working title of "Under A Blood Moon" and the series currently is called "The Alex Hayden Chronicles" although that is still in the air.
I have also got a publicity meeting arranged on Monday with a local publication that has a readership of around 10,000 people so this should also help promote the poetry. It will also be interesting as Gail, the lady I'm meeting, has bought and read "For The Lost Soul" so will be nice to get some face to face feedback!
That's it for now! Peace, love and chocolate marshmallows!
In the last couple of weeks I have been trying to hit the marketing trail, learning more and more how to make an impact on twitter (which you can follow me @forthelostsoul ) and in 5 days I have over trebled my followers, and am gaining new ones daily.
For me, this most important event in the last two weeks was the contact that I had with the UK anti bullying charity, BeatBullying.org. I am in the process of finalising my poetry collection for release on Kindle, called "The Empty Chair", which aims to highlight the effects that bullying can have. I wanted to have a section of the book dedicated to the help that victims of bullying can receive and BeatBullying is the largest charity in the UK dedicated to this. I had found a superbly powerful poster that they produced some time ago and I want to use it within the book, but of course, the big thing is permission. Hence the desperate need to make contact and on Thursday this week, that was achieved. I am still thinking about price, but as I will be donating a big part of my royalties to the charity, I am hoping that people will look to this as a way to donate while still enjoying my poetry so I will be looking at around the £3.99 mark.
The next project is also underway. I have been throwing ideas around for what I want to write next in terms of my fictional writing and having taken some advice from the author forum that I am on, I have decided that rather than a full length novel, I am going down the line of shorter, novella style books, but in a series. Sort of like a TV series where each book is a separate story, but there will be a series plot running across all of them. As well as the main two characters, there will be reoccurring minor characters, both good and bad! The first book has the working title of "Under A Blood Moon" and the series currently is called "The Alex Hayden Chronicles" although that is still in the air.
I have also got a publicity meeting arranged on Monday with a local publication that has a readership of around 10,000 people so this should also help promote the poetry. It will also be interesting as Gail, the lady I'm meeting, has bought and read "For The Lost Soul" so will be nice to get some face to face feedback!
That's it for now! Peace, love and chocolate marshmallows!
September 14, 2013
A comedown after the excitment!
Hi everyone,
I did say I was going to update weekly but to be honest, not a lot has happened in the last week that I thought you guys would be interested in.
I managed to pull my left thigh muscle on Sunday and then topped it off with getting an infected finger after biting off one of those annoying bits of skin down the side of my nail. Ended up at the walkin clinic yesterday for the Doc to cut it open to relieve some of the pressure and give me a prescription for anti biotics.
All of this has curtailed into my writing so I only managed around 5000 words last week in the sequel to Carl Signs Up, called Jimmy's Training. I've set a deadline of Wednesday this week to get it finished and up on Kindle as I have programmed in a freebie promo for Carl Signs Up as an advert for the new book. That starts on Friday.
Other than that, in terms of writing, I've spent some more time looking into the marketing aspects and picked up a couple of hints which I will be trying out in the near future.
The rugby season got off to a good start with Leicester Tigers beating Worcester with a bonus point win, but that has now been overshadowed by the long term injury to Tom Croft, who is now out for the season! Unlucky mate!
Still loving Wentworth and Under The Dome and beginning to get excited now for the forthcoming release of Ender's Game at the cinema. It's going to be an exciting November for sci fi fans with that, and the 50th Anniversary special of Doctor Who..which features the return of David Tennant and Billie Piper.
Well, I really ought to try to get on and finish Jimmy so that its ready for release so laterz........
I did say I was going to update weekly but to be honest, not a lot has happened in the last week that I thought you guys would be interested in.
I managed to pull my left thigh muscle on Sunday and then topped it off with getting an infected finger after biting off one of those annoying bits of skin down the side of my nail. Ended up at the walkin clinic yesterday for the Doc to cut it open to relieve some of the pressure and give me a prescription for anti biotics.
All of this has curtailed into my writing so I only managed around 5000 words last week in the sequel to Carl Signs Up, called Jimmy's Training. I've set a deadline of Wednesday this week to get it finished and up on Kindle as I have programmed in a freebie promo for Carl Signs Up as an advert for the new book. That starts on Friday.
Other than that, in terms of writing, I've spent some more time looking into the marketing aspects and picked up a couple of hints which I will be trying out in the near future.
The rugby season got off to a good start with Leicester Tigers beating Worcester with a bonus point win, but that has now been overshadowed by the long term injury to Tom Croft, who is now out for the season! Unlucky mate!
Still loving Wentworth and Under The Dome and beginning to get excited now for the forthcoming release of Ender's Game at the cinema. It's going to be an exciting November for sci fi fans with that, and the 50th Anniversary special of Doctor Who..which features the return of David Tennant and Billie Piper.
Well, I really ought to try to get on and finish Jimmy so that its ready for release so laterz........
September 4, 2013
Most exciting week for me!
Well, the most amazing things happened to me this week. Good and bad, but that’s life isn’t it!
Firstly, I soared past the three hundred AND four hundred downloads mark on my kindle books, the links of which I will add at the bottom of today’s post in case anyone fancies giving them a try.
Then, I actually received my first bad review! I know, I probably shouldn’t share that with you, but I look on it as constructive as it was on an experimental story so I’m not too down hearted. It certainly doesn’t counter the six excellent reviews that I have received.
But then, the biggie that happened is that I have received official recognition that my anti bullying poetry might actually be pretty good. I have been submitting a few of them to various magazines and on Wednesday ‘The Cannon’s Mouth’, a 30 year old publication, accepted and published my poem ‘My New Phone’ in their September Quarterly edition! Look at this!!
Not only is it great that someone in the industry actually liked my poem enough to include it, but it does now start my ‘publishing c.v.’ which a lot of agents and publishing houses look for. One of my novels is a 90,000 word self proclaimed epic, ha ha, but seriously I would love to get it accepted and published in physical form rather than just be available on Kindle. I am also nearly finished writing my collection of anti bullying poetry and hope to publish it to help raise awareness and funds for the charity, beatbully.org. I have also started my second full length novel, so who knows. Today I am still in my small, little village on the outskirts of Birmingham, next step, Hollywood!
Other than that…I’m loving the series ‘Under the Dome’ at the moment. A combination of Stephen Spielberg and Stephen King..surely it can’t go wrong? Also started the new series called ‘Wentworth’, which is a remake of the old Aussie soap ‘Prisoner Cell Block H’.
The rugby union season starts as well, so a big shout out to Toby Flood, who was stretchered off against Ulster in the final warm up game for Leicester Tigers. Get well soon Floody!
Thanks for reading my ramblings and have a great week. Here are the links!
Short Stories Series
Carl Signs Up (The Programme book 1) – UK - US
Living Life to the Max – UK - US
A Room For Rent – UK - US
Feature Length Novel
For The Lost Soul - UK
For The Lost Soul - USA
August 30, 2013
Up & Running
Hi everyone,
As a lot of authors have them, I've decided to give it a go and see if I can create a blog that will keep you interested and up to date with the imaginative world of the mind of Michael Andrews!!
Who am I?
I'm an international selling author on three continents, just about anyway, wannabe poet and general all round guy who is looking to try to make writing a successful career, or at least one that will buy me a couple of beers every now and then.
So what am I going to include on my blog? What shouldn't I include on my blog?
I will post the usual updates about how my debut full length novel, For The Lost Soul, is doing, along with my short stories, all of which are available through Amazon to read on your Kindle (or your free Kindle app).
I'll keep you informed of my curent work in progress and forthcoming projects.
I'll even tell you what is keeping me smiling in the world, or looking for the nearest pint to drown my sorrows in!
Hopefully you will like the blog and I'd appreciate any helpful comments that you may have!
Thanks for reading
Michael
xx
As a lot of authors have them, I've decided to give it a go and see if I can create a blog that will keep you interested and up to date with the imaginative world of the mind of Michael Andrews!!
Who am I?
I'm an international selling author on three continents, just about anyway, wannabe poet and general all round guy who is looking to try to make writing a successful career, or at least one that will buy me a couple of beers every now and then.
So what am I going to include on my blog? What shouldn't I include on my blog?
I will post the usual updates about how my debut full length novel, For The Lost Soul, is doing, along with my short stories, all of which are available through Amazon to read on your Kindle (or your free Kindle app).
I'll keep you informed of my curent work in progress and forthcoming projects.
I'll even tell you what is keeping me smiling in the world, or looking for the nearest pint to drown my sorrows in!
Hopefully you will like the blog and I'd appreciate any helpful comments that you may have!
Thanks for reading
Michael
xx
