Val Tobin's Blog, page 30
February 23, 2016
The Search for Peace: Strongbow’s Wife extract
Excerpt from Frank Parker’s Strongbow’s Wife.
Following Strongbow’s death, Aoife was given the dowerage of Striguil Castle and estate. Her children were in the custody of King Henry at the Tower of London. On arrival at Striguil she would have discovered a great deal of hostility from native Welsh towards her husband’s fellow Normans. The immediate cause of Welsh anger was the massacre that took place at Abergavenny Castle the previous Christmas.
In my fictional version she is horrified by accounts of the event and decides to travel to Hereford in order to remonstrate with the wife and mother-in-law of the man responsible. En-route she seeks the help of her husband’s cousin, Gilbert, at Monmouth. She is disappointed to find a man who believes his support for religious foundations in the area is all the protection he needs. At Hereford her encounter with the women goes no better. Read the account of the massacre at the…
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February 16, 2016
Newmarket Ghost Canal
Interesting bit of Newmarket, Ontario history.
Sunday June 21, 2015
It was the first day of summer and although the sky was threatening rain it wasn’t actually supposed to happen. I decided to check out the remains of the partially constructed Newmarket Canal. I parked in the conservation parking lot off of Green Lane near the second concession. The East Holland River crosses here and heads north out of
Newmarket. I walked about 15 minutes south of Green Lane to where the third lock on the abandoned canal was built to start my investigation of the canal.
The idea of building a canal to link Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe had it’s beginnings in the 1820’s. Following the War of 1812 greater consideration was given to the moving of goods and people and a period of canal building began. The first Welland canal opened in 1829, the Rideau in 1832 and Trent-Severn in 1833. An idea was…
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Imaginary Friends – Silas Payton
Humour me awhile. I’ll tell you a story of ‘Imaginary Friends’ and in particular, one such friend – Silas Payton. That is what Silas himself would refer to us, the members of the IASD Facebook group, as.
Now, it’s fair to say that I never knew Silas personally but, and here’s the crux of it, within our group I believe it is very possible to ‘feel’ each individual after a period of time, simply by how and what they write. We live in a virtual world, almost literally these days, a world governed by high speed this and super-fast that where everything needs to be done yesterday or for some odd reason, it is too late.
So where does Silas and imaginary friends fit into my ramblings? Well, it’s like this you see… Silas Payton is a brilliant writer, he has a talent for stories and as a…
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February 7, 2016
The Preludes to Assaults
A poignant post.
Gomeshi was arrested while I was working on the final edits of my third novel, which dealt with, among other things, sexual assault involving a high-profile victim and perpetrator.
When the Gomeshi scandal broke, it chilled me to see how closely life can mimic art. I’d never heard of Jian Gomeshi before the CBC fired him, but I was no stranger to men who believe they’re entitled to take what they want from women without consent.
Thank God for the honourable men who stand up for women and for the courageous women who speak up about this. Silence is the abuser’s conspirator.
Feel free to share.
#gomeshi #ghomeshi #ibelievelucy #IStandWithLucy #BillCosby #hairextensions #truthmatters #rapeculture #cndjustice
Jian Ghomeshi, you [redacted]. I don’t know you very well, but I know this: one night in early 2004, after I’d been awarded a writing prize in Ottawa, you followed me to a side room annexed to the main hall, where I’d gone to get away from the crowds, and while my (then) wife was in the bathroom or off getting another drink, I’m not sure, you put your hand on me. That hand. One of the very hands that is being discussed in court this week. You closed the distance between us and you massaged my shoulder/neck while talking to me about how I needed to relieve the stress of my big win. Eventually my (then) wife returned, you dropped your hand (that hand), and we chatted politely while you bashed the Rockies, BC and, in…
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February 4, 2016
Author interview: Val Tobin
Thank you, K. J. Simmill, for interviewing me. I was so excited to see this live.
Darrienia: The Forgotten Legacies Series
Today I am welcoming author Val Tobin, author of The Valiant Chronicles (book one and two), Injury, and Storm Lake. Not to mention her other works featured in anthologies.
About the author
Tell us a little bit about yourself. (Author Bio)
Formerly a software/web developer, Val Tobin now spends her time writing and working
on a master’s degree. She is also a Reiki Master/Teacher and Angel Therapy Practitioner® with advanced training, certified by Doreen Virtue in Kona, Hawaii. Val contributed a story to Doreen Virtue and Grant Virtue’s book Angel Words. She has published three novels and some short stories, available on Amazon and at other retailers.
What are your hobbies?
Reading. That’s it. I’m consumed by books.
Which writers inspire you?
Nora Roberts, Stephen King, J. R. R. Tolkien. Too many more to list.
For your own reading, do you prefer e-books or paper/hard back…
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January 30, 2016
SCORPIO RISING book review: “Speak to the stones and the stars answer.”
A well-deserving review for an excellent novel.
7th-star heaven! Every now and again, I get a book review that makes me feel guilty. First, it’s so good I don’t believe it, so I keep going back to re-read it. Make sure there’s no hidden sarcasm, some kind of back-handed compliment.
But no, it is true and well written, as Papa would say. I get a warm fuzzy feeling from re-reading it. Somewhere out on the west coast, a smart sensitive woman is stroking me, and I like it.
But it reminds me again of why I write for this niche – because I know my tribe is out there, and I write for them.
Here’s what Laura of Oregon posted on Amazon:
Seven stars (out of five) to Alan Annand!
As book one in a series named “New Age Noir,” Scorpio Rising lives up to its series name in every way. With spare, yet brilliant prose, multi-faceted character…
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January 14, 2016
The One Where An Author Steals Text From My Book To Sell Pirated Software
Text stolen from David Guaghran’s book and used to sell pirated software.
In today’s episode we are going to out a two-bit huckster who tried to put one over on yours truly, take a quick detour through the verdant fields of copyright law (and the slightly plainer meadows of moral rights), and then end with an example of how to handle a scammer.
Sound fun? Strap yourselves in!
A helpful reader – who will remain nameless for reasons that will become obvious – emailed me yesterday morning. I was just about to start work but the subject line caught my attention: Did You Give Permission For This?
Uh oh. I started reading the message he had forwarded.
It had originated from a domain called IndieWriterSupport.com (you can cut-and-paste that address or Google it, but I’m not linking directly and giving them an SEO boost). And it appeared to be a straight cog from my book Let’s Get Visible.
What was going…
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January 10, 2016
A Life of Choice: Part One – now available
A new offering from author Tom Benson.
In 1992, I considered myself fortunate, not only to have completed a military career, but to have done so unscathed by mental or physical trauma. It was towards the end of that great life I considered writing my autobiography, but I wasn’t sure how to proceed.
Most service personnel are storytellers, although many would say it wasn’t the case. To put that statement in context, if you have two or more soldiers in a truck, in the troop garages, a trench, a bar, or a social event – you will have storytelling.
My favourite setting is the ubiquitous campfire. I can recall more than one occasion sitting around with a group of guys, sometimes with beers, and sometimes with coffee. Even the memory brings a smile.
*
The scene means more to me now, as a writer.
Why?
It is where storytelling began – and in effect where my…
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January 7, 2016
FYI: Penguin Random House Is Still In The Vanity Business
Beware you don’t get hooked by Author Solutions.
Penguin Random House announced the sale of Author Solutions on Tuesday, leading to headlines stating it has exited the self-publishing business and various commentators congratulating it for cleaning house. Unfortunately, neither of those things are true.
Four Penguin Random House-owned vanity presses will remain in operation – Partridge India, Partridge Singapore, Partridge Africa, and MeGustaEscribir – and will be run as Partner Imprints. You can read more about how Partner Imprints work here, but the short version is that Author Solutions will operate these four vanity presses on behalf of Penguin Random House, and PRH’s job will be to provide leads (aka newbie writers), lend its name and brand to the effort, and then sit back and collect its commissions.
This is precisely how Author Solutions operates Archway Publishing on behalf of Simon & Schuster, Westbow for HarperCollins, and Balboa Press for Hay House, among others. In short, Penguin Random…
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December 31, 2015
The Ugly Truth of Publishing & How BEST to Support Writers
From Kristen Lamb: The Ugly Truth of Publishing & How BEST to Support Writers
Original Image via Flickr Creative Commons, courtesy of Anurag Agnihotri
Well, I figure I have one more day to drunkenly torch my platform. Sad thing is I don’t drink. I am apparently this stupid when sober :P . Actually I am writing this as a follow up for my rant from the day before yesterday, because knowledge is power.
Writers need this. Your friends and families need this. Readers need this. The more people get how this industry works, the more everyone can start working together for everyone’s benefit.
In my book Rise of the Machines—Human Authors in a Digital World, I go into a LOT more detail and I highly recommend you get a copy if you don’t have one. I spend the first chapters of the book explaining how the various forms of publishing work so you can make an educated decision.
All types of publishing have corresponding…
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