Val Tobin's Blog, page 31
December 22, 2015
The Welcome … is launched
Tom Benson’s SF short story collection has launched, and my story, Harvest, is included.
Yes, we have lift off … with a collection of stories which detail a variety of journeys.
I’ve only dabbled in sci-fi in the past, but following a handful of kind comments, I had a need to feed.
I wanted to add a small collection of the genre to my catalogue. In an effort to improve on the idea of 12 short stories by me, I invited submissions from international guest authors, and I was not to be disappointed.
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The collection contains six new stories from me, plus three ‘bonus’ tales which feature in other anthologies, but there are also great pieces from: AA Jankiewicz, Pam Kesterson, CI Lopez, Paul Ruddock, Val Tobin, and WK Tucker.
It’s great to have this anthology ‘launching’ within a few days of seeing British astronaut, Major Tim Peake, setting off to join the International Space Station
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December 12, 2015
How Far Should We Go?
My story “Harvest” is included in Tom Benson’s anthology, The Welcome.
No, it’s not a question about bedroom antics – but I have written a few stories in that area.
Yes, it is do with journeys, but not merely in space, the final frontier – some of the journeys are much closer to home.
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How far are we prepared to allow our imaginations go?
A reader should enjoy more than one genre, even if they tend to lean more to a main one.
Yes, I’m a lover of adventure stories, and thrillers, but I’ve read and enjoyed romance, paranormal, horror, YA, sci-fi, dystopian, and a few more besides.
How does a variety of material reward me as a reader?
Apart from enjoying the variety, I believe it helps me to focus clearly when I return to the bedrock of my reading – the thriller, or adventure story.
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A creative writer ought to try something similar. In my…
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November 29, 2015
Excerpt from Gillian’s Island
An excerpt from Gillian’s Island, one of my current projects.
Synopsis: A socially anxious divorcee confronts her greatest fears after she is forced to sell her island home and falls for the handsome and arrogant new owner.
Chapter 1
Today, my life changes forever.
Gillian Foster unclipped the last clothes peg and hauled the stiff, white sheet from the line. It went into the laundry basket beside her with the rest of the bedding, all of it done for a man she’d never met. As resort owner, she’d often done laundry for strangers when an extra pair of hands was needed, but this time, it was different. This time, it wasn’t for someone coming as a guest but for the new owner, and that made her every motion heavy and reluctant.
The heat didn’t help put a spring in her step. The day was uncharacteristically hot, the air oppressive. It was mid-May and felt like July. Gillian sighed and ran her fingers through her mahogany curls, which always frizzed up in humidity. She fisted the long hair into a ponytail to cool her neck with a passing breeze.
The wind that had dried her sheets so quickly would also blow in a cold front. She could tell by the way the puffy, white clouds overhead now showed hints of grey. Sooner or later, a storm would blow in. She hoped it wouldn’t be until after Daylin Quinn, the new owner, arrived on the island. Unless it rolled in fast. Then she could use it to her advantage. She could suggest he delay the visit until tomorrow. Sure, it put off the inevitable, but it was a legitimate reason to procrastinate.
Gillian hefted the basket onto her hip and walked from the garden through the sunroom to the large living room. She set the basket on the floor and arched backward, rubbing her back. A stereo system in the corner next to the fieldstone fireplace had a radio, and she switched it on. Eventually, there’d be a weather report, and if a storm was in the forecast, she’d call Daylin and insist he wait until tomorrow to visit the island.
Damn it, if she was forced to sell her home, why did it have to be to an arrogant developer like Daylin Quinn? When he had made the offer through his real estate agent, Gillian had researched him on the Internet. That had been both enlightening and infuriating.
He had a history of buying up properties, demolishing the buildings, and redeveloping the lots. It had made him a wealthy man, but the prospect of her beautiful century home being torn down turned her stomach. She pictured a cheesy souvenir shop and tacky cabins; the porch swing gone, a snack machine in its place; the quaint restaurant making home-cooked meals replaced by greasy fast food. Blood boiling at the thought of what he might do, Gillian wished this city boy had stayed there despite how close to her asking price he’d come.
Most of the photos she found of him showed a stunningly handsome man with a variety of gorgeous women on his arm—sometimes one on each arm. There had been no mention of a wife or steady girlfriend. Not that it was any of her business, Gillian thought. But it was a reflection of his character.
Worse still, he was an American. A New Yorker. The locals weren’t pleased when the news had gotten around that the Fosters had sold the island to a foreigner. Most of the folks allowed that no one living in the area could afford the millions it would take to buy the resort. But they considered it a betrayal that the purchaser was not only not from Ontario, but wasn’t even a Canadian.
It didn’t matter that she hadn’t had even a nibble on the property in two years, and Daylin’s had been the only offer so far. Nor did anyone care that Joshua, Gillian’s ex-husband, had forced her to agree to the deal so he could get his half of the money and use it to buy a house with his girlfriend. They simply expressed their resentment at what she had done without regard to the extenuating circumstances.
Now, Daylin was coming to claim what was legally his though he’d contracted Gillian to stay on for a month and show him how the resort operated.
Gillian carried the laundry basket into the master bedroom and made the bed. She’d already moved most of what possessions she had into a storage unit on the mainland in the town of Fiddlehead, Ontario. The meagre wardrobe and personal items she’d need for her month here had been moved into a room in the staff quarters. She assumed Daylin would claim the master bedroom in the main house for himself until he destroyed the place.
Stop it. You don’t know that’s what he wants to do. She shook her head. It wasn’t being cynical if history showed that’s what he’d always done.
The weather report on the radio caught her attention, and she cheered and did a little skip-dance when the announcer said the storm watch had now upgraded to a warning. Gillian immediately rushed to the kitchen where she’d left her cell phone and called Daylin’s office. His assistant answered, and took the message, assuring Gillian she’d call Mr. Quinn to tell him to stay in his hotel tonight and head out to the island the next morning.
Relief flooded through Gillian when she disconnected the call, and she sent a quick thank you to whatever weather god might be responsible for this turn. Admittedly, it was silly to get so excited over a one night reprieve, especially when she wasn’t going to leave for another month. And she’d already said her goodbyes to her beloved island and everything on it, emotionally detaching herself from all she’d known and loved. Nevertheless, the rescheduling sent her heart soaring.
When that Daylin person stepped foot on shore, the place would be well and truly his. Until then, though, she’d spend her last night curled up in front of the fireplace with a book and a glass of wine. First, she’d batten down the hatches before the storm hit.
***
Daylin Quinn ended his call and started his Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan. He sat in the hotel parking lot for a moment, gazing up at the sky. The sun speared through grey-tinged clouds devoid of menace. Carol, his assistant, had caught him in time to abort the trip to the island, but Daylin wasn’t going to let a little rain spoil his plans.
Rain was a remote possibility anyway, judging by the sky. If he was wrong, it might hit while he was crossing the channel between mainland and island, but he wasn’t worried. His boat was a sturdy one and would get him across.
He’d waited long enough to see his new place.
Light traffic on the highway ensured he’d quickly get to the marina where he’d leave his car and pick up his boat. After that, it was ten minutes to the island. He looked forward to meeting Gillian Foster. Daylin had investigated the former owner of Loon Island Resort and liked what he saw.
She’d lovingly cared for the place even after her marriage had broken down and she’d been left to run it alone. Her insistence on putting into the sales contract a clause that forced him to honour the reservations she’d taken before the sale impressed him. He’d agreed to it readily. If he ran the resort himself this season, it would give him a feel for the land before he made any changes. It didn’t hurt that the pictures he saw of her showed a toned, fit, sexy woman even if she tried to hide herself under sweatshirts and baggy pants.
As he sped toward the turnoff to Loon Island Marina Road, a flutter of excitement and happiness flooded through Daylin. Life had taken a thrilling turn. This was the start of an important new project, and perhaps a new woman to distract him for the next month. Could it get any better than this?
November 26, 2015
Too close for comfort … But I’m sure there’ll be plenty of fish…
Originally posted on Maxpower's Blog:
It appears I may be harder to kill than I imagined, yet easier to kill than I might have liked. My week has been an unimaginable horror, crossing to the edge of life, peeping over, before ever so carefully leaning back.
I am fearless in the face of death it seems, but surprisingly helpless to do very much about it. Questions of control, fate and destiny abound in my head. Some of the ‘great’ imaginings for writers and the world in general, is how we will face and deal with our final moments, and what will we face when we pass through the thin veil of life. Would it be ok for you to sit back and let me share my experience with you? Please bear with me it’s been a long, tough week.
I suppose it is usually late in life, that those that do go there and survive, get…
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The Max Power Reccommended Read Award 2015
Some recommended by Max Power indie books.
Originally posted on Maxpower's Blog:
To coincide with the publication of my 100th review on amazon, The Max Power Book Awards were created to celebrate great Indie authors and to highlight the depth and quality of talented available through the world of Indie publishing.
In addition to the overall winner of the Book of the year award, the Indie Author Story-teller Award and the Max Power Choice award, ten special Authors have been awarded the Max Power Recommended Read Award for 2015.
These are books of quality that inspired me to pick them out from the 100 reviews and highlight them for a little special attention. Spread across genre, the selection criteria was strict. Importantly the selection process was not inter-genre with each competing on its own merit across all genres. This was perhaps the most difficult challenge in terms of selection for there were so many books I have loved that choosing ten was tough. That…
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November 25, 2015
The Max Power Book Awards ; My five star reads..
From Max Power.
Originally posted on Maxpower's Blog:
In advance of the 2015 Max Power Book Awards I would like to remind book lovers of some of the great books I have read by reposting here some of the five star reads I have enjoyed on the way to posting my 100th review on amazon. Pick one of these wonderful Indie books today and discover a whole new world of talent.
A superb collection of short stories for a worthy cause., July 14, 2015
This review is from: You’re Not Alone: An Indie Author Anthology (Paperback)
This is an incredible collection of short stories from a variety of international Indie authors, who have come together to help raise money for MacMillan cancer care. It is a book to be picked up not only because this is such a worthy cause, but the multiple talents of the authors involved make this one of the finest collection of short…
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November 19, 2015
No, thank you, I will do my own marketing research.
Agree with the sentiments expressed here.
Originally posted on AnaSpoke.com:
Why is book marketing so hard? There are many reasons why – too many books being published, authors giving away books for free, social media noise, you name it. I won’t go into all of them, but I do want to dissect one:
Bad advice.
Again, this could be interpreted in a variety ways – and I would not claim to know what is good and what is bad. Things that have worked for someone with a romance novel may not work for an author of horror. Things change all the time, so for example it’s known fact now that if you give your book away for free and climb to the top of Top 100 Free Bestseller list on Amazon, once you switch to Paid, your rankings will fall dismally, because you have sold exactly zero paid copies during your free promotion days. Oh, you didn’t know that? Well, this…
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November 16, 2015
Infographic: Do You Know The Difference Between Literary, Upmarket and Commercial Fiction?
Originally posted on Carly Watters, Literary Agent:
Knowing how to categorize your work is one of the most important skills a writer needs to know–especially while querying. Here’s an infographic to help.
November 2, 2015
Work in Progress ?
My short story “Harvest” will be a part of Tom Benson’s SF anthology. I’m honoured to be included.
Originally posted on Tom Benson - Creative:
All writers have them, but it’s down to the individual if it is a shelved idea, or a work in progress (WIP).
What’s the difference?
Like all topics I post, this is a matter of personal opinion and experience – and not the result of a deep, and prolonged survey of thousands of hours of discussion. I believe there is a stark difference in this case.
What do I consider a shelved idea?
As I tend to do, I write about what I know, including my blog articles.
The following are ‘shelved’ as opposed to WIP.
1 – I have an abundance of titles – yes, only the titles.
2 – I also have around 20 short stories which have been started. This doesn’t mean I’ve opened a file and given a title – it means I’ve written at least an intro paragraph, or more in some cases.
3 –…
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October 30, 2015
LEAVE THE LIGHT ON… Find the perfect Halloween read here:- Go on you know you want to…
Max Power’s suggested reading list for scary Halloween reads. My Storm Lake short story is included.
Originally posted on Maxpower's Blog:
Starting with my own Darkly Wood reviewed here by Lesley Hayes, I have listed some of my favourite seasonal reads for Halloween including the book link on amazon.com and my review of each book. Why not pick up one or two of these gems…
REMEMBER TO EXPLORE THE WORLD OF MAX POWER ALL AVAILABLE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED
Max Power’s books include, Darkly Wood, Larry Flynn Bad Blood and Little Big Boy
You can find more details about Max Power’s books here : –
http://www.amazon.com/author/maxpower
http://maxpowerbooks.wordpress.com
fhttp://facebook.com/maxpowerbooks
twitter @maxpowerbooks1
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Mesmerizing, sinister, lyrical – a beguiling 5* read, August 16, 2014By
Lesley Hayes
This review is from: Darkly Wood (Kindle Edition)
Entering Max Power’s mesmerizing novel is like venturing into Darkly Wood itself. Just…
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