Geoff Nelder's Blog, page 41

Chapbook ready

The chapbook of our UK Authors Away week in Carmarthenshire is now ready. It contains 46 pages of stories, poems and photos of our week including my Indefinite Article science fiction story – an original masterpiece!

Free pdf download of the 2010 UK Authors' Away week in Wales

Print copy with River Teifi cover art

£7.20 + p&p

 The above has my favoured cover art of the Teifi River scene along which we often walked. An alternative cover art has a pussy cat on the front. The moggy is Chaplin, the r...

Nanomo

Writers will not be puzzled at the title of this post. Masochist scribblers subject themselves to a competition to write a novel in a month. See this official website if you are tempted. It takes me two years to write a novel – much of that time is spent on research then after the writing, the hard work of editing begins, followed by persuading wise publishers to adopt my work. Spending more than two hours at a stretch on nothing but writing would send me beserk – I have to do something...

Cycling to UKAway

The last week or so has been a time of brain-stretching writers' workshops, entertaining conversation and rotating legs. I'd cycled the 150 miles via drovers' roads and minor roads from Chester to Carmarthenshire to attend the UKAuthors Away week at PenyBanc Farm, Ceridwen Centre near Llandysul. Now in my 60s I take my time with the cycling and stayed at Crewgreen near Oswestry and the next night at Lloyd's Hotel in Llanidloes. I would have stayed at youth hostels but there are none on my...

Entertainment meets Astronomy

You have to watch this. Rapper Milky J is a HUGE fan of the Hubble telescope ('cos it's silver and everyone loves silver) and worries over its demise with the coming of the James Webb telescope. So Milky goes along to the Goddard Institute with a film crew and grills them in the most hilarious way.

Thanks Maria Ayres, who works at the Hubble Telescope (so to speak) for this link. Maria is a contributor to Escape Velocity, our magazine at Adventure Books of Seattle.

Link to Milky J's defence of ...

Ira Nayman does radio

Ira has been developing the pilot for a radio series based on stories from the two Alternate Reality News Service books, Alternate Reality Ain't What It Used To Be and What Were Once Miracles Are Now Children's Toys (or, as one online used bookseller has it, What Were Once Miracles Are Now Children – don't ask). Well, it's done and it is now available to the public! If you have any interest, you can listen to The Weight of Information, Episode One, Part One at

Distractions from writing

I am to decorating as a fish is to riding a bike, but I am having to strip old woodchip wallpaper from a spare bedroom. Why? Because I'd like to have a summer house in my garden. My garden is small so I need to be rid of two old sheds. I can't demolish the sheds until I move garden equipment into the garage. I can't move anything more into the garage until I move stuff out — including a bed and furniture. Guess where they are going to go?

On my visit to family last weekend I spotted a copy of ...

What Were Once Miracles Are Now Children's Toys

What Were Once Miracles Are Now Children's Toys

Ira Nayman

Reviewed by Geoff Nelder

 

This is the sequel to the excellent Alternate Reality Ain't What It Used To Be by the same zany author. Stand by to be entertained by out-of-the-left-field hits on the news as you've never heard it before.

 

Paperback: 258 pages

Publisher: Eloquent Books (February 26, 2010)

ISBN-10: 1609112342

ISBN-13: 978-1609112349

Ira Nayman is the proprietor (author) of The Alternate Reality News Service. You've heard of...

Ira Nayman's books

As mentioned in an earlier blog post, I was sent a couple of Ira Nayman's books to review. I've read one and now I can't wait to read the other. His Alternate Reality Ain't What It Used To Be is a humorous collection of bite-sized articles in the form of news items by the Alternate Reality News Service. It is lateral thinking with spiced original ideas – a must for anyone liking to think outside their envelope while pushing boxes – or something like that. My file of ideas for future SF /F...

A little known inventor passes away

A passtime of mine is to play online scrabble at http://www.itsyourturn.com with each move we can send messages to the other player.

There I meet many interesting people. In fact everyone I meet no matter what their education or background have aspects of their life that is unique. Much first hand knowledge to help me with my writing research has come from IYT players in Malta (thanks, Jimmy), Canada (thanks Susan and Nat), Saudi Arabia, Australia and all over. One such is Mary Frances who...

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly…

My wife found me stripping woodchip wallpaper in our spare bedroom. "Why are you doing this, you hate decorating and you are doing it all wrong?"

"Because I want a summer house to write and read in down in the shady part of the garden. Before I can put up a summer house I have to get rid of both the dilapidated shed. Before I can dispose of the sheds I need to make room in the garage to house the lawnmower, spare bikes and essential (maybe) bric-a-brac. To make room in the garage I have to...