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August 24, 2010
Posted by Carla René in: Accountability, Advice, African-American, Attitude, Biography & Memoir, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Books, Business, Business Management, Cancer, Cap and Trade, Children, China, Climate Change, Commentary, Comments & Discussion, Communications, Communism, Community, Computers, Congress, Contributor's Audio/Video, Creative Writing, Current Events, Democracy, Democrat, Diet, Economic Crisis, Economics, Education, Energy, Entertainment, Environment, Environmental Issues, Faith, Family, Fiction, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations, Freedom, Freelance Author, General Topics, Geopolitical Events, Global Warming, Governance, Habit Change, Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Heroes, History, Homeland Security, Humor, Inspiration & Motivation, Internet, Internet Advice, Interview, Islam, Journalism, Latino & Hispanic, Legal, Life Experiences, Lifestyle, Literature, Marketing, Marriage, Medical, Men's Issues, Mental Health, Mexico, Military, Minorities, Morality, Motivation, Music, Native American, Nature/Wildlife, Non-Fiction, Nutrition, Opinion, Personal Experiences, Philosophical Genres, Poetry, Politics, Publishing, Question of the Day, Recovery, Relationships, Religion, Republican, Rhyme, Satire, Self-Help, Sex, Short Stories, Social Aspects, Social Classes, Social Issues, Sociology, Spirituality, Sports, Technology, Television, Terrorism, The Economy, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, The Writer's Corner, Travel, Uncategorized, Website Instructions, Weight loss, Wellness, Women's Perspective, Women's Rights, Working Women, Workplace, World Issues, Writing Essentials
 Begun back sometime in 2001, this book was originally a fluke of an idea… [...]
August 21, 2010
Posted by Carla René in: Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Books, Creative Writing, Entertainment, Fiction, Freelance Author, Humor, Non-Fiction, Short Stories, The Writer's Corner, Uncategorized, Writing Essentials
Announcing my two newest releases:
 Book Cover Description: Bill can’t find a writing space to save his wilting life. While in Canada, Sam learns to “go convert” himself; back in the States, mum and dad are playing hide the Azalea, Delores can’t keep her father’s arse covered to get any work done, a pack of wild Kens are hurtling toward the atmosphere, and dad is sitting in his car picking his ears with his keys. Often compared to Sedaris (mostly by herself), this collection will make you sick…with laughter.
Original cover artwork by me.
August 21, 2010
“AP News Oklahoma City, 12/23/75 — Manson-like slaying rocks small-town Christmas festivities.” So begins Kathleen McKenna’s brilliant new novel. It is a gem. Spooky, funny, romantic, sexy, touching, it works at every level. The two protagonists, Leanne and Jessie are a Laverne and Shirley pair, only much younger. I found myself laughing out loud [...]
August 18, 2010
I love a good mystery, and Joanne Ellis has written one. Her new novel, “Spoilt”, is a gem. A serial killer begins killing beautiful young women and, after torturing them, carving the words “SPOILT BITCH” on their chests. Two homicide detectives, Lucas Hudson and Maggie Johnson, are assigned to the case. It becomes obvious [...]
August 14, 2010
Whether or not you’ve ever wanted to be, tried to be, or been hip, cool or “in”, read K. J. Rigby’s “Little Guide to Unhip”. It’s a frolic through all the silliness that “hip”, “cool” and “in” mean in every generation. Have fun with this book. It’ll give you a lot of chuckles and some real belly laughs. Continue reading “Little Guide to Unhip”, by K. J. Rigby
August 10, 2010
The more I read about the history of the Palestinian people, the more I am reminded of the history of America’s indigenous people since Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola in 1492. In both cases ethnic cleansing with its accompanying genocide were norms, especially when the indigenous peoples fought back. In both cases the indigenous populations were treated with disrespect, contempt and removal. And in both cases, genocide and ethnic cleansing were denied by the conquerors and their friends. In the public discourse, we’re the good guys, they the villains. As Israeli historian Shlomo Sand says “what history does not wish to relate, it omits[1]” as if omitting it wipes the slate of history clean. It does not. Eventually, liked or not, truth emerges and has to be faced. Continue reading “His name was Mohammed, and he was a good man”
August 9, 2010
There is a mystery in Marian Van Eyk McCain’s delightful little tale … or several of them. It’s all so academic, this online forum on physics. Who, exactly is Greeneyes, whose name keeps popping up? What kind of new experiment is she inviting people to participate in? Or is she just asking you? [...]
August 3, 2010
I’m hooked on John Sandford’s “Prey” novels, featuring the emotionally complex Lucas Davenport, and have several friends who are as well. The latest offering in this series is entitled Storm Prey and is touted as the 20th. The first, Rules of Prey, came out in 1989. That puts him at a book a year, except he’s launched two other series, Kidd and Virgil Flowers and has written a couple others besides. The point is, John Sandford has fallen prey to the New York publishing mill, turning out more and more and, at least for me, satisfying less and less. I’m willing to wager that his manuscripts go from first draft to print, with little if any revision. No time for enriching or embellishing, or working in more complex situations or characterizations, shrieks the publisher – we gotta have a hardcover and at least one paperback on the bestseller lists at all times!
To test my thesis, I recently bought a copy of Rules in a used book store [having collected all of them, then given them to my local library in Holderness, New Hampshire] and re-read it. The writing was scintillating, gripping, a real pleasure to read. By comparison, Storm Prey reads like little more than a good first draft without the rich scene descriptions, characterizations and plot intricacies. Just take a look at the first page of Rules of Prey: Continue reading Reader’s Corner: Sandford’s New “Prey” Novel
August 2, 2010
The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer
The title of Dexter Palmer’s debut novel was the first hook for me. The second was ascertaining this was a steampunk novel, a genre for which I have a penchant. And although I got my literary rocks off on the allusion[s] to Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” [...]
August 2, 2010
Charlotte Castle: Simon’s Choice. Night Publishing, July 2010.
If you enjoy good stories, you will want to read Charlotte Castle’s Simon’s Choice. It is one of the best novels I have read.
One of the most tragic things in life is to have a child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness like cancer. The dreams you’ve had as parents, the life you’ve built as a couple, even the meaning of life itself begin to slide off their foundation and crumble. You are horrified, angry and scared. Everything, it seems, is beyond your control. You begin to look for someone to blame. Frequently that is your spouse.
Such is the story of Simon and Melissa, a British physician and his wife, their beloved seven year old daughter Sarah, their dog Porridge, and Sara’s grandparents. Sarah has a particularly aggressive form of leukemia. All her parents can do is love her, watch, wait and hope. Emotionally it is killing them. Having spent forty-plus years in the counseling profession, Simon and Melissa’s story is a familiar one. Continue reading If you love a good book, Charlotte Castle’s “Simon’s Choice” is one of the best
July 31, 2010
Kenneth Ring, PhD and Ghassan Abdullah, editors: Letters from Palestine: Palestinians Speak Out about Their Lives, Their Country, and the Power of Nonviolence. Paperback, $26.95. Wheatmark, Tucson, Arizona, 2010. Website: www.wheatmark.com.
For Palestinians, 1948 was a catastrophe. When Israel was born, between 700,000 and 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their ancestral homes, farms, villages and towns and became permanent refugees. For them this murderous ethnic cleansing was their Holocaust. Sixty-two years later, it continues. For those who live in what was Palestine, the experience is one of contempt, persecution and eradication.
The following quote from professor and peace activist David Shulman’s book Dark Hope is a description of what it is like on the ground. “What we are fighting in the South Hebron Hills is pure, rarefied, unadulterated, uncontainable human evil. Nothing but malice drives this campaign to uproot” people from their homes. … “They led peaceful, if somewhat impoverished lives, until the settlers came. Since then, there has been no peace. They are tormented, terrified, incredulous, as am I. What black greed, what unwitting hatred, has turned Israeli Jews into the torturers of the innocent?”
The stories in Letters from Palestine are by people who live this reality on a daily basis. Some are refugees who cannot return. Most live in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. In reading their stories, two things are clear: no human being should have to endure what they have endured, on a daily basis, for sixty-two years. It is immoral to allow it to continue. Continue reading A Powerful Testimony to Courage and a Call to Action: a book review
July 21, 2010
As you may have seen in the press, we have just released Carolyn Allen’s book ‘Knifing the Famous!’, one chapter of which is about whether her father, John Watson, who was a top plastic surgeon, operated on Lord Lucan a second time just after the murder of Lucan’s children’s nanny, and just before Lord Lucan disappeared seemingly forever, although there have been many claimed sightings.
If you don’t know the story, the Lucan case is a cause célèbre in the UK in that he was a high living, gambling sort of guy – known as ‘Lucky Lucan’ probably, in the English way, because he wasn’t. He had a difficult relationship with his wife and one night their children’s nanny, Sandra Rivett, was found murdered. The speculation was that Lord Lucan murdered her thinking she was his wife.
After that, Lord Lucan simply disappeared and one theory, discussed in Carolyn’s book, is that he went to John Watson who altered his appearance before he fled the country.
Here is an article by Struggling Authors who forwarded us the book for publication – thank you, kind sirs: http://strugglingauthors.blogspot.com/
You can also vote there on whether you think Lord Lucan murdered Sandra Rivett or not (lefthandside). Continue reading The Disappearing Lord
June 23, 2010
I recently returned from a week of hiking in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, in the Southeast corner of Utah. This area, which also encompasses the Grand Canyon of Arizona, has one of the most unique natural architectures you’ll encounter anywhere in the world, where wind and water have carved the mountains into [...]
June 21, 2010
This is a difficult novel to recommend to you, for several reasons. One, I have trouble remembering the author’s name, James Hynes, and the title, Next. It’s also difficult to recommend because it’s a difficult novel to read and understand. That said, it’s a tour de force and if you like edgy, contemporary literary [...]
June 15, 2010
Diana Raab, essayist, memoirist, and poet, offers this collection of insights and insecurities by writers about their journals and notebooks. As Philip Lopate states in the foreword to Writers and Their Notebooks: “No one can expect to write well who would not first take the risk of writing badly. The writer’s notebook is a safe place for such experiments to be undertaken.”
Indeed, reading the personal thoughts of 24 well-known writers in this collection, we learn one compulsive notebook user, Peter Selgin, “scribbled on, frantically, furiously, piling up notebooks like a bag person piling up magazines and newspapers, sure that all this piling on would add up to artistic triumph.” Continue reading Books in brief: A review of “Writers and Their Notebooks”
June 15, 2010
I’m a reader. I LOVE to read. Sometimes I think I’d rather read than…eat. And as a writer, that’s a good thing because a good writer needs to be a good reader. As a matter of fact, I’ve learned some new things about reading fiction as I’ve been working on my novel over the past few years that I never thought about before.
I guess you could say I was a gobbler, reading mostly for entertainment and story. I was like a woman I met recently on an airplane reading James Patterson, who IMHO ranks at the bottom of the bottom-feeder brain-candy writers. [In fact, he doesn't even write most of his novels these days.] Now I read on multiple levels. So I thought I’d start blogging on my reading and share my impressions with you. I read pretty voraciously, so every time I finish a novel [and an occasional work of non-fiction], I’ll write a few comments here.
June 14, 2010
In ‘Invisible Cities’, Italo Calvino, or rather his character, Marco Polo, declares that a port approached from the sea is of a very different character from the same port as approached from the land.
Being brought up in Hull in the 1950s and 1960s, I remember that you could drive into Hull down the Anlaby Road and have no sense of entering anything other than yet another Northern industrial red-bricked city until you either drove onto one of the docks or were assailed across the city centre by the gut-infested cloud from the fish meal factory on days when it was about to rain.
What opened up the general concept of Hull as being a full-blown port to the casual passerby wishing to scurry to Holland or Belgium via North Sea Ferries was the creation of the Clive Sullivan Way, a testament to about the only black person ever to have lived in Hull. Continue reading Review of ‘Old City, New Rumours’ – edited by Ian Gregson and Carol Rumens
June 10, 2010
As you probably know, there are quite a few writers’ sites, like Authonomy and YouWriteOn, where the come-on is that the top books in any given month receive a review from a major publishing house such as HarperCollins and Random House / Orion.
Personally, I cannot imagine any bigger waste of time than to participate in the games you have to play to get into the top 5 or 10, or whatever, but I can just about see why some authors are prepared to abandon all sanity and jump right in.
As I have always thought the basic premise to be pure hokum, I have not until very recently read any of the reviews that have come out of the bottom end of this tiresome process.
I have now, and I can reliably inform you that they really are as you might expect them to be coming out of the bottom end of any process – shit. Continue reading Up their own fundamentals
May 28, 2010
Posted by Muhammad Cohen in: Biography & Memoir, Book Review, Books, Business, Current Events, Economic Crisis, Economics, Finance, Journalism, Morality, Non-Fiction, Publishing, The Pundit's Corner
Harry Markopolos, who tried to stop Bernard Madoff’s multibillion dollar fraud, is a genuine hero. But he needed a ghostwriter to tell his story properly. [...]
May 26, 2010
To paraphrase something Thich Nhat Hanh once said, “Everything inter-is.”
Everything in nature is interconnected, including humans. We are a part of nature, not separate from it, set apart from and above it to do with it what we will. Like every other species, we are deeply embedded in nature and dependent on it [...]
May 19, 2010
When I was a younger lad, concept albums were all the rage – Jethro Tull, The Who, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Queen, Yes.
The concept of the concept album soon fell into embarrassed disrepute, consigned to the spangly, pretentious, aspiring dustbin of 1970s history, yet those artists who wrote them form a roll call of the greatest and most restless composers of their age. The format of a concept album tended to be constraining to the point of driving artificiality but it also forced those writers to apply their skills in different ways and from a variety of viewpoints and I doubt that many would argue with the contention that a piece of work is at its best when it chimes a perfect inner harmony and integrity.
Novels are nearly always conceptual – they are strung around a central storyline – as are most short stories and drama. Poetry can be so too, whether in Shakespearean plays or epic poems, but most collections of poems are more pot-pourri, even if most poets set out from a central point of departure or vision of the world. Continue reading Review of ‘The Landing Stage’ by Ian Parks
May 13, 2010
Before reading ‘The Blacksmith’s Daughter’, I was already a big fan of Minnette Coleman’s writing. Beneath an eloquent surface rippling lies a keen habit of observation which manifests as both a warmly empathetic understanding of humanity and a careful detailing of its struggles, foibles and follies.
And it was not far into this epic tale that I realised that this was Minnette at her very best.
A black blacksmith from Alabama decides to make a name for himself through hard work, thrift and the relentless acquisition of land in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a loving and mutually supportive relationship with his wife Bira, five beautiful daughters and one son who is handicapped. The household is run according to a strict discipline and timetable, everyone to her or his task. As the daughters grow up, the blacksmith is most particular as to who they consort with and in which order they will eventually marry. Suitors must be educated and on their way to acquiring wealth in order to assure the blacksmith that his daughters will be appropriately provided for in the future.
Then along comes the Piano Man who has been brought up principally in the North and in Europe, who is circumspect and sophisticated, and who is dazzling at the piano and in appearance. Furthermore, he is about to become a professor of music at the local university. This man is a catch worthy of one of the blacksmith’s daughters – of Minnelsa, the eldest – or so the blacksmith decides. Continue reading Review of ‘The Blacksmith’s Daughter’ by Minnette Coleman
April 19, 2010
Stella Evelyne Tesha: “A Journey Into Life”, Author House (UK), 2010.
In “A Journey Into Life”, Stella Tesha takes us on a journey of life from Europe to the villages of Africa and back again. Nothing hidden here; these are straightforward poems written from the heart.
A young woman asks her lover “Would [...]
April 16, 2010
The best novelist virtually unknown beyond his homeland. [...]
April 2, 2010
George Polley sent me an e-mail this morning to thank me for my recently resurrected review of his ‘The Old Man & The Monkey’ and to tell me what a ball he is having – three books and a short story being published – and that it is all down to Bob Grant of Speak Without Interruption really for encouraging him to write and for bringing together people who could help him.
I couldn’t agree more. Bob has recruited some truly outstanding writers to this site.
As a reviewer, it is nice if you brighten up the author’s day and give them some additional publicity, but you are always asking yourself “Am I being fair?” – to the author and to the reader, that is the eternal balancing act. Continue reading Thanks where they are due
April 1, 2010
Review of ‘Get Some’ by Danny Birch
For me at least, and I think it spreads far wider than me judging by the fan club he marches around with, Danny Birch is a phenomenon.
He writes in a style I have never seen before but which I expect to see copied regularly in the future.
He is a sort of Nick Hornby of the Facebook / Twitter generation, a gifted buddy-novelist with a sure-fire grasp of storyline and character and an uncanny way of whispering his words intimately into your ear in a way that keeps you chuckling with the humour and pleasure of it all. Continue reading The Danny Birch phenomenon
March 30, 2010
According to at least some psychologists, the metaphor stands at the centre of our perceptual mechanisms which are based on the contrast between one thing and another, whether it be to reconstruct edges and corners visually or to assess how much of a vegetable a mushroom is (believe it or not, we have a running cognitive map that scores vegetables as to ‘vegetableness’, with root vegetables at the top).
The narrative form of the metaphor is the proverb or allegory, an ancient method of getting messages across much favoured by Aesop, Jesus and Fontaigne.
In recent times, the masters of the pointy fable have been George Orwell, who buried the philosphical pretensions of socialist totalitarianism first with ‘Animal Farm’ and then with ’1984′, and Antoine de Saint-Exupery with his ‘Little Prince’. Continue reading In all humanity
March 20, 2010
I was born a gorgeous little girl
My parents rejoiced as I made my way into the world
I was adored, they didn’t have enough eyes to see me
Their love for me was real, I could clearly see
When I cried from the pain of needing to be burped
They would race to see who would be first to get up
When they laid me down to sleep at night
I could tell they didn’t want me out of their sight
I remember one night while crying my eyes out Continue reading I was never taught to respect and obey
February 18, 2010
Dear God
I’ll try not to take up too much of your time. I want you to know that I’m so sad and hurt. I’ve been abused all of my life and I really need your help. I believe with all of my heart that you are the only one who can help me. I am a 15 year old girl and the daughter of a single mother. I never knew my father. Well, maybe I did for a short time. He left my mother when I was three. As I remember, my father and mother screamed and fought mostly. Their arguments made me sad and frighten. I remember trying to hide from the noise, but it would always find me. There was no escaping it. When my father left I had peace for a short while.
My mother said she loved me. However, if she really loved me she would have taken better care of me. She allowed so many bad things to happen to me. Things I can’t forget and had no control over. Shortly after my father left, my mother allowed another man to move in with us. I was afraid. She told me he was my pretend daddy and that I was to show him love. My mother thought she had this big happy family. She didn’t. I was being neglected by her more and more. My pretend daddy began fondling me. He was giving me all of the love, hugs and kisses I never got from her or my father. He made me feel loved in a weird kind of way. Continue reading A Letter To God
February 1, 2010
Kachi A. Ozumba’s story of corruption, judicial incompetence and prevailing injustice in Nigeria is lightened by the humour he mixes with the pathos. Zuba, the naive and honest victim, moves from initial complacent trust in the legal system through amazement, disbelief and despair to a realisation that he cannot expect the judicial authorities to treat his situation seriously or with fairness. The police and prison authorities are shown as corrupt but perhaps no more so than the rest of this society.
Against the background of incarceration and hierarchical prison ethics, he paints a picture of a country still at war with a major portion of its citizens. The conflict with Biafra is a constant strand running through the novel and displays the underlying tribal nature of the Dark Continent, showing, with subtle insights, why prejudice is both harmful and pointless, wherever it may manifest itself.
Kachi paints his characters as real people undergoing real events. The details of daily life, education and the prison system in Nigeria suggest he has experienced all three; if not, his research methods are extraordinary. He also raises questions about the nature and value of religious faith, perhaps hinting that it is of greater value to the desperate and ignorant than to the hopeful and educated. Continue reading Stuart Aken Reviews The Shadow of a Smile by Kachi A Ozumba
February 1, 2010
We have just set up a book readers’ and writers’ site to bring everyone together to discuss books.
Our slogan is “Every book must be published” and, with developments in print-on-demand and e-tablets (Apple, Kindle etc.), they will be.
This site – Night Reading – was conceived last Thursday and kicked off last Friday. [...]
January 30, 2010
With huge thanks to Bob Grant of SWI for publicising our new venture to help writers find their audiences, and vice-versa, here is our report on the first day.
Bruce Essar and I (both SWI contributors) took the concept of Night Reading from conception to execution in a few hours, and the first day has proven extremely promising – 31 members and 16 posts / first chapters.
This is an experiment and although we know what we want to achieve and how we want to achieve it, we don’t know whether the formula will allow us to get there or not. We are seeking a triumph of faith and optimism over cynicism and despair, and so far the signs are that we may even all win.
What we want is a kind of revolution in publishing and we are following D.H. Lawrence’s dictum that if we are going to have a revolution, we are going to have it for fun (a seriously fun guy, that D.H.). Continue reading Night Reading – Day 1 report
January 26, 2010
Angelo Aiello is a New York, Italian Roman Catholic – very New York, very Italian and more Roman Catholic than makes any pragmatic sense nowadays.
He has a wife whom he dreads, a thirteen year old daughter whom he reciprocally adores, and a vengeful, jealous God that he fears (but we know all about that one around here).
Over fifteen years of marriage, his wife, Alice, has learnt to be outraged by Angelo’s jealousy, wounded by his lack of sympathy for her nervous breakdown after her sister died of AIDS, to despise his writing, and to resent the fact that he earns the least of any male in her family, plumbers and electricians included (well, they would be).
He in his turn feels unheard and under-appreciated, regretting that all that he was taught to value in his childhood and undergraduate days has been set at nought during his marriage, while his wife’s plimsoll line attests to her sinking deeper into the cookie jar as every year goes by until she resembles a sack of Orioles. Continue reading ‘Monday Afternoon’ by Steve Sangirardi
January 24, 2010
Lord, you are my Shepherd and I am your sheep
I will follow you, and your commandments, I promise to keep
Lord, you are the one who supplies all my needs
When others turn their backs on me, its okay, it’s you I want to please
When I am tired, you let me rest upon your heavenly arms
Lord, I trust you to be the shield that keeps me from harm
When I call your name, Lord, you know my voice
When you answer, oh how I rejoice Continue reading The Great Shepherd
January 18, 2010
I was born into sin, never saved by grace,
The truth was something I never wanted to face
Many times I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ
I just wasn’t ready to make Him first in my life
They said He went to the cross and died for my sins
But I never believed He did, therefore, I never accepted Him
I thought my sins? Why would Christ go to the cross for them?
I never asked Him to; so, yes, I continued to reject Him
I was happy living in sin; therefore, I saw no reason
To stop what I was doing, not even for a season Continue reading It Was My Life, I Lived It My Way ( a message from Hell)
January 18, 2010
I belong to a generation who have been cursed
Simply because we refused to believe in, or bow to God
My father didn’t believe and his father didn’t, either
Therefore, I taught my children to believe the same
I was taught as a child that there was no power in God’s name
I was told not to bow to someone I could not see
Why should I be attached to a god when I can be free?
We never believed in any higher power, we were in charge Continue reading A Family Reunion in Hell
January 16, 2010
Sherlock Holmes fans will love this. Written in the style of Conan Doyle, so well that the reader is not aware it isn’t one of his stories, the novel follows Sherlock and Doctor Watson as they take on a seemingly simple case of murder. However, it quickly becomes clear that this is anything but straightforward.
Doctor Watson narrates, and acts, as he helps the famous sleuth to track down clues in this complex crime mystery. Avril Field-Taylor has done her research and takes the reader on a journey which is so well constructed that it is like watching a film of events play out. Set in Devon, Hull and London, with Buckingham Palace playing a role, the story moves rapidly with the trains and Handsome cabs that propel the protagonists through the convoluted plot. The railway stations, backstreets, country houses and, of course, Baker Street, are all described so well that the reader feels at home with them.
The action brings in Mycroft, Sherlock’s brilliant but mysterious brother, the professionally jealous Lestrade from Scotland Yard, the Hellfire Club and Sherlock’s arch-enemy, Moriarty, in a plot which twists and turns without ever losing credibility. The damsel in distress is beautifully drawn and turns out to have more courage and good sense than initially expected, so that the reader really cares about her fate. Watson’s love and concern for Mary, his wife, is very well depicted. And Mrs Hudson gets an unexpected shock when Baker Street is attacked. Continue reading Stuart Aken Reviews Murder at Oakwood Grange by Avril Field-Taylor
January 14, 2010
Seer’s Moon is Karen Wolfe’s second fantasy novel centring on the unusual activities of Granny Beamish and her cronies. With its mixture of comic style and supernatural content, the book had me smiling, chuckling and laughing out loud; much to the consternation of my fellow travellers. The story, or at least the main thread, follows the fate of poor Kenneth who has inadvertently become a werewolf and is being chased by a sinister bounty hunter. Granny Beamish and her friends, family and associates, who have some sympathy with the vegetarian Kenneth and his harmless, if somewhat destructive, werewolf alter ego, do their best to prevent his capture and execution. The incompetent local police, an interfering busybody and a creepy, ambitious member of Granny’s Seer community all provide the necessary conflict. Meanwhile, Granny has to contend with the advances of her ex boyfriend, who jilted her, as he tries to win her back.
Seers, for those who are unsure, are members of a parallel community who use telepathy and certain types of magic; it isn’t wise for a normal human to mess with an accomplished Seer, especially one with the gifts possessed by Granny Beamish.
Karen Wolfe writes in a style of her own; colloquially and with a type of humour that touches my laughter muscles. This is a very English novel in many ways and some of the language and references may be lost on readers from outside. But there is so much that is universal in appeal that this association with Englishness acts as an enhancement, giving the book a quirky character that should appeal to readers of all nationalities. And, talking of ‘quirky’ this is the way her characters come across. All are individual, even the dogs, wolf, griffons and other animals, and especially the rampaging sheep. Her people have flaws as well as positive attributes and all of them are very human, sometimes touching and always hilarious, often in ways that completely escape the characters themselves. Continue reading Stuart Aken’s Review of Seer’s Moon by Karen Wolfe
January 6, 2010
There was a man who loved the Lord very much. It showed in the way he lived everyday. He didn’t mind sharing the gospel with whom ever he met. He was a man of great wisdom, because he truly feared, loved, and reverenced God. This man knew that God was loving and kind to everyone. He also knew that God was patient and slow to anger. He was a righteous man, who studied God’s word and he tried to live it everyday.
He had a loving family that he prayed for daily. He respected and love his wife just like Christ loved the church and he was willing to die for her, just like Christ died for us (the church). He prayed for everything because he believed that God heard the prayers of the righteous. He was a man of great faith, who believed if God said it, then he would do it. He also believed in God’s will. He would always pray “Father if it is your will then let it be done.”
He prayed for family members, friends, and his church family. He was not selfish in his praying as he prayed for the homeless, the sick, and for people he didn’t know. Continue reading Hold On To Your Faith
January 4, 2010
For those desperately in need of a magical thriller which nods at the Harry Potter legend while having a definite mind of its own, ‘Shaddowdon’ by John Booth might well be your answer.
The similarities between ‘Shaddowdon’ and the Harry Potter series include the facts that the hero, Tim Shaddowdon, is a schoolboy with extraordinary magical powers, that he attends a school for magicians, that he regularly has to protect himself from a couple of bullies, and, inevitably, that he is pitched against the re-emergence of reputedly the most evil magician of all time, Oliver Langdon, renowned as the black-hearted villain who was so obsessed with the possibility of eternal life that he murdered one hundred children in its pursuit.
However, ‘Shaddowdon’ also parallels Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’, considered by some (albeit not by me) as a worthy alternative to the Harry Potter series. Whereas ‘His Dark Materials’ is a veiled attack on the sinister activities of the organisation ‘Opus Dei’, the Roman Catholic equivalent of the Freemasons, ‘Shaddowdon’ references rather more fondly the eccentricities, cruelties and exploitations of the British aristocracy, and maybe particularly of the British Roman Catholic aristocracy, the Howards, the Percys and all that. As Tim explains early in the book, the difference between magicians and wizards is that magicians have always worked officially alongside Church and State as fellow-travellers in the Soviet sense (advocating a different set of beliefs but judged to be more useful as allies than as enemies), whereas wizards were persecuted by them. Continue reading Something for Harry Potter to chew on – ‘Shaddowdon’ by John Booth
January 1, 2010
In the beginning God created man
After some time He saw that the man was lonely
God took a rib from the man and created a woman
Therefore, He created a woman from man and for man.
God did not make man for man and woman for woman.
If He had, He would have told you so.
God never said that a man could take another man for his wife
And He surely didn’t say that two women Continue reading God Created Woman For Man
December 28, 2009
Hi, I’ve just arrived in my mother’s womb. I have no name.
This is day one of the beginning of my life, and I am so happy
It was God who chose to give me life, because I am special to him.
I know he loves me and everyday I’ll thank him again and again.
It feels so warm, safe, and secure inside my mother.
This is great; we’ll spend nine months bonding together.
Who knows? one day I might have a little sister or brother.
That will be awesome and we can laugh and play together.
I ‘m so happy it’s been two weeks since I was conceived. Continue reading The Life of an Aborted Baby
December 19, 2009
Joseph and Mary were in town one day,
Just to take care of some things, not to stay.
While they were there, the time had come.
For Mary to give birth to the Holy one.
They went to an Inn to check for a room.
It was then they learned there were no more.
I can imagine they were in shock, with no place to go.
The Innkeeper told them about an old stable next door.
Joseph took Mary in and laid her on the floor. Continue reading A Place not fit for a King
December 17, 2009
I know that many writers decry the state of the publishing industry, but for me it is in better health than it has ever been.
As a writer you have a choice:
• do you want to produce erudite work which addresses a relatively small audience of cognoscenti?
or
• do you want to make a stack of money writing what sells?
There are very few writers who manage to square this circle and for most of us to confuse these two questions is to cause ourselves chronic misery. Erudite work will rarely sell to the mass market; work designed for the mass market will rarely appeal to the erudite. That is my guess, although reading children’s literature where its authors increasingly manage to conquer two entirely different audiences equally and simultaneously, is maybe to recognise that a new raft of talented writers will emerge to feed challenging work to the mass market. Continue reading The shock of the new
December 16, 2009
Ever since the publication of ‘The Philosopher’s Stone’, I have been troubled by a niggling concern. It doesn’t keep me awake at night but I do regularly accost strangers and ask them “Whatever happened to Harry Potter’s grandparents?”.
Harry Potter was a baby when his parents were killed. His parents look like they were in their twenties, max. thirties. He should have had four of them in this age of increasing longevity. Where did they all go? I don’t remember Hagrid telling Harry “’arry, that Voldemort killed your grandparents, you know”, although I may have missed that page among three thousand and some. Still, nobody has any grandparents in Harry Potter, except Longbottom, and his gran is just plain scary.
Few share my concerns and I usually get sent out to make a nice cup of Yorkshire Tea to stop me hassling the guests with bothersome questions. Continue reading Review of ‘Seers’ by Karen Wolfe
December 13, 2009
I am a survivor of the Iraq War
I am alive but my mind wonders afar
I remember when I wanted to die for my country
I was willing, but now I feel so angry
I saw so much, but it’s strange because I don’t want to tell it
I keep telling myself if I did, maybe the pain would quit
You see, I’m hurting inside but I can’t let anyone know
About the dark secrets I have carried within, oh no!
I’m afraid to talk about them, who will understand? Continue reading I Am a Survivor of the War
December 9, 2009
You know how you pick up a bestseller and the first few pages are packed with good reviews.
As a reader I think “Cannot be a bad book, then,” although as it is a bestseller you can never be too sure.
As a writer I think “How the hell did they achieve that logistically?”
Not wishing to boast any more than is persuasive, I get plenty of readers telling me they like my books (and of course a few who tell me that I am the worst writer since …. no, that I’m simply the worst writer ever), but can you get the people who like your books to formally review them? It is very difficult and I am not yet shameless enough – although I am getting there – to ask poor innocent friends to get onto Amazon and declare what they think of me.
However, I now have the solution to this problem and it took me only seven days to achieve it. I am going to show you the results for one of my books first, then, and more importantly to you, I am going to tell you how you can get the same thing without that much effort and for no cost beyond invested time and the excruciation of being nice to strangers (most of whom are fairly friendly back too). Continue reading How to get lots of good reviews!
December 4, 2009
I don’t know if you know Authonomy. If you are a writer you should. It is an excellent place for showcasing whole or part books in the same way that SWI is a superb place for blogging.
The trick with Authonomy (which is HarperCollins) is to load at least 10,000 words of your book onto [...]
December 3, 2009
The Voice of Conscience
Author: Behcet Kaya (September 3, 2009)
ISBN: 978-1-4490-1453-7 (sc),
Category: Fiction
Author House (Bloomington, In)
428 pgs, Paperback, $20.10
Ramzi is a young 14 year old boy, whose right of passage from boyhood into manhood, is defined through a traumatically nightmarish experience that promises to alter his persona forever. Given time to escape the horrendous event, he learns the art of prolonging the inevitable response, but not without delayed consequences. It is in the realization of his need to deal with it, that the consequences must be taken as well, and must forever alter the state of everyone else near and around him, especially those most closest to him. Continue reading Review: Voice of Conscience
December 3, 2009
The Dance of the Pheasodile, by Tim Roux. ISBN 9781436357647
Sometimes a book is so unusual it defies categorisation. This is such a novel. Tim Roux has merged the reality of life in parts of England, with a fantasy that allows the writer to explore deep human conflicts in revealing ways. Hull is not a glamorous city and this refreshingly raw depiction of how environment can impact on moral, social and personal values is a great antidote to the modern obsession with the superficial. Here we have real people, people with flaws as well as courage, struggling in real lives to make sense of a world that seems determined to beat them down.
The plot of this novel twists and turns surprisingly so that the reader is jolted out of complacent assurance that he knows where the action will take him next. The premise, depending on how open minded you are, requires a small leap of faith but is handled so adroitly that even the most sceptical will find it hard to put the book down when the unexpected happens to the hero; if, indeed, the male lead can be so designated. Set in areas that contrast the north-south divide still flourishing in England, the novel gives insight into the lives of the comfortable middle class of the south set against the disadvantaged and ill-educated of the modern northern slum. Continue reading The Dance of the Pheasodile, by Tim Roux. Reviewed by Stuart Aken
December 1, 2009
One of the great pleasures of reading indie authors is that they are often literary Luddites, exuberantly smashing the commercial frameworks imposed on their more industrially-produced cousins, replacing them with a more zestful, fresh, individual and – might I say – compelling approach to their work.
It is not that they do not recognise as well as anyone the existence of the rules and formulae drawn up to govern the structure, content and style of mainstream modern literature, it is just that they prefer to explore other creative options for the good of their, and our, souls. “Know what you should do then do as you like” was the moral guideline I was schooled in by my parents and it is the literary guideline of many indie authors too.
Let me declare straight off that Stuart Aken’s pointedly joyous ‘Breaking Faith’ is the output of such an independent and questing mind. However, if you like to slot books as automatically and systematically into standardised categories as the priapic photographer Leighton Longshaw likes to slot his …. no, no, I’ll come back to that later …. then this novel may pose you something of a challenge. Continue reading Review of ‘Breaking Faith’ by Stuart Aken
November 28, 2009
Earlier this year I read George Polley’s ‘Grandfather & The Raven’. Tonight I have read his ‘The Old Man & The Monkey’. There is one thing I have learnt about George’s books – that when you sit down to read them, you needn’t stop until they end, and probably that you cannot stop until they end either.
At one level, the two books have a similar theme – they are about an old man in Japan befriending an animal – a monkey in the one case and a raven in the other.
They also delineate the same reaction of the protagonists’ wary wives which is in both cases “Why do you bother?” and then “Don’t you dare bring it home!”
However, that is where the comparisons end.
‘The Old Man & The Monkey’ is very focused indeed. It is an allegory about racism. The wife and the villagers fear that the monkey will interfere in their society. They fear, in fact, that one monkey is a harbinger for a whole host of monkeys who will invade the village and cause a maximum of inconvenience, damage and despair. The wife does not only fear this but she also fears that the villagers will consider her as the introductory force.
As it turns out, the monkey is the epitome of decorum and the eventual horde of monkeys is likewise. Continue reading Review of ‘The Old Man & The Monkey’ by George Polley
November 27, 2009
I knocked around quite a bit with Nick when we were both up at Cambridge University in the late 1970s because we had several mutual close friends and we were in the same college (Jesus). Nick read English, I read Law (you can probably tell).
I think that the best I could say was that he tolerated me and we certainly had insurmountable musical differences, which were close to a matter of life and death in those days. Nick and his close mates Dave and Derek were devoted to Led Zep and the Blue Oyster Cult, considering my preference for Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople puerile and scummy, even after BOC, on cue, released a cover version of an Ian Hunter song as a single (mind you, it was pretty awful).
Probably my lowest point in his eyes was when our mutual friends went off all feverish over his then girlfriend, girls being ‘24-1 against’ and therefore scarce in Cambridge, the facile objects of infatuation and bilious praise. This specific day the praise was particularly bilious and I was driven to snarl a rude comment about her (but more about my friends’ behaviour really), embarrassing everyone except myself. Still, in ‘Hi Fidelity’, Nick was much ruder about her (‘Charlie’) than even I was that day, so perhaps I was merely gliding presciently ahead of the curve. Continue reading Review of ‘Slam’ by Nick Hornby
November 10, 2009
amazon.com – September, 2009 – Coming of age is spiritual * * * * *
Finally, a novel that not only offers an exciting plot line, an endearing heroine, and human relationships that are believable and sympathetic but also introduces a continuous thread of spiritual teaching that informs and advances the plot – a [...]
November 5, 2009
When my children were eight and five, they used to love listening to a couple of Barefoot Books CDs in the car and as they settled down to sleep – ‘Tales of Wisdom & Wonder’ narrated by Hugh Lupton and ‘Grandmothers’ Stories’ narrated by Olympia Dukakis.
Coming from Barefoot Books, these were charming multicultural tales suffused with wry observations on the world – the monkey who asked God to give him more misery, thinking that ‘misery’ meant honey; the blind man who was always one step ahead of his sighted companion who was trying to cheat him; the animals who helped two children escape a witch who wanted to eat them; the beautiful crone who drew a raven and a basket on her cell wall and had them come to life and carry her away.
There is a great deal of outstanding entertainment around for children nowadays, especially on TV and DVD and in computer games, which parents often candidly resent but which set the bar very high for more traditional literature-based competitors to jump over. However, speaking as a parent, it is always a delight when something I would regard as more wholesome than constant Japanese-based cartoon battling succeeds in entrancing my children as well. Continue reading Review of ‘Grandfather & The Raven’ by George Polley
October 21, 2009
Some novels are great in that they console you that you are not alone, even if the people you realise you are in the company of are all paddling for their lives in the deepest of deep shit, inadvertently splashing each other wildly in their frenzy, and searching for the rock bottom that has not yet been sighted and may not even be there for the next foreseeable stretch of the sewer.
By this criterion, among several, this is a great novel.
I have to admit that I came to this book with no great expectations despite all the plaudits of well-placed critics and the fact that it won the American Library Association’s “Editor’s Choice” Award. With respect, the contributions Bill has made to Speak Without Interruption have had the air of ‘required writing’ (as Philip Larkin put it), op-ed ditties designed to fulfil some obscure quota, no doubt a direct application of the academic publication culture. “To get your cheque, Mr. Hazelgrove, we need you to file 25 articles a year, doesn’t matter what, doesn’t matter where.”
Still, I should have known better. Several SWI authors have already entered my list of best reads of a lifetime and here comes another one. The signal I should have been paying attention to was not the posting of ephemeral articles on SWI but the clue given by the title – the reference to the rocket. Continue reading Review of ‘Rocket Man’ by William Elliott Hazelgrove
October 10, 2009
In his previous excellent venture, ‘Geometers Of Intellect’, Steve Sangirardi provided some of his takes on the world through the lenses of religion, the literary classics and the everyday. Many of these takes related to the complex and uncomfortable counter and cross currents of marital and family life.
In his new set of seven stories, ‘Life On The Planet’, those same lenses are applied to focus on obsession, specifically obsessive self-destruction. Even more specifically, given that there are seven of them and that Steve is devoutly, if lapsedly, religious, there is probably some correlation of these tales with sins recognised by the Roman Catholic Church. Let us see: competition and wrath, lusting after another man’s wife, honouring thy mother and thy father, jealousy, pride, honouring thy god, discouragement and anger. I can’t quite pin the schema down to the mortal sins alone, but if you mix in and match a few venials you are sort of there.
Anyway, these stories are about a lot more than the flighty bee in the bonnet. These critters have burrowed deep inside the victim’s cerebral cortex and they’re not stopping at mild self-denigration. They are the moral version of what was said to have happened to a few female fashion victims of the 1960s when they kept their lacquered beehive hairdos in place for too long – the termites got inside and ended up drilling through their skulls and into their brains. Boy can these guys torture themselves (and others as well), deeper and deeper and deeper. Continue reading Review of Steve Sangirardi’s ‘Life On The Planet’
October 9, 2009
‘A Full Accounting’ has yet to be published – John gave me a proof copy. I shall certainly be reading his ‘Sierra, Sierra’ immediately after I have finished Steve Sangirardi’s ‘Life On The Planet’ which is an excellent follow up to his commendable ‘Geometers of Intellect’ which I reviewed here recently.
* * *
John Joss is a writer for whom rigour and integrity are all: the rigour of the imagination, the rigour of minutely layered detail, and the rigour of linguistic precision. He clearly abhors short-cuts, laziness, vagueness and sloppiness and, in many ways, almost a lifetime since being invalided out of the Royal Navy where he trained as a pilot, he is still a military man in his essence, fascinated in equal measure by the truth and by the fiction of life as it surrounds him.
The recurring theme of ‘A Full Accounting’ is ‘maskirovka’ – the art of deception. The sub-text is that the use of maskirovka to deceive an enemy in battle is a wholly admirable and necessary strategy, but to use it to deceive your own side in peacetime is a wholly despicable and reprehensible one. Leaning on the insider viewpoint of his co-author Viktor Belenko, a Russian military pilot who defected to the West, and on his own meticulous research, John Joss suggests that the entire Soviet system was based on maskirovka, the cancer of endemic, chronic and obsessive deception and exploitation of everyone by everyone. However, the handling of the issue of MIAs – military service personnel who went missing in action after the Second World War and during the Korean and Vietnam wars and who were never honestly accounted for or returned – suggests that the smoke and mirrors of maskirovka stalk the corridors of power in the US as well. Continue reading Review of ‘A Full Accounting’ by John Joss
October 7, 2009
Posted by TimKellis in: Advice, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Books, Communications, Current Events, Education, Family, General Topics, Health & Fitness, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle, Marriage, Men's Issues, Mental Health, Motivation, Non-Fiction, Philosophical Genres, Relationships, Self-Help, Social Aspects, Social Issues, Spirituality, The Media, The Pundit's Corner, The Writer's Corner, Wellness
 Carl Jung Now here is another brain teaser for your therapist, or should I say mind teaser, the notion of curing someone with depression. Sadly, this is one of the most common causes of problems in marriages, and while we look for help from the professionals they take advantage of that vulnerability with a platform that doesn’t get to the root causes of depression. All the while, we spend about $12 billion a year on therapy and $15 billion on pharmacology drugs to treat “mental illnesses”, particularly depression.
I even find it hilarious that there is an ad on TV promoting a drug called Abilify that begins by stating that 2/3rds of people suffering from depression still have depression symptoms after taking traditional “medicine”, in essence admitting the inability of the medical approach to curing people. After all, our “mental illnesses” are biologically based, hence the medical approach to a “cure”, and there is really nothing that can be done mentally.
But there was a psychologist who actually did cure people, the one-time heir apparent to Freud by the name of Carl Jung. I refer to Jung as the greatest psychologist who ever lived basically because of the fact that his objective was to cure his patients.
Let me relate to you one of his patients whom he did cure, a patient suffering from depression. Ironically, the professionals of his day actually diagnosed her with Schizophrenia. Boy I can imagine the response from the professionals if I would have titled this post “Curing Schizophrenia”, because as most people realize after 100 years of propagating the biology conclusion, Schizophrenia is incurable. Continue reading Curing Depression
September 13, 2009
Bob Ellal’s ‘By These Things Men Live’ comes with a sucker punch in the final chapter (no, he doesn’t snuff it) but I shall declare my conclusion immediately. It is exquisite.
It plays towards one of my prejudices and against another.
The one it plays towards is my preference for novellas. You probably know the reply of the writer who was asked why his book had come in at seven hundred pages – “Because I didn’t have time to write a shorter one.” Bob did have time and it shows. He obviously even had time to really screw it up, but he didn’t – he polished it to a diamond instead, a blood diamond.
The prejudice he has confounded is my expectation of what a chemo-and-tell autobiography might play like. I was expecting a lot of trauma, a lot of drama, tears, emotions tumbling off the shelf, and long, lingering, mawkish thank yous to anyone and everyone he had ever met amid his endeavours to overcome his fate. While I would have been whole-heartedly sympathetic to anybody who had to go through that lot, this would have been a book I could have put down, and would have put down, easily. Continue reading Review of SWI’s own Bob Ellal’s ‘By These Things Men Live’
September 1, 2009
Some years ago, I realized that the telephone was the enemy of real interpersonal communication. It strips all the nuance and feeling and deeper thought from our conversations, reducing them primarily to what conversing about we’re doing without the whys and wherefores. Writing letters, even email, gives us more opportunity to share our feelings, thoughts and observations, granting the opportunity for more nuanced conversations. Now we have an even richer medium in which to do this: blogging. I think Twitter has its place, but again it is reductive, not expansive. Kind of like a brain fart.
I still use the phone a lot, but I struggle to have good conversations. I make appointments with the people I most enjoy communicating with, so that both of us are free to kick back and talk for a while – often an hour or more.
Then I noticed we still didn’t talk a lot about some of our most precious activities: reading books, seeing movies, even just newspaper stories or op-ed columnists or smart magazine articles that make us think. E.G.: I took a film criticism class in college that changed the way I saw movies forever. In the early, pre-Web days of the internet, there was a great site devoted to in-depth – you might even say scholarly – film reviews, essays that were often several thousand words in length. Now we have IMDB, helpful but not in the same league since it’s driven by box-office ticket sales and the movie studios. Continue reading My Personal Pop Culture: A Manifesto
August 25, 2009
I’m just letting parent with children as young as five to listen to my radio interview on the Author Show. Will be posted for the time Monday Aug. 31st.
http://www.theauthorsshow.com/
Also set up a story telling event on Sept/22nd for third and forth graders.
I was wondering on just how people would read this? [...]
August 17, 2009
Bright Shiny Morning–a meditation on fame
by Bill Hazelgrove
James Frey. Isn’t that the guy who duped Oprah. Yep. That’s him. Just read his latest book Bright Shiny Morning. It is about LA. Very interesting writer. Sort of man who skates very fast on thin ice. Not dishing the novel but I see why A Million Tiny Pieces did so well. Even if it wasn’t true it must have read like a streak because Bright Shiny Morning reads like a streak. It is episodic. It starts and stops and takes crazy twists and ends up a in different place.
You really have to detangle the writer from the work although there is a thinly disguised chapter where Frey defends himself. He promises us tapes that will vindicate him. It is just an aside in a book of asides. And it is hardly germane to the book although one of Frey’s main themes is fame and the pilgrimage to LA for fame. There is a lot of carnage for the fame seekers and Frey spells this out very clearly for us.
But back to the novel. This is a novel. A good novel. I know why James did what he did on the first book that caused Oprah and so many others sorrow. He couldn’t sell it. Of course he couldn’t. No big hook and no big author then you are so much fodder for the rejection mill no how good the book is. But Frey is established now even if it is in the old there is no bad publicity and certainly the amount he received for this book (a cool mil and a half) bears this out. So he can now write whatever he wants and know that there is a good chunk in the bank. Continue reading Bright Shiny Morning–a meditation on fame
July 5, 2009
Posted by Author 101 in: Advice, Biography & Memoir, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Books, Creative Writing, Education, Entertainment, Family, Fiction, Freelance Author, General Topics, Inspiration & Motivation, Interview, Journalism, Literature, Motivation, Non-Fiction, Philosophical Genres, Self-Help, Short Stories, The Media, Writing Essentials
Nearly 81 percent of people say they have a book inside them. It’s in their hearts, minds, and soul; but unfortunately, it never seems to develop in pen. Most of these people feel their life story or an event in their life is worthy of becoming a book—and they may be right.
Why then don’t we write our special and unique story? Are we afraid of failure? Do we feel we just don’t have the time? Whatever the reason, we can overcome it. So what if it does take you five years to complete your manuscript? And what is failure anyway? If you sit down and spend one hour a week writing what’s been festering in your heart for years, would you consider that failure? I would define it as true commitment, a healthy outlet, and an expression of your being; far from failure.
Writing doesn’t have to be a full-time job; in fact, it shouldn’t feel like a job at all. Set aside an hour a week to write. You have a story to tell and there is sure to be someone who would be interested in reading it. Even if you never publish your story or make it available to the public, writing it will be an accomplishment to be proud of. Continue reading Should I Write My Life Story?
June 22, 2009
The Age of Outrageous Ideas
By Jack B. Rochester
A remark attributed to the great French philosopher Voltaire goes something like this: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” It seems a fitting phrase for the plethora of views of our modern [...]
May 29, 2009
Posted by TimKellis in: Advice, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Communications, Current Events, Education, Family, General Topics, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle, Marriage, Men's Issues, Mental Health, Non-Fiction, Philosophical Genres, Publishing, Relationships, Self-Help, Social Issues, The Pundit's Corner, The Writer's Corner, Women's Perspective
 Equality: The Quest for the Happy Marriage We know from Darwin’s theory of evolution that the notion of development elicits controversy from many intellectual corners. If we think about the notion of development through to its conclusion then many established organizations lose their grip on us as individuals. This question becomes extremely important in relationships.
We need to look no further than our corporate environments to get a real sense for the answer to this question, for corporations live and die by the notion of development. The following excerpt from “Equality: The Quest for the Happy Marriage” addresses just that question, and the perspective of two very influential organizations on our lives. The question is whether we as individuals develop or not?
Do we develop or not, that is the question?
GE’s involvement as a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index tells us so much about this most important question. Two men, Charles Dow and Edward Jones, who had started a newspaper company devoted entirely to covering business news, began publishing the newspaper The Wall Street Journal in 1884, developed the DJIA in 1896. The DJIA index was invented as a gauge of the success of our economy. Continue reading Book Excerpt: Do We Develop or Not?
May 22, 2009
Murder of an American Nazi
by Tim Fleming
Publisher: Eloquent Books, New York, NY
ISBN # 978-1-60693-401-2
copyright 2008
Reviewed by Lloyd Lofthouse
A third of the way through Murder of an American Nazi, I stopped reading. I didn’t stop because I wasn’t interested. I stopped because I doubted the book was fiction as listed. You see, I’ve heard over the years about the CIA bringing Nazi war criminals to the United States after WWII to help fight Communism.
I’ve also read extensively about the CIA flying drugs from Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle into the United States where these drugs were sold in America’s inner cities to raise money to buy weapons that went back to Southeast Asia where they were traded for more drugs. Poisoning America was done to fight the spread of Communism. It’s been documented that the CIA even cooperated with the mafia to make this happen.
I never connected all of these CIA events together until I read Murder of an American Nazi by Tim Fleming. Before I continued reading, I sent an e-mail to Fleming asking how much was true. Continue reading Book Review for Murder of an American Nazi
May 11, 2009
Posted by Author 101 in: Advice, Biography & Memoir, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Business, Business Management, Communications, Computers, Creative Writing, Education, Fiction, Freelance Author, General Topics, Inspiration & Motivation, Journalism, Literature, Motivation, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Self-Help, Short Stories, The Media, The Writer's Corner, Uncategorized, Website Instructions, Women's Perspective, Working Women, Writing Essentials
When new authors write non-fiction, they will often base their subject matter on personal experiences. One mistake commonly made, is the over use of the word “I” in the beginning of sentences. “I know this because I’ve been there, done that.” Or, “I did it this, or that way.” Over use of “I” can make your work sound self-absorbing; not something you should want to portray to your readers—especially if your plans include a follow-up edition. Try finding other words to begin your sentences, such as, “Having learned my self, I tried it this way, and it seemed to work.”
Another word or “phrase” really, to avoid beginning a sentence with, “Oh, by the way,…” Before you add this to your text, sit back and decide if it is really necessary to make your point. “I went to the grocery store and they don’t have beans. Oh, by the way, they didn’t have rice either.” Instead, how about, “When I went to the grocery store they didn’t have beans or rice.” Play with your sentences and try to hone in on your creativity.
“You should try fishing on the Rouge River.” Sounds a bit like your insisting I do what you ask. How about, “Fishing on the Rouge River is great.” It’s okay to address your reader in a personal manner, but overuse of the same word, such as, “you,” might begin to sound aggressive in tone; try sounding more suggestive rather than forceful. Continue reading Non-Fiction Writing—Avoiding the I, Oh and You
May 1, 2009
I’m an enormous fan of the Austrian writer, Thomas Bernhard. If for some hypothetical reason I were sentenced to reading only one author, and allowed to choose, I would probably choose Bernhard.
Allowing for considerable variation in detail, it seems to me that his novels are underpinned by a shared scenario; a scenario that reflects, and grounds his characters in, the human condition. Something like this: People construct physical environments that are analogs of their internal, conceptual scaffolding. They inhabit these constructions, and in the process try to convince themselves that their “homes” instantiate their ideals. They work diligently, maniacally, to convince themselves of this. And all the while, their creations are ruthlessly and systematically destroying them.
Part of what makes Bernhard so amazing, is that his characters, colluding as they are in their own demise, are not only horribly sad and tragic figures, but also funny. Often hilarious. And as exaggerated as his characters are, their aberrations never fail to reflect an essentially realistic picture of the human condition. Continue reading The Novels of Thomas Bernhard
April 29, 2009
Posted by TimKellis in: Advice, Book Marketing Online, Book Review, Communications, Current Events, Education, Family, General Topics, Habit Change, Health & Fitness, Inspiration & Motivation, Lifestyle, Literature, Marriage, Men's Issues, Mental Health, Motivation, Non-Fiction, Philosophical Genres, Relationships, Self-Help, Social Issues, The Pundit's Corner, The Writer's Corner, Women's Perspective
 Tim Kellis, Author of "Equality: The Quest for the Happy Marriage" I want to pose to you one of the most significant questions needed to understand before we are going to solve our marriage problem. Are we biological beasts or psychological beings? Unfortunately the belief within the mainstream teachings of the psychology industry is that we are nothing more than biological beasts. The industry still experiments on animals to try to extrapolate behavior in humans.
Are we biological beasts or psychological beings?
It is impossible to completely explain the significance of going the biology route instead of the psychology route. The hypothesis that our behavior is driven by our biological needs implies we are born with our problems and there is not a damn thing we can do about it. The notion that our psyche is psychologically driven implies we can learn and we can think, or develop.
In other words, the biological concept holds we are born with our brain pre-wired and that our psychological development occurs when our experiences activate the pre-wired neurons and synapses creating behavior. Or put another way, the biological conclusion would lead psychologists to claim that our understanding of the use of the computer occurs because we are born with the knowledge of how to use the computer and we simply must use the computer and these pre-wired neurons and synapses become activated, giving us the understanding of the use of the computer, to behave by using the computer. Continue reading Book Excerpt: Are We Biological Beasts or Psychological Beings?
April 26, 2009
I had the coolest interview by Juanita Watson with Reader Views. She is really good. It was like talking to an old friend or something. If only they were all like that. I remember this one time with this dude from the FBI….boy could he take lessons from Juanita. To listen to my really [...]
April 22, 2009
One often reads statements on book jackets like, “If you liked X, you’ll like Y.” My own experience has been that if I liked X, there is a very good chance I won’t like Y. And not only that, I won’t have a clue why anyone would associate liking one with liking the other.
In Steve Aylett’s case, there is a frequent association drawn between him and Philip K. Dick. Personally, I don’t see it. As it happens, I like them both, but for very different reasons. Dick was an “idea man.” Even at his best he wasn’t a stylist. With Dick, the language was not part of the picture. Dick’s writing only worked when it managed transparency. Continue reading Lint
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Books by SWI Contributors
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The Gaslight Journal is Done
Begun back sometime in 2001, this book was originally a fluke of an idea… [...]