Stretch yourself.

As much as I would like to be a full time writer I have to face the grim reality of a full-time job in order to pay the bills and feed the family. Somehow, I’m not really sure how, I ended up doing what I do, I work as a support worker in a day centre for adults with learning disabilities http://www.outreach3way.org/. Having had numerous jobs over the years, I get bored easy, and running my own graphic design company I now have one of the most enjoyable jobs I have ever had. No two days are the same, and none go to plan.

Each year the people we support put on a pantomime at the local theatre, this year it is a mash up of A Christmas Carol and Dr. Who – A Christmas Travel. As a writer I have been interested in the development of the play. Sam, the author and drama teacher has done it all by herself, as usual, and is now beating everyone into shape. So why am I writing about it? Well, I went to help out in one of the drama classes and ended up with a role – the lead one. I have been cast as the Doctor. To begin with it was all a bit of fun. I have never done drama, I have tried public speaking but learning lines and how to deliver them, seriously!

I now have a healthy respect for actors. Learning lines is tough, especially when they are not of your choosing. I’m used to shaping the story, creating the dialogue and directing the course of events. But, this time none of it is of my choosing. Most of my fellow actors have learning disabilities, seeing them go through the motions of learning lines whilst dealing with all of their normal frustrations is reward in itself. Nothing is going to make it any easier for me to stand in front of 125 people and give four performances any easier, though I am well supported by all those around me.

There is one huge personal benefit for me from all of this: I’m a people watcher, it is how I build my characters from the ground up. Seeing people trying to become someone else has been incredibly interesting. I admire all of the people I support on a daily basis, they deal with far more than I could ever cope with and here they are willingly adding something more to their mountain of daily issues. If anything could ever inspire you they could.

As for writing, well, I’m still plugging away at the sequel to Yong Warlock. I should have it done by the middle of next year. Fire and Thorn continues to follow the young warlock as he seeks to unite the troll tribes, though he is not allowed to reveal his quest to anyone. Young Warlock is currently free on Amazon with a price match.

As it’s nearly Christmas I have a signed copy of my novel for one (lucky) reader, and 10 copies in any ebook format.

Thanks for listening and have a Merry Christmas. Oh, I almost forgot. This year's panto will be on at The Hawth Theatre in Crawley, West Sussex. UK on the 11^th and 12^th December 2014, wish us all luck. Ticket info is here http://bit.ly/18jluzp

Reviews are hard to come by.

Goodreads reviews for Young Warlock

Reviews from Goodreads.com

What is a good role model?

In a supposed ever changing world is there such a thing as a good, reliable role model? I believe so. But by what measure do you go by? Should the basis be on looks, health, wealth, public opinion, success? All of these will lead to arguments and inevitably a shallow measure. By what then should we judge a good model? We would have to look for system that could stand the test of time by being outside of time or timeless. Would any one person from history make a good role model when all we have to go on are a few scant details left by their footprints in time? Religious people, those of the Christian faith, would immediately put forward Jesus as an exemplary model, even many Muslims would agree to this as Jesus is regarded as a prophet in their faith too. So why not Mahatma Ghandi, was he not a good man too? My knowledge of Ghandi is scant, but at least he sought peace. So it would seem that no person can be used as a model. So maybe, just maybe, we could take a look at the religious texts upon which these notably good people based their lives. What kind of traits would we look for? Kindness? I certainly would. Who would want to set a murderer or an abuser as the basis for a good, moral citizen? We all have in-built standards; things we know to be wrong and right. No one likes a thief, though some of us may steal for plausibly right reasons, but in the end they simply become abusers of another’s possessions. Who then can be our model? All we seem to have are questions without answers. The Bible says that “everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial” so here’s an idea. We base our model only on that which is beneficial to others. If we focus not on ourselves or on those like us: in our class, culture, clan, tribe, or whatever but on others regardless of their sexuality, creed, faith nationality, colour or ethnicity. Then perhaps we will all become good role models. Perhaps in this way we will discover what is truly good in all people and what needs adjusting in ourselves. If we were to turn ourselves into examples of goodness in the eyes of those who look upon and experience us; as people, then perhaps society can be one single model of goodness which each individual person has contributed to. This would generate a sense of open well-being that everyone has and is proactive in creating and developing. We would become our good role-model removing the need for other, single examples.

EFFORTLESS MARKETING: How I Sold Thousands of eBooks, Landed an Agent and a Book Deal in Just 10 Minutes a Day Using Message Boards by Jeff Rivera My rating: 4 of 5 stars Can a book give any decent help or advice if it only cost a dollar? Answer: Yes. Jeff delivers a system, not the best choice of words to use, but that is what it will become. In fact, what he gives you is a guide of how to conduct your life in general. When I was young, I learned to make friends face to face, you had to be polite, and likeable if you wanted friends. People did not have like buttons that created faceless friends that you would never meet. We had to talk and get to know each other, some of those people are still friends over 30 years later. I doubt that many of my online friends will be there for me when I am old gray. The one thing that you success will depend upon through using this book is relationships. If you do not know how to relate to people, how to value them and not see them as another sale, then walk away now. Do not even consider buying this guide if you want to be rich and famous tomorrow: this is about setting a foundation. A foundation that will only be as strong as you are. You will have to stick to the rules to make it work. You are going to have your character tested, which will be the most important thing that you will develop through all of this. Without good character, you will have nothing to give when it comes to interacting with your future fans. I really enjoyed reading this short book. Jeff has worked on himself, to become who is, that is why he is successful. He deserves it, quite frankly. If you want to hear him speak, read the book: over and over. Hats off to you Jeff and may your success continue to grow. After I've worked my way through the steps, I suspect that I will come back and give it a 5th star. View all my reviews

How to Speak Dragonese

Once again there is trouble in the Viking archipelago and a hero is needed. Enter the rather weedy looking boy with the tinniest of dragons: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third and Toothless the Useless, his pet dragon.

Dragons are being rounded up by the Romans aided by the soon to arch rival of Hiccup, Alvin the Treacherous. The second book of the How to Train Your Dragon series begins with a beginners lesson in How to Board and Enemy Ship, which goes about as wrong as it possibly could.

I will not say any more on the plot as it will just spoil the story for you. This book is every bit as good as the first and builds on the characters brilliantly. Once again Hiccup is forced into heroism along with his weird mate Fishlegs. Toothless, Hiccup’s ever present, disobedient, and a bit hopeless, dragon adds to Hiccup’s problems at every turn. A loveable book that will be over far too soon, and have you rushing out to buy the next one (which I did).

With all that said I can only say that I already hope that this is a never ending saga as they are so much fun to read, with audio books that are brilliantly voiced by David Tennant.

The End of Mor

 

It is incredible that I keep on forgetting I have this blog. I keep my own site updated but forget to come here and update the posts. 

I have finally managed to complete my final edit, sort out the covers, format the text and even get a copy delivered to my Kindle, Though I have yet to get the updated file as Kindle formats text different to Smashwords.

Now that it is all done I just need to get my head around the marketing side of things which is so much harder than all the authoring stuff. I say that because telling the stories comes natural to me. With a bit of effort, I can get to grips with the editing, many thanks to grammarly.co for a fine piece of software and also to my friends Phil Hollis and Anna Walls, who both contributed to the texts. 

This is the first time that I have truly labored over a lengthy piece of work, wanting it to be as best as I could get it before I ever release. I have done that in the past and released things that are less (being generous) than ready. Though, I must say that to date; they have had over 12 000 downloads in the last year and show no signs of slowing. If only I can repeat that success with one. If you want to read my old tat for free, you can here. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll endeavour to keep this site up to date from now on.




Review: The Silver Cage - Mik Wilkens

Imagine if you would two worlds joined together by Springs of Power. The Power in question allows magic to be shaped into spells and werewolves to take on the true form of the wolf. Our world, the Earth, has limited magic due to the lack of Springs. But this does not stop our business consultant, David Conner, from being drawn across into the magical realm of Lucasia.
David has dreams, not the type of wealth and prestige but of unicorns and wolves. In one such dream he is bitten by a wolf and wakes up to find that everything is just fine. That is, until the moon comes up. Rapidly, our totally bemused hero of the piece is drawn into a world so different from that which he knows where he has to learn to trust the very wolf that bit him in his dream.
I thought at first I was going to read another werewolf tale: yes and no. David is also a Pureblood, able to draw on the Power o f the Springs and shape spells. He is also wanted as a sacrifice to open a portal for an ancient wyrm who has all but lost its mind listening to the Stone. Add to this a whole bunch of double-crossing dragons, shape shifters and bandits and you soon get the picture of a world locked in an ever repeating cycle of wars between the demonic Phantans and the human populace.
The land of Lucasia is under the control of a powerful human witch, Alexsa, who is determined at any cost to open the portal to the Phantans and gain control of the Power and plunge the world into darkness and chaos. It was Alexsa that lured David into Lucasia, Alexsa that wants absolute Power, and Alexsa that wishes to control everyone. What she has not understood about David is his desire to regain the woman of his dreams from her clutches and his determination to do what is right.
Bring on the knight in shining armour.
Mik Wilkens tells a real good fairy tale, a land of magical folk that interact in real terms with the world and people around them. At no time does she let the story run away with itself. It is a tightly controlled, well thought out story that will appeal to both fans of the fantasy genre and newcomers alike. I thoroughly enjoyed this book; it is one of those tales that just goes on getting better with every page. I could easily read this again and again and keenly look forward to a sequel.
A solid title with no pretentions or delusions of grandeur. It does not copy from other titles or fall into age old clichés. The Silver Cage is a great book especially when you consider the £4.37 price tag which for an ebook is well priced.
A good 4 ½  out of 5 five stars.

Buy The Silver Cage at Amazon