The Warlock is Free.

I have just made Young Warlock free to download. To get yours just go to any ebook retailer and get it. Some sites might take a couple of days to get the update through their systems but most should be there in the next day or so.

Enjoy.

Exodus: a review (of sorts)

Over at www.Meangoblin.com I have been posting movie reviews as a character from my novel: Fire and Thorn. He's a bit of burly lad, something of a rogue, anyway, here's his view on latest cinema blockbuster.

Hey there,

Bastorn reportn’ in.

Just got in from a rainy night in Georgia, but the less said about that broad the better. So where have ya been? Me, I bin to the movies again. This time it was summin’ biblical about this guy who was brother to king whatever his name was. Exodus: Gods and Kings, staring Batman no less, only this time he goes by the name Mo.

It’s all set in sunny Egypt. We see a loada guys sweatin’ it out under the lash building them ancient monuments for the whiny kings. Like, they had nothin’ better to do than sit around eating figs all day. Anyway, old Mo ends up travelin’ the length and breadth of the country casing the joint for the head honcho and he don’t like what he sees. So he has a pow-wow with the chiefs of the Jewish quarter and he learns a few things. On his way back to his sweet ride a couple of lads accost him in a shady alley and bang, kapow the cape crusader gives ‘em what for.

We’ll time goes by and the story gets back to the new king, Mo’s uppity brother Ram. Well one thing leads to another and they nearly come to blows. The upshot of it all is poor old Mo gets exiled and here’s where the funky stuff begins.

Many years later, it’s long movie, and old Mo is out tending sheep when he’s caught in a mud slide. This kid appears, who knows just a bit too much. Well he starts sayin’ stuff that gets Mo a thinkin’. Just suffices to say that Mo sets out to settle the score with his brother Ram. On his way he stops by the slave quarry and see things have got worse. Now old Batman gets even more determined. When he reaches the city he starts a teachin’ them boys ninja skills. Pretty soon they’re out causin’ trouble all over the Hood.

Then the kid is back sayin’ ‘Sit back old man and watch a pro work.’ Boy can that kid do stuff. Rivers turn to blood, there’s frogs, flies and boils everywhere and the kid’s only just getting’ started. All this is to make King Ram let Mo’s people go, but he has a hard job letting anything go never mind a million or two slaves. Well, things just get worse, this takes another hour and I’m mall outa popcorn so I nips down to see the usherette. When I get back from the over friendly usherette I musta’ missed summat cos’ old Mo had only gone and set everyone free. He’s pretty slick for an old fella.

To wind things up it’s a pretty good movie. Plenty of stuff happening and all at good pace. Make sure you take plenty of stash as this is one epic tale.

Until the next time. This has been Bastorn, like a good dagger keep it sharp.

Book Review

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I'm going to keep this brief as so much has already been said about the series.

Well that’s a first. First time a sequel has bettered its predecessor. This book was so demanding I just had to keep coming back to finish it. Absolutely riveting. The books certainly have advantages over the films in that they can build minute details into each flawed character that you are never quite sure of anyone. I love it for its sheer pulling power.

Now I’m going to read something completely different just to clear my head and test the drawing power of the final part.

A well deserved 5/5 stars

A First Foray

So I got this Scrivener thing and sat down to write. Got distracted then got some tea. Sat down to write and got distracted. Mother in law came round all distractions ended and I finally started to write.
I really like the uncluttered interface, the plain page with no distracting bells and whistles. I even like the old default courier font with its out of date style. When I write I like to use old sounding words, they might be new but they must sound old, if that makes sense. I try to keep a medieval feel in my fantasy world where armour clanks and chains rattle. Bad guys are bad because they are. Good guys are far from perfect, sometime they do good by accident but still soak up the applause as though they meant to do it.
So what did I write? Well here you are, time to meet the inhabitants of Nitewold.

A gibbous moon peered across the meniscus sea where the tide hung between the pillars of time. Fishermen pulled their boats across the sand onto the edge of the ebbing tide. A soft breeze toyed with the gently cresting waves where lunar crabs rose to mate in the retreating waters carrying them out to sea their backs glistening pearls before the unblinking eye of the night. Children gathered on the sands to watch their fathers and friends follow the crabs on their one night of passion. Lowering their nets with care into the water the fishermen spread out in silent harmony orchestrating their annual harvest of the reaper fish as they came to feast on the docile arthropods.

The finished chapter is here.

See you soon, have a great 2015.

Book Review

Before the Fall

by Juliet West

First let me start by saying I do not like what passes for modern romance. That is the uber handsome, chisel chinned, smooth chested stallion drivel. I’ve reviewed a few of those and do not wish to ever read another. Each to their own.

Before the Fall is none of that, not even close. Set in London’s docklands during the First World War it is the last place you’d want to find Mr Tall Dark and Handsome. What we do have is a real world populated by real people. The story is based on true events from the time. Our hero is not a hero he’s a welder. The heroine is mother of two whose husband is at war. Their romance should never have been, but it was and it tore families apart.

This a work of craftsmanship. A first novel to be proud of. Beautifully written and well told. So much so it was the only romance novel I have wanted to sit and read. It has been well researched not just fragments from postcards joined hastily together. There are copies of police statements, witness accounts and letters from the family all of which build upon the reality of a truly desperate love.

I will not speak of the plot as it is so tight any clues would just spoil it. Juliet West wastes no words, there are no needless side stories just the plain facts all woven together in a rich tapestry of old London. This is not a war story, it is about those left behind: the mothers, the children, the unfit and few white feathers. To read this novel is to see how romance should be coloured in anything else is just shades of grey.

A truly brilliant book and a well-deserved 5 stars.

Bitten

I recently won a 250 story competition with the following effort.


The Lone Ranger is knee deep in dirt digging a shallow grave when a rattler bites his manhood.

“Tonto, quickly! You’ve got to suck the poison from the wound or I’ll die Tonto.” The Ranger falls to his knees.

Tonto blinks the dust from his eyes and staggers back. “Tonto go doctor, get help.” The Indian turns tail and runs like a coyote fleeing the coop all the way to the doctor’s door. He arrives, staggers into the waiting room and confronts the ageing doc. “Rattler bite Que no sabe on pee-pee.” He gasps between breaths.

Shaking Tonto roughly by his shoulders the old doc drives home his urgent instruction. “You’ve got to suck the poison from the wound, or Ranger’s a gonner.”  Tonto blinks the dust from his eyes and staggers back.  He turns tail and flees faster than a priest from a whore’s chamber to his master. Running as fast as his moccasins can carry him, heart pounding like a war drum in his chest Tonto arrives at his stricken friend’s side where he lies recumbent in the shallow grave meant for an outlaw. Staring down through tear filled ears the words of the doctor rang in his ears: suck poison from wound, suck poison from wound.

“What’d he say, Tonto. The doc, what’d he say?” the Ranger coughed.

Tonto knelt beside his beloved friend, cradling the masked man’s head in his hands he said, “Doc he say… you gonna die boss.”

Scrivener

So, I finally got myself some new writing software, not that my old one wasn't any good it just started to eat chapters and corrupt the save files. So I look around, tried a few and finally settled on Scrivener . Why? Well, the 30 days of work trial was a huge help. Not seen this option before. You actually get to use the software for 30 working days. That is 30 days of actually writing with it, if you only used it once a week you get it for 30 weeks.
So this morning, in my Christmas fatness, I sat down and reconstructed Young Warlock into the software and began to experiment with the synopsis tool on the Cork board, a very clever little feature which allows you to create a synopsis on the fly. I've never been any good at those pesky synopsis so this gizmo is a great help.
Well, that's it for now, I've got work to do. I'll be back with an update real soon.

If you want a free copy of Young Warlock from Smashwords use this coupon at the checkout: BZ68A

Have a good New Year.