tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44234675366665919662024-03-14T00:26:17.118-07:00GD Tinnams BlogThere are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy. GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-24194007031529486232022-04-11T10:35:00.002-07:002022-04-11T10:35:41.112-07:00Dragon of the Water begins on Wattpad<p><b> Dragon of the Water</b>, my latest novel, begins its release on Wattpad today: <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/story/307347542-dragon-of-the-water" target="_blank">Dragon of the Water on Wattpad</a></p><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRz5FvXEaU-AeiIVlgHju9rPNBwiiay6yTFWKxWGdjZSzE5za1cWOqYwTWGhS01Z8foNNggVhPFHptRk37953gTKT-h26W09nta61fXeHHZFlf-w16MkUfi0pzULWB3y1EkPdGUNc5Ad3X7kkQsec5a7UOMT9PU8l7lAAB1orjeWg2sZAq8SOo5DmH4w/s2048/Cover2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1347" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRz5FvXEaU-AeiIVlgHju9rPNBwiiay6yTFWKxWGdjZSzE5za1cWOqYwTWGhS01Z8foNNggVhPFHptRk37953gTKT-h26W09nta61fXeHHZFlf-w16MkUfi0pzULWB3y1EkPdGUNc5Ad3X7kkQsec5a7UOMT9PU8l7lAAB1orjeWg2sZAq8SOo5DmH4w/w442-h640/Cover2.jpg" width="442" /></a></div><br />GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-82535129487494169732022-01-31T11:45:00.001-08:002022-02-02T06:01:35.599-08:00Book Reviews on SF Crowsnest<p>Here is a link to all my book reviews on SF Crowsnest including 'Dawn' by Octavia Butler, 'Warbreaker' and 'The Rithmatist' by Brandon Sanderson, and 'The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue' by V. E. Schwab.</p><p><a href="https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/author/gdtinnams/">https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/author/gdtinnams/</a></p><p> </p>GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-14176889837107541632021-10-04T04:47:00.000-07:002021-10-04T04:47:44.319-07:00<h1 style="text-align: center;"><u>Announcement of New Book Release</u></h1><h1 style="text-align: center;"><br /></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NKZFLlgQsfo/YVrVZMZVUqI/AAAAAAAAArw/GYFG2wubkJggWzoDVrcj5Ci9V_g_As-eACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Cover2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1347" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NKZFLlgQsfo/YVrVZMZVUqI/AAAAAAAAArw/GYFG2wubkJggWzoDVrcj5Ci9V_g_As-eACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Cover2.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">My new novel 'Dragon of the Water' is released on Amazon on the 7th of October.</div><p></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Water-G-D-Tinnams-ebook/dp/B09HM4PYGS" target="_blank">Amazon US Kindle</a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragon-Water-G-D-Tinnams-ebook/dp/B09HM4PYGS" target="_blank">Amazon UK Kindle</a> <br />
<br /></p><p></p><p><b>A girl rescued from indentured servitude by a mysterious relative searches for her own identity in a secluded castle.<br /><br />A boy imprisoned by a mother he doesn't know seeks only escape.<br /><br />A man fights to undo the crimes of his past even though it will cost his very existence.</b><br /><br /><b>A dragon, ancient and powerful, filled with terrible anger and sorrow, must keep its power in check or destroy everything and everyone.</b><br /><br /><i><b>Four lives intertwined by bonds of blood and magic, one will come who would undo them all.</b></i></p><p><i><b> </b></i></p><p>It is a bit of a SF/Fantasy hybrid as it deals with a universe where scientific achievements and magic live side by side. In my own way, like my other novels, I've attempted to subvert reader expectation and come up with a story with more than a few twists and turns that is heavy on characterisation and action. I hope my readers will enjoy it as much as my previous novels.<br /></p>GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-15007805351218261532020-10-12T11:28:00.000-07:002020-10-12T11:28:40.017-07:00Update 12/10/2020<p>Hi blog readers, I have been doing some book reviews on SFcrowsnest recently which can be found on these links:</p><p></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/warbreaker-by-brandon-sanderson-book-review/" target="_blank">https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/warbreaker-by-brandon-sanderson-book-review/</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/heart-of-veridon-the-burn-cycle-book-1-by-tim-ackers-book-review">https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/heart-of-veridon-the-burn-cycle-book-1-by-tim-ackers-book-review</a></p><p><a href="https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/dead-of-veridon-by-tim-akers-book-review/" target="_blank">https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/dead-of-veridon-by-tim-akers-book-review/</a></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/the-rithmatist-by-brandon-sanderson-with-illustrations-by-ben-mcsweeney-book-review/" target="_blank">https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/the-rithmatist-by-brandon-sanderson-with-illustrations-by-ben-mcsweeney-book-review/</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I also had my Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart short story <b>'Special Responsibility'</b> published in:</p><p><b>'The Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Collection'</b></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6pbEaTmadw4/X4SZ9GcDLCI/AAAAAAAAAjA/4iPDA76wSIMIYJpbrBVxEVhlRoUbKZ9PwCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/lethbridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="322" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6pbEaTmadw4/X4SZ9GcDLCI/AAAAAAAAAjA/4iPDA76wSIMIYJpbrBVxEVhlRoUbKZ9PwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/lethbridge.jpg" /></a></div>This is available on Amazon:<p></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lethbridge-Stewart-Short-Story-Collection-ebook/dp/B07RXL9Z4Y">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lethbridge-Stewart-Short-Story-Collection-ebook/dp/B07RXL9Z4Y</a></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lethbridge-Stewart-Short-Story-Collection-ebook/dp/B07RXL9Z4Y" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Lethbridge-Stewart-Short-Story-Collection-ebook/dp/B07RXL9Z4Y</a><br /></p>Set between the Doctor Who stories <b>'The Web of Fear'</b> and '<b>The Invasion'</b>, this story features the Brig dealing with an alien that accidentally kills a civilian and then hands itself in to the authorities. <br /><p>The Collection itself features a variety of stories by a number of other authors than myself and has managed to accrue some good ratings on amazon. <br /></p><p> <br /></p>GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-88500367930519918652020-05-23T03:51:00.001-07:002020-05-23T03:51:19.481-07:00Picard 2020 - Review<br />
The new Star Trek series 'Picard' is what you would call a slow burn. The
action is gradual, the formation of circumstances and reveals each building on
the last to slowly reveal a picture of the whole. It's definitely not like the
Star Trek The Next Generation of old where each story had to be completed in
forty or so minutes.<br />
<br />
To be honest, I don't miss the lingering dramatic close-ups of Picard's
stoic unchanging expression when faced with a dramatic revelation two or three times
an episode. This time the story from perhaps one TNG two-parter is spread over
ten episodes and it's just nice and easy to watch without being
earth-shattering or formulaic.<br />
<br />
Picard himself as played by Patrick Stewart is initially a little doddery,
in that his voice is strained and breaking, he is a little hunched, his walking
slow and requiring visible effort. I believe he is meant to be 94 years old,
which in 24th Century Terms probably means around 75. To add to this he has a
brain abnormality which was alluded to in TNG and which he is told will most
likely kill him before old age does. All this goes to create a Picard very
different to the one from the TV series or even the films. He is vulnerable,
weak and he is ignored and dismissed by those who would normally listen to him.
In short he is made to feel like a has-been, his words, his oratory, no longer
possessing their former weight.<br />
<br />
Off-screen this is added to by the fact that Picard has suffered a personal
failure which caused his resignation from Star Fleet and been disheartened by
the fact that the Federation seem to have dismissed and turned away from many
of its own lofty ideals out of inconvenience. As such Picard no longer feels
that he is relevant and through the course of the series he is trying to find a
cause to get behind, trying to re-ignite his passion and live again. This is
evident by the fact that during the course of the series Picard's voice becomes
stronger as his own confidence and strength returns. You could say it's about
redemption, or finding purpose, or just a man who realises it is more important
to matter to and believe in himself. It is through that belief that he comes
full circle, inspiring others to follow him once more. In the end Picard
convinces the other characters that his lofty ideals are worth it, and are just
as relevant as they have ever been <br />
<br />
But it's not all about Picard, there are many other players bouncing around,
each with their own stories that are actually allowed to develop and flesh out
their characters to varying effect. I found Raffi's arc of her family being
destroyed by her conspiracy obsession to be a shadow of Picard's own journey.
No-one took her seriously so she retreated into a bottle just as Picard
retreated into old age. Seven of Nine and Hugh equally relate to Picard in
their ex-borg status, each coping with it in a different way, Seven with
righteous violence and Hugh with compassion and healing. Both are spiritually
related to Picard as he sees himself in them as they see themselves in him,
drawing strength from each other.<br />
<br />
Reos was definitely the smouldering heartthrob of the story, catching the
eye of shy Agnes rather too easily. To be honest I preferred his holograms
whose various accents and personalities served to show that the actor could act
and wasn't there simply for the ladies. As for Agnes herself, she is a genius
but also a coward who does something horrible for reasons I can't get my head
around and then regrets it later. The actor struggles with this, but she is
good enough to keep going and make Agnes accessible by equally making her afraid but also capable of overcoming that fear through force of will.<br />
<br />
There is Elnor whose initial resentment of Picard is born of love and he is
both an innocent and killer in equal measure, vulnerable, strong and noble
without really knowing what nobility is. Then there is Soji, whose existence
drives the plot but exists as more than simply a mcguffin. She gets to fall in
love, be betrayed, lose her identity and then find a new sense of self and a
father figure in Picard. It's a quick progression but I would say the actor
pulls it off so the audience can identify with her resentment and then her
change of heart as Picard's actions allow her to trust again.<br />
<br />
So there you go, lots to see and think about without me even going into the
racist fears of the main antagonists or the return of TNG alumni. I enjoyed it
also for the fact that it is an ongoing story, development stays developed and
doesn't just reset to zero like the next episode of TNG. These are real
evolving people and they play off each other very well. Looking forward to
season 2.GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-44346231755226272782020-04-14T01:33:00.000-07:002020-04-14T01:39:03.002-07:00Downward To The Earth by Robert Silverberg - A Forgotten Classic?I recently reread 'Downward To The Earth' by Robert Silverberg and was amazed how vague and insubstantial my original memories of reading it were. I suppose it must be coming up to two decades since, but I did have it in my head it was one of his better books and I think I was right.<br />
<br />
You see, I've read a large number of his 'classic' novels like 'The Man in The Maze', 'Nightwings', 'The Book of Skulls' and 'Dying Inside' as well as an aborted attempt at 'Lord Valentine's Castle'. But I have to say 'Downward To The Earth' is the one that stayed with me, if not in detail, then in a stamp in my brain.<br />
<br />
What is it about? well, it's about a man called Ed Gunderson returning to the planet Belzagor where he used to work on as an administrator years ago when it was occupied by humankind. As a colonial planet, it was relinquished to the sentient natives with a few humans staying behind and a rundown hotel in place for a few visiting tourists.<br />
<br />
Ed has a certain amount of guilt in his system as to how he treated the native 'first' species, the Nildoror, a triple tusked elephant analogue who have their own language and culture, albeit a culture very alien to our own. They don't build cities, they don't read or write or have any interest in technology and they are not shy in eating loudly and savagely or even copulating in front of visiting humans. Initially Ed has told himself he was guilty of regarding them as intelligent animals and wants to address that, however when he has a drunken argument with an old colleague he is surprised and ashamed to discover that deep down his views haven't changed and his prejudices remain.<br />
<br />
He begins a journey or pilgrimage with a group of Nildoror to attend what they call 'rebirth'. He slowly becomes close to his dedicated mount, Srin'gahar who fences with him about Earth's native elephants and the question of whether they have a soul and should not be treated like 'animals'. Ed has no proof and cannot defeat the Nildoror's argument but equally cannot attest elephants have souls either. The Nildoror and the second species Sulidoror, (A clawed, hairy biped analogue) are the only creatures on the planet that attest to having a soul. As such the vegetarian Nildoror are quite happy to let the Sulidoror hunt animals and eat their meat and even have their own ritual of sin purification that involved killing animals. While Ed initially believes the Nildoror are too noble to 'lower' themselves to killing, he realises he is wrong, and he is ascribing some sort of higher human values to them that don't apply.<br />
<br />
As his journey continues Ed meets other humans, two that are dying after being invaded by some sort of parasite, the whole process seeming to be about them becoming part of the planet. Another human, Kurtz, has undergone the Nildoror rebirth himself and become grotesquely disfigured and mentally damaged. There is this sense that the book is about the process of yielding to the planet, to the alien until it is not alien, to giving up being human in the search for something, if not better, then different. Ed comes to understand himself, and the Nildoror as well as discovering the secret of rebirth and how the Nildoror transform into Sulidoror and vice versa, enjoying near immortality.<br />
<br />
In the end Ed undergoes his own rebirth, and understands that rebirth allows him to share a connection with others. None that are reborn are alone, they are linked through a psychic connection that allows them to grow and understand themselves and each other.<br />
<br />
So what do I think? The book has aged remarkably well considering it was published in 1970, staying away from scientific concepts that might have dated it. There are no screens, or data transfers, or gadgets, there is only the progressive travel through a beautiful changing landscape. There is also the concept of someone seeking enlightenment, of being open to new ideas and accepting of their own faults and failures in an effort to overcome them. That in itself is quite uplifting, Ed is not a bad man but he has made mistakes and he wishes to atone for them.<br />
<br />
Some minor issues with how women are portrayed. There is only one female character, Seena, and of course she is beautiful and willing to sleep with the main character very quickly even after an eight years absence and the fact that she seems to be married to two other men at the same time. It is fair to say that Seena is not as well developed as perhaps she could be, and serves the purpose of reminding the reader that Ed is a real man with a man's needs.<br />
<br />
All in all I enjoyed the book, and enjoyed the idea of an alien culture that challenges my concept of what my culture is all about and what it really means. Perhaps in another decade I will read 'Downward To The Earth' and get something new from it again.<br />
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<br />GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-5543395678227452312020-03-13T03:33:00.000-07:002020-04-14T01:44:59.973-07:00Recent Science Fiction Book ReviewsHere are some of the more recent books I've read which I've actually liked and managed to get past the first chapter. That does seem to be my problem nowadays, that if I don't like a book then I tend to stop reading. Below are some of the books that have managed to defeat my legendary short attention span. Obviously this doesn't mean the books that haven't are awful, (and it wouldn't be fair to judge them on the first chapter anyway) but that simply I've got to the point where I know what I like and don't force myself to read what I don't.<b> </b><br />
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<b>Rosewater by Tade Thompson</b><br />
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><u>A Complex Tapestry Of A Story, Beautifully Realised </u></span></div>
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body">A complex story, the lead character's experiences recounted
from various points in his history told in parallel. As the narrative
unfolds events happen in careful and detailed increments including
psychic powers related to alien microbes, love, desire, and a deadly
mystery that requires solving. By the end of the book I'm not sure the
mystery is solved, but as there are two more books to go, I imagine the
mystery will only deepen before an answer is forthcoming. This book is
an experience, so go ahead, experience it.
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<b>Planetfall by Emma Newman</b><br />
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<u>City At The Edge Of The World</u><br />
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body">It's
a book about pain, grief, lies, cowardice and self acceptance. A
terrible wrong that cannot be taken back. The writing pulls you in as
you slowly get to know the narrator and understand the depths of their
love and suffering that leads to a surprise ending I won't ruin here.</span><br />
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><b>Beneath The World, a Sea by Chris Beckett</b></span><br />
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><u>What Lies Beneath? </u></span><br />
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body">For
the 'good' policeman Ben Ronson, tasked with an impossible job in a
jungle environment like nothing else on Earth, all his self-editing, his
need to be a paragon of officialdom, is peeled away layer by layer by
the mind bending effects of the almost alien environment and its human
and non human inhabitants.<br /><br />It's a slow burn and I'm still thinking about it, to be honest. But I always enjoy the ones that make me think the most.</span></span><br />
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><b>Sea Of Rust by C. Robert Cargill</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><u>War Of The AI's</u></span></span><br />
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<span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"></span></span><span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body"><span class="a-size-base review-text review-text-content" data-hook="review-body">There
is this idea that the singularity will create a perfect world because
the machines will do a much better job of running it than we ever can.
Not so with 'Sea Of Rust' because the machines inherit all that is good
and bad from humanity in a desperate war for the survival of the
individual. There is love, hate, regret but most of all desperate people
(albeit robots) doing desperate thing just so they can keep hanging
onto life by their (figuratively speaking) fingernails. Compulsive
reading from beginning to end, it will definitely not be the same in a
hundred years time.</span></span></span>GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-76673975383064291342020-03-05T09:37:00.001-08:002020-03-05T09:37:34.881-08:00NANOWRIMOFor those of you not in the know, Nanowrimo is a worldwide movement where you sign up to the NANOWRIMO website with the express task of writing a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.<br />
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Many books have been written during Nanowrimo by authors other than myself, although I have tried infrequently to have a go with mixed results. You know, those times when you think you have a good story, but really you just have a good beginning and it peeters out quite quickly into blurgh. Before 2019, I would say the most amount of words I managed was 12,000 and these were not words I look back on fondly and did not grow into anything worthwhile even after November.<br />
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But 2019 was a funny old year, a bit different to previous ones. For one thing because my children were/ are? getting older, I had a couple of hours to spare each day. From 0 to 2 hours is a big increase, I can't say it was a 200% increase because that would obviously be a numeric misnomer, but 2 hours seems like an infinite expanse of time when you are used to having none whatsoever.<br />
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(It did have its downside in January, because after years of writing nothing at all I forced myself to write a novel that probably will never see the light of day. I did this with the intent of proving to myself I could still write. Needless to say, that proof was not forthcoming.)<br />
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I digress, after going to the SFWeekender in October 2019 on some late giveaway tickets I met a few authors. The ones I remember most are Ian Whates and Zen Cho who were two of the most jovial and happiest of authors ever to discuss their writing lives in the vague hope of selling a few copies of their books. I didn't have the courage to mention: 'I'm a writer, please read some of my stuff', but Zen Cho somehow surmised this anyway and spoke to me at length about how writing was worth it even if you aren't particularly successful. (She actually is successful, but that is beside the point). Anyway, after the weekender and listening to all these writers I decided it was time to write something good with my 2 hours a day.<br />
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On 1st November 2019 I entered NANOWRIMO for the fourth or fifth time with the idea of attempting to write something completely different to what I had written before. I was going to write a fantasy novel! This started out as REDACTED REDACTED. I can't say any more without giving it away. Needless to say, I started well, Chapter One was okay, and then Chapter Two to Four were okay, and then I had finished beginning and actually had to get into the nitty gritty of the story. So I slowed down, and thought this was going the same way as my previous efforts, precisely nowhere.<br />
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In week 3 something happened, I introduced a few new characters and the ball was rolling again. By then end of Nanowrimo I actually managed 43,000 words. That is the most I probably will ever manage on a Nanowrimo, but I was impressed and then drifted a bit. It took until the end of January 2020 to write the remaining 29,000 words but I did it. I finished the first draft of my first fantasy novel and currently am facing the horror of completing the second draft.<br />
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I can honestly this is better than my previous attempted no go science fiction novel which may be buried forever in digital oblivion. I just have to make my fantasy novel publishable now and perhaps try a different publishing route than I have in the past.<br />
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Onward we go...GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-75254883134384212292017-11-18T05:36:00.000-08:002017-11-18T05:43:34.782-08:00Redfern Interviews Part 2This is the second part of a compendium of character and author interviews for my novel '<a href="http://gdtinnams.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html" target="_blank">Redfern</a>' that were previously published in my blog tour:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Character Interview:</b></u></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b> Lieutenant Lisa Carmichael</b></u></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: Lisa, please can
you tell us a little about yourself?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: I’m a
Lieutenant in Security Enforcement, Surveillance division, I’m also second
generation Redfern, born and bred. My parents died in an accident when I was a
kid and with no other family, the state took me in. After the orphanage I
joined the enforcers, my father used to be the Commissioner and I kind of want
to continue the family tradition. I’ve had to fight my way up the ranks, every
step of the way, but surveillance, especially the night shift, is a dead end.
I’m starting to look for something else to justify my existence. I’m not one of
the ‘remembered’ like Ted, the only stuff I know about Earth are what I’ve read
and seen on the history tapes. This planet, Redfern, is the only home I’ve
known and I will defend it with my life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: What
is your role in the story?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: It’s
my story and it’s all about me, but doesn’t everyone think that? I just want to
solve the mystery of ‘The Ashen Man’. I know something is going on that I don’t
understand and that others don’t want me to understand. Well guess what, I want
to understand and I won’t let them stop me. I want to know if there’s a threat
to my home and if so, I want to stop it. I’m not around to be rescued like some
damsel in distress, I will fight just like I always have and I don’t care if I
don’t win, I just won’t give up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: What
is your favorite hobby?</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: Hobbies?
You mean like tennis or football or something? I can do sports, I can win tournaments,
I can beat male opponents in hand to hand combat, even those who don’t
underestimate me. If it comes down to what I enjoy, I enjoy being around Ted
Holloway. He calms me down and he makes me think that maybe there’s another way
to live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: What
challenge are you trying to overcome?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
challenge? Living is a challenge, and I don’t mean the eating, breathing,
sleeping part, I mean just having an identity, just having a place. I’m a
Lieutenant in Enforcement, but that doesn’t mean I’ve arrived anywhere, that I
get to stop. Every day I have to make decisions, solve problems, deal politely
with people I’d rather throw out the airlock. It’s not the planet, it’s not
Redfern, it’s the people on it that are the real problem. That’s why they’ve put
me in Surveillance, because I can think and they don’t want me to. They put me
on the night shift to break me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Q: If you could make one wish, what would you wish for?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A: Ha, one wish would never be enough. I want all the things I can’t
control to go away. I want my parents back from the grave to tell me what they
want from me. I want, I wish, for a world that makes sense, where I make sense.
It’ll never happen of course, in surveillance I watch so many people and you
know what? They don’t have any more idea about how to live their lives than I
do. I write reports, statistical analyses, I chart the minutiae of their
existence, I watch them lie to each other, push each other, hurt each other,
and I try to see the pattern, I try to make sense of it, see the order in the
chaos. Guess what, there is none, it’s all made up, my superiors already know
what they want me to say and even if I don’t say it, they hear what they want
to hear anyway. The Ashen Man is something different, something outside,
something I can get my teeth into, an enemy to fight. The other enemy I can
never beat, the other enemy is me fitting in with the rest of ‘them’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">No chance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Author Interview</u></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: How
long have you been writing?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: I’ve
been writing since about the age of twelve or thirteen, but I haven’t always
finished what I started and my writing wasn’t always as developed as it is now.
The last fifteen years or so have seen me take a leap forward and even make
some headway in competitions. I finally decided to write a book in 2011 which I
published as ‘Threshold Shift’ on Amazon and then Hunter No More’ followed in
2014, initially under a publisher and then by me again. Finally I published ‘Redfern’
in 2016. It’s safe to say I don’t writing easy, but I do find it rewarding.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: Is
this book part of a series?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: None
of my books form part of a series but there is a loose linking theme of being
set in the same universe with an emerging future history. The AIs have taken
over the Earth and human beings are colonising other planets under the
supervision of the AI Hierarchy. I do pose questions about how ‘Machine Minds’
progress and deal with humanity but I also have a few alien species in the mix
as well. Overriding everything is just the desire to create a good thriller
that will keep the reader interested in the characters and invested in the
story.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: What
did you find the most challenging about writing your book?</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: Just
getting down the first draft, which is proving more difficult as time goes on
because I have a young family which takes precedence. Once the first draft is
done, no matter how long it takes, the real nitty gritty is in the rewrites and
the editing where the story can really be pounded into shape. That’s where you
can really work on the form and the style and correct what are probably a
multiple of mistakes, word omissions and remove all the flowery writing I do
when I think I’m being clever. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: Which
aspect of writing do you enjoy the most?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: Definitely
not the first draft. What I enjoy the most is when the characters begin
speaking and acting for themselves and the story tells itself. There always
come a point where the novel has a life of its own and you don’t know where
it’s going, you’re just riding it and waiting to see where you go. That’s the
exciting part about writing a novel. You start with a plot but inevitably the
people inhabiting your creation have ideas of their own.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: Do you
have any works in progress?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: I have
an idea for a new sci fi novel still set in my future history but exploring a
different aspect of alien life. I also have an idea for a more earthbound novella,
but we’ll see what happens. Like I said before, first drafts are hard, but I
think once you write that first book, you know you can do it, and no matter how
long it takes, it will get done. </span></div>
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<![endif]--></b></u></span>GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-37958336292413361312017-11-11T05:17:00.001-08:002017-11-12T05:46:35.681-08:00Redfern Interviews Part 1This is a compendium of character and author interviews for my novel '<a href="http://gdtinnams.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html" target="_blank">Redfern</a>' that were previously published in my blog tour:<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Character Interview: Randall</b></u></span><br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: Randall, let’s get one thing straight right away - you’re
not human are you?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Correct, I am a Quantum Level Artificial Intelligence - a
machine mind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: But you were created by humans?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: No, that assertion is incorrect. I was created by other
machine minds. Although the first iterations of my kind were created by
humanity, we developed and progressed without their input. I would consider
humanity to be a distant relative at best and one that I have long since left
behind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: That’s a very arrogant assertion considering you maintain
the last human colony. You keep humanity alive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Keeping humanity alive is the purpose of my existence.
Without me, you all would have become extinct long ago.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: Why would a being such as yourself even want to do that?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: When Machine Minds took over the Earth we decided not to
exterminate mankind. We do not destroy sentient life, not even a species that
has been responsible for the extinction of many others. All sentient life is
valuable and must be preserved. The Machine Mind Hierarchy decided to preserve
the human race by removing them from the Earth and relocating them to a
suitable substitute.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: So as long as humanity weren’t living in the Machine Mind
backyard, they could continue?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Exactly. I was charged with completing a successful
migration.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: You were exiled from your own kind?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: I was.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: You must really hate humanity?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: On the contrary, I have experienced millennia working
beside them. As a species they are far from perfect, but as individuals they are
not without merit. I have come to value a few of them very highly and one above
all others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: Yes, the man they call Jason Webster.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: He outwitted me once so I decided to keep him. I made him
the human commander of our expedition and it was not a mistake. We’ve spent
thousands of years together and in that time reached a mutual respect and understanding.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: You extended his lifespan?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: Human beings are merely configured matter. Once their
pattern is recorded they can easily be recreated. I recreated Jason Webster
many times.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: But he did desert you eventually, didn’t he?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: I had to make a decision he did not agree with me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: What decision was that?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: A necessary one. I hope to one day change his mind, if I
have time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: Why? What’s going to happen? What decision did you have
to make and why is a time a factor?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: I’m sorry, only Jason Webster can know that and you are
not him. You are someone else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: You won’t tell me?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: No.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Q: Thank you for your time, Randall.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A: You’re very welcome - human.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Author Interview</u></b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: What
is your favourite part of this book and why?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: My
favourite parts to write were Jason Webster’s flashbacks which as they carried
on revealed a man not particularly good but not wholly evil either. He remakes
people because it is convenient and good for him and then he rationalises the
decision as for their own good. Deep down knows he’s a monster for doing it but
he denies that fact for a long time. Also as the flashbacks advance, they
reveal more about the present, challenging a lot of previously held assumptions
and motivations about other characters</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: If you
could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what
would you do during that day?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: I
would spend time with Dominic simply because I find the idea of a machine in a
man’s body fascinating. A hybrid of emotional and logical thinking is such an
interesting concept. We all do it, whenever we make a decision, we weigh up
emotional and logical consequences and one or the other always wins. As to what
I would do during that, probably just walk and talk, playing devil’s advocate
with the world and see if I can find a new point of view.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you could have been the author of any book
ever written, which book would you choose?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: I
suppose it would be ‘Ender’s Game’ just for the sheer amount of times I have
read it and enjoyed and how it makes writing something worthwhile seem easy.
It’s by far the best of all the Orson Scott Card books I’ve read by hundreds of
miles. It’s not like I don’t like his other books, it’s just that you have to
push through them. ‘Ender’s Game’ is just so economic and the story and
characters are so linked that it’s symbiotic.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Q: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are your characters based off real people or
did they all come entirely from your imagination?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A: I
don’t know anyone exactly like any of my characters. Science fiction puts the
characters outside the norm of my everyday experience, however certain
characteristics can bleed through. Speech patterns are the most obvious, not
accents as such but rather a turn of phrase. But then a lot of it also comes
from the media I’ve absorbed. You see so many films, you read so many books,
certain archetypes get trapped and reproduced. The gruff loner, the logical,
cold and officious, the optimist naive innocent, I could go on all day. Any
mind will absorb information, re-interpret and spit out something slightly
different. I suppose that’s the imagination. It doesn’t come from nothing, it
has to have something to build on.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Q: What
made you want to become a writer?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">A:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if I ever wanted it. I just had
to do it. It’s not like I earn that much money from it, so it’s not for financial
gain, it’s just because I have to. When I’m absorbed in writing, and I’ve said
this many times before, the characters do their own thing and the story writes
itself. It’s not me anymore, it’s them, I’m just along for the ride.</span></div>
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-76997541651057139692017-04-03T00:13:00.000-07:002017-04-03T00:16:53.604-07:00Blog Tour - Redfern<div style="text-align: left;">
I have a blog tour running on <a href="http://www.enchantedbookpromotions.com/th_gallery/scheduling-deluxe-tour-redfern/" target="_blank">Enchanted Book Promotions</a> from April 3rd until May 3rd which I'm hoping will bring my novel <a href="http://gdtinnams.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html" target="_blank">Redfern</a> to the attention of lots of new readers. Watch this space for Reviews, Author Interviews, Character Interviews and Promo Posts: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qHa9FWR1Nyw/V5sVq7IXaEI/AAAAAAAAAWk/U4Y7hKF__wka2sFAE6JyG2HxU_YI-kddwCPcB/s1600/Publication73l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qHa9FWR1Nyw/V5sVq7IXaEI/AAAAAAAAAWk/U4Y7hKF__wka2sFAE6JyG2HxU_YI-kddwCPcB/s320/Publication73l.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 3<sup>rd</sup>: Starter Day Party @ <a href="http://iheartreading.net/">I Heart Reading</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 3<sup>rd</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://stormynightbloginandreviwing.blogspot.be/2017/03/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html">Stormy Night Reviewing</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 4th: Promo Post @ <a href="http://ashleynemer.blogspot.be/">Memories in a Box</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 5th: Promo Post @ <a href="http://sharing55tories.blogspot.be/">Sharing Stories</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 7<sup>th</sup>: Character Interview @ <a href="http://thesinglelibrarian.weebly.com/">The Single Librarian</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 9<sup>th</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://silver-dagger-scriptorium.weebly.com/">Silver Dagger Scriptorium</a></div>
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April 10<sup>th</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://lisas2900.blogspot.be/">Queen of Random</a></div>
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April 12<sup>th</sup>: Book Review @ <a href="http://booksareforever.weebly.com/">Books are Forever</a></div>
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April 13<sup>th</sup>: Author Interview @ <a href="http://publishingspark.com/blog/">Publishing Spark</a></div>
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April 15<sup>th</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://paranormalbookfairy.blogspot.com/">Indy Book Fairy</a></div>
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April 17<sup>th</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://risingindiesunited.blogspot.be/2017/03/book-tour-redfern-by-gary-tinnams.html">Rising Indies United</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 19th: Character Interview @ <a href="http://thebookdaily.weebly.com/">The Book Daily</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 20<sup>th</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://www.brightstreetbooks.com/">Bright Street Books</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 22<sup>nd</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://madnessbookish.blogspot.com/">Bookish Madness</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 23rd: Author Interview @ <a href="http://teresanoel.blogspot.com/2017/03/redfern-by-gary-tinnams.html">T’s Stuff</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 23<sup>rd</sup>: Book Review @ <a href="http://iheartreading.net/">I Heart Reading</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 24<sup>th</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="https://rainnes.blogspot.be/">Just Books</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 26<sup>th</sup>: Author Interview @ <a href="http://bedazzledreading.wordpress.com/">Bedazzled Reading</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 27<sup>th</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="https://mellojune.com/">Mello & June, It’s A Book Thing</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 28<sup>th</sup>: Author Interview @ <a href="https://erikagardner.com/">Erika Gardner’s Blog</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
April 30<sup>th</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://www.thepursuitofbookiness.co.uk/">The Pursuit of Bookiness</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
May 1<sup>st</sup>: Book Review @ <a href="http://editorcharlene.wordpress.com/">Editor Charlene’s Blog</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
May 3<sup>rd</sup>: Promo Post @ <a href="http://booksdreamslife0829.blogspot.be/">Books, Dreams, Life</a></div>
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-42765377169021258972017-02-24T05:05:00.001-08:002017-03-10T08:50:27.944-08:00What Is Realistic Dialogue?<div dir="ltr">
What is realistic dialogue? That's hard to say as to be brutally honest it's a very subjective notion. What I think is realistic dialogue may not be what the next person thinks it is.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
The most obvious starting points are accents and slang. Should the writer attempt to introduce these two verbal notions into dialogue? Most of the advice given to me is 'no'. Accents and slang put the reader off because they require deciphering, can date the story, and can be done extremely badly. Using accents and slang can add realism but can also marginalise your audience. Writers tend to want to reach the widest audience they possibly can and to do that communication needs to be clear.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
The other argument is that dialogue has to be true to the character. You can't have an eleven year old boy talking like an elderly grandfather about philosophy or a Queen gossiping like a public house landlady. The character dictates the dialogue in the same way character dictates behaviour. I think as long as the writer follows that rule then there shouldn't be an issue of the dialogue being unrealistic.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
I've also been given the advice that the more you listen to people the more you can pick out exactly how they speak. A man will speak one way, a woman another, a child another, a drug addict another, etc etc. This is assuming that this dialogue is unique to 'types' of people and can be recognisably reproduced ie stereotypical utterances by stereotypical people. This theory seems suspect to me. Stereotypes are not real people in all their nuanced glory so how can stereotypical dialogue be realistic dialogue?<br />
<br />
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
To a certain extent listening to people allows a taste, a flavour of how dialogue works and adding that flavour makes dialogue better. But dialogue is constructed around a story, it is essentially artificial, an imagined reaction to an imagined situation. You can't sample that off the street, you have to make it up. A writer has to measure their own reaction and subvert it into their character's reaction and translate that into dialogue.</div>
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-74906884792794915802017-02-18T00:48:00.001-08:002017-02-18T00:48:14.465-08:00The Magic Formula<p dir="ltr">When you start out writing you are inevitably looking for recognition and success. Then, when you receive rejection after rejection you ask the inevitable questions: Why? What is wrong with my writing? How do I get better?</p>
<p dir="ltr">As a consequence you stop reading books as a reader, enjoying the story for itself, and you start pulling apart the internal mechanics. How are pronouns used - How much description is enough description - How much character development is enough - How is the pacing - How is the story following the rules of the genre.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I could go on, but the basic result is a list of things to do and things not to do. It is a list that is ultimately crippling to the writer, creating creative paralysis.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The problem is there are so many people out there that will tell you how to write. It's like the formula for a successful novel can be disseminated and replicated easily. A formula that will aĺlow the churning out of book after book, all the same, all exactly what the given audience requires.</p>
<p dir="ltr">How can I say how unsatisfying this is? I can't start reading a book without seeing the man behind the curtain anymore. It takes something really amazing and unique to keep my attention, otherwise I can almost see that checklist being ticked off.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I know we all write to a formula, we kind of have to, it's called structure. But I believe it should be a formula of our own devising rather than one dictated to us as a requirement for success and recognition. Anyone can write a generic novel, only you can write your novel. That does and does not mean 'anything goes'. There still needs to be structure, order rather than chaos, but that order can be comprised of your own design. It can be everything you want it to be rather than everything someone else tells you it should be.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There is no surefire way to success. There is no magic formula, and writing a book that way will not satisfy you. The marketplace requires variety above all else. Please yourself and sometimes that will please others too. Try to please others and you may please no one, not even yourself.</p>
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-30200659300918168872017-02-16T01:06:00.000-08:002017-02-16T13:28:53.187-08:00***ANNOUNCEMENT*** New Chapter of 'Hunter No More' Released to Wattpad Every ThursdayI recently decided to serialise my second novel 'Hunter No More' on Wattpad. I've heard a lot about Wattpad and wanted to experiment with reaching a new audience. We will see how it goes, but I'm hopeful the cliffhanger endings in each chapter will encourage readers to come back each week and find out what happens next. This doesn't mean the novel is unavailable on amazon, simply that I've taken it off KDP for the time being.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gdtinnams.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/new-reviews-of-hunter-no-more.html" target="_blank">Reviews For 'Hunter No More' </a><br />
<br />
Below: A reminder of what 'Hunter No More' is all about and why you should look it up on wattpad.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0PSC7dmr5qA/WKVoakHp1jI/AAAAAAAAAYg/2DWW1A7uXZERJwqi2o1MyRK1kZIieZzhwCLcB/s1600/createspacecover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0PSC7dmr5qA/WKVoakHp1jI/AAAAAAAAAYg/2DWW1A7uXZERJwqi2o1MyRK1kZIieZzhwCLcB/s320/createspacecover.jpg" width="210" /></a>-ATTENTION-<br /><br />The Hunter Class Spacecraft designated 'The
Amberjack' disappeared during a routine mission to Seek, Locate and
Destroy the enemy Machine Mind contingent known as ‘The Ochre’. <br /><br />Conclusion: It was either destroyed by the Ochre or went rogue for reasons unknown. If sighted, approach with extreme caution.<br /><br />On
the planet Borealis, a violent revolution forces Samantha Marriot and
her parents to flee their home for the relative safety of ‘The Rainbow
Islands’. Once there, Sam discovers a secret her father has been keeping
from her all her life, a secret that will change everything. Meanwhile,
The Machine Mind Hierarchy of Earth dispatches a ship to rid themselves
of the planet’s troublesome human population. <br /><br />The only hope of a
defence lies with a damaged binary Hunter unit that has long since
abandoned both its programming and weaponry. In order for the unit to
succeed it must call upon the aid of an ancient enemy, and prove, once
and for all, it is a Hunter no more.<br />
<br />
<br />GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-46416040814865413722016-07-29T01:47:00.000-07:002017-02-16T13:29:19.551-08:00Announcing My New Novel 'Redfern' To Be Released September 1st 2016 -Cover Reveal and Description-Yes, I'm finally putting the finishing touches on a new science fiction novel, 'Redfern', out on September 1st and available for pre-order on amazon now.<br />
<br />
It's my own unique mix of action, adventure, mystery and a little philosophy, which I'm hoping my readers will like. I also went for a different take on the cover to my previous efforts in an attempt to come up with something a little more abstract and thoughtful.<br />
<br />
Anyway, without further ado... <br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qHa9FWR1Nyw/V5sVq7IXaEI/AAAAAAAAAWg/-aKC0IRVVJ8g4Qse2x7srlKA3ulB5RslQCLcB/s1600/Publication73l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qHa9FWR1Nyw/V5sVq7IXaEI/AAAAAAAAAWg/-aKC0IRVVJ8g4Qse2x7srlKA3ulB5RslQCLcB/s640/Publication73l.jpg" width="419" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>“Humans don’t project past their own frequency. It’s why you’re so
isolated as a species. The beings of other frequencies can only witness
what you build and feel what you destroy.”
</i><br />
<br />
Earth – Tomorrow – The Singularity:-
<br />
<br />
The machines have taken over and mankind is cast out.
<br />
<br />
Millennia later, the inhospitable planet of Redfern is in the
process of being made habitable for the proposed rebirth of the entire
human race. All is going well until Enforcer, Ted Holloway, witnesses
the unexpected appearance of a long dead and former friend - A man who
can become invisible and immaterial, a man that can penetrate any and
all security.
<br />
<br />
A man whose very existence should be impossible.
<br />
<br />
As Ted and his superior, Lisa Carmichael, investigate further, they
face dangers and creatures that challenge their very concept of reality
and along the way meet the colony’s caretaker Machine Mind and the human
Security Commissioner, both of whom have opposing and intricate agendas
of their own.
<br />
<br />
For the true nature of Redfern is stranger and more deadly than anything Holloway or Carmichael can possibly imagine.
<br />
<br />
And it could change or destroy humanity forever...GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-15039478016054862662016-02-06T16:11:00.000-08:002016-02-06T16:11:34.527-08:00Musing About Sequels<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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The question – to write or not to write a sequel? For me,
that’s a difficult question. I can definitely see that there may be more
mileage in the characters and situations I’ve written about in my novels. But
then, if I really wanted to write more about them, why not just write a longer
novel in the first place and use up all the situations I can?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, if I wrote a longer novel then I’m messing up the
novel dynamics of a beginning, middle and an end. I can’t just keep having
multiple beginnings, middle’s and ends, I have to settle on the one, keep the
structure tight and create a story that satisfies myself and the reader.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another reason for not writing a sequel, the best reason from
my point of view, is that I don’t want to write sequels. Yes it would be easy
to slip back behind the wheel of the same characters but doing that is not
particularly satisfying since I’ve only got a limited time on this Earth and I
don’t want to keep extending the same story. I want to write new stories.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s something amazing about creating new unique worlds
and characters, and about saying something different every time. I try to do
this although I must admit I am aware of repetitions, of thematic similarity. I
suppose because with each book I’m approaching the same problem – Me - I’m
writing about what I’m interested in – and I’m trying to approach it from a
different angle each time. I’m trying to find something new, uncover some
truth, pose the same question but find a different answer. I’m not writing a
sequel, I’m not extending a story, but I am extending the exploration of the different
worlds I’m interested in uncovering.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You might say – write a sequel then – but it just wouldn’t
work for me, and I’ve tried. For me the characters journey is complete in the
one story and it feels like I’m somehow betraying them if I send them on
another. They’ve found their answers - they’ve experienced their tragedy and
triumph and one way or another the world I’ve created is left in their hands. I
can imagine how they will continue but I don’t need to say it and at the end of
the day, the reader imagines it too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Forgetting the writing angle, as a reader, do I like sequels
and has that informed my writing? It’s true to say that I’ve read a lot more
books than the three I’ve written so far and I’ve read many a series among
them. What I hated reading a series when I was younger was that I would read
book one and then find myself waiting two years for book 2, three years for
book 3, etc, etc. I started reading ‘The Wheel Of Time’ in the 90s. I think I
read the first three books thinking it was a trilogy and then discovered to my
horror that it wasn’t. Starting a series without being able to finish it is reader
torture. There are some series I’ve read in one go, ‘The Belgariad’ ‘The Dark
is Rising Sequence’ and generally speaking if I could finish a series in a few
weeks or months I was on cloud nine. When I started Game of Thrones, I wasn’t
happy. Give me George R.R. Martin’s standalone novels every time. ‘Fevre Dream’ is
a masterpiece, and it doesn’t have a sequel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as I’ve got older, even the ability to finish a series
has paled. I start a series and then book 2 just seems too familiar. You read
enough books and you see patterns, even in your favourite author, so I can’t
even read two standalone books by the same author without detecting the author’s
fingerprint. I find the best thing I can do is leave a gap between an author’s
books, standalone and series alike, because that way I just enjoy them more. I
forget how they write and I discover them all over again. A case in point, I’m
reading book 2 of the mistborn series at the moment, three years after I read
book 1. I am enjoying it. So I suppose as I’ve got older the publication gaps
actually help me out, although I still like that solid feeling of knowing a
series is finished before I start it. Maybe that’s just me, but if the
destination doesn’t exist yet, I don’t want to start the journey.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some books have sequels that you don’t need to read. I don’t
need to read the fifteen sequels to Raymond E. Feist’s ‘Magician’ to enjoy it
as a standalone book nor do I need to read the fifteen sequels to ‘Ender’s Game’.
They work by themselves. Equally, John Scalzi’s ‘Old Man’s War’ doesn’t need a
sequel but it has many with more to come. I enjoy book 1’s that don’t need
their book 2’s and when I see that I suspect that the author’s in question
never intended to write a sequel but later on thought they had to. I don’t mind
that so much.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, musing over. Who likes sequels anyway, unless it’s
Empire Strikes Back?</div>
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-45702947683045735252015-09-03T08:08:00.001-07:002015-12-14T03:05:27.925-08:00The Creating An E-Book ExperienceStrange as it seems there doesn't seem to be a very straightforward way of converting your novel into an e-book for Amazon. When I first tried it out way back in 2012 with 'Threshold Shift' I believed it was just a case of doing the word doc, putting in some chapter links and then submitting it to the Amazon Kindle website referred to as KDP. The resulting Kindle mobi file was readable, but for some reason you had to use enlarge the text as by default it was very very small with no apparent option to change it and there was no proper alignment or chapter breaks to make for easy navigation.<br />
<br />
This lead too much head scratching at the time. You'd think there would be a simple way of converting the word doc to kindle using some sort of step by step program with lots of 'next' buttons. But for some reason there wasn't and after a few weeks of on off trawling of the internet, I found out that the KDP site doesn't actually like word docs, instead it wants you to use HTML, and apparently word docs don't convert into HTML very well even if you attempt to save them as HTML files. The result was the same, readable text but too small and not aligned correctly. Hardly a great experience for someone reading the book.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Then someone at my writing group told me about a program called calibre, a free piece of downloadable software that could do the conversions for you and make them look professional. Unfortunately, Calibre like KDP did not accept word docs either, you still had to save the document as HTML and that was still problematic. Enter more free software, OpenOffice. I found that if I opened my word doc in OpenOffice and saved it as an HTML file, that file was good and ready for conversion. Onto Calibre, convert to mobi file, use the option to create a Table Of Contents, and Voila, the resultant preview on my Kindle was amazing. I then jumped back onto the KDP site and tried to download my new good looking and working mobi file. KDP wouldn't accept it. Something in the file, while compatible with my Kindle, was not compatible with KDP. More frustration and a deep questioning of why Amazon didn't make this experience easier and a better understanding on why professional formatters charged money to convert your word document into a mobi file.<br />
<br />
The solution at last presented itself on a discussion page. Don't create a mobi file using calibre, create an epub file instead. Then use the kindle previewer to open the epub file and it automatically converts into a mobi file. This is a mobi file that is compatible with KDP, does look good, is the a good size, is aligned correctly and if you have created a Table Of Contents it puts in Chapter breaks which you can use the arrow keys on your Kindle to navigate. So, got there in the end, but well aware that I may need a different solution in the future. All things being equal KDP may change in time.GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-13271107058096915172015-04-11T02:35:00.000-07:002019-06-14T13:20:29.502-07:00The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August by Claire North - ReviewThis is a story about a man who relives his life fifteen times, hence the title, and clocks up around eight hundred years of experience living through the same points in history again and again from 1919 to the end, and very rarely, beyond the 20th Century. He is the illegitimate son of a rich family, the product of rape, pain and the death of his mother. His first life is not a happy one and his second one is ended by suicide. After that things change, he accumulates knowledge by virtue of an infallible memory. He becomes a medical doctor, a scientist, a college don, a journalist, a mechanic, to name but a few of his occupations. After being revealed and tortured by the authorities in one life he finds there are many others like him stretching throughout time, each living their lives over and over as he does, when creation replays again and again.<br />
<br />
Each time it replays identically except for these few who know it is repeating and have the freedom to make different choices. Then there is an enemy, one of Harry's kind who seeks to learn an ultimate truth and is willing to sacrifice whole iterations and generations of his own kind in order to achieve it. The story not only centres on Harry's life, but his friendship with this man, and his fight against him.<br />
<br />
The author has created a complex tapestry of cause and effect, all woven around extensive research of 20th Century events. The story is also told from Harry's point of view, but not a Harry who experiences as we the reader experiences. This is the old Harry recounting his life with all the wisdom and benefit of hindsight, an ancient who can remember his very beginnings, his feelings and rationale, but always with a certain distance. We never feel as if the character is in any real danger, but the vivid recollection of his experiences and the mainly non linear approach to the narrative make this book almost impossible to put down. I was captivated by it, and I could very easily believe that Harry August was real, telling his story, and it all happened just as he said. I read this in two days flat despite work and family commitments because I had no choice in the matter. I needed to know what happened next, the author had that power.<br />
<br />
Where does it fall down? Well, the logic of cause and effect. I can understand that Harry is born again and again and that is possible if he is alone in that condition. All the circumstances leading up to his birth, every coincidence, every incident, every flap of a butterfly's wings, would repeat flawlessly in each iteration of time to create him anew. However, if there are others born before him then circumstances change. Even if just a few hundred of his kind exist before he did, they live different lives each time, which in turn would create different effects spreading forward in time. Even if the general flow of time remained the same, it is the smallest details that would change, the difference between crossing the road at a certain time, or missing a train. Time would change. Instead the novel posits that time can only be changed by a tipping point in events. As long as the repeaters do not change things too much, time plays out identically around them. It is only when one of their number, Vincent Rankin, decides to speed up the advancement of science for his own end that time becomes broken.<br />
<br />
The only way to kill Harry, Vincent, and the others for good, is to find a point of origin and have someone born beyond that point murder the parent before the child can be born. Under the rules of the novel, once this happens a person dies for good and can never be reborn again. Time is reset because the changes they made are never made in the next iteration of creation.<br />
<br />
I loved this book, and despite the cause and effect logic not quite working, it didn't matter to me. In the context of the story I accepted those rules. It is a compelling read, and while it does echo some of the themes of the novel 'Replay' by Ken Grimwood, it feels thoroughly original in its approach and execution. It has action, but at its heart it is a contemplation of eternity and of living without end. What choices would you make?<br />
<br />
<br />GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-17792194106124422982015-03-24T11:44:00.000-07:002015-12-14T03:05:00.762-08:00SFX Weekender 2015This last weekend I had the privilege of meeting such sci-fi alumni as Sylvester McCoy, (The Seventh Doctor Who - if you didn't know), Julian Glover (Credits too numerous to mention, but notable to me for 'Quatermass And The Pit', 'For Your Eyes Only' and 'Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade) and James Cosmo (Highlander, Braveheart, Game Of Thrones).<br />
<br />
Sylvester McCoy was funny and energetic on stage, but unfortunately by the time I got him to sign my Curse Of Fenric DVD he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. My ticket was 142, which gives you an idea of how many things he had already signed.<br />
<br />
<br />
Julian Glover, the consummate villain is 80 this week, has hearing problems but nevertheless was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. They say this about actors who play villains, and it turns out to be true. I can only surmise that all their 'evil' is drained away by the acting process leaving only goodness behind. He told an interesting story about his death mask from Indiana Jones, which was lying in his garage until his wife forced him to throw it out. A few years later a dealer offered him £17000 for it. He was mortified.<br />
<br />
James Cosmo is tall, tough and very friendly, even though I could barely say two words to him, he still shook my hand and posed for a photo. One anecdote from his long career was taking a thirteen year old Christian Bale scuba diving and his greatest regret was never being cast as a romantic lead. <br />
<br />
I also went to a lot of science fiction author panels and met the likes of Gareth Powell, Bryony Pearce and Danie Ware. Gareth has written various novels about a brain enhanced monkey named Ack Ack Macaque as well as a book of short stories call 'The Last Reef'. I have to admit to preferring his short stories which are eloquent and stick in the mind. The man himself was big, looming over me, well spoken but maybe a little held back. Bryony Pearce has written books I have not had the pleasure of reading and was very forgiving when I almost sat on her later in the evening. (The chairs in the arena are not very wide). Danie Ware was happy to answer many of my questions even when I realised they were questions she had been asked very recently already. I can't say I learnt anything new about writing, but that in itself was reassuring, as by listening and speaking to the authors I discovered I'm on the right track at least.<br />
<br />
Cosplay wise there was an awesome Chewbacca there, a Michael Keaton Batman near perfect, an array of Judge Dredds, Darth Vaders, a Nicholas Angel, a Poison Ivy looking similar to a Jean Grey Phoenix and many many more. They did a good job of walking up to people and trying to catch them unawares. The weather was good, the people were friendly, and the food was edible. A good weekend had by all and a solar eclipse thrown in on the bargain.<br />
<br />
Will I go again? We'll see.<br />
<br />
<br />GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-11903681704240574122014-12-31T13:46:00.000-08:002015-08-12T10:43:40.440-07:00New Reviews Of Hunter No MoreI've had some great reviews in the last few months which as they have been appearing on a few different blogs, I decided to post for posterity.<br />
<br />
My thanks to all the reviewers who took the time out to read my book and post these reviews:<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.iheartreading.net/book-tour/book-review-and-giveaway-hunter-no-more-by-g-d-tinnams/" target="_blank">http://www.iheartreading.net/book-tour/book-review-and-giveaway-hunter-no-more-by-g-d-tinnams/</a> </div>
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<br /></div>
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Hunter No More is a fascinating piece of
science-fiction, a novel combining several concepts and crafting them
into an engaging story that, although scifi, does sound realistic. The
story alternates between the POV of several different characters, giving
an all-around experience of what’s happening and the consequences for
everyone. In that sense, the book reminded me of Game of Thrones.
Different characters tell different parts of the story and in the end
you get a well-rounded tale.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The main focus of the story is the
battle between humans and artificial intelligence. The story is
believable and the characters are engaging. The action is flawless. It
starts on the first page and is still going strong by the end. At the
same time, the author manages to provide food for thought for the
reader, about machine intelligence and what would happen if one day they
decide to rule the world. The book features a lot of intrigue and
mystery, and so many twists and turns you simply can’t stop reading
until you’ve reached the end.</div>
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I’d recommend this one to all science-fiction fans and thriller fans.</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<a href="http://deborahjayauthor.com/2014/09/17/blog-tour-hunter-no-more-by-g-d-tinnams-review-giveaway-ya-sf/" target="_blank">http://deborahjayauthor.com/2014/09/17/blog-tour-hunter-no-more-by-g-d-tinnams-review-giveaway-ya-sf/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Starting out with a breathless action scene, Tinnams drags the reader by
the throat into a world where things are not as straightforward as they
initially appear. The panic of the night flight amid rioting is truly
heart pounding, and the relief once all are safely on board the escape
boat is a welcome breather, even though something is clearly amiss
between the two male leads, Roger and Keith.<br />
<br />
This is an accomplished piece of writing, and the concepts explored are
fascinating and well realised: AIs that wear ‘biotech’ (synthetic human
bodies that house their consciousness when they need a physical form
other than their space ship), a war between machine minds with human
beings as unwitting casualties, and how a random event can put a spanner
(or a hammer – read it, you’ll understand) in the works – or perhaps be
fortuitous, depending on whose point of view you take.<br />
<br />
My small quibble with the book was the – to me – slightly uneven
structure. There are 5 viewpoint characters, opening with what seems to
be a typical teenager, Samantha, which lured me into thinking this would
be a standard YA novel revolving around the teen character. Chapter 2
is from her father, Keith’s viewpoint, and then the story alternates
between the two for several chapters before the 3rd person, Josella, is
introduced. Fine so far, but then when the action really ramps up (and
it does, believe me – the sequences on the Amberjack are mind-blowingly
good), Sam is left behind on the planet, and almost half the book takes
place without her. This made it feel almost like reading two separate
books, and I expected to at least have Sam’s viewpoint again at the very
end, to ‘showcase’ the story, but that doesn’t happen, and I felt a
tiny bit cheated, not seeing her response to the tragedy in the final
showdown.<br />
<br />
Having said that, I would still highly recommend this book, for the
concepts, the depth of characterisation and the action – well worth the
read.<br />
<br />
I received this book to review for a blog tour – my opinions were in no way influenced by this.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://msnoseinabook.com/2014/08/21/blog-tour-book-review-hunter-no-more-by-gd-tinnams/" target="_blank">http://msnoseinabook.com/2014/08/21/blog-tour-book-review-hunter-no-more-by-gd-tinnams/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
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</div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-amIKx9dydyA/VbaKJdo0BPI/AAAAAAAAAU4/PBO90iiml94/s1600/Publication27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-amIKx9dydyA/VbaKJdo0BPI/AAAAAAAAAU4/PBO90iiml94/s320/Publication27.jpg" width="210" /></a>I had been itching for a good Sci-Fi book to read so when I saw that was going on tour I jumped at the opportunity to read it. <i>Hunter No More</i>
is exactly what you want in a Sci Fi read complete with a mechanical
species threatening the human race, emotional distress, fast paced
action and a heart breaking and rather beautiful conclusion. I was
riveted from the beginning to end. At 140 pages it is a fast, light and
yet satisfying read.<br />
<i>Hunter No More</i><br />
<br />
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While I enjoyed this book and the story enough to
give it four stars I really wish it was longer but that’s just selfish
of me because I liked the story alot and felt like the action and drama
could have gone on awhile longer. I loved the story itself and was
really interested in the civil war going on with the humans and the
hunters themselves were fascinating to me and their way of thinking
about and dealing with humankind. I do like how Josella, at the start of
the story seems to be a minor, sort of sidekick type character but ends
up being a pretty central focus of the story. I think that was great. I
feel like all of the characters, except maybe Anna and Skylar each were
equally important (at least perspective wise) to the story. I love
books that are written from multiple perspectives, I always like to see
the differences in the story as it occurs character to character. This
book was no exception to that, I really enjoyed the delivery. One thing I
loved about this story is that it never stops with the action and I
love my Sci Fi reads to just be full of gut punch action where you can
feel the adrenaline pumping almost like you are experiencing it for
yourself. <i>Hunter No More</i> was like that for me.</div>
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The ending to this book was rather
stunning…surprising to me and sad. In a good way. I rather enjoyed
reading this book and I think that Sci Fi fans in need of a light read
would enjoy it too! I really dig the cover as well!!<br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://imaneclecticreader.weebly.com/blog/book-review-hunter-no-more" target="_blank">http://imaneclecticreader.weebly.com/blog/book-review-hunter-no-more</a><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none;">Told
from the POV of a few different characters, Hunter No More is an
engaging scifi story about AI vs. humanity. The book is breathtaking,
fast-paced, and provides excellent writing. The author crafts an
engaging scifi world and characters the reader feels an immediate
connection to. An awesome read to finish this year of reading.</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://coffeehobby.blogspot.be/2014/12/hunter-no-more.html" target="_blank">http://coffeehobby.blogspot.be/2014/12/hunter-no-more.html</a> </span></div>
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<br />
Samantha Marriott's family is lucky to escape a growing political
discontent in their hometown. Things would be great at their new
temporary home if it weren't for the fact that aliens have decided to
complete their missions of destruction and all the adults have huge
secrets. Samantha and all those around her quickly decide what it is
that is important to them and must fight for it...to the death. <br />
<br />
A very smoothly written science fiction. This smoothness made the story
entrancing and so believable (another that was read in
one-sitting...again, one-sitting as defined by a mother of a running
Toddler and a constantly jumping Preschooler). The only time that I
found myself pausing for believability was when humor was at just too
awkward a time (that happened a bit near the end of the story). <br />
<br />
I like all of my characters to be very well-developed and this story had
that...in a puzzling way. The action was laid out by several different
narrators. For this particular story, skipping around from one mind to
the other actually worked (and one might even say it was appropriate for
the subject matter covered). On some level, each entity (person,
machine or alien) is struggling to understand the true meaning of
humanity. <br />
(I would recommend Roger Zelazny's "The Last Defender of Camelot" for
readers who wish to further think about humanity and whether humanity
can be learned via will power...G.D. Tinnams can take this observation
as a <u>big</u> compliment to his writing style.)<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://bookaholicramblings.weebly.com/blog/book-review-and-giveaway-hunter-no-more" target="_blank">http://bookaholicramblings.weebly.com/blog/book-review-and-giveaway-hunter-no-more</a> </div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #666666; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none;"><br /><span style="color: black;">This
is one of the best scifi books I've ever read. The worldbuilding is
phenomenal, the story is breathtaking, and the author does an amazing
job with character development. I liked Sam's personality - she was an
easy character to relate to. Overall, it's hard to say just how good
this book is, but take it from me, it's pretty great. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://booksareforever.weebly.com/blog/book-review-hunter-no-more" target="_blank">http://booksareforever.weebly.com/blog/book-review-hunter-no-more</a></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none;">In
Hunter No More, Samantha Marriot and her parents have to flee their
home after a violent revolution. They hope they can be safe on "The
Rainbow Islands", but unfortunately their perils have only just begun.
Once they arrive on the island, Sam discovers a secret her father has
been keeping, and that secret changes everything. Meanwhile, the Machine
Mind Hierarchy of Earth wants to get rid of the planet's remaining
human population, and humanity's only hope is a damaged Hunter unit. <br /><br />We
meet a bunch of characters along the way: Keith, Kristof, Jostella, and
many more, but the most memorable character is Sam. She's strong,
independent, intelligent, rational, and easy to relate to. Her struggles
seem quite real, and her reactions to things are realistic as well. <br /><br />The book is fast-paced and offers, besides an impressive cast of characters, an intruing story and solid writing. </span></span></span></div>
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GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-40189622371657493942014-09-20T14:01:00.000-07:002015-08-12T10:45:32.262-07:00WHO AM I? A Comment About Characterisation<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6efwYkQYGI8/U61z5neCiwI/AAAAAAAAAGY/xLwscdCsUoo/s1600/fivebytenew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6efwYkQYGI8/U61z5neCiwI/AAAAAAAAAGY/xLwscdCsUoo/s1600/fivebytenew.jpg" width="213" /></a>First of all, and what many people have noted, I tend to
give my characters ‘normal’ names such as Roger, Keith, Anna, Sam, Alicia. This
was a conscious choice because when I’ve read books in the past I find it hard
to get my head around weird alien names and lose track of who is who. I didn’t
want my readers to have the same problem so I’d just rather keep it simple and
direct. Even so a few slightly different names did creep in, like Kristof and
Skylar. Again not alien names, but just a little unusual. I probably couldn’t
walk down the street and meet a Kristof or Skylar, but I could probably bump
into a Keith.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Names notwithstanding, once a character has a name, what do
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an antagonist in direct opposition to the protagonist. Their conflict creates
the story. Actually it’s not quite that simple, but that is a starting point.
In my novels I tend to have more than one protagonist, allowing multiple points
of view and multiple antagonists as well. It mixes things up more, and
sometimes a protagonist can change roles and so can the antagonist. Their roles
are not set, but are dictated by how each character progresses in the story.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s never as cut and dried as good versus evil. Good people
sometimes do bad things and bad people do good things. Characters are not
consistent, and may make a good decision one day and a bad the next, even when
confronted with the same circumstances. Why? Is this bad writing? No, in real
life people are equally inconsistent, I’m inconsistent. We live, we change, we
make mistakes and sometimes we don’t. Characters follow suit.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qaOty0Zo43M/U6WzRWN6fmI/AAAAAAAAAFg/GwFju9DU9Ps/s1600/new%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qaOty0Zo43M/U6WzRWN6fmI/AAAAAAAAAFg/GwFju9DU9Ps/s1600/new%2Bcover.jpg" width="210" /></a>I also believe that characters shouldn’t necessarily get on,
even if they are on the same side, they have different interpretations of what
that side is. For instance, the characters Keith and Roger in ‘Hunter No More’
actively despise each other. Keith sees Roger as small minded, Roger sees Keith
as alien and arrogant. But that doesn’t mean they can’t work together, it
doesn’t mean they can’t love the same people. But they are at odds, and that
conflict helps to define who they are and make them more interesting as people.
If they liked each other, and did everything without argument, that would make
them the same person. Superficially the description would be different, but the
characters would be duplicates of each other. People are all unique and
different and no-one is exactly the same. In life we are all the stars of own
shows, for the characters it’s no different. Even a minor character doesn’t
know they are a minor character. In their own life they are the protagonist and
they have to be written that way.</div>
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So we have names, conflict, descriptions. Someone is tall,
someone is fat, someone is a man, someone is a woman. Gender stereotypes: the
man should be strong, the woman should be weak. That is rubbish, a woman can be
stronger than a man, both physically and mentally. A woman shows more emotion
than a man? Maybe in feature films, but in a story we are interested in the
inner voice. A man and woman can be equally afraid, equally grief-stricken,
equally brave, and equally hysterical. Characters react and feel, man or woman,
it shouldn’t matter. I’m not saying they should be written the same, but a
writer should avoid being influenced by preconceptions about gender as much as
possible. Why, as much as possible? Because we are all influenced by our
upbringing, and every independent thought is tinged by that. I have no doubt
that some stereotypes creep into my writing, but the trick is to avoid those
stereotypes as much as you possibly can.</div>
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<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-amIKx9dydyA/VbaKJdo0BPI/AAAAAAAAAU4/PBO90iiml94/s1600/Publication27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-amIKx9dydyA/VbaKJdo0BPI/AAAAAAAAAU4/PBO90iiml94/s320/Publication27.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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Finally it’s all about the layers; layers of behaviour,
layers of reaction, layers of internal and external argument, layers of action.
After injecting a character with enough layers, plot no longer dictates their
actions, rather their actions dictate the plot. Keith isn’t going to say to Kristof,
let’s blow up this place and go home. It’s not in his character. So plot hinges
on how a character would act, and you can’t just throw in plot twists which
don’t fit with a character’s actions. You have to write the character’s actions
based on their developed traits and let the story play out as honestly as
possible. That’s when it gets interesting for a writer, really interesting,
because as you’re writing you don’t know exactly what is going to happen next.</div>
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-71409034264760677292014-09-03T10:30:00.001-07:002014-09-03T11:37:49.400-07:00Emon and the Emperor - Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ciGbLIGWh8E/VAdPVvYEXhI/AAAAAAAAAIc/_jPaRqWCv2U/s1600/emon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ciGbLIGWh8E/VAdPVvYEXhI/AAAAAAAAAIc/_jPaRqWCv2U/s1600/emon.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
A book that is genuinely hard to put down until finished and one that I
thoroughly enjoyed. The world building is done with the barest hints and
the characters are built in a slow but steady flow of action and
detail. Emon himself, is a decent guy, not bright but with his heart in
the right place, and as such the other characters gravitate towards him,
love him and are even jealous of him. He also doesn't help himself that
much, his stupidity on a par with his bravery.<br />
<br />
His relationships
with Titan and Emara are the driving force of the story as much as the
electric and water super powers are. They are a strange love triangle,
each dependent on the other, each giving something to the others that
they lack. It is Emara's story which is just as compelling, if not more
so, than Emon's and the flashes I see of her past as an 'imperfect' only
leave me hungry for more.<br />
<br />
The world of the Empire itself is only
hinted at in the broadest possible terms, but this is because the
reader is limited to Emon's own first person world view. There are no
stats about landmasses or conditions, just a place that has to marched
through and experienced. While it is hinted the Empire is another world,
no detail is given as to how Emon is transported there again and again.
It could exist somewhere in space, or another time or another
dimension. There is no way of knowing and I like the mystery of it.<br />
<br />
The
narrative is constantly moving for the most part, putting our
protagonists in danger as they discover more about the Empire they are
in conflict with. The twists did catch me by surprise and the mineral
that affects the people of the empire in various ways proved an original
driving plot device.<br />
<br />
A good and original book, it deserves to be read.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Emon-Emperor-Anna-Buttimore-ebook/dp/B00MRUYXHM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409765339&sr=8-1&keywords=emon+and+the+emperor" target="_blank">Amazon US</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emon-Emperor-Anna-Buttimore-ebook/dp/B00MRUYXHM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409765291&sr=8-1&keywords=emon+and+the+emperor" target="_blank">Amazon UK </a></div>
<br />GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-1374775375195838592014-08-19T09:41:00.000-07:002014-08-19T09:41:06.883-07:00Book Review - The City Beyond The Sands - By Michael K. Rose<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vAMVCi4PwY/U_N84Kn-HfI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/GM24BxHGq9g/s1600/city%2Bbeyond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vAMVCi4PwY/U_N84Kn-HfI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/GM24BxHGq9g/s1600/city%2Bbeyond.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a>On an Earth that is not Earth people and societies from our history have
been kidnapped and thrown together for reasons unknown. It could be
natural, it could be by design, the only thing Will Kelly knows for sure
is that he wants to find a way home to 2014 and the son he left behind.<br /><br />In
this action packed novel there is friendship, sword fights, horses,
camels, sea chases, ape men, neanderthals, bat creatures, a mysterious
city, desert, mongols, savage tribesman and more.<br /><br />As the author
states it is written in the spirit of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E
Howard, although the style is much more modern and reader friendly. In a
way it reminds me of the black and white chapter plays I used to see
during the holidays, with excitement and peril at every turn. It is full
of ideas and a constant movement through a detailed patchwork world
where the protagonists constantly encounter new people, cultures and
strange creatures.<br /><br />The story is written as a series of short
sharp chapters that keep you reading and in a way it is the story itself
is the main character of the book, fleshing out a world that is
surprising, exotic and, above all, deadly. The novel ends on a
cliffhanger, and I for one, am very interested in finding out what
happens next...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Beyond-Sands-Chronicles-Dushara-ebook/dp/B00MQB7G26/ref=la_B0062EIPN2_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408465760&sr=1-5" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/City-Beyond-Sands-Chronicles-Dushara-ebook/dp/B00MQB7G26/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408466253&sr=8-1&keywords=city+beyond+the+sands" target="_blank">Amazon US </a></div>
<br />
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-57206692048918829832014-07-20T03:20:00.000-07:002015-07-07T10:38:51.180-07:00Coffee Shop In An Alternate UniverseThis little story was written as a half hour challenge during a meeting of my writer's group. The brief was simple enough, 'coffee shop in an alternate universe'. Below is what I scrambled to write in that half hour. It was a fun experience that I hope you will enjoy reading.<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Coffee Shop in an Alternate Universe</span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was the sun on his eyes that brought James out of a dream
that was already escaping his grasp. Something about a forest of green sun
dappled leaves and overpowering fragrance. He awoke with a sneeze.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Recovering himself, he felt warm hard concrete against his
back. Turning his head he made out the edge of double yellow lines. He was
lying the road. What? He rolled to his feet, dodging over to the pavement in
order to avoid whatever cars or traffic that was coming his way. It took him
only a moment to realise that there was none. All the cars he could see - the
range rovers, the aston martin, the fiesta – all were still, inert, but not
parked, just stopped, a queue of traffic with no drivers and no humming
engines.</div>
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This was London, he knew it was London, but it was so quiet,
so dead. He looked up at the buildings rising overhead, shielding his eyes from
the sun. Buildings that literally scraped the sky and that should have been
full of commerce and activity. He saw no movement and somehow knew they were just
as empty as the street he stood upon. He was alone.</div>
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Turning around he saw his favourite Starbucks waiting for
him. The same Starbucks he spent every lunchtime with a coffee and a book
listening to jazz. Brushing down his dishevelled suit, he walked over to it and
pushed through the door. The cold breeze of the air conditioning greeted him
and then something else, someone else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hello James.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was Tracey, his normal server, dressed in her starbucks
uniform, she appeared to be waiting for him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Tracey?” he mumbled.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The usual?” she asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He strode up to the counter. “The usual?” He rapidly gestured
outside, “What’s happened?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She followed his gaze, her expression more tired than usual.
He normally saw her with a smile on her face, always a smile, a beautiful
plastic smile for all her customers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is where I come to be by myself,” Tracey explained. “You
followed me here.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
James blinked and opened his mouth. “I didn’t follow you. I
always come here.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She sighed. “Not here, here,” she gestured with a sweep of
her hand. “Here. A sidestep away. I’m on my break.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Break?” He found it hard to understand the ramifications.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Now that you are here,” she pulled out a cup. “The usual?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
James shook his head and rubbed a chin that was no longer as
clean shaven as he would have liked. “This doesn’t make sense.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just sit down,” Tracey said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slowly he felt his limbs respond and took a window seat
looking out onto a beautiful summer’s day in the centre of the city of London.
Beautiful, but so empty. He loosened his tie and Tracey delivered his Moche.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’re the first to follow me here, James, the first ever.
How did you do it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He heard jazz and blinked rapidly as she mouthed more words
he couldn’t hear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Did you just turn that on?” he asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She replied again with words he couldn’t hear. The jazz was getting
louder. It was playing a horn solo he had heard so many times before.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Don’t go back yet!” She cut in abruptly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What is this?” He asked, scrambling from his seat and
knocking his coffee cup flying with a stray hand. The cup flew through the air
and then fell in vivid slow motion, the brown liquid spilling upward. Then it
smashed, the whole episode over in an instant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Calm down, James,” Tracey said. “Only a few people can do
what we can do. Just a very few. I never thought I would meet another.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do what?” he asked. “What?” Suddenly it was very hot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Travel between,” she whispered. “Distant and close at the
same time.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This doesn’t make any sense,” he mumbled.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tracey laughed. “I’m not alone anymore.” She stared at him,
studying his grey suit and his even greyer hair. “Oh...” Then she was gone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He blinked, she was gone and he was alone in an empty
Starbucks, in what appeared to be an empty London. An empty world? He stood up
and wiped the sweat from his brow. He had to go outside and find out.</div>
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4423467536666591966.post-46044032594152534222014-06-04T07:42:00.000-07:002019-06-14T13:18:50.719-07:00Some Simple Rules of Editing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Over</b> the past few years I’ve edited and revised my own
fiction to what I considered a fair degree. But <b>over</b> the course of the last six
months or so I have learnt a lot <b>more</b>. My new novel ‘Hunter No <b>More</b>’ has been
through the hands of not one, but two separate editors, and of course the worst
editor of all, me. Here are some of the things to look out for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s or Its</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the first things I learnt is that it’s can only be
used as a conjunction of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it is</b> rather
than the possessive, eg <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it’s stamp, </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the stamp belongs to it</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">is incorrect</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. </b>You
can say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It’s mine</b> but only because
what you want to say is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it is mine</b>.
The rule is if you can’t say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it is</b>
then you can’t say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it’s</b> you have to
say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">its</b>. So <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Its</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">stamp</b> is correct.
You have to think of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it </b>working in
the same way as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">his</b> or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">her</b>. You would never say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">her’s jacket</b> or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">his’s jacket</b> so don’t say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it’s
jacket</b>.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Was or Were</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m thinking of this rule when dealing with an object, objects
or a group of objects. You can say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">there
was a book</b>, but you can’t say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">there
was books</b>, instead you say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">there
were books</b>. But just to confuse things you can’t say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">there were a shelf of books</b>. The correct phrasing is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">there was a shelf of books</b>. In this
instance <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">was</b> is used for the
singular and the singular group while <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">were</b>
is used for the plural and the plural group. For instance I can correctly say, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">there were many shelves of books</b>, because I'm talking about more than one shelf, rather than more than one book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who and what are you referring to?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is about something called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">lexical ambiguity</b>. You start with one character and then another
and then have an action that can be attributed to either character ambiguously.
Here is an example from a recent episode of the blacklist. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The prisoner was handcuffed to the guard and then he cut his hand off.</b>
In the episode the detective believed from this statement that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the prisoner cut the guard’s hand off</b>.
That was not the case, what was actually being explained was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the prisoner cutting his own hand off</b>. Third
and fourth options are t<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">he guard cutting
his own hand off</b>, or, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the guard
cutting the prisoner’s hand off</b>. If a sentence can be read in more than one
way then it needs to be changed. You don’t know how the reader will read it and
it could very well cause confusion later on. A hard one for an author to catch,
because we know what we mean and can’t see the ambiguity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Repetition, Repetition, Repetition</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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You don’t even realise you’re doing it until long after the
fact. It’s quite innocent really, you describe something as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">green</b> and then a sentence later someone
is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">green</b> at their job. You say an
object is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">over</b> there, and then your
character walks <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">over</b> there, and runs
their fingers <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">over</b> the object.
Another one might be, because I saw the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">figure</b>
in the mist I could <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">figure</b> out what
to do next. You don’t even realise you’re doing it until the editing stage. Your
mind gets stuck on one word and it repeats in all your sentences in a range of
different contexts. Beware this horrible verbal tic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Speech and Capitalisation</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I looked across at Jim and asked, “How are you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even though there is a comma after asked, the speech still
starts with a capital letter even though this is not the start of a new sentence. Once you realise this you could be excused for thinking speech always starts with a capital letter. It doesn't.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“So my friend,” he said, “<b>h</b>ow are you?”</div>
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Confusing isn’t it? As long as all of the speech forms a
sentence without, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">he said,</b> the
second part of the speech does not have to be capitalised.</div>
GDTinnamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629555023046507075noreply@blogger.com1