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Archives for April, 2015 - Page 2
Author Interview – K Lynn
This week's interview is with K Lynn, an author of LGBT character based fiction, her upcoming novel, His Womanly Ways, will be released by Torquere Press on May 27th. Her novella, Coffee Date, will be released by Less Than Three Press on July 1st and is available for pre-order. How long have you been writing for and what made you start writing? I've been writing since I was a child. I was an avid reader and I was always making up my own stories to go along with those I read. Plus, there was always “play pretend” when my friends or cousins got together. Making up stories was always a part of my life. Do you write for a living, or do you also do other work? I wish I could say that writing income could support me, but that's not in…
How to Properly Spoil Your Vote
How to Properly Spoil Your Vote What if I don't like any candidate? You might be one of the many people that doesn't like the main parties, and none of the other candidates standing in your area represent your views either. There are several things you can do. 1. Stand for election yourself (or help someone else to run) 2. Vote Tactically 3. Spoil your vote by writing on the ballot paper Spoil Your Vote Properly When it comes down to it and you realise that you really cannot commit to any candidate. Don't be disheartened. Do go to the polling station. Deliberately spoil your vote. Be Deliberate There is received wisdom that most ballot papers are spoiled accidentally. Personally I've spoiled a number of ballot papers and none of them has been accidental. So if you decide to spoil your vote…
Book Review – Engines of Extinction (episode 1) by Chris Martin
Engines of Extinction: Episode I - The End & The Means by Chris Martin My rating: 4 of 5 stars Chris Martin has spent a lot of time with Special Forces soldiers writing about their exploits, and that shows with this work of fiction. The primary character, written in a first person epistolary format, is a former special forces operator who has got in too deep and regrets it. The setting and character is completely believable, there is a life story narrative for a chunk of the story as the narrator tries to establish enough bona fides for us to believe the story he wishes to leak. Being the first in a series the whole story isn't played out, there are clearly more parts to come and this is an excellent hook to get us interested and paint the scene.…
Author Interview – Andrew Buckley
This week's author being interviewed is Andrew Buckley, the man behind the audacious Read Around the World challenge that I took part in last year. Andrew has written several novels, the links are below. Here are his answers to my questions. How long have you been writing for and what made you start writing? My stock answer to this, which is true, is that I wrote a story about a big blue dinosaur when I was 4 in elementary school in the UK and got a gold star. If I look at it seriously, and I so rarely do, my love and talent for writing emerged from age 8-12. My teachers found that my quality of writing was well above my actual age and I spent most of my years in secondary school and college in the UK trying to…
Tactical Voting 101
Why you should consider tactical voting, and how to vote tactically. What is Tactical Voting? Share of the vote received by Conservatives (blue), Whigs/Liberals/Liberal Democrats (orange), Labour (red) and others (grey) in general elections since 1832. Table "Summary Results of General Elections 1832–2005 (UK)", British electoral facts, 1832–2006, by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, 7th edition, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7546-2712-8, p. 59. Election 2010 Results, BBC News. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) This is nothing to do with military tactics, no need to dress in combat gear or sneak around. Tactical voting is about looking wider than just your own constituency and trying to understand the best outcome for the party that you believe supports you across the country. Why would I want to vote tactically? Mostly this comes about when the candidate that would best represent you is quite unlikely to win the seat…