Yngvild Needs Beta Readers [Fantasy]
My son sketched out Yngvild's story arc on a napkin when we having a coffee in Norway. (photo: James Kemp) I'm looking for s few people to beta read the second draft of my fantasy novel, currently titled "Yngvild and the Forest of Dreams". It started life as my 2016 NaNoWriMo project and has been added to and edited over the last three years. Inspired by a trip to Bergen in Norway and a box set of Game of Thrones, it's now in a near complete second draft. Yngvild weighs in at about 70,000 words before it goes into a final edit, then proofreading ahead of publication. I'd really like some people to read it and tell me what they think of it. Before you send the email volunteering you'll want to know more about the story. It's probably only…
Lies, Damned Lies, Statistics & Statements by Politicians
Lies are being told by all of the politicians running for office the world over. Big lies, small lies, lies of omission and lies of commission. Lies are everywhere. We all know this, it's not for nothing that was talk about this being a 'post-truth' era. So how do you avoid being fooled? A #BeyondPolitics protest banner outside UK government offices (photo: James Kemp) Lies have Power People have always know the lies have power, all the way back. It's just got easier for the normal people to spot them. To quote Jonathan Swift, over 300 years ago: the greatest Liar has his Believers; and it often happens, that if a Lie be believ’d only for an Hour, it has done its Work, and there is no farther occasion for it. Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it;…
Citizen of Earth by Joseph J. Kassabian [Book Review]
Citizen of Earth by Joseph J. Kassabian My rating: 4 of 5 stars There's a lot to like in Citizen of Earth. Kassabian creates some really interesting characters, especially the protagonist Vincent Solaris and his main companion. The action is suitably chaotic, albeit well described. That said I did have some niggles, especially in the early part of the book. The characters take a lot of physical abuse in training, which seems to consist only of physical abuse and not of any training, even though the learning but is referred to later. There must have been some time jumps in the story, but these are only obvious when referred to much later. There's also a Vietnam in SPAAACE vibe to it too, like the worst excesses of Heinlein's Starship Troopers. We get over it all though with the second half…
My Life with the Stars – Sizzling Secrets Spilled! [Guest Post]
Front Cover of Tony Flood's book 'My Life With the Stars' (image: Tony Flood) GUEST BLOG by TONY FLOOD, the author of celebrity book MY LIFE WITH THE STARS – SIZZLING SECRETS SPILLED!, spicy crime thriller TRIPLE TEASE and fantasy adventure THE SECRET POTION. As a former Fleet Street journalist and Sky Television executive, I fully appreciate that authors need more than writing skills to produce a successful book. It is vital to carry out extensive research and to engage with people - particularly non-fiction writers who need to conduct interviews in order to write stories about others' experiences. This was the case with the new edition of my celebrity book MY LIFE WITH THE STARS – SIZZLING SECRETS SPILLED! Sizzling Secrets Spilled! It applied both when I was encouraging showbiz stars such as Des O'Connor to pass on amusing…
Extinction Rebellion London
Extinction Rebellion have been protesting in central London around Westminster. The protest started on Monday and is planned to last two weeks. There's a good overview of it on their website, along with a fab map. The objective is to get the UK government to acknowledge the climate change emergency and to bring forward the net zero carbon target to 2025. Extinction Rebellion in London As regular readers are likely to know my day job is in Westminster. So I've been walking past the protesters, and stopping to have a look and take pictures. It's a pretty good natured protest, feeling more like a festival than anything else. There's music and dancing and people talking about the climate emergency. The streets are even full of tents and flags! As well as protesters there are also loads of police, and they…