Pages

Friday 26 October 2012

Comment Appreciation Society

Well here we are again, with me making excuses for not posting... what can I say, I was on honeymoon! Besides, it's hard to tell who's actually keeping track. If more people commented then I'd know who was paying attention. Och! Forget the hints; Let's hear what you've got to say, folks! Have you read or are you going to read The Ferryman's Wife? What are your thoughts so far? If you have read it, how did it come into your possession? Is the genre something you would normally go for? Who are your favourite characters and why. Who do you hate? Or if you have any questions for me then feel free to comment.

Other than that, I've little to say this week. I'm feeling pretty ill with what I can only assume is a cold. Not that I've time to rest up, so it's Autopilot Mamma until it clears. It means I've very little brain power; all energy is diverted to getting on with  la grind. So writing is on hold. After all, if you don't require brain power to write, then your writing is probably brainless. However, my plan in the meantime is to get filling up my creative ink well with all those little things that get my imagination ticking. I've books to read, art to view, films and programs to watch, music to listen to. All of these are so important to me when writing fiction. They really spark my creativity to the point where I'm desperate to get writing. It offers me the best of both worlds, really. So the next couple of nights will be spent chilling out, getting better whilst "researching".

Have a great weekend folks And comment! Bloggers LOVE comments!

Friday 12 October 2012

Focus!

It's been a quiet week on TFW front, hence the lack of blog post on Monday. There's very little to report. What I've been trying to do is focus (Focus!) on writing an epic poem. It's called The Sorcerer and it is set to appear in a collection of stories and poems called Misery Loves Company due out in December through Mystic Press.

I do enjoy writing poetry. I take a different approach when constructing verse than I do when creating fiction. When I'm writing a story I need solitude and the ability to get into The Zone, whereas poetry I could write in a hurricane.

I want my poems to rhyme. I also enjoy words which when placed together play, like instruments in the mouth. I love clackety-clacks, slithering sumptuous sounds, punching punctuation;  awesome assonance and alliteration are the way! My poetry projects are verbal constructs of my command of the English Language. In my mind I see them like equations; when rhyming there are a limited number of  answers, right? Oh yeah, and I can rhyme with Orange too: door hinge, scavenge, lozenge, challenge... ooh, there's just so much fun to be had with such a venture!

With The Sorcerer I've attempted unconventional stanza, as well as a change rhythm half way through each verse as a vehicle with which to manipulate the pace. As I'm in a good mood today I'm going to show you verse one as a little teaser. Please leave comments and let me know what you think. Signing out for today, see you all soon.


The winter night was stormy black,

The air was bitterly cold.

The full Wolf Moon was icy white,

Shining bright and bold.  

Streams of beams so silvery thin

Cracked the clouds apart,

Coursing through like the misty veins 

Of a glowing, glacial heart.

It shone down on the town below,

Over rooftops

Shimmering so,

Into the homes of Sister’s Knell,

A place you will not know. 

The Sorcerer, Verse 1, G Merry

Friday 5 October 2012

Touching Base

Not much to report this week, it's very much been a waiting game. Waiting for books to arrive, waiting for people to get back to me, waiting for reviews, waiting for Godot...

There have been a few great reviews on Amazon, which I'm thankful for. It has spurred me on to write a few reviews of my own. I'll ask, but I don't expect any of my friends to review. So, to those that have: thank you! It's quite funny. I often get asked by friends: How's the book going? It is invariably those who have yet to purchase it who ask me this, bless 'em. Don't get me wrong, my friends are wonderfully supportive. Still, I can't force people to buy my book, and if they don't buy it then there's really little to report. As for the wider public, I should probably work harder to get The Ferryman's Wife noticed. Self-advertising is something I'm not sure I'm that great at. I know it gets me out there, but I'm sure it must be pretty annoying. I prefer promotion to advertising. Advertising seems so neon compared to promotional events.

There. That's my decision for the week. To think up a new promotional event instead of advertising. There you go. And there was me, only writing this entry because I made a commitment to write twice a week. It seems sometimes the blog makes the ideas, rather than the other way around.

Monday 1 October 2012

My Cards!

I'm a bit late in posting today because I've been a little busy. Also, I've been uploading pictures. How great is this? Look at the heap of cards I received from the 1st and 2nd year English pupils at Trinity Academy. I feel so honoured.
 
 
There are some really lovely messages in the cards. There are also some great pictures, I've simply got to have them up so you can see. There were a couple of large ones signed by some of the other students. The reference to one of the teachers made me laugh out loud.
 
I am particularly fond of the cards made by three of the Teen Titles reviewers. The fact that they had read the book really showed in their artwork, and I love that. It was great to see just which parts of the story had inspired them to draw. I guess this is me saying: All Fan Art Welcome! Anyway, here they are, in no particular order:
 


This version of the twisted castle is fabulous. I love the craggy rocks and the positioning of the "Thank You". Look at the yumlits!
I think this one on the right is fantastic. The rings, even the rubbed out finger, all adds to it.  I totally get what it's about, and that's what makes it rock. It is a wonderful representation of what the artist felt stood out in the story.












This third one is brilliant. I love the simplicity of it. It's incredibly effective, anyone who's read the story would know immediately what it's referring to. Much like the picture, the message inside was wonderfully concise; something I appreciate in writing.


 
 
 
 
Here are some of the other great pictures:


 


 

I've even had my portrait done, not a bad likeness (note the sensible clothes). And I do like the the "Thank you 'ferry' much!" 
See you all on Friday :)