Many thanks to Chris (The Story Reading Ape) for including my collection of short stories, An Act Of Mercy in his Bookcase. Chris maintains an excellent blog with posts about books, articles by authors and tips for writers.
Growing up as a blind person in the 1970s and 1980s there existed extremely limited opportunities for a visually impaired book lover like me to slake my thirst for books. Then (as now) only a fraction of the books available in print could be found in braille so if you wished to read Wuthering Heights then all fine and dandy, however if you wished to enjoy the latest thriller there was virtually no possibility of obtaining it in braille.
I supplemented my reading of braille books by listening to spoken word cassette versions of the classics together with books of more recent vintage such as Where Eagles Dare. However many of these recordings, although often professionally read where, for all that abridgements of much lengthier books. While some books no doubt might benefit from being abridged many others did not but, as a blind reader I had, by and large to make do with what was available.
The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) offered (and still provides) a talking book library of full length works ranging from the classics to the latest detective stories. Again, however only a relatively small proportion of the books available in print found their way onto the shelves of the Talking Book Library. All this changed with the coming of the e-book and, in particular the invention of the Amazon Kindle.
I received my first Kindle, as a Christmas present in 2011 and it opened up a world of print literature which had, hitherto been barred to me. My Kindle possesses a text to speech facility which enables me to have most of the books in the Kindle store read aloud. A few authors/publishers do not enable the text to speech facility but most do.
For a long time the Kindle app for the Ipad was inaccessible but this has now changed and my poor Amazon Kindle languishes in a cupboard feeling most unloved while the Kindle app on my Ipad is used on an almost daily basis. With Voiceover (Apple’s screen reading software) it is extremely easy to navigate around my Kindle library, to select and listen to books. The disadvantage to the Kindle iPad app is that it is not possible to purchase books although one can send an e-mail to yourself or add the title to your wish list as a reminder that you wish to purchase a title.
Amazon has recently released two further Kindles both of which the RNIB have reported as being even more accessible than my ancient Kindle, http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/reading/how/ebooks/accessibility/amazon/Pages/kindle_devices.aspx#H2Heading1.
The world has certainly come a long way since I sat, in the school library lost in Palgrave’s Golden Treasury. I can still recollect the feel of the cloth bound volumes the braille worn down by countless fingers. I still read braille and enjoy doing so, however vast vistas of literature have been opened up by the Kindle and other similar devices which would, until recently have been beyond the dreams of visually impaired people.
For my Amazon author’s page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Many thanks to Chris (The Story Reading Ape) for adding my book, Sting In The Tail to his Bookcase. If you have read Sting In The Tail it would be great if you would please consider leaving a review. Many thanks, Kevin
Some useful tips here for writers on the use of social media.
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On Social Media you have an opportunity to talk with your readers, learn about, and empathize with your followers. However, there is not a single perfect Social Media network site for authors, rather a combination of several pages – each one with its pros and cons.
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Goodreads has more than 20 million members and is THE site for authors. Google+ is an overall great site with endless possibilities to display your book. The “power” of the site is that what you post there is automatically indexed by Google, which makes your post (i.e. a link to your latest blog) so much easier to discover. Twitter is fantastic to build a following and to engage with your readers, and if you write non-fiction LinkedIn might be a good choice too. Facebook remains the “Old Daddy” but others are gaining traction. Don’t forget Pinterest where you can show images of…
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As a writer I hate distractions. Off goes my mobile together with my e-mail. I make a cup of tea or coffee and get stuck into my writing. Not so this morning. Bump, a wet nose was pushed against my elbow. I stopped writing and caressed the head of Trigger my brindle lab/retriever guide dog. OK now I’ll return to my writing I thought. Hardly had I typed a single word when, bump, bump a cold wet nose was, once more frust against my arm. Once again I ceased my scribbling and paid attention to my four-legged friend.
Owning a dog is incredibly therapeutic. When I stroke Trigger I feel myself relaxing. There is something almost hypnotic about the feeling of contentment induced by the back and forth of my hand across Trigger’s coat. I can feel my stress levels reduce as Trigger relishes the attention. Yes Trigger can be a distraction but he is a very welcome one.
For a photograph of Trigger please visit my Amazon author’s page which can be found here, http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
On Friday evening I was enjoying an excellent curry and a good bottle of red wine in the company of one of my oldest friends. While I never intentionally tune into other people’s conversations, on occasions one simply can not help doing so and Friday evening was a case in point.
“It isn’t her fault that her mother was a prostitute” a lady sitting with a group of people announced in a voice which carried across the restaurant.
“So will you use this in your next book?” my friend asked in a low tone.
“Its amazing what you overhear and, if I did use it no one would have their identity revealed” I replied.
As it happens neither my friend nor I where acquainted with the people in question and the statement quoted above, if used in a story would not in and of itself breech the privacy of the speaker unless of course I was acquainted with the histories of the individuals to whom the lady refered and I used this knowledge in a future plot. This would, of course be ethically wrong and has the potential to land me or any other writer in hot water of the legal kind where I or any other person to be so unethical as to use personal information without the explicit permission of those concerned.
Watch what you drink for when the wine flows it is amazing what people will let out of the bag!
This lady is talented. Please check out her blog and, in particular her poetry.
You slithered into my heart
you sneaked in through the back door.
You shut the door and swallowed the key,
locking us in a beating drum.
The air was hot, filled with blood,
I couldn’t breathe, and you:
you were there, an intruder,
smiling cheekily at my expense.
The drumming grew louder, faster,
it felt like death had stepped in.
But the door was locked?
And then, I looked at you:
You were death-a dark angel,
beautiful, eternal, impossible.
You were squeezing hard,
shutting off my veins—
a few beats, the drum missed.
I shook my head, I begged.
You smiled, a cold hard line.
You made me cry out.
I screamed.
There was pain—short and sharp,
and then there was nothing.
No beating, no drumming,
just dark, eternally dark.
Empty? Broken? Hurt? No!
There was just darkness,
there was just an end.
Suzanne Vega is one of my favourite artists (to the best of my knowledge I own all of her albums). St Clare is hauntingly beautiful and brings tears to my eyes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvekoHGK8i0
Some 10-15 minutes walk from my home is the independent Bookseller Crow (http://www.booksellercrow.co.uk/) in Crystal Palace. As a child I have happy memories of visiting WH Smiths with my grandfather to buy clasics by children’s authors such as Enid Blighton, however Smiths is part of a large chain and sells many items besides books. The beauty of shops such as Bookseller Crow is that they specialise in books and are run and/or owned by book lovers. Even if the Bookseller Crow doesn’t have a particular title in stock they are more than willing to order it for you.
The shop also hosts events such as one where the comedian, Mark Steel, who lives locally read extracts from his book and autographed copies.
On a personal level I am grateful to the owner of the store, Jonathan Maine for allowing me to place cards advertising this website, newauthoronline.com in his shop. As an author living in Crystal Palace its great to know that there is a local book shop, independent of the huge chains to which I can turn to promote my writing.
Recently my friend Brian and I where enjoying a pint or two in my favourite local when the conversation, as so often happens turned to books. Brian argued that a powerful minority of reviewers and literary critics largely determine the choices of the book buying public. If an influencial reviewer rates your work highly you are, as an author far more likely to prosper than if the same person provides a bad review or ignores your book.
I believe that my friend is correct upto a point. The kind of review an author receives in a leading national newspaper or periodical (assuming he receives one at all) can exert a powerful influence on the book buying public by (firstly) drawing the writer’s work to their attention and (secondly) by influencing the public in favour or against the book. However I believe that my friend is overly pessimistic as, with the rise of the great leviathan (Amazon) and other e-book retailers the world of reviewing and literary criticism has been democratised in that anyone can now leave a review. So if lots of Jo Blogs and Joan Smiths leave positive reviews on Amazon an author’s work is likely to prosper. Having said that I am sure that if the same author has his or her book slated in the press this will, quite possibly impact negatively on book sales.
The rise of e-books has also expanded the reach of authors across the globe. Until very recently a writer wishing to publish either had to be offered a contract by an established publisher or pay to have their work printed privately. With the birth of e-books a book can be published on Amazon today and within a matter of hours be available in most (in some instances) all of Amazon’s online stores. Of course this is by no means the end of the story as, once a book is available the challenge of getting people to look at your Amazon author’s page (let alone buy your books) begins.
In conclusion my friend, Brian is right in that positive reviews by influencial critics in mass circulation newspapers and magazines can greatly influence the purchasing habits of the reading public. However the rise of Amazon and other similar outlets does enable ordinary book lovers to post reviews and by so doing assists, to some extent in democratising the world of literary criticism.
For my Amazon author page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
