Tag Archives: fiction

A 5 Star Review Of My Book “Street Walker And Other Stories”

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On checking my reviews, I was please to discover the following review of “Street Walker And Other Stories”:

 

“This was a great little book containing a number of short but interesting and thought provoking stories from an as yet fairly unknown, but up and coming

author. I would thoroughly recommend to anyone to give this book a read!”

For the above review please visit, http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1QYZBZO8RZ6QC/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00HLRNDP4. For further reviews of “Street Walker And Other Stories” please go to the following link, http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B00HLRNDP4/ref=cm_cr_dp_syn_footer?k=Street%20Walker%20and%20other%20stories&showViewpoints=1.

Many thanks to the reviewer for the above review.

 

Kevin

Reading Aloud: An Almost Magical Entry Point for Kids in the World of Books

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Books are one delight that all children should be introduced to as early as possible in their lives. For a parent there is no feeling quite like the first time you read to your son or daughter. You are opening the door onto the huge world of literature. There is a book available for every type of reader, whether factual or fiction. Reading to your child will open their eyes to the world around them and the possibilities available to them; providing they are willing to let their imaginations run wild.

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Reading aloud to kids – a memorable gift

Reading aloud to a child is possibly one of the most amazing gifts that can be given to anyone. It is actually the gift of time and of sharing this time together. Reading aloud to your child will create a lasting memory and a bond between you that will be incredibly difficult to break. In fact, many adults describe being read to as a child as one of their most cherished memories. This gift allows your child to explore strange new worlds while wrapped in the security and safety of a parent’s arms.

The impact of today’s technology on reading

It is far more difficult in today’s modern age of electronics to obtain and sustain the attention of your child. Televisions are commonplace with a multitude of channels available to tempt anyone away from productive activities. Computers and the internet call out, desperate to tell you about the latest, incredibly important video release. Quite possibly this is concerning sleeping cats or hapless children. Society is gradually moving towards the completely electronic age and books will potentially become a forgotten form of media. This makes it even more important to read to your children for as long as you can hold their attention. If you do not make this attempt many children will never experience the joy of reading or the pleasure of time spent with a parent.

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Reading aloud creates a visionary perspective

Reading aloud allows you to portray the characters in a far superior way to simply reading the book. You are able to paint a picture and enthrall your children with the story. Their imaginations will know no limit as they immerse themselves into the story and become the hero, or even the villain of the piece.

The storyline does not matter when it comes to your child learning from reading. They will listen to you, your pronunciation of the words and the meaning of them and learn this for themselves. Reading aloud to a child is one of the most effective ways to improve their language skills and broaden their vocabulary. Reading aloud to your child will also educate them in using their imagination and compiling these thoughts into a usable chain of events. Equally it will confirm to them that there is always time for reading.

Making the time to read to your kids

It can seem difficult to find time to read aloud to your child but it is not as difficult as you think. If you were to monitor the amount of times in one day you check your phone for an email, message or social media update you would quickly realize that you easily waster more than the twenty minutes of reading time recommended for children. By simply restructuring your day you may well gain more than twenty minutes. You will certainly gain a better relationship with your child.

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Reading skills

Research shows that children who are read to will grow up with a love of books and will want to learn to read, simply to pursue this love. Reading is an excellent way of learning and a vital skill – even if the majority of what you read is on the web. Taking the time to read to your child will ensure they want to learn this skill and they will be grateful for this as they grow older.

As a parent, it should concern you that kids nowadays prefer tablets and Smartphone over books. Start reading to them from an early age, and you may instill a passion for reading. Do it periodically and make sure you read aloud; this way the story will become much more compelling.

By Paul Trevino and LoveReading.co.uk!

 

One Night Stand

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The passage of time muddles the brain, I don’t recall your name.

Perhaps Marie or Melisa, no matter its all the same.

Though some would consider it shocking, it meant absolutely nothing,

You kept on your stockings,

I feared my neighbours knocking.

It signified everything and nothing,

A girl in suspenders and stockings.

 

 

The Writer’s Curse

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The candles shone on the girl’s long black hair, which cascaded over her slim bare shoulders. Angela had chosen the expensive strapless dress with great care, after all it isn’t often that a young woman is invited out to dinner in what is, by many considered to be the capital’s top restaurant and with one of London’s leading celebrities to boot.

“Thank you for the meal”, she said fixing her soft brown eyes on those of her companion, “the food was wonderful”.

Angela’s companion heard not a word, for he was engrossed in the conversation of the couple seated on the adjacent table.

“Now how could I use that exchange without being sued?” the writer mused.

 

—

 

The sunlight danced on the becalmed sea. Children’s laughter, including that of her own 2 kids, Molly and John, reached Jessica where she sat on the beach towel.

“Mummy, mummy, play with me”, said Molly, tugging at Jessica’s hand. So intent on her musings had Jessica been that she had failed to notice the approach of her daughter.

“Mummy’s busy dear” Jessica said returning to her writing.

“The sunlight danced upon the becalmed sea. The excited squeals of children playing happily in the waves reached the girl as she lay on her beach towel”, Jessica wrote.

 

The Free Promotion Of Samantha Ends On Friday 12 June 2015

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The free promotion of my book, “Samantha” ends on Friday 12 June 2015.

Samantha tells the story of a young woman forced into prostitution in the city of Liverpool. Can Sam survive the brutality of her pimp, Barry or will she end her troubled existence in the murky waters of Liverpool’s Albert Dock. To download “Samantha” free please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI.

If you read “Samantha” or any of my other works I would very much appreciate it if you would please consider leaving a review.

Many thanks,

Kevin

Productivity Tips For Writers – A Guest Post By Kristy Megan

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Thank you to Kristy Megan for the below post.

(Disclaimer: I have no association with Coursework Writing Service UK or Coursework Buzz. Inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement by me).

 

Get The Most Out Of Your Workday With These 7 Productivity Tips For Writers

You open up your favorite word processor to write a piece that should take you only an hour but ends up taking the whole day;does that sound like you?If so, read on to find out how you can increase your productivity as a writer and do away without any distractions:

  • Do Not Multitask

Yes, you are highly in demand and your clients and your employers continue to email you regarding something else that needs to be done. But, donot answer your email until you have finished what you are doing. Switching back and forth between tasks will switch your focus and it will take you time to bring yourself back in swing. This can also cause you to lose track of ideas and your writing will suffer eventually.

 

  • Daily Exercise

You may think that you do not have enough time for exercise but you will find that taking out twenty minutes for exercise will actually help you accomplish more. Exercise has the effect of helping you stay focused, keeping you relaxed and improving your stamina, all of which increases your output and productivity.

 

  • Complete Your Research Before You Start Writing

Take all the time you need to complete your research before you start writing. If you have multiple articles to finish in a single day, try to carry out all your research in one go before you begin writing. That way you will have everything in its place before you start with it. Keeping all the facts in front of you will help guide the flow of your article beforehand, saving the need for edits and rewrites.

 

  • Unplug From The Social World

It is very easy to open Facebook “for a bit” and end up spending hours browsing the Internet randomly; there is nothing in there that cannot be checked at a later time. If it is possible, disconnect your laptop from the Internet to minimize the distractions caused by social media, chat software and random Internet browsing. Make it as difficult as possible to re-connect – for instance, switch off the router. The easier it is to re-connect to the Internet, the greater will be the chances that you will do so.

 

  • Reward Yourself For Your Focus

Motivate yourself to stay focused with mini-rewards. For example, tell yourself if you can write non-stop for twenty minutes, then you can take a five-minute break or enjoy that favorite chocolate of yours that you have refrigerated. Remember to make sure the five-minute break does not extend to ten minutes though.

 

  • Avoid Timers That Time Your Productivity

They may be touted as productivity-enhancing apps but in reality they have the opposite effect. For people with extreme focus problems, these timers turn you into “clock-watchers”, who can then no longer think about anything else except when their “time is up”.

 

  • Maintain A Productive Work Environment

Work in an environment that is free of distractions. Set up your working gear in a remote corner of the house, away from the television and where the activities of the other members of the household will not disturb you.

Last but not the least, cut down on your dependency on alcohol and caffeineas writing requires you to be in a completely fresh state of mind. Alcohol numbs your mind so that you will not be able to write as much as you should. Caffeine may give you a temporary boost in productivity but it will cause you to crash, ruining your productivity in the long run. Watch yourself become highly productive by following the mentioned tips while writing.

 

Author Bio:

Kristy Megan is the editor in leader at Coursework Buzz, a platform that’s been offering coursework writing service uk for years. Her passion includes writing creative, fictional materials and someday be able to write like her favourite stimulation, JK Rowling.

 

A Review Of My Book “Samantha”

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My book, “Samantha” tells the story of a young woman forced into prostitution in the city of Liverpool. Can she survive the brutal treatment of her psychopathic pimp, Barry or will Sam end her tortured existence in the murky waters of Liverpool’s Albert Docks?

On checking for reviews of “Samantha”, I was pleased to see that it has received a 5 star review. In a review entitled “Brilliant Short Book” the reviewer writes as follows:

 

“The characters in this book were bought to life by the way the author told the story. It was like a true scent of this day and age”.

 

Thank you to the reviewer for their review of “Samantha”. For the review please visit, (http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R90UBPUL6H1OU/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00BL3CNHI). To download “Samantha please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI/ref=cm_rdp_product (for the UK) or http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI (for the rest of the world).

 

Kevin

Writing “Home Squeak Home” A Guest Post By Author Victoria Zigler

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Many thanks to Victoria (Tori) Zigler for the below guest post. Tori’s latest book, Home Squeak Home comes out tomorrow (Wednesday 29 April 2015).

 

 

My book “Home Squeak Home” was inspired by two things: our gerbils, and some of my own books.

 

The “Kero’s World” series is a series of seven books that are semi-fictionalized accounts of the events in the life of my beloved Westie, who we lost in August 2014. They show his take on the events of his life: his walks, a vet trip, a couple of the big holidays, etc. I have a shorter series – this one with just two books – where events are shown from the point of view of my pet degus; in this case it’s just cage cleaning and Christmas.

 

I’m a big fan of animal stories myself, and I loved writing the stories; even the final “Kero’s World” book, which is a sort of sad story, and my way of saying goodbye to the real Kero. So, I wanted to include more of my pets in future stories. I mean, they say to write what you love, don’t they? Plus, I’ve had a lot of pets in the past, so I have plenty of characters to choose from; and some of them were real characters, let me tell you!

 

I decided to start with the gerbils, because, at the time I came up with this idea, they were the only pets I had who didn’t have their own book, since we either no longer had the others for various reasons, or – as in the case of my rats – hadn’t gotten them yet.

 

But the big question was: what kind of book should I make it? Another semi-fictionalized account? Or, perhaps, something entirely fictional this time, but just using the gerbils as characters? I also had to consider something else: regardless of whether it was semi-fictionalized, or complete fiction, I needed to figure out a topic.

 

After some thought, I decided I wanted to do a semi-fictionalized story. Even now I’m not sure why; it just felt like the right way to go.

 

So, what could I have the gerbils involved in? Cage cleaning? Nope! I did that with the degus, and the stories would be too similar. Celebrating Christmas? Maybe, if I found a different angle, but better not to just yet, since I have Christmas books for both Kero and the degus. A trip to the vet? Again, maybe, but since I’d already done that for Kero, I’d need a new angle, and besides… Our gerbils have never been to the vet, though I could imagine how it would go as I’ve taken hamsters to the vet before, and I know what our gerbils are like. Anyway, you get the idea, I’m sure.

 

Then, at last, I thought of something I hadn’t covered with any of the others, but which was a big event in the lives of our little gerbils; and would be a big event in the lives of other pets, as well as the children who would potentially be getting a pet. I’m talking, as you may have guessed by that last sentence, about bringing them home from the pet shop.

 

I’ve seen several books where a child gets a new pet, and you see that child learning to care for it. But what I was interested in was the pet itself. How does the pet feel when it leaves its family, and finds itself in a strange place, surrounded by strangers? I think this has been explored with puppies, and possibly also with kittens, but what about gerbils?

 

I took a look around, and nothing immediately jumped out at me to say it had already been done; the gerbil books I could find seemed to be either factual care guides, or fictional stories about adventures gerbils have had while on the loose. So, I started writing; taking in to consideration what I’ve learned about our gerbils’ personalities in the time we’ve had them.

 

In the first draft I used their real names, but I decided not to do this for the final draft, so changed them during the second draft. My reason for doing this is to avoid potential complications with copyright issues. You see, the gerbils’ real names are Bilbo and Baggins; names any fan of JRR Tolkien would immediately recognize. If they’d had names that weren’t so obviously taken from a specific author’s work, then I wouldn’t have worried about it, but since their names are instantly recognizable as being those of the main character in “The Hobbit” – and aren’t really the kind of names that might appear elsewhere just by accident; not with the popularity of JRR Tolkien’s books – I decided a name change was my safest bet, and they became Sooty and Scamp.

 

Will there be any more books about the gerbils? I don’t think so; I have no plans to do more, anyway. But there will be plenty more animal stories where my other past and present pets will make an appearance. Some of these may be semi-fictionalized, but I expect most of them will be stories that are complete fiction; with the exception of the fact the main characters will be based on my pets, named after them, and carry their personalities.

 

***

 

Author bio & social media/website, etc:

Victoria Zigler is a blind author of children’s fiction and poetry. She has a very vivid imagination, and spends a lot of time in fictional worlds; some created by her, others created by other authors. When she remembers to spend some time in the real world, it’s mostly to spend time with her hubby and pets, though sometimes to indulge in other interests such as doing crafts, listening to music, watching movies, playing the odd figure game or roleplaying game, and doing a little cooking and baking. Tori was born in the shadow of the Black Mountains in Wales, UK, has been writing since she knew how, and became a self-published author in 2012. To date she has published 6 poetry books, 33 children’s books, and a fantasy story in a sci-fi and fantasy anthology, with plenty more planned for the near future.

 

Her books can be found on Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and a few other eBook retailers that Smashwords distributes to.

 

Website: http://www.zigler.co.uk

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/toriz

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/toriz

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Victoria-Zigler/424999294215717

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/victoriazigler

Blog: http://ziglernews.blogspot.com

 

Secret Diary Of PorterGirl

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I recently came across The Secret Diary of PorterGirl, (https://portergirl.wordpress.com/), which relates the fictional adventures of Deputy Head Porter. PorterGirl is comfortably ensconced in her position at Old College where she spends her time engaging in various escapades. The blog is humorous and well written. I recommend checking it out.

 

Kevin