Tag Archives: fiction

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

Interview With Author Paul G. Day

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Thank you to author Paul G. Day for the below interview.

Disclosure: I will receive 5 of Paul’s ebooks free as thanks for having interviewed him.

 

 

Interview With Author Paul G. Day

 

 

  1. At what age did you begin to write?

I wrote a bit at school, but nothing too serious. I really didn’t begin writing until I was thirty. I was always good at stories and had a fair bit to do with young people, so I combined those two passions into writing. But, it wasn’t until I went to university in 1996 that my love for writing really took off. I studied Fiction for Young Readers, Classic Literature, Shakespeare and Writing for Young People while I was majoring in English and Drama. It was a combination of all this learning that started me on my journey to develop my own craft, my own style and the genres I wanted to write in. In 2012 I published my first book and since then I have published seventeen more books for children and young adults.

  1. Do you write full-time or do you have a job other than writing?

I am a Teacher and was working full time up until two years ago. I decided to resign and do relief teaching part time due to health, but it freed up a lot of time to work on writing. I don’t write books every day, but I do practice some form of writing every day, even if it is simply to update my blog. When I am not doing that I am writing poetry. I don’t think writers should feel locked in to having to write. I write when I am inspired to do so, but once I do start it is difficult to stop. More important than writing regularly is finishing projects and that is something I challenged myself to do early on.

  1. When does your writing take place? (I.E. morning, afternoon or evening).

It varies. I write mainly when my wife is at work or late at night. I have been known to keep writing on occasions until dawn. Lol. Like I said, once I start, I find it difficult to stop.

  1. Do you plan your books or write off the cuff?

A bit of both. Some of my books started out as poems that people enjoyed. Sometimes my writing is straight from the heart and although I have an idea of the direction I want to go, I let the story tell itself. You would be amazed where the journey can take you if you open yourself up to all possibilities. However, lately, especially with writing for a more mature audience, I find I am forced to plan and research more thoroughly to get it exactly right.

  1. Can you provide a summary of your books (I.E. their subject matter).

My latest book, Children of Mars is a science fiction novel aimed mainly at young people aged 14 and older. It is a story about a group of children who find themselves at the mercy of Mars in the absence of their parents, who went missing on an apparently routine mission. It is a story of survival, of resilience and of a coming of age. But it is also a story of self sacrifice, courage and love. The book deals with loss and death with sensitivity and follows different characters at different stages in the story, shifting perspective between them so that the reader has a better sense of their personal and shared struggle. Thrown into the mix, as you would expect given the genre, is a strange set of supernatural events, culminating in a finale that I hope will leave the reader breathless.

  1. Have any other authors influenced you and, if so how?

I am greatly influenced by writers such as Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, but I also love the work of some of the classic writers such as Charles Dickens, who I believe was one of the greatest writers of his era. I have also read H. G. Wells, Tolkien, Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austin and a number of other authors’ works. I believe Dickens understood the children of his generation better than any writer before or since. He often wrote of the squalor, the appalling poverty and the terrible waste and death that children of the time were exposed to. His stories speak to the heart and must have had a tremendous impact on the rich and poor of the day.

  1. If you only had space for one book what would it be and why?

It would be The Black Fairy & The Dragonfly. Even though it is a fairy tale and the main character is female, I feel more attuned to the themes, the rhythm, the narrative voice and the journey of the main character than anything else I have written. There is more of me and my personality in this series than in any other book and I have to say it is just as much my favorite as it is others.

As far as other books are concerned, well, I would have to say the Bible and the Complete Works of Shakespeare if I could fit them both on the shelf. But I would still make room for my little book too. Lol.

  1. How do you react to negative and/or bad reviews?

Not very well I’m afraid, not in the first instance at least. I tend to be offended and then after thinking about it, I try to look at it objectively and draw something positive from it. I have had one very bad review which absolutely annihilated Children of Mars, but when I looked into who wrote it and saw a sample of her own work, which in mu humble opinion is just terrible in every way, I felt a lot better. This person was more concerned with editing my book than critiquing its merit. So, I swallowed my pride and moved on. After all, the vast majority of readers love my books. 94 reviews (on Amazon alone) with an average of 4.5 stars isn’t bad really. Lol.

  1. Is there anything you would like to say to your readers and/or fellow authors?

I would like to say thank you to my readers, some of whom have read many of my books. If not for them, this whole publishing gig would not be worth it. When I read a review like I did recently which said the story touched them deeply and personally, this is all I need to keep writing. So, thank you to all those people who believed in me, bought and reviewed my books and keep in touch even today. Your comments, responses, messages of support, plus the fact you own at least one of my books, will be cherished always. To my fellow authors I say this: Nothing worthwhile comes easily or without sacrifice and a whole heap of effort and even some pain. If it’s worth writing and you hunger to have it finished, do not let anyone or anything stop you from telling the stories only you can.

  1. Is there anything not covered in the above questions which you would like to add?

I would like to say that anyone who buys one of my books is in for a special, unique and interesting journey. I pour a little of myself into every paragraph, every chapter of every book. Even the children’s books I have written are imbued with my personality. If you want to know what makes me tick and learn about me as a person, read my work. It’s all there, warts and all. I guarantee you will be inspired, you will respond with emotion, you will remember these stories. If you do read one of my books and find yourself so moved, please make sure you visit my sites and leave a message. You will be making my day.

Also, thank you Kevin for taking the time to write this interview. It is very much appreciated and I have enjoyed writing my responses to your thoughtful questions.

 

 

 

 

Orphaned: A Guest Post By Kerry Kijewski

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Many thanks to Kerry Kijewski for the below guest post.

 

Kevin

 

 

Literature has always had an impact on my life, for as long as I can

remember, and I love it because it is where so many lessons and themes about

life can be found.

 

Over the years, as my love of these stories and characters grew, I began to

notice something interesting.

 

I seemed to be drawn to a group of fictional characters, all with a common

thread of similarity.

 

What might this be?

 

Three of my most favourite characters in all of literature are: Anne

Shirley, Frodo Baggins, and Harry Potter.

 

What do these three have in common?

 

They are, all three of them, orphans.

 

Anne of Anne of Green Gables fame, my favourite Canadian, red-haired

heroine, was orphaned as an infant. She grew up, being passed from home to

home, finally settling with Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert, an elderly sister

and brother, purely by mistake. This began her life finally, her first

experience with being wanted and loved. Of course, her early life

experiences had a profound affect on the person she would become.

 

Then there’s Frodo Baggins. This main protagonist and ring bearer of The

Lord of the Rings was orphaned, too, as a child. Eventually he would end up

living with his uncle Bilbo, who had carried the ring before him. Frodo was

adopted by Bilbo, taken in like a son, and from there his life is majorly

changed and his adventure truly begins.

 

And finally, Harry Potter was orphaned at one years old, when his parents

are murdered in cold blood by the most evil wizard of all time. He was

nearly killed himself, but some secret magic gave him an unexpected

protection. He spends the next decade, raised by his aunt and uncle, who do

not want him and do not bother to hide the fact that they don’t. His world

is only changed for the better when he discovers he has been accepted to

Hogwarts, a school for young witches and wizards. He finally has friends and

those friends become his family, in all the ways that matter.

 

“Mrs. Weasley set the potion down on the bedside cabinet, bent down, and put her arms around Harry. He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother.”

—Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

So why, do you ask, am I attracted to these orphaned characters? Precisely for the reason illustrated in this quote.

 

I believe this is because I have experienced the exact opposite in real

life. I could not imagine what it would be like to not know what it felt like to be hugged and comforted when I was upset.

 

I was born into a loving family, with adoring parents and three siblings. I

had security and never felt, for one second, that I was unwanted or

unloved.

 

I believe we read fiction to escape into another world, yes, but also to

learn about worlds we, ourselves, have not known. We read to learn what it’s

like for someone else, at least I do.

 

I am fascinated by how a child can grow and develop character and still come

out with empathy and love, when they themselves did not have love as

children, to learn what love means all the more because they missed out from

the beginning.

 

I can’t imagine what it must feel like to not have love and not to be adored

and nurtured. I read Anne of Green Gables, Lord of the Rings, and Harry

Potter to study their main characters and how they interact with others. I

feel empathy for these characters, fictional as they are, and I am all the

more thankful and appreciative of what I’ve had in my own life.

 

That, I think, is what truly wonderful fiction can do.

 

 

 

Bio:

 

Kerry is a writer and blogger. She loves all things books and literature. She writes to make sense of the world around her. She believes life is one big headache, equal parts painful and beautiful.

 

She blogs at

 

https://kkherheadache.wordpress.com

 

You can find her at Facebook and on Twitter:

 

https://www.facebook.com/herheadacheblog

 

 

She lives in Ontario, Canada with her literary themed dog Dobby and cat Lumos.

Can Anyone Name The Novel In Which The Following Dialogue Takes Place?

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A question for you. Can anyone name the novel in which the following dialogue takes place?

“Sir, on hearing you speak I am reminded of Shakespeare”.

“Really! My conversation has the ring of Shakespeare about it!You compliment me. To which heroic character do you refer?”

“I refer sir to Macbeth and the lines voiced by him as he nears his end, namely

“a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing”.

How To Make A Character Seem Realistic: Guest Post By Munazza Bangash

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Many thanks to Munazza for the below guest post.

 

How to make a character seem realistic

As an author, you will be asked this basic question quite a few times in your life. Most people can’t categorize a simple answer in a few words. To many authors out there, it comes naturally. No one believes it until they’ve tried. The reason being very simple—as you write the book (without any crafting [I know: not good. Just pay attention]), you realize that the person your character was on the first page isn’t the same in the end. It all comes naturally. The incidents usually change the character.

But, for the new writers out there learning to write better (which, obviously, is a good thing), and in general for writers who’re concerned, I have written down four simple steps to a realistic and, (mind you) a loveable character.

Imperfection

Nobody feels sorry for Mary-Sue. If a reader can’t relate, he would never be able to put himself into the character’s shoes. That results in being unable to feel the emotions of the character.

The best option for a writer to make the readers feel the emotion of the character is by making them relatable, aka, imperfect. If your character has flaws like a normal person would, they would be more real. Maybe; a scar on the face, big teeth, bad trait like lying or biting nails. It can be anything. Anything human.

You may feel at a point that if you make your character flawed, the readers won’t love him. But that’s not the case. They might dislike him at the first, but as the time passes, they’ll be more in love with him than any of the characters because he is going to be more real.

Character Arc

Character arc is pretty easy to explain. It’s when the character is one person at the start of the book, and through the course of it, he goes through hell and by the end of the book, he’s someone else.

Why is said it was easy to explain, is also, very easy to explain. The characters are supposed to be very real and very human. Being human, I know that I’m not the person I was three years ago. We all go through change in our lives and we’re never the same person all the time.

Character arc is an essential step if you want to make your character more realistic. So, if he’s a liar at first, make him go through situations in which his lies get him into trouble, and in the end, it’ll be easier for you to portray him as an honest man.

Past

A person (or a character) can be nothing without his past. It’s really the past that affects the present and the personality of a person. There is a reason behind the fact that he doesn’t trust anyone. There is an explanation beyond his angry nature.

Make it realistic. If your character has a certain trait, it’s either inherited, influenced, or probably some incident made him the way he is.

Try to show how the trait (the one that’s important) made its way into the character’s life. A flashback here, a conversation there—these are really the points that can spice your story and make the characters more relatable.

Mistakes

(This point is quite similar to the first one, but it has its significance.)

Mistakes are a part of life. Humans make mistakes, which may lead to more mistakes or probably learning from them. If a person doesn’t make mistake, he goes back to the category of “Mary-Sue”.

I’m having a different point here from the first. To make your reader seem most realistic, have them make mistakes. An ugly blunder. An error which isn’t liked by the readers. You’d most probably think at a point that it will turn the readers off, and it may for the time being, but trust me, in the long run, that character will be more loved than ever. Remember Draco Malfoy?

And with that, these tips come to an end.

In the end, I would like to give one simple tip: Don’t dump the information on the readers, rather show it in bits and pieces, here and there, through their actions and by dropping a flashback after a certain flaw is shown.

So, I hope this post helped you all. Comment below, and let me know if I missed something (I’m a human, after all *winks*). Also, make sure to check out my blog for more! http://www.desirablepurity.wordpress.com/

Till next time!
Munazza Bangash

Review Of My Story, Samantha

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A review of my story, Samantha (https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/book-review-for-readers-and-writers-no-102-morgen-bailey-reviews-samantha-by-kevin-morris/). Thank you to the reviewer for taking the time to review Samantha.

 

Kevin

He Who Puts His Head Into The Lion’s Mouth …

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(Warning – The Review linked to below contains strong language which some may find offensive.).

 

—

 

I came across Glenn Hates Books, (https://ghbooks.wordpress.com/) as a consequence of him having clicked the “like” button on several of my posts. Glenn’s site is not for the faint hearted. As the tagline makes clear it contains “brutally honest book reviews”. Anyone who visits Glenn Hates Books will find a book reviewer who pulls no punches. If Glenn believes that “a book sucks donkey balls” he will make that crystal clear in his review. It would be a brave or foolhardy author who would risk entrusting their pride and joy to the tender mercies of such a reviewer. Well I will leave it up to you to decide whether I am brave or downright foolish but, dear reader know that I screwed my courage to the sticking point and emailed a copy of my story, Samantha to Glenn with a request that he consider writing a review. Having clicked on “send” I felt rather like a man playing Russian Roulette. Would the gun go off blowing me to kingdom come or would I escape unscathed?

Why, you may well ask did I put myself through the ringer by approaching a reviewer known for his colourful language and, on occasions excoriating book reviews? The fact of the matter is that I was intrigued by Glenn’s approach to book reviewing. Like a moth to the flame I was drawn in.

I submitted my request for a review on Friday 6 February and on the evening of Monday 9 February received a helpful email from Glenn informing me that he had reviewed Samantha and providing links to the review, (https://ghbooks.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/samantha-is-a-dirty-whore/).

I am grateful to Glenn for taking the time to read and review Samantha. He is, as his site makes clear, brutally honest in his reviews, however, on a personal level I find Glenn charming and engaging. His reviews focus on books not on the author, which is as it should be.

Will I put my head into the lion’s mouth again by requesting that Glenn reviews another of my books? The jury is still out on that one!

 

(For a fellow author’s view on Glenn Hates Books please see http://petedeakon.com/2015/01/07/glenn-hates-my-book-and-i-love-him-for-it/. For my book, Samantha please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI

).