Chris The Story Reading Ape’s blog has a useful section on resources for authors. This includes book reviewers and those happy to host guest posts. I an now listed under bloggers happy to host guest posts. For Chris’s useful author resources and other useful information on his blog please visit https://thestoryreadingapeblog.wordpress.com/authors-resources-central/guest-author-friendly-blogs/?preview=true&preview_id=16291&preview_nonce=2a97035cd9
Many thanks to Inspired By A Book for her great post. Its wonderful to know that there exist young people out there who are passionate about reading. Please do check out Inspired By A Book’s website together with her Instorgram. You can find Inspired By A Book’s blog here (https://inspiredbyabook.wordpress.com/).
I was so honoured when Kevin Morris asked me to do a guest post for ‘newauthoronline’; I jumped at the chance of getting the name ‘inspiredbyabook’ out there, giving it the opportunity to reach a wider audience, and hopefully get me the recognition I’ve always hoped for.
I chose to write a piece on why I started my blog, in hope for it to give other people the confidence to follow their dreams and if they’re wanting to, start their own blog.
Firstly at 17 I never had the idea of wanting to start my own blog, until one day I was in a English lesson and me and my friend were joking about starting blogs, which at that point I realised ‘’oh I’d quite like to have a go on that and see how it goes’’. When I got home that night I created a new email account ‘bookreviewss@hotmail.com’, and asked my mum and dad what their opinions were, both was up for me doing it but they didn’t think I’d last at it! How wrong were they? I made the decision to use a cover name, instead of my own because I didn’t have the confidence for all my friends knowing I was starting blog. I wanted it to be a personal experience ‘my own little world’’
I’ve always loved reading, so I put two and two together and created an instagram about books, originally it was called ‘review_that_book’, but eventually I felt this didn’t represent me as a person, or been able to post a wide variety of things on my instagram. Eventually this lead to the birth of ‘inspiredbyabook’, and new found ideas of creating my own website! Which I did less than a month ago, and already I’ve got 500+ followers which mean the world to me!
With the new name and website, I finally could share something I’m passionate about and thoroughly enjoy! Having a website helped me reach a wider audience and share my own thoughts and opinions, instead of writing a thousand mile long explanation on instagram! Sharing my opinion is how I got the opportunity to write this guest post, because Kevin liked ‘eBooks or paperback’ which expresses my opinion very well. I’m defiantly hoping to achieve my dreams from doing this, and my main goal is to get in contact with some publishers, and start requesting and receiving ARC copies of books to review! I refuse to stop, until I’ve got where I want to be.
Finally I’d just like to say, if any of you have dreams but are afraid, no matter what age you are, just go out and grab them! There is no one there stopping you, and you have full control! In the end you will be so proud of yourself, every struggle, down days or when you feel like giving up only make you stronger, and so keep at it! At 17, I’ve achieved so far in the space of around 3 month, more than i could have ever dreamed, if I can do it, around college and work life you can to!
Happy reading J
An article in The Daily Mail in which the grandson of Joseph Stalin berates those who criticise his grandfather. Stalin is, according to his grandson a much maligned figure. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. On reflection I think laughter is the only sensible response to such a risible view of history. Stalin ranks alongside Adolf Hitler as one of the 20th century’s mass murderers and no attempt to whitewash his reputation is going to fool anyone with an ounce of objectivity. For the article please visit, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2923188/Stalin-no-bloodthirsty-cannibal-Putin-lacks-brains-Grandson-Soviet-tyrant-defends-tyrant-s-reputation-rambling-rant.html
Outside my darkening window you glide. You call, fall, and something once living dies.
I recently read Trafficked: The Diary Of A sex Slave by Sybil Hodge. Below is my review of Hodge’s (fictional) account of people trafficking,
“A gripping account of a young woman tricked into becoming a prostitute by a person previously regarded as a friend. The victim is trafficked first to Italy
then, on attempting to escape is moved to the UK where she is forced to have sex with wealthy men in a luxury apartment. I won’t spoil the ending but would
recommend Hodge’s book”.
(for the original review on Amazon please visit the following link, http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R22AQIBFX62W5O/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005GAC5VQ).
During the past 10 days I have been busy contacting reviewers to ascertain whether they would write an honest review of my books in return for free copies of same. While searching for book review blogs I came across one site which states that it only reviews romances. As most of my stories are, broadly speaking in the crime genre I rapidly reached for the back button on my web browser. My finger paused in mid air as I considered my short story, “Samantha”, the book blurb of which reads as follows,
“Samantha tells the story of a young girl forced into prostitution in the city of Liverpool. Can Sam’s love for Peter, a man she meets in a nightclub, save
her? Or will Sam end her life in the murky waters of Liverpool’s Albert Dock?”
The focus of Samantha is Sam’s entanglement in (and her desire to escape) the world of forced prostitution. However there is, throughout the story a strong romantic strand. Samantha falls head over heels in love with Peter and struggles with her conscience due to the inability to confide in him that she is, in effect a sex slave. Had Sam and Peter met under other circumstances (with Samantha holding down a job as a secretary for instance) they would, very probably have walked off into the sunset hand in hand. However Sam’s lieing about her profession means that the course of true love runs far from smoothly. Consequently Samantha is no Mills and Boon romance.
Having written the above I realise that my metaphorical pen has run away with me. When I wrote Samantha the romantic aspects of the story did not figure significantly in my conception of the plot. Samantha was, for me primarily a tale of a young woman brutally forced into sex slavery by her pimp, Barry. However, looking back I see that Samantha took on a life of it’s own with the romantic angle playing a greater part than I envisaged.
As authors, characters and plots spring from our imaginations. However, once Pandora’s Box is opened we are unable, try as we might to close the lid. Characters and plot take on a life of their own frequently leaving the writer surprised at the unexpected turn of events.
In conclusion I remain of the opinion that Samantha is primarily a story about a young girl forced into the sex trade, however the “love interest” does play a greater part than I, as the author foresaw when penning my story.
For Samantha please visit http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI.
Sting in the tail is free in the Amazon Kindle store from the 22nd – 26th January 2015.
To download Sting in the tail for the UK please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sting-tail-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00DFK6R54 or http://www.amazon.com/Sting-tail-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00DFK6R54 for the US
If you download Sting in the tail or any of my other books please do consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or your own website.
To visit my Amazon author page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 for the UK or http://www.amazon.com/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 for the US
Some photographs of my guide dog Trigger taken in the office at Christmas time.
My Colleague Trigger relaxing on his bed in the office
Trigger with a toy in his mouth facing away from the camera
A big thank you to Anju of cupitonians.wordpress.com for hosting the following guest post by me on her excellent blog (https://cupitonians.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/guest-blog-dalliance/). The piece deals with my latest collection of poetry and prose, “Dalliance” which is available, as an ebook in the Amazon Kindle store.
Below is an e-mail from a most noble and worthy gentleman together with my response. The e-mil was, for some inexplicable reason relegated by Google to my spam folder. Riches await me …!
Email From Dr Menah
“My dear good frend
Compliment of the season, how are you and your family? Hope All is well. I am Dr. Igho Menah, the accountant general in the accounts unit Bank of Africa (BOA-BF) Ouagadougou Burkina Faso. I got your contact from the Burkina Faso chambers of commerce have some fund to claim in my bank Which will be of benefit to both of us.
I want you to be an inheritor of the fund, the fund is in a Doormat account and with your bank information and my Documentation certifies you as the inheritor/beneficiary Since I am an insider and working in the same bank, the Transfer will be processed legally and successfully and I will Be coming down to your country for disbursement.
The amount of money involved is ($5.6million) which I want you to Claim for further transfer out of the country to your bank Account, all to our financial benefit. This is very great opportunity as it will take a maximum of 7 banking Working days to be concluded.
I as an insider will do my duties perfectly well concerning this transaction for security reasons. This is confidential for successful conclusion and hitch-free transaction. Contact me immediately for further details and mutual Relationship and we will decide together on how to disburse The funds and percentage as well, my private email Address :(address deleted by me)
I will be waiting to hear from you.
Yours truly.
Dr. Igho Menah.”
My Response
“Dear Dr Menah,
thank yu for your kind communication and good wishes in respect of myself and those dear to me. I am touched that a gentleman of such exhaulted position (I refer, of course to your noble personage) should take time away from his busy schedule to contact me, a mere author. I trust that my response kindles in what, I feel sure must be a heart full of the milk of human kindness,feelings of the upmost exhaultation.
I was most interested to read your kind invitation to participate in your scheme for relieving your country’s bank of a significant sum of money. I feel certain that an upright gentleman, a man of probity and, no doubt deeply religious beliefs would not be a party to (or expect me, a humble author) to participate in what some uncharitable individuals, (not myself I hasten to add) might construe as constituting fraudulent conduct. I was, incidentally most interested to read about the “Doormat account”. I have not heard of any such banking instrument and would be most grateful if you could find time in your busy schedule to enlighten me regarding what a “doormat account” consists of?
I will give your offer the consideration which it so richly deserves. You may expect to hear from me, via a message placed in a beer bottle which I shall drop in the great Atlantic in the hope and expectation that my bank account details will reach your good self in a timely fashon.
Are you, by the way a lover of literature.? I feel sure that a man of your stature must be very learned. May I take the liberty of suggesting that you may wish to visit my Amazon author page. You will, I am confident find material to entertain and delight you contained therein.
Yours most insincerely
A Humble Author
(Note; I did not, in fact respond to Dr Menah’s most generous invitation but, had I done so the above is what I would have penned in response).
K Morris - Poet 