Hi all. This blog's been a long time coming, because for some reason my 'New Post' page refused to load. Sorry for that. I'm not a tech guy so it might have been due to pixies as far as I can tell.
While I remember, I'm not on Twitter as @benblakeauthor. I have a dismal 20 followers and feel a wee bit overshadowed by these show-offs with hundreds or more. Help a poor chap and like my page, eh?
OK, well the launch of Black Lord of Eagles is now a bare month away. I'm quite excited and also a bit nervous, because while I can write well enough (hopefully), that's done alone. Speaking in public is not, and at the launch I'll have to talk for 20 or 30 minutes and not make an utter jackass of myself. I do tend to wander off the subject, so there's a real risk of blather. I'll just have to focus, I suppose.
I'm already editing volume two, title Tales of Fanged Fish. I need a cover for it too, and that book will also be published through Blue Poppy Publishing, either in November or the New Year. It feels weird to be talking about the coming New Year when March has only just begun, but plans need to be best-laid... or as best I can, anyway.
I think then I'll work on Starfire. Volume one is finished, two and three are blocked out and plotted, and the story has potential to carry on for a long time beyond that. It could go a bit like the Shannara series, which reminds me of a Mobius Strip - it goes on and on without ever reaching an end. Starfire could reach between worlds though, because underlying the series is a mythic link between realms. I like that idea. It would let me incorporate all manner of weird and wonderful peoples and places into one story, told over generations but still continuous. When I felt like it I could come out and write a separate tale, like Isles of Eternity or The Pyramids of Saqoma. And that, my friends, is the rest of my writing life mapped out... unless I change my mind.
Which I do. Quite a lot.
Don't bank on anything much after Fanged Fish. There's no telling what a writer will do next.
Thursday, 2 March 2017
Sunday, 12 February 2017
Getting Close
The house move went well. We're in and (sorta) settled, though there are still a few cardboard boxes stuffed into Bella's room. And we found time for a day trip to Dartmoor Zoo for Bella's birthday. It isn't very big - it doesn't even have penguins (gasp!). But you get really, really close to the animals they do have - about 5 feet, in the case of the tigers.
This chap is so friendly he scent-marked an unfortunate girl standing to my right. That, my friends, is getting close. He's also 2 years old, and will get a lot bigger.
I have decided I like fences. Fences are my friends.
They have a Close Encounters room too, where you can handle animals like snakes and tortoises. And also, as it turned out, spiders. I turned my head to find a spider as big as a man's hand being held right behind me, and speedily left the room. Hate spiders. What are all those legs about, eh?
With all this going on, writing time has once more been limited. But I start a new job tomorrow, as a porter at the local hospital, It pays more than my old job and also the hours will be better, with less travelling time too. So I'll be able to get more work done. That's important because the launch for Black Lord of Eagles is less than two months away now. I already have copies at home, and I love them - the cover looks fabulous. But I have to appear on the radio, put up posters, talk to the local papers... lots to think about, and it all needs time.
Oh, and I have to buy wine for the book launch. Can't do it without wine. Gosh.
Got to go now. It's an early start tomorrow and I need a quiet night. Cheerio.
This chap is so friendly he scent-marked an unfortunate girl standing to my right. That, my friends, is getting close. He's also 2 years old, and will get a lot bigger.
I have decided I like fences. Fences are my friends.
They have a Close Encounters room too, where you can handle animals like snakes and tortoises. And also, as it turned out, spiders. I turned my head to find a spider as big as a man's hand being held right behind me, and speedily left the room. Hate spiders. What are all those legs about, eh?
With all this going on, writing time has once more been limited. But I start a new job tomorrow, as a porter at the local hospital, It pays more than my old job and also the hours will be better, with less travelling time too. So I'll be able to get more work done. That's important because the launch for Black Lord of Eagles is less than two months away now. I already have copies at home, and I love them - the cover looks fabulous. But I have to appear on the radio, put up posters, talk to the local papers... lots to think about, and it all needs time.
Oh, and I have to buy wine for the book launch. Can't do it without wine. Gosh.
Got to go now. It's an early start tomorrow and I need a quiet night. Cheerio.
Monday, 23 January 2017
Haven't Stopped Moving
Hi y'all. Interesting times we live in.
Brexit first, then Donald Trump. I can still hardly believe the buffoon is President, but he is, so America and the world just has to accept it now. As long as he doesn't do a Bush/ Blair and start running about starting wars, I suppose the time will pass.
Anyway, thinking about the state of the world hurts my head at the moment, so I'm not going to. Perhaps if I ignore everything the problems will all go away. It's worth a try. So I'll focus only on my own issues. I have some sort of chance of sorting them out, at least.
OK, first thing to mention is the Kickstarter project for Black Lord of Eagles. It's still short of target but there are four days left, so please, if you can, go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473817166/black-lord-of-eagles?ref=user_menu. Anything would be great.
Secondly, tomorrow night (Monday 23rd) I'll be on The Voice radio, the book club hosted by Olli Tooley. I expect to talk a lot of nonsense but somewhere in the drivel there might be a few interesting bits and odds about Black Lord of Eagles, and about Blue Poppy publishing as well. The Voice is on 106.1FM. Tune in and have a listen.
And thirdly, on Tuesday I move house, and will lose my internet connection for a while. It should only be a few days but I've heard that song before, so who knows? I'll pop into the library to stay up to date as and when I can. Still, don't hate me if I can't respond immediately.
So, interesting times for me, at least. I'm also in contact with Radio Devon, Radio Plymouth, and 10Radio Somerset about appearing on their shows, I'm expecting a second baby (vicariously), I'm preparing for a new job, and I think I died of exhaustion three weeks ago and just haven't stopped moving yet. If you see me, give me a poke just in case.
Otherwise, speak to you soon.
Brexit first, then Donald Trump. I can still hardly believe the buffoon is President, but he is, so America and the world just has to accept it now. As long as he doesn't do a Bush/ Blair and start running about starting wars, I suppose the time will pass.
Anyway, thinking about the state of the world hurts my head at the moment, so I'm not going to. Perhaps if I ignore everything the problems will all go away. It's worth a try. So I'll focus only on my own issues. I have some sort of chance of sorting them out, at least.
OK, first thing to mention is the Kickstarter project for Black Lord of Eagles. It's still short of target but there are four days left, so please, if you can, go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473817166/black-lord-of-eagles?ref=user_menu. Anything would be great.
Secondly, tomorrow night (Monday 23rd) I'll be on The Voice radio, the book club hosted by Olli Tooley. I expect to talk a lot of nonsense but somewhere in the drivel there might be a few interesting bits and odds about Black Lord of Eagles, and about Blue Poppy publishing as well. The Voice is on 106.1FM. Tune in and have a listen.
And thirdly, on Tuesday I move house, and will lose my internet connection for a while. It should only be a few days but I've heard that song before, so who knows? I'll pop into the library to stay up to date as and when I can. Still, don't hate me if I can't respond immediately.
So, interesting times for me, at least. I'm also in contact with Radio Devon, Radio Plymouth, and 10Radio Somerset about appearing on their shows, I'm expecting a second baby (vicariously), I'm preparing for a new job, and I think I died of exhaustion three weeks ago and just haven't stopped moving yet. If you see me, give me a poke just in case.
Otherwise, speak to you soon.
Friday, 13 January 2017
Code Name Biscuit
I'm going to launch Black Lord of Eagles at Barnstaple Library on Friday 7th of April. I might have done it at Sol Books, but I can't get hold of the guys I need to speak to, and time's a-wasting. So the Library it is. I've already got the poster done, with the cover and a bit of blurb. I think it looks pretty good.
Meanwhile I'm behind target on Kickstarter. If anyone wants to make a pledge, or can share the link to others, just go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473817166/black-lord-of-eagles?ref=user_menu. It would be a massive help for me to reach my goal, anything you can do would be great.
Meanwhile I've already begun the edit of volume two, Tales of Fanged Fish. This continues the story, as the struggle for the Blessed Land becomes even more savage and bitter. One of the features of the story is the brutality of the fighting. It's not explicit very often, because that would make the book X rated and hard to read. But I did want to show the horror of warfare. In a lot of Fantasy the battles are all fought cleanly, by men of honour behaving in a noble way. But that's not what ancient war was like. It's not what modern war is like either, come to that - look at Syria. War is a cruel and nasty thing, and I didn't want to sanitise it.
Anyway, all of this is happening as I prepare to move house, which happens on the 24th. Then we'll be starting to get ready for baby #2, code name Biscuit, who's due in July. There's a lot to do. I may have to give up sleeping at some point this year.
Then again, maybe not.
Meanwhile I'm behind target on Kickstarter. If anyone wants to make a pledge, or can share the link to others, just go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473817166/black-lord-of-eagles?ref=user_menu. It would be a massive help for me to reach my goal, anything you can do would be great.
Meanwhile I've already begun the edit of volume two, Tales of Fanged Fish. This continues the story, as the struggle for the Blessed Land becomes even more savage and bitter. One of the features of the story is the brutality of the fighting. It's not explicit very often, because that would make the book X rated and hard to read. But I did want to show the horror of warfare. In a lot of Fantasy the battles are all fought cleanly, by men of honour behaving in a noble way. But that's not what ancient war was like. It's not what modern war is like either, come to that - look at Syria. War is a cruel and nasty thing, and I didn't want to sanitise it.
Anyway, all of this is happening as I prepare to move house, which happens on the 24th. Then we'll be starting to get ready for baby #2, code name Biscuit, who's due in July. There's a lot to do. I may have to give up sleeping at some point this year.
Then again, maybe not.
Tuesday, 3 January 2017
The Wrong Elite
You know, there are things coming up this year that will be good, and others which will not.
Having my second child will be great. He/she is due in early July. It will complete our family, and soon after I'll be having the snip - item #1 of the things I'm not looking forward to.
Publishing Black Lord of Eagles is going to be good too. It's planned for April 7th, a collaboration with Blue Poppy Publishing, and will be my first new novel for nearly two years. I won't wait as long again, I promise.
Now, bad things....
In Italy, the Pascha di Siena bank is the oldest in the world. It's also crippled by toxic debt, and was given until the end of 2016 to raise billions in new assets. If it failed - which seems almost certain, though it's not official yet - it will collapse. Since it's tied into the Italian banking system, and that system is almost as weak as the di Siena, it will probably mean a broad banking collapse that will destroy the Italian economy. In turn, that will bring down the Euro currency and maybe break the EU itself.
Apocalyptic? The EU Central Bank admits it is likely to happen that way.
Second bad thing. In Iraq, the Mosul Dam was built on gypsum, which dissolves in contact with water. For 30 years concrete has been pumped into the ground to solidify it, day after day, with no pause. And then IS took over, and for somewhere between one month and eighteen months, no pumping was done. IS has been driven out now, but many engineers are missing and equipment is gone or destroyed too. Water downstream now shows high levels of gypsum. One end of the Mosul Dam has tilted by half an inch. Not much, but it shows the dam's integrity has begun to fail.
In spring, mountain snow melt will fill the river Tigris and add pressure to the dam. A team of US engineers recently said they expect the Mosul Dam to collapse under that stress. That will mean a 100-foot wall of water hitting Mosul city within minutes, and a 15-foot wall reaching Baghdad four hours later. 1.5 million people are expected to die if the dam breaks.
I mention all this because surely, surely, the Western World can stop these disasters. We have billions to spend on ridiculous wars, after all. America's next president plans to cut taxes for the richest so obviously he has money sloshing about, right? Perhaps tax cuts can wait. Perhaps it would be wiser to save over a million lives in the country America and Britain invaded and threw into chaos with such carelessness. Perhaps that would be the moral thing to do.
As for the di Siena bank, £5 billion would at least buy it time. Given the possible scale of the catastrophe if it collapses, that's worth spending. Britain could do it. What a gesture of support as we leave the EU. And again, there's a moral aspect. I'm not comfortable watching people be impoverished while the elite sits on its hands and does nothing. It makes me think we have the wrong elite.
These disasters are not certain - what is? But they're likely, and we can stop them, and yet I'm almost sure we won't.
Having my second child will be great. He/she is due in early July. It will complete our family, and soon after I'll be having the snip - item #1 of the things I'm not looking forward to.
Publishing Black Lord of Eagles is going to be good too. It's planned for April 7th, a collaboration with Blue Poppy Publishing, and will be my first new novel for nearly two years. I won't wait as long again, I promise.
Now, bad things....
In Italy, the Pascha di Siena bank is the oldest in the world. It's also crippled by toxic debt, and was given until the end of 2016 to raise billions in new assets. If it failed - which seems almost certain, though it's not official yet - it will collapse. Since it's tied into the Italian banking system, and that system is almost as weak as the di Siena, it will probably mean a broad banking collapse that will destroy the Italian economy. In turn, that will bring down the Euro currency and maybe break the EU itself.
Apocalyptic? The EU Central Bank admits it is likely to happen that way.
Second bad thing. In Iraq, the Mosul Dam was built on gypsum, which dissolves in contact with water. For 30 years concrete has been pumped into the ground to solidify it, day after day, with no pause. And then IS took over, and for somewhere between one month and eighteen months, no pumping was done. IS has been driven out now, but many engineers are missing and equipment is gone or destroyed too. Water downstream now shows high levels of gypsum. One end of the Mosul Dam has tilted by half an inch. Not much, but it shows the dam's integrity has begun to fail.
In spring, mountain snow melt will fill the river Tigris and add pressure to the dam. A team of US engineers recently said they expect the Mosul Dam to collapse under that stress. That will mean a 100-foot wall of water hitting Mosul city within minutes, and a 15-foot wall reaching Baghdad four hours later. 1.5 million people are expected to die if the dam breaks.
I mention all this because surely, surely, the Western World can stop these disasters. We have billions to spend on ridiculous wars, after all. America's next president plans to cut taxes for the richest so obviously he has money sloshing about, right? Perhaps tax cuts can wait. Perhaps it would be wiser to save over a million lives in the country America and Britain invaded and threw into chaos with such carelessness. Perhaps that would be the moral thing to do.
As for the di Siena bank, £5 billion would at least buy it time. Given the possible scale of the catastrophe if it collapses, that's worth spending. Britain could do it. What a gesture of support as we leave the EU. And again, there's a moral aspect. I'm not comfortable watching people be impoverished while the elite sits on its hands and does nothing. It makes me think we have the wrong elite.
These disasters are not certain - what is? But they're likely, and we can stop them, and yet I'm almost sure we won't.
Thursday, 22 December 2016
Who'd Have Thunk it?
Well, it's that time of year when I usually post a review of my year in books and films. Trouble is, I've hardly read or seen any. 2016 has been a bit full of other things.
Mostly that's involved two house moves, from Barnstaple to Yeovil and then back to Bideford. Also there's the wee matter of the birth of my daughter, and the total upheaval that caused in my life. It's been fantastic, the best time of my life, but it does mean that I haven't been to the cinema even once. The last film I saw at a theatre was The Force Awakens, which surprised me - a Star Wars film which was actually pretty good! Who'd have thunk it, eh?
I have managed to read one book series which if not new to me, at least hadn't been read for so many decades that I rediscovered it. That was the Narnia books, by C S Lewis. Yes, children's literature, but if Harry Potter, Divergent et al have shown us anything, it's that the genre contains gems. The Narnia series is brilliantly done, from Diggory trying to save his mother to Caspian's rediscovery of Old Narnia, and to Puddleglum and the Silver Chair. It was my gateway into Fantasy. From Narnia I went on to Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, and beyond that the whole broad, uneven genre. Most Fantasy is honestly not very good - much of it is bloody rubbish. But as Robert A Heinlein once said, 95% of everything is rubbish. What matters is finding the wheat in the chaff, and Fantasy has always had (just) enough wheat for me.
So that's my year. Now it's 2017 which concerns me, a year in which I'll become a dad again and also launch Black Lord of Eagles, my new novel, due in April. I've almost completed the edit, I've got a Kickstarter project completed and video filmed, and I'm sorting out where to hold the launch and what advertising I can do. This year was very big for me. Next might be even better.
Meanwhile I hope you all end 2016 with a wonderful Christmas, and may New Year bring you joy. Take care and be safe.
Mostly that's involved two house moves, from Barnstaple to Yeovil and then back to Bideford. Also there's the wee matter of the birth of my daughter, and the total upheaval that caused in my life. It's been fantastic, the best time of my life, but it does mean that I haven't been to the cinema even once. The last film I saw at a theatre was The Force Awakens, which surprised me - a Star Wars film which was actually pretty good! Who'd have thunk it, eh?
I have managed to read one book series which if not new to me, at least hadn't been read for so many decades that I rediscovered it. That was the Narnia books, by C S Lewis. Yes, children's literature, but if Harry Potter, Divergent et al have shown us anything, it's that the genre contains gems. The Narnia series is brilliantly done, from Diggory trying to save his mother to Caspian's rediscovery of Old Narnia, and to Puddleglum and the Silver Chair. It was my gateway into Fantasy. From Narnia I went on to Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, and beyond that the whole broad, uneven genre. Most Fantasy is honestly not very good - much of it is bloody rubbish. But as Robert A Heinlein once said, 95% of everything is rubbish. What matters is finding the wheat in the chaff, and Fantasy has always had (just) enough wheat for me.
So that's my year. Now it's 2017 which concerns me, a year in which I'll become a dad again and also launch Black Lord of Eagles, my new novel, due in April. I've almost completed the edit, I've got a Kickstarter project completed and video filmed, and I'm sorting out where to hold the launch and what advertising I can do. This year was very big for me. Next might be even better.
Meanwhile I hope you all end 2016 with a wonderful Christmas, and may New Year bring you joy. Take care and be safe.
Monday, 5 December 2016
Ch-ch-changes
OK, so the cover for Black Lord of Eagles is done. It's a wowser too, really good, I like it a lot.
Not much else is done. I haven't had time. Either I'm in work until 9.30 pm or, on my day off, I have to sort out a dozen things that have been waiting for ages, and I still don't catch up. Only my mornings are free and they're taken up with caring for little Bella. I need a better routine and more time. Right now.
The good news is, I have an interview for a job in Sidmouth in which I have a very good chance of getting the job. It's for Cancer Research UK, as manager, a job I fulfilled on a relief basis during much of 2015, before I joined Barnardo's. I even went for the Sidmouth job but didn't get it. Instead I ran my Barnardo's store in Yeovil, while Sidmouth went through three different managers in less than two years. They need stability and I can give it to them.
What it would give to me is a better routine, more time (natch), a job I enjoy, and a fantastic little seaside town in which to raise my daughter. My wife could quit work or go part time, It would be fantastic, and I so badly want it. Not least, all the above means I would be able to write properly again. Finding the time is so hard now that I can never generate momentum, never delve deep enough into the mood of the story.
So, changes are afoot. I only hope they come soon.
Not much else is done. I haven't had time. Either I'm in work until 9.30 pm or, on my day off, I have to sort out a dozen things that have been waiting for ages, and I still don't catch up. Only my mornings are free and they're taken up with caring for little Bella. I need a better routine and more time. Right now.
The good news is, I have an interview for a job in Sidmouth in which I have a very good chance of getting the job. It's for Cancer Research UK, as manager, a job I fulfilled on a relief basis during much of 2015, before I joined Barnardo's. I even went for the Sidmouth job but didn't get it. Instead I ran my Barnardo's store in Yeovil, while Sidmouth went through three different managers in less than two years. They need stability and I can give it to them.
What it would give to me is a better routine, more time (natch), a job I enjoy, and a fantastic little seaside town in which to raise my daughter. My wife could quit work or go part time, It would be fantastic, and I so badly want it. Not least, all the above means I would be able to write properly again. Finding the time is so hard now that I can never generate momentum, never delve deep enough into the mood of the story.
So, changes are afoot. I only hope they come soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)