Inheritance

Tell Me A Story - Book Review


Author - Christopher Paolini
Inheritance

Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.


Months of training have produced triumphs and optimism, but they have also brought loss. The real battle lies ahead: they must deal with Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. If they cannot there will be no second chances.


The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared hope. Can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?

Sadly Inheritance lacks absolute impetus or significance. The opening chapters of Inheritance spend a lot of time on minor plots involving unimportant characters, although it does become better after the first 150 pages. However, at over 800 pages, Christopher Paolini could have drastically trimmed the story, removed some of the trivia, and made a better book of it.

All that said, Inheritance is quite an enjoyable story that you will probably find hard to put down

Daily Cheap Reads

Tell Me A Story - Promotion


I'm so excited, SHORT MOMENTS is featured on the blog Daily Cheap Reads

Please take a visit. Hopefully it will annex exposure to a wider readership, and let people searching for inexpensive books see what is available.

Right as Rain

Tell Me a Story - Book Review


Author - George Pelecanos
Right as Rain

Derek Strange is hired by Chris Wilson's mother to find out why her son, a black police officer, was killed by a white police officer, on a dark night in no man's land.

Derek guesses the answer is a case of mistaken identity, driven by the assumptions and preconceptions of innate racism. But what Derek finds is a hesitant affinity with the officer, who is desperate to proclaim himself "colour-blind." Dismissed from the force and convinced that there's more to his own story, the officer asks to join Derek in his investigation.



Right as Rain is a very masculine novel. It is chauvinist. It is ferocious and gritty in its depiction of drugs and drug use, and women take subservient roles to men. If you want great women characters go read someone like Penny Vincenzi. If you want a hard-hitting storyline then George Pelecanos might just be for you.

The conflict of Right as Rain is for truth, integrity and moral redemption, and the result is unquestionably a knockout.

That Immortal Jukebox Sensation

Tell Me A Story - Book Review


Author - Gareth R. Roberts

That Immortal Jukebox Sensation

The novel centres on Richie Strafe, who in his mid-30s finds himself trapped in a career as a solicitor and is going nowhere, caught in a liaison that has lost meaning and deeply bitter about the pop star success of his one-time school band mate, Capaldi. Events combine to push Strafe back to his hometown, and he gets entangled up with a vicious killer - and plots a murder of his own.

The book is fast paced. The hapless Strafe is a curiously endearing character for all his insufferable tendencies. Cultural references abound, to 1970s and 80s music, like Joy Division and the Undertones.

It’s a quick read, but an enjoyable one – good for a surge of nostalgia. I enjoyed it.

Book Give-Away

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We want to give away this book

We want to give away TREACHERY so that readers can get a flavour of what we offer. But we REALLY need YOUR help to do it.


TREACHERY is presently $0.99 on Kindle. We want to drive it to £0.00. Please help.

Please go to TREACHERY and under product details click on tell us about a lower price and indicate that TREACHERY is $0.00 on B&N Nook (with URL http://bit.ly/roXz1A ). If enough people do this, Kindle will eventually price match and send their price to zero.


TREACHERY is about sex, lust, and naked ambition. It is the power struggle between fashion doyennes trying to make it to the top at the expense of the other. Rebuttal and sexual tension become almost the norm. Is there room in the equation for love?

Winning a written argument

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Presenting and winning a written argument can be a struggle without coming over as overbearing. So what do you need to do to get there? The short answer is, be logical.

Techniques
Apply these ideas to your argument and you won't go far wrong:

• Incitement: Describe the problem that must be settled.
• Description: Clearly state your solution.
• Reiteration: Recap your premise.
• Influence: Establish your credibility with rational, responsible statements, facts,  figures, and consistency
• Verification: Cite or refer to experts to support your argument.
• Forecast: Describe an encouraging outcome to your solution.
• Expectation: Anticipate or counter disagreements or doubt, by disproving other options.
• Assessment: Encourage conformity by indicating examples of existing events that replicate your proposition.
• Enclosure: Invite readers to be party to your viewpoint. 

  Manner and Approach
You should always consider your readers when establishing your tenor. Keep the nitty-gritties in mind: You should always write:

• Clearly, 
• Logically
• Succinctly
• Use an active voice -passive voice has no place here.

 Also keep in mind such winning tactics as: stressing benefits; writing for the ambivalent; and focusing on communicating with, not impressing, the reader.

Tribute to an old man - poem by Anon.

Tell Me a Story - Tribute

This is a copy of an email sent to me by Jack Chambers. I thought it very poignant.

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value

Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital

One nurse took her copy to Microsoft in Melbourne, and the old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem

And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet

Old Man

What do you see nurses?  What do you see?
What are you thinking when looking at me?
A cranky old man,  not very wise,
Uncertain of habit  with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food  and makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice  the things that you do
And forever is losing a  sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not,  lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?  Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse you're not looking at me

I'll tell you who I am  as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding,  as I eat at your will
I'm a small child of ten  with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters who love one another

A young boy of Sixteen with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now  a lover he'll meet
A groom soon at Twenty  my heart gives a leap
Remembering, the vows  that I promised to keep

At Twenty-Five, now  I have young of my own
Who need me to guide  And a secure happy home
A man of Thirty  My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other  With ties that should last

At Forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me  to see I don't mourn
At Fifty, once more,  Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children  My loved one and me

Dark days are upon me  My wife is now dead
I look at the future I shudder with dread
For my young are all rearing  young of their own
And I think of the years  And the love that I've known

I'm now an old man  and nature is cruel
It's jest to make old age  look like a fool
The body, it crumbles   grace and vigour, depart
There is now a stone  where I once had a heart

But inside this old carcass  A young man still dwells,
And now and again  my battered heart swells
I remember the joys  I remember the pain
And I'm loving and living life over again

I think of the years all too few  gone too fast
And accept the stark fact  that nothing can last
So open your eyes, people  open and see
Not a cranky old man Look closer see  ME!!

WRITER UNKNOWN

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might pass by without looking at the young soul within
we will all, one day, be there, too!

How to Doctor Your Own Book

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"The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in shock-proof shit-detector."

- Ernest Hemingway -

The Book Doctor
Most first time writers fail to understand that writing the first draft of a novel is but one small step on the long road to becoming published. Most think that getting those precious words down is all that is needed. They are wrong, they must now become a Book Doctor …..

To complete a novel is an astonishing achievement in its own right, most people never get to do it, but more is required before submitting it to an agent. Invariably, most novels need a huge dollop of revision before they are up to publication standard.

Artists, dancers, and actors tweak their work until it is perfect. Why then, do new writers baulk at improving their work?

The Book Doctor and Amateurs
Publishers, agents, and literary critics differentiate between amateur and professional writers quite easily.

• The amateur is sensitive about their work and fiercely defends any part of it. ~ A professional considers criticism part and parcel of the game.
• Amateurs take adverse comments as a private slight. ~ Professionals understand there is nothing personal about it, they realise that publishers have their own house-style and, they must conform to those requirements.

1. As a book doctor you must check that the first chapter holds the reader’s attention - does it need a more intriguing start?
2. As a book doctor you must check that you are happy with your characterisation. Do your characters come across as living, breathing people who act in rational and consistent ways, or are they cardboard cut-outs?
3. As a book doctor you must check that your dialogue is spot on. Remember not to let characters make speeches or preach to readers. Also, don’t forget that dialogue must SEEM as if it’s natural and lifelike, which is NOT the same as recording ‘normal‘ speech. Everyday conversation is too jumpy and incoherent to make sense when written down.
4. As a book doctor you must check that you have a strong story line which runs unambiguously throughout the book.
5. As a book doctor you must check that you have you preserved a good pace throughout - a pace that varies yet never flags.
6. As a book doctor you must check that the conflict and tension in your novel is sufficiently strong. Is it plausible? Remember that conflict doesn’t mean that your main characters are squabbling all the way through the story. Some of the best tension comes from inner conflict.
7. As a book doctor you must check that the theme of your story runs unequivocally yet not laboriously throughout the book.
8. As a book doctor you must check that you have balanced bright with sinister, delight with grief. Remember that there is frequently a silver lining to clouds. Don’t lose sight of the fact that most readers are looking for entertainment.
9. As a book doctor you must check that your ending is rational and satisfying to your reader. Have you tied up all loose ends?
10. Finally, as a book doctor you must check that your writing style flows smoothly. Style is everything.

The Book Doctor And The Second Draft.
When you’ve finally decided which revisions you need to make, go ahead and write the second draft. Be brave about it. Don’t hang on to favourite passages simply because you think they’re well written. If they don’t move the story forward in some way, they should be deleted. There is no room for hangers-on. Every word should count.

So that’s it. Your book is surely ready for submission now… Wait - there is still more to do…
The Final Task For The Book Doctor.
The final task for a book doctor is to go through the manuscript line by line - starting with the last page and working back towards the beginning - this may sound strange, but it is to avoid the trap of falling in love with your own words…

This time you are searching for technical errors - correcting grammar, removing purple prose, eliminating the over-use of adjectives and adverbs, checking for long sentences, inspecting for repetitions of favourite words and phrases, etc.

The Book Doctor and Critique.
An external, analytical eye becomes invaluable at this stage - and an understanding that any criticism will not be aimed at you as a person, but at improving your novel. However, you should resist the temptation to let unqualified people read it. The opinions of friends and family are almost worthless - unless of course, they are professional publishers, or agents.

Invite the comments of your local writers’ circle by all means, but unless members are published writers their comments might be coloured by personal likes and dislikes - and maybe a certain amount of resentment. You might receive a more balanced viewpoint by using an online writers’ circle instead.

For a truly impartial judgment, you must pay for a professional critique. If you can’t afford a professional critique for the whole of the manuscript, consider a report on a synopsis and the first three chapters. This should provide an important guideline and help with further revisions.

The Book Doctor and the Final Draft
When you’re happy that you’ve removed all obvious errors and weaknesses, you’re ready to type out the final copy - the one you’re prepared to submit to your agent or publisher.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s the editor’s job to iron out wrinkles. Agents and publishers want your manuscript to be as perfect as possible - if it isn’t, they’ll dump it and pick up the next one.

Be wise - be a Book Doctor.