Zir and the Anti-book

I love Waiting for Godot, in my honest opinion, Beckett's masterpiece. And that's what I try to reach, my masterpiece. As far as I can say, they've ALL been mastepieces :-)~ Well, someone has to believe, why not me?
Anyway, my latest, Manna-X, is growing, or more specifically, Zir is growing. Who is Zir? He is bad. Very bad, even worse than those guys in 'Rage'. Satan, the devil, is just a character created from religious thought, but Zir encompasses the empathetic evil of the universe, Zir IS the tonal, the flow, above words, names, good and bad, Zir IS. Zir will grow like a plague in the book. He starts off as one sentence, then a paragraph, until he becomes a full blown character, the evilest piece of work ever. But don't take it out on him, he's just what he is.
And there is a structure growing in my head for the book, very different from the others. MBAT is a mesh of plots culminating in a volcanic end, BF follows one poor guy through to the end, Rage has roads leading to final destruction, while Manna-X is like a tarantula...an 'anti-book'...:-) But you'll love it, you won't feel a thing :-)

Back Page comments

I'm a killer for back page comments on my books :-) Some of you haven't seen them, I'm sure, as you'd need to buy the Print version to see them. I also have a 'swear free zone' label on the back. So, here they are, those writers (and their books) who were so nice to allow me to print what they said :-)
Man by a tree
"The sole purpose of a book is to be read"...err, sorry, that one's me :-)
"Sharp, dark and sardonic are rarely found wrapped in a single package" Greg Levin (Notes on an Orange Burial). Greg was the 2nd to make me believe in my writing, though he still hasn't followed me on twitter!
"I've fallen in love" Bryn Hammond (Amagalant). A strange Australian writer with an even stranger writing style - I love it!
"a damned good tale" Fredrik Nath (The Cyclist - A World War II Thriller). Fred was the FIRST person to ever comment on any of my writing. And his is fantastic! He even put Man by a tree on his own website.
The Bethlehem Fiasco
"Irreverent, quirky and fun" Fredrik Nath (The Cyclist - A World War II Thriller). Yes, Fred was so nice, he even gave me a comment for my 2nd book :-)
"...a light and breezy read..." Iso Nuys (Paid on Return) Sadly, I can't find his book anywhere. it was VERY good.
"I loved it!" Dave Tarragon (The Chemo Diairies) Dave changed to Dave Crews, and this book can only be seem in part on authonomy.com. It's a true story, well worth a read!
The Rage of Atlantis
"Hilarious" Eponymous Rex (Bot). Bot was the fastest moving book on authonomy.com EVER. It's one hell of a read. Here is the Amazon link to BOT . He also put Man by a tree on his website
"Amazing" J.T. Bennett (Four Corners) Man of few words, nice book, too.
"Flash Gordon meets Water-world" Karen Bates (Faking it in France) Great book about living in France :-)
"Wow" Jo Lynn (Who Killed the President?) I remember when this book was an unreadable draft, and only recently, it hit No.1 on authonomy.com. Now a damn fine read. I don't think it's in print yet, though.
"Heck, I'd buy it." Leon Gower (Universal Constance) Actually, I don't think he ever did, but at least he said he would...:-)
...this post took am hour to put together, hope you enjoyed it :-)

55 worder from 'Manna-X'

Yes, I put that little dialogue on Briggs' website. You can find it here to vote on it.
Unfortunately, that site is suffering from negative voting from those overzealous friends of other authors...so please vote well :-)
I will also compete in the Iron Writer's Challenge on May the 9th. Writers are given 4 elements and need to write a 500 word story which includes all 4. There may even be a compilation book made from the stories...more exposure!
This week one new reader said my characters are 'flat'...our own character is made from what we do and what we say, it's the same in my books. They are not made by physical descriptions.

Manna-X snippet :-)~

Just had to :-)~

"Oh come on guys…"

"When in Rome." All three were sitting on large mangalicas, smelly long-haired wild pigs, a kolbasz speciality, Ekron brandishing his short fat hobgoblin sword on a red-haired monster, Sniff wiping his nose continuously on the neck of his white beast, whereas Grint was crushing a black grunt and eating some rancid chicken he'd found on the way. Graham turned his pale horse back towards their target, shaking his head.

"When are you guys going to take anything seriously?"

"How about now, dead boy." Ekron smacked his pig on it's hind and it gave a screech before speeding off to its prey. Sniff and Grint's rides rallied to its call, they held on as all three sped past Graham. Grint lost his chicken.

"Does anyone have a spare sandwich or casserole?"

"Hey! Wait up!" Graham kicked his ride and in no time had passed the strange looking trio and was heading straight for the clearing where Zir held Fiona hostage.

Romance Post

Yes, I know I do quirky sardonic comedy, but there was once a time when 'Man by a tree' was going to be a 'love story'...but as with 'serious literature', I couldn't pull it off, I either kept laughing at my own writing or vomiting. I read other authors' attempts at romance and I just can't keep a straight face. Knowing what's behind it...is the secret out? No. No one understands. Good. The illusion hasn't been broken yet. Shhh.
Anyway, there's a character in 'Man by a tree' called Sarah, and readers don't get her until...the end. There was a part of the book I cut out in the 'final' draft (if there is such a thing) about a 'romance' but it didn't fit the book, the story or the style.
In 'Bethlehem Fiasco' there was a friendship between Jesus and his 'old man' - yes, a phallic reference, but no relationship with Mary, sorry, the 'old man' has that - yes, ANOTHER phallic reference.
In 'Rage' there were many friendships, including one between Sipho and a female dolphin, Kang Dee, but no romance.
Now, in 'Manna-X', there's going to be a sort-of-relationship between Graham and Fiona...well, Fiona thinks there will be / might be...it's going to be interesting to write it...started and it can go any way...:-)
And THANKS for the 6000 views!!! This blog is getting anywhere from 20-120 views per day. May we go on to the big 10k :-))

Unexpected post

Sometimes I get a surprise, for example, Sean Connolly on authonomy.com sent me this comment about 'Man by a tree'...

"I actually enjoyed reading this book and think it will do well at the end of the day. There is a superb flow to this that nearly took me away from the story as I was so deep in the book. Thats a good thing for me as I lose concentration very easily. Great humour, great pace and a great future for this. Well done."

Due to lack of sales, I always have doubts as to whether I'm getting anywhere, but when I read comments like this, with yet another reader/writer thinking there's something special, it helps me in the 'quest' for the perfect sentence...:-)

Anyone can meditate on a mountain

I always say that anyone can meditate on the top of a mountain. A lot of people don't get it.
And anyone can write when all they have to do is write. But can they really?
I think you need to DO life to write, and not sit in front of your computer and think "Now, what shall I write today?"
Yesterday, two of my family had a tiny tiny 2 line dialogue about something, and an idea INSTANTLY popped into my head. Here is the dialogue I wrote down.
Life gives these gems (at least I think they are) of human social exchange. It's little tiny bits of life which you need to catch and write down, and not copy from the classics or from another writer or movie. It's why I write, to share these things. Like when Billy Connolly was asking for directions in Glasgow, an old lady said "You know, I don't think you can get there from here." lol

"Is this okay?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Like this?"

"No, not like that."

"This?"

"No, turn it around. Yes. No. Like that."

"Like this?"

"Yes, that's better. Err..no, no, it's not."

"So, it doesn't matter?"

"No, no, it doesn't matter."

"Like this?"

"No, not like that! Oh, I'll do it."

(I added 1 word for another entry into Austin Briggs' competition this month (the word 'decide'), it'll be up to vote on soon hopefully...)