Won Grudge Match 3 and into the Winter Open!

It was a quiet but tough little fight. I won because I also got 2 judge votes :-)
But the other stories were great!

Now that means I'm also in the Winter Open facing Michael (again) and the dreaded KA DaVur!
I'll be there for the ride, I think...but I think I'm the only Iron Writer who has been in all 3 Opens so far.

Brad Shaw's 12 days of Christmas :-)

The Iron Writer is doing a special 'quickie' this Xmas, twelve 200 word stories on the 12 days of Xmas. So, Detective Brad Shaw is on the case!
I will update this post every day :-)
Part 1 - http://theironwriter.com/twelve-days-of-christmas-quickies-challenge/
Part 2 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-quickie-the-second-day/
Part 3 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-quickies-day-3/
Part 4 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-day-4/
Part 5 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-quickies-day-five/ 
Part 6 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-day-6/ 
Part 7 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-quickies-day-7/ 
Part 8 (on Day 9) - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-day-9/
Part 9 (on Day 8) - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-day-8/
Part 10 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-quickies-day-10/
Part 11 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-day-11/
Part 12 - http://theironwriter.com/12-days-of-christmas-quickies-day-12/

And a Merry Christmas to you all!

Publishers are getting it wrong!

Read the beginning of a paperback a friend passed to me for my child. It's complete poison, I would never allow my children to read such garbage. The writer is meant to be a great children's writer too...
This is where publishers are getting it wrong, finding writers who keep to their own expectations (in this case Harper Collins 'Christian' values), and giving them 'forever' contracts to churn out book after book of complete shit while others such as myself who are trying to break barriers are dying in the wilderness! THis 'writer' has over 100 published books, including 'War Horse' which has almost 400 5 star reviews...all I can guess is that there's a POV in there of a humanistic horse - yep, that's exactly what it is...unbelievable...ANIMALS DON'T THINK LIKE HUMANS! In fact, humans think like animals - catch my latest book when I finish it.



Here's my 1 star review of 'Sparrow: The Story of Joan of Arc' by Michael Morpurgo

I was given a copy of this for my child as it is said that this writer is a good children's writer. This book is tripe. Chapter 1 is written in a POV of a young girl who is so unrealistic it's unbelievable, Chapter 2 is written in a humanistic bird POV - animals don't think like humans, wake up, Chapter 3 is written in the POV of a young Joan of Arc who feels like she's British living in France hating the British and talking to Chapter 2's humanistic bird...I lost it there.
It can be seen that this writer has a good team behind him: publisher, editor, proofreader, but this book is complete garbage. While searching for this book on Amazon to write this review, I saw that this book is from a long line of 'animal/young child' books...I am glad I read it before passing this poison to my child.

Volunteering?

Changed my December WEBook entry into One POV...I'll still have to work on that, there's a strange bit about 'kicking' in there....(here it is)
Just saw a nice picture about comparing the synopsis of Harry Potter and Star Wars...like people are only just realising? (here it is). And what about Star Wars and Lord of the Rings? I'll have a look at that later.

Volunteering...I used to belong to a 'voluntary' organisation, where the 'master' said that doing so created 'better people'...but...doing things you like to do doesn't bring change, it only boosts your ego, so beware of the volunteer, they will only go deeper into themselves. Doing things you don't like to do, however, will bring change, as it breaks your barriers/boundaries and allows you the opportunity to grow. Embrace those who are reluctant to volunteer, or better yet, ask for volunteers BEFORE setting the task - those ones clean the toilets :-) (hehe)

The deeper picture...

Yes, my books are entertaining, whimsical, a little nuts, but they also have a deeper thing going on...just wanted to say.
The 1st, Man by a tree, works on self-sacrifice, unwilling at first - nothing worse than a volunteer who wants to volunteer - who learns from that?
The 2nd, Bethlehem Fiasco, works on martyrdom - again, nothing worse than someone who wants to become one.
The 3rd, Rage, works on complete destruction - start again, you never know, it might be good the next time...
The 4th, Manna-X, works on insanity - if you can't beat the system, leave it.
The 5th, How to..., well, you'll see, still finishing off the skeleton :-)
So, there you go, not just cliches, references to classics and 1000 year-old jokes :-)

Posty posty post post

Haven't been here for a few days - it takes more clicks to get here seeing as Google changed my setup and I can't work out how to change it back. Maybe I will do that Wordpress blog - if I can decide what template, etc,etc.
I put an excerpt from 'Bethlehem Fiasco' on WEBook for the December Challenge...here. It's revamped to only one POV.
I judged on Grudge Match 2 (Challenge 40) and the one I voted for won (so I must be doing something right.)
I'll also be in Grudge 3 as a contestant. It'll be anonymous, but I'm sure you'll be able to spot which of the 4 stories is mine :-)
Waiting for the winners of the November WEBook Challenge...you never know, it would be nice to have an iPad Mini.
And I 'won' NaNoWrimo this year (2013)....BUT Createspace only give TWO free paperback copies rather than 5, as in the years before.

How to make money in the self-publishing business for FREE

Yes! Once and for all...'How to make money in the self-publishing business'...(great, huh?)
Well, here we go...are you ready?
Rule 1: Be unethical
Rule 2: Always smile
Rule 3: Believe in your own writing 110%
....and that's it!
Of course, I do none of these. But if YOU follow these 3 simple rules, you can become successful in the self-publishing business!
(As you can see, I still have my 'hate' head on :-)~)