The Bee in the Castle

Here's a story written by my four-year-old son, Jack

"The Bee in the Castle"
Once upon a time there was a bee. He was locked in a castle. He was a good bee who didn't sting anybody. There was a sheep who helped but the sheep couldn't find the key. The sheep went home and Jack came to rescue the bee. And then he did it. The end.

Applied Creative Writing: Working with E.C. Hunter

I've just finished phase one of a project that's had me really excited: editorial work for the talented new writer E.C. Hunter. Having been lucky enough to have a sneak peek at chapter one last year, I was delighted to be offered the chance to make an editorial pass of the full work, a fast-paced story about Archie Hunter's encounters with Sasquatches whilst lost in the maple forests of Canada.

So in reading the work I had on my reader's head and my editor's head. I also snuck on my writer's head: I was intrigued to see how the story would be structured, how the characters would reveal themselves and whether or not E.C. Hunter would conform to the various known rules of creative writing.

1. "Write something fantastical and amazing:" A basic rule of writing; if you don't write something that bit different, something exciting, your reader will be bored. E.C. Hunter chose to write about the sasquatch: a mythical creature with an elusive history and a formidable, mysterious reputation. No chance of boredom there, then.

2. "Write what you know:" Another basic rule, and one which seems to stand in contradiction to point 1. How can you write something exciting if you have to write what you know? E.C. Hunter may not have personal experiences of sasquatches, but he does have real experience of outdoor survival and animal tracking. When Archie is thrown headlong into a hostile forest landscape, Hunter employs all of his experience to describe in detail how Archie survives. This lends the rest of the story, particularly the sasquatch encounters, an air of verisimilitude.

3. "Write great characters:" Any story hangs on well-drawn characters. Take Magnus, Archie's father. He starts the novel as an academic duffer (think Indiana Jones' dad) and by the end has displayed skills that would shame your average action hero (think Daniel Craig with a Scottish accent).

4. "Show, don't tell:" This is nowhere more in evidence than in the passages that describe the sasquatches. They don't speak, but each has an individual personality and a profound impact on the story. This is achieved through some truly beautiful prose.

5. "Make your finale pack a punch:" Boy, does he ever do this. I'm not going to say too much here as I don't want to give away the ending, but safe to say he's combined all four of the previous strengths into a chainsawing finale of epic proportions.

So I've read a good book; added my opinion and picked up some writing tips into the bargain.

Look out for the book, it's coming soon...




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Location:Bath Road,Cannock,United Kingdom

A Change is as Good as a Rest

They do say that a change is as good as a rest. So, I reason to myself, how awesomely beneficial must it be to have both a change AND a rest?

Happy New Year.

Yes, it's been a while. I've not technically been resting, of course. Working; mothering; sleeping; writing; working; eating; reading; coughing and giggling have occupied me for the last few months. Oh, and I've also been working on an exciting new project. More of that over the next few days. Trust me, it deserves its own post. But I'm back.

I've also changed the name of the blog. Again. I think if I change it once more I can officially list "naming things" as a hobby. Anyway, three things are worth mentioning at this point.

1. The old blog name made me sound like a 78-year-old fusty academic. Which I swear I'm not.

2. People kept asking me what the old name meant (see point 1). People might still ask me what the name means, but at least now they can Google it.

3. I seem to have difficulty naming things in English (hence point 2). I feel that I'm improving. I've moved from Latin to French, which means I'll hit Medieval English in about 2 years, and then Modern English (and hence the same page as everyone else) by 2018 or so.

So what's coming up?
Over the next couple of weeks you'll see

An insight into my exciting new editorial project;
Some lists of things (now in alphabetical order!);
An update on the progress of Phantasmagoria
And much more...

Book Review: "The Monster of Coniston Water" by M. R. Bridgeman

"In Bowness-On-Windermere, in the idyllic English Lake District, enthusiastic, but somewhat green, Probationary Constable Nyles Stratton-Johnston reluctantly finds himself stationed with an assortment of odd balls under the dubious command of Ellroy ‘Hellboy’ Pearce.

Usually there isn’t much for them to do on a wintery Wednesday night, aside from harassing the occasional motorist and scaring each other with ghost stories. But strange things start happening: there’s an unnatural mist, a yacht adrift on the lake and two campers on an island who discover that they’re not alone.

It quickly becomes clear to Stratton-Johnston and Hellboy that there’s something out there beneath the surface of the water, something big, hungry and possibly tentacled. The time has come to rally some courage, find a weapon...and try not to become a canapé."

This is a short book, but it certainly packs a punch.

The thing I love about Bridgeman's writing is that he writes such a brilliant, old-fashioned horror-story: all of the right elements are there: two teenagers sneaking off to the lake together, a crusty old policeman a week away from retirement; a tentacled monster and a fresh-faced new recruit. The book begins in a deliciously B-movie-esque way and Bridgeman expertly crafts an air of suspense and menace, whilst balancing a healthy sense of humour into the bargain.

As the story progresses Bridgeman shows his other great talent: that of twisting a well-known genre so that there are still plenty of surprises. There are some great scenes between the various policemen and the scene on the lake with the drifting yacht is inspired.

The passages dealing with encounters with the "thing" are riveting and horrific (I couldn't get to sleep after reading it!) but throughout the book Bridgeman weaves in a fabulous sense of comedy which works really well with the gory scenes. And the last line of the entire book is one of the most scarily hilarious things I have ever read!

Rating: 5/5

Book Review: "Agents of Chaos: Agents of Change Trilogy Book 2" by Guy Harrison

"In the astonishing follow-up to Agents of Change, the Agencies of Influence and Justice have been effectively rendered powerless, and the world, for the time being, is safe. While this turn of events remains unbeknownst to the human race, the agencies are none too happy about it. Left as the only soul imbued with the Arrowhead of the Seminole’s power, Calvin Newsome has paid a heavy price for his heroics, but knows not of true suffering until now."

This is the second book in Guy Harrison's "Agents of Change" series. My thanks to Guy for sending me a copy of his book.


"Agents of "Chaos" picks up right where book 1 left off, and stays true to the fast paced, exciting original. If Book 1 showed Calvin being constantly pushed outside his comfort zone, Book 2 shows how he copes when he is almost entirely alone.

This book broadly follows the same set of characters from Book 1 as they cope with their new circumstances: Calvin as a hunted man, Ronni as a disfigured bounty hunter and Elena as a critically injured fugitive. 

I like the way that Calvin's world isn't self-contained, and using his super-powers has consequences. There are some really sharp early sections to the book in which using his powers to escape his pursuers, or to avert an incident, causes Calvin to expose himself to accusations of terrorism. Moreover, his separate acts of super-heroism have been linked, creating danger for him in many major cities.

The book has an atmosphere of the stakes being raised: the pace is relentless, the clashes between the agents and the bounty hunters are gripping. There are inventive scenes with the bounty hunters (most memorably and horrifically at the beach house) and the increased danger associated with Calvin using his powers means he has to think of even more inventive ways of escaping. This stops the book from stagnating, or becoming a re-hash of book 1. 

I felt that some aspects of the work stretched credibility: for example, the idea that the Agency of Justice has placed tracking devices inside every newly manufactured car in the world. Still I loved the way the devices themselves made it very difficult for Calvin to evade capture.

I thought some of the female characters such as Ronni and Elena got some nice development in this book, although I felt it was a shame that the Astrid character came along as it stunted the really good work done on the relationship between Elena and Calvin. 

As a continuation of book 1 this doesn't disappoint and the ending of the book nicely sets up for a terrific sequel. 

This series is moving from strength to strength, and I'm looking forward to reading book 3!

Rating 4/5

Book Review: "Autumn Shadows in August" by Robert W. Norris

"An hallucinogenic mid-life crisis/adventure, and homage to Malcolm Lowry and Hermann Hesse. An American expatriate and his Japanese wife set out on a journey to Europe to retrace a path from his youth. What lies ahead--a trip through the Magic Theater, a sudden death, an encounter with Lowry's ghost, and a descent into the Capuchin Crypt in Rome--will change their lives irrevocably."

This isn't the type of book I would normally choose for myself, but I found it to be an enjoyable and profound study of a man trying to make sense of the chaos in his life.

The protagonist, David, and his wife Kaori, live respectable lives as teachers in Japan. After each has their own health scare, they take a journey to Europe to rediscover the past. We relive with David his wild and adventurous youth, and see the turmoil of his life's events. As the couple travel from Amsterdam and down through Europe, the influence of several characters on David's view of his life becomes clear, and we begin to see how he lived through such unsettling times, how his ideas and beliefs shaped his actions, and how he eventually came to settle with Kaori.

David is an interesting protagonist. His experiences are clearly drawn from the writer's own life, and they are the richer for it. The descriptions set in the military prison, and the aftermath of David's release into society, are poignantly drawn and contain a great deal of detail, with vivid characters and well-drawn events. David's reminiscences are the central focus of the work, and though the majority of his experiences are difficult and even frightening, the book is never maudlin or monotonous. The tone is of a man trying to understand, rather than wallowing and even in the prison, there is humour.

The narrative devices employed in the novel feel innovative and appropriate to the work: Many of David's reminiscenses take place whilst he is under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and the prose has an Hesse-esque stream-of-consciousness feel that lets David ramble through his memories and thoughts free of inhibition or structure, and analyse the shapes and patterns that appear.

I enjoyed the way David used his cultural tour of Europe to help work through the events of his life. How he relates to the art and literature he encounters shapes his responses to his memories, and the influence each has on the other culminate in the "ghost" scenes.

This is a book with profound insight into the self, and I thoroughly recommend it.

Rating 5/5

LOCKDOWN

During the next couple of months I will be finishing work on my debut novel, "Phantasmagoria". i'm finding more and more that I need to work on it every day and this has necessarily led me to scale back my reviewing activities. Whilst I'm still working with several authors on forthcoming projects I am, for the moment, halting the "self-generated" book reviews.

So what can you expect from my blog between now and the end of September?

- Fewer book reviews. The ones you see will be commissioned reviews rather than my thoughts on anything and everything I read. I'm still reading: to see what I'm reading feel free to "friend" me on Goodreads.

-Some preliminary material from "Phantasmagoria": excerpts; synopses; character interviews and links to research materials. I'd love any feedback on the stuff I post.


Wish me luck, and see you on the other side!


Emma

Book Review: "The Exotics, Book 2: Xanadu House" by De Kenyon

"Rachael survived her adventures on The Floating Menagerie and went back to her normal life…except that her mom is still missing. Now she’s coming down with the Exotics virus herself and is changing into a half-human, half-animal Exotic, just like her friends. As a new Exotic, Rachael can’t control the change, so she travels to a safe place for Exotics in danger—Xanadu House. The house is owned by an aunt that Rachael never knew she had, and who will protect any Exotic, no matter which side they’re on. But is Xanadu House as safe as it seems?"

This is a book about what children do to other children when they sense weakness, vulnerability, and difference.

in "Xanadu House" Rachael is again forcibly removed from her home and the remnants of her family, and thrown into the world of The Exotics. This time she goes not only as their champion, but as one of them. As she begins her bizarre transformation into a gecko Rachael demonstrates that familiar knack for accepting a weird truth, and using it to her advantage. In another writer's hands this could have ended up as an angst-ridden tale about the misery of being a supernatural creature, but De Kenyon makes it a rip-roaring tale about a little girl who will always fight for what's right.

Children everywhere will be familiar with the type of school Rachael moves to. They will know bullies such as Toni and Sergie and they will have felt exasperation at teachers like Mrs Q, who never seem to see the bullies carrying out their mean tricks, but look up at exactly the right moment to see Rachael retaliate. They will also be familiar with Mickey, who knows the difference between right and wrong but is too weak to stand up to his friends. The fantastical events of the book are rooted in the very real everyday troubles and triumphs of ordinary children. Kids will empathise with Babra's attempts to escape the bullies, and absolutely love Rachael's disgusting plan to get back at them.

Rachael is as strong in Book 2 as she was in Book 1: she has firm ideas about right and wrong and never lets the fact that she is up against stronger opponents deflect her from her determination to get justice for her friends. As an adult reader I found it extremely interesting that as the book progresses Rachael ends up taking on not only the children, but also their parents. The idea that the intolerance and cruelty of Toni and Sergie are rooted in the hate-filled philosophy of their parents is a brilliant piece of social commentary, and it is very telling that the most violent acts of aggression are perpetrated by the adults.

This is an action-packed, fun book filled with the type of imaginative (and at times gross) adventures I've come to expect from De's writing. The book is never predictable or patronising and the story itself concludes by neatly setting up the next book in the series. Children's books don't get much better than this.

Rating: 5/5

Reviews of "The Exotics" series

Book 1: "The Floating Menagerie"

Book Review: "Wild Child, Book 2- Lilith"

"Lilith" is the second installment in what is rapidly becoming the "Wild Child" series. It's a fast-paced, well plotted follow-up which delivers answers to many of the questions and mysteries from Book 1, whilst posing new questions for Book 3.

 The stakes are raised in "Lilith": now more lives are at stake than just Briana's and the fallout from the incident on the lake threatens to overwhelm even the two agents, Brawn and Brains. As the characters grow into their new circumstances it's satisfying to see that they still stay true to their roots in Book 1.

 I was a huge fan of Kyle's character journey in Book 1 and I thought he developed well in Book 2. He still can't get past the idea that the accident was his fault: he is consumed by guilt and is desperate to make everything better. He knows he made huge mistakes but won't let Briana shoulder any responsibility for what happened. His constant need to atone manifests itself in an urge to take control but because he hasn't learned to trust Briana's instincts about her condition, and because he is unable to read the game of cat-and-mouse with the agents, he makes further, deadly mistakes.

There's a fantastic contrast in this book between adaptability and inflexibility. Kyle is inflexible and mired in his own misplaced guilt. He stubbornly sticks to his approach from Book 1- keeping Brie away from the Green water and keeping everyone else away from her. But as it is increasingly clear that Briana needs the water to live his attempts to "help" her result in increased risk of discovery. Briana is better able to understand the people she places trust in, and it is her actions that bring about the finale of the novel, not Kyle's. As Kyle controlled the finale of Book 1, the transfer of power in their relationship is almost complete. Whilst Kyle fights against the situation and tries to restore the status quo, everyone else adapts to take advantage of or mitigate the situation.

 The shifting power dynamic between Brie and Kyle is again explored in this book: Brie is once again powerful, adaptable, and independent. She is beginning to carve out an independent existence for herself. In Book 1 she needed Kyle to help her get back to the water, and to elude discovery. Now, although she values her friend, she doesn't need to rely on him any more. In "Lilith" Kyle isn't the only person who needs to come to terms with the consequences of actions from Book 1.

Guilt and redemption are recurring themes and there are some strong scenes with Kyle's father working through his own guilt, trying to repair the damage caused.

In Book 1 the idea of conflict was a central theme: Characters pulled against each other instead of working together, and in Book 2 the character Lilith neatly steps into the gap to exploit all of the differences between characters across multiple storylines. As a catalyst for the story Lilith is powerful. Her presence is often felt but seldom seen. Lilith causes conflict between Briana and Kyle and pushes their story towards its crisis point. Her air of mystery, manipulation and menace also cleverly weave into the Brawn/Brains plotline to create a sense of urgency to their goals, and a small amount of sympathy for their predicament. They are starting to become more human.

 Mike's writing style is gripping and fast-paced as usual, and the tension has been ramped up in preparation for Book 3. This is a sequel which expands on the story and characters. It begins to flesh out a rich story which continues to move in unexpected directions, whilst remaining true to its roots.

Rating 5/5

Reviews of the Wild Child series: Wild Child- Book 1
Reviews of other books by Mike Wells: Secrets of the Elusive Lover

Book Review: "A Clash of Kings" by George R R Martin

"A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who hold sway over an age of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles."


This is the second heavyweight book in the acclaimed Fantasy series, "A Song of Ice and Fire".

Whilst reading this book I was forcibly reminded of the movie "The NeverEnding Story". In the film, Bastian has read many classic books such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Robinson Crusoe but Mr Koreander scorns his taste;

Mr. Koreander: Listen. Have you ever been Captain Nemo, trapped inside your submarine while the giant squid is attacking you?
Bastian: Yes.
Mr. Koreander: Weren't you afraid you couldn't escape?
Bastian: But it's only a story.
Mr. Koreander: That's what I'm talking about. The ones you read are safe.
Bastian: And that one isn't?

In most books you have a rough idea of the direction of the narrative, you broadly know that Professor Aronax will survive even if Captain Nemo can never rejoin society; that Lizzie Bennett will get married; that Dorian Gray will have to answer to a higher power for his crimes. The main draw is not what will happen in the end, but how the characters will get to their ending. They are safe.

"A Song of Ice and Fire" is not "safe". You can have no measure of certainty over where the story is going, or how it will affect the characters, or indeed whether the characters will live to see the end of it. Book 2 opens with the main players of Book 1 dead, background characters now come to the front, and plans which once seemed certain are thrown into disarray.

Book 1 belonged to Daenerys Targaryen. The slow burning narrative was driven forward by her difficult journey from child fugitive to Queen-in-waiting in little more than a year. In book 2 the drive is provided by the story of Theon Greyjoy, one of the background characters I kept forgetting about in book 1. His story is masterfully told: he's a man with two fathers who is struggling to live up to the ideals of either: too refined and civilised for Balon Greyjoy, not honourable or selfless enough for Ned Stark. His actions and dealings with his birth family and his adoptive family have far-reaching consequences and his story is masterfully told.

Theon's story is a flagship tale which is echoed through other storylines: children attempt to live up to, or defy their fathers: Joffrey Baratheon is another character with two fathers and he embodies the worst of both of them as he rebels against his family and creates a reign of terror. Ramsay Stone fights against the contempt he receives at being labelled a "bastard": he assumes Roose Bolton's family name and crest when riding to Winterfell to prove his worth. Tyrion Lannister effortlessly lives up to Lord Tywin's intelligence and strategic planning, while Robb Stark has to defy his mother in order to fully take on the mantel of his father.

A secondary theme in the book is that of hidden identities: Asha Greyjoy, Gendry, Arya Stark and Ramsay Stone all gain advantage by pretending to be someone else, while Theon Greyjoy causes himself problems by getting others to switch identities, to save face, as it were, when things look bad.

The backdrop to the story is the struggle between heirs assumptive to the throne, but in reality this is about power struggles and betrayal within families. There is no-one more dangerous to Tyrion Lannister than his own family; Stannis and Renly Baratheon are brothers at open war with each other; the Starks breed their own danger.

Of course this continues the running theme of legitimacy and illegitimacy; in a realm where none of the contenders has a solid claim to the throne each tries to cement his position, and it is the bastards and outsiders, Jon; Tyrion; Joffrey; Ramsay; Theon and Stannis who wield the most power.

As in book 1 the vast array of characters is bewildering: I again forgot who many of them were and started glossing over them. I think this is a major flaw in the work and it's becoming more pronounced: as some of these background characters take centre stage it's difficult to remember who they are or where they came from.

The fragmented narrative is rather distracting: each narrative is genuinely engaging and gripping, but it is always broken off to move to someone else's story. I had to spend a while at the start of a few chapters reminding myself where each character was up to, and getting back into the story, before the focus switched again.

These flaws aside, this is a rich, well-drawn world with colourful characters and no end of suspense and surprises.

Rating 4/5


Reviews of "A Song of Ice and Fire"

Book 1: "A Game of Thrones"