Another Project?

Lately I've been toying with the idea of starting a new book review site. It's another big project, I know, and I have to consider how it would fit into my schedule. For anyone else considering the idea, themselves, here's how I see it breaking down in the preparation stages:

- I'll write several reviews in advance, to have them ready to go,
- I'll organise several pages of book recommends without reviews, and
- I'll arrange a time in my weekly schedule to post the reviews.

I've already done two things: I've drawn up a list of books I've read recently that I could review, and I've drawn up a list of categories I could put together lists of books for. The scheduling part is the bigger problem. Right now, my weekly posting looks like this:

Monday: a diary-entry story on ParagraVerse, from Andrew McCourt
Tuesday: a new poem, written especially for ParagraVerse
Wednesday: a new blog post here
Thursday: an older poem, perhaps one that's been on YouTube in the past (as is currently the case), on ParagraVerse
Friday: a new flash fiction story on ParagraVerse (currently working on writing prompt stories)
Saturday: a new blog post here
Sunday: a new article on my website

The only way I can see this working without posting too much every week is to remove one of those seven items. I know that the Sunday article will remain, as well as the diary entry and the Friday flash story. Most likely, I'll only post one blog post here per week, unless I have something to say.

However, this still leaves a problem. I have to actually read a lot of books for this, and reading series books just isn't going to cut it. Why? Because if I liked one, I'll probably like the others, too. Then, every review will end up looking similar. The reason my last attempt at a review site failed was because I became overly aware that everything was getting five stars.

That's just praising everything. That's not doing a good job.

So, I need to read more widely. That's the only way to avoid only reading the really good books. Obviously, I'd love to only read good books, but I think that might get boring for the reader.

Basically, I'm really considering, but I have my doubts. I don't want to come across as boring for liking so many books and really disliking anything. The fact that I very rarely don't finish a book doesn't so much say a lot about the books I read; I just don't like leaving them unread.

However, it's an idea. What do you think? Did you enjoy reading my book reviews when I used to post them here?

PS I managed to release 25 Ways to Beat Writer's Block on time! You can find it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYMVZJ2

Last Minute Gift Ideas

With Christmas just around the corner, it's possible you're still struggling to find a present for someone. Every shop is recommending their products, every newspaper seems to have their own ideas of what people want for Christmas - usually watches, or a gadget, or perfume - and still, somehow, nobody knows what to buy. This is especially true when you fall into one of two categories: you have a limited budget, or you don't know what someone actually needs. (We're going to assume, in this, that you're not just getting someone a random piece of equipment they would never think of getting for themselves, like a pen that lights up when you start writing, or a pair of slippers you put in the microwave before wearing.)

Let's start with a simple one: a voucher. Personally, I hate giving someone a voucher for Christmas. I feel like when I give someone a voucher, it says I don't know them well enough to buy them a present. Except, that's not necessarily the case. Your voucher doesn't have to be a shopping voucher. Consider getting someone an experience for Christmas; you can buy someone a voucher for paint-balling, or go-karting, or a restaurant voucher. You can give someone a day out in a spa, or a night out enjoying a good meal.

Similarly, you might try a concert ticket. Think within your budget, and within the tastes of the other person. Don't assume that everyone shares your love of death metal, and don't assume you have to be the one to go with them to the concert. Sometimes that's implied (especially if it's for your significant other), but it's not always necessary. (Just make sure you give the recipient more than one ticket if you're not getting one for yourself, or have someone lined up to go with them.)

Alternatively, you can make your own presents. This works well when everyone is on a limited budget. You'd be surprised how far money can stretch when all the production is done by you. Some ideas for your consideration:

- A frame, made from a cereal box. Decorating it even with paint, or with glued-on sea shells or pasta pieces, can make it unique. Don't forget to put a photo in it.

- A scrapbook of memories. This works well for friends or romantic partners, but family can also enjoy it. Select photographs of the recipient that capture happy moments from their lives - even just over the past few months - and create captions for them. Fill the entire scrapbook. Use wrapping paper to redesign the cover, and think about using cheap packets of stickers to spruce it up a bit.

- A calender. You can get one made professionally using your own photographs, or you can print it yourself from home. If you present the entire year on one page, consider a strong piece of backing board. Most art shops should sell it. It will make the finished piece last longer.

- Knit an item of clothing. Give it a personal touch like Mrs Weasley, or just aim for comfort and style.

Of course, your present might not be a physical item. In the digital age, you can give someone a present that they'll never lay their hands on. In my ebook Writing Gifts, on a Shoestring, I consider a few different ways to use your writing as a present. Here are some more ideas on using the Internet as part as your presentation, including different ways to get creative.

- Write a song, and record it. Use the best microphone or camera you have access to. You can post it on YouTube - publicly or privately - and send the link when you're ready. (This helps you maintain the quality of the video, so you don't have to reduce it to attach to an email.) You can also write a poem or story and read it for someone, or just send it to them in an email.

- If you're abroad for the holidays, grab a camera and go for a walk. Record everything you can see - all the scenery, all the people - and record a message for your loved ones to go with it. Put in on YouTube, as recommended above, and send on the link later.

- Arrange a time to eat together online. Share a meal from across the world, even if it means one person eating breakfast while the other sits down for dinner. The important thing is that you're doing it together. Skype and Google Hangouts are ideal for this sort of thing, the latter especially so if you know a lot of people in a lot of different places and you all want to spend some time together.

The other, more obvious routes you could head down include DVDs, books (including ebooks) and clothing. There's a lot that goes into choosing any of these, which is why I try to avoid them unless I know it's going to be appreciated. The simple way to make sure you're getting someone something they want is to ask. Beyond that, just listen more closely. It would surprise you how liberal people are about talking about what they want, especially when the holiday season is coming. (The surprise is on them if you find out before the holidays even become an issue!)

Of course, if you know a writer or musician, a good way to support them around the holiday season is to consider buying their books or tracks, for yourself or for others. Not only are you helping out a friend or loved one, you're also getting someone else something out of it. (As a writer, I feel it makes some sense to mention this at some point in this point. As someone who knows a lot of other writers, and quite a few musicians, I have a social obligation to emphasis how much work goes into a single book, or an album, and independent artists are always in need of support.)

Do you have any other gift ideas you'd like to share with people? Comment below so others can see them, and help make the holiday season a little bit less stressful.

Learning From Home

With my graduation drawing that little bit closer, I'm beginning to notice how little I learn these days when compared to life in formal education. And you know what? It sucks. I hate not learning something new every day.

I've remedied this, slightly, by beginning to read the business and marketing books I've got on my shelves. I think I would have hated studying them in college and having to write about what other people did in those fields, and studying general principles of them - as opposed to having a look at literature as a whole, and studying religion both in depth and as a basic concept, and studying child psychology and education - but they're two of my favourite things to read about at home.

The books vary depending on my mood, but most recently I read through two of the books in the Teach Yourself (In a Week) series. One of them I read in a day - something like three chapters before work and four afterwards - instead of spreading it out over the week. More recently, though, I'm reading Brendon Burchard's The Millionaire Messenger.

Now, I'm under no misconceptions that I might become a millionaire in a short period of time. It's not a get-rich-quick book. What it is is a book that's getting me thinking, specifically about my strengths and experience, and in a positive light. I'm on a few chapters in and it's already had me pick up a pen and paper and jot down (in key words) everything I know about a topic, and begin writing a book because of that list. Best of all, though, is that I'm only getting started on the book.

One of things that's been missing since I finished up in college was a sense of direction. With modules, there's always something to aim towards, some assignment that needs doing, or an exam to...anticipate. While I'm glad to be free from the strict and horrible deadlines and stress that arise from such things - especially exams - I do miss having the defined course in front of me, and miss learning what someone else sees as being important.

Hence the learning from home, and reading through entire books on a wide range of topics under particular subjects. Basically, I have a need to learn something that hasn't gone away since my final exams. I'm glad for that, and even happier to have actually gotten back into the habit of reading regularly.

It's not just the business books, mind you. I mean, I'm not testing myself on any of this, but part of what made my course fun was having fiction thrown into the mix. So, I've been reading fiction. My home reading is non-fiction, but my lunches in work and every bus journey I take are devoted to reading. I'm half-way through book 4 in the Mortal Instruments series already, having also read a number of other books too, since September.

If I'm remembering my reading list correctly, since reading City of Bones, I've also read Everyday, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and Numbers, with City of Ashes and City of Glass following them up. Before those, I read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Severed Heads, Broken Hearts, and volume one of Morning Glories.

While it's not a huge amount, it's more than I had time to read in the same amount of time while I was still a student. My hope is to finish up the Mortal Instruments books soon, then give something else a try. If I have a lot of hours in December for the run up to Christmas, I know I'll have plenty of lunch breaks to fill with books.

What I'd love is to actually get myself into a routine of reading a book per week of fiction and of non-fiction, while also writing. However, the way things are working out of late, I haven't had much of a chance to set up a weekly routine. It had been my hope at the end of the summer to have a full schedule lined up for myself, but work hours haven't been regular enough for that. (And, I'll admit, I've been lazy at times.)

Generally speaking, though, I think I'm getting on to a good start in terms of reading, and my new writing project could set me on the path to writing more regularly as well. I've done just enough work on it that abandoning it now is just wasteful, so that's a relief. That said, I'm only 12% into it. Tomorrow night might see me add another chunk to it, but it won't be much. Still, early starts and (almost) daily contributions to the book will see it finished in no one. Just like Planning Before Writing before it, this book can be done in bits and pieces, steadily over a period of time, without me worrying about losing my place.

And here's my question for you: are you reading anything interesting at the moment? Any Young Adult or Business recommendations you can make?

Adapting

Today something occurred to me while watching Buffy: I can adapt a short story I wrote a few years ago into a full-length novel. That might need some explaining. For instance, how does Buffy the Vampire Slayer come into it at all?

Rewind back to 2007/2008. A Buffy re-run came on television while I was trying to come up with an idea for a short story for The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2008. Willow was talking to the First, before knowing what it was, and once of the First's lines triggered the story in my head. Just like that, I had my idea for a short story.

I loved that story. I really did. It's not perfect, but I think I can work with a larger (much larger) word count now, with some added disturbances and oddities and madness to throw into the mix to create a much darker and held-together story. I can also give it a much better title than What's in the Box? I'll be honest, when I was 16/17, that sort of title seemed cool to me.

How things change, right?

Anyway, I think that's something I can consider for the next while, turning that idea for a short story into a darker tale, and a longer tale, and really create the story I'd wanted to tell then in greater detail and with greater skill. I've grown as an author since then. I've grown as a person, too, and a lot has happened since then, and I think I can create a much better story now than I could when I was a teenager.

That's significant for me, because when I was fifteen I was convinced that my very first novel was going to be a bestseller. Without the editing. Without realising that different publishers looked for different things. Without realising that the book wasn't written very well. And I don't like it's title anymore.

That's obviously another book I can work on, though neither of these are near the top of the To Be Written pile. I have other books to work on, first, and other things that need doing. I think the whole "sorting out my life" thing has to happen sooner rather than later. (Okay, that makes it sound like I did something to screw up... I just finished college and did quite well with my exams and research paper and teaching placement... I didn't exactly screw up in that department.)

Basically, I need some stability in my life before I try to write a dozen books at once. And even then that's not a good idea. But sure, at least I have things to work with, and a game plan. First, I adapt to life as I know it. Then, I adapt my stories.

Day 10: Procrastination

I find that with one of three books written this month, I've begun procrastinating a lot more. Fun, right? Not for my word count. The exact level of progress on The Blood of Leap is... non-existent.

However, I did manage to finally upload the trailer for The Hounds of Hell!

It's a thing, now. I can be happy about that. I can also finally stop focusing on that aspect of the book and start focusing on other aspects of next week, including:

1. The flash stories I want to publish next week.
2. The publication of The Hounds of Hell.
3. The completion of The Blood of Leap.

Yeah, that has to happen, and soon. I think tomorrow, in between the make-over of my bedroom and the occasional descent into madness, I need to write a lot. An awful lot. Thankfully I have no social life to speak of for tomorrow, or for Friday (most of the day, anyway), so I can work on getting a lot of the book written in the next couple of days.

If things go my way, I hope to have 10,000 words written by the time I leave for the cinema on Friday night. That's a bit ambitious, but I'm going to make a start on the writing tonight. This is partially to avoid going near my room, which I have reason to believe is still a furnace. (I learned from yesterday not to spend all my time in my bedroom, and commandeered the kitchen.)

I imagine I'll have approximately three hours to write tomorrow, not including blogging time. That's the potential for 4,000 words, I think. Which means, by those calculations, I'll be writing for a bit over five hours on Friday. Thankfully, writing is fun. Even if going out and buying comic books, and making trailers, and drinking a ridiculous amount of water, is also fun. (Wait, drinking water isn't fun... I just needed to survive this unbearable heat.)

So, there's that. Me being behind, me planning on catching up, me going insane, possibly being over-hydrated and bound to face the consequences tonight... good times, am I right?

Day 4: Uh Oh

I'm not making excuses for having not written today...but that's what it's going to seem like for a while as I tell you why I haven't written today.

It boils down to three things:

1. I was cleaning my room this morning. It took longer than I thought to do less than I'd have hoped.

2. I was out with friends celebrating one of their birthdays. This had me out of the house for eight hours or so. We went to the cinema, we grabbed some dinner, and I went home afterwards. I didn't delay, but I was still out for eight hours, thanks to the buses.

3. I was tired.

Actually, number three should really read as such: I am tired. This is still a reality. But here's why I'm not making excuses despite what you just read or skimmed over:

I plan on writing tonight, until my eyes hate me for still being awake. They're getting there already, though, so I very much doubt I'll reach 2,000 words tonight. The only reason I'm writing this blog post first is because I suspect I'll be up past midnight writing, and I don't want to miss blogging every day this month.

Dilemma, though: I haven't done anything for FUFDay. Yet. It's a little too late to record and edit and publish a YouTube video, so that's out of the question, but I can do something, something I hinted explicitly at yesterday. I can announce a release date for the book.

Ordinarily, I would wait until the book is finished before doing that, but since I didn't do that with Balor Reborn either, I think I'm safe in doing it again. As it's Camp NaNoWriMo, and I'm enjoying it heartily, I imagine I'll actually be finished the book by Tuesday. Already having the cover done is a bonus, because it means I have less to do once the book is written. So... here we go... ready?

Really? Are you ready?

Because we can delay this as much as you need if you want some time. I know this is a Big Deal. Maybe more so for me, but still. This is big...ish.

Are you sure? You're ready now? You want me to tell you or you'll hurt me? Well, alright then...

The Hounds of Hell

Book Two in the Modern Irish Myth series

by Paul Carroll

Coming July 16th 2013

For realsies. It's happening. I have less than two weeks to finish writing the book, edit it, and make a trailer for it. I also plan on doing some promotional work when the book comes out, so I need to get that done. (Spoiler alert: it's some flash fiction stories.)

Okay, that's a thing done. Now to do some writing. For maybe fifteen minutes, because my eyes are furious I'm still awake and staring at a screen.

In Conclusion

I think I've made it quite clear of late: college is coming to an end. We've officially had our final lecture, our final night out before exams, our final review form for lecturers and modules... The book of college is coming to an end, with one more chapter to go: the exams. The Dreaded Exams.

I will never be able to speak of them kindly. That's just a fact of the matter. I can't wait until they're over and done with, and I can get on with figuring out the next steps in my life. I have a lot to write, a lot to learn about life. I was lucky last night for a friend to tell me about how she used to live, before giving it all up to come to college. She's older than I am and still has a couple of years to go, and here I am terrified about life.

It didn't take much of her story for it to dawn on me that just because we all make different choices in life doesn't mean we're any worse off for it inherently. I chose to come to college, and to avoid going directly into teaching. I have my reasons, a lot of which have to do with personal growth, and I know the only way to really "find myself" is to live some semblance of a life. I need to figure out what works for me and what doesn't, how to make life more than just bearable tasks between unsatisfactory breaks.

The book of college is coming to an end, and following it is a new book. It doesn't have a name yet, it's not written, it's not pre-determined. For some, it's the book of teaching, others of traveling, others of further education. I don't believe any of them are any better than another. Yes, some will lead to better career prospects or monetary earning or life experiences, but that doesn't mean they're better.

Books and chapters are an easy way for me to understand this, to see the world broken up into little life stories. But these are books that have no set-length. The conclusion can sneak up on you suddenly, and you have to pick up a new book or lay lifeless in the ether. Even then, there's a story being told, and it gets harder and harder to pick up a new book and start with its first chapters to see how you really like it.

I've thought about a few different books, almost afraid to wait and see if one of them really exists or if I'll just be avoiding the books that are there, waiting for the reading and the living that make them worth continuing.

That's my vague way of saying I'm worried that my plans that don't look like plans to some people might fall through. I'll quit with this little philosophy of the stories of life with that. We all have choices. I know what some of mine are. I know I can't afford a Masters course, so that's out of the question. All the publishing and writing aspirations are the uncertain ones, but I'll just have to take the advice of some friends as they trekked across Europe: power through. Eventually, they reached the destinations that made the journeys worth it.

Guest Post: What Does It Take to Publish a Book? (James Calbraith)

I’ve done this publishing shtick a few times now, so I gather I have a good experience. The following are a few pointers to what it really takes to publish your own book.

For the sake of the post, we assume your manuscript is already written, beta-read and polished by yourself. Otherwise, do the above first :-)

1. PROFESSIONAL EDITING

This is my way; you may be confident you don’t need a professional editor, in which case, good for you. BUT: if it’s your first novel, I highly recommend it having looked through by a professional editor, somebody who’s worked with books all his life.

A line-by-line edit is much too costly an affair for an indie author; in fact, it’s increasingly costly for big publishers as well. So don’t take that – instead, if your editor offers such service, get an advisory edit, with general notes. This is an equivalent of a very thorough review, often with emphasis on what makes a book commercially successful, so if you’re in this game for money, you will need that.

Read the notes and take them all to heart. If you’re smart, you may not need to do that for every book you write – as long as you remember what you’ve learned that first time.
The edit for my first two books cost about a $1000 altogether.

2. PROOF READING.

Don’t make a beginner’s mistake. The one thing you HAVE TO DO is hire a proof reader, with good academic credentials, somebody who checks people’s writing for a living. Even if you decide to skip everything else, not hiring a proof reader is a crime against the community of indie writers. Don’t give everyone else bad rap because you’re a scrooge. Remember, this is all an investment.

Good proof readers don’t have to be costly. After some shopping around I ended up with one who takes only about $300-$500 per book, which is fairly reasonable. I’d advise against paying more than $1000 unless your work is highly academic.

3. COVER.

As much as I like my covers, and it gives me a fuzzy feeling whenever somebody mentions how great they are, I’m not sure if a cover is very important marketing tool these days anymore. I’ve seen some real howlers on the best-seller lists, and it seems readers in certain genres don’t really mind what’s on the cover.
That said, if you do want a professional cover and have no skills to make one yourself (and most of us don’t, trust me), prepare to pay from $300 to $1000 for a cover, depending on level of detail and popularity of the artist.

4. FORMAT THE BOOK OR HIRE SOMEBODY

There are many people these days who offer book formatting (I’m one of them) and it’s probably the least expensive part of the process: up to $200 (likely less) for an average sized book. The turnaround on that is just a few days. I recommend having your first book done by a professional, but make sure to request all the source files from the process, so that you can repeat it if needed with the next books. It requires just a little technical savvy. There is now software which does most of the work for you and, if you don’t care too much about being in full control of the process, Amazon or Smashwords do the conversion for you. Just don’t expect fireworks in the result: you get what you pay for.

5. REGISTER AS PUBLISHER

We’re getting to the actual publishing part here. Personally, I recommend against using small presses. I know it’s a livelihood for many, but with just a little bit of skill you can do everything yourself.

Becoming a publisher is easier than most people think, and it gives you plenty of advantages with almost no downsides. The most obvious advantage is full control over everything that happens with your book; you can decide your own promotions, you know exactly how many copies are sold – in case of e-books, on an hourly basis, paperbacks can take a while to register – and how much you earn. You get all the royalties for yourself.

The downside – you have to do everything yourself. But that’s not as scary as it seems. After the initial setup, there’s not much to do on the publishing side, and everything to do on the marketing side – but you’d have to do all the marketing anyway, no matter how you’re published. That’s the curse of a modern writer.

The setup of a publisher’s account should be fairly straightforward – at least, it is on KDP and Kobo. It doesn’t really matter whether you use just your name or a “publishing house” name; I use Flying Squid press name for my books, but in reality it’s just me and my wife :-) It may look a tiny bit more professional, I can’t really tell.

Set up your payments – since this year, Amazon offers bank transfers to everyone instead of checks, which I find a lot more convenient – and your tax affairs, if necessary. If you’re outside US, you will need to go through the W8-BEN hoopla; that’s worth a separate post, so just check Google about it.

6. UPLOAD AND PUBLISH!

It really is that simple! After making sure your book reads properly on the devices of your choice (use Kindle Previewer for Amazon, and any good ePub reading app for everywhere else), upload the book, fill out the forms, set up categories and keywords where necessary, set the price, and publish the book!

It will take up to a few days for the book to appear on the store website. Amazon usually takes about 12 hours, Kobo is a bit longer. You’ll be notified – or check your dashboard once in a while.

Once you can see the book is available for purchase, it’s time to get on with marketing: and that is where the fun ends and the real hard work starts!

***

Title: The Shadow of Black Wings
Series: The Year of the Dragon #1
Author: James Calbraith
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Alternate History,
Publisher: Flying Squid
Format: Ebook and Paperback
Length: 70000 words
Purchase: Amazon |

Book Description:

"Fast paced and full of energy" 
--Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Shadows of the Apt

"This manuscript is full of highly crafted detail that will make readers shiver at times with fear and delight ... a familiar yet highly original fantasy that is a worthwhile read."
-- Publishers Weekly 

"The real-world cultures are incredibly well-researched and truthful, and yet well-balanced with the fantasy elements. An intriguing and impressive series."
-- Ben Galley, author of the Emaneska Series 

It is the Sixteenth Year of Queen Victoria. In the powerful empire of Dracaland, Bran, a young dragon rider, joins his father on a military expedition to the mysterious lands of the Orient. In the reclusive Yamato, Sato, a tomboy samurai girl, strives to prove her right to inherit her father's school of western magic. Nagomi, a timid shrine apprentice, is haunted by the visions of dark future she must keep secret even from her best friend.

They don't know it yet, but their paths will cross... And when they do, nothing will ever be the same again.

Welcome to The Shadow of Black Wings, a steam-powered romp across the land of dragons, wizards and samurai. It's big, it's fast, it's been compared to Tolkien in terms of world-building, it has strong female characters and lots of carefully researched detail. You will meet the Royal Marines sailing mighty ironclads and Chinese walking machines; mysterious warlords and crazy inventors; you will discover dark prophecies, family secrets and blood-thirsty demons. And all that in just the first volume!

About the Author:

James Calbraith is a 34 year old Poland-born writer, foodie and traveller, currently residing in South London.

Growing up in communist Poland on a diet of powdered milk, Lord of the Rings and soviet science-fiction, he had his first story published at the ripe age of eight. After years of bouncing around university faculties, he moved to London in 2007, found a decent IT job and started writing in English. His debut historical fantasy novel, ""The Shadow of Black Wings"", has reached ABNA semi-finals. It was published in July 2012 and hit the Historical Fantasy and Alternate History bestseller lists on Amazon US & UK.

Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ |

Excerpt from The Shadow of Black Wings

A single gear whirred and clicked into place. A valve opened, letting out a thin plume of grey steam with a quiet hiss. A gold-plated dial moved by a notch. A tiny mallet sprang from its compartment, striking the brass gong - one, two, three, four, five, six times.

Master Tanaka looked up in surprise - an hour of the Hare already? He turned towards the window and the pink light of dawn illuminated his face. The temple bell only now started to ring out the time. He sighed then yawned, rubbing tired eyes. Another night had passed without him noticing.

The elementals inside the clock awoke with a soft purr and the automatic brush began to move swiftly inside the glass cloche. A slot opened in the mahogany pedestal and spat out a piece of paper upon which was written the day’s divination. Hisashige reached for it absentmindedly, his attention focused on the piece of complex clockwork on which he had been working. He glanced briefly at the calligraphy - Oku, ‘a gift’. He smiled to himself and nodded knowingly.

A higher-pitched chime rang eight times – counting out the hours of the Western reckoning. The door slid open and a small boy entered the workshop. With his long and angular face, puffed lips and wide straight nose, he bore no resemblance to Master Tanaka.

‘It came from Kiyō this morning, Father,’ the boy said, presenting Hisashige with a large, ornately packed wooden box.

‘Excellent!’ the old master exclaimed.

He put the box on the workbench beside the clockwork and began to unwrap it eagerly.

‘Shūhan-sama was supposed to send me some Walcheren glass.’

He stopped abruptly and his shoulders sank when he saw the crest on the box, in golden leaf – three lines in a circle. He lifted the lid without enthusiasm. Inside was what seemed like a small human head, completely bald.

‘Some gift.’ Hisashige looked at the clock with reproach. ‘It’s just another of Zōzan’s broken dolls.’

4 Hour Work Week?

For a while now, I've been looking into reading a particular book: Tim Ferriss's 'Four Hour Work Week'. At some point or another, I was unable to get my hands on it. My shop couldn't stock it, I refused to spend money in another shop (and anyway, I couldn't find it) and I didn't have the time to top up my pre-pay credit card. All in all, the world did not want me to read that book.

However, a friend of mine gave me a book for my birthday that I already had. He was okay with me exchanging it, given he gave me the same book the year before but forgot which one he picked up, so I headed into the Realm Without a Name, the Dreaded Bookshop, my Rival, to exchange the book.

End result? I found Ferriss in the Business section and only had to pay a few euro extra (less than a fiver!) to buy the book. I didn't feel like Judas leaving, so that was fine. Just, you know, never again.

I've been reading the book since, though not constantly, and trying to find ways to implement his advice as much as possible while I'm still in college. This means I'm chasing certain dreams in step-by-step processes, but several of them at a time, and getting my head around what I'll be doing with my life.

I'll admit, not everything Ferriss has to say will apply to my life, at least not in the immediate future. I don't foresee myself needing a virtual assistant, or taking part in one of his Comfort Challenges (simply because it's the sort of thing that doesn't fit into Irish culture: asking strangers for their number. Plus, teenage girls make themselves look much older outside of school...and I don't want to get arrested for confusing a seventeen year old with a twenty two year old!)

In saying that, there are still things I can consider. While I'm still reading the book, it's clear that there are some ideas and concepts that can be applied to my life, even if I don't go quite as far as only working four hours per week. Work, for me, is writing a book. I enjoy it too much to only do it for four hours per week. I would do it more if I could, but, you know, college.

Still, I think it's a worthwhile read, and it's making me want to do something with my life now, rather than wait for some golden opportunity to just arrive at my door.

That's not how life works. But then, I'm talking about applying the advice of a man who works as little as possible.

We'll see what comes of reading this book. In the meantime, I've still got a few months left in college, exams and breaks included, before I'm free to take a shot at being a "grown up".

I don't know the meaning of the term.

Passionate Writing

A few days ago, I began the actual writing work on a book that few people have been told anything about. I began with the introduction, and I've realised something that made me stop writing it: I wasn't enjoying it. It was a bare-facts, passionless piece, and because I plan to publish this book, I have to start again.

That's not a problem for me. I've started books several times before. The first book I wrote, while the writing sucks terribly and there's a lot of it, has about six different beginnings, because I was never happy with it. That was fiction, and this is non-fiction, but the same principle of starting all over again still applies. In every case, I identified the problem early on.

I won't go into detail on what the book's about, just yet, not until I've actually gotten it underway, but I figured out the standard I want it to meet.

If you've signed up to my website, you'll see a free PDF in the Subscriber Zone. It's about designing a website. Before I posted that, I had also written another document. Again, a secret like the book. The point, though, is that I want the book to be of the same standard as the document. I want it to be a passionate piece about the topic in question, with each chapter addressing different areas of the topic.

The introduction... not quite fitting into that.

I have a bunch of things to do to make this book work, but my first call to action is to actually find my passion for the book. This blog is often how I express a "contract" to myself publicly, and I'm doing it again. By the end of the month, I want to have enough of the book written to be able to tell people I'm writing it. That announcement will be more personal, at first, but the nitty-gritty details will find their way into the open soon after.

I'm all about my big projects, I suppose, and this is one of them. Another big one, another challenge, and something that will be fun to do if I actually put my head down and do it.

So here's my question for you: how do you manage your time to get everything you want to do done?

Smile

When you download Stepping Forward, it puts a smile on my face. This doesn't seem like very much, but imagine what a smile can do.

That smile on my face will be passed on to someone else. Maybe the girl at the shop having a hard time today because she's stuck there while other people come and go as they please. She sees my smile, nothing about it to say anything but 'I'm happy', and it puts a smile on her face. I leave, the smile stays there.

An old man walks up to pay for his bread and his milk. He sees her smile and decides to pick up a chocolate bar for the grandson he has coming over. He smiles as he walks out of the shop, goes home and waits for his daughter to arrive with his grandson. He smiles when he sees them, hands over the chocolate bar with a childish grin on his face and watches as mother and son start to smile.

She brings her son to the park, where he shares his chocolate bar with other children there. They walk back to their mothers smiling, all of them filled with sugar, and four couples of mothers and children walk off to run their errands.

In every shop, the children are happy and smiling and the mothers are happy for seeing them that way. Everyone smiles: there's nothing like a smiling child to make people happy. The innocence of it, and the excitement at being out and about, rubs off on the shopkeepers.

They continue serving customers long after the children have been brought away, passing along the smile to every person they meet. When they go on a lunch break, they go back to that first shop, pass on the smile again, and make sure that someone's day is a little bit better.

It all starts with one little thing: downloading my ebook for free. And remember, when you go out today, to smile.

After a few days...

So, I started NaNoWriMo. It was originally my intent to pull out of the competition, but Bliss got the better of me. I'm now over 7000 words into the novel (added onto what I wrote during the summer - only a slight cheat in picking the same novel!) and, thankfully, less than 13K behind what I should be on. I have time to write this weekend, since I don't have anything I need to do any of my college work, and I have a rough plan. More importantly, I know where the novel is going outside of this rough plan, which has been ignored for the most part up to this point anyway.

The novel has taken on greater depths since I started writing it. For a start, the characters are a little more believable, there are more of them (the original plan called for four characters; I now have seven main characters) and they have more interesting stories behind them. Braddock is trying not to follow in his father's footsteps, while also trying to make himself known in the scientific world; Lyo is trying to start a family after leaving her own behind to marry Braddock; Alastair is trying to prove himself as a scientist in a city that praises Braddock's family; Michelle is trying to continue the research of her late parents into solar and nuclear energy; Andy is trying to prove himself to his community; Bliss is trying to find her place in whatever world she ends up in; and the Mother Muse is trying to give the world her greatest gifts, through a warped sense of delivery.

Add to that the ecological and ethical issues that various characters face, the struggle of faith in the world, and the impending desecration of a world without love, and you've got Bliss. I was proud of my ability to actually plot the novel, initially; the first plan was based on the singles of Muse played in order. That has, obviously, changed, since most of the elements of that plan no longer make sense: Lyo wasn't part of it then, and she's important now. That's what I'm more proud of: actually altering my novel to write something worth reading, something more creative than the novelization of twenty four singles.

I have a lot of work ahead of me, though. As much as I love the novel, it will require a lot of perseverance to actually write 50K in 20 days. 30 is difficult enough! However, I think I've already beaten my fail of a 2010 attempt, so that's a plus.

Building on my Camp NaNoWriMo experience is definitely the only way I'm going to get this done. I have to take advantage of the fact that I get into college about two hours before lectures, bring my laptop in every day with my charger and my plan that I will ignore, and block out all sound with music for at least an hour. Every day I have Drama or a workshop, I have to stay behind in college, anyway. At lunch time, I will go to the library and get my assignments done. There are only three for the main modules left, so that won't be too bad.

The real problem is this teaching programme we have to do in college. That'll take up a lot of time, I think. Especially since I can't find anything about the assignment we're expected to do. No deadline date, no details on what we're actually supposed to do, nothing.

Can I scream? I think I'm going to scream. Or drink tea.

Anyway, back to the novel. After a few days, I'm well under way to getting this done. If I'd started at the right time, I wouldn't be in any trouble. With So much to write before I'm even caught up, I have to write an average of 2250 words per day to finish on time. Otherwise, at the rate NaNoWriMo think I'm writing (as in, if I'm writing from day 1), I'll finish in January.

That feature is always fun for me. The more I write, the closer than date gets. It makes it look like I'm doing a lot more work when an hour of writing knocks off a month of time it should take for me to finish.

Anyway, my plan is to just keep on writing. I want to finish, mostly because I wanted to finish the book before Christmas anyway, and partially because I want to get the five free copies CreateSpace are offering to winners. I love incentive, I really do.

I'll still be writing my pep talks - Week 3 is the week people hate their novels and feel like giving up - but I'll have to focus a lot more time on writing fiction. If I can catch up, I'll also have to write a short story for something in college. There's a day of NaNo gone out the window! I might write it on my way to Croagh Patrick on Wednesday.

Only a few hours before I can get back to writing Bliss. It's going to seem like such a long time...

PS You can track my progress here.

Clubs and Socs 2011

Today, the first years got their first taste at Clubs and Societies at my college, though there was a lot less space than usual. They recently renovated the canteen to separate it from the entrance, but that's given us a lot less room to put up tables and whatnot. We made do with what we had, and though it was a little squashed, we got by with it.

While the first years got to have a look at a lot of the older societies, like the soccer team, the GAA team, the Trad Soc (I think it was there again, this year!) and the History Soc, I was one of the people to set up a new society: a Writers' Soc. The apostrophe is intentional: this isn't just a society of writers, it's the society owned by writers. On the list of new societies this year, I was joined by: the Dancing Society, the Running Club, and the Tea Society. Yes, tea. They want to get people together to drink tea. Plain and simple.

I was in a tiny little table in the corner of the room with the Drama Soc representative (Pinkie). We competed over sign-ups, even though we're both on the Drama Soc and we're both running the Writers' Soc. We started a trend of people putting posters up behind us on the glass, while I shouted things like "We're cooler than we look!" See, I can act.

The fun part was when one of the new first years came up and said "I was hoping one of these would be set up", and proceeded to sign-up for the Writers' Soc. Fantastic.

Of course, a lot of people were curious about the Writers' Soc. We're new, it's understandable. We didn't even have anything to show them to say how frickin' awesome we really were, except for our plans for the society. I say we... I mean me. Like I said: competing with Pinkie. Everyone got the same answer:

• We're going to put together a book of short stories and poetry by the students of the college
• We're going to (hopefully) organise workshops for students
• We're going on museum* visits
• We're going to run a competition or two
• We're going to set up an online magazine

The latter will be free. Entirely. The only thing it will require, aside from articles, is the time involved to run it and write it. I'll be setting it up on Wordpress, which will also help to show people how easy it is to do something like that themselves. I was considering an ad-based magazine, but that would be too tricky and it would mean adding to our already tight budget.

On that note, I spent last night and today emailing printers and museums for prices. I found a couple of printers in Ireland that I liked, but so far the cost of them is too high. The museums are also cheaper than I first anticipated, so that will be of a huge help to us in our budget. While I have no doubt that the Student Union will support a new society with absolutely nothing to show for itself, there's also a sense of having to be realistic about this: the soccer team need new jerseys (and have needed them for years), the Gaelic players keep stealing the jerseys they use, the History Soc wants to organise a potentially expensive trip and there are two other new societies this year that may or may not require a lot of money. Drama always needs enough for costumes, ISDA membership and stage requirements, and transport (of the set, cast and crew). The budget for everyone will be tight.

Hopefully, we're not asking for too much. I'd like to have a college-specific workshop, rather than go for free open-to-the-public workshops. I will need to inquire about what happens if our book actually makes a profit when it's printed, of course. Will we get to use that money ourselves for the society? Will it help us next year when we look for (at least) the same amount of funding? I would like to think so. Thankfully, the enthusiasm of the writers who really wanted to join the society seems to be a display of real interest in making it all work.

* Okay, time for a silly little mistake I made. You'll notice it's beside the word 'museum'. Somehow, I managed to spell it wrong on my little sheet to say what we're doing in the society. A lecturer pointed it out. I can spell museum. I always spell it correctly when I type. But I hand-wrote it, and suddenly my inner-editor went into NaNoWriMo mode and I didn't seem to care enough (at eleven at night) about correct spelling. So I messed it up (just the 'e' and 'u' the wrong way around). All I can say is... oops.

I'm really looking forward to getting this society going properly. Once I have the budget submitted, I'll be calling a get-together type meeting to see what people want to do, where their interests lie, and generally get to know them. My experience is that writers are awesome people, and that's not meant to be self-flattering. Every writer I've met has been interesting, relatively easy to get along with and they tend not to shy away from my somewhat confusing eccentricities. Would it be too weird to wear my Pizza John Green or NERD t-shirts to the first meeting?

One thing I can mention, of course, is that I have a lot of experience in this field. While I may not have a novel published, I have written a lot. I also set up an online writers' group when I was sixteen, which later produced a book of short stories for charity. I edited a poetry book for charity. I've been keeping a blog for over three years and I just launched a website. This is pretty much the type of things the society needs to launch properly: a neurotic, writing-obsessed oddball like myself. Yes, I realise that may sound like a weird way to describe myself, but you know what: I embrace this weirdness. Hopefully it'll help a few people follow their writing dreams!

A Pottermore Experience

I've spent a bit of time on Pottermore today, after I was given the go-ahead to enter yesterday. At first, I was unimpressed. Actually, that's the understatement of the century: Pottermore sucks when you first enter. You have no wand, no house, nothing to do and no one to talk to, and it's all very boring. The only thing to do is to follow the story and read about a few different things, but otherwise it's the most useless thing in the world.

Nothing at all good happens until you reach Diagon Alley and get to buy some things. You follow Harry's buying path, meaning the wand is last. The wand is the first thing that makes Pottermore fun, to be honest. Following a series of questions, I was assigned my official wand of wizardry: ten and three-quarter inches, alder, slightly springy and with a unicorn core. I was really rather happy about this. There's more info on the Pottermore site about the different cores and woods used, and for the first time the website adds something extra to the Harry Potter world: detailed information on the very basic tool all witches and wizards carry with them, and a first-time glance at some of the secrets behind their maker.

Once you visit Diagon Alley, you're also able to brew potions. My advice: use the free test run to give it a try, but then wait until later when potions will earn you house points. I don't know whether or not the potions you make before house assignment (if you can even do it!) will count towards your score.

Come Chapter Seven, you get into a house. Again, questions are asked and it's a little more interactive again. Plus, you know, you get into a house. Nevermind the questions: now you can boast about being in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, cause panic about being in Slytherin or hide the fact that you're in Hufflpuff (kidding!). What house am I in?

Um... rawr?

So, I'm in Gryffindor. It's fun knowing that, and while it doesn't change the experience of Pottermore, suddenly I'm a part of something bigger than just myself along on this little island in the midst of the seemingly great Pottermore. Also, you know, Dumbledore was in that house and he's friggin' awesome. (Along with Harry and whatnot... but let's face it, Hermione and Neville really are the best people in the house!)

What I have yet to experience is a wizardry duel, and with a lack of any lessons on how to do this I remain pulled back into the story. I'm enjoying the idea of reading along to the "moments" in the book that are highlighted on the website, so it'll take me a while to get through it all, but it's allowed me to rediscover the wonderful storytelling in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It's not just the magic: there is genuine humour in this book that I might have missed as an excited child waiting for the climax and possibly skipping sentences to get through the book quicker.

That's what Pottermore really has to offer for older fans, like myself: a chance to rediscover the books, if they're put them down for a few years (yes, years!)

The website doesn't open to the public officially until October, so it's still in the Beta testing stage. But it will be worth it, in a way, when people start flooding in. Just be a little patient in the beginning: it will be boring, but  it gets better. The novelty of wands and houses really does add to the excitement a bit. Also, I've got this lovely boil removal potion brewing at the moment. It requires my attention, soon. When I discover some more of the magic of Pottermore - and I hope it doesn't end at novelty - I'll add a brand new post for that. And who knows, mayhaps I'll make some friends on the site!

Review - The Great Gatsby

Back when I was in first year of college and infinitesimally younger, our lecturer put F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby on our course for us to read. Now, I do my best with college reading material, but there's something about being told to read a book but there being no obligation to read the book that just puts me off it entirely. I tried to read the book, and failed miserably. Then John Green decided people should read it, and suddenly I had an interest. I think that says more about my willingness to follow up on a recommendation of a book than it does about my interest in college.

Anyway, by far the biggest highlight of the reading of the book - aside from finally doing what I'd set out to do before, and failed - was to discuss the book with John Green. He made a video talking about the first chapter, and I seized upon the opportunity to answer his question about Gatsby's 'American Dream'. More on that at the end of the post in a "spoiler" zone. Until then: the review!

So, what did you think of the book when you finally got around to reading it?
I was honestly and pleasantly surprised by how funny it was. I think a major problem with the great classics in literature is that many of them are portrayed as exactly that: great and classic. Classic implies age, and age reminds us of our grandparents laughing at stories that are only funny to them and no one else. But this, while being a "classic" was nothing at all like that. The humour was full of wit and intelligence that seemed like a product of the great modern minds, not just in books but on television in talk shows and the like (Stephen Fry immediately comes to mind.)

Beyond that, there was also a great story to fill a relatively short book. There were characters of varying complexity, scenes of places that, while being dated, felt right when I read them and relationships that were imagined perfectly. It was an old book, yes, but a story that can still be read today. (In fairness to it, actually, it's not even ninety years old. If I'm half as interesting at that age I'd be delighted! If I aged as slowly as the book, too, even better.)

What's your favourite aspect of this book?
I don't know whether this is because John Green recommended it or whether I just noticed it, but I like how there was a clear comparison between The Great Gatsby and Paper Towns; in each book, the characters all mis-imagined people expertly, so that Gatsby was a whole number of different things and only some of that true, like Margo was a different person according to everyone else. How we imagine people complexly and how we get it wrong is by far one of the most interesting messages that I can take from the book (both of them, actually). It's a book that can teach us a lot about not only fiction but the people who surround us, too.

Who would you recommend this book to?
If you like John Green, this is a good book to pick up next. The humour is similar (if a little older) and the style of writing is different, but the messages in the book are familiar and worth picking up. For lovers of American literature, for people who like to read the classics, for people considering studying English in university and for people who love good stories and/or strong messages in books, this is for you. It's a fantastic book and once you get into it you'll fall in love with it. Unfortunately, it's only nine chapters long, so it'll be a short lived romance. Some of the best ones always are.

The "spoiler" section, featuring the comments on The Great Gatsby

I apologise for turning all English-student on you, but this is actually what I said in the comments section of John's video. I'm such an incredible nerd sometimes.
 

Me: It seems to me that the continuing search for wealth and monetary success is surrounded not only in a growing sadness, but in a mixed sense of morality (seen clearly in Tom's mistress in New York). Daisy and Tom are rich, young and good looking, they have a beautiful little girl, and neither one is happy. Combine that observation with the snobbery about East and West Egg and we see that all they value in the Great American Dream is wealth and not the happy lives meant to go with it.

John: I agree with everything you say here: Somehow we've managed to divorce success from happiness, which leads to a larger question: Is being happy the goal of being alive? Or is there some greater goal? And is the greater goal served by the ambition to wealth and luxury? (I think this is not such a clear-cut question, and I think Gatsby explores the question in all its complexity.)

Me: I think we can imagine that Gatsby's American Dream changes throughout the novel. He's achieved what he first set out to do - getting wealth by any, even scrupulous, means - only to find that he wants to be happy. He hopes to use his wealth to get the girl he loves. Maybe one of his greatest flaws is not realising that he can have happiness in being honest (demonstrated by his friendship with Carraway) rather than trying to prove his worth by the value of his house.

And with that, I bid you adieu. I have a website to work on and articles to write for The Phantom Zone.

Review - Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

A while ago, there was a film called Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. It starred Michael Cera, it was hilarious and it made me want to read the graphic novels that it was based on. I didn't know then that I would enjoy them so much, or that the six graphic novels were made into one film - that was kind of a bummer, because I really wanted to up my dosage of Pilgrim. Still, I've only read one of the graphic novels, so I have five more to keep me amused. As always, start with volume one: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.

It's in these pages that we first encounter Scott, his Rating (note: I will probably end up giving everyone I know a Rating if I get really, really bored) of Awesome and the two girls he dates: Knives Chou and Ramona Flowers. And, you know, the League of Evil Exes. They're sort of the bad guys. Basically, if he doesn't defeat Ramona's seven evil exes, he can't date her. And by defeat, I mean in a battle to the death. And they're weeeiiird.

What did you think of the graphic novel?
I don't think the word hilarious even does it justice. I would have to give it a rating of Awesome for being so funny, easy to read and bringing me back to the days when I would play computer games all day (wait... I still do that...). Also, seeing as Scott lives with his gay friend who owns everything of value in their apartment, it makes me feel better about my current living situation (the smallest room in the house, living with my parents... my windows froze over on the inside on Christmas morning!)

Also, the series is set in the magical land of Canadia. Love it!

How do the characters compare to others you've encountered?
Scott is unlike anyone I've ever read about. He's hopeless at relationships, mostly clueless, but he plays bass and can kick just about anyone's butt. Ramona reminds me of Margo Roth Spiegelman, except she's somehow cooler. Also, she skates through an interspace highway. That's awesome.

How does the book compare to everything else...ever?
Considering its size, it packs a mighty punch. Yes, there are mighty works of literature that speak a whole lot more about wider subjects, but nothing quite tells a love story in video game format via graphic novel like the Scott Pilgrim books. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a book like these ones. And I work in a bookshop.

What did you think of the film adaptation?
Based on my reading of volume one, I can say easily that the film sticks fairly closely to the books. Most of the same lines are used, the actors cast look remarkably like the drawings and they deliver the comedy and the heart of the graphic novels perfectly! As far as adaptations go, it was one of the best I've ever seen (and I've done modules in college where we look at the original text and compare it to the adaptation!). As a film by itself, it was still brilliant. Neither of my brothers read the graphic novels and they still loved the film. It has its own unique, quirky charm that you just don't get in most films. And I go to the cinema almost every week, so I'm fairly sure of myself when I make that claim!

Who would you recommend this too?
People who like graphic novels are obviously the first people I would suggest this to if they haven't already read it. Aside from that, teenagers and young adults who like a good laugh when they're reading will enjoy this if they can get over the fact that it's a comic. Anyone who enjoyed the film is bound to like the book, too. It's an easy read, not too long and given they're only published in paperback, it's fairly cheap, too!

What's next?
Well, I have to write twenty three thousand words over the next four days, so I won't have a new review until next week. I do have books lined up to review, though, so there shouldn't be many/any delays in getting it online. If you're wondering what the writing is all about, it's Camp NaNoWriMo. I stopped writing for a while, so now I have to play catch up to finish the challenge. I'll be writing this book at a fast pace until it's finished, too, so people who are used to seeing me online a lot may not have the pleasure of my company. Or the displeasure... let's be fair, not everyone likes me (of those, most just don't know me very well). So, until next time (hopefully my victory blog post on Sunday!), happy reading!

Review - Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes

Remember Maureen Johnson? She's that author I quoted in my last review who said hilarious things. Up until recently, I referred to her as 'my favourite author whose books I hadn't read.' Not anymore. I took a risk (admittedly, a very low risk...) at buying one of her books, Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, at the end of May, and I read it very recently. What can I say? I was missing out.

What did you think of the book?
First of all: I loved the concept of the story. I don't have a mad aunt who sends me all around the world with very little instructions to guide me along the way, and rules that stop me bringing guide books, money or anything else that might be useful going across continents and oceans. Second of all: I loved the characters. Ginny was a great protagonist. She was friendly, she was funny and best of all: she was ridiculously bad at being a popular girl stereotype and everyone still liked her. I loved the ensemble of new and weird people entering her life, the mad little ideas her aunt had, the opportunistic letters and the feeling of everything needing to work out for Ginny, from a reader's perspective.

How does it compare to other books you've read?
If I am being perfectly honest - which I aim to be in my reviews - the only other books close to this one that I've read are those by John Green (er...all of his novels that hit the shelves) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Johnson wrote a book that was much more light-hearted than Green does. This isn't to say either one of them is better than the other; rather, the happy feelings you get from Johnson's book are marred by much less sadness (especially when you compare it to Looking For Alaska, which made me an awful lot more.) Yes, you read that bracket right: more.

More? What do you mean more?
Let's be clear: a book that is only filled with happiness, with laughter, with strange people, can be good, but not great. To be great, the book has to inspire a lot more emotions from the spectrum. I laughed a lot while reading this book, but it does have its sad moments. On top of that, you really want Ginny to succeed in whatever she thinks her quest is. Oddly, you don't necessarily want her to ever go home, even when she first arrives scared and lonely in London. This would ruin the story, but aside from that you just want her to keep following through with the quest her aunt sent her on.

What was your favourite quirky moment?
My experience of Maureen Johnson is that she's a little bit quirky. If you saw her commentary on the Royal Wedding, or if you looked at my last review, or if you follow her on Twitter, you'll know this is definitely an understatement. So, I'll attempt to keep this spoiler free, but I definitely have to say that the play she made up for the book is definitely one of my favourite quirky moments in the book. Maybe not the best play in the world, but definitely good for what it is.

Who would you recommend this book to?
If you like young adult literature, the works of John Green and/or travel fiction, this is a good for you. It's funny, heart-warming and that little bit of delightful that every reader needs every once in a while. The characters are likeable, weird and interesting, the plot equally so. I couldn't put it down.

What next?
Well, I have another Maureen Johnson book to read, but not quite yet. Next week we've got another triple-set of reviews (compensating for the lack of reviews this summer) and I've got to write a helluva lot of fiction. Also, I think I want to travel everywhere now. Thanks Maureen, my bank account and job will love you for this... I may have to postpone it for a little while. And I don't think I'll be following Ginny's aunt's rules - I need money and guidebooks and stuff when I'm going anywhere. (Seriously, I once got lost on the way home, but that's a tale for another day...)

A Life of Its Own

Earlier this evening I allowed my brain to decide what I was going to write, rather than writing what I had been writing all summer. It chose to write Bliss. I've had the idea for Bliss for about two years now, and when I started writing it today, it decided it was going to be a bit different than I'd planned.

See, originally it was going to be just a simple story of cross-dimensionality, neuro-transmission, androids and love - sometimes all at the same time - and now its taken on new characteristics. Without meaning to, I introduced an eco-system of poisonous cloud and venomous journalists, made a society of long-living archetypes of perfect humans, and gave my protagonist a wife who is more than just a bossy bitch as I'd originally planned. Now she's a hot blonde model. Who cares about stuff. Who thinks. She's actually amazing. For now.

The reason I'm writing this, of course, is as a warning for people who think they decide what goes into the book in the end. No, as writers we're just the people who have developed typing skills and whose brains act as the hyper-dimensional gateway for ideas to make it from the Realm of Forms into the world we live in. Essentially, I'm my book's bitch, if you want to get ghetto about it all.

But it's not just the book that takes control of the final product, and that's where this gets serious. When entering the world of publishing, first time novelists will be astonished to find out that someone wants them to change their book. Yes, it's true. There are these people called Editors who, if they existed alongside God, would have made sure things ran smoothly before we were release into the world.

Using the all powerful Red Pen, the Editors are what get a book from the submitted draft to the book on the shelves, and its entirely out of the hands of the writer. Well, they still have to do all the work the Editors suggest - and they're quite pushy, so really it's an order, not a suggestion - but they don't get to put their foot down. If they do, they generally do it without a publishing contract. C'est la vie.

Anyway, midnight is staring at me. It's giving me a threatening look, like it knows I should really be in bed by then if I want to do anything productive tomorrow. With 3440 words written on Bliss - just tonight - I think I should be able to manage Camp NaNoWriMo. I hope this book doesn't decide to take control and shut down...