Good afternoon all!
I recently discovered that a book, Twenty Fifteen has been released. I submitted to this a few months ago, at the encouragement of my cousin Seán who's involved in it actively. I have to say, I'm impressed!
I still don't know if I'm in it or not; I have to wait to get my copy of the book from Seán, via his mum, and mine. I can't wait to get it though, regardless of that fact. It's such a great project for him to be part of; it even got the attention of Seamus Heaney, Anne Enright and Sebastian Barry!!
That knowledge only makes me want to be in it even more! Imagine having that on my writer's CV: "Published in Twenty Fifteen alongside a Nobel Prize winner, winners of Irish Book Awards and a winner of a Costa Book Award." Wow!! It looks even better down in text than it sounds in my mind!
I'll keep you updated on whether or not I'm published in the book. I recommend buying it nonetheless. It's for a good cause, Self Help Africa. Only €9.99 and available, as far as I know, through the website (a guarantee) and two bookshops, Borders and Books Unlimited (still unsure about those).
Thanks for reading, and once more, well done to Seán and Co for a great job!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Response to Meet Sam
Hey all!
Ms Ann Marie Dunne, a teacher in my school, St Aidan's CBS, recently finished reading Meet Sam and showing it to all of her grind students. She had a few things to say, not many of them bad.
Firstly, she loved it. Her words, not mine. So far no one has said they didn't like it, which is a good sign! Following up on that, she said, "There are things I would do differently, but I suppose that's the difference being seventeen and thirty five, and being male and female." That was all yesterday as we had a not-so-emotional farewell; we know already that we'll be keeping in touch, and that she's yet to see the end of me in that school.
Earlier today, we had a short chat further about the book. The only real problem she had was the ending. Not the plot, but the way it was told. Up to the last two minutes (the last chapter), the story had been told, but not by me, if you understand. It read like a novel, not like an author telling a story. The last part then, blew it. It's the difference between a publisher/agent saying yes or no as far as I'm concerned. The book changed how it read for a sort of "I'm the author, let me wrap everything up now," kind of way. I agree with her fully!
So, that's one major focus point for me when I'm editting. I have to change that last chapter to make the story rounded, one voice - the earlier one, not the last one.
In relation to the movie, one Samantha Priestley regarded it as being hilarious. Extremely positive feedback considering the age, sex and cultural differences between myself and the movie makers, and Samantha. She's got quite a few years on us, is quite the opposite sex to us, and lives in Sheffield, not Dublin. So it turns out the movie is more diverse than we first thought!
In relation to Samantha, you can find her novel, Despite Losing it on Finkle Street here. It's an amazing book, well worth the read. You won't soon forget it! (word of warning: there are very few copies left, so you need to be quick!)
Ms Ann Marie Dunne, a teacher in my school, St Aidan's CBS, recently finished reading Meet Sam and showing it to all of her grind students. She had a few things to say, not many of them bad.
Firstly, she loved it. Her words, not mine. So far no one has said they didn't like it, which is a good sign! Following up on that, she said, "There are things I would do differently, but I suppose that's the difference being seventeen and thirty five, and being male and female." That was all yesterday as we had a not-so-emotional farewell; we know already that we'll be keeping in touch, and that she's yet to see the end of me in that school.
Earlier today, we had a short chat further about the book. The only real problem she had was the ending. Not the plot, but the way it was told. Up to the last two minutes (the last chapter), the story had been told, but not by me, if you understand. It read like a novel, not like an author telling a story. The last part then, blew it. It's the difference between a publisher/agent saying yes or no as far as I'm concerned. The book changed how it read for a sort of "I'm the author, let me wrap everything up now," kind of way. I agree with her fully!
So, that's one major focus point for me when I'm editting. I have to change that last chapter to make the story rounded, one voice - the earlier one, not the last one.
In relation to the movie, one Samantha Priestley regarded it as being hilarious. Extremely positive feedback considering the age, sex and cultural differences between myself and the movie makers, and Samantha. She's got quite a few years on us, is quite the opposite sex to us, and lives in Sheffield, not Dublin. So it turns out the movie is more diverse than we first thought!
In relation to Samantha, you can find her novel, Despite Losing it on Finkle Street here. It's an amazing book, well worth the read. You won't soon forget it! (word of warning: there are very few copies left, so you need to be quick!)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Meet Sam, The Movie, Part 3 of 3
The grand finale is up! You need to have the volume up a bit. Enjoy!
Meet Sam, The Movie, Part 2 of 3
Well, that was faster than I thought, or slower than Karl thought, but Part 2 has just appeared on Youtube. I encourage the watching of it. =]
Meet Sam, The Movie, Part 1 of 3
Way back in February, my friends Karl, Andrew, Ciarán and Conor decided to make me a birthday present out of my own book, without telling me. The result is a 17 and half minute movie with poor acting and a couple of racist jokes - it's more than I could have asked for! (note: I don't condone the use of racism, the use of it was just hilariously typical of the actor in question)
So, Karl was left with the uploading of the video to the internet for en masse sharing of the masterpiece, and after three months he finally got a five minute, ten second segment up onto the internet.
To follow Karl's uploading progress and watch the first Part of a Three Part series, click this link and enjoy the masterpiece that awaits. Thank you, and good night.
So, Karl was left with the uploading of the video to the internet for en masse sharing of the masterpiece, and after three months he finally got a five minute, ten second segment up onto the internet.
To follow Karl's uploading progress and watch the first Part of a Three Part series, click this link and enjoy the masterpiece that awaits. Thank you, and good night.
Just what Happened with Dark Calling?!
Okay, lots of people have been asking about this on Darren Shan fan sites. Here's what happened.
Dark Calling, Book 9 in the Demonata series by Darren Shan, was released early. It was shipped early, you see, so the shops got it, displayed it, and evidently sold a few copies. Almost immediately after the very early release, it was pulled back. The recall left the bookshops empty of stock, had some fans wondering where it went after their mates got it, and after a bit of thinking from Mr Shan, left the remaining copies as collector's editions.
At the end of the book, there are a stream of words in Italics. I won't say why, only that they're important to the story. It's a thought, a memory, rather than speech. The initial ending was an "in-character" trait, and then there arose a problem. The publishers, by mistake, pasted the line: onclusion, coming October 2010
On the next page is the advert for Hell's Heroes, the final book in the series with the line Don't miss the Earth-shattering conclusion, coming October 2010
There are, as you can see, two mistakes there. Firstly, the word is "conclusion," which is an obvious indication that half-way through a sentance, the word was cut in two, and placed in the main text of the book. This raised the suspicions of readers who had the book - a mysteriously poor ending by Darren Shan? Nonsense!
They also got worried by the 2010 remark. That was also wrong... Here's what happened!
The books were recalled. All of them, mainly. Only 30,000 Hardback copies in the UK survived the recall, with a slip from Harper Collins being slotted into the books with the real text and an apology (from what I've heard.) These books are rare, and as such, valuable. Then there comes the Irish ones! None were left on the shelves, but some were bought. I have one beside me, limited edition, typographical error, one of only a few copies bought, due to the fact that fans weren't aware of the release.
Hell's Heroes is in fact coming out in 2009, on October 1st. It's something fans are dying for; the cover is too tempting to resist buying that book! Hopefully, it won't come out early with a typo....
Sources of reference: Shansters United on Bebo and the May 09 issue of Shanville Monthly
Dark Calling, Book 9 in the Demonata series by Darren Shan, was released early. It was shipped early, you see, so the shops got it, displayed it, and evidently sold a few copies. Almost immediately after the very early release, it was pulled back. The recall left the bookshops empty of stock, had some fans wondering where it went after their mates got it, and after a bit of thinking from Mr Shan, left the remaining copies as collector's editions.
At the end of the book, there are a stream of words in Italics. I won't say why, only that they're important to the story. It's a thought, a memory, rather than speech. The initial ending was an "in-character" trait, and then there arose a problem. The publishers, by mistake, pasted the line: onclusion, coming October 2010
On the next page is the advert for Hell's Heroes, the final book in the series with the line Don't miss the Earth-shattering conclusion, coming October 2010
There are, as you can see, two mistakes there. Firstly, the word is "conclusion," which is an obvious indication that half-way through a sentance, the word was cut in two, and placed in the main text of the book. This raised the suspicions of readers who had the book - a mysteriously poor ending by Darren Shan? Nonsense!
They also got worried by the 2010 remark. That was also wrong... Here's what happened!
The books were recalled. All of them, mainly. Only 30,000 Hardback copies in the UK survived the recall, with a slip from Harper Collins being slotted into the books with the real text and an apology (from what I've heard.) These books are rare, and as such, valuable. Then there comes the Irish ones! None were left on the shelves, but some were bought. I have one beside me, limited edition, typographical error, one of only a few copies bought, due to the fact that fans weren't aware of the release.
Hell's Heroes is in fact coming out in 2009, on October 1st. It's something fans are dying for; the cover is too tempting to resist buying that book! Hopefully, it won't come out early with a typo....
Sources of reference: Shansters United on Bebo and the May 09 issue of Shanville Monthly
Free Time, as Far as I Know
Well, I've been officially without a school for five hours. We were let go today at noon. So, that leaves me all alone in the world. Yes, we can go back for extra classes, and I will, but it won't be my school anymore. It'll be my learning facility. I'll sit my exams there. It'll be my examination centre. I'll have my graduation there, as a venue, and I'll get my results there, as is customary. But I have no school! It's odd... I'm yet to fully realise what this means.
Until August, I won't even know where I'm going in September! I can only prepare as much as possible up to the exams, then pray that it was enough and that there are spaces available in the courses I want to do. But between June 16th and some time in late September (usually) I'll have nothing to do. I'll have free time. I don't even know what that is anymore!
Okay, so I also have more free time now. That's a problem too. What the hell am I supposed to do instead of, say, Religion class, or LCVP? What will I do with those classes where we have no teacher, or with the lunches? TV will get boring very quickly. Books will distract me too long. I have nothing. The magazine used to entertain me, but now it's over. I have nothing...
Speaking of that magazine, I haven't even gotten it back from the printers yet! I don't know what's taking them so long, but they're three days later than I'd have liked them to be. I want to be able to sell it, to enjoy telling people they'd be good writers for it, to encourage a greater culture in my school, and to actually give the poets who submitted to it the reward they deserve - how often in a boys school do you get poetry being written, honestly?
I've had to start thinking about what to do with the summer... here's what I've got:
Until August, I won't even know where I'm going in September! I can only prepare as much as possible up to the exams, then pray that it was enough and that there are spaces available in the courses I want to do. But between June 16th and some time in late September (usually) I'll have nothing to do. I'll have free time. I don't even know what that is anymore!
Okay, so I also have more free time now. That's a problem too. What the hell am I supposed to do instead of, say, Religion class, or LCVP? What will I do with those classes where we have no teacher, or with the lunches? TV will get boring very quickly. Books will distract me too long. I have nothing. The magazine used to entertain me, but now it's over. I have nothing...
Speaking of that magazine, I haven't even gotten it back from the printers yet! I don't know what's taking them so long, but they're three days later than I'd have liked them to be. I want to be able to sell it, to enjoy telling people they'd be good writers for it, to encourage a greater culture in my school, and to actually give the poets who submitted to it the reward they deserve - how often in a boys school do you get poetry being written, honestly?
I've had to start thinking about what to do with the summer... here's what I've got:
- Learn to play the piano
- Go to Barcelona
- Learn to bake
- Edit Meet Sam
- Write What Lurks Through the Mirror
- Write the second Geneticide book
- Plan the top secret Literary Den activity
- Hold a book launch for The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2009
- Get the Literary Den Campaign going on full steam
That may look like a lot, but it's not. Three of those will be night time sort of things, or free time ones. Two take up one day after planning is done. One is based around Karl's schedule. One is entirely planned by my parents. The only two that will actually last long are rather difficult. The Campaign will require loads of work, but only if I can get the full support from my group as well. The baking... well, trial and error I suppose.
If you have any suggestions for me, something I can do without making a total hash of it, please, suggest! I'm desperate!
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