<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p>The dog's unwell and I'm still crippled with arthritis and the after effects of Angie's gramophone, the one aggravating the other, and I find it difficult to walk further than 100 yards. Notwithstanding that, we left Max at home and shot into Rochdale for some shopping. This means Her Indoors wanted my credit card to hand so she could see how far the plastic would stretch.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Mumbling and muttering my way round the shopping mall, while Ma'am went into Ethel Austin to daydream about getting back into a size 8, I broke the rule of a lifetime and wandered into HMV. <em>(I was aiming for WHSmith, but turned too early.)</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I'm very hard of hearing. The only time my ears work properly is when someone says, "hey up, DW, you've dropped a shilling." At all other times, they're shut to the world around me. Even so, I cannot abide the racket that pours from the speakers in HMV, so I don't go into there, but I did yesterday.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Since I'd already wandered into a cacophony of noise <em>(I find it hard to believe that this racket is based on the same either notes as used by Mozart, Beethoven, Pink Floyd)</em> I thought I might as well look through the DVDs. I was actually looking for a rare BBC comedy entitled <em>Heartburn Hotel</em>. For some reason Auntie has chosen not to issue it on DVD yet and it's over 10 years old.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Obviously, I didn't find it, but I did stumble upon a copy of Woody Allen's <em>Play It Again Sam</em>. For a one-gag movie it's one of Woody's finest in my book, and it was only four quid.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>On my way to the checkout to pay for it, my eyes fell upon another jacket, and I could not believe my luck. For five shiny pound coins, I could possess <em>The Day The Earth Stood Still.</em> Not the cheap and nasty remake with Keanu Reeves and a computer generated Gort, but the original with Michael Rennie playing Klaatu, Patricia Neal as the obligatory fancy piece and 7'7" Lock Martin dressed in a tin suit, playing the robot.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Made in 1951, this thing is not just a classic; it is the epitome of 50's nuclear paranoia. Every sci-fi story and movie dealt with the dangers of nuclear weapons, but this one took it a step further, with aliens popping into Washington to tell us what the rest of the universe would do if we chose to venture out into space with our atomic bombs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>There was no such thing as CGI back then. The movie-makers used black matte to insert their SFX. By those standards the movie is, once again, a classic. The flying saucer, Gort's deadly laser beams and the way everything disappears when they hit, are seamless.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>And the dialogue. Who can forget that immortal line; <em>Klaatu barada nicto</em>? First uttered by Rennie and repeated by Ms Neal, it has become one of the most famous lines in movies. Although we never get a translation, it's not difficult to fathom it and we don't need subtitles. "Hey up, Gort, before you atomise me with your laser beams, your boss, Klaatu, has been shot and he's in a police cell in downtown DC, guarded by hundreds of soldiers, and he needs you to get down there and free him before the shit really hits the fan."</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Although the alien pontificating is a bit OTT at the end, it nevertheless remains an all time great. And Klaatu did get it right, didn't he? When he cut the power to the whole world <em>(except for urgent areas like hospitals, planes in flight, etc.)</em> he made sure he was trapped in a lift with Patricia Neal.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Now that's what I call intelligence.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p>Bit of an eclectic post this.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>First off, they say that English is one of the hardest languages in the world to master ... especially when you're full of ale trying to ask the bus driver for a ticket to Oswaldthwistle.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>But if you think that's tough, try printing it out when it's not your native language. If you want a bit of a laugh, try this site, but be warned, you could be on there for hours.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.engrish.com/">www.engrish.com</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Now to the main thrust of my post.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I've worn hearing aids for about 4 years now, and they're not as efficient as they used to be. It's fine when all I want to do is ignore the Memsahib, but when I ordered a pint of mild and a scotch egg and the barman asked me for &pound;55, I knew it was time to get something done about them. <em>(He wanted &pound;3.55.)</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;Off to audiology I tootled. Can't have the bullhorns on the blink if it's going to cost me money.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I always take a book with me whenever I go to hospitals, doctors, anywhere where I'm likely to have to wait, today was no exception. I took Stephen King's <em>Night Shift</em> a collection of short spooky tales.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Reading the foreword, Mr King detailed how people would ask, "why do you choose to write this horror trash?"&nbsp; His response: "What makes you think I have a choice?"</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>He summed up in so few words what's been going through my mind over the last few weeks.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I've had a look at bloglancing: not for me, I've tried nine ways from Sunday to write short fact and fiction: not for me. I've tried all levels of fiction from ribald comedy to plotless linguistic pyrotechnics on <em>la condition humaine: </em>not for me. I've dabbled with how-to books: not for me. I've had a bash at erotica: not for me <em>(I'd rather be doing it than writing about it.) </em>I even tried romantic fiction once: definitely not for me. Poetry: not for me. As you're probably aware, I'm currently writing a biography and that's not really for me, but a deal is a deal and I can't let Nikki down.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I can knock out the odd shorts packed with sledgehammer humour, like my blog posts, and I can kick out the occasional spot on middle aged health, but in both cases, I can only do it as long as it's personal and allows my idiosyncratic brain to leap here there and everywhere.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I always return to sci-fi and/or horror, often with a vein of humour. They are for me, and thanks to Stephen King, I know why. I have no choice. And like Mr King, I don't write to please anyone other than me, because if I don't like it, I'll have no enthusiasm for it, and that will show through, which in turn means readers won't like it either.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Does this mean I'm doomed to writing unpublished works and truck driving for the rest of my life? No. Chances are I'm gonna lose my licence to drive trucks before much longer. But the bizarre worlds and creatures trying to find a way out of my equally bizarre mind will continue to appear here and on other sites in the hope that one day they'll make it to the bookshelves in Waterstones.&nbsp; <em>(But given their efforts with </em>100 Stories for Haiti<em>, I'm not sure I want my work there.)</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Destined, therefore, to writing this stuff forever, I joined a Facebook group called <em>Music to write by (or something like that).</em> Silence, even when you're as mutt and Jeff as me, is deafening, so I usually need some background music to work with.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I like 60s and 70 stuff, but Abba can be quite distracting when you're trying to work. I can't help thinking about the blonde with the bazookas. So I listen to either classical music or preferably, electronic. Those who read the early draft of <em>Voices</em>, may have spotted my love of Jean Michel Jarre's <em>Oxygene</em>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>One of my favourites combines the two genres.&nbsp; It's Mussorgsky's <em>Pictures At An Exhibition</em>, which I have by the BBC Philharmonic, but this one is an electronic version first put out in 1975, by Isao Tomita. It's abstract enough to let me carry on working, but has the kind of structure I like in music.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>If you want a sample, try this link <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZYUl-ar5BE&amp;playnext_from=TL&amp;videos=6S1dIe6qbfc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZYUl-ar5BE&amp;playnext_from=TL&amp;videos=6S1dIe6qbfc</a> &nbsp;<em>The Great Gate of Kiev</em> is the finale of this suite and signifies the artist's ascent into heaven. I find it a moving piece, but this You Tube clip has been married to some staggering images. Listen to it through headphones for the best effect.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Oh, by the way, the lugplugs needed adjusting to take account of my deteriorating hearing. Now I can't pretend to ignore her anymore.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Observant souls may notice that my profile picture has changed. Even more observant souls may notice that it's a book cover.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="media/images/apad/11_e66ed20c5ba12212.jpg" border="0" width="163" height="245" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Voices </span></strong>is out now in various e-book formats.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Written by, er, me, published by Big Bad Media, it's the tale of Chris Deacon, a college lecturer who survives a terrorist bomb attack only to find himself haunted by demons and voices in his head leading him to a remote part of northern England where he uncovers the terrible ramifications of a Cold War experiment.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Voices is a tale of psychological sci-fi/horror, suitable for adults only.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Available from Smashwords, learn more and read a sample at</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/32024">http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/32024</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em>You cannot escape the voice in your head. Where they lead, you must follow.</em></p>

<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p>Morning all.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>With the preps for Christmas taking up most of your time, I thought I'd pester you again on my latest bustblocker, Voices.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Paperback has been delayed more times than a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Vladivostok and now looks like it will be well into the New Year, so for those of your who fancy a taster you can read a 24-page sample at:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.freado.com/book/8802/voices">http://www.freado.com/book/8802/voices</a></p>

<p>I put this post up once and then removed it. Now I'll have to put it up again. Not only that, but I had decided to pull down the arena post, but a favourable review from Gill reprieved it. This dissatisfaction with my work is probably symptomatic of sitting round the house all day doing nowt but dwell on my aches and pains and the boredom.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I'm working on a project that I intend to serialise. It's an idea I picked up from Trevor's Hotmail and WWC pieces. Having also gathered some networking addresses from a number of sources, including the bloglancing report from Sue, I'm going to see if I can build a following for it.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The theme is well-worn. Time travel. HG Wells did it first, followed by such names as Ike Asimov, using it in many of his shorts, then Dr Who, Michael J Fox and let's not forget Arnie and his <em>Terminator</em> movies. I figured it's time for DW to have a go, so I'm gonna have our hero travel backwards and forwards through time and see what kind of a mess I can make of history, and see if I can make a bigger mess of the future.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The full title is the <em>Amazing &amp; Amorous Adventures of a Time Hopper</em>, which gives you a clue to some of its content. It's not really outrageous, just a little saucy here and there. The first two parts, language and situations cleaned up for Writelink, are on Arena and I'm happy to take any feedback. it's on Arena Book Chapters (Fiction) under the title, <em>Time Hopper.<br /></em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The first in a series that will stretch through 5, possibly 6 or 7 books, sees the beginnings of the battle with Flix, the zombiemaster who during 900 years on the Spirit Plane has been quietly planning his return to life to fulfilling his greatest ambition: immortality defended by a massed army of the undead.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>It's February 1st, 2540, and in the remote research laboratory at Coldmoor Castle, Dr Anders Magnusson and his team have tapped into stasis energy, the very essence of space and time. But amidst the celebrations, something evil takes place. Flix has been waiting for the breakthrough and now that it's here, he takes the opportunity.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>After killing a young soldier, Flix takes over his body and wreaks havoc on this isolated community of scientists and security personnel. Nothing can stop him ... nothing, that is, but Stasis Center Special Agents Mia Nellis and Nick Holt.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Send back through time from the year 3010, Agents Nellis and Holt must meet Flix head on, stop him killing and controlling the bodies of others, and then imprison him in a specially designed energy cell that will seal him away for eternity.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>But in doing so, Mia and Nick must exercise due caution and ensure that they do not change history ... or they may cease to exist.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Stasis Center Book 1: COLDMOOR </strong>is available now as an ebook, price $1.14</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Download it to your Kindle at <a href="http://amzn.to/fMteHj">http://amzn.to/fMteHj</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Available in other formats at <a href="http://bit.ly/eqfSIb">http://bit.ly/eqfSIb</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Or if you prefer it in &pound;GB, it's here <a href="http://amzn.to/gaxGEy">http://amzn.to/gaxGEy</a> at 70p</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>You can also join the Stasis Center community on Facebook. Log in, go to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stasis-Center/180413602003578#%21/pages/Stasis-Center/180413602003578?sk=wall">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stasis-Center/180413602003578#!/pages/Stasis-Center/180413602003578?sk=wall</a> and click the "like" button.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Stasis Center Book 1: <strong>COLDMOOR</strong>. <em>The battle for immortality has begun.</em></p>

<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p>It's "Read an e-book week" over at Smashwords, and for the time being, you can read all of my published titles there, FREE. Yes, free, gratis, for nothing, and not just a 20% sample download, the full burn.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I'm a Yorkshireman and we're not known for our generosity. To me every sixpence is valuable. So have I suddenly lost whatever sense I had?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>And here's another poser for you. Why has this blog been dormant so long?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The two questions are inextricably linked.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Coming up to the New Year I was working on a series of novels under the umbrella title Old Nick &amp; The Countess. Halfway through Book 1 it occurred to me that they were wrong. The theme and format were not working and I had no wish to carry on with them... at least for the time being.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I gave the matter some considerable thought while working on the 100 Stores for Queensland project and eventually I came up with a different idea. Once again, it went through a number of theoretical incarnations before I finally got it right(ish) and the Stasis Center books were born.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Writers are strange creatures and none is stranger than me. Book 1, working title The Dead Web, was already written and stored on the hard drive. Simple enough job to pull it out, reorganise it, and knock it into shape. That took up a good part of January/February and it was only when I'd finished it that I realised it wasn't Book 1 but Book 2. I needed another title to lay the foundation. I spent most of February writing that, again drawing from older material.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I won't go into the premise of Stasis Center here. There's a link to the web page further down. To summarise, they're time-travelling, zombie filled, sci-fi/horror tales with a single, central enemy and a couple of goodies chasing him. They're not specifically YA, but they can be read by anyone from the age of about 13 upwards.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>My original plan was for short, sharp action-packed reads, and the first title, Coldmoor, is exactly that. Less than 45,000 words long, it is all action, choc full of zombies, ghosts, evil doers, good guys trying to sort it out, served with a soupcon of suspicion. It's already been described as a cracking little read and the price is unbelievably cheap: $1.14 (it should have been 99cents but we Europeans have to fork out 15% VAT on the cover price.)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>With Book 1 safely uploaded and beginning to sell, I turned my attention back to what had become book 2: The Dead Web.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>By this time, I'd been reading up on successful e-novels and I learned that the longer works actually do better. This was a surprise to both me and my editor, the incredibly accurate and reasonably tolerant Maureen Vincent-Northam. We're both fans of print, and we thought that short, punchy reads would do better on e-readers. Not so, say the big sellers, and their sales figures back them up.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The result is that The Dead Web, which is coming close to completion, has expanded from its original 40,000 words, to 60,000. None of the action has been sacrificed. In fact, it's been added to. Characterisation has been strengthened and there is more background material.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Book 2 will be followed by Book 3 as is the tendency. Little work has been done on Book 3 (working title Layla's Moon) but it should be with you by the late spring.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>For now, if you're a sci-fi/horror reader, click the link below where you can learn more about Stasis Center, the theme, the novels, and then follow the links to Smashwords where you can pick up Coldmoor and get a taste of what is to come. And if you do that before the end of the week, you can get it for FREE.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The Stasis Center web page is <a href="http://www.dwrob.com/SC1.html">here</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Stasis Center also has its own Facebook page, where you can keep up to date with events and forthcoming titles. When you visit the page, click "like" and updates will post to your Facebook wall. You can find the page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stasis-Center/180413602003578">here</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The Stasis Center novels are not the only titles you can get for free over at Smashwords. My latest major novel, Voices can be found on my Smashwords page, and that's free for the coming week (normal price $3.99) and so, too, can my Spookies mystery, The Man In Black (usually on sale at $2.99).</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>All the titles can be found by following my page at Smashwords <a href="http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dwrob">here</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>When purchasing the books, don't worry that the system is telling you the price. There's a coupon code in the top corner of each book's page. Just look for the "sitewide promotion" link.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Enjoy!</p>