I'd Rather Be ....

I'd spent the morning prevaricating, well, ironing, writing music, cleaning the kitchen floor, anything rather than get on with editing. I hate editing and find I'm so easily distracted by anything, evidenced surely by the fact that I would rather clean the kitchen floor than sit down and get on with it. But I received a slap on the wrist in the form of a National Geographic article (found via a convoluted trawl of the internet, and ultimately the Mail's site, when I should have been working).

The article has some astonishing photographs and video of the Bangladeshi ship breakers yards. Make time, if you will, to watch the video. You'll never feel the need to bemoan your lot again. Among the photographs is an image of some boys working in the yards who claim to be 14. They look to be no older than 8 or 9, some are possibly younger. Yet they are readily employed by the yards for their cheap labour and size - small bodies can squeeze into tight spaces. It's an awful thought, and one that we might have hoped harked back to a less enlightened age. They work among the steel, the asbestos, the gas, the explosions, all to ensure the yards' huge profits. I'll leave you to your own conclusions there.

Anyway, the next time you hear me whinging on about editing, feel free to point out I could be working as a shipbreaker in Bangladesh. I'll go and get on with it right now. No more moaning, or time-wasting I promise. Billy 3 has waited long enough.

K.

Billy and the Carinthean War

I thought it was probably about time I offered an update on the progress of 'Billy and the Carinthean War'. Edits continue - it's a long process, but important, so it can't be rushed. I'm happy to say the artwork for the cover is now, more or less, ready:

Cover artwork for Book Three of the Boldre Wood Trilogy

There's still more artwork for the 'inside' of the book to do, but that shouldn't take much longer. So, Billy Three is getting very close to launch.

If you haven't read Books One and Two, they are on free promotion on Amazon for the rest of today, 17th April 2014, as is the rest of my collection.

K.

GO! Get Your Free Books!

Amazon Time now agrees it's the 16th April! My books are now free to download until Amazon Time says the 17th April has ended!

Happy reading.

K.

Free Promotion

Wait for it! The free promotion hasn't quite started yet. We're operating on Amazon time here, and wherever that is, it's obviously not quite the 16th April yet.

I'll post a GO! as soon as Amazon time catches up with us!

K.

Free Kindle Books Promotion

As promised, a new promotion has been arranged. My books will be available free on Amazon for two days starting tomorrow, 16th April 2014 and finishing the next day, 17th April 2014.

Download away! Tell your friends to download away! Tell your friends' friends to download away!

Enjoy!

K.

J.K.Rowling and the New World of Writing

A writer has criticised J.K.Rowling for continuing to write, suggesting that in doing so, she is taking shelf space from aspiring authors.

I have so much to thank J.K.Rowling for. Through her most famous creation, Harry Potter, she cleared the way for other writers to write new, exciting and thought-provoking stories for the Young Adult market. She showed that writing for young readers can, and should, bridge the gap between fairy tales and adult fiction. Thanks to her, I found the courage to bring the Boldre Wood Trilogy to publication.

Her critic moans about her move into the adult fiction market, saying she should stick to writing children's books (Stick with children's books? They're some of the best books around!). In fact, J.K.Rowling wanted to write her adult fiction under a pen name as she wanted to succeed, not because of her name, but rather because of her writing. Sadly for her, she was found out before she could properly prove her skill as a writer of adult fiction. At least she tried to 'give other writers, and other writing, room to breathe', as her critic requests.

It's a tough business to break into, and aspiring writers do, understandably, sometimes feel envious of those whose work receives huge amounts of publicity and plaudits, but such jealousy should never be expressed beyond the occasional private rant after a long day editing! To lay the blame for ones own lack of success at the door of someone who has expanded the reading world so much is extraordinary. Still, as one comment observes, this particular writer has now earned herself, and her books, considerable free publicity.

K.

It's Not All Fun Being a Writer!

Aaaagh! I hate editing. Sorry for shouting, but on the whole, I'm much happier when writing. Still, progress has been good and I'm happy with how the book is shaping up. I just wish I could wave a wand and all the boring stuff was done.

Thankfully I had a brief respite yesterday when I wrote a short story in answer to a challenge set by Richard. This one was 'Loch Ness Monster'. The resulting story was rather unexpected, but he who fixes the computer has asked me to set it aside for the the third QT Anthology - as yet unnamed - so it will be a little while before it's available for public consumption.

A new promotion for my collected works will be set up shortly. Further updates on that to follow. In the meantime, have a great weekend.
K.