Twitter #FF

Folks to follow on Twitter this week

@writer_s_downes @finalcontext  @OrlaOrlatweets  @zydhockey  @bookplugs @HMCWrite  @_RianaB @DeclanKellyArt  @Karn09  @cinemellon  @DaveGorman  @Andrewrhaworth @AmeliaCarr  @AuthorJude_O @DarkMission1  @Eileenton  @Sihpromatum @ADJoyce_Poet  ‏@ReadingWriters

http://stevedownesauthor.webs.com/ website up and running

 

Snippet Chapter 4 Cosmongonic Marbles

 From Chapter 4 of http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmogonic-Marbles-Botolf-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00E2SB1P4

Brian the Chief Tithing Man of Acerii was hung-over; he was very hung-over, very very hung-over.  He would have thought of some better synonyms but his head was too sore and he was sure that if he looked left or right at any stage he would throw up immediately.  Last night had been the feast of Mabon (celebrating harvest, death of the Sun God, a day of magic due to the rare balance of light and dark, a time for thanks and learning) and the adults of the village, those over the age of twelve, had really tied one on.  The night previous had been the feast of Naloc which celebrated the washing of old people against their will, Tuesday had been the Holy Day of Turnips and the Sunday through Monday before was the fifth cataract of the Little God of Drunks.  It had been a tough week, thought Brian, and this is the off-season, wait ‘til the winter festivities kick in.

             Brian’s hangover detected a noise somewhere outside the circular wall of the amphitheatre; the children were wide awake and up to no good as usual.  With a normal hangover he would chase after them and get them back to their odd-jobs, a lash of a soft ash stick across the hamstrings or a fling of a small turnip (not on the holy day of course) would usually do the trick, but today he didn’t care what they did.  Brian just wanted to live through the next second … and the next one … concentrate now … here comes the next one …

Animal Rescue

LittleHill Animal Rescue & Sanctuary have just completed Operation Hen Rescue, and have taken more than 6,000
15-month-old battery hens from the slaughter truck. We are desperately seeking new homes for the remaining 1400 or so hens - if anyone could give a home to these gorgeous girls, who have lived their whole lives in tiny cages, we would love to hear from you.We only have until Friday to save them. Thanks! Their contact number is 087 6029224. Yvette

Snippet From Cosmogonic Marbles

 From Chapter 3 ... 

He eyed 27 Oakridge Drive with its overgrown garden and closed curtains one last time then turned to slip away, as best he could dressed as a cartoon villain, into the brightening day.  Unfortunately Philip Philips was standing right behind him with a scorching hot teapot which he thrust into the Dark Stranger’s groin. 

“Tea?” he said calmly as the Dark Stranger folded nicely to the ground in agony.

“When you’ve picked yourself up,” Philip continued, “perhaps you can come in and have a cup and explain which debt collection agency has sent you, and why you’ve been following me around for the last four nights.” 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmogonic-Marbles-Botolf-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00E2SB1P4 

The Pagan Field (poem)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Pagan-Field-ebook/dp/B00F395DAU

Poem from the Pagan Field (the title poem) now free to read on Poemhunter

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-pagan-field/

It's Follow Friday on Twitter

Folks to Follow Full List:

@Karn09 @CrickChris @denzelweidner @Moonlight_Quill @ADJoyce_Poet @NYCTheatreNews @AuthorJude_O @hotpinkbooks @BlakelyBennett @zydhockey @CJWrightBooks @Moxiah @itsallgood_78 @claire_mcq  @CWArtistsWay @THOUGHTScafe @DarkMission1 @MorgansPhoenix @yuribeans  @bookplugs

enjoyed the chat with these good people this week 

The Pagan Field (on Amazon)

The Pagan Field, first Printed 1996.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Pagan-Field-ebook/dp/B00F395DAU

very cool little thing on Poemhunter site a PDF e-book of everything I've posted there, have a look 

http://www.poemhunter.com/i/ebooks/pdf/steve_downes_2013_9.pdf

Twitter

Here’s my Twitter #FF ’s for this week, link up with these good folk: @MorgansPhoenix @CJWrightBooks @yuribeans @BlakelyBennett @bookplugs @robertbevan77 @ajhmurray @Karn09 @susanabagwash @EverGrace @RealmTheatre @ArabellaPoetry @ADJoyce_Poet @Moxiah @james_kafka @TheDotBooks @SpiritChildChgo @zydhockey @Moonlight_Quill @itsallgood_78

Reviews

Review of Cosmogonic Marbles By Tony Fitzsimmons
Simply put, if you like your kicks on the surreal side, look no further. This title would sit comfortably with many in the Pratchett collection, and at times (usually after spilling my coffee over the sofa, sides split) was left wondering if It wasn't a hidden Adams'.
The characters fizzed with energy, thanks to some wonderfully anarchic prose.
By God, they do make 'em like they used to!
Bring on the sequels!

Review of Cosmogonic Marbles By Brendan Keogh
Can I play with Madness? Apparently so. An extremely entertaining read full of genuine surprises. I was, until about a third of the way through, unsure if the author had discovered a way to distil madness and form it into prose. I'm now reasonably sure he meant it that way but I'll need to read the sequels to be certain. The characters have depth and the storyline weaves together quite nicely without ever allowing you the comfort of seeing it coming.

To E Publish or not to E Publish

Electronic Books: The Future Is Now

When I starting writing back in the stone-age of the early 1990’s the idea of getting your work in print represented a Holy Grail for most writers in Ireland.  If you were lucky enough to get a poem or a story into a magazine you could be sure of reaching a few thousand but maybe only a few hundred readers.  Today, things have changed beyond all recognition. Just as the Guttenberg Bible revolutionised printing and mass media, now eBooks have not just altered the game they’ve torn up the rules and started a new phase in how we read. 

Writers from the days of print-only publications are still running to catch up with this new technology. Young authors are fortunate that they are now born into a vast international web of communication, where their work can be seen instantly from Dublin to Dubai.  When I decided to follow my life-long dream and write a series of novels in the style of my literary hero, the late, great, Douglas Adams, it was a no-brainer to take part in the new eRevolution.  I never even looked for a print publisher; instead of reaching a few hundred people wandering into a book shop in Dublin I can now reach potentially millions across the globe.  Only a few years ago eBooks were regarded by the writing community as ‘vanity publishing’ and a lesser cousin of print.  Now, with eReaders becoming the standard way that people are accessing fiction and the first eBook millionaire authors proving its success, this isn’t the dreaded future that some publishers feared, it is the glorious present that writers like myself have dreamed of for years. 

There must be something in the air that Ireland produces more poets and writers per square mile than any other country in the world.  E-technology isn’t going to change that; the talent and writing remain the same.  What has changed is the audience and the ways we sell our work to them.  The audience have become truly international and have replaced the stuffy out-dated critics; every reader has become a reviewer and every good review sells another book.

Although an old romantic like me loves a book shop, no longer are authors’ slaves to the randomness of browsing.  Twitter, Facebook and a myriad of other websites allow each writer to talk directly to their customer. Feedback is now instantaneous.  Twenty years ago if you really liked a book you might tell a friend, now you update your status and the reader becoming the agent, the publisher and the critic with one click of a button. 

My own book, Cosmogonic Marbles, was conceived, born, educated and is currently living happily on the internet for all to see, on Amazon.com.  Like most authors you meet I don’t like to be categorised or pigeonholed, in the old days the bookstore might put Cosmogonic Marbles on the comedy shelf or maybe the history, they might bury it in the sc-fi section where only the bravest dare to thread.  Now the book can have multiple tags. Is it a comedy?  I think the fact that there’s a sarcastic Oak Tree says yes.  Is it fantasy?  Of course it is.  Does it have history? Yes it does.  What age group is it? Click of a button …all ages 8 to 80 (sorry to all 81 year olds!).

Launching a book in the past was a shot-in-the-dark experience; sure you had a book launch, and all of your friends bought a copy. You might do some readings in an Arts centre, maybe the local paper gave you a mention and the book sat on a shelf hoping to catch the eye … it was all well and good but eBooks are more demanding creatures.  Now Cosmogonic Marbles has its own Facebook page (with more friends than me I might add), it has twitter followers, YouTube videos and forum discussion groups.  In short, if you want to be a successful writer nowadays, you have to be multi-media. 

It sounds like hard work, and I won’t lie to you (although as a fiction writer I could), it is. But all this hands-on work has a massive upside – the author has complete control over his/her project. Such a privilege was previously only reserved for major international writers like Stephen King, and even then writers of that calibre have never had the control that the eBook author has now.  For Cosmogonic Marbles I chose my own editors, worked closely with my cover artist Linda J. Cunningham and altered the book after direct feedback from on-line readers (some of whom I’ve never even meet).  

As I embark on the sequel to Cosmogonic Marbles my spirits are soaring for the whole Botolf Chronicles series of books I intend to write over the coming years.  My work (and your work if you’re a budding writer) doesn’t have sit on the dusty shelf hoping that the right customer happens across it.  The right customer has a search engine and is typing in ‘Comedy-Fantasy-Fiction’ and I know they will find, read and hopefully enjoy my work. 

Having published three print books early in my career my work is spanning the rift between print and ePublishing and I can honestly say, I love books and always will, but I’d rather be a writer in the eRevolution.

Steve Downes

New Play

Month Off: Taking a month off writing Tribal Warfare in Hemel Hampstead to work on a play (I've been meaning to write for 3 years now), will post a few sections of it when I have it done. And will also post a few sneak previews of TWHH as soon as the Editors (sic) have had a go at them for the usual Dis-lex--ia! 
...S.