The Dragons Cometh - A Look At The Lost City by Ashleigh Oldfield.

I always get a thrill when Melbourne author Ashleigh Oldfield announces a new book in her steadily growing repertoire and I'm especially pleased to see the long awaited sequel to her 2017 dragon fantasy "Fyrebyrne Island" has finally landed in the laps of her fans. Titled "The Lost City", this second entry in Oldfield's Rachaya series, builds upon the rich mythos from her debut and goes in some really interesting directions that are pleasantly unpredictable. Of course, before I say more, let me give you the guff on Book 2; 

"You play a dangerous game, dragon, you and all your friends. I will not forget that you have spurned my advice and refused to meet with me in parley. You will come to rue this day, of that I can be certain."

Rachaya is well on her way to becoming a fully-fledged dragon and she is determined that when the time comes, she will also be a queen that her people can be proud of. But when dangerous secrets surface from the past, Rachaya realises she is running out of time to help her people return to the fierce, powerful and proud dragons that they once were.

So, as with any second act of a three act play, the objective is to deepen the characters, situations and mythology that have been established. Oldfield has achieved this in spades and has added some really innovative dramatic elements that provide tension and gravitas. Aiming her stories at young adult readers, Oldfield doesn't talk down to them and her writing is really intelligent and thought provoking. It is also tightly woven, with no wasted narrative or unnecessary exposition. Oldfield gets to the point from the get go. There's a great cinematic quality to the story and her visualizations and world building just cry out for a big screen adaptation. There is much here that would translate effortlessly to the screen. 

I guess the only bad point to make about this book is that I now have to wait for Book 3 to see how Ashleigh Oldfield wraps it all up. 

Ash Oldfield & friend at Supanova, Melbourne, 2018.

Ashleigh Oldfield is a fantasy fiction and children’s writer from Melbourne, Australia. Always having a love for the written word, Ash wrote her first stories by moonlight at the tender age of five, long after her parents thought she had gone to bed. To this very day Ash still prefers to write by the light of the moon long after any sensible person has succumbed to sleep. 

with Steve De Niese of The Book Stash podcast.

When she is not working on her latest piece of fiction, Ash enjoys drinking good coffee, taking her dog for walks on the beach and hanging out with her two cats. This year, Ashleigh kicked off a weekly podcast with her husband Steve De Niese. Called "The Book Stash", the podcast is a great little show about reading and writing in which Ashleigh and Steve talk about the craft and what inspires them in the journey. For new writers with an eye to improving their own method, The Book Stash is a must listen. 

The Lost City: Book 2 of the Rachaya Series is out now where good books are sold. 

Buy The Lost City here.

Visit Ashleigh Oldfield here.

Connect with Ashleigh Oldfield here. 

Tweet with Ashleigh here. 

Tweet with The Book Stash here.

The Book Stash is on iTunes here.

DFA.

Conversations Divided by Zero - Author Sheila Deeth

I am pleased to be featuring author Sheila Deeth here this week. We struck up a conversation recently about the influence music has had both in our writing and in our lives more generally and from that, I was eager to explore Sheila's work more and share it here. 

So a little about Sheila first up. She grew up in the UK and has a Bachelors and Masters in mathematics from Cambridge University, England. Now living in the States near Portland Oregon, she enjoys reading, writing, drawing, telling stories and meeting her neighbours  dogs on the green.

Given the various influences that have imprinted themselves onto Sheila, she admitted to me that she doesn't write to the accompaniment of music, unlike myself, though music is an important ingredient in the formation of her characters and stories.

I don’t listen to music while I write. I don’t keep the radio on in the car or play CDs. But the voices of characters I write about are sometimes drowned in song, and I hear the beat and tunes of my son on his guitar.

From there, Shelia extrapolated on the genesis of her musical inspiration. 

My son listens to music all the time and writes it too, but he’s left home and any other melody would make the hole feel bigger I suppose. But music’s always been part of my life. My parents dated at air-raid warden concerts after the war, Mum young and quiet, Dad slightly older, recently returned from prison camp, and definitely shy. They sang opera together and my childhood thrilled to the sound of Dad singing excerpts from the Mikado. When he wasn't singing he’d play favourite records in the living room, classical, opera, and more. He set up extra speakers to our sound system before anyone even called them sound systems. We had music while we cooked and while we ate. 

Having come from a such a background of music then, I was curious to know why it is that Sheila finds it somewhat difficult to listen to music while writing now.

In church I used to have my un-favourite hymns, the ones whose tunes made me think of plodding feet and accusing eyes. I’d sing my own variations under my breath, hoping the choir-mistress couldn't hear. Even now I struggle to sing the right notes to “Now Thank We All Our God.” But my son’s the musician. And my brother. And not me.

That little brother, now a priest, used to compose his own tunes on the piano when we were kids. I didn't tell him but I quietly wrote the words. I still sing some of those songs in my head, sometimes even while writing the words of a novel. 

So why no music playing outside of your own head?

I think it’s because I'm listening to my characters. If they've got the radio on or are playing a CD that’s fine by me, especially since they often seem to like what my guitarist son likes. But I wouldn't want to get the songs confused. I don’t want two tunes vying for my attention as they tell their tale.

I've been told my writing’s sort of musical. If so, I'm glad it’s got a tune of its own. If not, I hope readers might like it anyway, maybe with a CD playing while they read. My characters clearly hope they’ll come back for more since they’re arguing in my head about which novel I'm meant to write next. Their arguments sound like Beethoven symphonies, those endings that never quite finish, that never quite let my fingers get back to the keys. So I’ll go for a walk and hear my son’s guitar on the wind in the trees till they settle down. Meanwhile I'm not listening to music, but my first book’s just come out, the second’s been accepted, and I'm eager to settle down and write the third.

And now to showcase Sheila's latest work, Divide by Zero:

It takes a subdivision to raise a child, and a wealth of threads to weave a tapestry, until one breaks.

Troy, the garage mechanic’s son, loves Lydia, the rich man’s daughter. Amethyst has a remarkable cat and Andrea a curious accent. Old Abigail knows more than anyone else but doesn't speak. And in Paradise Park a middle-aged man keeps watch while autistic Amelia keeps getting lost.

Pastor Bill, at the church of Paradise, tries to mend people. Peter mends cars. But when that fraying thread gives way it might take a child to raise the subdivision—or to mend it.

Divide by Zero is available now from:

Amazon  

Amazon UK 

Barnes and Noble

Powells  

Waterstones 

W. H. Smith

Readers can connect with Sheila here.

DFA.

Taking Time Out With Molly Hacker.

For the first time in a long time, I have been able to partake in the rare opportunity to sit down and read rather than write. I'd forgotten how joyous that actually is. And rather than delve into titles that I would normally lap up, I've taken a different route and have sat down with some really different, yet no less satisfying fare. This week, I am pleased to feature a plucky young woman who has leaped off the page and made an indelible impression on me.


At thirty-two, newspaper reporter Molly Hacker vows to never attend another wedding until she has had her own. And that’s a problem because Molly’s younger sister, Hannah, is going to be married in one year. Armed with snark, wit, and fabulous good looks, “Picky Molly” embarks on a quest to find Mr. Right in her hometown.

Things get complicated fast. In no time at all, Molly has four “men of interest” and the memories of a lost love to send her overanalytic, befuddled mind into serious overdrive. Determined not to let her “helpful” girlfriends help her right out of another relationship, Molly tries to keep mum on the state of her love life. Her BFF male coworker, Randy, becomes her closest confidant as he stumbles over romantic issues with his new Mr. Right, Kyle. Meanwhile, Molly’s BFF gal pals aren’t too happy about being left out of the loop. 


Tweaking Molly’s last nerve is the town’s most visible socialite, Naomi Hall-Benchley, who, for self-serving reasons, is hell-bent on setting up “Picky Molly Hacker” and she doesn’t care who she has to manipulate or hurt to do it. Just how far will she go?


“Molly Hacker Is Too Picky!” takes the reader on a yearlong romp through Molly’s mind and a joyride through her life. Her dating life, town secrets, a group of quirky, crazy characters, and Naomi’s machinations collide head-on at a holiday gala that will change the social landscape of Swansea forever. As the New Year rolls in, Molly gets earth-shattering news. Can she go on? Will life ever return to abnormal again?


I came to Lisette Brodey's "Molly Hacker Is Too Picky" as a sort of stranger in a strange land. After all, I am a man and I feared that the chick-lit-iness of the tome would be beyond me.

I need not have worried. Molly Hacker is an accessible heroine that speaks across genders, laying bare the foibles, the fancies and the philosophy of the human condition when it comes to love.

Molly is an endearing character, full of contradiction. She is smart, sassy and sexy but she's also vulnerable, self reflective, searching for love - even though she might deny it.

Lisette's writing style is immediately accessible. It is smart, cracking with comedy and irony and, through her pen, Lisette paints a vivid picture. Her characters are well drawn and appealing and none are wasted in a taut and attractive story.

I thoroughly enjoyed Molly's trials and tribulations and I have to admit, I'm now hooked on chick-lit just that little bit more (did I say that out loud???).


Molly Hacker Is Too Picky is a feel good must read.

Author Lisette Brodey has an enviable online presence that has been built around her talent as an author but also her nous in social networking. A ardent supporter of emerging talent both in the literary and musical spheres, Lisette - via her Molly Hacker persona - regularly features artists of both persuasions at her official site. Under the banner of the Swansea Herald, Lisette - or should I say - Molly, 'sits down' for one on one chats, showcasing talented individuals, as well as featuring individuals with unique and often, quite courageous stories.





From her bio we find that Lisette was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. After high school, she moved to New York City where she attended Pace University and studied drama. After ten years in New York, several of them working in the radio industry, she moved to Los Angeles, where she held various positions at Paramount Studios in Hollywood and CBS Studio Center in Studio City, CA.

Back in Philadelphia, she worked for many years as a freelance writer, specializing in PR and the entertainment industry. But her heart, it seems has been lost to the West Coast and happily for her, she has returned permanently to the Los Angeles area.

As an author, Lisette's talent and skill is undeniable and her growing list of published titles are as impressive and varied in their subject matter than most authors I have come across. Lisette is not afraid to tackle different genres, complex characters and rich plot lines that walk a different path. Squalor, New Mexico and Crooked Moon stand alongside Molly Hacker Is Too Picky as absorbing titles worthy of addition to your Kindle library.


As a supporter of emerging artists, writers and individuals - Lisette Brodey is a diamond. One of a kind and selfless in her pursuit of helping others gain an audience of their own.


Spend some time with Mo...I mean Lisette - and Molly Hacker. I think you'll agree - they are a pair.


DFA.

Satisfying Shades of Disturbing - A Look At Crude Sunlight by Philip Tucker.

Crude Sunlight by Philip Tucker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane is a grand and terrible building. Abandoned over forty years ago, there now  sound,  in rooms and halls where tortured screams once rung, only the tread of urban explorers as they marvel at its ruined grandeur.

Yet something still resides in its ancient depths.

When his younger brother goes missing Thomas Verkraft takes the opportunity to escape his imploding life in New York City and come to Buffalo to find him. Following a trail of black and white photographs, home made exploration videos, legends and rumors, he tracks Henry down to the doors of the State Asylum.

It's the last building Henry entered before he disappeared.

Accompanied by Julia, his younger brother's tormented ex-girlfriend, Thomas forces himself to walk the same downward spiral that claimed Henry.

But the hunger that Henry awoke has broken stronger men than Thomas, shattered their minds and consumed them whole in the darkness. What hope does Thomas have in the face of such ravening despair?

My Take:

There is something satisfying in finding an author who can tap into the psyche of their protagonists and antagonists in such a way that you find yourself descending into the very realms of those characters minds. You experience their journey in a way that is visceral and satisfyingly so. In such a moodily dark setting as the one that author Philip Tucker has created for his debut novel, it becomes essential to experience rather than simply read.

In Crude Sunlight, Tucker's deliciously disturbing psychological thriller, there is a sense of dread and foreboding that draws you in right away. There is little to comfort you in the complex tableaux that unfolds and this is definitely one of the novels strengths. Tucker succeeds in the horror that he suggests rather than the horror he explicitly portrays. It makes for a more immersive reading experience because we will inevitably find our own imaginations fired by what we deduce from the plot points.

Comparisons to the likes of Silent Hill and The Ring have been made and I think Crude Sunlight stands well alongside those works in as much as Tucker has crafted a similar sort of texture in his writing style. Crude Sunlight is visually stimulating. There are descriptions of black and white, sound and light and texture that instantly remind one of the imagery inherent in those other works - yet Tuckers voice is resoundingly original and fresh.

Tucker's characters too, are well drawn and intriguing. The protagonist, Thomas, is a flawed anti-hero in the beginning, but he is also dogged and as his journey progresses he evolves into a subtle hero who realizes his purpose and becomes determined as a result. I was reminded a little of Rick Deckard - a similar sort of anti-hero from the movie Bladerunner. Like Deckard, Thomas is not immediately likeable, he is plagued by doubts and he flirts with failure often. Julia, the ex-girlfriend of Thomas' missing brother Henry, is also exceedingly well drawn as a conflicted and ambivalent counterpart who possesses a darkness that is revealed gradually.

Crude Sunlight is also a well crafted mystery using clues and red herrings well in keeping the reader guessing as well as invested. So much of what makes the novel work can be derived from this component. The pacing is tight, drawing upon tension and fear and propelling the story forward without laboring too long.

Crude Sunlight is a work that is satisfyingly disturbing and Philip Tucker has every reason to be proud of his debut.

About The Author:

Philip Tucker ascribes his love of writing to a teacher who once told his class, "Don't be a writer if you can stand to be anything else. Go be a carpenter, a business man, a firefighter, whatever. Get out of this gig while you still can".

Philip thought at the time that she was being overly harsh, but ten years down the road and hundreds of thousands of words later, he says that he realizes she was right.

The only reason Tucker writes today is because, in his words, nothing else has worked for him. Not being a mortgage broker on South Beach or a factory worker in Sydney. Brazilian born and British raised, Tucker says that he's since lost his accent, gained a unique world view due to his peripatetic upbringing, and has found that the only thing that regularly ignites his passion is sitting down at his laptop to write.

Philip has a portal at Facebook and you can also read about his exploits at his Amazon page.

DFA.

View all my reviews

I'm Going To Give You My 99 Cents.

I have been giving some thought to the whole 99 cent eBook issue, which has been discussed around the various writing communities. I have been involved in some discussion recently about the issue and I think it's worthy of an opinion from me, as a published author.

I am, admittedly, ambivalent about the notion of this price point.

When I wrote my novel, The Hambledown Dream, I gave little thought to the eBook marketplace and I came into the market having little concept of pricing. I quickly discovered the trend towards pricing works at 99 cents and my initial thought was 'Is this for real?' I poured my heart and my soul into my novel and the market is going to expect me to price it at less than a buck?

Fortunately for me, my publisher Michelle Halket at ireadiwrite and I discussed this at length and we were both loathe to release the novel digitally at such a low price point.

99 cents, whilst being attractive for getting large sales numbers, I believe it runs the risk of cheapening the eBook marketplace as a whole. If you've worked hard and diligently to produce a work that you're proud of, then you have every right to set a price that gives you the maximum potential for reward.

The 99 cent price point actually damages this notion. When I see an eBook listed at any one of the major retailers I instantly equate them to the old dime novels my grandfather used to buy - you know the ones? The western novels that you could (and probably still can) pick up for a couple of bucks off the newsagents shelf. Whilst mildly entertaining, most of these titles were pretty much throwaway reads, lacking in quality and literary merit. It's a shame, because I have picked a number of 99 cent titles and have found them to be excellent works of literature. 

If you have written a solid piece of literature, and I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I regard my novel The Hambledown Dream as a solid piece of literature, then you are doing yourself a disservice by pricing it at 99 cents. It cheapens your brand and by extension your name. It is hard enough in the digital environment, where independent authors are constantly subject to criticism that unfairly compares them on a lower rung to traditionally published authors, without further diluting the quality of works by pricing them so low. Now, there are exceptions to this rule and I think of one right off the bat - the novelette.

Typically, the novelette has a word count of around 15,000 words - significantly less than a standard novel. I think that there is justification in setting the price point lower - even as low as 99 cents - just as long as it's clear the product you are selling is in fact, a novelette. The distinction between products needs to be clear enough so that confusion and by extension arguments can't be allowed to run away. Also, there are occasional promotional opportunities that come up for authors whereby setting the price of a book at a special price of 99 cents for a limited time is acceptable and can assist in raising your profile in the marketplace. I recently participated in such a promotion and it was certainly valuable in attracting readers to my work.  But this has a limited shelf life and I wouldn't encourage authors to do this for an extended period of time.

I don't buy the argument that because the book is not a physical entity then people shouldn't expect to have to pay higher price for it. Sure, it might not have the tactile presence of a paperback or hardcover object - but what you as the reader holds in your hand via your electronic device is a literary experience equal to - perhaps greater than - any other literary experience available. There is an inherent value in this that should not be understated. The medium through which we experience a work is, in my view, irrelevant. That said, I am shrewd enough to realize that the marketplace, at present, does have its own tipping point in terms of what consumers are willing to pay. But they should pay a decent price for a literary work.

I would like to see authors price their works higher across the board. If authors, collectively priced their works higher then I do think the market would cope. There is a high saturation of users out there and I think they would accept a higher base price. I mean, you pay at least $3 for a good cup of coffee don't you - and that cup gives you what - maybe a 5 or 10 minute experience?

My ambivalence on the issue of the 99 cent price point has evolved over time from observing the market and talking with others about there own thoughts on the subject. I think that the marketplace needs to accept high price points from authors who are passionate about their work and believe it stands equally alongside both printed literature and literature produced through the traditional publishing houses. 

I therefore, don't encourage the pricing of literary works in the digital format at 99 cents.


DFA.

Praise For The Hambledown Dream.

I am really pleased by the reviews that are being posted for The Hambledown Dream over at Amazon Books including this from John Rasor, author of "Roadkill" (ireadiwrite Publishing) which he posted there in the past 24 hours.

"The Hambledown Dream is a sexy and wonderful love story with paranormal overtones that are just right. It's the story of two men from different worlds - one dying, the other, dead already - as they come together with a common passion for classical guitar, to save each other's souls and find that love of a lifetime, even death cannot deny.

Dean Mayes has woven an intricate and emotional tale of lives drawn together by fate in his beautiful story and carries it through to the end in a fabulous crescendo that will leave you breathless. To call it a romantic thriller would do it justice, and of course, the journey's the thing as it moves through the tawdry jungle of Chicago's drug infested underbelly to the city of Melbourne, down under, for its emotionally charged climax. Hambledown is a well paced read that keeps you in it the whole way through, and a great read for anyone."

Check out this and other reviews over at Amazon Books.

DFA.

Official Announcement "The Hambledown Dream" Is Officially In Print.

March 11th 2010

Following on from a successful digital launch in January 2010, ireadiwrite Publishing and Dean Mayes are extremely pleased to announce the official release of Dean's break out novel "The Hambledown Dream" in print for the first time.

Dean and Michelle (of ireadiwrite Publishing) have been working tirelessly over the past couple of months to bring this edgy, timeless and romantic story of love, loss, redemption and salvation to the printed page and proud to present the novel in trade paperback.

The Hambledown Dream is available at Amazon's Book Store right now for $19.95(USD) plus shipping.

As Dean and Michelle work together to bring the novel to the attention of major retailers both in the United States and Australia, great reviews and sales are expected. In line with the official release Dean sat down with author Anne Riley to talk about the novel, his inspirations for writing and his hopes for success. Watch her site for that interview in the coming days.

Author and friend, Anne Riley.

# # #

ireadiwrite Publishing is a digital and now print press featuring new writers of literary fiction and poetry across a wide variety of genres. Our books are available in eBook sellers worldwide and in our own online store in multiple, non-DRM formats. The Hambledown Dream is ireadiwrite Publishing's first print project and we hold great hopes for this beautifully crafted novel.

"The Hambledown Dream" by Dean Mayes, now available in print from Amazon Books.

DFA.