I came across an article today about a discovery made while examining the remains of a Viking warrior. It seems DNA testing proves the warrior, buried with all the trappings due a warrior of note, was a female.
It seems the character Jennifer Ellis and I created in 'The Legend of Alfhildr' and the part of the story of how she was discovered is closer to the mark than even Jenny and I suspected.
Dear readers, as a Christmas gift, of sorts, to the fans here and as a way of apologizing to all for being such a turd bucket from time to time when commenting here on TS/BC, I have discounted the price of all Kindle books written by myself and Persephone.
The new price, across the board is 3.99 USD per book, which represents a saving on many of the books of up to fifty percent. They are still not prefect. They are, however, good stories that are unique and far ranging.
There has been a recent flurry of stories concerning the view some feminists have over transsexuals, with Caitlyn Jenner being the touchstone. A recent one, published in the New York Posts tell us more about feminists orthodoxy and beliefs than about transsexualism.
I had hoped the posting of The English Courtesan, which is nothing more than a story about two people, separated by centuries, who are struggling to come to terms with the very different worlds they live in would be taken at its face value. That it is somehow managing to degenerate into analogy of modern day political and social issues and a platform for readers to voice their thoughts on them is unfortunate.
Well, it seems the Transgender community has come of age and has finally gone mainstream. I wonder if the story below is related to the 26 August 2015 Reuters news story, 'Wanted: Transgender actors for Hollywood, little experience required?'
There is more than one way to keep track of your character and their characteristics, as evidenced by the comments made in response to my previous blog entry concerning character sketches.
When starting a new work, I take the time to develop my character, sometimes spending an entire day working up the character, his or her background, habits, preferences, etc. By doing so, once I pitch into the story, I have a firm idea how the characters in the story will respond to certain situations as well as having a touchstone I can go back to. There is nothing worse than having a character’s eye color go from brown in Chapter One to blue in Chapter Twelve.
Using this is critical when working with another writer, for it keeps both of you on track and in the same ballpark.
Happy Australia Day, a celebration commemorating the day in 1788 when, after losing their traditional dumping grounds due to the recent unpleasantness in the former American colonies, the English, known affectionately by later day Australians as Pommies, landed several boat loads of convicts on the shores of New South Wales.
Well done lads, well done.
HW Coyle
a.k.a. Nancy Cole
P.S. I wonder how Bree from While the Band Played Waltzing Matilda is celebrating the day? Safe to say she probably isn't serving sushi.
In my story ‘A Different Kind of Courage,’ I have Amanda Newly serving as a summer intern on a project that is testing a computer driven excavator. Sci-fi stuff, right?
Not any more. A news story today entitled ‘Drones’ Next Job: Construction Work
Komatsu to Use Unmanned Aircraft, Bulldozers to Automate Early Foundation Work’ puts that to pay.
With 2014 finished, I have taken a close look at how the books I have published on Kindle have fared. In doing so, I was interested in trying to discern why some books did well, and others, not so good. My thoughts on this are my opinion only and quite unscientific.
I have begun the process of adding my TG centric works to Kobo, a company founded in 2009 that has become a world leader in eReading. The charm of Kobo is that they publish in a format that allows a person to use any platform. The following is from their website.
There are drawbacks when publishing here. The categories a writer can classify their work under is quite limited. There is no 'Transgender' subcategory. I've written them, but it seems there is not much of an interest at present to change that. Oh well, nothing is perfect, yet.
Recently a maxim I like to adhere to when writing was brought home to me in a most dramatic fashion. When writing, I have found it helps immeasurably to have a clear idea how the story is going to end. In this way I am able to guide both character and plot development in a manner that leads to the preconceived end game.
From time to time I ask myself which character I created is my favorite. Often I enter this quite, internal debate with a preconceived notion already in mind, one that is quickly dismissed as the logic gives way to the same emotions and feelings I opened myself to when I created each and everyone of my fictional children.
There is a 20% sale going on at Lulu.com on printed books thru 28 July. Even if you pass by the offerings Persephone and I have there, take advantage of it to patronize your favorite writers who also publish with Lulu.com.
So there I was, wandering about the suburbs of an English city when, lo and behold, I see a sign on a pub that makes me laugh. Of course I could not resist going in, order a pint, and toast Lady Katherine Trent, the heroine of my 'The World Turned Upside Down.'
HW Coyle
a.k.a. Nancy Cole
‘The World Turned Upside Down’ on Basingstoke Road, Reading, UK
In the movie ‘The Poseidon Adventure,’ one of the characters sings a song, ‘The Morning After.’ It was a way for the people making the movie to let people know even after surviving the horrific events depicted in the movie the characters, and their stories, lived on. Just what kind of lives they enjoyed was left to the movie viewer to make up on their own.
In a story I am contributing to together with my Anglo-Irish literary shadow, I imagine there will be a desire on the part of the reader to see the protagonist, named Alev, and her love interest find a way of being together in the end. Alev’s love for him, however, is too precious to her to risk it by telling him the truth. By leaving as it is suggested at present, she can always live with the notion he loves her still in a way that is pure, unsullied by the harsh realities of the corrupt and venial world they both live in.
Just in time for both St. Patrick’s Day and the Centennial commemoration of the First World War. ‘Caitlin’ is the story of a young Irish officer caught up in two wars, one being waged against the Central Powers and a second, very personal one as he struggles to come to terms with who he is amid the chaos of world war and the rise of Irish independence.
Over the years I have had the opportunity to be the recipient of advice from a number of authors I admire, some of which I followed, some I ignored, much to my regret since it cost me a reputation I've yet to recoup. But I never closed my mind to what they had to say. Nor have I slavishly followed one set way of thinking or viewing the world.
There are more than a few blogs posted here that are real downers. After posting one the other day, I decided I needed to lighten the mood somewhat by sharing some literary humor (humour) that I came across.
But beware. If you have an aversion to puns, go no further.
Well, almost done. I’ve one more run to make on ‘The World Turned Upside Down,’ before I am ready to release the finished product on an unsuspecting world. It has been an endevor that has taken me over three and a hald years to complete. It is, however, a story I can say I am proud of and enjoyed writing.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
