Have you heard the one about…

Chris Hall3 Comments
bookstore-by-pj-accetturo-on-unsplash.jpg
Bookstore by Pj Accetturo on Unsplash

So, this writer walks into a book store. She has a mooch about; she knows the store well. She often comes in, to browse (books are so expensive). It’s one of the largest book selling chains in the country. Nicely fitted out, and the staff are always friendly. It must be nice to work in a book store, surrounded by all those lovely books.

The writer picks up the latest copy of The Artist magazine. She’s written a few articles on behalf of clients which have been published in this particular periodical. Not that the artists get paid – it’s for their publicity. Nor does she get a mention, but at least the clients pay for her time. She has an idea for another of her clients.

But that’s not why she came today.

Clutching the magazine, she approaches the desk. One of the assistants intercepts her. “Can I help you?”

She takes a deep breath. “Can I just ask you..?”

The assistant smiles encouragingly. He’s a nice-look young man; intelligent, open-faced.

“Can I just ask you if the store supports Indie Authors?” (There, she said it).

The assistant smiles kindly; a little apologetically. “No, no, never. It’s all done by Head Office…with the publishers, you know.” He pauses. “There was this one time though…”

“Go on,” the author says, leaning forward, as if some major confidence might be shared; some key to unlock…

The assistant is speaking. “The lady’s books were selling very well. There was a lot of publicity. She was selling her books out of the boot of her car.” He shakes his head. “It was a bit greedy really. You know, on the part of the store. They realised they could make money out of her. It didn’t last long.”

The author nods. “So you have to be popular first?”

The assistant nods and smiles sympathetically (pityingly?)

The author nods. “I’ll just pay for this then.” (At least she asked. The ground didn’t swallow her up). She leaves the book store, head held high.

…/ continued

 

Tell the Story Challenge #2

Chris Hall5 Comments

Tell the Story - Chris Hall - lunasonline

Teresa, The Haunted Wordsmith, nominated me earlier this week to participate in the Tell The Story Challenge. This is the photo she gave me.

The rules:
Write a story about the picture you’re given.
Select 3 nominees.
Give them a new picture.

Uncle Foss’s Library

Catherine loved books which was just as well as she had very few friends other than the characters in the stories she read. Fortunately she wasn’t short of these, as there were so very many books in her uncle’s library. Uncle Foss had been her guardian ever since she could remember. He had engaged various tutors over the years, as had been stipulated in her wardship agreement, but none had lasted long. Catherine had therefore educated herself, partly under her uncle’s guidance, through the perusal of the wealth of knowledge which was contained between the covers of his extensive library.

No books in Uncle Foss’s library were forbidden or out of bounds, although there were certain high shelves that he’d steered her away from, saying she’d enjoy those books better when she was older. But now, a few days away from her fifteenth birthday, while her uncle had been occupied in Town, she’d climbed the library ladder and removed three interesting-looking volumes which she’d been considering for some weeks now. At almost fifteen she was certain she was ready for the high shelves.

Back in her room after supper and a game of backgammon with her uncle, she chose the smallest book. It was old, bound in finely tooled black leather with silver embossed letters on the front which read: ‘Faerie Folk and Mischievous Creatures – A Guide’. Catherine had loved magic and fantasy stories since she was a little girl. She started to read.

“They are as old as the oldest hills and their presence is clings on even in the most rational minds, deep within our collective memory. Ancient and modern, of both sexes, and neither good nor ill, they live long, long lives, then disappear as ash on the wind.” Catherine started as the window behind her rattled. She looked round, but it was just the oak trees branches brushing against the glass. Storm clouds were gathering, covering the bright face of the new moon.

“Although of the earth, they are otherworldly, living between our world and theirs. Rarely noticed, they appear at the periphery of our vision, hidden in plain sight…”

Out of the corner of her eye, Catherine suddenly noticed a movement behind the nightstand next to her bed; a mouse? But no, it hadn’t moved like a mouse, and she was sure she’d seen a flash of scarlet.

There was a knock at the door. Her uncle entered, smiling. He crossed the room and gently took the little book from her hands. “It’s time, Catherine,” he said. His face lit up with excitement, “time to introduce you to the other members of our household.”

So, my nominees are:

Amartya, Jumbled Letters

Dr Tanya, Salted Caramel

One Life, Tap My Toes

A story, a verse, a vision? See where this takes you.

00 Image for Tell the Story - Your dog. Your style by @dogmade.artwork
 Your dog. Your style by @dogmade.artwork

Advice for Authors: your online presence

Chris Hall5 Comments

Here’s some very sound advice for authors which I came across on J.I. (Jenn) Rogers’ Facebook author page – head over and have a look there are some really interesting and useful nuggets!

The article is by Anne R. Allen and is entitled ‘Your Online Presence: 10 Mistakes for Authors to Avoid’. Here’s the link  to this useful article (which includes another cute cat pic).

Food for thought. The article, not the cat.

They do things differently over there!

Chris Hall4 Comments

hoppytawPercy the pigeon was on holiday. It had been a very tiring journey but at last he’d made it; all the way from London to New York City. As he perched on a tree in Central Park, admiring the city skyline, he noticed a group of children playing hopscotch. What were they using as a marker? Percy wondered. It wasn’t the usual stone that bounced and skipped.

A little girl dressed in pink made her throw. Percy flew down for a closer look. 

‘Oh, what’s that pigeon doing?’ she cried.

The children gathered around as Percy waddled over to the marker.

Percy put his head on one side, examining the object. ‘Hoppy Taw‘ he read on its face. (He was a very intelligent pigeon who’d spent a year in Oxford.) Well, I never, Percy thought. I’ve never heard of one of those. Whatever will these clever Americans think of next?

3tc


Written in response to The Haunted Wordsmith’s Three Things Challenge, which today was: city skyline, hoppy taw, <your favorite bird>

Percy is a prince amongst pigeons and we are delighted to have learned something new about our cousins across the pond!

To submit or not to submit..?

Chris Hall14 Comments

cropped-editing-youll-never-walk-alone-by-chris-hall-lunasonline.jpg

Over the years I’ve had sporadic attempts at getting some of my short stories and flash fiction pieces published in various magazines and journals. Each time, after a series of rejections or silence, I give up for a while.

Rejection is a bit disappointing but it’s not the end of the world. Winning a prize, any kind of prize, would be lovely. A cash prize especially!

I’m still awaiting the outcome of a short story submission to a competition run by Mslexia, a UK magazine; whether or not it appeals to the judges remains to be seen. 

Either way, is it time to have another go? Well, yes, I think so. Coincidence is a wonderful thing and a couple of weeks ago I went to see a production of the longest-running ever play, Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap‘ which was playing at the Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town. It was really good and of course, I can’t tell you ‘who dunnit’, but it did get me thinking. Perhaps I could write a detective story.

And I was still thinking the following day that perhaps I should have a try.

The next day I received an email from Support Indie Authors with an invitation to participate in a Short Story Contest for a Murder Mystery. So I thought, why not?

This will be a totally new challenge as I will have to plan the story properly. No seat of the pants stuff. But I’ll see how it goes and let you know.

And, whilst we’re on the subject, this article from ‘A Writer’s Path’ happened to drop into my inbox last week. It’s in interesting little piece on submissions: How Fish Eggs are Like Fiction by Richard Risemberg

Time to have another bash…

How about you?

P.S. 31 January 2019. This arrived:

0 the irony

Hey ho…sigh!

 

 

What a wonderful morning!

Chris Hall8 Comments

a lovely morning lunasonline chris hall

I woke up this morning and, as usual, I went to open my trusty laptop (still in my PJs, of course). I was surprised and delighted by two things particularly:

A lovely review by Ellie Scott of ‘A Sextet of Shorts’, my little short story collection. It’s so uplifting and encouraging to read a review like this. Thanks, Ellie.
Incidentally, ‘Sextet’ is currently available on Kindle priced at $1.14 and on Kindle Unlimited.

An new award: ‘The Writer’s Soul Award’, from Teresa Grabs, The Haunted Wordsmith, which made my soul sing! Thank you, Teresa.
Go check out the other recipients, fellow writers and readers!

And have a smashing Saturday!

…making my soul sing

 

Tell The Story Challenge

Chris Hall2 Comments

tell the story challenge

Vicklea, of Vickie’s Book Nook and Mediation Corner, nominated me last week to participate in The Eclectic Contrarian’s challenge. The challenge is to be given a photo and then write a story based on the photo, hence the Tell The Story Challenge. The photo Vicklea gave me is above.

Here are the rules:
Write a story about the picture you’re given.
Select 3 nominees.
Give them a new picture.

So, the story which, although prompted by the photo, is also a homage to my little old rooster who gave his last cock-a-doodle at the weekend.

Bird Life

The little rooster is first to awake, greeting the pre-dawn with his joyful call. Young squirrels start their chatter and mama guinea fowl calls from the fence top like a loud rusty gate.

The little rooster calls again; the hens shift about on their perches. He hops down and struts about, pecking at the floor of the hen-house, waiting for the day to begin.

The side gate opens. The hens hop down and jostle for position, peering through the chicken wire. Food arrives and with it, freedom. Pecking soon done, they all file out across the yard.

The little rooster rounds the corner of the house and sees mama sparrow tugging at the earth. Out pops a fat green caterpillar. She takes off and lands on the edge of her nest, offering it to the first new-born chick to raise its beak.

Then, a flash of yellow as a black-masked bird swoops in. The little rooster watches as he plucks another long strand of bamboo leaf and flies up to the high, high branch which sways over the pond, to weave it deftly into his beautifully-crafted nest.

Then the little rooster sees his favourite little black hen settled in the shade of the myrtle bush. He shuffles in beside her. He’ll take another stroll later; there’s no hurry.

And my nominees are:

Teresa, The Haunted Wordsmith

JP the Wide-eyed Wanderer

Sadje, Keep it alive

Here’s your picture: make of it what you will!

00 prompt street art in padova italy - streetart by kenny random
Street Art by Kenny Random – Padova, Italy

Would you buy this book?

Chris Hall11 Comments
liverpool skyline pixabay
Liverpool Skyline, Pixabay

When 23 year old Lucy is given a beautiful ruby necklace by Pierre, a gorgeous man she’s only just met in a Liverpool nightclub, her humdrum life is changed forever. But the ruby is more than just an expensive jewel, and Albie Chan, the sinister Triad boss, is determined to have it for himself, forcing Pierre and Lucy to flee the city.

Meanwhile, Lucy’s best friend and flat mate, Gina, has been tracking down the father whom she never knew. Now Godrell Clark, once a sailor from Jamaica who was part of the Liverpool jazz scene in the sixties, finds his past is catching up with him fast, all the way to Kingston, Jamaica.

But there is an even greater prize than the ruby, and passions run high when a mysterious little jade statue turns up in a pile of boxes belonging to the upstairs tenants in Lucy and Gina’s rented house.

Lucy is snatched by Chan and Pierre faces an impossible choice: obtain the statue for Chan and gain Lucy’s freedom, or hand it over his one-time guardian and employer, the mysterious Aurora, to whom he owes his freedom from his brutal childhood.

So, you know what this is? It’s my long-sweated over first attempt at a blurb for my recently-completed novel. I’m not entirely happy with it, but I’ve stared at it long enough!

Some of you may have read the story (or bits of it) as a work in progress last year, so you’ll have an idea of the story. Others won’t, and you’re coming to it cold.

Would you buy on the strength of the pitch?
Would you at least ‘download it for a dollar’?

Writerly friends, please would you care to give me some feedback? Constructive criticism really is most welcome.

How readable is your story?

Chris Hall12 Comments
Duke_Humfrey's_Library_Interior_5,_Bodleian_Library,_Oxford,_UK_-_Diliff
Duke Humfrey’s Library, the oldest reading room of the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford   Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

I’ve been wandering about on the old interweb looking for something to rate the reading level of my latest work-in-progress. It’s a children’s book, and this is the first time I’ve written for any audience other than adult (apart from one short story).

I’d tried comparing with some of the books which I still have on my shelves from my childhood, but I suppose I was looking for something more analytical.

Then I came across the Automatic Readability Checker from ‘Readability Formulas’. All you have to do is cut and paste some text from your work and you’ll get an assessment of the grade-age range of your writing. Interesting, huh?

So, I tried the first few paragraphs of the children’s story. The results show it’s ‘easy/fairly easy to read’ and at fourth to sixth grade level (9-12 years), which is great; I’m aiming at the middle grade market!

Then I tried some samples from my first novel, The Silver Locket. This comes out at much the same level. Interesting! So finally I popped in a couple of paragraphs from ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, which is the new novel I’ve just finished editing and I get a slightly higher reading age, 11-15 years.

Also interesting. Then I read somewhere else that Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Old Man and the Sea’ is a fourth grade read and that Jane Austen and J.K. Rowling both come out at between fifth and sixth grade levels.

It’s all about ‘readability’ and actually, who wants to read something difficult, unless it’s an academic text? And even then, wouldn’t you be aiming for at least a good level of readability?

In the end though, I guess the best judge is the reader. I’ll be posting my new work-in-progress children’s novel a weekly chapter at a time, starting next week. And I’ll be interested, as always, in your feedback. Must think of a title!

 

What will 2019 bring?

Chris Hall3 Comments

cropped-editing-youll-never-walk-alone-by-chris-hall-lunasonline.jpg

Just a teeny-weeny slightly self-indulgent post to clear the decks and set me on a whole new year of writing. Note the new theme which is perhaps a bit tidier (unlike my desk).

I have finally finished editing the novel which I was writing all last year (between other things, like paid work). The next phase is the boring and daunting bit, the publishing and marketing. I’m going to take this slowly. Deep breaths!

So now I shall be turning my attention to my new work-in-progress novel. It’s the children’s book which I roughly drafted during NaNoWriMo. It hasn’t even got a working title yet, but very soon it will take the place of You’ll Never Walk Alone which will be disappearing from the pages here.

And there will still be my weekly little fiction pieces, responses, random thoughts and that kind of thing, and of course, reading all your lovely stories and engaging with the writing community on social media. However, I will mostly be writing fiction!