Firstly, self-publishing is NOT vanity publishing, nor is it particularly difficult. Amazon and other online publishers take you through the process of formatting and uploading your book cover, text, blurb and the important bits like price and special promotions. Within less than twenty-four hours your book goes live. Of course, there are lots of companies … Continue reading Self Publishing and the Marketing Mountain
The dream for most authors is to be taken on by a literary agency who will secure a big advance with one of the major publishers – The Big Five – negotiate a film contract and manage their careers into the stratosphere for the rest of their natural writing life. Sadly, except for those already … Continue reading Agents, Publishers and Big Mistakes
We’re deep into NaNoWrMo and if any of you are currently bashing out the draft of that novel that’s been festering in your mental filing cabinet, then I wish you all the best. The writing part of a book is the easy part. It might not feel like it when you’re sweating away over your … Continue reading A Publishing Minefield
Our current guest blogger for Autumn Voices is Angelena Boden.
“When humanity exterminates other creatures, it is sawing off the limb on which it is sitting, destroying working parts of our own life-support system.” Prof Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University My previous blog took the story in Ancient Anchors up to the Scientific Revolution. In the fourth and last section of the book Gaia takes us … Continue reading Sixth Mass Extinction
Many of my haiku moments are experienced visually and are expressed by me through photography rather than words. Journal 8 is devoted entirely to haiku photos. In this case they all relate to walks taken along the beach in Helensburgh during the time of Covid lockdown. One of the things about haiku moments is that … Continue reading Haiku Journal – 8
“There is not one big cosmic meaning for all; there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person.” Anais Nin In writing Ancient Anchors, my next challenge following the character of Gaia was to create a narrative that … Continue reading The Meaning of Life from the Ancients to the Scientific Revolution
As I explained in my last blog, Ancient Anchors tells the story of the Earth and her relationship with her inhabitants from the Big Bang to the modern day…
in tall pine gloom October’s filtering sun forms pools fathoms down Behold the Moon There’s a movement in Tai-Chi called ‘Behold the Moon.’ You slowly turn your torso and extend both arms sideways at an angle of 45% with lower hand palm upwards and upper hand palm downwards. This morning, as I did Tai-Chi on … Continue reading Haiku Journal – 7
This is a story: of evolution, of the earth, of Homo Sapiens, of organisms, ideas, trade, colonisation, wars, and those ideas and concepts that we as a species hang onto. But it’s also a story of how a germ of an idea evolved into my latest book, Ancient Anchors.
Most of my haiku moments occur in nature and the outdoors, but here’s one from an antique shop in Helensburgh: mirrors mirroredmultiple reflectionsfront, back, all angles stray garden moggyattracted by tai chiSettles down to watch fill, lift, float and danceflitting over dark brown beachbright white plastic bag
Garden Pond Autumn is the time of year when flowers and leaves fall into my garden pond. They drift in constantly shifting patterns and juxtapositions of colour – amazingly beautiful natural happenings – each one a haiku moment. standing on the bankI’m sure the river flows South –birds know otherwise
There has always been an unresolved tension in gardening between the extent to which we feel the garden belongs to nature and the extent to which we feel it belongs to us: whether it is an expression of nature or of human artistic aspirations. It is a matter of how much domination and control over … Continue reading Haiku Journal – 4
Most of my haiku moments involve nature. But recently I was watching a recording of the cricket match between England and Pakistan. A young batsman by the name of Zak Crawley was making his début appearance for England. The grace, timing and balance of his flowing stroke-play produced in me the same kind of joy … Continue reading Haiku Journal – 3
The shadow of a berberis bush projected on my upturned kayak. The white hull and the black, angular shadows are like an ancient Chinese ink wash painting.
