Author Archives: James - Page 24
NaNoWriMo 2017 – What Should I Write?
NaNoWriMo 2017 participant badge NaNoWriMo 2017 will soon be among us. Thousands of people will try their utmost to produce a first draft of a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. Anyone can do it, all you need is time and encouragement to get some words down. Sign up at NaNoWriMo 2017 My NaNoWriMo 2017 strategy is to use my commuting time in both directions to write, and to squeeze in a little more when I'm waiting for things to happen. It works thanks to the Wattpad app on my phone. It means that I can write just about anywhere, and I've got to the point where I'm almost as fast on my phone as I am on a keyboard. It also helps that wattpad uses short scenes, so I can plan (where I do plan) in Scrivener…
The Army of Charles II by John Childs [Book Review]
The Army of Charles II by John Childs My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is just packed with fascinating details. It also has an easy to read narrative and is engaging, not your usual dry academic style often found when PhD theses become books. The subject is very well researched and referenced, as one would expect. There are detailed annexes on rates of pay, units, officers and the units in foreign pay as well as in the Army of Charles II. There are also chapters on the separate establishments in Scotland and Ireland. The Army of Charles II Charles II of England (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The post-restoration army of Charles II is the beginning of the British Army much more than the New Model Army was. The New Model Army (NMA) was a political force as much as a…
Burning to Leave [Flash Fiction]
English: A houseboat on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Burning to Leave is the second round of the NYC Flash Fiction Challenge 2017. My challenge was to write a drama set on a houseboat and featuring a birthday candle. Burning to Leave is a two meaning title, see if you can work out what they are when you've read it! Burning to Leave The breeze blew the curtain, chilling the houseboat pleasantly after the daytime heat. It was cloudless with a bright full moon. Green candy-striped birthday candles fell from the packet onto the sill, one bounced into the water. Cory bowed his head to pray. After a moment he lit a birthday candle and let wax drip onto the metal sill before setting the candle down. Cory crossed the houseboat in three strides, knelt to…
This Deceitful Light by Jemahl Evans [Book Review]
This Deceitful Light by Jemahl Evans My rating: 5 of 5 stars This Deceitful Light is the sequel to The Last Roundhead and was well worth the wait. Reading it was like being back in the 17th Century. More than just history though, there's a strong mystery to it which drives the first half of the book. There's also a strong sense of underlying treachery which I'm sure drives the title of This Deceitful Light. The whole volume is held together with the background and context to Candy fighting his only duel, with Sir John Hurry, who we first met in the Last Roundhead. This Deceitful Light English: Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 by John Barker (Photo credit: Wikipedia) This Deceitful Light carries on the story of Sir Blandford Candy, his warts and all autobiography set down in his twilight…
Game of Thrones revisited [Review – NO SPOILERS]
Cover of Game of Thrones Season 1 DVD (Photo: HBO) Long term readers might remember that Game of Thrones is one of only two one star reviews that I've posted. Generally I avoid negative reviews because I don't think they help much, especially when all I've got to say is that it wasn't really my sort of thing. Game of Thrones in video As I said in my original review of A Song of Ice and Fire, there's a lot to like in the story, but there's also a deplorable level of unnecessary misogyny. This didn't sit right for me as when you base a fantasy world on history you can change it. What made me give Game of Thrones another chance was two fold. First there was a chance that the translation from book to screen had changed it…