Michelle Jackson launched her latest book, 4am in Las Vegas, at Hughes and Hughes on Tuesday 09.10.11 and I was there to report for writing.ie and you fabulous people.
4 AM in Las Vegas - Baby!
You will think what I tell you to think
You will think what I tell you to think?
Let's start to question.
Alan Early - Book Launch
This piece was first published on writing.ie
Join me as I talk with Alan Early at his book launch of Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent in the Gutter Book Shop. Leitrim born Alan studied in the National Film School, Dun Laoghaire and co-founded Annville Film while writing Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent.
His interest in Vikings was spiked "when I was about ten, I visited Dublinia, a recreated Viking village and so began an interest in Viking lore that survives today.'
Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent is the first of a trilogy. Alan was lucky in dealing with Mercier as they "came back to me very quickly to say that they were interested and it went from there. They've been a great help all the way through it; I think dealing with an independent publishing house is a brilliant position for a new author." The Irish Examiner said his book is "a clever blend of fantasy and the every day. It's like Harry Potter, Dublin style."
When we spoke to Alan before his speech he said that "It feels very strange, that what I was writing is now an actual book and I am here at my book launch." Alan said in relation to social media; "I wasn't afraid of social media but with the book coming out, Mercier were activity pushing me to use it more and now I found it great, this networking thing is great. I can get in contact with other writers, readers and get great feedback."
Patrick from Mercier press was was next in the firing line of questions and he shared, in his lyrical Cork accent; "we focus a lot on non fictions, we only take about 2 or 3 kids books a year, I mean they have to be exceptional for us to take them on. And I have to say that there has been so much excitement in the office about this book, we love it. The book is quite different but at the same time it is like the Rick Riordan books, which are hugely popular, so as Rick tapped into the Greek mythologies Alan tapped into the Irish mythologies."
Bob from the Gutter Book shop welcomed us to the launch and as Patrick from Mercier took to the stage we were treated to a book trailer on the screen, there are two trailers and some character trailers also. Which is exciting as you can see where co-founding Annville films helps his writing career.
Here are the book trailers;
and
Alan was next to talk to the crowd, he thanked everyone for attending, and gave us an insight into the idea behind the book, "A lot of it came from the fact that, while Ireland has a very rich mythology background, I've never read any fantasy set in modern day Ireland. Every other country is well represented by children's fantasy except Ireland. I just really liked the idea of seeing a monster rampaging through Dublin."
Patrick, Mercier Press, welcomed and thanked us. He told us that "it is looking likely that Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent will be nominated for an Irish Children Book Award 2012
With Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent "when we got the manuscript it was passed from person to person with wild excitement, we knew it was going to be big. We were lucky enough to get the support of Easons, we are thrilled with the quality of the book."
"With his Dad starting work on the new Metro tunnel, Arthur is forced to move to Dublin. While exploring a hidden underground river, Arthur and his new friends Will and Ash find a mysterious pendent. It glows in the gloom of the river and depicts a monstrous snake strangling the trunk of a tree. They soon work out that the pendent is a warning, a sign that something evil is waiting underneath the city. Something that's been imprisoned for a thousand years, something left by the Vikings, something that can – and will - destroy first the city, then the world.
What did the Vikings hide under Dublin and why did they leave it there? Who is the dark man that spies on Arthur and what is his evil plan? This hair-raising fantasy adventure will have you thrilled to the end, as only Arthur and his friends can save the world from the dreaded World Serpent. Described by Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl as 'a brilliant creation... fast-paced and thrilling' and by Image Magazine as 'an exciting fantasy novel', Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent is the first of a trilogy and a thrilling read for anyone 8+!"
To find out more about Alan and his book Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent see below -
Life’s nudge
This is a great magical song by our own Julie Feeney, enjoy.
You didn’t
recognise the magic in your life till life’s nudge knocked to shock
you
Thirty days and nights full of cement inside, a crying feast emotion cocktail.
Limbs broken but moving the hurt-shell still hopeful you file it all under bewildered
Significances cling to ordinary things, peculiar superstitious comforts
Challenging times straining the head, puzzling the heart, a tumbling head
Puzzling days, puzzling dreams, treading water just to try to breathe
Get out of the world, get out of the dreams, and get out of the place, out of the anxiety
Out of the head, out of the sleeping, a weak kind of rage, get out of the dreaming
Time for thrills without the big dreams, reality reminds of Tolstoy’s themes
Torment rips around the being but funnily life feels too good to believe him
Life’s unexpected nudge has come and, can’t blame anyone,
Life’s unexpected nudge has come, you can’t let it keep you down
Keep the wolves from your head as you wait for the horse,
The hollow insides slowly fill with hope
Eyes adjust to the dark light, shapes form like in the dead of night
Time to shed the heavy cape, the exhausted aura wants to emanate,
The exhausted aura‘s gonna radiate, the quivering smile’s gonna find it’s face
Time for thrills without the big dreams, reality reminds of Tolstoy’s themes
Torment rips around the being, but funnily life feels too good to believe him
Life’s unexpected nudge has come and, can’t blame anyone,
Life’s unexpected nudge has come, you can’t let it keep you down.
Thirty days and nights full of cement inside, a crying feast emotion cocktail.
Limbs broken but moving the hurt-shell still hopeful you file it all under bewildered
Significances cling to ordinary things, peculiar superstitious comforts
Challenging times straining the head, puzzling the heart, a tumbling head
Puzzling days, puzzling dreams, treading water just to try to breathe
Get out of the world, get out of the dreams, and get out of the place, out of the anxiety
Out of the head, out of the sleeping, a weak kind of rage, get out of the dreaming
Time for thrills without the big dreams, reality reminds of Tolstoy’s themes
Torment rips around the being but funnily life feels too good to believe him
Life’s unexpected nudge has come and, can’t blame anyone,
Life’s unexpected nudge has come, you can’t let it keep you down
Keep the wolves from your head as you wait for the horse,
The hollow insides slowly fill with hope
Eyes adjust to the dark light, shapes form like in the dead of night
Time to shed the heavy cape, the exhausted aura wants to emanate,
The exhausted aura‘s gonna radiate, the quivering smile’s gonna find it’s face
Time for thrills without the big dreams, reality reminds of Tolstoy’s themes
Torment rips around the being, but funnily life feels too good to believe him
Life’s unexpected nudge has come and, can’t blame anyone,
Life’s unexpected nudge has come, you can’t let it keep you down.
Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is only one click!
Let Me In
Derek Flynn is an Irish writer and musician. He has an Honours Degree in English Literature and Philosophy. He’s been published in a number of publications, including The Irish Times, and was First Runner-Up in the 2011 J. G. Farrell Award for Best Novel-In-Progress. His writing/music blog – ‘Rant, with Occasional Music’ – check out his guest blog on Ireland premium writing website writing.ie - SongBook
Those of you lucky enough to read/listen to his blog will know of his "New Music Mondays". Well here is my favorite; "Let Me In"
Let Me In
When it’s over and you alight
Close the door turn out the light
Wear your poker face with pride
Like you were shown now
It’s not a case of giving in
It’s their world you’ll never win
And if you did what would you gain?
You’d be cold now
Chorus
See their eyes (Blank and wide)
In another life (Another time)
You’d turn the tables and you’d be right
And they’d say they’re sorry (3)
Let me in (4)
They’d say ignorance suits you fine
And everything you believe are lies
And in a way maybe they’re right
But you’re not cold now
Chorus
To listen to the song click here.
Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is only one click!
Blog layout
Post me
Now all you need to do is write your first post. Introduce yourself, say why you wanted to start a blog start to blog, if you want to you can say what direction your blog will take, or just share a story.
Remember to KISS (keep it short and sweet) be the sort of blog that you would like to read.
Blog layout
This is where your research will come in handy, what layouts did you like? What did you not like? Try to make your blog stand out but more importantly make it easy to read.
I was asked by writing.ie to write a series on blogging for their web site, this is part 3:
I studied Information Technology and Telecommunications in University of Limerick and my FYP was on “Authoring Mythologies and Web design.” I did the research for you; here is what you need to know:
 |
| my new blog background, had fun making it. |
1. Use black text on a white backdrop.
2. Use font “Times New Roman” and size “12”
3. Write your posts with KISS in mind (keep it short and sweet)
4. Be entertaining, engaging pull on people emotions but not in an overly mawkish way.
5. Keep your header small, people want to be able to see your posts straight away, they do not want to have to move the scroll bar down just to begin to read, so either no header or picture like me (I just use my name).
6. If you are going to make your own graphic then this Anseo, is the best I have seen.
8. Ensure the body (where you post) is wide, as is the case for mine.
10. Change your side bars, to suit their purpose. On my blog the right is wider as it is busier.
11. Go into the advance section if you want to change the colours (show your individuality off)
12. Make an “about me” page, (go to dashboard, posting, edit pages, new page) and then introduce yourself. This will be a static page (it will only change when you change it)
13. If you are lucky to be contacted by readers then make it easy for them, have a contact me page.
14. Don’t just use your email address, create a Google form: go to Gmail, documents, create new, from template, form and simply select the one you want and modify as you see fit. Or click here
15. Then click on - more actions, embed, copy the code, go to your new page in your blog.
16. You need to change the “post options,” don’t allow comments, select: interpret typed HTML and publish.
Phew, if you did follow these steps that was an awesome work. If you didn’t, don’t worry about as you have loads of time to go back to your Blogger to set it up.
-------------Part 1 of this series
Part 2 of this series
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Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is only one click!
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Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is only one click!
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Series on Blogging - 2
I was asked by writing.ie to write a series on blogging for their web site, this is part 2:
How to blog
Caren Kennedy
Alan Early
Ashley Nixon
Barbara Scully
Krystal Wade
120socks
Maria Duffy
Kathy O Dowd
Derek Flynn
To set up your blog you just log into your Gmail account, then simply click on this link - And that’s it, you have created your blog. you can do a lot more you can do to are technically, but the whole part of blogging is about learning the technical side and having fun with that.
I have broken this down for Blogger.com.
If you ever have any questions you can contact me on my blog, or just type the question straight into Google.
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Part 1 of this series
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Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is only one click!
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How to blog
Content is King, you need to decide what you are going to write about. You need to write a plan detailing the below:
Research other blogs.
Who is your target audience?
What is your time commitment to your blog?
How you will drive traffic to your blog? (more on that later)
How often will you post?
Will you use pictures / video / podcasts in your posts? (please do, you need to appeal to every sort of reader.)
How much personal information will you share?
How are you going to set yourself up as an expert in your field?
What is your UPS?
Can you be real? (posts should only be 500 words)
How will you tell me about yourself, who you are, why should I like you?
What makes you different?
What do you obsess about?
Generally people tend to pick one topic and write about that, but in a world where we have hundreds of channels, YouTube, books, magazines – and most of it at our fingertips – it is important to bear in mind to bring as much diversity to your blog as possible.
I mean, you don’t to write the same book again and again, do you? So you can’t really take just one topic and write about that again and again from different slants.
Here is an example of some of the best writers blogs, while they write about writing, they also write about what inspires them and we get glimpses their interests, their fictional work and how they respond to comments on their blogs.
Caren Kennedy
Alan Early
Ashley Nixon
Barbara Scully
Krystal Wade
120socks
Maria Duffy
Kathy O Dowd
Derek Flynn
ou need to start reading other peoples blogs. See what is out there, how can you do it better, what do you like, what would you change.
Y
Y
Set up your blogger blog
To set up your blog you just log into your Gmail account, then simply click on this link - And that’s it, you have created your blog. you can do a lot more you can do to are technically, but the whole part of blogging is about learning the technical side and having fun with that.
I have broken this down for Blogger.com.
If you ever have any questions you can contact me on my blog, or just type the question straight into Google.
-------------
Part 1 of this series
------------
Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is only one click!
.
Series on Blogging - 1
I was
asked by writing.ie to write a series on blogging, this will be the first of
many posts. Only writing about how to
set up your blog, social media platforms, how to plan your blog, how to use analytical
tools to see if which blog posts are successful.l I hope that you enjoy it and
find it useful.
Why you
need to blog
If you are a writer you need to have as many links on-line as possible. We live in an age where the standard talk is “I will tweet / Facebook / G + you” and “what is your Facebook fan page / blog / web address?”
Having a blog will increase your readership, hone your writing skills,
give your immediate publication and feedback, give you a “Likability” (if you
do it right) and ultimately increase your book sales.
You need to decide which blog platform you are going to use. They say that www.wordrepss.com is the best, if I had my time back I would probably go with that platform. But I like www.blogger.com now, and would never change.
Buy your domain
Are you aware that your blog can be
deleted or even sold at any time? Yup, you have no right to it. Unless....you
buy the domain. It is only about USD 12.00 it is easy to do and it looks
better. My domain is www.teachermoloneyking.com it looks more
professional also. Find out how to do this for blogger here http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?answer=76543 and wordpress
here http://www.tourismkeys.ca/blog/getyourowncom.pdf
.
The pink cage book review
Today is Day 4 of The Pink Cage blog tour with Derbhile Dromey, I was delighted to be asked to take part in this blog tour, that was until I split to the smallest amount of coffee on my keyboard and I am now reduced to using speech recognition software instead of typing on my keyboard - which is pretty much a nightmare, so some bear with me!
Derbhile Dromey is a freelance writer, originally from Clonmel, Co Tipperary and now living in Waterford. She will be at the Imagine Arts Festival in Waterford on 29th October reading excerpts from The Pink Cage.
I didn’t know what to
expect from this book, the blurb seemed interesting and the writer is the sort
of person I would like to know. I did my
research and I found out that a lot of people did not like the main character at
first, which surprised me as after as
after reading a couple of sentences I loved her.
Astrid is an inconsiderate,
selfish yet vulnerable person. I was
especially surprised at the way she treated her new skiing crowd. She was mean and inconsiderate to people she
sees as “limpets”, or anyone that would need help, which is funny considering
the amount of help she normally gets from her friends. It is as if seeing other people who are in
need sickens her to core as it reminders of how she must appear to other people. And therein lies her conflict.
She refers to other members
of the skiing group as cabbage patch kids, wow what the she think about
herself? She hides her vulnerability behind her caustic attitude, her music, faux-independence
and her loathing love of men.
Maybe because I trained teacher I can see past her actions, from my experience it’s usually the most popular/cool/ loud kid in the class is the one with the most emotional problems, and who needs to be caught at nice to themselves which in turn will help them be nice to others. I would highly recommend other people to read this book, you get to experience life from a different angle, eager to learn about myself and most importantly you get to dilate your self-awareness. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. You can buy the book here
Meet at The Pink Cage crew:
Astrid - The girl
with hair the colour of day-old snow.
Matthew - Astrid’s
father. A socially awkward zoologist who finds himself plunged unexpectedly
into single fatherhood after the death of Astrid’s mother.
Ora - Jazz’s
mother, a former caterer turned photographer.
Martin - Astrid’s ski guide. A cheerful, uncomplicated sort who doesn’t put up with any nonsense and gets to the heart of the matter quickly.
Martin - Astrid’s ski guide. A cheerful, uncomplicated sort who doesn’t put up with any nonsense and gets to the heart of the matter quickly.
And of the
skiing crowd, A motley bunch.
You can buy the book here
Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is
only one click!
The Yank, lunch and the radio
There I was, walking down main street in my local town looking for a nice place to eat. I am fussy about where I will eat and with whom I will break bread with. I was with The Yank (uncle who has been living in The States for about 50 years) we both had an idea of what we wanted for lunch but I had no idea where to take him.
I wanted a window seat, a nice salad, no dungeons, not too busy, loads of light, a good view of the street and, of course, super clean.
After 20 minuets of walking around town like a tourist, The Yank swung around and asked "how do you know know your local town, kid?" I chose to ignore it and flicked my long blond hair as I went to open the door of another, probable unsuitable, cafe. I slammed the door shut and said "let's just drive to Dublin for lunch, no-where here".
"Kid", he lowly sung in his wanna be John Wayne accent, "How can you not know your local town?!", that was it, I went for the Maureen O'Hara approach and spat out; "sure what do you know about Cashel, you are an American tourist here for a few weeks" , unlike Maureen, however, my retaliation ended there as he tipped his hat (I kid you not) and drawled the goings on of my home town. I fell silent while I was told put me on the straight and narrow in relation to where's hot and not to eat, which shop burn down, who was burgled, who sold out and most importantly where served the best salad (for me) and the best bacon and cabbage (for him).
It turns out, he has been listening to Tipperary Mid West Radio on-line all day everyday. And now, so do I. They not only tell you about local goings on but play the coolest old school music.
In the end I broke my silence and bread with The Yank and learn a lot. Thanks for being a cool uncle Stephen Maher and glad you are feeling better.
Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is only one click!
In the end I broke my silence and bread with The Yank and learn a lot. Thanks for being a cool uncle Stephen Maher and glad you are feeling better.
Remember if you like my blog then vote for me here, it is only one click!