Mutterings and utterings of a budding novelist

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The Old Rule – Sex Sells!

We’ve all heard the saying sex sells, but today I saw first hand that the rule is true.

DeviantArt.com is a wonderful website for showcasing all kinds of artwork and photography, and artists get the opportunity to gain critique on their work in hope of bettering and strengthening their craft. Yet on this site, some images – classed as ‘Artistic Nude’ can border on absolute pornography. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no prude. Those who know me know my vocal appreciation of the female form. 😀 But sometimes a full on quick poloroid of female (or sometimes male) genetalia can receive more attention and praise than a beautiful painted landscape that’s taken many hours to create.

A friend on DeviantArt who noticed this decided to do an experiment. Noticing certain camera phone tit snaps were getting more views than her own carefully composed photographs, she wanted to test the theory, indeed taking a picture of herself topless (not a crude image but a genuine artistic portrait.) . True to her theory, the views began pouring in. Now does this mean the site is stacked full of young teenage lads, hopeful in seeing naked flesh? Or does it prove on a whole, the human race has a deep seated primalistic lust to see riskier pictures rather than tamer ones?

If this is the case, then why is pornography still viewed as taboo? Why isn’t the world more open towards it.

I’ll admit, the women in my illustrations have a fuller bust and shorter clothing, but I am appealing to a certain audience who appear to prefer cartoon and manga women looking as such.

In the past also, I’ve done a few posters for friend who was hosting a charity football match. For the first year it consisted mainly of a picture of a football pitch, but in the following years I put a woman on, wearing a referee’s uniform and stood in a suggestive pose. And look what happened – a hell of a lot more people turned up to that one! Men will instinctively look towards a picture of a woman sticking her chest out, than a patch of grass.

Maybe one day the world will loosen up, take note of this, and advertise everything sexually!

The Catholic church should really start to change their policies 😀

Posted by  |  May 10, 2011 | Categories: Personal Life | Leave a comment

My Rock

This post is just a little dedication to my wonderful girlfriend Wendy whom makes me smile every second of every day. After two years of being together, we’ve yet to fall out over anything, and even though people say that arguing is healthy in a relationship we have nothing to argue about.

She’s unconditionally supportive in my work and in return I support her in her endeavours to become World Champion in her her hairstyling competitions.

When we first got together she had just walked away with Silver in the European Championships, seeing off dozens of other countries (see pics below) and I was amazed how much drive and passion this modest and down-to-earth girl had. She’s inspired me to work harder in my own goals and accomplish my dreams.

Thanks for being in my life babe! Love you! 🙂 x

Wendy's winning style. I think it's Ladies Technical - Hair by Night

Stepping on to second place, with her little Union Jack.

Posted by  |  May 10, 2011 | Categories: Personal Life | Leave a comment

Sword of Damocles

A few years ago i was told that on the my mother’s side, around a hundred years or so ago our family was a joint owner of a well established, high-class jewellers in London. It would have been called ‘Something and Dunthorne’. And because of this the family was quite rich. Unfortunately one family member decided to play a risky poker game and lost the entire share of the business and in effect removing the family name from the title.

I’ve thought about this often and wonder what my life would have been like if he hadn’t have played that foolish game. Would i be writing a completely different blog? Or would I have always been fated to be in the situation where i am now?

This brings me to a great quote from the movie ‘American History X’ in which Edward Norton – a neo-nazi filled with racial hatred and anger, ends up going to prison for the murder of two black men. He instantly mingles in with the group of like minded ‘white-power’ extremists, but is soon turned upon by them, shattering his beliefs and is forced to turn to his old teacher for help, who ironically is a stoic and strong black man. He asks Norton ‘Has anything you’ve ever done made your life better?’  This in turn causes Norton to break down in despair and plead for the teacher’s help. It’s a truly powerful scene, and one that has lasted with me since I saw it.

Now, that card game obviously did nothing to help my family member’s life. In fact, it made it much much worse. This probably explains my lack of fondness for gambling.

I now try to make sure every second of my life counts towards making it better, whether that be in relationships, social circles, career or money. I imagine a sword, always hovering way above my head. A bit like the Sword of Damocles, only not hanging a horse hair, but just hovering. If I catch myself wasting time, dawdling, or just being lazy, I imagine that the sword begins to raise slowly, climbing to a height as if it was a guillotine, ultimately dropping if too much time was wasted.

Since using this thought I’ve noticed I seem to get more done than I ever did before. I just hope I can carry these thought on, especially if I ever get offered to play a game of poker.

Chapter 11 image:

Spirit's Destiny - Chapter 11

Spirit's Destiny - Chapter 11

Posted by  |  May 8, 2011 | Categories: Personal Development, Personal Life | Leave a comment

For anyone interested in Personal Development

As a massive follower of personal development, positive thinking, and the law of attraction make sure you check out Simona Rich’s website

http://www.personal-development-coach.net/

She may only be young but she certainly knows her stuff. Her website is packed full of articles and posts with tips and affirmations to improve your life. 🙂

Also check out Bob Proctor, Dr. Wayne Dyer, and Deepak Chopra for some fantastic life coaching 🙂

Posted by  |  May 4, 2011 | Categories: Personal Development | Leave a comment

Illustrating a Novel

So finally my proofreader – a female 40yr ex English Teacher has called saying she is pleasantly surprised by my novel, even more so that she is enjoying it. Let’s face it, a sci-fi novel from an unpublished writer can’t inspire much confidence in a woman with a passion for the English launguage!

So happy days!! 😀

Right now though, it’s time to work on illustrating the second book! I swear I spend almost as much time on the images as I have done on the actual novel. Long ago my partner in crime persuaded me to illustrate all my books. Back then I wasn’t confident in my abilities and was convinced that it would only hinder the work produce.

Now though I’m glad I did the images for the first book. Whilst they are not first class I do feel they are strong enough for publishing. I guess time will tell on he feedback. Maybe somebody will tell me otherwise ha!

Here’s the start. This green character is based on my lil best friend Vix.

Vix Front Cover 2

The start of the Book 2 Cover.

Posted by  |  April 27, 2011 | Categories: Tapestry Of Fates | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

First Snag

Now I understand proof-reading is not an easy task, so finding someone qualified to do it can be daunting.

My partner in crime found a willing English Lit graduate to do the honours (paid of course) and agreed a five week deadline to get the work completed. After eight weeks we’ve heard nothing, and after a few phone calls discovered he’s abroad somewhere. Charming!

So the hunt is on to find another reading genius.

Just so this blog isn’t all completely text based, here’s another Book 1 image. 🙂

Chapter 6 image

Chapter 6 from Book 1

Posted by  |  April 18, 2011 | Categories: Tapestry Of Fates | Leave a comment

5 Signs You’re a Novelist

1. When in conversation you pay more attention to how the other person is articulating, rather than what what they are actually saying. “Wow! Her nostrils really do flare when she laughs!”

2. You compare your made up characters to your real life friends. “Well Obi-Wan would’ve swung that around like this.”

3. People on a whole become more fascinating. The weirder the better! “Please tell me again why you lived in a giant bird’s nest for a year, eating acorns!”

4. Instead of saying ‘that book would make a great movie’, you say ‘that movie would make a great book’. “No seriously, the events of Death Race could’ve been much more deeply explored!”

5. Your life is thought of terms of chapters, rather than lengths of time. “C’mon! I quit my job way back at the end of Chapter seventeen.”

Posted by  |  April 14, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Breaking ‘The Secret’

Quite a few years, the directors of the company I work for decided to semi-retire (ages ranging from around 35-45). My sister was the PA to these directors and had the task of clearing out their offices. In each of the desks of the directors was a copy of a book called ‘The Secret’. Now this was long before Rhonda Byrne’s book had gained the notoriety it has today. My sister gave me one of the copies to read and I can quite honestly say it opened up a whole new way of thinking for me. This was amplified since I knew our directors had worked hard from being regular office workers (a couple were even taxi drivers!) to becoming multi millionaires in less than a few years.

Now I know a lot of people are skeptical about such books, and especially of The Secret, but I can only go off my own experiences with it. Since reading it, my life changed dramatically; my girlfriend at the time showed her true colours (things I had suspected but was made to feel too paranoid to question) and left my life – never to be seen again, in her place came a fantastic new lady – whom I adore and love with all my being (and who is as ambitious as me). Also I moved into a new home which has turned out to be the most beautiful and stress free place I have lived. And finally, my dreams of being a novelist have become a reality by a chance meeting of a woman who has now become my partner in crime and now we have our second book (this one fully written and illustrated by me) due in the shops soon.

Ok, this could all be a massive coincidence but I do feel that that book helped me in my perspective in life. After The Secret, I’ve read numerous Law of Attraction books, including the mighty Seth Speaks books. Everyday I smile, and laugh, and rarely feel sad or ill. I feel I have a fantastic life, with great friends and family. And for this I feel extremely grateful. Don’t get me wrong, I still bitch and moan like any normal person! But I guess I just believe that these books have had a huge postive outlook on my life.

That is until I ordered: The Real Secret: What to do when the universe hasn’t delivered. by Lucy McCarraher and Annabel Shaw

Strange how I would order such a book based on its title, for I do believe the universe can, and has delivered. But the glowing reviews for this book attracted me to it.  What a massive dissapointment it was! It spends more time slagging off The Secret (seemingly without the authors having even read it!) and blowing away all the beliefs I’ve built up to now. The rest of the book just relays basic tips we already know (expenditure table anyone?)

One part  asks if the reader dreams of a perfect life, fantastic partner, riches and fame. Its reply? ‘Dream on. They are nothing more than pleasant dreams.’ Hang on! I thought this was meant to make me feel happy! Not shatter my carefully constructed dreams! This book, costing me just shy of a tenner has now been quickly relegated to the bin!

It says 1 in 10 of self help books does more damage than good. Well Lucy and Annabel, I can quite honestly say, your book is most definitely in this damaging 10%! After reading just three chapters I felt depressed and miserable, in which nothing could lift my mood.

Its taken a few hour long online talks by Deepak Chopra to bring my beliefs (and smile) back on track. I feel happier now and my outlook on life has started to get back to its usual positive self.

Whether or not you believe in The Secret, it can’t be denied it does raise a bit of cheerfullness. And nobody, not one single person in the world has the right to tell you to forget your dreams as they won’t happen. This is exactly the kind of people I’ve known throughout my early adult life and lo and behold – they have done nothing with their own lives.

So my final words are – if you have hopes and aspirations, then DREAM ON! DREAM AWAY! Follow them, believe in them, believe in yourself, and nothing is impossible. Be happy, and the future will take care of itself. 🙂

Posted by  |  April 12, 2011 | Categories: Personal Life | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

Means to an end

In the past few days I have made this remark in deliberate reference to my job. I have also said a few times I wish I could pause time itself in order to blast out as much of my own work as possible.

Now I should probably be cautious when discussing my place of employment on my blog; you never know who’s watching or snooping. Speaking your mind on certain sites or social networks tends not to go down too well with superiors. Especially when you belittle them. Ha! But then again I’m a big believer in fate, so if any of my bosses read this and are offended, well I guess I’m sorry, and I’ll expect my P45 pronto. Futhermore, this isn’t work time, nor am I naming individuals, or businesses. It’s merely a record of my opinion at this moment in time.

Over the years my employers have shrunk our department repeatedly, which in turn puts added pressure on us that remain as we struggle to cope with the added workload. Now, in the past two months they’ve reduced us again – from five to two. Our department boss was one of the unfortunates to get the cull. So of course all the responsibilities he had have been passed to us, ramping up the workload to the extreme. Having already given up my breaks, I’ve now had to start splitting my lunch in half, and sometimes I go without any lunch at all and work straight through. All the time I’m sure our bosses feel we’re not working hard enough.

I guess it’s not the lessened breaks that bother me, it’s the fact that I used my lunchtime to work exclusively on my novel, and was a valuable window in which to hammer out some important illustrating and writing. Not that has basically gone, I’m finding the road towards fame and fortune is growing ever longer. I can’t believe I even felt guilty about working on it for twenty minutes today during lunch whilst customers endlessely griped where their advert was through email and telephone.

So what I’ve been debating about on the way home is wondering how much I can take of this Draconian regime. How much should I give up of my own life for a company who gives nothing in return. I’ve even debated with myself about taking more work home in order to lessen the burden during the daytime.

At what point do we stop following the dream and give in to a life of mundane, drab and bland obscurity. Currently I’ve been working on this novel for seven years now, with plenty of previous projects before it. I’m reaching thirty now and I’m pinning all my hopes on making this book a success and breaking free from the chains that demand so much of me and my collegues.

I see my dad, now in his late fifties, finally waking up to following his dreams and looking to escape his workplace that have held him for over twenty years. I envy him haha!

I make a vow to myself that I will never lose that passion, and I hope to look back on this in a few years and be proud that I never gave up.

Everyone I know who has a dream, I constantly tell them to never stop following it. If by some chance we really do only have one life, then I’m determined to make the most of it. And I hope everyone else does too 🙂

Posted by  |  March 22, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Time Eclipse & Tapestry of Fates

When I was sixteen, during a brief moment of inspiration I had ideas for a few stories. These were ‘The Phoenix Sorcerer’, ‘Last Battle’, and ‘Time Eclipse’. I spent the most time on ‘The Phoenix Sorcerer’ during my late teens, producing artwork after artwork. After that I concentrated on ‘Last Battle’, trying to write a full screenplay on it (it’s currently in its third draft) during my uni years and shortly thereafter.

At some point during university I decided to base my final Animation piece around ‘Time Eclipse’ – a story involving fast alien ships (inspired by games such as Thunderforce IV) and time travelling robots. After my higher education had finished I decided to attempt to pen a full novel based on the same story. However I wanted to base the story five thousand years later, since let’s face it, it does bear a slight resemblance to a popular Arnie movie, so I felt it would be more original if I brought the tale to a point where the primary story had become a mere legend.

This tale became Tapestry of Fates.

I based many of the key characters around my friends which served well in giving them their personality. It easier to think ‘what would my friend say in this situation’, rather than just write what I saw fit. This has its drawbacks though as I could not write about any of these characters in a derogatory light. Not that I would want to anyway, it simply became a little more restricted. Also I soon realised that writing about the relationships between some of these characters had to be approached a little more delicately than usual. For instance, two of my main characters were in a relationship back in 2004 when I began the story. Since then they have split and one of them has actually married. This was probably just short sightedness on my part as I should have seen every probable outcome, and constructed the novel accordingly. Maybe I just didn’t think I would actually try to make something of this tale, or take it as seriously as I do now. Fortunately, both parties are happy to allow me use their names in the story, and trust me in which ever way it goes.

As it stands, Book 1 is finished in its entirety. All illustrations have been completed and the text is currently at the proof reader. Book 2 is completely finished in its first draft and I’m starting the front cover. Book 3 is half through its first draft.

Ultimately I hope it this novel that will allow me to become a full time novelist.

I will detail a bit more of the storyline in the coming posts. 🙂

This is protagonist Ella Bland (based on my friend Ella Cookson (maiden name – Bland).

Posted by  |  March 14, 2011 | Categories: Tapestry Of Fates | Leave a comment