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Imajica by Clive Barker

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This isn’t a casual read. It represents a considerable investment in time and effort. Many characters, settings, plot lines and underlying principles to keep straight…. Yet, it is worth the investment of yourself. Even the language is of its own as you need to learn new lingo, so to speak to get the gist of the tale.

Like so many of Barker’s other novels, there is a hidden world behind the our natural world. Barker is such a master at interweaving mundane, and profane, details into the greater fabric of his realities that you find yourself totally drawn in. You find yourself immersed in the hidden reality of this magical tale.

Five worlds, five dimensions or Dominions make up this world. These make up the whole of Imajica. Two hundred years before, there was an attempt to reconcile our world called the fifth Dominion with the other four. This ended in a metaphysical catastrophe so great that almost all of the Dominions great theurgists, shamans, and theologians were killed. The result was that almost all magical knowledge passed from our world and for two centuries science and materialism held us in their disastrous clutches.

You get the picture. An amazing book to sink your teeth into with well written syntax and amazing story line.

Enjoy!

*****

Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevsky

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This is the story of a spoilt rotten, weak minded man of small character and little common sense. During the whole novel, he depicts himself as one of the lowliest creatures in communicado with other humans.

To my mind it was written as if to himself alone. He writes with brutal frankness about his thoughts no matter how dark a light they shed on his personality. Everything he does relates to his need to prove himself better than others, whether his friends, his landlord or the girl who seems to like him.

In all his dealings he emanates uncertainty and discord. To his mind no one is his equal and no one worthy of his time. Everything inconvenient putting him out of sorts at all odd times. He comes across as rude and uncouth.

It was funny in some ways but sad if at all true that someone could live like that. It was good to listen to while I knitted.

**** Yep , I own it.

Author Interview with Writer Craig Machen

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4823530.jpgCraig Machen

Still Life With Brass Pole

Book genre:  Cross-Country Coming of Age Memoir
Date Published: May 17, 2011
Publisher: Me!

What is your day job?

I’ve been a screenwriter since 1997, but I also teach classes and do some writing coaching and story consulting for production companies.

What is your book about (in a few sentences)?

At its heart, the book is about the things that made me want to be dad, but the logline is, “Young love and coming of age in the strip clubs.”

When I was 16 I was down from Oklahoma, visiting my dad in Miami. We’d been doing cocaine (my first time) for three days, and he asked me if I wanted to go to a strip bar. I said, “Sure!” and 10 minutes later I was in a car with Dad’s boyfriend on the way to an all nude club in the woods. That night was a revelation. I went back to Oklahoma the next day, and before the end of my junior year in high school my mom left town with her 23 year-old boyfriend, and my pregnant girlfriend was moved off to Texas by her parents.

This, and a roaring White Knight Complex, sent me on a demented, five year quest for a family of my own. I succeeded, but in between I was like John Cusack holding a giant radio over my head, searching for someone to rescue, until finally someone rescued me.

Most challenging part of the writing process:

Well, that’s an interesting question. I think we’re all like Christopher Columbus when we start a new project, bound and determined to find a faster way to the Spice Islands. Somewhere along the way, though – if we’re lucky – the story will start pulling us in the direction it wants to go. That moment of surrender, where you decide that all of your best laid plans need to be pitched so that you can discover America is it for me. Just getting there, and allowing it to happen, is probably the most challenging, and the most rewarding, part of the writing process.

That, and avoiding mixed metaphors!

What motivates you to write?

Fear of starvation.

Did you experience writer’s block? If so, how did you overcome it?

Yes, I have. I think that has more to do with anxiety or overwork than anything. I just read one of Willie Nelson’s books and he was talking about how Ray Price told him not to try to force anything when the well runs dry. He said that everything you do in between writing songs is filling that well back up. I agree. You can really get burned out and isolated if you neglect your actual (non-writing) life. And if you have no life, you’ll have nothing to write about.

How long did it take you to write this book?

About ten months, maybe a little less. I wrote the first 20 pages ten years ago, but when I sat down and got going, I found a pretty steady and comfortable pace.

Why did you decide to self-publish this book?

Well, I was dying to write this book, but I knew that my manager and agents in Hollywood wouldn’t have any interest in it. From their perspective, books are a huge gamble with very slim odds of paying off. And they are probably right. However, I was obsessed. So I just started doing it and didn’t ask permission.

When I got done, my screenwriting agent didn’t even want to read it. And what’s worse, I found there really isn’t much crossover between Hollywood and the publishing world if you’re not a name brand author. So, I wrote a bunch of query letters and five months later I got a good agent. It took another three months to negotiate the representation contract, and then we had to wait through the holidays. In late January, the book went out and we were hearing the same thing from about 70% of the editors who read it. That bit went something like, “Love the book, love the voice, showed it around to the gang, don’t know how to sell a memoir by someone who isn’t famous.”

After almost three months of this, I pulled the plug. I was just dead tired of swinging in the wind, particularly with something as personal as this. I felt like maybe, just maybe, I could find my audience if I reached out to them. And so, I decided to try. Now this may wind up being the pinnacle of foolishness, particularly if you add in all the time spent writing the book. But no one goes into creative writing because the business prospects are great. Usually you’re plagued with passion, and that’s sort of where I am now.

What is the biggest misconception about writing a book?

That it needs to take forever. I find tackling any kind of long form writing is a lot like going to the gym. A week or two of keeping your appointment with yourself to write, turns pretty quickly into a habit, and if you just let it continue, before you know it you’ll have your first draft.

What was your favorite aspect of the writing process for this book?

I love how unconstrained I felt writing a book. Screenwriting, even very good screenwriting, is sort of formulaic. There are points where certain things need to happen, and a limited number of pages to tell your story. You also need to be very linear, and show, not tell. I tried to keep the best of that cinematic process, and have fun from there.

What tools/methods have you employed to promote your book? What advice would you give to writers regarding promotion?

I’m just at the very beginning of this process, so I’ve been asking a lot of these questions. Putting one foot in front of the other, and just moving in the direction of your dreams, is really good all-purpose advice that has generally worked well for me.

Oh, and Goodreads is awesome. I just love it. I definitely wouldn’t join with a big marketing attitude about it all, because smart people can smell that a mile away. But if you’re a reader or writer, I think you can absolutely find a home there, and all that getting the word out stuff will happen organically.

I’m a writer – if I stop writing, I am nothing. -Wilbur Smith. Is this true?

No. I’m a dad, so I’ll never feel like I’m nothing. And I also think that if you have that artistic compulsion you’ll find a way to express it, even if you’re not writing.

That said, I am definitely much happier and more confident when I’m writing.

Inspiration is the act of drawing up a chair to the writing desk. -Anon How do you feel about this statement?

Oliver Stone said almost the same thing thusly, “Writing equals ass plus chair.” I love that, and I agree whole-heartedly. As long as you haven’t been running yourself into the ground, I think the best inspiration is just “drawing up a chair to the writing desk.”

Anyway, thanks so much to Sonya for inviting me to do this interview. I’ve really enjoyed it, and I hope you like my book.

Craig

Available on Amazon Paperback & Kindle

Daughter’s Love, Mom’s Thankful Heart

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_MG_1992.jpgWriting to me is one way to say thank you. Many people deserve my thanks and appreciation but no one more than my loyal and faithful daughter. If life offered me any gifts, she was the first in this life.

At the age of 17, she entered the service becoming a US Marine. During Basic Training, she got word that I was in trouble, unable to pay my mortgage.

My intrepid child went to her CO, asked for the money they set aside for the recruits, her meager salary, to send to her mother. I received a money order and a phone call. The money order was more than I needed. The phone call from her was even more.

“Mommy,” said my oldest child, “I am sorry that it is not a full $500. I had to use $1 for the money order.”

Words could never begin to express my gratitude nor my joy at having this child. Not because she gave me money, but because I am proud she is mine. The Lord allowed me the honor of having this woman in my life for a while. Because no matter how old she gets, she is still mine and I can write about her courage and fearless love for all around her. Her compassion spreads out to all and she is sought out for advice when people are in trouble.

_MG_4747.jpgLike a flower, she grew! Like a duckling she became a swan. And just as ferociously, she loves us all.

I write novels and short stories about life and today,

Writing To Me Is:

Thank you First Sergeant. I love you.

-Mom

Enjoy The Blog-A-Licious Tour: “Writing To Me Is…”

The Saffron Kitchen, A Book Review

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As an immigrant I loved this book. Not for the same reasons as others would but for my own reasons which I will share now.

The story is written by the English daughter of an immigrant woman to England. At the beginning, she described how the arrival of the Mother’s nephew brought on sadness and longing in the woman which leads her to go back to Iran to visit.

Hardship and heartache are all she finds but also kindness and lost friendships. It is well written and charming. Many parts left me sad but without understanding.

I am an immigrant and I am afraid do not share any of these longings with my fellow immigrants. I came to the States to find a new home not to drag my old one like a battered wagon behind me. I found her longing childish and selfish. Her new life with her husband of over 20 years was not enough. Her grown pregnant daughter was not enough. Her life and her garden, all not enough. She needed to go back.

In the end it left me disliking her and hoping her husband would find another wife and discard her for good. It made me annoyed for her lack of appreciation of what she made of her life.

I liked the book but disliked the character. She must be a very good writer to leave me so annoyed by the side kick in the novel. I found Yasmin Crother’s writing delightful and easy to read.

***** Yes, loved it. I own it.