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Spock, Science & the Social Outcast: Science Fiction’s Role in the World

With the sad passing of Leonard Nimoy on February 27^th, the science fiction world lost one of its greatest stars. The eponymous ‘Mr Spock’, also known for his directing, poetry and photography work, had become such a staple of life that undoubtedly many who had never known him in person shed a few genuine tears. We are lesser for his passing.

The legacy that Nimoy created will live long into the future, not just as a talented individual with an impressive body of work but also for what his most famous character role represented to many. The half-human, half-alien scientist, hardly accepted by his own culture and finding identity in the world of starships and spaceflight, rings true to all those who have found solace within science fiction when the mainstream has shunned them for their differences.

Science fiction is no stranger to accommodating the outcast and giving them direction. Ray Bradbury, author of the critically hailed ‘Fareinheit 451′, almost gave up on the genre early in the fourth grade when his classmates ridiculed him for collecting Buck Rogers comic strips. Their taunts eventually had the adverse effect and made Bradbury all the more determined to write what he enjoyed. More broadly, A.E van Vogt’s 1946 novel ‘Slan’, featuring a group of evolved humans that are persecuted by the rest of the population, has had such an effect on science fiction fandom in relating empathically to the plight of the Slan people that the phrase ‘Fans are Slans’ became a common ralling cry during the period. Two such individuals who lived in one of the famous ‘Slan’ dwellings were Ken Bulmer – author of over 160 science fiction novels – and Vincent Clarke – one of the inspiring voices behind the foundation of the British Science Fiction Association.

Yet it is not only in the fields of writing that people have found inspiration and identity within science fiction; many industries have benefited from the escapist dreams borne from the pages of those who wish for a different world around them. The inventor Simon Lake, inspired by Jules Verne’s ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’, designed many of basic submersible technologies still used today, and himself went on to design submarines for Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary in the early twentieth century. Similarly, American scientist Robert H. Goddard was inspired by reading H. G. Wells’ ‘War of the Worlds’ as a child and went on to study the field of rocketry, building the world’s first liquid-fuelled rocket in 1926. Motorola’s Martin Cooper was inspired in the 1970s by the Stark Trek communicator to design the first mobile telephone.

Science Fiction has provided many people with inspiration, identity and solace for decades, and will continue to do so long into the future. The unique combination of escapism, future-gazing and limitless possibilities has provided fans of all ages a place in the world that they are unable to discover in mainstream society. Many have also been inspired themselves to write, adding yet more ideas to the bubbling cauldron of Science Fiction that occasionally overflows into the real world, inspiring inventors to take humanity one step further in technological progression. Science Fiction, much like Nimoy’s character Spock, contains a unique combination of scientific primacy and outcast empathy that will continue to inspire, enrich and guide generations yet to come.

- C.J. Somersby

12 Writing Tips From Famous Authors

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We all struggle from time to time with the problem of not being able to write. Anyone who says they don’t are, well, at best delusional, and at worst lying. It’s part and parcel of this journey we send ourselves on as writers (more fool us). So, how does one get past these problems and get down to it? We’d like to say there’s an easy answer to that one, but there isn’t.

Sometimes inspiration will strike at the most inopportune moment, we’ll think of something and forget it again, or we’ll stare blankly at the screen of our laptops/that piece of paper in the typewriter for three hours and then give up and eat pizza in our blanket fort whilst watching re-runs of Breaking Bad. It’s not easy. However, we hope this small collection of writing quotes by famous authors will at least give you some inspiration and help you get past that demon which sits on the writer’s back. So have a read of these tips we have selected, and then see if you can’t write a little something which may become a best seller (if not, we hear Netflix has some great films on it).

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“It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it” - Jack Kerouac

“The writing life is essentially one of solitary confinement – if you can’t deal with this you needn’t apply.” - Will Self

“I have advice for people who want to write. I don’t care whether they’re 5 or 500. There are three things that are important: First, if you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you. Where you just put down what you think about life, what you think about things, what you think is fair and what you think is unfair. And second, you need to read. You can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. It’s the great writers who teach us how to write. The third thing is to write. Just write a little bit every day. Even if it’s for only half an hour — write, write, write.” — Madeleine L’Engle

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London

“Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.” - David Ogilvy

“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that – but you are the only you.” - Neil Gaiman

“Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him.” - William Faulkner

“Interesting verbs are seldom very interesting.” — Jonathan Franzen

“Advice to young writers? Always the same advice: learn to trust our own judgment, learn inner independence, learn to trust that time will sort the good from the bad – including your own bad.” — Doris Lessing

“To all the talented young men who wander about feeling that there is nothing in the world for them to do, I should say: ‘Give up trying to write, and, instead, try not to write. Go out into the world; become a pirate, a king in Borneo, a labourer in Soviet Russia; give yourself an existence in which the satisfaction of elementary physical needs will occupy almost all your energies.’ I do not recommend this course of action to everyone, but only to those who suffer from the disease which Mr Krutch diagnoses. I believe that, after some years of such an existence, the ex-intellectual will find that in spite of is efforts he can no longer refrain from writing, and when this time comes his writing will not seem to him futile.” - Bertrand Russell

“The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.” - Neil Gaiman

“You either have to write or you shouldn’t be writing. That’s all.” - Joss Whedon

Africa’s 100 best books of the 20^th Century

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At 1998’s Zimbabwe International Book Fair in Harare, a project was proposed to celebrate and bring wider international attention to the achievements of notable authors and books from across the African continent. 500 nominations from an original list of 1,521 suggested titles by institutions and experts all over the world were judged and poured over. The panel was chaired by Njabule Ndebele, former VIce-Chairman of the University of Cape Town.

Criteria of the list included quality, insight and contribution to debate. The final list, which reflected a balance of gender, historical spread, regional representation, and genres of writing was announced in 2002 in Accra, Ghana, with the awards ceremony taking place in Cape Town in July.

The jury then chose the best twelve African books of the twentieth century. The books — in African and European languages or in Arabic - were divided into three categories: children’s writing, non-fiction/academic writing and creative writing.

Here are those top 12 books in that list, with the link to the full list below. Some great titles to add to your reading list, all with unique voices and perspectives.

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Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, 1958

The impact of British colonization on African communities is explored in this book by Nigeria’s most famous author. Values of the past are weaved into a tale which informs the world about Ibo cultural traditions.

Meshack Asare, Sosu’s Call, 1999

Recipient of UNESCO’s 1^st Prize for Children’s Literature and IBBY’s Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities award. A disabled child who is outcast from his village saves the people who shunned him when waters rise and threaten them all by overcoming his disability and sounding the alarm to save his village.

With themes of acceptance, differences and what it means to be normal, Sosu’s Call is a tale of heroism and resolve.

Mariama Bâ, Une si longue lettre, 1979

Recipient of the 1980 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. Themes of everyday frustration that many women face, especially after their spouses and breadwinners die, this book can be said to be one of the finest feminist texts to have come out of Senegal, and in fact anywhere in the world.

Mia Couto, Terra Sonâmbula 1992

A young boy and old man take shelter in a burned-out bus filled with dead bodies and their belongings, and the boy finds a notebook in one of the boxes of belongings, and reads it out loud to the old man, and they discover the life and journey of the writer, Kindzu.

Mozambique author Couto blends African oral tradition and Portuguese literary language in an utterly unique fashion. A tale of Mozambique’s Civil War, in which 5 million were displaced and 1 million killed, this is unapologetic magical realism, a war described without any battle scenes, metaphor upon metaphor.

Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions, 1988

Zimbabwean writer Dangarembga’s first novel, portraying an African society whose younger generation of women struggle with varying degrees of success and failure.

Cheikh Anta Diop, Antériorité des Civilisations Nègres / The African Origins of Civilization: Myth or Reality, 1955

A thesis that historical, archaelogical and anthropological evidence supports the theory that the civilisation of ancient Egypt was actually Negroid in origin, challenging the prevalent theories of the time.

Assia Djebar, L’Amour, La Fantasia, 1985

This book describes the conquest of Algeria and the war of independence from a female perspective, and in so doing gives a voice to all women.

Naguib Mahfouz, The Cairo Trilogy, 1945
A panoramic three-part work written to explain the mentality and motivations of the people who lived in Cairo from the 1900s to the 1940s. Palace walk (1990), Palace of desire (1991) and Sugar street (1992) each are resplendent with description of the subject’s daily lives while portraying a wider historical process and context. The triolgy follows three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence.

Thomas Mofolo, Chaka, 1925

A historical novel centred around Chaka Zulu, themes of power and its corrupting influence are explored by Mofolo.

Léopold Sédar Senghor, Oeuvre Poétique, 1961

A poetry collection by Senghor which explores the origins of the African persona. Up there with the greatest poets to have ever lived.

Wole Soyinka, Ake: The Years of Childhood, 1981

The story of poet and author Soyinka’s childhood before and during WWII. A stunning autobiographical account of childhood wonder.

Ngugi wa Thiongo, A Grain of Wheat, 1967

Set in a village preparing for the coming of independence, this Kenyan novel depicts the dilemmas facing an emerging nation, the struggles of everyday life, and many universal themes.

*****

Full list: Africa’s 100 Best Books of the 20^th Century at Columbia University Libraries Online

Article: Was There A Method To Lewis Carroll’s Madness? (Exploring Carroll’s Work Through The Lens of Photography).

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Lewis Carroll was a keen photographer as well as a writer, better known for his tales about Alice. In this article, we will explore Carroll’s photography practices and processes, and how they could possibly associate themselves with, and inform his literature, namely Through The Looking-Glass. The physical act of taking and developing pictures, alongside the relationships he built with his young subjects can all be seen to influence the fantastical and random elements to his stories. Critical writers such as Rosella Mallardi suggest that the books about Alice were subject to “literary contamination by photography” (Mallardi, 2010). Analysing how one art form influences another, may help us add a method to the madness behind Through The Looking-Glass.

At first glance, the chosen language in the title could be connected to Carroll’s photographic practice. The title Through The Looking-Glass,could be perceived as the use of a camera. The words “through” and “looking-glass” could be argued to be in the semantic field of photography. The photographer will look through the lens at his model, much like the reader is watching Alice throughout the story. We see Alice dive into a parallel reality; a similar parallel reality to that of a photograph, where she is reflecting her consciousness and personality onto a world that isn’t explicitly real. Furthermore, an early daguerreotype (an early form of photograph), was known to be called a “mirror with memory” (Mallardi, 2010), this could be associated with the beginning of Through the Looking-Glass, as we see Alice walk through a mirror where she experiences a dream-like state of affairs. These connections suggest that the act of photography and the social terms surrounding it, could have influenced Carroll in the writing of Through The Looking-Glass.

Fig. 1: Alice Liddell in the character of a homeless girl (Photographer: Lewis Carroll)

Carroll used many child models in his photography (as seen in figure 1) this allowed him to build a rapport with them. Photography gave him an opportunity to work with children that played a prominent role in his childhood ideology. According to Mallardi, when dealing with children, he was “struck by their natural kindness” claiming children had a “spontaneous politeness” about them (Mallardi, 2010). In Through The Looking-Glass, Alice exhibits many of these traits. For example, upon meeting Tweedledum and Tweedledee, she apologises for simply staring at them, saying “I’m sure I’m very sorry”. Moreover when she attempts to ask a question with “I was thinking”, she is described to say it “very politely”. Carroll’s use of the word “very” highlights the degree of politeness within Alice, a similar politeness which could be argued to fuel his desire to work with children. Therefore, Carroll’s relationships with children clearly inform the way that children act and speak in his novel.

In an account taken from one of Carroll’s young models, she describes being taken into the dark room where Carroll’s developing took place. Carroll would then tell them “fantastical tales” in order to stimulate the child’s imagination. As he believed imagination was evident in a photograph (Mallardi, 2010). This could also be closely related to the main story of Through The Looking-Glass. Alice walks through the looking glass, and discovers a world where fantastical things happen to her. However before stepping into looking glass house, Alice stimulates her own imagination. She talks to her kitten saying “let’s pretend the glass has got all soft like gauze”. This suggests that Alice’s imagination allowed her to break through into the “photographic” world. This is similar to how Carroll believed imagination was an important part of, and was evident in photography.

Carroll observed his child subjects, and saw that the apparitions, and faults seen in a photograph were as real to them as the object itself; seeing the imagined fact, within the fiction of a photograph. Although the models knew that the discrepancies did not affect the superior, or “real” world, they still chose to believe what they saw, whilst in Carroll’s dark room. This can be seen in Through the Looking-Glass, where Alice accepts the characters she meets as real, and does not question the existence of such creatures; treating them as if they were friends. This is seen on the train, where Alice is talking to the gnat about insects saying– “I like them when they talk”, then adds “none of them talk where I come from”, Conversing with an insect that is usually vilified by humans, creates a fiction which Alice becomes increasingly interested in. She goes on to ask about other insects, trying to learn about the factual elements of her fictional world, whilst still accepting the existence of the “real” by saying “where I come from”.

The distance between the “real” world and fantasy world is widened with the use of a third person narrative. The reader watches Alice through the fantasy world as the narrator keeps the reader anchored to the real world by means of reporting. This narrative could have been influenced by Carroll’s own role as a photographer. He would have been at a distance, behind his machine, grounded by knowledge of the “real” world, to simply watch his models accept the fantasy of the world inside of a photograph as fact.

Fig. 2: Alice Liddell in Eastern attire (Photographer: Lewis Carroll).

In the “real” world, Alice takes joy in splitting herself into many personalities at once. As seen in the beginning of the novel when Alice explains an argument she had with her sister about playing “kings and queens”. Stating that her sister could play one and Alice would play “all of the others”. She is also seen to talk to herself when crying saying “come, there is no use crying like that!”. It could be said that this “split” in personality was inspired by photography itself. Firstly, the subject remains alive, changing over time. Whereas the photograph is a “split” of themselves at an exact time, frozen. Arguably different from the subject as they will never be that person at that time ever again. Moreover, Carroll took joy out of making his young models dress in character to take photographs (as seen in figure 1 and 2). From this, it is clear that photography informed character development in Alice throughout his stories.

Some of Carroll’s nonsensical language used in Through The Looking-Glass is connected to the developing process of a photograph. Wherein a literary “photographer” plunges down the makings of a subject’s consciousness into a “literary bath” (Mallardi, 2010). The way pales turn into bright colours in a photograph is similar to the way language, and the meaning of language changes in an unpredictable and nonsensical manner. This can be seen throughout the novel, especially with the character of Humpty Dumpty. When asked by Alice to “translate” the Jabberwocky poem out of words that are not in the English language such as “brillig”, he translates them with perfect confidence, claiming that it means “four O’clock in the afternoon – the time when you begin broiling things for dinner”. This shows that out of the “literary bath” of random words which are at first unknown, Alice discovers logic and reasoning behind the nonsensical language. Much like colour which is at first unknown to the eye, comes into sight with the process of developing.

Photography provided many inspirations for his writing such as the opportunity to build a friendship with children, and put them in an environment where they can dream. The processes themselves also provide ample opportunity to try similar things with language. Developing language in a photographic way, and seeing the colour of a story develop into the nonsensical. Alice says to Humpty Dumpty that “one can’t help growing older”. But what he let the children experience in his dark rooms can be said to be experienced by Alice in her adventures. And it is through stories of her, he captures all of the child-like excitement, inquisition, and imagination that he saw in his models, and preserves it in the photograph of literature.

- Christopher Flame

Works cited:

Mallardi, Rosella. “The Photographic Eye and the Vision of Childhood in Lewis Carroll”
Studies in Philology, Vol.107. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina Press, 2010.
548–572. Print.

Meet The Author: C.J. Somersby

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Time for one of our “Meet the author” articles now. C.J. Somersby has his first supernatural/paranormal fantasy “Conquest” coming out on July 1^st through us, so we thought it high time to introduce you to a little bit more about this Nottingham based author, and what better way to do it than through the medium of video? Click play to find out more.

“Conquest: Book 1 in the Angels of Chicago series is out July 1^st through Amazon for Kindle and paperback. Keep an eye out for a crowdfunding campaign soon, and pre-orders will be going live on the 1^st of April.

20 of the Greatest Opening Lines

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Ahh, the elusive “opening line”. How do you create a truly great one that will stick in the reader’s mind and draw them in right from the first word? It’s an art form. A great opening line can really set up the rest of the book, and help ensure your writing will live on. So, what are some of our favourites? Well, here are 20 of the greatest opening lines in our opinion, from classics to modern literature.

What are some of yours? Leave a reply in the comments section below.

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“It began as a mistake”

- Post Office, Charles Bukowski (1971)

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

- Pride And Prejudice, Jane Austin (1813)

“It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him.”

- Catch-22, Joseph Heller (1961)

“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.”

- The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath (1963)

“I call our world Flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are privileged to live in Space.”

- Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Edwin Abbott Abbott (1884)

“Call Me Ishmael”

- Moby Dick, Herman Melville (1851)

“The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.”

- Murphy, Samuel Beckett (1938)

“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

- Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

- The Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger (1951)

“They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did.”

- Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys (1966)

“Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress.”

- Middlemarch, George Eliot (1871)

“Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him.”

- Brighton Rock, Graham Greene (1938)

“Like most people I lived for a long time with my mother and father. My father liked to watch the wrestling, my mother liked to wrestle: it didn’t matter what. She was in the white corner and that was that.”

- Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson (1985)

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

- A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens (1859)

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

- Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (1877)

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.”

- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”

- The Metamorphosis,Franz Kafka (1915)

“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”

- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (1979)

“We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.”

- Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson (1971)

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

- Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell (1949)

Meet The Author: J.S. Collyer

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Howdy all. We hope you’re doing well. In our second “Meet The Author” feature, we talk today to J.S. Collyer, author of Zero, the first in the Orbit series of novels, which was released in July through Amazon. We talk to her about her influences, and what inspires her as a writer, and there’s a special announcement about what’s coming up from this brilliant new Sci-Fi author. Please, read on…

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When did you start writing?

I have been writing ever since I first learned to spell. In fact…possibly sooner. I used to scribble stories in my school exercise books and carry a notebook around with me and spend my lunch breaks in the library. Yes, I was that cool.

Which three authors do you feel have influenced your writing the most, and why?

I think the three authors I would have to say have influenced me most are Anne Rice, Robin Hobb and the writing team of Melissa Scott & Lisa Barnett. Anne Rice made me realise what depth can be gained from adding a splash of decadence and darkness to a narrative. Robin Hobb taught me the importance of realistic characters and motivations, even with a story set in a magical universe. Finally, Melissa Scott and Lisa Barnett, in their Astreiant series (I stumbled across the books Point of Hopes and Point of Dreams quite by accident, but they really are worth checking out), taught me about effective world building and how very little exposition you actually need to establish your characters and your setting and how effective such an approach can be.

Which themes do you like to explore in your writing?

I like very human themes that give my characters chances to react and make decisions and fight against or for their situations, allowing readers can get to know every corner of their personalities. I like to explore relationships between people and the environment they find themselves in and how they deal with loss, doubt, fear and victory.

Oh…and spaceships, lasers and galaxy-wide games of politics. Always good.

Tell us which four authors would make for your ideal drinking partners?

What a great question! I’d love to go out for a jar or two with Robin Hobb as I think I would have to choose her as my favourite writer, so I could quiz her about her own writing journey and how she found her voice. I would also love to go out with Jo Baker, because she was my tutor at university and already know she’s great company, but would really enjoy catching up with her since the recent success of her Pride and Prejudice spin-off Longbourne. Finally, it would be great to go out with both George R. R. Martin and Steven King together, just because they are such legends and I can’t even begin to imagine what they must know and could talk about. I’d also be interested to know what they’d drink. I’m picturing Martin with mead, but that might be because I’ve read too much fantasy.

Do you have a set writing schedule?

When I am working on a novel, or have a deadline, yes I do. I write at every available opportunity, which means every day after work and then I take writing holidays and go away for days at a time. Writing takes a long time and until you’ve pulled together a 140,000 + world novel you don’t realise how much time. Even now, I sometimes forget. I just know you have to make time, and a lot of it, to make deadlines.

When there is no immediate deadline, there is still plenty to get on with so I still stick to a schedule. Usually this involves making time for planning the next project, writing posts or short fiction for my WordPress or scouting out new projects.

What else apart from works by other authors inspires you as an author?

My main inspiration for my Orbit novel series was in fact anime & manga. Features such as Akira, Pat Labor and Gundam Wing were big influences just because I love the settings, the style and the impact the politics, environment and events have on the characters.

How important to you is the cover design for a book?

Despite the well-known saying, the very first judgement made about the book is from its cover. I therefore think a good cover is vital. Whereas a sub-standard cover is not likely to impact on a reader’s opinion of good prose, a reader is still unlikely to get as far as trying the prose out if they haven’t first been drawn in by the cover.

Also, it’s about representing your art. Why wouldn’t you want your work visually represented in the best possible way?

What advice do you have for an aspiring writer?

Never stop writing. Seek to learn. Never think that you’ve got to a point where there nothing left to figure out. The journey is never over, but the process is worth the effort. There’s nothing quite like holding your first book in your hand.

What other books do you have in the works at the moment?

Well, I think I’ll take this opportunity to announce that I’ve just finished drafting the sequel to my first novel, ‘Zero’. Book no. 2 in the Orbit series is called ‘Haven’ and is currently going through the editing/feedback process with a view to being released sometime in 2015. I’m extremely excited about this after the first one has been so well received and I really enjoyed revisiting these characters. Those who have read ‘Zero’ will hopefully find it an emotional an eventful continuation to the story.

Tell us about any up-and-coming events you’re going to where people can meet you.

2015 is going to be the Year of Events for me. I love getting to speak to the readers and hear what they think about my work, as well as see and speak to all the other people that attend events and cons with their work and passions.

I can confirm so far for 2015 that I will be attending Yorkshire Cosplay Con on Sat 4^th April at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham near Sheffield. This really promises to be a great day out for people of all ages who enjoy SciFi, Fantasy, Computer Games, costumes and fiction. Earlybird tickets are still available for £7 for an adult and £5 for children so it really is great value. I have been asked to be on an author panel sometime during the day so be sure to come along, say hi, find out more about ‘Haven’ and/or grab a signed copy of ‘Zero’ and some exclusive ‘Zero’ merch!

I am also planning some more book signings around the country and have been asked to a couple of other events that haven’t officially been announced yet, so do keep an eye on my Facebook page (facebook.com/jscollyer) or follow me on Twitter @JexShinigami for more announcements.

Lastly, are there any other up-and-coming authors you feel people should read?

For science fiction fans, I would recommend checking out Michael Patrick Hicks and Mike Brooks. Hicks already has a couple for works release and his novel ‘Convergence’ is definitely one for the ‘Blade Runner’/’I Robot’ fans out there, those who like it dystopian and action-packed and he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down release-wise. Mike Brooks’s first novel, Dark Run, is not out yet, but promises to be a stonker.

Fantasy fans need to also look up Andrea Hinchey who has one of the most vivid imaginations in any writer I have ever met. Her short fiction has been featured in some anthologies and I happen to know she is building up to her first big release which is going to be an absolute must for fans of Christine Feehan and the like. She also posts poetry and flash fiction on her WordPress that is great for those who like to escape to other, magical worlds.

I also have to mention M. J. Wesolowski, Horror Writer. He is a wonderful writer with great titles already to his name (his horror novella ‘The Black Land’ is already getting a lot of attention) and is also a personal friend of mine. I have had some sneak-previews of some of the projects he has in the pipeline and when I say this writer is ready to take the world by storm I’m no exaggerating. His work is dark with depth, pace and crawling with atmosphere. His WordPress is called ‘Beyond the Northern Waves’ and I suggest a follow to keep abreast of everything he has brewing.

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J.S. Collyer’s debut novel Zero is available now through Amazon for kindle and paperback.

You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, become her friend on Goodreads. She’s lovely.

Meet The Author: Claire Meadows

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Here at Dagda Publishing we are very proud of the authors we have helped to bring their artistic vision to the book reading public. So, to this end we feel that it’s a great idea for you, the reader, to get to know our authors a little bit more, and peek behind that veil of secrecy. Starting things off, we have Claire Meadows, author of To The Lions and Vacant Spaces, and keep an eye out over the next few weeks for features on the other authors in our little family. We shall now pass you over to Claire herself. Enjoy.

When did you start writing?

I was an extremely bookish child with a very fertile imagination. My earliest writing memories date from about the age of 7 with me embellishing tales of what I’d got up to in the summer holidays. The written word has been a lifelong passion.

Which three authors do you feel have influenced your writing the most, and why?

Muriel Spark for her dark glamour and gallows humour. Agatha Christie for the economy of her writing – every word hits its mark, with nothing spare. And Margaret Atwood for the fearless scope of her intellect.

What are you reading at the moment?

I’ve only just got around to reading Zadie Smith’s White Teeth and am enjoying it enormously. The juxtaposition between different generations, and different classes is keenly observed and cleverly rendered. And it’s also very funny. I’ve also just started Chiang Yee’s The Silent Traveller in Oxford.

Which themes do you like to explore in your writing?

I’m intrigued by the interplay between darkness and light in the human soul. What nourishes can also destroy. What inspires can condemn. Love is no different. I work with this a lot.

Where do you see your writing career going from here?

I’m hoping to start work on my next project within the next couple of weeks.

What advice do you have for an aspiring poet?

There’s no other way but work, work and work. Read widely, live wildly, plumb the depths of yourself, turn yourself inside out until you find your voice.

My work has evolved through ten years of me working to be the best poet I possibly could be.

Do you have a set writing schedule?

Having been an Open University student, I’m very disciplined when it comes to finding time to work.

When I was writing To The Lions I made it my goal to finish work at 5pm on the dot, and write for exactly an hour at the kitchen table. Then I’d reward myself with a glass of wine.

What would you say is your muse?

Deepest, darkest love. And a fear of obscurity.

When writing, do you listen to music, or do you prefer silence?

I wrote To The Lions in silence. I’ve put together playlists to inspire my newest projects, but when it comes to writing it, it will probably be in silence.

Lastly, are there any other up-and-coming authors you feel people should read?

Seek out Daniel Gothard and Jurgen Olschewski. Both offer windows into the human psyche in extraordinary ways. I enjoy their work tremendously.

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Pick up Claire’s books on Amazon and experience her unique poetic style and vision for yourself:

Writing Better: Henry Miller’s 11 Commandments

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For this week’s “Writing Better” article, we have decided to go with these 11 nuggets of wisdom from Henry Miller, one of the undisputed masters of literature, featured in Henry Miller On Writing, an excellent book.

Want to see more writing tips from great masters? Try Stephen King’s 20 rules for writing, Jack Kerouac’s 30 Beliefs And Techniques For Writing Modern Prose, and others in our list of articles

1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.

2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to ‘Black Spring.’

3. Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.

4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!

5. When you can’t create you can work.

6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.

7. Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.

8. Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.

9. Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.

10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.

11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.

Writing Better: 20 Rules For Writing From Stephen King

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Continuing our series on “Writing Better”, this week we have some invaluable tips from one of the undisputed Masters of literature - Stephen King. Absolutely prolific, and a creative force to be reckoned with, King is also extremely down to earth in his life and outlook. Sort of like a friendly uncle, really. Our friendly author uncle. Listening to him talk about the craft has an element of sitting down by the fireside to listen to someone who has been there and experienced it all.

King has always maintained that he is an avid reader, as well as a writer, so his tips and thoughts on writing seem to serve this dual purpose extremely well. We can connect with his advice because he is talking from both sides of the fence. A rare talent. His advice on the opening line is especially enlightening and knowledgeable (without being pompous or overtly intellectual) - “An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.”

So, we present to you King’s 20 Rules from On Writing, his memoir/instruction manual for all aspiring purveyors of the craft. Enjoy.

1. First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience. “When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that arenot the story.”

2. Don’t use passive voice. “Timid writers like passive verbs for the same reason that timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe.”

3. Avoid adverbs. “The adverb is not your friend.”

4. Avoid adverbs, especially after “he said” and “she said.”

5. But don’t obsess over perfect grammar. “The object of fiction isn’t grammatical correctness but to make the reader welcome and then tell a story.”

6. The magic is in you. “I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing.”

7. Read, read, read. ”If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.”

8. Don’t worry about making other people happy. “If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.”

9. Turn off the TV. “TV—while working out or anywhere else—really is about the last thing an aspiring writer needs.”

10. You have three months. “The first draft of a book—even a long one—should take no more than three months, the length of a season.”

11. There are two secrets to success. “I stayed physical healthy, and I stayed married.”

12. Write one word at a time. “Whether it’s a vignette of a single page or an epic trilogy like ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ the work is always accomplished one word at a time.”

13. Eliminate distraction. “There’s should be no telephone in your writing room, certainly no TV or videogames for you to fool around with.”

14. Stick to your own style. “One cannot imitate a writer’s approach to a particular genre, no matter how simple what that writer is doing may seem.”

15. Dig. “Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered pre-existing world. The writer’s job is to use the tools in his or her toolbox to get as much of each one out of the ground intact as possible.”

16. Take a break. “You’ll find reading your book over after a six-week layoff to be a strange, often exhilarating experience.”

17. Leave out the boring parts and kill your darlings. “(kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.)”

18. The research shouldn’t overshadow the story.“Remember that word back. That’s where the research belongs: as far in the background and the back story as you can get it.”

19. You become a writer simply by reading and writing.“You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself.”

20. Writing is about getting happy. “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. Writing is magic, as much as the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.”