tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-872006676538513242024-03-18T02:47:49.710-07:00Duncan LayMy name is Duncan Lay and I'm the author of the Australian best-selling fantasy trilogies, The Dragon Sword Histories and the Empire Of Bones. I am now with Momentum Books (Pan Macmillan) and my new series, The Last Quarrel is out in eBook and print. Book 2, The Bloody Quarrel, is coming out in December 2015/Jan 2016 in eBook and will be in print later in 2016. Head over to my website, www.duncanlay.com for more!Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-14301516831070684602015-12-21T19:03:00.003-08:002015-12-21T19:03:36.457-08:00Why The Force Awakens is all a part of Luke's plan, Finn is Lando's son and other huge Star Wars spoilers and plot ideas!
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">IS THIS ALL A PLOT OF LUKE SKYWALKER?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Force Awakens is all about Luke Skywalker, even though he
doesn’t actually appear until the last minute and doesn’t say a word. But the
first line of the crawl is “Luke Skywalker has disappeared”. The movie is,
effectively, all about him. He is the key.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We know that is a given, so perhaps all the (seemingly)
random events of Force Awakens are part of Luke’s overall plan. Remember what
happened in Return Of The Jedi when Luke tried to break Han out of Jabba’s
palace?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a seemingly random series of events, some of
which could have ended tragically, but it all came together eventually to see
Luke and his friends triumphant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Is this what is happening in the new trilogy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s look at the evidence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A mysterious man just “happens” to have the missing piece
of the map to Luke’s whereabouts on the same planet where Rey has been left and
where the Millennium Falcon is waiting. And Han Solo and Chewie are loitering
in the system nearby to save them when they break out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sure, that’s could just all be a coincidence …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then we have R2D2, who is powered down but wakes up at
just the “right” moment. Remember, R2D2 was one of only two people who knew
Luke’s full plan to take out Jabba.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Who was the other? Lando Calrissian. Strange, perhaps, to
trust someone who had just betrayed Han and Leia to Vader but Lando knew what
was going on, when even Leia was apparently kept in the dark. (I can’t see her
agreeing to Luke’s plan and putting herself in that dodgy bikini for Jabba’s
enjoyment).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And where does Lando come into all of this? Well, is he
perhaps Finn’s father?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Finn is a mysterious character, who is able to show up at
just the right moment to save the day. He displays no apparent mastery of The
Force but plenty of skill with blasters and ship lasers. He can appreciate
really good flying and has a mix of self-preservation and bravery that sums up
Lando pretty well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We know Luke trusts Lando and it follows that Lando
trusts Luke. Was it enough to give up one of his sons and place him into the
Stormtrooper program? I think so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, it could be that Finn is just a random character. But
I think not. His lack of lightsaber skill and ability with The Force seemingly
rules out a relative of Mace Windu. So I’m thinking Lando is his dad. And it
means Finn is perfectly placed to help the others out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then we come to Rey.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Surely she is either the daughter of Han and Leia (thus
Ben/Kylo Ren’s sister) or maybe Luke’s daughter. She has an uncanny ability to
fly and massive power within The Force. That’s a big tick either way.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">She was obviously placed on Jakku for a reason. Likewise,
the map was placed there for a reason. And Leia sends Poe there at exactly the
right time? Maybe, or maybe it’s all part of a plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Talking of Leia, did she send Han out to die? She tells
him to “bring our son home”. She had to have known that Ben/Ren wasn’t going to
turn away from a life of evil that easily. But killing your father is a big
step, one that will surely return to haunt Ben/Ren. Was that perhaps the first
rock that starts the avalanche and propels Ben/Ren back to the light?</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Would she sacrifice the love of her life to get back her
son? Hell, yes!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, obviously we shall find out the answers to these
questions, and more, in the next two films.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, keep an eye on those bulletin boards to see
who is listed for guest roles in Eps 8 and 9. If Lando’s back, then I reckon I’m
right … <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-81188356574483486532015-09-01T23:59:00.001-07:002015-09-01T23:59:26.036-07:00Ebook release dates for The Bloody Quarrel, book two of the series!<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Release dates for The Bloody Quarrel, book 2 of the series are ready!</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Here they go ...</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">The Bloody Quarrel Episode 1: Thursday 3 December</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">The Bloody Quarrel Episode 2: Thursday 10 December</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">The Bloody Quarrel Episode 3: Thursday 17 December</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/19.31px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><br />The Bloody Quarrel Episode 4: Thursday 31 December<br />The Bloody Quarrel Episode 5: Thursday 7 January<br />The Bloody Quarrel Complete Edition: Thursday 11 February</span>Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-27350319826376619552015-09-01T23:58:00.000-07:002015-09-01T23:58:01.965-07:00It's Tour Time again!<div class="font_8" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px currentColor; color: white; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal basic, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black;">With The Last Quarrel coming out in print in Australia and New Zealand (don't forget, you can order it Print On Demand through Amazon if you are in America or the UK), it's time for me to hit the road.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I'll be touring around NSW, the ACT and Victoria in October, including some fun book conventions as well as book stores.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">If you come along to one of those days then you could take part in a fun Twitter/Facebook giveaway that could see you win a book pack or maybe enjoy a discount for the eBook to go with your print edition ...</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Here's where you can catch me:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Thurs Oct 1:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Canberra: 11am</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Tuggeranong: 2pm</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Friday Oct 2:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Belconnen 10am</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Hooked On Books Batemans Bay 2.30pm</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Saturday Oct 3:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Shoalhaven Superheroes convention (booksales for DeanSwift ABC Books Nowra)</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Tuesday Oct 6</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Galaxy Books 11am</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Wed Oct 7</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks George Street store: 12pm</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Thurs Oct 8:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">11am: Dymocks Penrith</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">5pm: Dymocks Macquarie Centre</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Friday Oct 9:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">11am: Dymocks Burwood</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">2.30pm: Dymocks Chatswood</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Sat Oct 10:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Tuggerah 1pm</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Sun Oct 11:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Rouse Hill 11am</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Wed Oct 14:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Collins St Melbourne: 11am</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Victoria Gardens: 2pm</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Thurs Oct 15:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Knox: 10am</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Glen Waverley 1pm</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Southland: 5pm</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Fri Oct 16:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Eastland 10am</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Doncaster 1pm</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Sat Oct 17:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dymocks Parramatta</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Sun Oct 18:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Sydney Book Expo at Olympic Park</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Thursday October 22:</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Event night at Berkelouw Hornsby: 6pm</span></div>
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-56777029956536712582015-04-15T21:05:00.001-07:002015-04-15T21:05:41.348-07:00Guest post with Claire Boston: How far would you go for love?In The Last Quarrel, the main characters Fallon and Bridgit are driven to extremes by love and the need to get back together, set against a backdrop of a world falling to evil.<br />
One of the questions that runs not just through a genre like fantasy but through every style of fiction - as well as real life - is: How far would you go for love? Would you lie, cheat, steal, torture, even kill?<br />
I asked fellow Momentum Books author Claire Boston to consider this question.<br />
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Claire's new book, All That Sparkles, is released on April 23. If you've not read Claire Boston before, here's a little bit about her:<br />
Claire Boston was a voracious reader as a child, devouring anything by Enid Blyton as well as series such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, The Baby-sitters Club and Sweet Valley High. Then one school holidays when she’d run out of books to read her mother handed her Hot Ice by Nora Roberts and Claire instantly fell in love with romance novels.<br />
The love of reading soon turned to a love of writing and she struggled to keep within the 1500 word limit set by her teachers for her creative writing assignments. When she finally decided to become serious about her stories she joined Romance Writers of Australia, found her wonderful critique group and hasn’t looked back.<br />
When Claire’s not reading or writing she can be found in the garden attempting to grow vegetables, or racing around a vintage motocross track. If she can convince anyone to play with her, she also enjoys cards and board games.<br />
Claire lives in Western Australia, just south of Perth, with her husband, who loves even her most annoying quirks, and her two grubby but adorable Australian bulldog. And here's a little about her new book ...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptTbN0VO4spd_fO9g_jw4uG2MG_dRVV11fwVj75WVgH4QjAm5NX-yuX3WFxnC4PSIjPGtEYqMUQot7l2arcIFDnG9UdJN-ZZNrIMcz8_TEdnyUwxSkDchdGo84fcvSTYMaXr67-_uIFs/s1600/Boston_Claire1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptTbN0VO4spd_fO9g_jw4uG2MG_dRVV11fwVj75WVgH4QjAm5NX-yuX3WFxnC4PSIjPGtEYqMUQot7l2arcIFDnG9UdJN-ZZNrIMcz8_TEdnyUwxSkDchdGo84fcvSTYMaXr67-_uIFs/s1600/Boston_Claire1.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Imogen Fontaine is living every girl's dream.</span></b> </div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">She is a fashion designer for her family's haute couture label, lives in a mansion, has a great circle of friends and is the apple of her father's eye. Everything is perfect.</span> </div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Until the day that Christian, the boy at the center of her childhood heartbreak, walks back into her life.</span> </div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">From there her life starts to unravel, as long-kept secrets are revealed. Imogen learns that her past was built on lies and betrayal, shattering the illusion of her perfect existence. She must seek out the truth if she has any hope of forging a new path for herself and discovering true freedom.</span></div>
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">But can she convince Christian that there is a place for him in her new life?</span><br />
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: black;">Want to know more? You can pick up <a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/authors/claire-boston/" target="_blank">All That Sparkles</a> on the Momentum website. And now, over to Claire...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">When Duncan first approached me and mentioned we should do a
blog swap writing about characters being forced into extremes for love my
initial thought was I don’t have anything relevant to say. I write contemporary
romance which is relatively light. Extremes aren’t really part of what I write
(especially when compared to Duncan!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Then I remembered Remy Fontaine, my heroine’s father, and my
editor’s extreme dislike of him because of his actions and I realised that everyone
has different opinions based on their own life experiences. Before I go any
further I have to give a SPOILER ALERT. If you haven’t read All that Sparkles
yet, some of what I write will give away key turning points in the story so I
suggest you buy the book, read it and then come back to this post. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Tahoma; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Remy was such an easy character to write. Everything he said
just flowed from my fingertips and I loved writing him. Let me introduce you to
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Remy is in his seventies, a world famous haute couture
fashion designer, who is filthy rich and has a single daughter, Imogen who is
in her twenties. His wife and the love of his life died just days after giving
birth to Imogen. His whole life revolves around his fashion empire and his
daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">He was born in France and as a child he was shipped around
foster homes with no one really loving him. He finally ran away when he was
sixteen. It wasn’t until he met his wife, that he found anyone who really
understood him, and with whom he could share his past. He loved her deeply,
despite their twenty-year age gap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">When she died, he was distraught. To compound matters, her
family in their grief, blamed him for her death. Desperate to protect his only
child from the kind of hate he’d suffered as a child, he became overly
protective of her. He forbade his wife’s family from seeing Imogen, she went to
a private girls’ school where all of her friends had to be approved by him and
when she was finally old enough to leave home, he manipulated her into staying
with him. In spite of this Imogen grew up to be a sweet and reasonably
well-adjusted woman. You see Remy also doted on his daughter, giving her
everything she wanted and spending as much time with her as he could. He was
essentially her only friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Some people may see Remy’s actions as a type of child abuse,
but his actions are understood when you look at the context of his upbringing.
While he is preventing Imogen from finding her own friends, he’s also
protecting himself from criticism and judgement of those around him and
protecting her from his own childhood hurts. His treatment is definitely an
extreme of love, but as with any good romance, there is a happily ever after. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OMSTbfCpzZF3sJ_CdS46D1R_mQt4OfMoORvdfMW9zBGL2SiwA_shvBSziXttGwB5NbuYzNfnwgboNvOlCdYriObnwCWki8B0q-fpXNVbeqVzsiHWlaBnznGBWY0UIVgzgASQxYLiriU/s1600/AllThatSparklesCoverSml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OMSTbfCpzZF3sJ_CdS46D1R_mQt4OfMoORvdfMW9zBGL2SiwA_shvBSziXttGwB5NbuYzNfnwgboNvOlCdYriObnwCWki8B0q-fpXNVbeqVzsiHWlaBnznGBWY0UIVgzgASQxYLiriU/s1600/AllThatSparklesCoverSml.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">If you do read All that Sparkles, I’d love to hear what you
thought about Remy. You can leave a comment below, or find me at:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.claireboston.com/"><span style="color: #041741; font-family: Tahoma;">www.claireboston.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Twitter @clairebauthor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Facebook </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/clairebostonauthor"><span style="color: #041741; font-family: Tahoma;">www.facebook.com/clairebostonauthor</span></a><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-91467434479740943312015-03-16T21:16:00.001-07:002015-03-16T21:16:16.110-07:00The best advice Game Of Thrones author George RR Martin gave Joe Abercrombie<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: small/normal arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong>I was lucky enough to interview Joe Abercrombie for The Sunday Telegraph while he was touring Australia. The truncated interview appeared on March 15. Here's the full version:</strong></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: small/normal arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: small/normal arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: small/normal arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Never become famous. It's one piece of advice British fantasy author Joe Abercrombie hopes to live by.</span><br />
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It's one thing that Game Of Thrones author George RR Martin told him although Abercrombie, whose works combine plenty of violence, sex and moral ambiguity, may have to put that to the test if, as rumoured, his books are turned into the "next" Game Of Thrones TV series.</div>
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"I think (fame) would be lovely when you haven't experienced it," Abercrombie, who was out in Australia to promote his latest book Half The World, said.</div>
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"But it can't go back in the box. George Martin told me, never become famous, never become recognisable. It's done great things for him and his series but he does regret it. He has reporters camping out the front of his house."</div>
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So how is Abercrombie going on the fame scale?</div>
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"The paparazzi run me over in their rush to get to the real celebrities," he said.</div>
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"Being recognised is extremely rare. It has happened but it is very rare and is often quite random, which is one of the nice things about being a writer. You can still go about your routine." </div>
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He is realistic about the jump to television, which has catapulted Game Of Thrones into the consciousness.</div>
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"There is some nibbling going on but if I had signed up, I'd have to say 'no comment'," he said.</div>
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"So maybe I should say no comment!</div>
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"It all moves with incredibly wintry slowness and anything could fall apart at any moment."</div>
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Strangely for an author who made his name with ultra-violent, non-heroic fantasy books with lashings of sex, his latest series is aimed at teenagers.</div>
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"I think I did it to avoid boredom," he said.</div>
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"It seemed like a good opportunity to expand to a slightly different audience. It was quite liberating to write something without the encumbrance of my previous books."</div>
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How did his existing fans react to the change of pace.</div>
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"Generally very good, although there have been a few malcontents. Some people were surprised, most pleasantly surprised but it's not so much different in terms of its edge and moral ambiguity."</div>
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And for those younger readers who decide to pick up his MA-rated earlier works? At age 13, Abercrombie said he was reading "everything" and although he admits hearing that children aged as young as 10 have read his adult books is a "little surprising", he hopes young adults will appreciate reading something that isn't "morally simple".</div>
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"I've never talked down to readers. Young adults are young but adult and the last thing they want is to be spoon-fed shiny, optimistic stuff."</div>
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Abercrombie was touring around Australia and is heartened by how well some bookstores are doing, in contrast to the UK.</div>
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"It makes you feel sad," he said.</div>
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"But a business model that doesn't work can't be sustained.</div>
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"I fear that people of my kids' generation will not get the experience of wandering into an Aladdin's Cave of books and enjoying that sense of community with a bookseller.</div>
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"But I'm not sure what to do to reverse it. The pricing genie is out of the bottle."</div>
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<br />Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-14782740213394144692015-03-04T15:50:00.000-08:002015-03-08T20:43:00.762-07:00Guest blog with Momentum author Amanda BridgemanAmanda Bridgeman was kind enough to let me waffle away and guest blog for her in February, so now I am delighted to return the favour as this fellow Momentum author guest blogs her way on a grand tour!<br />
So who is Amanda Bridgeman...?<br />
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Born and raised in the seaside/country town of Geraldton, Western Australia, Amanda hails from fishing and farming stock. The youngest of four children, her three brothers raised her on a diet of Rocky, Rambo, Muhammad Ali and AC/DC. Naturally, she grew up somewhat of a tomboy, preferring to watch action/sci-fi films over the standard rom-com, and liking her music rock hard. But that said, she can swoon with the best of them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">She lived in ‘Gero’ for 17 years, before moving to Perth (WA) to pursue her dreams and study film & television/creative writing at Murdoch University (BA Communication Studies). Perth has been her home ever since, aside from a nineteen month stint in London (England).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">She is a writer and a film buff. She loves most genres, but is particularly fond of the Spec-Fic realm. She likes action, epic adventures, and strong characters that draw you in, making you want to follow them on their wild, rollercoaster rides. She has so far released three books in the Aurora series -<i>Aurora: Darwin, Aurora: Pegasus,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Aurora: Meridian.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>The fourth book will be released this month.</span><br />
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Want to know more?<br />
Follow Amanda here:<br />
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<b><i><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;">Web:</span></i></b><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.amandabridgeman.com.au/" style="color: #aaaaaa;" target="_blank"><span lang="en" style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">www.amandabridgeman.com.au</span></a><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;">Facebook:</span></i></b><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Amanda Bridgeman</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;">Twitter:</span></i></b><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>@Bridgeman_Books</span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;">Pinterest:</span></i></b><span lang="en" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/BridgemanBooks/" style="color: #aaaaaa;" target="_blank"><span lang="en" style="color: blue; font-size: 10pt;">http://www.pinterest.com/BridgemanBooks/</span></a></div>
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And of course her books can be found <a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/authors/amanda-bridgeman/" target="_blank">here</a>:<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today Duncan has invited me to chat about being a female
writer and writing from a male perspective. I guess when I started writing the
Aurora series I never stopped to think about it like that – specifically me
being a woman writing a male character and being inside his thoughts. Nor that I
was also writing an African-American PoV – as a white woman. When I started
writing, first and foremost I saw Harris as a lead character in a particular story,
and a very human character at that. After all, that is essentially what we all
are: human. Whether male <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">or</i> female.
And I think that’s the first step in nailing a character – understanding the
fundamental basis of them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course it’s important to get the gender mindset right...
If your readers don’t believe the character, their actions, their thought
processes, then a writer is in a spot of trouble. So Duncan’s question got me
thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not the most girly of girls. I tend to think of myself
as 50/50 mix: 50% tomboy, 50% girl. I grew up with three older brothers – the
oldest being 8 years old than me – so it’s fair to say they had a heavy
influence on my upbringing. My brothers liked the ‘usual’ blokey things like
footy, boxing, and rock ‘n’ roll. As a kid I watched the same TV and films they
did. From The A-Team and the Alien series, to Rocky, Rambo, Jaws, and The Thing
– they were all (what was considered then) male-dominated genres and I’m not sure
whether I was ‘conditioned’ to like them because they did or whether I just inherently
did. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, as the youngest, it was only natural that I would look
up to my brothers a lot. Whether it was just a kid sister thing or whether it
was actually the observant writer in me taking note, I like to think that I just
kinda became familiar with how guys act and think. At least in a non-romantic
sense. And that is what Saul Harris is to Carrie Welles. He’s her captain, he’s
a colleague. It’s a platonic (yet incredibly important) relationship. And I
guess my upbringing made me an expert in that (and probably assisted with
writing the Carrie Welles PoV too) – growing up in a male dominated house, with
blokey brothers and an ex-farm boy for a father. Even my mother isn’t overly
girly. She’s the practical kind, and probably stronger than all of us put
together. But that’s another blog post…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Plutonic relationships aside, my brothers are all very heterosexual
men (all three married and two of them with kids). They were also never shy
about pointing out actresses and models they loved growing up (Elle Macpherson,
Elizabeth Shue, Demi Moore, etc), so again, perhaps I was ‘conditioned’ to
understand/see things from a male perspective in that regard, listening to
their comments and conversations, and these observations could only help with
writing the actions and dialogue of the rest of the male characters in the
series. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t realise it until recently, but I have always been a
people watcher. Everyone I speak to, have any kind of dealings with, I tend to
subconsciously observe them. I notice facial/physical features, speech, and
mannerisms, etc. More importantly, I always find myself analysing why they are
the way they are. Especially people I know well. Sometimes I’ll question why
someone is stubborn or afraid or catty or a tight-ass, etc, etc, and I look at
their upbringing, or the stress on their life at the moment, and through this
analysis I seem to understand why they are acting the way they are acting – how
all the little pieces of their life come together and make them up in that very
moment. And I realise now just how useful this observation is as a writer –
whether writing male or female characters. Humans are complex, period. We are
made up of a thousand different experiences, each one different, and it’s
important to capture that in your writing to make your characters feel real to
the reader.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So when I started writing Aurora: Darwin, the first book in
the series, I didn’t really consciously think about having a main character
that was male (or African-American for that matter). I just suddenly had this
image of a tough but fair leader, and (male, African-American) Captain Saul
Harris was born. So the image of him came to me first. When it came to writing
him and fleshing him out, I guess the ‘conditioning’ to understand the male
mind (to a certain point) was thanks to having three older brothers, but I also
drew from my general ‘observation’ tanks to bring him to life - derived in part
from every other male I have met, or seen on film/tv, or in interviews, on the
news, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course I didn’t get everything right the first go. One of
my brothers was actually a beta reader and I distinctly recall him saying to me
once: “There is no way Harris would use the word ‘buff’” (in reference to
another soldier’s physique). So I scrapped that and used another word instead.
Anything that bordered on ‘a little too soft for a military man’ was quickly
pointed out and altered. After all, if my ‘average man’ brother thought it was
too soft, it was definitely going to be way too soft for a tough captain,
right?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That said, I think it provides a great disservice to
military personnel everywhere to portray them as cardboard cut-out,
action-packed, emotionless, indestructible heroes. Because they’re not. They’re
humans doing an incredibly tough job (rightly or wrongly), but they are human
none-the-less. Humans, who have families and friends, who will feel the same
gamut of emotions that everyone else does, regardless of whether they are male
or female. Humans, who bruise, bleed and die. Humans that hurt, just like the
rest of us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, did I get Captain Saul Harris and the other male
characters right? I certainly gave it my best shot based on my experiences and
observations in life. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But ultimately, I guess that’s for the reader to decide. </span></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SuYFk9NvLq2Ege0X3_hyphenhyphenMHQaSU5wgu1mE5SRNScP_NCGBMqvffy_FcfaiZleFvTNCys3qWnsQwiLCdX2WiR1n8twx5oWPSx5hGfMluWfQGJPc_igNiD6U81uN_XUaU66did71LKRFcs/s1600/Aurora_centralis_FA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SuYFk9NvLq2Ege0X3_hyphenhyphenMHQaSU5wgu1mE5SRNScP_NCGBMqvffy_FcfaiZleFvTNCys3qWnsQwiLCdX2WiR1n8twx5oWPSx5hGfMluWfQGJPc_igNiD6U81uN_XUaU66did71LKRFcs/s1600/Aurora_centralis_FA.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></span></span></span></div>
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Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-40249400078704352402015-02-05T19:43:00.000-08:002015-02-05T19:43:10.563-08:00Guest post with author Justin Woolley: Can men write strong female characters?<h4>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">By the end of The Last Quarrel, I hope that readers will be debating who is the real hero of the series: is it Fallon, who desperately wanted to be a hero or Bridgit, who wanted nothing of the sort?</span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;"> Now, while I have always endeavoured to have strong female characters in all of my books, there is an ongoing debate as to whether men can write powerful women, and vice versa. With three sisters, a wife of almost 22 years and a teenage daughter I think I have some understanding f the female psyche.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;"> My wife may disagree!</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;"> But it is still a valid question. One of the UK's greatest fantasy writers, the late David Gemmell, only wrote one book with a woman as his main character, Ironhand's Daughter. It was his least successful and, he admits, his least favourite.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;"> I have invited fellow Momentum Books author Sophie Masson to consider this question from the point of view of women writing strong men and now fellow Momentum Books author Justin Woolley writes from the point of view of men writing strong women.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">Can it be done? You be the judge ...</span></h4>
<span style="color: black;"><h4>
</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZRthTfpd-1EF2-fZiREmG1RYm-Jb2Oeke3FuDpirt-UEOxPoVgdhjOeSWwvjriocVP-TQtd_WGbm-dKe2jdi4SitgvqY2aDwD5eH9rMtWTZtJBvTXgxl6iGzOOk0joIQxLP2DyA1pFE/s1600/Author+Photo+-+Justin+Woolley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZRthTfpd-1EF2-fZiREmG1RYm-Jb2Oeke3FuDpirt-UEOxPoVgdhjOeSWwvjriocVP-TQtd_WGbm-dKe2jdi4SitgvqY2aDwD5eH9rMtWTZtJBvTXgxl6iGzOOk0joIQxLP2DyA1pFE/s1600/Author+Photo+-+Justin+Woolley.jpg" height="271" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">Justin Woolley
has been writing stories since he could first scrawl with a crayon. When he was
six years old he wrote his first book, a 300-word pirate epic in unreadable
handwriting called 'The Ghost Ship'. He promptly declared that he was now an
author and didn't need to go to school. Despite being informed that this was,
in fact, not the case, he continued to make things up and write them
down.</span> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/a-town-called-dust/" target="_blank">A Town Called Dust</a>, </span></i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Justin’s debut novel was published in November, 2014 by Momentum
Books.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In his other
life Justin has been an engineer, a teacher and at one stage even a magician.
His handwriting has not improved. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You can find
Justin’s website at </span><a href="http://www.justinwoolley.net/"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">www.justinwoolley.net</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> or on Twitter: @Woollz.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<h3>
GENDER BENDING AS AN AUTHOR</h3>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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After Duncan joined the author top 5 series I have running
on my blog with his wonderful post about <a href="http://justinwoolley.net/blog/2015/1/31/author-top-5s-duncan-lays-top-5-epic-fails-in-movie-battles"><span style="color: blue;">Hollywood’s
top 5 epic fails in movie battles</span></a> he asked me to write a guest post for his
blog in return. We had a brief discussion about what I could write about. I’ve
never been that great at thinking up interesting topics for blog posts,
thinking about the intricacies of a post-apocalyptic Australian society, sure,
creating an alternate timeline in which Nazi forces occupy England, no problem,
writing a story about the fallout of an alien race crash-landing on Earth, yup,
but coming up with blog topics, not so much. Duncan helped me out with some
ideas and the suggestion that really resonated with me was a question that
fellow Momentum author Sophie Masson had just tackled as well, can authors
effectively write characters of the opposite gender?<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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We thought it would be interesting if Sophie came at the
question as a woman writing male characters that I could be the other side of
the coin, can men effectively write female characters? I think this topic is
particularly interesting to me as my debut novel <a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/a-town-called-dust/" target="_blank">‘A Town Called Dust’</a> has dual
protagonists, Squid, a young orphan boy, and Lynn, a girl who is the daughter
of a military Colonel.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoqjLY_5NGYQJtG7Z1j5RXigYOVaRomjOFqtiTKbazZHfULSpUk1BVWd_Cnq3oIEy4_bkUTxVB0j7ShiA4XMlTHxVGljEv3s04v7KA24KXPpqC6YcML4nRmLBalzEG9wt4YA_SFnokuag/s1600/A+Town+Called+Dust+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoqjLY_5NGYQJtG7Z1j5RXigYOVaRomjOFqtiTKbazZHfULSpUk1BVWd_Cnq3oIEy4_bkUTxVB0j7ShiA4XMlTHxVGljEv3s04v7KA24KXPpqC6YcML4nRmLBalzEG9wt4YA_SFnokuag/s1600/A+Town+Called+Dust+Cover.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Many of my readers – the majority of which have been female
thus far – have commented that Lynn was their favourite character, that she had
depth, was strong in her convictions and yet had heart. So from that
perspective can men write successful female characters?<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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Yes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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End of blog post.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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</span><br />
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Wait though. Perhaps it’s not that simple because what those
readers are actually commenting on are traits of people, not specifically
female traits. That reminds me of everybody’s favourite genocidal author George
R.R. Martin when he was asked in an interview how he writes such great female
characters and he said, “You know, I’ve always considered women to be people.”
That’s what I would say too. I wrote Lynn as a person. She has feelings and
desires and worries that are universal and resonate with people.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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</span><br />
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To be honest while I was writing Lynn I was thinking about
her more as a sixteen year old than as a female. I created her to reflect
issues and concerns that many teenagers face. Being a female is often at the
heart of her struggles – not being allowed to join the army because of her
gender – but this is meant to reflect the way teens often clash with authority.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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An interesting thought I had was that I wrote Lynn in the
third person. It seems to me that many books I’ve read written by a male but
containing strong, well-rounded female characters are often written in the
third person. Perhaps there is something in that. Perhaps it is easier to write
a character of the opposite gender in third person as you do not necessarily
have to narrate their internal voice. The next series I’m working on once The
Territory series is wrapped up has a female protagonist told from the first
person – this may be the jump that makes writing a convincing female character
more difficult.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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I am a man and although I have a wife, mother, sisters,
female friends, am a feminist in the true sense of the word and ultimately feel
that I understand women reasonably well I will never be a woman. I will never
truly know how a woman’s thoughts and feelings are experienced in a different
way to my own. Trying to hear and inhabit that voice will always be more
difficult.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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We should still try it though because creating varied female
characters through empathy and understanding is what male authors should be
striving to do. Hopefully we can reach a time when we don’t hear talk about
‘strong female characters’ not because they don’t exist but because we’ve
reached a point that they are commonplace. Then maybe we’ll come to realise
that deep down character has nothing to do with reproductive organs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span> </span><h4>
<span style="color: black;">
</span></h4>
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-54759370680846024552015-02-03T15:36:00.002-08:002015-02-03T15:39:38.641-08:00Guest blog with author Sophie Masson: Can women write male characters and vice versa?<h4>
<span style="color: black;">By the end of The Last Quarrel, I hope that readers will be debating who is the real hero of the series: is it Fallon, who desperately wanted to be a hero or Bridgit, who wanted nothing of the sort?</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">
Now, while I have always endeavoured to have strong female characters in all of my books, there is an ongoing debate as to whether men can write powerful women, and vice versa. With three sisters, a wife of almost 22 years and a teenage daughter I think I have some understanding f the female psyche.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">
My wife may disagree!</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">
But it is still a valid question. One of the UK's greatest fantasy writers, the late David Gemmell, only wrote one book with a woman as his main character, Ironhand's Daughter. It was his least successful and, he admits, his least favourite.</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">
I have invited fellow Momentum Books author Sophie Masson to consider this question ...</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">
If you don't know Sophie Masson then obviously you have been missing out:</span> </h4>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93Jn2MC-KL6XsBTd0IeojitwJWkqu6U27pl1U3JJT5HlvR3rxKoVxXLtqngEW3kRRd-YrjMwcCRJgFDQdP7JC9o87Nmq__XqgzyEfSoQgdF4Y-Cl_Mci2_uAppYodzQaA3WHWJVZfKTk/s1600/Sophie+portrait+blue+and+red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93Jn2MC-KL6XsBTd0IeojitwJWkqu6U27pl1U3JJT5HlvR3rxKoVxXLtqngEW3kRRd-YrjMwcCRJgFDQdP7JC9o87Nmq__XqgzyEfSoQgdF4Y-Cl_Mci2_uAppYodzQaA3WHWJVZfKTk/s1600/Sophie+portrait+blue+and+red.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
Born in Indonesia of French parents, and brought up in Australia and France, Sophie Masson is the award-winning author of more than 60 novels for readers of all ages, published in Australia and many other countries. Her adult novels include the recent <a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/trinity-the-koldun-code-book-1/" target="_blank"><i>Trinity: The Koldun Code </i>(Momentum, 2014)</a> and the popular historical fantasy trilogy, <i>Forest of Dreams </i>(Random House Australia, 2001), while her most recent YA novel is the fairytale thriller, <i>The Crystal Heart </i>(Random House Australia, 2014).<br />
<br />
You can check out all about Sophie online:<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Website: <a href="http://www.sophiemasson.org/" target="_blank">www.sophiemasson.org</a> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Blog: <a href="http://www.firebirdfeathers.com/" target="_blank">www.firebirdfeathers.com</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SophieMassonAuthor" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/SophieMassonAuthor</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/sophiemasson1" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/sophiemasson1</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">Sophie kindly also let me write a guest post for her, about the way books and TV shows have exchanged the way they are being shown - books now episodically and TV shows as an entire series package. Read it </span><a href="http://firebirdfeathers.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">here:</span></a></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">
</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="color: black;">
And now, here's Sophie's thoughts on the men writing women writing men question ...</span></h4>
<br />
<h2>
SHAPE SHIFTING</h2>
<br />
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The idea that you could only write from the viewpoint of
your own age group, background, sex, species, or even experiences, seemed
absurd and restrictive to me even as a kid. What room was there for imagination
in that? Ignoring this whole notion, I shape-shifted with gusto, writing
stories from a multitude of viewpoints, from twin detectives to enchanted
frogs, princesses to ghosts, mighty warriors to globe-trotting postage
stamps(really!) There was no limit, as far as I was concerned. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Now, though I might have grown up and learned a good deal
more about writing, my hackles still rise at the idea that because of my
physical self, my imaginative self can't shape-shift. If I feel like writing
from the viewpoint of a teenage boy, exiled princess, betrayed soldier,
werewolf girl, hunted criminal, spellbound artist or war correspondent, then
damnit, that's just what I'm going to do—and in fact have done. And apparently
successfully, judging from the reactions of my readers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Nobody asks how you can possibly write from the viewpoint of
say, a werewolf, a sorcerer, or a ghost. It's just assumed the imagination
takes over. But when it comes to gender, well-meaning people can sound as
though they're think it's a far greater stretch. The idea that a female writer
can write from a male viewpoint, successfully, is not as hotly contested as the
reverse, but it still hovers there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
So I thought it might be interesting, rather than just
talking in generalities, to look at an actual recent experience of writing from
the viewpoint of a male character in my recent novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/trinity-the-koldun-code-book-1/" target="_blank">Trinity: The Koldun Code</a></i>, first in the Trinity series.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOn7AWSGpidUwF5NJYaODcf9NEBSaFnp80wPhn5YVOEtCXQtcWTGQEKAVA55B_5rQBMqFNaDI90yAdMY6ewcRPf0gJ4PZguoKlUcjY9rvw3av36Q2ZQeKaydsq1yoHcWkKBtRyWPcmRlk/s1600/Trinity+Koldun+Code+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOn7AWSGpidUwF5NJYaODcf9NEBSaFnp80wPhn5YVOEtCXQtcWTGQEKAVA55B_5rQBMqFNaDI90yAdMY6ewcRPf0gJ4PZguoKlUcjY9rvw3av36Q2ZQeKaydsq1yoHcWkKBtRyWPcmRlk/s1600/Trinity+Koldun+Code+cover.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The story is basically told from the viewpoint of two
characters: Helen Clement, a 22 year old Londoner in Russia for the first time;
and Maxim Serebrov, a disillusioned, divorced Moscow homicide detective in his
late thirties. Maxim does not appear in the first few chapters of the book, and
he is not, so to speak, the 'hero' of the story(who is young, brave and
handsome Alexey Makarov), but as soon as Maxim made his presence known to me, I
knew both that he was a very important character—and that I wanted to write
some of the story from his viewpoint. Though I had to research his professional
environment—such as how police ranks work in Russia, how an investigation is
conducted there, the relationship between different police units etc—somehow
writing from within Maxim felt very natural to me. I saw the family he'd come
from; I saw the flat he lived in(I've been to Moscow twice); I understood his
sceptical stoicism and contradictory open-minded generosity; I felt the
sweetness and bitterness in him, the harshness and the hope. Seeing events from
his eyes was a deeply satisfying experience; in fact sometimes, and contrary to
received wisdom, it felt easier to write from his viewpoint than from Helen's.
And readers, both male and female, seem to really respond to him too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And so, in the second book in the series, which I'm writing
now, Maxim has even more of a presence, alongside Helen, but so does another
important male voice, a character whose unexpected appearance changes
everything for everybody, including Maxim, and Helen herself. And he is a very
different sort of person—secretive, unreliable and difficult to read, he is someone
I have to write slowly, carefully, unpeeling his layers, for he is not someone
I warmed to straight away, as I did with Maxim. Yet he is proving more and more
interesting to write as he changes not only everything but also himself. <o:p></o:p></div>
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-21295898355969779282015-01-19T19:51:00.003-08:002015-01-19T19:51:43.028-08:00Have one of these five characters named after you in my next bookThe Last Quarrrel Episode 1 is out on January 22, with each of the four subsequent episodes released a fortnight after the first.<br />
Meanwhile I have almost finished the first draft of book two of the series, The Bloody Quarrel.<br />
I have five characters who are currently nameless in this book.<br />
Now, I could go online and grab some random names for them - or you could have your name given to one of them.<br />
All you have to do is review one or more episodes of The Last Quarrel on one of the many sites available - or review it on all of them!<br />
Send me the link, either through my website <a href="http://www.duncanlay.com/">www.duncanlay.com</a> or via the email address on my blog and let me know which of the following characters you might be interested in having named after yourself.<br />
I'm not looking for the most suck-worthy review but instead the more intelligent ones.<br />
So, if you like the idea of playing a pivotal part in the next book in the series, get reading, get reviewing and let me know!<br />
Here's the list:<br />
<br />
1) Secret agent of the crown (female/male)<br />
2) A Boluk-bashi (captain) of the Kotterman army (male)<br />
3) A Courbaci (Colonel) of the Kottermna army (male)<br />
4) A harbour lookout (male/female)<br />
5) An angry mother (female)<br />
<br />
You can also let me know if you're interested in having them die (pleasantly or unpleasantly) in the third book, The Poisoned Quarrel!<br />
Over to you now...Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-90651599537028125582015-01-14T00:35:00.000-08:002015-01-14T00:35:54.762-08:00The maps for the lands of The Last Quarrel<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcw1hSNliTc99hkYWsAR1c0wvasxfvTlWwLhC-YJoOZHER5N47x2WNv60HQen4yLcz42LWCLTm_y-h8DS7KBn-YHwiL_cMSJaWtnqfw762ZRUgyU1hu7QfBZgld6KfYfL6V_0_azZG4EU/s1600/Gaelland+Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcw1hSNliTc99hkYWsAR1c0wvasxfvTlWwLhC-YJoOZHER5N47x2WNv60HQen4yLcz42LWCLTm_y-h8DS7KBn-YHwiL_cMSJaWtnqfw762ZRUgyU1hu7QfBZgld6KfYfL6V_0_azZG4EU/s1600/Gaelland+Map.jpg" height="616" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A passing resemblance to some Irish names is more than a coincidence! The people of this land are the Gaelish and their use of the shillelagh will be one of the many aspects explored in The Last Quarrel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1v4F-Y15w4_Y7By_zDx5KdlWAC7idxVL1_qbyXvEoQObHtfGK7hBjSEzChEUPaFrhz7pONdHqyD_Sky35HjTVyBJEKFzW34vtfhj-yNRBRxtc9AIqbhjxik-NTRBUbNqNsFoap1wDvQ/s1600/Kotterman+Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1v4F-Y15w4_Y7By_zDx5KdlWAC7idxVL1_qbyXvEoQObHtfGK7hBjSEzChEUPaFrhz7pONdHqyD_Sky35HjTVyBJEKFzW34vtfhj-yNRBRxtc9AIqbhjxik-NTRBUbNqNsFoap1wDvQ/s1600/Kotterman+Map.jpg" height="640" width="638" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gaelland is a relatively small island nation, which finds itself uncomfortably close to the huge Kotterman Empire, which provides all sorts of interesting trade, even introduces potatoes to the Gaelish - but perhaps is also interested in more than just the Gaelish wool, coal and tin...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-59416887418918816982015-01-02T16:45:00.001-08:002015-01-02T16:45:24.018-08:00Why The Hobbit Battle Of Five Armies does great fights but bad battlesI've just seen The Hobbit BOTFA and there are some truly extraordinary fight scenes. Inventive, jaw-dropping, eye-watering and pure brilliant.<br />
Without giving too much away, what Legolas does is stunning, while the use of Battle Boars, Moose, carts, trolls and the rest is amazing.<br />
But, and here's the but, the battle tactics are so dumb!<br />
I nearly hurled popcorn at the screen at one point.<br />
The dwarves form the perfect shield wall, bristling with spears. Perfect, I thought. Stick elven bowmen behind that and the orcs would be slaughtered.<br />
But nooooooo.<br />
The elves jump OVER the shieldwall to fight man-to-man! Or elf-to-orc, actually.<br />
It drove me crazy!<br />
They are outnumbered but have the best bowmen in the world. Why not pile up the orcs with your bowmen and then use the dwarves as a perfect bulwark for the human pikemen?<br />
If they had fought with an ounce of brains, they wouldn't have needed the eagles, they would have formed a barricade of the dead orcs and then the orcs could not use their numbers and would have been compressed and slaughtered.<br />
Obviously it would not have made for visually compelling viewing, and there would have been less need for death or glory charges.<br />
But that's the point of battles. You don't have to look good to win. You just have to win.<br />
Still, at least it was better than having Bilbo hit his head and miss the whole bloody thing!<br />
So, go ahead and enjoy the individual fights but remember, they could have won the battle so much easier, with so much less loss of extras!Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-24072558695236220032015-01-02T16:33:00.001-08:002015-01-02T16:33:40.251-08:00The Last Quarrel episode 1 out on January 22As I write this, it is less than three weeks until the release of The Last Quarrel Episode 1!<br />
As you can imagine, I'm very excited about this new release.<br />
The book has been split into five episodes and each new one will be released a fortnight after the first.<br />
The omnibus edition and the Print On Demand editions will be released after Episode 5.<br />
Find out how you can pre-order Episode 1 here ...<a href="http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/the-last-quarrel-episode-1/" target="_blank">http://momentumbooks.com.au/books/the-last-quarrel-episode-1/</a><br />
<br />
And remember, review one or more of the episodes and you could have a character named after you in the next book, The Bloody Quarrel!Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-76725659034482611982014-12-04T15:35:00.002-08:002014-12-04T15:35:55.665-08:00How to write a bloody, brilliant battle scene<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: small/normal arial; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Australian Bookseller + Publisher says I write the best battle scenes since the late, great David Gemmell.</span><br />
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So how do you go about writing a bloody, brilliant battle scene?</div>
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Here's my top tips for getting the readers right into the guts of the fight. Literally.</div>
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After all, these days you can't get away with the old JRR Tolkein trick, of having the main character cop a blow to the head and then skip all the action!</div>
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First of all, you have to set the scene. And I'm not talking so much about the scenery of the battle, although that is important as well.</div>
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I like to take readers through the minds of each main character before a climactic battle, reminding everyone of just what is at stake.</div>
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Here you also need to bring in what the amazing director of Buffy, Firefly and The Avengers, Joss Whedon, calls "internal action".</div>
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External action is the battle that's about to start. Internal action is what is going on between the characters and how their relationships will be affected by the battle.</div>
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Perhaps two friends have fallen out and now find themselves on opposing sides. Perhaps someone hopes to not just win the day but win back their love at the end of the battle. it all adds extra interest to the simple descriptions.</div>
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Next, you do need to think about the scenery.</div>
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Terrain plays a huge role in battles - just pick up a history textbook if you don't believe me!</div>
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Both sides will need to use the terrain sensibly, if readers are to be hanging on every word, rather than chortling with ridicule.</div>
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It's a good idea to sketch out what will happen, as well as the key turning points, as well as where the main characters will be at each time.</div>
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Incidentally, I find it works really well to present the battle from different viewpoints, ideally something from both (or all) sides involved in the fighting. Twists and turns in the battle can be presented as you switch between the viewpoints. This also allows you to get right into the guts of the battle (literally) as well as present more of an overview.</div>
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Obviously someone caught in the middle is going to have a very different experience from one of the leaders watching from a safe distance.</div>
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It's also worth knowing a little history to see how things might work out. For instance, crossbows outrange longbows but the longbow was a far more potent weapon. How is each side armed and armoured? How will that affect their tactics and fighting style?</div>
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On that earlier point, don't forget that arrows run out. Nobody would have an unlimited supply.</div>
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I believe that, with fantasy, it needs some reality to make it more believable. As history shows us, we've been fighting wars with a variety of weapons for thousands of years. Introducing a little of that adds something.</div>
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To add some extra realism, remember that men get tired while fighting, especially in armour, and that armies almost never fought to the last man. Most sensible people, once they see that the day is lost, will try to get the hell out of there, rather than fighting to the last soldier.</div>
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Finally, work on all the senses of the reader. What they see, what they hear, what they smell. it all adds to the realism and brings the enormity of the battle home to the reader.</div>
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You want them to be fully invested in what they are reading. Grab them and don't let go.</div>
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-9201925375787109232014-11-10T21:11:00.002-08:002014-11-10T21:11:59.266-08:00Want to have a character named after you in The Bloody Quarrel?<div class="font_8">
<span style="font-size: 16px;">It's on again - a chance to have a character named after you in The Bloody Quarrel, book 2 of the new series.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">Have you read one or more of my books and enjoyed it?</span></div>
<div class="font_8">
<span style="font-size: 16px;">Then you can enter this competition and maybe win yourself a prize that money literally cannot buy.</span></div>
<div class="font_8">
<span style="font-size: 16px;">This is a competition with a difference, a truly unique prize that you cannot get anywhere else!</span></div>
<div class="font_8">
<span style="font-size: 16px;">It's also very easy to enter and win.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">All you have to do is write and post a review of one of my books on an online bookseller site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">So this could be iTunes, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes And Noble or any other online bookseller.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">Send me the link to the review, using the contact form on this website, and you are in the running to have a character named after you. It's that easy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Remember to add your own email details, so I can contact you and check whether you want your first name, last name or nickname used - and whether you want to be a hero or a villain!</span></div>
<div class="font_8">
<span style="font-size: small;">The last episode of The Last Quarrel will be out around June/July 2015 so, by the end of July, I will pick at least two winners to have their names used in The Bloody Quarrel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">That's right, I will choose at least two - and maybe even some more!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now, the more reviews you post, the better your chances and if you can include a review of at least one episode of The Last Quarrel, you will have a very good chance indeed! Previous winners include David Craddock, whose character Craddock will be joining in a fearsome battle at the end of The Last Quarrel and Ely, whose enigmatic character will be met in The Last Quarrel but take a fascinating part in The Bloody Quarrel. If you want to join them, get reviewing and get posting!</span></div>
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-71279265349235505142014-10-12T15:46:00.002-07:002014-10-12T15:46:55.053-07:00New website is up at running!To help celebrate the signing of the new series, The Last Quarrel, with Momentum Books, I have launched my own website.<br />
Called, imaginatively enough, duncanlay.com, it's got news and reviews about the books, as well as writing tips and a few other goodies.<br />
Keep an eye on it for the latest updates about The Last Quarrel and what else I am doing!<br />
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-91939806913643723252014-10-02T22:38:00.000-07:002014-10-02T22:38:11.305-07:00Meet the characters of The Last QuarrelThe new series, which will be released in three eBooks but each one in five parts through Momentum Books, starts coming out early next year.<br />
I've given you a little taster of the story, now meet some of the characters ...<br />
<br />
Fallon: He's been a village sergeant for more years than he cares to remember but has always dreamed of something more, and of being a hero. He knows that time is slipping away now and when fate finally gives him a chance, he leaps at it - without bothering to look where he's going...<br />
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Bridgit: Fallon's wife, she has been deeply scarred by all the children they have lost over the years. Beset by fears, constantly worrying about their one boy, Kerrin, she sees dangers everywhere. She only wants the quiet life but will find herself responsible for the lives of many, not just one ...<br />
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Kerrin: Their son, protected and pampered for all his life. He is about to be exposed to a real nightmare and given the responsibility of saving not just his parents but perhaps the entire lands ...<br />
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Prince Cavan: The Crown prince of Gaelland, forced to be the public face of the throne to cover for his father and brother. He knows it is not witches snatching children from the streets but getting anyone to believe even a prince of the realm seems impossible...<br />
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Prince Swane: Despised and maligned, yet strangely becoming far better looking. Cavan suspects he is behind the troubles plaguing Gaelland, or is it perhaps his mysterious hooded guest...?<br />
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King Aidan: Unpredictable, violent, prone to rage and yet also utterly charming. What role does he have to play in Gaelland's struggles?<br />
<br />
Prince Kemal: The Crown Prince of the Kotterman Empire. This vast, sprawling confederation of lands is greatly admired by the Gaellish. But do they have something to do with the evil stalking the streets and counties?<br />
<br />
Duchess Dina: When her husband's ship sails into Fallon's village, completely deserted and without even a sign of a fight, she wants to know what happened. But while she is willing to help Fallon, it has to be done her way. Or else.Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-89312182619799864532014-10-01T21:31:00.001-07:002014-10-01T21:31:05.244-07:00The new series teaserSo, if you read the last post, you will know that my new series will be published by Momentum (Pan Macmillan) as an eBook, with a worldwide release, with each book split into five parts.<br />
But, you may well ask, what is the book about?<br />
Firstly, it is set in the same world as the first two series, but a completely different set of lands. Time-wise, it is set before the events of the Dragon Sword Histories and there is no real link to either of the previous series, so obviously you don't have to have read them<br />
Here's a little teaser, with more to come on some of the characters, later ...<br />
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Gaelland is a land gripped by fear. In the country, fishing boats return with their crews mysteriously vanished, while farms are left empty, their owners gone into the night, meals still on the table. In the cities, children disappear from the streets or even out of their own beds. The King tells his people that it is the work of selkies - mythical creatures who can turn from seals into men and back again - and witches. But no matter how many women he burns at the stake, the children are still being taken. </div>
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Fallon is a man who has always dreamed of being a hero. His wife Bridgit just wants to live in peace and quiet, and to escape the tragedies that have filled her life. His greatest wish and her worst nightmare are about to collide.</div>
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When an empty ship sails into their village, he begins to follow the trail towards the truth behind the evil stalking their land. But it is a journey that will take them both into a dark, dark place and nobody can tell them where it might end ...</div>
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And yes, you will see the return of the Fearpriests in this ...!</div>
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Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-22191923143952493782014-09-30T21:55:00.003-07:002014-10-01T17:31:15.246-07:00The Last QuarrelApologies for the delay in posting lately but I finally have some good news - I have signed contracts for the new series, The Last Quarrel, with Momentum, the online publishing arm of Pan Macmillan.<br />
After months of uncertainty, I can't tell you what a relief it is to have a way forward again.<br />
So what does that mean and how does it all work?<br />
Let me take you through it ...<br />
So, despite the success of my February-March tour for Wall Of Spears, HarperCollins Australia only offered me an eBook deal for my proposed new series.<br />
After talking it over with my agent, we decided to instead speak to Pan Macmillan's eBook arm, Momentum, which has been achieving fantastic results with its eBook sales.<br />
I'm delighted to say they will be taking on the new series and this will be a worldwide eBook release, not just Australia-NZ, as has been the case with the first two series.<br />
Momentum also does things a little differently.<br />
Instead of the book being released at $13 or $16 as an eBook, each of the new trilogy will be released in five parts, each of about 120 pages or 35,000 words.<br />
So The Last Quarrel Part I will be out early next year (actual date to follow soon), then Part II will be out exactly a month later, Part III a month after that and so on and so forth. A month after Part V is released, you will be able to purchase the omnibus edition - the entire book as one.<br />
As far as pricing goes, it will be much sharper than the previous pricing of my other two series.<br />
Part I will be FREE and the subsequent parts will be a minimal cost, around the $1.99 mark, but will go up and down due to demand. You should be able to purchase the entire book for $10.<br />
Momentum will also offer The Last Quarrel as print-on-demand. This may be available at the same time as the omnibus edition, or even earlier. And these are "bookstore quality" POD books as well, they don't look like self-published books.<br />
Now, if the eBooks sell as well as we hope, then Pan Macmillan has the option of a full print run.<br />
So who knows how that will go ...<br />
One thing though - it will means the end of my grand tours, certainly in the short term. I may look to concentrate on conventions, or do some limited touring with print products - I am yet to decide.<br />
But rest assured I'll be getting out and about somehow!<br />
Anyway, that's the story and I do hope you will come along for the ride.<br />
Next time, I need to tell you a little bit about the new series ...<br />
<br />Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-51935622404910135862014-05-21T21:30:00.001-07:002014-05-21T21:30:29.704-07:00Empire Of Bones now available in America as an eBookI didn't realise this until recently but the Empire Of Bones series was unavailable in any format in the United States.<br />
But in the last week, it's now been opened up as an eBook and may well be available in trade paperback format later through the HarperCollins 360 program, which means you won't be able to walk into a shop and buy it but you can order it online and a real copy will be posted to you from America, not from Australia.<br />
Meanwhile, the entire Empire Of Bones series, Bridge Of Swords, Valley Of Shields and Wall Of Spears, is now available as an eBook, in all formats, in America.<br />
With so many thousands of page views on this blog from the US, it certainly made sense!<br />
And, of course, if there is plenty of interest, there's always the possibility of a full American release.<br />
So, please, pass the word!Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-37874951733011556412014-04-22T22:39:00.002-07:002014-04-22T22:39:35.027-07:00Divergent the movie - lessons for writersSo I took my daughter to see Divergent at the movies.<br />
You may have already read why I think dystopia is a much better genre for teenage girls to be reading than vampire fluff and I can say, having read the book and watched the movie, nothing has changed my mind there!<br />
This is not a movie review by the way, although it will contain some spoilers ... rather it's a case of how I felt the movie-makers fell into a couple of classic writing traps.<br />
Discussing the movie versus the book with my daughter, it got me thinking about how easy it would have been to take the movie to the next level.<br />
The movie was pretty good and in fact I think handled some aspects of the story better than the book.<br />
For instance, the battle to capture the flag was a great deal more intense and exciting than the book. Likewise the sequences where Tris has to get through her fear simulations in front of the Dauntless leadership made much more sense in the movie. In the book, she does display Divergent tendencies in her simulations - which would surely see her dragged off and killed, about 2 books too early. The way the movie handles it makes much more sense.<br />
But where the movie falls down is its emphasis on external action over internal action. It may be that a Director's Cut of Divergent comes out, which will fix those issues. But the cinematic edition was flawed.<br />
Take, for instance, Al's suicide. In the book, Tris is rightly devastated because, when Al was at his lowest, when he was struggling to come to terms with fighting and hurting other people, she rejected his advances. She blames herself. <br />
None of that made it into the film, so you don't feel the same towards Al's death. After all, he tried to kill her - why does he deserve our sympathy?<br />
Likewise when she is forced to kill a mind-controlled Will. In the book, Will's friendship has helped her survive training and protected her when Peter and his cronies were after her. Plus he is in love with her best friend Christina. Little of that makes it into the film, so you find yourself saying to her - shoot him! He's going to shoot you otherwise! Yet in the book you feel her anguish at being forced into this situation.<br />
The emotional angle, which gives so much more meaning to the action, has been stripped out of the movie.<br />
And that is a classic trap for writers - particularly writers of spec fiction. Never discount the emotional angle and remember that action should have an effect on characters' relationships, as well as everything else. It just makes the effect on the reader all the more powerful.Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-49796550689087233072014-04-15T21:53:00.000-07:002014-04-15T21:53:05.565-07:00The Daily Telegraph reviews Wall of Spears<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Daily Telegraph fantasy reviewer Janet Hughes gave me 4.5 stars out of 5 this week for Wall Of Spears - here's her review, for those who didn't get Tuesday's Daily Telegraph!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">WALL<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of
Spears is the third and final book in Duncan Lay’s epic Empire Of Bones series.
It provides an engaging, action-packed conclusion to this excellent trilogy,
deftly combining intrigue and magic with brilliantly realistic battle scenes.
The characters are enmeshed in a complex tapestry of honour and love, scheming
and betrayal, against the backdrop of an entire culture’s fight for the right
to freedom. At the same time, the plot never loses sight of the personal
motivations, strengths and weaknesses of each character. Lay has gone from
strength to strength in this series, vividly imagining a world of great
complexity, where gritty historical reality meets fantasy. -The battle
between the two human tribes is complicated not only by the war between human
and elf, but by the conflicting desires and romantic entanglements of the major
characters. Lovers of fantasy will surely enjoy this final book in
the series.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span>Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-71688283618104072692014-04-08T22:26:00.001-07:002014-04-08T22:26:16.057-07:00Martil vs Sendatsu in a battle to the deathI was asked many questions while touring around Australia but none got me thinking quite as much as one in Penrith: Who would win in a fight to the death between Martil and Sendatsu?<br />
Martil, of course, is the hero of my first trilogy, the Dragon Sword Histories, while Sendatsu is the hero of the new series, the Empire of Bones.<br />
They are very different but both are the best warriors of their generation.<br />
Now this question actually had me stumped. Apart from living 300 years apart, so they could never meet, I certainly hadn't planned they would ever try to fight to the death!<br />
Then it got me thinking.<br />
Firstly, it depends on which Martil and Sendatsu were to meet.<br />
The Sendatsu from Bridge Of Swords and Valley Of Shields would be defeated by Martil, without a doubt. The Sendatsu from Wall Of Spears, however, would prove a much harder opponent.<br />
Equally, Martil before he met Karia would fight in a different manner. For some time there, he had nothing to live for and truly didn't care if he lived or died. If that Martil was to meet the Sendatsu from the third book of the series, then the outcome really would be in doubt.<br />
If Sendatsu's children, Mai and Cheijun, were at stake, then my money would be on Sendatsu.<br />
Yet if Karia's life was also at stake then the game would change again.<br />
Also, we would have to assume that Martil couldn't use the Dragon Sword, for that would be an impossible advantage.<br />
Equally, Sendatsu wouldn't be able to use even a little magic to help tilt the contest his way.<br />
So, we need to set some ground rules.<br />
Both Mai and Cheijun, and Karia, are at stake. This is the Sendatsu from the end of Wall Of Spears, tempered and hardened by what he has had to do. No armour and no magic to be used.<br />
It is also the Martil from the end of Radiant Child, minus the Dragon Sword and accepting of his dark past.<br />
It is clear to see from the start that Sendatsu's unusual skill gives him the early advantage and Martil has to use all his speed and experience to hold him off. Martil will throw dirt and stones, try to use the sun and the surroundings to put Sendatsu off and get some sort of advantage.<br />
As Martil grows more used to Sendatsu's style of fighting and different sword, the tempo of the fight will change. Martil will try to get closer, to use his shorter swords and cramp up Sendatsu's extravagant strokeplay.<br />
Sendatsu hasn't fought anyone who can improvise the way Martil can and will have to use all his own speed to hold him off.<br />
Sendatsu is used to losing (to his father) and this strengthens him.<br />
Martil has never lost - and this also strengthens him.<br />
It will all come down to one tiny slip or mistake and the other will pounce.<br />
But, remember, their children rest on the other fighter not walking out of the arena.<br />
Neither will let that happen.<br />
I see Martil sacrificing himself to get in the fatal blow. Sendatsu will not be expecting someone to give up their own life like that and won't be able to stop himself from delivering a killer strike - but that has got Martil close enough to use his swords.<br />
Technically neither would win - and neither would lose. Sendatsu will get in the first, fatal blow but Martil will live long enough to say goodbye.<br />
And that's the best answer I can give ...<br />
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-53875999695468969702014-04-07T22:37:00.001-07:002014-04-07T22:37:20.236-07:00Hunger Games is over for sparkly vampires ...Here's a piece I wrote for The Sunday Telegraph, Australia's biggest-selling paper, where I explain why I hope dystopia will drive a stake through the heart of those sparkly vampire stories!<br />
<br />
<strong>MY daughter thinks that society is rotten, governments corrupt, television a way of brainwashing the masses and authority not to be trusted. <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_introduction) --><!-- // .story-intro --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_body, weight=high) --></strong><br />
I couldn’t be happier.<br />
She’s not talking about Australia, of course, rather she’s hooked on dystopian novels. The good news is, dystopia is the hot subject for teenagers these days, having replaced the stupid sparkly vampires and the impossibly buff werewolves.<br />
Dystopia is the opposite of utopia — a vision of an unpleasant future. But that’s fantastic. Because, instead of heroines who swoon about helplessly, waiting for their Undead saviour, dystopia features heroines who get out there and take charge themselves, who save not just themselves and their families but their whole world.<br />
It’s big now but it’s about to get even bigger.<br />
This year we have four huge dystopian films hitting the big screen, kicking off with Divergent this Thursday, based on the bestseller by Veronica Roth. Behind that will come The Maze Runner (book by James Dashner), The Giver (book by Lois Lowry, film to star Meryl Streep and Katie Holmes) and then part one of Mockingjay, the finish to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy.<br />
They feature heroines like Katniss and Tris, who are everything you want a teenage girl’s role model to be: courageous, idealistic, resourceful and above all a little flawed.<br />
After seeing teenage girls devouring vampire and werewolf stories, with heroines who just wanted to find a man who treated them badly, it is fantastic that the swing is on to dystopian novels. My daughter never read Twilight — I made her watch the spoof movie Vampires Suck instead, so she never took the genre seriously, instead devouring dystopia.<br />
It’s great to see the movies but, of course, the books are far better.<br />
And there are stacks more dysto-pian novels out there that haven’t been turned into movies yet.<br />
Perhaps there could be an amnesty. For every ridiculous vampire story handed in, you get half-price off a dystopian novel.<br />
Then we could ceremonially drive a stake through the bloody things. Forget about being turned into vampires or werewolves with a bite — those books are more likely to infect teenagers with the idea that women are helpless and need to be rescued.<br />
Much better to have them think they can change things if they stand up and fight for them. That they can make a better world with their courage and insight.<br />
So come on, fight the vampires. Not with garlic and holy water but books about gutsy heroines willing to stand up and fight for a better society. You never know, one day we might need them …<br />
<i>Duncan Lay is a fantasy author with HarperCollins. His latest book, Wall Of Spears, is out now.</i>Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-12253109233919165062014-03-30T17:15:00.001-07:002014-03-30T17:15:24.962-07:00Wall Of Spears tour wrap-upWell, it's finally over - after more than 50 bookstores across the last two months, more than 1200 books hand-sold, easily 1000 people spoken to, five states and one territory.<br />
Firstly, a massive thankyou to all those people who stopped and chatted to me about the books - it was a pleasure and a privilege to speak to you.<br />
Another huge vote of thanks to the bookstores and their staff who helped me.<br />
Thanks also to all my friends who helped me around the country - you made it all possible.<br />
So here's a few random thoughts about the tour:<br />
<br />
Best question asked:<br />
Hands down, one from a young couple out at Penrith. "Who would win in a fight between Martil and Sendatsu?" It made me smile and it made me think. I'll have to put together a blog entry giving my answer in the next few weeks!<br />
<br />
Weirdest reply to my opening line of "Do you like to read?"<br />
From two seniors, one in Melbourne and the other in Perth. "I only read pornos!" What are our seniors up to these days?!?!?!!<br />
<br />
Most popular questions:<br />
A dead heat between "How long does it take you to write a book?" and "How do you get published?". The first is obviously easier to answer than the second. In fact, these days, the second question is very tricky to answer. It's very easy to self-publish but nobody has the magic answer to how to get a mainstream publishing contract. <br />
<br />
Dumbest answer:<br />
Sadly, I received this one multiple times. "I can't read, I'm illiterate!" Now those words by themselves would be sad, but when said with a proud smile, really turn my stomach. If people tell me they don't like to read, then that's fair enough. But when they take pride in it, then that's alarming.<br />
<br />
Fastest-growing question:<br />
"Are these available as eBooks?" The growth in this question has been enormous on this tour, compared to my previous tours.<br />
<br />
Strangest reaction to saying I write fantasy:<br />
Many people pull a face and then tell me they don't read fantasy. One woman ranted and raved for nearly a minute about how much she hated the genre. I thought she was never going to shut up about it! And one woman in Wollongong told me - 'I don't read that crap!' with an expression of pure disgust on her face. Then she looked at me and her face fell. She reached out to grab my arm and said earnestly: "But I'm sure yours is great!"<br />
<br />
Hopeful but no:<br />
On several occasions, people told me they only read biographies. Then they looked wistfully at the table covered in fantasy books. "Do you have any biographies?"<br />
<br />
Random questions:<br />
"Do you sell calendars?" Only what I have here!<br />
"Do you know where the Post Office is?" Madam, I'm not even from this state, let alone this suburb. I'm afraid I can't help!<br />
"How could I write a relationship between a warrior and a little girl, like you did with Martil and Karia?" Weeelll ... maybe start by having a daughter and go from there!<br />
<br />
Best queue:<br />
Penrith Dymocks was the clear winner. I arrived a few minutes late and quickly set up my massive banner. By then a couple of people were looking at the table of books. I chatted to them and they picked up the Empire Of Bones series. I was about to sign them when I looked up and saw about 15 people waiting for me, eager looks on their faces and books in their arms. "You'd better go and pay for those and then join the queue!" I said.<br />
<br />
Best sales result:<br />
Dymocks Belconnen, with exactly 50 books sold. Dymocks Erina went fantastically well and I might well have beaten it there - except I sold out of books at 43! Belconnen was great, with a mix of new and returning readers.<br />
<br />
Secretly funniest moment:<br />
I was at Cronulla with my Viking warrior Uthred when a surfie told us that he hated books and he was proud to be illiterate. As he walked away, Uthred pulled out his throwing axe. 'I can hit him from here - I can you know!' he said, miming it.<br />
<br />
Most shocking moment:<br />
I was chatting with a lovely lady in Perth when she noticed that two of the main characters in Empire Of Bones are called Huw and Rhiannon. "That's my son's name, only he spells it Hugh and that's my daughter's name!" she exclaimed.<br />
`Wow, what a coincidence!' I said, thinking that surely she is going to want to buy the series now.<br />
But then her face fell.<br />
`My daughter died two years ago today,' she said, her voice choking up.<br />
I didn't know what to do. Inadequately, I told her how sorry I was, then she left, visibly upset. I certainly couldn't talk to anyone else for a few minutes after that, either.<br />
<br />
Best moment:<br />
Every time somebody bought a book, or returned to buy the next in the series, or brought in previously bought books to be signed. It is a thrill that never goes away. I love writing, I love bringing stories and characters to life and I love the chance to share them with others. It is what I have wanted to do since I was seven.<br />
Thank you all for making a dream come true.<br />
<br />
<br />
Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87200667653851324.post-85816524386227617882014-03-23T20:36:00.002-07:002014-03-23T20:36:35.633-07:00Penultimate week of Wall Of Spears tourAs the Wall Of Spears 50 Stores In 50 Days tour winds to a close, I headed down to Canberra for the last interstate leg - two days in Canberra and then back via the NSW South Coast, at Batemans Bay and Nowra.<br />
The trip down was delayed, firstly by a breakdown on the F3 Freeway, then by a succession of "roadworks" on the Hume Highway south.<br />
Fixing up the road surface is one thing but do we have to slow down to one lane and 40km/h just so two guys can put up a new sign at the side of the road?!?! I've heard of OH&S regulations but surely this was a little ridiculous ...<br />
First cab off the rank was Paperchain Manuka, a beautiful little store in a rather posh part of Canberra. Of course I had forgotten to bring some change with me, because there's no such thing as free parking in Canberra. As far as the government is concerned, there's always a free lunch in Canberra but that's another story ...<br />
So I had to get money out, get change and then buy parking before putting up the big banner and getting down to work.<br />
I met some wonderful people there but also had a few amusing moments.<br />
After chatting to one lady, I was sure she'd buy The Wounded Guardian - but at the point where I was about to offer to sign it for her, this dog started sniffing around the bottom of my huge pop-up banner. I jokingly said that I hoped it wasn't about to wee over my banner (hey, everyone's a critic these days ...!) but she got quite indignant.<br />
`That's my dog and she'd never do anything like that!'<br />
Off she went and, after a few moments, off went the insulted dog as well.<br />
A few minutes later I was chatting to a bloke who didn't like fantasy but said his partner did. So I told him about the books, making special mention of Karia, the feisty orphan girl with magic powers and Merren, the Queen fighting for her throne.<br />
`Oh, that doesn't sound like the sort of thing HE'D like,' the man said.<br />
`But it has great battle scenes,' I said, performing a verbal backflip that would have had most of Canberra's politicians nodding with approval.<br />
Too late ...<br />
After selling quite nicely at Paperchain, it was off to Dymocks Civic, in the heart of Canberra Central. This store has changed position recently and I couldn't find it. In fact, I had to get one of the store assistants to talk me through the centre to get there! In my defence, it is hiding behind the escalators at the food court ...<br />
Richard and Alison, the delightful store owners, were on hand to help me when I put up the banner only to have it fall to pieces! Luckily Richard was able to fix it while I sold a trilogy to one of their customers!<br />
It was a quiet afternoon, with few people about, but the ones I met were fantastic!<br />
Second day was much busier, however.<br />
I started at Dymocks Belconnen. Every author has to go here once. It's like author tour nirvana. An endless procession of people who love to read and are excited to meet authors.<br />
Owners Andrew and Steve kept the green tea and the replacement books up to me and people just kept buying - 50 books exactly!<br />
One of the highlights was seeing Shaheen from Speculate Fiction, an online book review blog that you should sign up for - and I'm not just saying that because she keeps giving my books five star reviews!<br />
Next stop was Dymocks Tuggeranong, the other perfect spot for authors. My personal record of 52 books sold was set here and owner Fiona was delighted to hear she was still the queen, that I hadn't quite beaten her record at Belconnen!<br />
Thanks again to the likes of Rebecca and Jessica, who came in to pick up Wall Of Spears, after coming in previously to get the other books. It's a huge pleasure to see those people!<br />
40 books later, it was time to wave a fond farewell to Canberra.<br />
Day three kicked off at Hooked On Books at Batemans Bay, a lovely store that went indie after the collapse of A&R. They'd even advertised my arrival in the Bay Post!<br />
This was a sell-out, selling all Wounded Guardians, Bridge Of Swords and Valley Of Shields in the store and meeting many fantastic people along the way.<br />
All done by 11.45am, I hit the road to Nowra, a store I hadn't visited since 2010, on my Radiant Child tour. I struck a caravan convention on the road and was a little slower than I expected into town.<br />
But I arrived in time to meet a bunch of great people, including Alex, who had bought Bridge Of Swords off me at Kinokuniya and had driven down from Wollongong to get the rest of my books signed. That was a fantastic honour!<br />
Sadly Nowra was cut short by an enormous thunderstorm, which emptied the high street of people. Spookily, my last trip to Nowra was also cut short by a massive thunderstorm. I do hope there was no connection ...!<br />
So ended my last interstate trip, with big smiles and 1146 books hand-sold in total, smashing my Radiant Child total of 1032, with four stores left to go.Duncan Layhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905371415934492472noreply@blogger.com0