#WritersCoffeeClub 5 October. What haunts the narrative of your current work?
Joseph, an ex-patriot Zulu sangoma and member of the demi-monde living in London, is trying to stop his people from being haunted by a Tokoloshe, a South African water spirit.
Despite his best efforts he is unable to banish the creature and has to call on his friends within the magical community for help.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
My Word of the Day today is CONTRE-JOUR. Share YOUR words to describe this picture in the comments!
Contre-jour, borrowed from French contre-jour, contre, against (in physical contact with), against (not in favor of), against (having as an opponent), as against (as opposed to, compared to, in contrast with), + jour, day; daylight, light; opening, aperture.
Meaning: backlighting (photography), a similar effect achieved in painting (art).
The photo shows late-afternoon sunlight illuminating an intricate network of moss-cloaked tree branches in garden setting. The backlit moss glows with rich olive and chartreuse tones, forming coral-like contours against shadowed bark. Delicate maple foliage and leafy shrubs frame the tangled boughs, while small berries dot the darker foreground, creating an enchanting woodland atmosphere.
Personally, at this time of the year, I’m raging against the light which seems to be perpetually in my eyes because the sun is so low in the sky…
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
2/2
Bond has been a major influence on the spy genre since the release of Dr. No with 22 secret agent films released in 1966 alone attempting to capitalise on the franchise's popularity and success.
The first parody was the 1964 film Carry On Spying.
One of the films that reacted against the portrayal of Bond was the Harry Palmer series, whose first film, The Ipcress File, starring Michael Caine, was released in 1965.
The eponymous hero is a rough-edged, petty crook turned spy and has been described as both an "anti-Bond” and "the thinking man's Bond".
The four Matt Helm films starring Dean Martin, the Flint series starring James Coburn whilst The Man from U.N.C.L.E. also moved onto the cinema screen, with eight films: all were testaments to Bond's prominence in popular culture.
Recently, the Austin Powers series by Mike Myers, and other parodies such as the Johnny English trilogy of films, have also used elements from the Bond films.
Following the release of Dr. No the line "Bond ... James Bond", became a catch phrase that entered the lexicon of Western popular culture and has been voted as the "best-loved one-liner in cinema" by British cinema goers.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
#WritersCoffeeClub 2. Do you have plans for your next work yet?
I should really be getting back to working on book 7 of my ongoing urban fantasy series, The Wheel of the Year sequence.
On the other hand, it would be good to finish writing my collection of short stories, Tales From the Demi-monde, as I don’t think I’m going to be comfortable leaving it unfinished even though I’ve got at least four months’ worth of stories in reserve.
There’s always a worry that something could occur which would interrupt my schedule and I’d hate to be forced to miss publishing them online on my website as planned.
So, I think that’s decided, finish the short stories before picking up where I left of with book 7.
That’s what happens when you commit yourself to doing a serialisation…
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
#ScribesAndMakers 30.09. What was the last song you listened to?
Belated post
These days I don’t listen to music that much except for when I’m driving.
I tend to favour Jazz FM for that, even though it’s questionable whether some of the stuff they play actually counts as jazz.
Listened to a couple of cracking tracks yesterday, Every Day (I Have The Blues) from Count Basie & Joe Williams and Birdland from Weather report.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel
#ScribesAndMakers - 3rd Oct. Is there a common thread throughout your creative work (apart from the fact that you created it)?
To date everything I’ve written has been set in contemporary times except for a couple of short stories in Tales From the Demi-monde where the tales are about the character’s younger selves.
I tend to concentrate on magic and the supernatural weaving in references to mythology and folklore.
My two light novels are an exception as they feature evil criminal masterminds and there’re no overt references to anything which could be considered to be of a supernatural nature.
#WritersOfMastodon #TalesFrom… #SecretLife… #HowtoSucceed… #Author #Novel