A Most Wanted Author

I imagine quite a few authors would give their eye-teeth to be in John Le Carré’s shoes. Four of his books are in film production at the same time!

1. William Monahan is in talks with The Ink Factory and BBC Films to adapt Le Carré’s latest, A Delicate Truth into a feature film.

2. Ewan McGregor, Ralph Fiennes and Mads Mikkelsen are in Our Kind of Traitor, filming later this year.

3. Already in the can is Anton Corbin’s version of A Most Wanted Man with Philip Seymour Hoffman starring.

4. And plans are already afoot for Gary Oldman to don the guise of George Smiley again for Smiley’s People.

Le Carré has had 18 films made from his novels since he began writing in 1961. The most recent was Tinker, Taylor starring Oldman.

Le Carré is reported to have joked, ‘At this point I could write the telephone directory and get money for it.’ Not an original allusion – it was used many years back for Stephen King! Several of his books are still in my (long) list of favourite novels.

One of Those Moments

KateMarie Collins is on a blog tour and is stopping by here today. So without further ado,  I'll hand over to KateMarie now:

First off, I’d like to thank Nik for giving me space today! This is stop # 4 on my current blog tour to promote the upcoming release of my second novel, Mark of the Successor.

Everyone has moments in their life that they replay in their heads. A birthday, graduation, wedding, and holding their child for the first time are all memories worth savoring. As an author, though, there’s a single day that stands out. It’s the day we get news of our first contract offer.

The story of mine is a little convoluted. I live in the Seattle, WA, USA area. Notorious for rain (though it’s not nearly as bad as you’ve heard), we don’t get lots of snow. It generally skips years. A good, cold, snowy winter in 2004 generally meant it’d be warmer and damp in 2005. Granted, anything beyond a very mild dusting can send drivers around here into a panic. We’re used to driving with wipers going, not having to use a broom to get white flakes off the windshield before we can even scrape off the ice!

2011/2012 was one of those winters. For three days, the area was hit hard by back-to-back storms. First significant snowfall (over 3” in a single day) hit, followed by freezing rain, small warming trend just enough to melt the top layer of snow, then it froze and snowed again. My van was encased in ice. Tree limbs were snapping all over the region due to the weight on the branches. Our house backs up to a wilderness area. We could hear the cracking and popping in the house. Two of our neighbors lost trees. One was about to walk out her front door when her tree came crashing down – across her porch.

The school district had already cancelled classes for the following day, so I stayed in bed and slept in a bit. When I woke up, the house was slightly chilly and the alarm clock stared blankly at me. We’d lost power. I wasn’t too concerned. The lines coming to our neighborhood go underground about two blocks from us. The longest we’d ever been without power is six hours.

I reached for my cell phone, thinking I’d check my email to make sure my husband had made it to work fine. That’s when I saw the email I’d been waiting over six months for.

I remember taking a deep breath, telling myself that I’d have to look up a new place to submit to once the power (and Internet) were back. I expected a rejection. It’s such a part of this business, and I’d had at least a dozen by this time. It was my default expectation.

I had to read the email three times to realize it said something different.

My point is this: you’re going to get the rejections. It’s part of the learning curve with this business. But that one email that says “yes” instead of “no” makes you forget the pain of the past. Your stomach’s going to do acrobatics, your hands will shake, and you’ll be almost unintelligible when you call people to share the news.

But you’ll have one of those memories that’ll stay with you forever.

KateMarie Collins is the author of ‘Daughter of Hauk’ and the upcoming ‘Mark of the Successor’, both with Solstice Publishing. You can find her on her blog (http://www.katemariecollins.wordpress.com), twitter (@DaughterHauk), and FaceBook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/KateMarie-Collins/217255151699492?ref=hl). Her books are available at the Solstice Publishing website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Good to have you visit, KateMarie. I've been getting rejections for over 40 years, but that doesn't deter me! It seems your wait for acceptance was worthwhile: you’ve had a blizzard of praise from reviewers on Amazon alone for Daughter of Hauk (see below).

Blurb for DAUGHTER OF HAUK

What would you do, if you found out your life was a lie?

After you were dead?

Arwenna Shalian spent her life in loyal service to a God she was never meant to serve. Tricked by her fellow priests, she betrayed a man she thought she loved by binding a demon to him. One that would send him to the brink of madness.

Can she find a way to forgive herself? And what of Hauk, the God she was Marked to serve? Will He find her and give her the chance to undo what she’s done, or leave her at the mercy of the creatures that torture her soul?

Here’s a condensed selection of reviews for Daughter of Hauk.

KateMarie Collins has created a wonderful hero in a fantastical world of elves, faeries, orcs, gods and monsters. This highly imaginative book is a pleasure to read and draws you in from the unexpected twist in the first few pages. From there you are taken on a fabulous thrill-ride through a delightful new realm. Don't get me wrong, this author hasn't written a fluffy fairy tale - she does not shy away from the grim realities and has a keen knack for capturing the terror in a situation - but this serves to heighten the journey that the protagonist, Arwenna, must take - a journey the reader follows without wanting it to end. – E.J. Harrigan, author of Where the Dead Go

This was one of the best stories I've read in a long time, with the perfect blend of fantasy, action, adventure, drama, and romance. Collins has a wonderful writing style that is easy to follow and hard to put down. - Andrea Buginsky, author of Open Heart

Collins fills each chapter of Daughter of Hauk with heart-throbbing action that keeps pulses racing and pages turning until the last paragraph. But don't fret; book 2 is in the works. -Michael Thal, author of The Legend of Koolura.

From the opening pages the author placed me in a world filled with armor-clad elves and half-orcs wielding mighty swords and casting magical spells. In short order I began cheering for the protagonist, Arwenna, as she and her gang carry on an epic adventure while battling their evil enemies. I particularly enjoyed Collins' vivid descriptions to not only paint the scenes in the book, but also to portray the characters' use of magic. - Daniel Springer, author of The WILCO Project

Collins invests the tale with all the mythic power it suggests and deserves. The legends and secrets are numerous and intriguing. The battles are epic, their outcome often in doubt. And, whatever you do, do not skip the epilogue. Without that, you're left without the heart of this very engaging novel. – Carl Brush, author of The Second Vendetta

KateMarie Collins has proven herself a master storyteller in her exciting novel (… and) has given each of these characters traits that evoke strong emotions in the reader. Some you will love. Some you will despise. Collins’ novel reads like a Greek tragedy as she explores themes of loyalty, friendship, valor, revenge, betrayal and the pain of an impossible choice. - Nancy Curteman, author of Murder Down Under.

The author has created a dark fantasy world... These dark characters are driven by hatred, revenge, ego and a consuming lust for power, and you feel (all) that as you turn the pages. You start to really develop a hatred for Bohr and his ilk, and want Arwenna to deliver some justice. Arwenna and her band are fleshed out characters with depth and complexity that is refreshing. You feel for these characters as if they were your own close circle of friends. If you're looking for a fantasy novel that makes you want to hate evil and cheer on the good guys who are more than just two-dimensional place-holders, then this is a book you want to pick up and read. – Tony Rudzki, editor

And here’s the

Blurb for MARK OF THE SUCCESSOR

Dominated and controlled by an abusive mother, Lily does what she can to enjoy fleeting moments of normality. When a break from school only provides the opportunity for more abuse at home, the sudden appearance of a stranger turns her world even bleaker.  Disappearing without a trace, he has left a lingering fear in Lily. His parting words to her mother, “Have her ready to travel tomorrow,” is something her mind refuses to accept.

Running away is the only answer. But before Lily can execute her plan, a shimmering portal appears in her room. Along with two strangers who promise to help keep her safe. With time running out, she accepts their offer for escape and accompanies them into a brand new world. A world in which she is the kidnapped daughter of a Queen, and the heir to the throne of Tiadar.

Can she find her own strength to overcome both an abusive past and avoid those who would use her as a means to power?

I wish you every success with both books, KateMarie, and your blog tour!

THE MAKING OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

THE MAKING OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Sue Birtwistle & Susie Conklin, 1995

 

This BBC/Penguin book accompanied the TV series starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It is lavishly illustrated with photographs, drawings, design notes and sample music scores. The authors are the producer and script editor. 

Adapting a treasured book is always going to be difficult. Andrew Davies was well aware that he wanted the story to be more visual – a lot in the book happens off-stage, is reported. So he purposefully created scenes that did not contain Elizabeth. He observes that ‘the central motor which drives the story forward is Darcy’s sexual attraction to Elizabeth. He doesn’t particularly like her, he’s appalled by the rest of her family, her general circumstances, the vulgarity of her mother and some of her sisters and he fights desperately against this attraction…’ All this is perceived between the lines in the book. Here, in the dramatization, it’s made flesh (in the nicest possible way). In the book, several quite lengthy letters are pertinent – again, Davies re-imagines these visually, to good effect.

There’s a section on casting, which posed a problem as the production was planned to take five months, so actors had to be available for a lengthy time. Another section relates the difficulties of location hunting – ideally finding villages and homes within easy reach of each other – with a map. For example, Angela Horn, owner of Luckington Court, which served as Longbourn, the Bennetts’ house. The crew virtually took over the place and Mrs Horn cried when they left, though was consoled by the thought that she would ‘now have enough money to re-roof the west wing.’ The Wiltshire village of Lacock, owned by the National Trust, became Meryton. Five months of negotiation, then preparations, consultation with the residents, traffic diversions, security etc – all for a week’s filming…

The entire process takes months in the planning stages – more like a military campaign, assembling all the tactical, technical, personnel, and logistics for the duration.

Other chapters cover production design – from furniture to wallpaper, creating the right ambience; costumes, make-up and hair designs; the music and the dancing, both integral to the visual and dramatic scenes; the lighting, where there were practical problems in the old, historic and protected houses.

A section describes a typical filming day, which can last up to twelve hours. Finally, there’s a chapter that covers post-production, including editing, sound dialogue, the effects and dubbing.

This is an excellent book which provides insight into the making of a film and goes some way to explain why such productions are expensive to stage. It's also of help to budding scriptwriters.

The Far Pavilions - an epic novel

First published in 1978, this monumental epic sold ¼-million in hardback alone; paperback sales, especially after the TV series, soared. Justifiably, despite the less than attractive cover from Penguin.  Though written in a completely different style, I feel it can be set alongside Paul Scott’s magisterial Raj Quartet. Set in India during the time of the British Raj, M.M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions tells the story of Englishman Ashton Pelham-Martyn from birth in the 1850s, through the Indian Mutiny until the Second Afghan War, 1879.

Due to its scale, the story has to be told from an omniscient point of view. Yet individuals are strongly drawn and felt. This book has been likened to the Gone with the Wind of the North-West Frontier, and the comparison isn’t far off the mark. Although it’s a love story, it’s much more besides. It doesn’t pull any punches where brutality in all forms is encountered during these violent times. It depicts bravery, generosity, cruelty, honour, devoutness, passion, heroism and self-sacrifice.

The title comes from the Dur Khaima mountains, the Far Pavilions, with Tarakalas, the ‘Star Tower’, catching the first rays of the sunrise. Somewhere near was a fabulous valley dreamed of by Ashton’s surrogate mother, Sita, somewhere to live in peace and contentment without violence, prejudice and greed…

We know that politicians don’t seem to read history or learn from it. A year after this book was published, the USSR effectively invaded Afghanistan.  Ashton says, ‘The Afghans may be a murderous lot of ruffians with an unenviable reputation for treachery and ruthlessness, but no one has ever denied their courage; or been able to make them do anything they don’t like doing. And they don’t like being dictated to or ruled by foreigners – any foreigners!’ It applied in 1979 and, to all intents and purposes, it applies now.

It was fascinating to read of places such as Murree, Jamrud fort, Peshawar, Islamabad – all part of India at the time. In 1969, I went to these places when they were in West Pakistan, as well as the Khyber Pass, from where we looked over the plain of Kabul. (See my reminiscences of that visit ‘The Navy Lark up the Khyber’ pp142-151 in Under the Queen’s Colours, ‘voices from the Forces 1952-2012’ by Penny Legg).

 
In places, Kaye’s writing is exquisite, as are the sentiments and characterisations. A few brief examples: As an old sage remarks, ‘I know well that hearts are not like hired servants who can be hidden to do what we desire of them. They stay or go as they will, and we can neither hold nor prevent them. The gods know that I have lost and regained mine a dozen times. For which I have cause to be grateful, for my father lost his once only: to my mother. After she died he was never more than the shell of a man.’

‘The black stallion’s body and his own were one, and his blood sang in rhythm with the pounding hooves as the air fled past them and the ground flowed away beneath them as smoothly as a river.’

‘Below him a belt of scree fell steeply away down a gully that was bright with moonlight, and on either hand the bare hillsides swept upwards to shoulder a sky like a sheet of tarnished steel.’

An observer’s description of Ashton – ‘…the vulnerability of that thin, reckless face, the sensitive mouth that accorded so ill with the firm obstinate chin, and the purposeful line of the black eyebrows that were at odds with a brow and temples that would have better fitted a poet or a dreamer than a soldier.’  Whoever cast Ben Cross in the role got it very right indeed.

 

Here's a bookmark I made for the book...

 

When I closed this tome of 960 pages of tightly packed text, I felt slightly bereft. I seemed to live with many of these characters, and watched them grow older, live – and die – and now it was over, finished.

At the back, there are two pages of author’s notes providing relevant real-life happenings used in the narrative plus a useful 2-page glossary of Indian words and phrases.

On perfection - flat notes and writing typos

Last evening my wife Jennifer sang as part of the combined choirs of Vivace and Chorale Mendelssohn’s Elijah in a gorgeous Spanish theatre. Jen was one of seven soloists. The choirs acquitted themselves well; it’s a difficult and rather long work. Needless to say, while the audience was very enthusiastic and impressed with the performance, a few perfectionists in the choirs beat themselves up over the occasional sour or flat note. This is only natural, as artists should always strive for perfection, and it reflects on their professionalism that they try to attain it.

Still, in the real world, perhaps perfectionists should gain perspective.

This choral work was sung by a combination of British, Russian, Dutch and Scandinavian men and women, accompanied by a Spanish pianist, singing in English to a Spanish, British, Scandinavian, Dutch and German audience. The ticket money from the performance goes towards a project to construct a rural school in Southern India, for 575 children aged five to eleven. The project’s target is 65,492 euros and they already have in excess of 40,000. That, alone, is pretty amazing, the coming together of different nationalities to give pleasure and work towards a good cause.

There may be a few off notes, but the entire performance impressed, and that’s what’s important.

The same applies to writers and their critics. Yes, there may be a few typos missed by author, editor, and proof-reader – and the author is often the first to beat herself up when these are found, after the book goes to print, rarely at the galley/proof stage. That’s good, striving for perfection. Self-edit, self-edit, self-edit is a good mantra to follow, but there comes a time when you have to let it go – and that applies to the publisher as well as the author.

Again, a little perspective is required.

Maybe 80,000 or more words are strung together to create characters and a fictional world for the reader, and there’s nothing wrong with over 99.9999% of those words! Fine, if the book has clearly not been adequately edited, fair criticism – usually reserved for self-published work, I suspect. But complaining about the occasional glitch is simply petty and uncharitable. If the story does what is intended, then judge it on those merits, not on a few typos.

FFB - Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

It’s many years since I read this. I rarely have the opportunity to re-read books, even favourites, as I own so many I still have to read even once. It was a pleasure to reacquaint myself with Elizabeth, Jane, Lydia, Mr & Mrs Bennett and of course Darcy. I made a point of re-reading this after viewing the BBC television series featuring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth as the star-crossed lovers (filmed in 1995). There have been many versions before and since, but in my view this – perhaps due to its generous length – captures the book most perfectly.

 

            It isn’t surprising that the book has been popular ever since its publication in 1813, as the wit and spirit of Elizabeth captivates readers of all ages. Typical of its period, the book uses the omniscient point of view, but it works thanks to the easy style and humour of Austen. The title of the book originally was First Impressions but was changed to reflect a quotation from Fanny Burney’s novel Cecilia, when the lovers are united and the author declares that ‘the whole of this unfortunate business has been the result of pride and prejudice.’
            Considering her small output, Austen’s works have been dramatized a remarkable number of times and have been forever in print and in the hearts of romantics worldwide.
            The first paragraph of Pride and Prejudice has been quoted time and again and is certainly one of the most famous beginnings of any novel: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ That, in a nutshell, is what the book’s plot is about – Mrs Bennett finding suitable men for her daughters to marry. Well, on the surface, of course. It’s more subversive than that, however. It reveals Elizabeth as a strong-willed woman of independent mind if not means. And it’s a book about the enigmatic Darcy, too – a man who is tired of the artifice of his female acquaintances and finds himself stirred by the alarmingly refreshing Elizabeth Bennett.
            All of the characters spring alive, thanks to Elizabeth’s acute observations, whether they be her scatter-brained mother, detached father, the odious Mr Collins or the dreadful Lady Catherine de Bourgh. In the main, their characters are conveyed by their speech, and it’s masterfully done.
            This book (1995) also features stills from the TV episodes.

Editor’s note: even classics can suffer from typos – and I don’t mean the old spellings of ancles (ankles), chuse (choose), your's (yours) and the like. There are at least twenty to be found in this copy. Whether they’ve been around since 1813 or introduced at subsequent reprinting, when books were typeset, I cannot say. Regardless, the typos don’t interfere with the reading enjoyment.

Storyteller's Seven - Tom Rizzo

Tom Rizzo kindly asked me to answers seven questions for his regular Tuesday spot on his blog - Story Teller’s Seven

 

 

 

 

That interview is here:

 

http://www.tomrizzo.com/storytellers-7-nik-morton-prolific-and-creative/

 

Now,  I reckoned I should return the favour, so these were my seven questions.

 1.            Heroes and Rogues looks like a fascinating book, judging by the entries on your website. You obviously had great fun collecting and writing the varied articles. I’d like to add it to my collection. When is it appearing on Amazon and elsewhere?

TR: I did have great fun putting that together. I find characters from frontier America as fascinating as fictional characters. At the moment Heroes & Rogues is available only from my website as an incentive to sign up for a newsletter. But, I'm in the process of expanding it with additional snapshot profiles. Then I'll make it available on Amazon in digital form, and replace the newsletter "incentive" with something else. 

2.           Whereabouts in Great Britain did you live – and for how long? Any memories of your stay? (I know: that’s sort of 3 questions in one!)

TR: I lived in Southwest England, the Cotswolds for four years--Gloucestershire County. I have lots of memories of my time there. At the time, there were no freeways; the country had just started to build its first one--the M1, I think. Before I had a car, I used to hitchhike quite a bit and met the most interesting characters. It was an educational experience.  One night, in the rain, I hitched a ride with a lorry (truck) driver. While we were sliding and bouncing along, I asked him what he was transporting. "Explosives, mate." I rode the rest of the way with my fist curled around the door handle in case I had to manage a quick escape.

 

 

 3.           Your western Last Stand at Bitter Creek features a black officer, David Webster. I’ve come across very few black main characters in westerns – DM Harrison’s The Buffalo Soldier, Frank Roderus’ The Outsider, Brian Garfield’s Tripwire, and the Cash Laramie adventures featuring Gideon Miles spring to mind... What prompted you to use a black protagonist?

TR: I learned that about 190,000 or so black soldiers served in the Union Army and Union Navy, but still endured discrimination and segregation, even though they made significant contributions in the war and put their lives on the line as much as anyone else. The army was reluctant to commission black officers, which numbered between 90 and 120. The Lincoln administration initially worried that recruiting black troops would alienate border states and give them a reason to secede. The idea of a black soldier serving as a Union spy intrigued me. Making him an integral part of the plot, and equipping him with skills perhaps not normally associated with black soldiers, I think, gave the story a broader appeal. At least that was my intent.

4.           Can you describe where you’re going with your latest book?

TR: I'm in the process of outlining the next novel, which will feature both Bonner and Webster. I had such good feedback on both, I wanted to create a storyline where they'll be paired again, this time in search of another stolen treasure. 

 

5.       You’re keen on the importance of research and have warned about the danger of doing too much. Have you now evolved a method of handling research so it doesn’t take over timewise, and have you any fascinating nugget that has jumped out recently?

TR: Too much research, of course, sucks the time from actual storytelling. But the research I did for Last Stand At Bitter Creek was important because it enabled me to get a solid sense of time and place for the last half of the 19th century. Since I have the "background" information in place, most of my research involves connecting the dots, so to speak, in terms of the actual character and events that parallel the time frame I use for my story. 

 

6.            Okay, you're in a small café, huddling with three of your favorite writers (living or dead). One specializes in Westerns; another in Thrillers; the third in Short Stories. Who would they be, and what one – and different – question would you ask each of them?

TR:  Raymond Carver who, in his day, revitalized American short story telling. Carver focused on ordinary people who find themselves in ordinary - and sometimes bizarre - emotional conflicts. My question: "In what ways does real life reflect the untidy endings you write about in your stories?"  

Louis L'Amour -- because (1) the way he was able to bring the characters and the landscape of the American frontier to life, and (2) for his passion at treating the Western as history. I'd ask: "What role, and in what ways, did the American frontier shape the American character?"

David Morrell -- I'd ask him, "As backgrounding for your stories, you've become a private pilot, been trained in firearms, hostage negotiation, executive protection, expert driving strategies, assuming identities, and other things. Obviously, this all helps in creating reality in storytelling. But what advice would you give to a writer who has neither the time nor money to learn such things, but wants to write as compelling a story as you do?"

 7.            How would you finish this statement: "I bet my readers didn't know (this about me) …”?

TR: I once had lunch with Elvis Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, in Las Vegas.

Thanks, Tom.

Maxwell cleverly weaves her tale

JANE – The woman who loved Tarzan

by Robin Maxwell

This book’s release, authorised by the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, coincided with the centenary of the publication of Tarzan of the Apes. It’s a fitting re-invention.

            Many years ago, I read and re-read all two dozen of the Tarzan books and also the John Carter series. Like fans worldwide, I’ve always felt that the films never did Lord Greystoke justice. So, it was with a little trepidation that I tackled this book.
            What many film-makers neglected but this novel recognizes, ‘There is no Tarzan without Jane’, to quote John R Burroughs. As I became immersed in the tale, all fears for the treatment of the lord of the jungle evaporated. It was obvious that this was a work of love and respect for the original, a worthy homage.
            The book begins in 1912 Chicago where Jane Porter is giving a talk about the missing link she found in Africa. Her claims cause heated controversy among several academic and scientific attendees and, ultimately, a Mr E.R. Burroughs, a young author, takes her aside and expresses an interest in her tale about an ape man. Sequestered together, Jane tells all to Burroughs. This is Jane’s first person narrative we’re about to read, beginning in 1905.
            Maxwell cleverly weaves her tale, using the basic elements of the original but grafting on much that is new and intriguing. Seeing this tale from Jane’s perspective works exceedingly well for me. The period and character are beautifully captured – perhaps I should have expected nothing less from an accredited author of historical fiction.
            There is much that is familiar – the story of Tarzan’s origin, though shifted by date for purposes of realism, the Waziri, d’Arnot, Jane’s father, and the Mangani. The vain and dashing explorer Ral Conrath makes a suitable bad guy, but the real villain is Kerchak, the killer ape. Yet they’re given slight twists to fit this retelling; to stick to the original in every respect would have been a creative straitjacket and unworthy, and fortunately both Jim Sullos, custodian of the legend, and grandson John R Burroughs agreed. In his works, Burroughs did a lot of research for his books, and Maxwell has emulated him with a sure touch, delving into the paleo-anthropological details, the descriptions of the Dark Continent and even the history of Cambridge University, yet at no times imposing swathes of mind-numbing information on the reader.
            There are several poignant moments – not least the reading of Alice’s diary, the vaguely recalled past of young Tarzan and the erotic yet tasteful relationship between the ape man and his mate, Jane.
            You don’t have to have read any Tarzan book to appreciate this wonderful novel. If you have read some of the ape man’s adventures, then you’ll find much to please you in this retelling, bringing the lord of the jungle back to an adult readership, Burroughs’ intended audience.

Bullets gets a new cover

Same story, new cover.

I was pleased with the latest review on Amazon.co.uk from Annie from Aberdeenshire, which in part goes like this:

This Cash Laramie outing, by yet another author, is about 119 pages long, and every one of them is full of action, following the twists and turns of what appears to be a straightforward tale of a corrupt mayor running for re-election, using every dastardly trick and opportunity for bribery that his immensely deep wallet makes easy. Oddly enough, the worst corruption comes from someone else.

The various authors of this series all seem to have at least one skill in common: they can each portray their characters with a very few words, and still give them distinctive identities. At the same time, both Cash and Gideon remain constant, regardless of who is describing them. In this book, a fresh piece of Cash's history is revealed, together with its consequences, and my only real criticism is that the author does not seem to make any effort to show the impact this would have on the Cash we already know. Anything more would be a spoiler, but see what you think.

There's a rather clever literary touch, in that the first and last sentence of the story are the same, but there's a gap of 16 years, and it's not necessarily referring to the same individual, nor true in both cases: read it and judge for yourself.

 

I'm pleased that little touch got noticed. It actually echoes someone else's last words in a book of 1953...

Tarzan - centennial

It was just over a hundred years ago, October 1912, that Tarzan first appeared in print and since then he has become one of the most iconic fictional characters ever created. This large and quite weighty tome celebrates Tarzan in text, celluloid and comics, among other media, over that century.
            Perhaps it’s unnecessary, but I’ll briefly outline his story. John Clayton, Lord Greystoke and his young pregnant wife Alice were abandoned on the east coast of Africa in 1872 when the crew of the Fuwalda mutinied and set them ashore. They were left with two crates of belongings, a rifle and some ammunition. Bravely facing up to the terrors of a strange primitive land, Clayton built a small hut among the trees and there they retired to relative safety, frightened by the jungle noises. Alice gave birth to a boy, John. Nearby, huge apes congregated, issuing terrible grunts and growls: these creatures had their own language and called themselves mangani; they were more hominid than gorilla.
            Shortly after John’s birth, a great ape, Kerchak, attacked the couple and they barely escaped with their lives. However, a blow to the head permanently affected Alice: while she cared for her baby, she did not step outside the hut again. Some weeks later, she died while the infant slept. At about this time a female great ape, Kala, had lost her own infant, falling to its death from the emerald canopy of the rainforest. Hearing the wailing sound of John Clayton mourning the death of his wife, the apes approached the hut. Kerchak barged in and killed Clayton. But in that same instant Kala snatched up the baby from its makeshift crib, dropped her dead infant in John’s place, and rushed out with baby John clutched to her breast. Acting as John’s mother, Kala called him Whiteskin, ‘Tarzan’ in the mangani language.
            Little Tarzan survived by chance rather than his prowess, though his young mind quickly outstripped the mental capacity of his fellow apes. A child of nature, Tarzan discovered the world was not an Eden. It was harsh, filled with threat and danger from many sources. When he was about nineteen, he met Jane Porter and they eventually married and had many dangerous and bloody adventures.
            This book is lavishly illustrated throughout with colourful artwork and stills from the films. It’s a mine of information about the creation of all the books, with a brief storyline of the twenty-four novels. Hollywood never really did the ape-man justice – he wasn’t a monosyllabic tree-swinging hero; in fact, Tarzan became fluent in many languages, among them French, German and Russian.
Ron Ely, one of the many screen Tarzans, provides a Foreword in which he rightly states that he believes most of the films and TV productions misplaced the ape-man by putting him into contemporary society when the basic allure is the period he was created, the 1920s, an age when communication and travel were protracted and challenging; though the film Greystoke came close. It’s about time this great character was restored to his former glory, not as an adventurer in children’s fiction but as an exciting pulse-pounding adult hero, which was the original creation.

            Indeed, the books were considered inappropriate by the Soviet and Nazi regimes as Tarzan represented bold individualism, so the books were banned or burned. Burning didn’t have much effect, of course: over 100 million books by the author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, have been sold, in 37 languages, including Braille and Esperanto.
            Scott Tracy Griffin, a foremost expert on Edgar Rice Burroughs, has amassed a wealth of information about the ape man and his creator and provides insight into the creation of the novels.
            This is a book to enjoy and treasure, a slice of cultural history.

Wishing you a happy and peaceful Christmas!

Dateline Friday, December 14 – Town Hall square, Torrevieja, Costa Blanca, Spain


This was the tenth annual Christmas Carols in the Square event.

My wife Jennifer and I, along with many members of her choir, Cantabile (above), joined other choirs and citizens from the area to sing thirteen carols in front of the floodlit church and next to the splendid Belen diorama. Included were two Spanish carols, ‘Campana Sobre Campana’ and ‘Fum, fum, fum’. The music was provided by The Phoenix Concert Band.

Lots of Christmas hats and antlers were in evidence! A census wasn’t taken, but we reckon there were Spanish, English, Welsh, Scottish, Belgian, German, Dutch, Ukranian, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian in attendance to celebrate the nativity. Also present, representatives from the town hall and the Salt Queen and her Dama, Nuria Zaragoza and Elsa Martinez respectively (below).

The collection amassed €985 for the local charity Alimentos Solidarios, which provides meals for those in need.


There was no religious message, save that implicit in the nativity; Mass followed for those who wished to attend.

The international community of Torrevieja and environs is a beacon for co-existence among all peoples. Yet again it was wonderful to be a part of this event. The world is a better place than we sometimes wonder when we learn about the horrors and destruction, natural and man-made.

Louise Clarke – R.I.P.

Louise Clarke, 38, was a reporter for the local English language paper Round Town News for a number of years, a familiar face known to hundreds in the area. Louise & Lee lived in Edgeley in Stockport before emigrating to Spain, where they have been living for the past five years. An ebullient and friendly person, she commented on and fought on behalf of the local community on a number of issues, from dodgy housing developers, poor sewerage, intransigent politicians, to the provision of the Coastal Nursery school. She was a lovely people person and thrived on news, in particular political infighting and even took a year’s sabbatical to work at the Playa Flamenca town hall.

Last month she was hospitalised after unexpectedly collapsing. She hadn’t been ill and the cause of her serious illness baffled the medical fraternity and she remained unconscious ... Those who knew her were shocked at the suddenness of it all – especially when she was known to be so active and full of vitality.

Tragically, Louise died yesterday, still a young woman with much to give, leaving behind her husband Lee, daughter Lilly and son Charlie.

A good person, taken too soon.

Note: Before Louise’s demise, a fundraising effort was started, to help her family over the Christmas, as Lee has not been able to work while juggling hospital visits and looking after the children. A ‘Christmas Glitter Ball for Lou’ event was arranged to be held at The Emerald Isle, La Florida, on Wednesday 12th December from 7.30pm, organised by media friends and colleagues; the entertainers giving their time for free. It is now going to be a sombre occasion; all the more poignant as so many who have already donated wished Lou a speedy recovery… In three days 24 people have already donated £1,230.

http://www.gofundme.com/1muzd8