Friday 27 December 2013

Merry and Happy, and I really hope all those reading this have no flood problems!

Christmas is almost over, and very enjoyable it was too - and that's all I'll say about that cos I promised NOT to talk about stuff like that here?

Somewhere in there I still managed to do some editing, though, so I'm feeling both very full and very virtuous at the same time. Who knew editing was good for the conscience.

I was spurred on more than usual by the news that January will see the arrival onscene of an editor for my own novel. I've been 'critted', as some of you well know, but this will be the first time by a professional, since I can't count myself with regard to my own work.

Even better, I'm told the editor I will have is very experienced. Hmm, or is it? That couldn't possibly be cos they think I need all the help they can get, could it?

Still, it's exciting and scary at the same time, but yes, I'm keen to get going and even looking forward to the experience of being on the other side of the table.

I'l let you know how it feels sometime soon.

Oh Dear :( where was the editor?

Is it me? I've just tried to read The Curious World of Katie Hinge, by Colin R Parsons, and find myself out of step with the 2 reviews on Amazon for it. [*****]

 Admittedly this was a book 2 but even so I don't believe that was enough to ruin it for me. As it was I gave up reading about a third of the way in. I couldn't take any more of the sloppy writing and obvious reliance on spellcheck. The ideas looked promising, and well targeted to a younger audience, but it felt as if one of that audience had written it and then published it without the services of a decent editor. Sad really, as I was left with the feeling it could have been good. So sorry to the author, and to those who reviewed on Amazon - where I've just lowered the overall rating - but this one's definitely not for me.

Saturday 21 December 2013

Film Review:Five Stars :)

Pre-Christmas treat for us was a trip to see Saving Mr Banks. We wrongly assumed it would be on everywhere. Instead it took two different cinemas to find it - but the search was worth it.

 The combination of Emma Thompson's Aussie-turned-English spinster lady/children's writer, and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney might have made me blink in theory but in practice it was a tour de force, not a line wasted, not a gesture overplayed, and not one of the supporting cast lowered the standard. Personally, I don't care how much is truth and how much is fiction. One accepts that any 'facts' alluded to in a book or film will have been doctored to some extent. Semi-fiction is fine by me if the result looks this good; I don't need to believe it's a history book, do I, to appreciate something that can be both comic and touching, whimsical and tragic?

So if you haven't seen the film yet, please do, even if it's the only one you see for the next six months. For once the hype isn't just hype.

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Right Brain, Left Brain, that is the Question...

I'm editing again. Apparently that means my left brain [You MUST have seen pictures of the way the human brain is split into two halves] is now dominant. That part's the critical, objective half. What that means in practice is it's pretty much a waste of time trying to write anything new of my own at the same time, cos old Analysis-Brain will feel it's its duty to try to micromanage the flow, thus stunting new words at birth.

I'm sure a lot of you have found the same thing but maybe having a 'scientific' reason for it will make you feel better about it.

No?

Ah well, me neither. But it has made me a touch more accepting. My brain won't, for a change, do two things at once? [Hey, I am female, remember? We do at least three things as a matter of course!]  All right then, I guess I can stand a bit of taking turns; edit today, write tomorrow. Or in this case since I'm talking a whole novel rather than critique segments it will probably be more like a month.

But just think how eager I'll be to get back to writing by then.

Note to self: keep telling myself that.

Monday 9 December 2013

Review: 'Unspoken', by Sarah Rees Brennan :)

 :)
I cannot tell a lie, I got this book as a freebie at World Fantasycon so in the nature of things I might have never read it, but I'm glad I did. Without giving anything away, it's YA, 370 pages and surprisingly humourous for a life and death struggle.
The basic premis?
 A teenage girl, Kami,who lives in an ancient village in the English Cotswolds for once instead of the States, has always talked to an imaginary friend called Jared. Unlike most kids, Kami hasn't simply grown out of it, her friend is still in her head, both a comfort and an embarrassment. It's just not cool to laugh out loud when no one around you is joking.
But then a very real Jared walks into the story. He's part of the local lords of the manor who've returned after years away. He's not at all what Kami expected. And his family are decidedly odd.
I hope this interests you enough to try it for yourself. Me, I'm heading off to find the sequel. I'm even paying for it this time.
Terry

Saturday 7 December 2013

And still.... :(

domain and domain email work together - great.
domain and blog work together - ditto
domain email, however, will NOT cooperate with backup email. messages coming in, but not going out!
arrgh. Maybe by Christmas. That would be good.

Wednesday 4 December 2013

All is not well. :(

TerryTalk exists, but not yet quite as I intended, and that's irritating. No, it's ****annoying. Linking it to my email, terry@terryjackman.co.uk which should be simple, had turned out anything but,

 so please note: anyone who can't reach me should use terryjackman@mypostoffice.co.uk as the alternative.