Hard to get Book Haul

 

Hi folks

A small haul this month but important.

As you see from the pics above I have managed at last after years searching to find the first Legends - Stories in Honour of David Gemmell.

I got books 2 and 3 when they came out but missed the first book as it was sold out and only so many made.  Then I looked on Fishpond.co.uk and found it to complete the set. Now I can start the short story anthologies.

Created to help finance the David Gemmell Fantasy Awards these are short stories in David's heroic fantasy style by some of the best fantasy writers about including Stan Nicholls, Stella Gemmell, Joe Abercrombie, Andy Remic, John Gwynne, RJ Barker, Justina Robson, Juliet E McKenna to name but a few and edited by Ian Whates.

I also found Transformers: Exodus and Exiles by Alex Irvine.

I've been after these years too after seeing them in the Works but not buying them.

Exodus was from Fishpond.co.uk and Exiles from Amazon US and both the small mass paperbacks but I'm ok with that.  

They follow the start of the war on Cybertron and their journey in space chasing the Allspark to Earth. I think they are prequels to Transformers: Prime which is a great animated series from 2010 and now on Netflix.

Happy Reading Folks!!!

Mid September Update - RIP Terry Goodkind

 

RIP - Terry Goodkind 11/1/48 - 17/9/20

 Sadly another great fantasy writer who came out in the 80s/90s has passed away. 2020 sucks even more now.

Terry Goodkind was best known for his Sword of Truth series, starting with Wizards First Rule, will be sadly missed and joins the other great sci-fi and fantasy authors of the 80s/90s who have passed including David Gemmell, David Eddings and Terry Pratchett.

He was 72 years old.

With that in mind I hope surviving 80s authors will last long like Terry Brooks, Raymond E Feist and George RR Martin who are all in their 70s and still working.

This is especially true for George RR Martin who has the huge task of finishing his Song of Ice and Fire series.

So far I have only read Wizards First Rule which took over a year to read but I had some personal issues to deal with so wish I had read it at a different time. I did enjoy it although was slow in the middle and I gave it a 7/10.

I hope to read a couple more in the series next year as I have the first 7 books.

September Update - Reading and writing - Edge-Lit 2020 Cancelled

 

Hi Peeps

Well it's already September and the 2020 Covid curse strikes again!

I was looking forward to going to Derby to Edge-lit in July but it was moved to November.   This morning on Facebook I found out the event in 2020 is cancelled altogether.

This may be a good thing if there are still some restrictions like so many people in a room.  Hopefully it will be back in full form next year.  Alex Davies who organises the event is doing a brilliant job so far and I wish him well and give my support for the 2021 event.  Roll on 2021!

Other than Edge-lit I'm behind reading "Before they are Hanged" by Joe Abercrombie.  So I will be concentrating on that and its sequel "Last Argument of Kings".  I hope to finish both by the end of September.

I'm also writing again so will try to do as much as possible in September including finishing The Cubbyhole.

Also I plan to do an IT Course and still job searching.

Plus my gym opens this month so want to try to go back.

How's your plans for September? 

Ta

Neilx

Writing Again!

 

Hi Folks

I'm glad to announce I'm back writing again, after nearly 2 years in hiatus.  The main reason I haven't written is I had a confidence issue with my writing.   Thinking myself and my writing wasn't good enough.  Worrying I was getting things wrong like grammar and punctuation. 

Even though I've still had story ideas and been buying Writing Magazine in that time I still couldn't get myself to open my laptop.

Thanks to Karen, Gemma and the rest of Cleckheaton Writing Group and Ribbon Tree Cafe I was persuaded to join their weekly writing sessions lured by chocolate cake and the fact I haven't seen them for a good 5 months or more.

I have now started to finish The Cubbyhole - a ghost story, then I will continue my novel Colony X and try to get the first draft finished by December.

I will look at trying to get published, either by a publishing company or self-published.  Otherwise what is the point?  Well the fun and challenge of Writing is a great point but being published is the main focus and end game for most writers.

So far I've been published once in Cleckheaton Writing Group's Anthology Reflections.  Now I need to build on this.  Maybe I will enter short story competitions too.

Do other Writers have a crisis of Confidence?  If so let me know in the comments and how you overcame the issue.

Thanks

Neil x

Update - Writing Group - Gemmell vs. Abercrombie - Writing Mag - Sci-fi Now

 Hi Folks 

Just a quick update on what I've been up to in the last few weeks.  Hope you are all safe.

Firstly I've still not done any writing but after having an excellent Zoom meeting the other Monday with my writing group (Cleckheaton Writing Group), they talked me into going on a writing course.   I'm still looking at this and have to enrol.

It was great catching up with the group and seeing how far their writing has progressed.  Unfortunately I'm in a reading slump at the moment and still to read their work and give feedback.

Talking of reading slumps, I was wanting to be onto the third book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy yet still on "Before they are Hanged".  I'm only about 300 pages in too.  I think this is because some back story in the book is eerily similar to back story in David Gemmell's "Winter Warriors" which I read a few months ago.

The back story involves demons walking the World and one of them turns against their brothers and banishes his fellow demons to the underworld.  This was a main point in "Winter Warriors".  Maybe it is just coincidence with the book being in the same genre and is a familiar trope.  Although there are other similarities with David Gemmells work.

Other than that plot point I'm enjoying "Before they are Hanged" as Joe has written great characters and I love his prose.  I will just steam forward and get it read.

In the pandemic it has been hard to get copies of Writing Magazine.  Although now everything is easing and shops are now open I have still had an hard time finding a new Writing Magazine in WH Smith stores.  These being the Halifax and Bradford branches.  I've ended up buying the magazine in Sainsbury's in Halifax.

Has anyone else had problems finding Writing Magazine in WH Smith stores?

Sad Sci-fi, Fantasy and Publishing news as I've found out Sci-fi Now magazine has gone out of print and will only be available online.  I prefer physical copies.

I used to love this magazine as it had more writing and a larger book section than it's rival SFX Magazine which I also liked but didn't buy as much as I felt it wasn't as good as years before.  But I will purchase SFX Magazine when I can as be even more of a shame if that went too.

Well that's it for a catch up.  I will also be looking at an IT Course to re-teach me some skills and hope get a job.

Ta 

Neil x

August Update - Happy Yorkshire Day

Hi guys n gals 

August has flown by already.  Maybe it's a good thing that 2020 goes by quickly with the virus that shall not be named plus all the bonkers things happening in 2020.

Well not much news from me.

I'm still job searching although there seems to be less jobs coming through on e-mails.  I think will have to up my game.  Somehow.

I'm still reading "Before they are Hanged" by Joe Abercrombie.  I was hoping to finish this by end of July and start the third in the series by now.  It looks like it will be finished second week of August.

I'm still procrastinating over my writing.  A part of me is afraid to write again for fear of not being any good.  But I realise I need to just get on with it.  I'm sure I've forgotten all about grammar, and where to put commas ect.

Do any other writers feel like this?

Also to add more content on my blog as there are no film reviews, as the cinema's are shut, I'm thinking of doing TV series reviews.

I recently binge watched The Umbrella Academy series 1 and now series 2 is out I will do the same then review both.

I've also binge watched Transformers:War for Cybertron: Siege so expect a review soon.

Other shows I may review are The Boys - series 2 out soon.

Also the underated New Legends of Monkey which has series 2 coming soon.  Been waiting ages for this.

Does anyone want me to review TV shows?

Also I'm thinking of doing an Explore and Paranormal YouTube channel where I explore old buildings stuck in time and maybe look for paranormal.

Although for this I could do with someone close to me who drives who joins me on the explores - is anyone in Brighouse,  Halifax , Cleckheaton area interested?

Well chat later folks!

Neil x

Juĺy Free Bookhaul - Rest of the Witcher Novels

Hi Peeps

Had a Waterstones gift card to use sat in my wallet since Xmas.  Since I'm now out of work thought I'd use it to get new books as it seemed ages since I had new ones!  Even though I've over 200 on my TBR pile. 

So decided to get Sword of Destiny, the second set of short stories in the Witcher novels.

I also wanted book 3 in Anna Smith Sparks, Empire of Dust series as it came out during lockdown.

I looked in both Leeds and Bradford Waterstones for Anna's book but to no success.  So will keep looking bit longer and if no luck then get online eventually.  Then I can read the series fully.

To be honest it felt good being back in Waterstones shops after 4 months.  Looking and smelling all those books.  Although in Bradford it smelt a bit musty with it being an older building.

So just as I was going to give up I saw Sword of Destiny which I wanted and next to it Season of Storms which I totally forgot I needed to complete the set as it's quite new.  It is a prequel to the novels set after the short stories and before the first book.

So now I'm happy I have the complete set till he brings more out.

Any Witcher fans out there that have read them all?  What you think of them?

Well happy reading folks x  my next read is Before They are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie.

I'll also be reading some fiction for writing group to give feedback  ready for our next Zoom meeting.  Plus I hope to write this weekend too.

Neil