A little while ago I sent messages to some of my favourite bloggers, asking if they were willing to answer a few questions relating to blogging and reading. The four bloggers who very kindly agreed to take part in the project are Ritu, Calensariel, Curtis, and YvonneĀ – make sure to check out their blogs! I am really grateful to them all for their help with this post š Now, without further ado, the questions…
Flash Fiction Foray-‘Skin’ and update
Itās that time of week again, and this week there are fourĀ superbĀ entries to take a look at, based on Rag’n’Bone Man’s Skin. Continue reading
‘Skin’ – FFF43
The Flash Fiction ForayĀ is a weekly event run here at The Book Blogger.
This week’s edition will be onĀ (drumroll please)ā¦Ā Rag’n’Bone Man’sĀ Skin.Ā Feel free to base responses of anything to do with the song, I always enjoy any different takes! If you want to read previous challenges and responses,Ā click here.
If you missed the previous challenge on Frank Sinatra’s My Way, take a look at the responses here.
Flash Fiction Foray-‘My Way’
Itās that time of week again, and this week there are sevenĀ superbĀ entries to take a look at, based on Frank Sinatra’s My Way-go to the link for the song. Continue reading
‘My Way’ – FFF42
The Flash Fiction ForayĀ is a weekly event run here at The Book Blogger.
This week’s edition will be onĀ (drumroll please)ā¦Ā Frank Sinatra’sĀ My Way.Ā Feel free to base responses of anything to do with the song, I always enjoy any different takes! If you want to read previous challenges and responses,Ā click here.
If you missed the previous challenge on Chase Holfelder’s cover of Every Breath You Take,Ā take a look at the responses here.
Flash Fiction Foray-‘Every Breath You Take’
Itās that time of week again, and this week there are eightĀ superbĀ entries to take a look at, based on Chase Holfelder’s cover of Every Breath You Take–go to the link for the song. Thanks everyone for taking part, I think that’s the most entries I’ve had the pleasure of reading in one week! Continue reading
Interview: author M.C. Tuggle
Today I am delighted to welcome Mike Tuggle, blogger at M.C. Tuggle, Writer and author. Mike’s latest book,Ā The Genie Hunt, was published yesterday and is available to purchase on Amazon.comĀ for e-readers. It’s a readable fantasy novella with some interesting views on society – make sure to check it out!Ā
What is your book about?
My latest is The Genie Hunt, which Solstice Publishing will release in mid-May. Attorney Buddy Vuncannon and his old friend Coot Pickard are heading out of town for a fishing weekend when a SWAT team surrounds them. Eyewitnesses have identified Coot as the gunman in an armed robbery. Despite his doubts about his friendās innocence, as well as his ability as a defense attorney, Buddy must somehow clear Coot of the charges. He uncovers a criminal conspiracy that not only controls a shape-shifting genie, but includes an old friend who drives a wedge between Buddy and Coot.
How did you come up with it?
The Genie Hunt punches many of my buttons, and itās clear the same issues addressed in this book also trouble others. J. D. Vanceās Hillbilly Elegy echoes my anger at how the countryās business and political leaders have betrayed the heartland, and Michel Houellebecqās Submission offers a thoughtful and darkly humorous reverie on the appeal of authoritarian ideologies in a faithless, aimless age. I hope readers will find that The Genie Hunt has something worthwhile to say, even though it is loaded with twists, laughs, and action. The great power of fantasy fiction is that it frees you to play with ideas and trends in ways ordinary fiction cannot.
How long did it take to write?
A month of research, three months of writing, and two months of re-writing.
What do you find is the best part of writing?
The beauty of writing is that once all the parts come together, they acquire their own velocity, that is, speed and direction, and begin pulling you along with it. The trick is to do the research, scratch out that first draft, listen to the storyās inner voices, and, like a tightrope walker, find that path between making and finding the story your characters and setting want to tell. Do those things, and you can create something with a life of its own.
What advice would you give unpublished and/or aspiring writers?
If you truly love discovering and crafting stories — and only you can answer that — then you must write. The act of writing will make you a writer, because youāll teach yourself what works and what does not. There is no greater joy than reading a scene that grabs your heart, brings you to tears, or moves you to identify with a sympathetic character, and then remembering that you wrote that scene.
What did you learn most/surprised by in the process?
Even though Iāve developed and stick to a definite writing process I discovered over the years, each project takes on its own character. Itās exciting to realize you still have much to learn about yourself and your art, and that each story takes on its own dynamics in ways you could never predict.
What is your favourite book(s)? Has this influenced your novel?
Part of the challenge of writing is to conjure up sensory and emotional responses using words, which are nothing but abstractions. I could list influential books from a number of writers I enjoy. Iāll name Ernest Hemingwayās A Farewell to Arms and Mickey Spillaneās I, The Jury as favorites, not just for what they teach you about the possibilities of writing, but for the sheer joy of reading them.
What would surprise readers about you?
I do all the cooking in the house. And love it.
What have you got planned next?
Iām currently fleshing out a novel about a secret community that exists on the fringes of civilization. The protagonist resorts to trusted friends to determine if itās evil or benevolent, and the answers he receives surprises and terrifies him. Should be ready for submission by late summer.
Make sure to take a look at Mike’s book! If you would like an interview to tie in with a book launch or something similar, please feel free toĀ contact me.
‘Every Breath You Take’-FFF 41
The Flash Fiction ForayĀ is a weekly event run here at The Book Blogger.
This week’s edition will be onĀ (drumroll please)ā¦Ā Chase Holfelder’s cover of Every Breath You TakeĀ (originally by The Police).Ā Feel free to base responses of anything to do with the song, I always enjoy any different takes! If you want to read previous challenges and responses,Ā click here.
If you missed the previous challenge on Fall Out Boy’s Young and MenaceĀ take a look at the responses here.
Flash Fiction Foray – ‘Young and Menace’
Itās that time of week again, and this week there are threeĀ superbĀ entries to take a look at, based on Fall Out Boy’s Young and Menace-go to the link for the song. Continue reading
Book review: a brilliant crime thriller in ‘The Silkworm’
As you may know, J.K. Rowling has branched out somewhat since theĀ Harry PotterĀ series. Aside fromĀ The Casual Vacancy (which received lukewarm reviews), she has developed the highly popular Cormoran Strike series under the nom de plumeĀ Robert Galbraith. The series has been well received, and is soon to be dramatised by the BBC. Having read the first and third books in the series (The Cuckoo’s Calling andĀ Career of Evil respectively), I was eagerly awaiting reading the second book,Ā The Silkworm – and I was not disappointed.
The Book Blogger 