THE REVIEW

UNDER SURVEILLANCE?

Many thanks to Wendy, Jim and Jason for joining me last night in a Meeting of The Rams. Margaret F. had to work late. Julie has been retiring early as she rises very early with her husband. And Ellie flew to Mexico for some sunshine, which has been very scarce in this neck of the woods. But torrential rains are a good excuse to stay inside and write!

To start, I talked a bit about Kobo and the current contest they have to win design help with book covers if you publish with Kobo Writing Life by Dec. 5th. So I’ve been working to upload another book. I did design two cover pages, one for my novel FIRE and one for HONEY SIGNED THE WAIVER. I had printed them out and showed them to everyone. Jason especially liked all the red and orange in the cover for FIRE. He did his own research on covers down at Chapters and discovered that just walking through the store, what caught his eye the most was the colour red. That is what would draw him to look at a book.

I also passed around my very first Sales Summary from Kobo which I thought interesting. It doesn’t tell you who bought your book, but does give the Postal Code of where it was bought.

Still hogging the limelight, I read first. I had finally rewritten Chapter 12 of NIGEL WINGATE IS DEAD. This is the chapter where Nigel and Dee go into 100 Mile House to get married but are told they have to wait three days after purchasing the licence. They go shopping for wedding rings, and later for a wedding dress for Dee. At all three locations, Nigel witnesses some negative aspects of Dee’s personality. He also notices they are being watched by police. Finally on the way out of town, he opens a bottle of Scotch while he’s driving and takes a long swig.

Jason read next, Chapter 26, Frustrated. Damianos leaves the house carrying the crate with the coveted Book with his burned hands. In excruciating pain, he starts and drives the stolen car down the driveway but loses control and crashes into the ditch. The crate holding the Book had broken and he was dismayed to discover the contents were the “National Geographic Atlas of the World seventh edition” and not the Book of the Nornir. He then called Gregg “That little shite.”
I did some research and the word “Norn” means any of the three goddesses of fate in Norse myth. And the word “Nornir” is the plural.

Jason also told us his hired editor has finished about two thirds of this novel and he seems to have a good working relationship with her. However, he did admit he tends to ignore the praise she gives and focus instead on the negatives. Ah yes. What do we do about human nature?

Wendy read next, her piece called A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE. This is a very powerful recount of an experience she had working as a hospice volunteer. She encountered a woman dying of cancer who was angry and verbally abusive to everyone, including Wendy. Wendy was upset by the encounter and tended to avoid her or only visit her when the woman’s family were present. Then as the woman’s condition worsened, Wendy was asked to help hold her as a catheter was painfully inserted, and Wendy saw how the woman had been diminished by her illness and loss of dignity. The whole episode still impacts on Wendy and how she looks at everyone and those approaching death, trying not to judge.

Jim read us Chapter 22 of his second book in the COVENTRY GHOSTS series. Here we see Jason setting up the computer systems to hold the ghost essences of people as they are murdered and their brains are kept in nutrient tanks. His system is invaded by a ghost named Sneferu who also wants to capture Leanne and he comes through to talk to Jason. Sneferu tells him they have put a field of energy around the lab and no human can take him away but that some powerful ghosts want him dead, in order to get Jason’s cooperation in capturing Leanne and Judge Jefferys
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We then had some discussion on the difference in meaning between upload and download relating to computers. My research today said that upload means transfer of data from a local system to a remote system, and download is the reverse. Good to know for the transfer of ghost essences.

And totally unrelated to anything, here is some trivia regarding The Review. I am now able to view the stats regarding the blog where I post The Review. Since 2007 it has been viewed by people in the following countries, listed most frequently to least: Canada, USA, Russia, Germany, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Latvia, Spain, Malaysia, Israel, and the Ukraine. We are being watched!

Our next Meeting will be Wednesday, December 5th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. This will be our last Meeting before Christmas so if you have any writing on that holiday topic, feel free to bring it along to read to us. Wendy said she would bring some treats. Look forward to seeing you then.

Lisa

THE REVIEW

SUNNY OUTLOOK

Our Meeting Wednesday night saw the rainclouds clear away for the first time in many days. Was that portentous for our writing? Jim, Wendy, Ellie and Jason all joined me and our readings and discussions went on till about 9:30. We had a great time!

Jim read first, his Chapter 21 in the second book of Coventry Ghosts. He thought it too long and wanted to cut it into at least two chapters, perhaps three. This chapter has Leanne, Sara, Robin and Laurie ‘popping’ into Drakko, the ‘penal/retirement colony’, to bring Susan back to ghostdom after her sentence from the Judge of the Ghastly Court has been served. In Drakko, everything moves much slower and ghosts are drained of their energy. While there, the group meets Moog and Shei, ghosts from entities of the pre-human form on earth, who have been in Drakko forever. Once back in ghostdom, Sara takes Susan to meet her friend Karly at the library.

Ellie has started a new novel based on the theme of a short story she had earlier read to us. It’s about two young female teachers just starting their first teaching jobs and deciding to rent a house together. The female narrating the story has a horse and rashly commits them to renting property in the country with a first class barn and a dirty, dingy house. And we already see the menace projected toward her by the landlord. This could be a real thriller.

Jason read his Chapter 25, “Alals”, where Ligeia reads about the history of her ancestors and she learns of the spells she could cast on Gregg, the jivita. One could make him vulnerable and one could make him her lover forever. And, of course, we are left wondering which she will choose?

I read a thousand word personal account “A Change of Perspective”, telling of an episode where my first husband intervened to stop an episode of domestic violence next door. Upon his return to our home, I learned the perpetrator had been the wife. The husband left in the ambulance while she was taken away in the cop car.

Margaret Moffatt has three articles in the November issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine. One is on the history of travel trunks, one on the history of Prince George, and the third is on the history of Lytton.

My eBook, “Love Found” is now for sale at http://Kobobooks.com/search/search/html?q=9780991739608

Two copies have sold (best seller?) and I was able to find out who purchased them. Jason admitted to being one of the buyers, which he purchased with his Apple apparatus. He said it was cumbersome to open and read with Apple, which doesn’t like to co-operate with anything un-Apple. The other buyer was my Aunt/Godmother, Ellis Friesen, who is probably into her tenth decade in this realm and actually has an eReader and knows how to download digital books! She emailed me to say she had read it three times and just loved it and was bragging about me to all her friends! Wow! Now I’m bragging about her!

I also brought up the fact that Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group, which includes Greystone Books, had filed for bankruptcy protection. They are one of Canada’s largest independent book publishers with offices here and in Toronto. What is so scary about this is that all the authors having contracts with them are now left in limbo. They are not employees and have no further rights than other unsecured creditors. And regaining their copyrights might be a difficult challenge for them as well. Something to think about. Perhaps it would be prudent of authors about to sign contracts with publishers to do a credit check before signing?

While downloading books from the library one day I came across a mystery by Ruth Rendell entitled “Babes In The Wood”, which is the working title Margaret F. has been using for her book in progress. Even though the two books are far apart in content, the fact the titles would be the same could be confusing to readers. I did mention this to Margaret. I think I will want to do a title search for anything I am about to publish before I lock in the title chosen.

Julie was unable to attend due to another commitment. Lorelie had to go to Kentucky to care for her ailing mother. Margaret F. was packing and leaving for a trip to California. Marilyn Sergi had wanted to attend after many years of absence, but didn’t make it as something else intruded on her plans.

The next Meeting will be Wednesday, November 21st at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then. And in the meantime, be sure to buy a poppy to remember our fallen and to honour our Veterans!

Lisa Hatton